Coconut pancake mountain

The alarm on my wrist watch beeped at 6:20 AM. I turned it off and went back to sleep. This set the tone for a day that seems to be fairly typical for me in Hawaii. I don't know if it is the humidity or what. All I do know is that it can be hard to get motivated. Sometime around 8:30 AM I managed to roll out of the small thin matress that sits on the floor of Caio's room. He is my 8 year old nephew. I remembered last night, trying to sleep out on the porch. I grabbed a big towel and drifted off to sleep as the wind blew thru the trees, improvised musical tunes with all the various chimes and gently brushed my skin. At some point past 1 AM, my ankles begin to itch enough to awaken me. I scratch and scratch and scratch before a mosquitoe starts to whisper in my ear with its trademark high whiney buzz, inadvertanly confessing and ruining its midnight snack. Thus I find a cause to rest my tired feeling on.

Every one here is up and about. Roberto informs me that the waves are smaller today. He invites me to join in on breakfast in Laie, a small town 15 minutes up the coast from here. Liz, Roberto, Caio, Jade and I fit comfortably in Roberto's black Ram pick up truck. On the way, Robeto drops off the various recycleables and recieves $8.45 for his trouble. You have to count and separate your cans and plastic. There were people in front of us so the process took about 10 minutes. The diner that we walk into has that small town feel. All the tables are packed. A table clears and we all sit down. I end up ordering a stack of 3 coconut pancakes. Liz eats a vegetarian omlette, Caio a waffle, Roberto coconut pancakes and Jade a coconut pancake.

Back in the house by the beach, the pancakes seem to compound the humidity's impact and I lay on the couch with my laptop on my lap dozing off. Roberto wakes me "Do you want to go hiking with us?"

"No, thanks" I respond. "I think I'll just hang here and catch some waves later."

Roberto tries his best to entice me but I need some quiet time and some waves. I surf the net first. Take Lipoa to the beach and study the waves here at Backyards. I watch a lone surfer catching waves. He is able to ride each wave and keep his momentum going until it reforms. He cuts easily on the wave despite being on a board that's at least 7.5 ft long or so. Maybe 8 ft. Lipoa sits next to me on the picnic bench, breathing in the ocean breeze.

I return to the house, lock it up, put on Liz's spring wet suit, say good bye to the dozing Lipoa, grab her 8 ft V board and walk the 70 yards or so to the beach. My only company out there will be two wind surfers. They zip by me as they ride the waves. They start further out and take them further in. In comparison my progress is like a snail's. The wind blows and the sky is filled with clouds. The sets are small but consistent and I begin to easily catch waves. At one point, a seabird zings by me as he travels only feet above the churning sea, eyes wide open, searching for his next meal. The waves keep on coming and I keep on catching. My goal is to reach 10. No problem. My final wave, #10, takes me almost all the way to shore. The reef is rough, sharp and uneven. I take my time and step easily onto the sand.