Hanzo's Outdoors

Mele Kalikimaka!

2010-12-21T19:18:00.001-10:00

Kalimalena Neck Knife Scores

2010-10-09T20:43:00.001-10:00

While I still haven't taken the Kalimalena Neck Knife outside to play, I did use it in the kitchen today to help me make dinner. Dinner was chicken long rice.

The knife is such a great little slicer.

The onion and ginger was sliced paper thin. The garlic (not pictured) was chunky.

My lame attempt at an artsy kind of shot with the knife on sliced onion.

Missus Hanzo had put some drumsticks in the fridge to thaw for me. So since I am preparing the chicken right before dinner and didn't have a chance to season it overnight like I would normally want to do, I scored the chicken to rub the seasoning in.

The knife...SCORES!!

Ok, that was silly. But what do you expect after I coached two soccer games today?

The knife was great. It cut very cleanly. Some of the chicken was still a little frozen. No problemo. The Kalimalena cuts through with ease.

So after a bunch of slicing it got a bath. Then the shave was the test. The blade was still sharp, but wasn't shaving cleanly. So a quick touch up on Japanese water stones was in order. I like the King brand, by the way. Back to shaving sharp. I gave it one pass on my formerly hairy forearm and now I have a smooth swath there.

Craig, great job on a fantastic little knife. It won't process food like my butcher knife, but it does what it is supposed to quite well. What is it supposed to do?

Be handy, which it is.

Cut and slice like a champ, which it does.

The knife is so light and unobtrusive that I stuck it into my shoulder bag that I lug my computer and work stuff around in. Next time I take an impromptu hike, it's coming along.

So everything went in the pot to simmer. And I went to do something else.

An hour or two later, I went and tasted to see if I needed to add anything. Nope, it was onolicious!!

Got caught up in the eating and forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Maybe tomorrow, since we have leftovers and I made a huge pot.

Mahalo Craig!!

An impromptu hike today

2010-10-06T23:04:00.000-10:00

After taking care of some business, I find myself on the windward side of the island and near a waterfall that I heard about but never been to. So since I heard the hike to falls was short at only about 15 minutes each way, I decide to do an impromptu hike with just what I have with me.

So I know about where the trailhead is, but not exactly. So I head out in search of it.

Today, I had several failures and one success.

I was hoping to find the waterfall, find some mountain apples that missus monkey and I really like, and to test out my injured foot that was hurting a bit after two soccer practices and a scrimmage on Monday.

First failure...

I find what looks like the main trailhead and head in. After a short distance, I spot what looks like an opening in the tangled growth. I look in and see a drop of about 6-7 feet. The slope is steep at about 80 degrees and very muddy with limited hand and foot holds...basically one tree trunk at the top and lots of mud on the slope. Looking beyond that, I see a small clearing and what looks like a trail. It didn't look like the right trail to me, but at first glance, I didn't see another. And I went for it. It was slippery and I ate it. Took a roll so as not to hurt myself. And when I got up, I realized the I was still hanging on to my Guyot water bottle. Lisa, at TwoWolves, might be proud of me for hanging on to the bottle I bought form her. But she probably wouldn't be proud that I fell. I explore the "trail" and find it leads into thick tangles of vegetation, like most of that area. So I climb back up and halfway up, almost slide back down, but I make it. At this point, I am muddy and not happy.

But I continue to explore and find another trail. As I take this on, it looks much more promising.

It took me ten tries to get this picture. There was a breeze and using a macro setting, the first pictures were all blurry.

The more promising looking trail. This was the driest part too.

Most of the way looked more tangled than this, but less blurry.

More trail.

A little bit of an opening in a heavily covered trail.

There were several clear spots that afforded a view of mountain and sky.

Shortly after this, I decide to turn back. I have gone for about a half an hour and crossed two valleys and am heading too high to find the waterfall, I think. I am getting near the pali summit. I figured that maybe my pace was slow since I was being very careful on the slippery trail. It was muddy and rocky and the rocks were slipperier than the mud. But I wasn't going THAT slow.

As I head back down I keep searching for other trails in case I took the wrong one.

I found a game trail but didn't take it. In this picture, if you look through the vegetation, you may be able to see the game trail. It is about five feet below the main trail. I only found it because I thought I heard a pig and was trying to find it. Saw the game trail but no the pig.

I found another trail and took it to see if it would lead anywhere. I lead me into a thick dark tunnel of hau trees. It was so dark in there that the trail was sloshingly muddy as very little sun got through. I went part way and turned back. I didn't see any footprints and didn't feel like I was going the right way to the waterfall.

So I failed to find the waterfall. Bummer.

Second fail...

I see guavas, strawberry guavas, other berries, but no mountain apples.

