Generally I’m not one for huge celebrations of birthdays, but Annika likes to take it to another level. Some people go for a birthday week, well Annika puts on a birthday month. In the  two years of dating both birthdays have been unlike anything I’ve experienced. This one was unique in a lot of ways, letting go and seeing what came my way was an awesome experience. The first week of October came to be filled with games of pool, good food and great talks with some amazing people. The open doors to get to know my buddy Carl a bit better were some of the highlighting moments as well. So many things happened this month that it’s somewhat unreal. These photographs are snapshots of some of my favorite times. The one above was taken at “Manini Beach”. The day started with a knock on the door with a blond haired smile holding Safeway bags filled with groceries. Annika was prepared to cook up a feast of a breakfast. This image sums it up… More food than I could handle, but it was delicious. Inside out omelet filled with mushrooms, olives, cheese, bacon and spices. Along with another full plate of hash browns and a couple Croissant.
Our buddy Chris that works at the Coffee Lounge was kind enough to loan Annika his Subaru Crosstreck for us to use for a day. So after breakfast we took some time with my sister Savanna and hit up Manini Beach (Shown Above). My sisters are some of my favorite people in the world, they always make me laugh and know the right buttons to push in order to have a good time. The drive from my mothers house in Kealakekua to Manini Beach is incredible. There’s quite the elevation drop during the swirling switchback road. This entire week the ocean was stirred with a western swell that brewed some amazing waves. When we arrived to the turquoise water, we all realized that the inner tube floats were not going to be put to use. The waves were over head and far too rough to risk getting demolished against the rocks. So we set up the hammock, drank a few beers and had some good laughs instead. The view here is unreal, the hillside towering above, lava rocks that have been smoothed down from the constant roaring waters. We sat basking in the sunlight watching the oceans song pick up in tempo and raw aggression. After a few hours spent with the girls the next adventure began. Savanna was dropped off and Annika and I rendezvoused with Carl and Abby. I had no idea what was on the agenda, but was content with letting it roll out before me. We stopped at a local grocery store called KTA for some grub. Wandering around the place, we ended up with steak, brats, guacamole, smokey sausages, ginger beer and chips. So far we’re off to an awesome start for the evening. Piling into the Subaru we jetted up North to a beach called “Engine Blocks” It’s a somewhat secluded area and a decent walk along the beach to get to where we were headed. But in the end we stopped just before the rocks separate sand from sea. A large fire pit was amidst our presence pre fabricated with tinder and small branches. Throwing our gear and food down, we proceed to gather ridiculous amounts of palm tree palms and random free floating drift wood along the beach.

Once we got the fire going it was time to have some fun. The sun was just crossing over to the other side of the world and ocean was glowing in a spectacular display of colors. I was taking photos admiring the scene, but Carl was exploring the seas distant faces peaking above. The water looked amazing and began to call the rest of us in. The perfect temperature to jump in and be warmed by the fire we had just built. Campfires on the beach are something else, especially on the Big Island. It’s somewhat difficult to find a place you can legally have a fire without driving long distances. The perspective of Hawaii from this location is unique – the sun is setting to the south, the waves are pounding far off shore, Maui is standing tall in the NorthWest distance and the North shore of the Big Island wraps around dead ahead. The sun was unusually gorgeous on this evening.

Out of the water and back on the sand we gathered around the fire to get warm. Nearly fading and down to the smoldering coals, I had to stoke the fire, giving some heaving breathes beneath the palm branches. The fire roared back to life and it was definitely time for some dinner. We didn’t bring along a metal grate or anything so we busted out the steak and cooked them simply on sticks. Seasoned with a citrus beer they sizzled and cooked while we continued messing about telling stories and laughing. Cans of chili and potatoes wrapped in foil were tossed in the fire to join our cooking meal. I jammed the guitar and listened to the meat crackle and it’s juices drip into the fire. The girls laughed and sang – Carl managed one of the steaks, ours rested between two larger sticks to hold in place over the fire. This reminded me of some trips back in Arizona. My dad and I used to drive out to Scottsdale with our dogs and some kind of meat (usually chicken) for the evening. We’d watch the satellites over head and often play guitar. We had our own spot picked out that would over look the city, it was our getaway. With the steaks browned on the outside and well done on the inside it was chow time. We prayed and dug in, the first bite was the best, a little bit of crunch from the caramelized beer seasoning and juicy inside. We passed around the chips and made a dip with guacamole and chili. Filled to the gullet it was time for desert. Annika covertly blew up balloons and made a make shift cake from Mounds chocolate candy. The balloons were really cool because they had small LEDs on the inside that would make them glow bright. After eating I decided to take some long exposure shots of our shenanigans about the fire. Having left the tripod at home, I had to utilize what was around me in the moment. Apologies for some of the blurry ones.

Even though you can’t see exactly what is happening in all these images because of the blurry content. There still kind of interesting ghostly creatures that float among the images. Imagine time slowing down in your head in order for it to actually happen. For you to realize that you have control of how you perceive your own joy and the joy of the situation around you is a great opportunity to be completely immersed in life. Or maybe this is just my own way of looking at things.

