Autumnal Equinox

The first day of autumn arrived and nearly passed me by. Exhausted from a big night on the town, joining friends at Lahaina's newest eatery & entertainment venue for dinner and a show kept me out until well past the witching hour. Already tired from an early morning zipline shoot, several cups of strong java were required to make the drive to the west side. Being a consistently early riser, these rare (for me) late night outings take their toll.

Joined for the show by mad Scotsman and bagpiper, Hamish, fully dressed in formal piping gear complete with kilt & "codpiece" made of newly born Badger pelts.

I did manage to crawl out of bed to retrieve the latest craigslist score... a nearly new Weber kettle BBQ grill, purchased for the measly sum of $5. The deal was it had to be picked up before 9:30am (along with the handing over of a crisp fiver) to consumate the transaction. With that in mind, Chester & I piled into the red pick-up, retrieved our treasure, headed to Pukalani to stock up on grilling provisions and then on to a walk at the dog park as is our morning custom.

Limping home after the pup walk and since it was raining anyway, a good sunday nap was in order in celebration the arrival of autumn. (That's my excuse & I'm sticking to it....)

Rumors of the impending arrival of the seasons's first big winter swell had the island buzzing yesterday. As promised, consistent yet sloppy 8-12 ft. surf began pounding the island's north shore just about the time I was pulling the covers up to my chin early this morning.

After naptime, headed down to Hookipa Beach Park to check out the swell, running into occasional dog-walking companion and mad videographer Santi & his son Tosh, also down to check out the surf action. Solid 8-footers were rolling into the lanes with good consistency but sloppy form. Only a couple of kite surfers were out, along with a solitary long-boarder trying to make his way through the inside slop and contenting himself with just playing around well out of reach of the thundering waves hitting the outside reefs.

Welcome to the arrival of the winter water-sport season! It's been a long, dry summer.