No mountain apples. Failed again. Bummer.

Success?

In addition to wanting to find the waterfall so I could take my kids there, I wanted to test my foot injury. It has been two months now and it still hurts. Especially after the two soccer practices and scrimmage on Monday. I found that it started to hurt less as I hiked. When I finished and rested, it hurt again.

Tonight, after hiking and having soccer practice this afternoon, it really hurts. I hope I can handle tai chi class and soccer practice tomorrow. I should have listened to my Sifu and taped up. But then, this was impromptu. So I take it as a win, since I got to get outside, get a little muddied up and get a good sweat going while I raised my heart rate.

When I was leaving, I saw some young men successfully catch a rooster. They were near the trailhead. I did not see another soul on the hike. As I drove out, I noticed that where those men had been was a small opening in the bushes. I bet I went on the wrong trail and the one that goes to the falls was the one near where those guys were. I was really tempted to stop and go check it out, but I had stuff to do and had to get back in time to make it to soccer. So next time.

Normally, I take at least some basic kit with me when I go hiking or camping. But on occasion, like today, I just want to go. So here's what I had...

This picture was taken a couple hours after the hike and I managed to get most of the mud off the sandals, but not off my clothes. I had my Keen sandals, a Victorinox alox Farmer, a Exotac fire steel, my iPhone, and the Guyot Designs stainless water bottle. Not pictured is my camera and a two pieces of hard candy that I ate after I got home.

My lessons learned (or remembered)...

Hiking shoes or boots are better than sandals most times. The Keens were slippery in the mud and wet rocks and lots of dirt and mud and stuff got inside.

Trust your gut. I didn't think the first path was right, but I went anyway and went down. Fortunately it wasn't a big drop.

Do your homework. I wanted to find the waterfall that I knew the general area of. Checking first would have helped a lot and I probably would have found it.

Don't go hiking with an injury, especially a leg injury. Screw that one, I had fun.

You can do a lot even with an injury. I could have gone for hours more, I think. But then, I might be hurtin' a lot more than I am now.

Bring a bag or something to carry stuff in. Carrying the water bottle in hand was a drag.

Finally, getting out and doing something on a whim is awesome.

My after hike treat really hit the spot. Hurray for the free refills at Starbucks. I pounded down the first one there and got a refill to go. When I got home, my two little monkeys drank most of it.

Last lesson, if you want it all for yourself, finish it before you get home.

Play Day @ Camp

2010-10-06T21:53:00.001-10:00

We were all set to go camping after our staycation.

But then I had to work on Friday, and monkey princess #1 wanted to play her soccer game on Saturday, and missus monkey wanted to referee her soccer game on Saturday and the plan was to leave Sunday morning. So we just went for the day on Saturday. After watching the game...my daughter's team is undefeated and she is playing the best she ever has...I blazed it home to prepare lunch (them meal I had signed up for when I thought we were going to camp) while the girls were left to play until the game my wife was scheduled to referee was finished.

So I made my moderately famous (at least among friends) sesame garlic chicken grilled and smoked with kiawe and dragon eye woods. Delish!! And a big hit at camp, if I do say so. Since one of my tai chi students gave me some saffron...yes you heard that right...saffron, I decided to try and make saffron rice to go with the chicken and salad. We just made it in time. I finished up and drove over to pick up the family and away we go.

Missus monkey was the first to eat. She said, smells good and I'm starving and she tore in. Then the rest of us ate the remaining half of what I brought. ;D It was a busy morning.

So I didn't take too many pictures, but here are some scenery shots.

That fluorescent yellow soccer uniform blended pretty well in the foliage.

The kids ran around and played from the time we got there until we left shortly after dusk. I will try to get some pictures from the other folks who were there. I really didn't take many. I know there are fishing pictures (the kids caught a lot and some big ones too), fruit gathering pictures, camp fire and waterfall pictures. I'll see what I can do.

I found this amazing. Most of the kids were settled down by our lovely resident pied strummer.

One thing I did get to do was to test out the Gary Mills custom knife I won in the contest that Gary so generously offered. As the kids were coming back, I didn't take many pictures, but I will tell you how it went. When I received the knife, it came beautifully packaged and very sharp. Not shaving sharp, but very sharp. So I gave it a light touch up on my Japanese water stones. And the knife is shaving sharp as well as beautiful.

I have another custom woodlore clone that I wanted to test too, but since we were only staying the day, I didn't pack a bag and just wore the knife on my belt. I left my new neck knife and the other knife at home.

Here are my impressions on Gary's knife...

It is extremely well made with a carbon steel, full tang blade with teak handles and a very nice handmade leather sheath.

In used, I split some guava wood, which is a very hard wood, by batoning. No problems.