The night came to a close with the long walk back to the car, a solid 45 minute drive to Kona town, then some more laughs and discussion about what’s coming up in the next few days. The moon was bright and over hanging as we said our goodbyes. It was a good start to the real celebrations. The next day was interesting
Sunday the 29th. My mom wanted to take us out to breakfast so I was up bright and early at 7 Am. She picked Annika and I up and took us out to a local joint by the town Pier called “Oceans”. We have eaten there a bunch for lunch, but never had been for breakfast. Mom shared some stories of me growing up and how I came to be. The view from Oceans is incredible, overlooking the pier and the bay where the world Iron Man starts off. The water is a unique hue here, sandy reflections with boats flowing in and out. We had plans to go check out a couple of motorcycles/scooters as well this morning before church. The one that I wanted to check out was a 1990 Honda NX250 Enduro, Annikas was a 2010 Kymco Like50 scooter. We stopped at the Honda first and I looked it over. The battery was dead so I couldn’t be 100 percent that it would run, but the lady was fairly confident that it would as she used to ride it often. Her original ad was at $1000, then I decided to wait a day, so she dropped it to $500 or best offer. I offered her $200, but she met me at $300. So $300 for a decent enduro to get me around town and to gigs until I can get a solid running car. I told her to hold if for me while I got a truck and checked out Annikas scoot. The scooter is a nice little runner, 50cc and clean. Good for her to ride around to work anyway. She snatched it up for a couple more hundred than I paid for mine. After the wreck we went from four wheels on a car, to four wheels on two bikes.

The Bikes ready to go, we had a few more tasks on the agenda for the day. I had to buy a new battery to throw in the NX250 and we had to buy some supplies for a Halloween costume party. I had talked Annika into us dressing up as Mia Wallace and Vince Vega from Pulp Fiction. Not the best of positive influential characters in cinema, but we thought it would be a good laugh. My buddy Carl agreed to drive us up to the NX250 after buying a battery just incase it wouldn’t run. He randomly stopped by a garage sale near the motorcycle and I found a helmet for 10 bucks. We  swapped the old battery for the new and the bike fired right up. Sounded good too. I rode it home  with a clean title in hand for about $400 after the battery was purchased. Now the fun was to begin for the evening. We prepared ourselves for something neither of us had really done. A costume party… Some quick black hair die in mine and a cheap bb gun I turned into Vince. A black wig with straight cut bangs and a white blouse and she was Mia. Off to the shenanigans filled with awesome home made platters that everyone bought. Carl arrived as a wild sushi chef. Our friend group is filled with solid folks.Getting to know them over the last year has been a great experience, especially when it comes to being pushed out of the comfort zone. I was never into big gatherings or parties much, but when you have good people around it changes the dynamics. There was some delicious home made grub and overall chill scenarios. This group always is in for athletic activities and we often play Ultimate Frisbee on Mondays and Fridays. The party was starting to die down so we decided to play some ultimate glow frisbee. Someone had picked up a load of glow sticks, so we all put two on our wrists and one on the neck to identify players and each team had their own color. Taping half a dozen to the top of the frisbee allowed us to see where the disc was at in the air. I thought this was way more fun than even the regular frisbee. It gave more of a challenge and a cool visual aspect as well.

October the 30th – My actual Birthday : I slept in, deep sleep. Took it slow, played guitar, drank copious amounts of coffee and then proceeded to the Coffee Lounge for even more coffee and to hang out. There were plans to go get another game of frisbee in around 5:30 or so and then some top secret agenda that Annika had put on. I didn’t really have any idea, but just wanted to be surprised. So between 2 and 5 we went for a ride to the End of the World. Taking the long way round, time spaced out and dramatized each turn. Just as fast as the road twisted into the straights, the clock spun quickly and was time for the frisbee throwing to begin. Now I was particularly excited for this game, not necessarily for the disc throwing, but because of some words that my buddy Chris from the Coffee Lounge had said. He owns a Ducati Monster, one of my dream motorcycles. His words being “I’ll let you take my Ducati out for a spin sometime” kept echoing in my head since being at the lounge. We showed up when only a few people were there, I stood next to my enduro waiting and watching the sun slowly set. Someone threw the frisbee over the fence into the parking lot, so I ran and grabbed it. Just as I reach down for the disc I hear the low mean sound of his Ducati roaring around the corner. Now, this sound alone is enough to get the heart pumping and even a calm person such as I giddy. Chris pulls up next to my enduro and parks, I wait patiently for the words. Another rider and good friend Vlad hopped over the fence saying “Todays the day!” He gets on and takes it for a quick rip around the parking lot. But then the words were said. Chris looks at me and asks with the key dangling in his lifted hand. “You wanna take it for a spin?” I just nod my head yes with a smile and take a seat on the work of art. It has been a while since I’ve been on a bike with such power. The last one I road was a CBR600, which is a different animal. Getting used to the controls and stance, my thumb switches up the kill switch to engage the ignition button. The Monster roars to life and immediately I can feel the warm exhaust pipes beneath my thigh. Getting going is a joy, so smooth and the bike just wants to scream down the road. I took it on the highway for a few minutes and really opened up the throttle, there are few words that can describe the feeling that this gave me. But it was a rush to say the least.

Next on the list was the surprise moment but Someone let it slip out, so I figured it out. The crew was going to the Kona Brewery, one of my favorite spots for Pizza and beer. They have one in particular that I enjoy called the Kua Bay it goes really well with the pizza that we ordered called the Captain Cooke. We all really enjoyed the night, more people came out than I was expecting. I’d say this was one of the best birthdays of my life.