Here, I stopped taking pictures since the kids were swarming back into the camp area. I just wanted to focus on finishing my test and sheathing the blade. The kids run everywhere!

Next, I split the wood some more. The nice had no trouble making feather sticks that went on the embers which I fanned back into flame.

Shaving off bark was also no problem. Then I chopped some seasoned hard wood across the grain with a baton. I cut a clean wedge into it then snapped the wood to add to the fire.

I definitely broke it in. I didn't use it for food prep at camp. In fact, I still haven't cleaned it yet. I will do so after I get around to taking a picture of what the knife looks like after use and an after shot when it is cleaned up.

Oh, one thing I noticed about the blade. I originally thought it was a scandi grind, but then noticed it is more like a convexed scandi. Maybe Gary can confirm what it is.

After all that, it is dirty, but is still shaving sharp. And it does everything a bushcraft knife would need to do. And do it well. Mahalo Gary!

Staycation

2010-10-06T21:05:00.001-10:00

We have been very busy lately, so a staycation was much needed. It is funny how things have a way of working themselves out. Out of the blue, a friend of ours asked, do you like staying at the Hilton. Well of course we do. We had a great time there last summer for our staycation.

And then she tells us that she is booking us at the Grand Waikikian, the newest building in the Hilton complex. But why, I ask. She says it is a thank you for the help she was given. Wow! So I offer to pay and she says NO and the next thing I know, we are booked for four days and three nights. SWEET!

We get there and the girls love the suite. They were more interested in exploring the suite and chilling than going out to explore the grounds and jump in the water.

We had a full kitchen.

And a cozy little nook.

And a quite spacious lanai that spanned our living room and bedroom.

Can you guess what the girls liked the most?

They really liked "their own" flat panel TV that was bigger than the one we had in the bedroom, the large and deep tub, and a new experience...a fold out sofa bed. I was fully intending to have them sleep on it and when they saw me open it up, the both shouted, "I call the sofa bed. I call the sofa bed! The sofa bed is ours and you and mommy can take the bedroom. And close the door." Oh, OK.

The room maid and the girls all did a good job of creatively arranging the stuffed animals that girls brought.

And while the girls were content to just luxuriate in the suite, we had to go out on occasion.

The grounds of the new building were really nice. And I really liked the Hawaiian artifacts that they used in the decor.

Of course, what caught my eye were the lei-o-mano!

We played in the ocean, in the pools, went shopping, lounged around and relaxed and all that good stuff, but one of the things we did the most, was EAT! All I can say is the little monkeys ate good. So they are continuing their training to not be cheap dates when they are older.

Getting ready to eat.

Eating...

We had a delicious tan tan ramen dinner from Goma Tei, breakfast at Wailana Coffee Shop, lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, a fast food dinner (we still had soccer practice since I am the coach), breakfast buffet at the Hilton, Genki Sushi, teppenyaki at Tanaka of Tokyo, breakfast at the IHOP, lunch, dinnerm breakfast...

And throw in desserts, like green tea ice cream, a Lappert's ice cream treat...

Stuff we brought, like fruits and nuts and some nice teas.

It was nice to have a hot cup of coffee or tea on the lanai too, or on the kitchen bar, or the cozy little nook, and even soaking in a nice hot bath.

Joined by a buddy of ours.

The obligatory teppenyaki volcano.

The view from the Royal Hawaiian.

The girls really wanted to eat the buffet breakfast, since there was also a water element with lots of fish and turtles and various birds.

There is a four foot something swimming in there. You can't see it because of the reflection, but it made the ripple as it swam away. It was within reaching distance of us.

When the girls went shopping (ok, I went along, but I didn't shop), they each bought a new sarong. They are so creative in how they put them on. The older monkey princess is also a master of the towel head. After every bath, she has a different towel configuration on her head. Some are really cool too.

The Dread Pirate Monkey Princess #2.

Lounging.

Of course all good things have to come to an end at some point, so we had to go home.

So a nice staycation comes to an end. It was relaxing and hectic at the same time. We still had two soccer practices, a PTA meeting of sorts, tai chi and ukulele classes, as well as some play time in the park with home school friends. I need a vacation after our staycation.

So...

Gary Mills Woodlore Clone - mini review

2010-09-24T16:55:00.000-10:00

Well, I still haven't had time to give it a proper testing and review. I haven't even had a chance to cook in over a month, it seems.

But I didn't want to not post anything about it, so here goes...

The knife came very sharp when it arrived. Not shaving sharp but very usefully sharp. The blade, handle and sheath were beautifully made. Here are some pictures of the only cutting it has done so far. And I can't wait for our camping trip next weekend!!

Yesterday, a friend gave me some nice big juicy guavas. Not a challenge for any knife, but Gary's knife cuts very cleanly. I didn't know that guava juice was acidic. In a few minutes, it started to etch a patina into the carbon steel blade. Very cool and I will experiment more with that later. Hopefully, the next two pictures will show a little of the etching.

Today, I just cut some bread and some pipikaula. Both were delicious!

I think I will get to camp one night ahead of my family, so I may go early and muck around and play with my new toys, er, tools. I can't wait!

Kalimalena Neck Knife

2010-09-24T16:24:00.001-10:00

The weekend before last, in the midst of coaching one of two soccer games, I get a call from my buddy Craig, aka Kalimalena.

Since we had a conversation about neck knives during our previous lunch, he took it upon himself to make me one. It is a small scandi blade mounted on an antler handle. Sweet!

Note to self, next time we have lunch, talk about mansions and sports cars...maybe about yachts too. ;D

To hold it, he made a kydex sheath with paracord.

He asked to to tear it apart using it, since if I break it, he can make a new one. But the point was to use it hard and give him my opinions.

Unfortunately, I have been so busy the past few weeks with work stuff that I haven't been able to play much. I haven't even had a chance to cook for weeks so KP was out too.

But I did slice some fruit for a snack and it is a great slicer. I did notice that the black coating caused more friction than a polished blade so I may remove it later, even though I like the way it looks. The coating also made the back of the blade ineffective for striking a ferro rod. So if I can't get sparks off a ferro rod, I won't get sparks off a piece of flint either. I will file the back edge after I take off the coating. And I really like the antler handle with the wrought iron bolster that he shaped and patina'd. I think the antler point could be used for pressure flaking too.

I mentioned all of this to him when we spoke and he seemed to like the feedback. More to come after I get to give it a proper review.

Here's a picture of it with a big guava.

Gary Mills Hand Made Knife Score!

2010-09-07T19:31:00.001-10:00

When I got my mail today, this beauty was waiting for me.

Gary Mills, knife maker extraordinaire, had a contest a couple of weeks ago for this knife. I lucked out and won. So Gary shipped it over from England. Mahalo Gary!

Not sure why the images are off centered...

Hopefully, when my foot heals up, I can get out and play with this brilliant tool. It has been screaming to me go out and get dirty! I will probably post a review using it for food prep in the kitchen, until I can get out and do it justice in the dirt and woods an grass.

Viking Score!

2010-08-23T21:56:00.001-10:00

Today, I had lunch with a buddy and scored! He bought a couple of Bearded Viking Throwing Axes and gave me one along with some birch bark and paperbark.

Mahalo Kalimalena!

Pretty pissed!

2010-08-23T21:02:00.001-10:00

I was very unhappy one of the girls on my soccer team was left behind today after practice. Her aunt dropped her off, left and never came to pick her up. I only let her leave with the aunt because I saw her drop her off but didn't know she split. So I had to scold the mother, which I don't like to do. Thankfully, one of the other moms waited with me after I let the rest of the team go.

When I called the mom to tell her that practice was over and her her daughter needed to be picked up, the mom actually told me that her sister was some place else and kind of expected me to take her there. So I had to firmly tell the mom that I wasn't taking her daughter anywhere and for her to call her sister to come get her now. So wherever the sister was, she showed up about 25 minutes later.

My only consolation is I got to see my older daughter scrimmage. I caught the last play where she stole the ball at around mid-field, was able to dribble past some defenders, take a shot that I thought the keeper was going to stop, have the shot bounce off the keeper and score the winning goal. Yeah!

Klingons!

2010-08-23T11:09:00.000-10:00

One of the ladies in my tai chi class taught me a very cool trick. Pin a small safety pin anywhere on a garment that usually has static cling and viola...no more static cling issues!

I tried it out and it works great. I have some silk shirts that I like a lot, but I have been wearing a cotton undershirt since I would always have static cling on them, especially after sliding out from a car. Well, I found a tiny little safety pin (no more than an inch long) and pinned it to the inside bottom of my shirt, and hesitantly wore it without the undershirt. YEAH! No static cling. When I slide out of the car, I can feel the static cling building for an instant, then no more.

Now I don't have to be hot wearing multiple layers in tropical weather.

Back to gongfu?

2010-08-22T20:00:00.000-10:00

My plan was to get back into my gongfu practice after sitting out for over a month after tearing a plantar fascia in my foot playing basketball.

Mrs. Hanzo always seems to want to tag along when I go and hang out with the girls and maybe visit her folks who live near where I practice. Usually when someone imposes their schedule and plans onto yours, yours don't always go as planned. Today was no exception. After waiting for them to get ready and having the guy I was supposed to meet before heading over no show, I was running late. Then since Mrs. Hanzo brought food for her mom, we had to go there first. By the time we were about ready to head out, I didn't want to go to practice any more. By the time I got there, the guys would be all done with their exercises (our warm up exercises and stretches take about 60-90 minutes) and into their drills. Since Sifu wasn't going to be there today, by the time I got done with my exercises, the guys would be done for the day.

Mrs. Hanzo had planned to run around where we practice while the kids biked. So since we didn't go and the kids where playing with the animals at Grandma and Grandpa's, I offered to run/walk with her. I think that was a mistake. I don't think I got a block before my foot started to hurt, even though I stretched. She ran and walked and walked after that. We went for 2 miles.

I was going to do my exercises and forms at home, but my foot was really sore so I decided to slack off and take it easy. I wanted to make sure I could run soccer practice tomorrow.

So I told Mrs. Hanzo not to come with me to practice ever again. Nah, I just told her not to come. Once in a while is ok, but it is difficult for me because she and the kids are somewhere around and show up from time to time. And I want to focus and not have to worry about them. Practice runs 3-4 + hours and I usually leave by the end of the third hour when they come. Plus I am late more often when they come too. So oh well. Rant off.

Bollywood Girls

2010-08-22T19:45:00.001-10:00

Missus Hanzo and the little monkeys are quite the Bollywood fans. So when Mrs. Hanzo found the India Market today, she spent a bunch of time in there and bought up some stuff to satisfy her and the monkeys at least until tomorrow. Here they are posing with their new bangley things.

So while she did that, I did what any other guy would do...I ate! The ahi limu poke and pulehu tako was delicious!! I actually even saved her a little.

Kalihi Kine Day

2010-08-21T17:24:00.000-10:00

Yesterday was a fun day in Kalihi.

First, a massive breakfast at the Pancake House. The omelet could have fed my whole family. Plus I got to try Swedish pancakes with lingonberry butter. Mahalo Sifu!

Then a quick errand nearby.

Then as I was heading out of Kalihi, I passed a friend's work place, so I pulled in to the parking lot and called to see if he wanted to grab some coffee. Of course, he came right out. And we went to Wild Bean.

The girls gave me a Roxy Orgasm and they each had one with me. Yeah baby!

There was a guy there before me that had one. He said it was good and that he was sharing it with his mother. I had to speak up and say how wrong that sounded. Then his mother said not as wrong as her having to share an orgasm with her son. We all kind of threw up in our mouths a little then.

Then I looked at the girls some more, took their picture, and then the cuter one asked me to take some more, so I did. I'll be back to take more pictures of them less dressed. Woohoo! Yeah, a fun day in Kalihi.

Life's a Beach - day 3

2010-08-21T14:20:00.000-10:00

We started off the day with eggs and sausage and bagels. Then as the kids played in the woods, the adults packed up to reluctantly leave our little slice of paradise.

The plan was to take the girls back to the beach to play for a few hours before heading back home. We were glad my friend and his daughter could join us.

Of course, the girls immediately jumped into the water. But as they started seeing man-o-war floating by them, they came out. And they were very wary after that.

And rightfully so. There were quite a few floating around. At one point, over a 15-30 minute period, we found and buried over a dozen of them that washed up near where they were playing.

On a clear day, you can see forever.

On the horizon, you can see two islands. They are either Maui, Molokai, or Lanai. I am not sure which two. The weather was spectacular.

One of many man-o-war that washed up onto the beach.

I was hoping to see this guy land in the ocean, but no such luck. I mean what's the point of the pontoons if you are not going to use them. Oh well.

Lunch was on the beach and was just sandwiches, which was somehow appropriate since we ate on the sand.

Properly pooped after three days in the water and running around in the woods.

But not too pooped to end our camping weekend with ice cream. They enjoyed theirs and I really liked my lychee. Hmmm...

Life's a Beach - day 2 part 2

2010-08-21T14:05:00.000-10:00

What da?!... We got transported to Jurassic Park?

My baby loves the hammock. She can be by herself for hours just relaxing, swinging and playing on it.

She wanted some daddy time so she took me around in the ironwoods.

And she's off...done with daddy time.

Cannonball run? No way, Jose. Ice cream ball! Yeah!! We made a few batches of chocolate ice cream.

Back to the beach to wash off all that sticky ice cream drippage.

Sharks like ice cream...covered kids.

Since there was so much jellyfish, there were turtles (they eat jellyfish) but I couldn't get a picture. Fortunately, we didn't see sharks (they eat turtles).

The ocean calmed as it got late in the day and the tide came in.

Dinner of fish and scallops with mashed potatos was delicious!

As were the s'mores.

The weather was beautiful. This was one of the very few times we camped without a hint of rain. It was nice to be able to pack things up dry.

We finished the night with a round of miniature golf for the kids that one of the moms arranged.

Life's a Beach - day 2 part 1

2010-08-21T13:46:00.000-10:00

We started the day off with breakfast burritos. Yum.

I noticed that I didn't take pictures of the food this time around. I was either too busy cooking, eating, or playing in the water. Yeah!

Here are some scenic shots from the morning.

Then the kids played around in the Ironwood forest.

After they ran off breakfast, we got ready to hit the water.

One of my buddies has a prosthetic leg so one of the kids played pirate.

Aaarrgghhh...

My Vibram FiveFingers watching the kids in the water. After a little while, I shucked them because the sand was nice, the ocean floor was sandy and I love being barefoot, especially in nice sand like that.

The water was super calm in the morning and the waves would pick up. My little monkey is getting ready to hit the waves.

Just warming up.

I'm the queen of my castle...and a naughty rascal.

My other monkey likes playing in the sand. When the waves picked up, then she wanted to go into the water.

Here are some of the moms.

Back to the ocean...

The Koolau Mountain Range in the background.

Soon, the waves will be picking up.

One of the dads.

We had ocean outpost duty. Making sure the kids were ok and swishing away man-o-war that drifted to close to the kids. There were quite a few over the three days we were there and I am thankful no one got stung.

The kids watching for the incoming waves.

This was the only clear underwater shot I got. The shore break and wave action churned up too much sand.

I really liked this shot. The wave he caught wasn't the cleanest and the picture isn't the best, but I liked it.

I am thankful the kids learned to swim and are comfortable in and under the water and surf.

Once in a while, as I am focusing on taking a picture, a wave would catch me and my shot would be messed up. I especially try to time it so that I can catch them in a wave.

And now for the main event...

the new Olympic Kid Toss...

And yes, he did get style points for completing his flip before hitting the water.

One of the many aircraft we saw. This one was a large transport.

I was really bummed that my video of the stunt plane didn't come out. We were treated to a great show by a pilot in a single engine plane going all kinds of aerial stunts. The guy was good!

The obligatory getting buried in the sand.

The job's only half done so far.

A short nap before lunch.

I have to admit, we eat well when we camp. Lunch was grilled steak, chicken, sausages, hot dogs and veggies! Yummy!!

Life's a Beach - day 1

2010-08-21T12:35:00.000-10:00

While I set up our home for the weekend, Mrs. Hanzo rounded up the kids and took them to play on the beach.

I made chow the first night so I didn't get to go play in the water. :(

Dinner was not bad. I made my chicken tikka masala and rice with some veggies and salad.

After dark, we went beach combing. Mainly, the kids liked catching crabs. There was too much shore break for the to see fish.

But we did find man-o-war washed up on the sand. That was to be a common theme for the weekend.

And of course, the ever popular hamming.

Been seriously neglecting the blog

2010-08-16T20:42:00.002-10:00

Missed putting up a few outdoorsy things and a bunch of cool (to me) family things.

But I will make up for it with waaaaay too many pictures from our camping trip this past weekend.

Swimming Dragon

2010-03-30T23:07:00.002-10:00

Liping Zhu’s performance of Taiyi You Long Gong or Taiyi Swimming Dragon Chuan is awesome! Check out the video. I can see how she won her gold medal. She is the disciple of the art’s inheritor from Wudang. Apparently, it used to be taught only within the family and to the imperial privileged. Master Yu Anren broke tradition and brought it public only in 1980. Having done various martial arts, I find myself partial to Wudang at this stage in my life. And finding this lady’s video was a happy accident for me.

And I loved the music too. Any of you know what it is or have it?

Tai Chi Spirit

2010-03-30T18:59:00.001-10:00

Gave out our inaugural Tai Chi Spirit Award today to a most deserving lady. Even though she doesn’t want recognition or rewards for herself, I had to remind her that tai chi begets yin and yang…a constant flow of giving and receiving. A balanced flow fosters growth and harmony while imbalance can lead to stagnation. So with that, she graciously accepted her award.

Thanks goodness for...

2010-03-19T10:29:00.000-10:00

Coffee!

At a meeting and the speaker sounds bland.

Hercules

2010-03-19T08:40:00.001-10:00

Yesterday, we took the kids out for holoholo. That was the meat
sandwiched between work in the morning and afternoon til evening.

We took the monkeys for pancakes then the play The Children's
Theater of Oahu gave a very entertaining musical performance of the
play, Hercules.

Viva Olympus!

Then we had sushi before heading back home. Yeah, my girls are
definitely NOT cheap dates.

Back to work for me. The beauty of having your own business is that
you can take the time to smell the roses when the opportunities
arise. The downside is you still have to do what you have to do. So
I worked until 10:30.

Oh, I did pause to make dinner. Made chicken soup since the little
uns were catching colds. The twist I tried was to wrap seasoned mochi
rice with the chicken so the soup was hearty. It was quite good.

Shark sleeping

2010-03-12T14:00:00.000-10:00

Monkeys on a canoe

2010-03-12T10:51:00.000-10:00

Our Hike Last Month - Kulana'ahane Trail

2010-03-10T20:20:00.000-10:00

It was a beautiful day to get together with the family and some good friends. So we did. A short hike of a few miles with our children was perfect.

On the way in...

We crossed some of the old turn of the century bridges.

And made our way to Petroglyph Rock.

The petroglyphs were pretty worn and not as distinct as I hoped.

But there's probably a reason for that. Erosion. And curious visitors, like our children. When we realized that people climbing on the rock made the glyphs more difficult to see, we shoo'd our kids off.

And continued on our way. We took various side trails to see what was about. One thing we found in abundance was guava trees.

Most of the trees didn't have fruit or they weren't ripe.

But there were more than enough ripe fruit if you had a keen eye.

And they were sweet, succulent and delicious.

Ohia over there.

The valley was verdant.

Yet when we saw color, it was mostly vibrant red. Like this guy hanging on the edge of a drop.

Or these hibiscus waiting to bloom.

My wife was in all her glory.

And she later reminded me that she held my nuts in the palm of her hand. As if I needed reminding. ;)

Like the tree embracing the rock, these vines clung on too. And there were lots of interesting rocks in the valley.

All things must come to an end, so we headed back out. Although most of us didn't go out with as much sass as these three.

When we got out, we found a nice spot to have a picnic lunch and a little extra play time for the kids and socializing for the parents.

Of course, there were some among us that had other ideas of what was a fitting end to a nice hike and lunch is.

Monkeys on ice

2010-02-22T14:16:00.000-10:00

Our picnic spot after our hike

2010-02-15T13:22:00.000-10:00

Talk about sassy!

2010-02-13T17:29:00.000-10:00

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

2010-02-13T17:15:00.000-10:00

Having our annual family get together. Thanks Auntie Lin.

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year dinner with my folks. I will make my
first attempt at jai.

Dreaming...

2010-02-11T22:10:00.000-10:00

Was in a long meeting today. But my mind was here...

And here...

And here...

And here...

sigh

One of the best ways to work off lunch...

2010-02-10T21:32:00.000-10:00

Granted, there are better ways. But few can match taking a nice unplanned hike unencumbered by gear. Since we are planning on taking the kids on a hike, I thought I would scout out our location in advance. So after a healthy lunch of a burger and fries, off I go.

I grabbed a small light shoulder bag that I keep in my truck, shove a canteen of water in there and a camera and off I go. I did also throw in a pack of tissues for just in case. The only other things I had with my was what was in my pockets. I guess that will be a later post.

Usually whenever I go on a hike, I make an offering of a stone wrapped in ti leaf. But this time, I didn't do it. Maybe because I wasn't planning on going very far...I don't know.

There were a lot of offerings that were left by others though. Piled rocks, rocks wrapped in leaves, fruits, etc.

The trail is easy and the kids will have no trouble with it.

There was a lot of beauty. Like this hibiscus.

And the trees were festooned with leis (garlands of flowers and/or leaves).

The patches of clear sky are always nice.

Generally, it was very dry. None of the streams were running and most of the stream beds were bone dry.

There was a lot to see, like these turn of the century bridges.

While there was water, I wouldn't drink it. Not even boiled or treated. I would only consider it if I thought I was going to die. And then I still might not drink it. If only it was running water.

One of the interesting sights is this dilapidated structure.

Another is this tree embracing a stone.

I think this place is a bushcrafter's paradise. There were stands of bamboo to give building material, pandanas trees for weaving mats and shelter roofs, lots of birds, fruit trees and palm trees, lots of dry grasses and ferns for tinder bundles.

This is one of the massive palms.

And vines galore for cordage.

And when you look off the trail, well it's a jungle out there.

But those are hau trees, they make cordage, fishing floats, and excellent friction fire materials. So other than it being dry, there are lots of materials to make use of. I was bummed that there were no fruits to be had today.

As I was walking along, enjoying myself, I heard this really deep rumble coming from deeper inside the valley that I was going into. It was loud, vibrating, and lasted for about a minute. All during the rumble, I kept going. Then I thought maybe it was the valley telling me to get back to work.

So I turned around and headed back out of the valley and back to work. Several hundred feet from the trail head, I did leave a parting gift.

I will be back with my family and we will likely do a portion of the trail. And later, when I make more time, I will be back to do the whole 11 miles or whatever it is. This trail, like many in Hawaii, will take you across the island to the other side.

Nagual Angel

2010-02-10T16:05:00.000-10:00

Last week we had the pleasure of meeting Linda and Mark from England.

They were larger than life and taller than the mountains. They graced us with their presence and brought goodies. That made the little monkeys' eyes get really big.

We all loved the infamous Kendall Mint Cakes and the shortbread cookies were most delicious.

We in turn, shared a Hawaiian meal. A little mini luau. Or as we say, some ono kine grindz. By the time I thought to take a picture, most of the laulau, lomi salmon, poi, poke, squid luau, kalua chicken, pulehu tako, and haupia was gone. Washed down with iced green tea, there was ALMOST no evidence.

When I downloaded the pictures from my camera today, I found that the girls took about 120 pictures! The little monkeys were the primary photographers. They were given a reprieve from school work and a change in routine to play outside and meet some nice folks. Of course, about 85% of the pictures they took were of...

They weren't trying to take a picture of dad. Look what is centered.

I realized when I saw this that I look like a big old bear. Teddy bear, of course.

After we were done with lunch and running around by the lake, the girls wanted to take Linda and Mark to our most recent camp site.

We hung out and chatted a little bit there, but the girls really wanted to take our guests foraging for guavas.

Angelic.

Dashing.

Silly!

Hanging out.

After a short while, the girls were tired of hanging out and were ready to forage.

I must admit, we were successful. And our guests and the little monkeys each had a little bag of succulent sweet guava. I think they were sweet and succulent. I am just realizing that I never even got a taste. Hey, what's up with that?!?

Well all good things had to end and we headed back to drop our visitors off. And head straight to two soccer practices. By the way, both of the girls' teams are still undefeated! Go girls!

Instead of dropping Linda and Mark off at their hotel, we left them in the Valley of the Temples, where they were able to continue their wanderings.

Thanks for visiting Linda and Mark. I wish we had more time to take you guys around. We hope you enjoyed your little visit with us and your stay here in Hawaii!

What a Monkey Looks Like

2010-02-10T09:17:00.000-10:00

Right before splashdown. She climbed in my bed and went splat on top of me. Hop on Pop is definitely a favorite game for my monkeys.

Mothra

2010-02-09T21:33:00.000-10:00

This moth had about a five inch wingspan. I thought it was pretty big.

Winter Camping...

2010-02-08T22:16:00.000-10:00

...in Hawaii. Well, for those of you in the cold, please have some sunshine to warm you up!

We had a chance to camp out prior to the start of soccer season a couple of weeks ago. So we did. Here's our home for four glorious days. We had no rain this time and the days were in the 70's and it got down as cold as the 50's overnight. I almost had to put on pants. ;)

After setting up our tent, I made a shelter for the kids. They like to have their own "clubhouse" to go along with the secret spots that they run off to. I thought their tarp shelter (a modified diamond fly) looked like a sci-fi raptor.

The kids love the wagons. They play with them every time we go camping.

They also love helping out with cooking.

And they really love eating!

They loved the hammock. They would almost fight over it.

Kids like playing in the dark.

Kids love trees and to explore.

Kids are silly.

So are moms.

We saw hang gliders and para gliders everyday. This was at maximum zoom on my camera. 15x, I believe.

Of course, we made fire. I brought various fire making tools to play with. These included the tinder tube I made earlier, the Spark-lite (mahalo Chris!) and a fire piston (mahalo Kalimalena) that I have always forgotten to bring to camp. These went along with the old stand bys, the ferro rod and flint and steel. And while I brought some hau wood for friction fire, no one wanted a go at it. One thing that I learned was that the chaga took a spark fine, but didn't work that well in the fire piston. Char cloth worked the best in the piston.

I also showed some of the guys how to make a soda can stove with a Swiss army knife.

Of course, kids like fire too so they made and maintained their own.

Gratuitous camp fire picture.

A most precious view that I awake to.Some scenery...

We had wonderful sunrises and sunsets.

I found a nice shady and secluded spot to do some Tai Chi and Kung Fu.

And of course, the mountains all around are beautiful.

Aloha!

2010-02-08T22:01:00.000-10:00

Lucky live Hawaii, as they say.

Lately, I have been noticing that photo hosting has been less reliable and I even heard that it is possible to pick up viruses from places like photobucket (thanks Alan for the heads up). So I thought a blog might be a more reliable way to share some of my outings.

The outings will be with family, friends as well as time out alone. It might include things I see around town. And it will definitely include stuff in the great outdoors.

Thanks for looking. I hope you enjoy. And your comments are always welcome.

Mahalo,
Hanzo