Beach House Weekend

Went to the beach house!  I got to try out my new surfboard, The Stoker!  Me and Ryan went to Puenas to catch some little waves.  My board doesn't have a leash, and it cant have one cause theres no plug or loop (Ryan didn't get to it yet).  So it will have to wait 25 days!  Ryan leaves on Tuesday to start his adventure with UH at Sea!  

Waxing up The Stoker!

Ryan on our Uncle's wave ski.

Check out this picture of the moon rise!

Ohi'a

My new camera is awesome!  It takes great pictures!

Glass Jewelry

I was chilling at Sunset Beach today with one of my best friends, Jessica!  She makes glass jewelry and she wanted to try and sell them to the tourists!  We didn't sell anything today, but there were a lot of people who stopped to look.  Check out her work!

This is the pendant that I made!  I chose the rock look instead of the beach glass!  I think Jessica is the real artist, let me know if you are interested in any of the pieces!  She'll be making more in the next two weeks to bring up to Alaska to sell.

Nice sunny day, but no waves on the North Shore today :(  I think we were too hopeful....

Adventurers

Ryan is off on his adventure, and soon I will be off to mine with HYCC!

He's doing the first ever UH at Sea this summer!  It's a class about ocean conservation and for three weeks he will be on a sailboat!  Here's where they will be going:

• Leg 1 O'ahu to Mokumanamana (Necker Island) and French Frigate Shoals (FFS)
• Leg 2 FFS to Kaua'i
• Leg 3 Kaua'i to Moloka'i
• Leg 4 Moloka'i to Maui
• Leg 5 Maui to the Big Island
• Leg 6 Big Island to O'ahu

Doesn't that sound like so much fun!?  However, the class comes at a steep price!  But the students will get so much experience by the time it's over, including how to captain a ship!

In one more week, I will start working with Hawai'i Youth Conservation Corps (HYCC)!  There are teams on all the islands; O'ahu has three.  I am one of two leaders for one of the teams and I have 12 high school and college students on my team.  HYCC has prepared a schedule for us to participate in hands-on experiences that highlight important conservation issues in Hawai'i.  Here are the organizations we will be working with:

• Na Ala Hele
• United States Marine Corps
• Natural Area Reserves System
• Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC)
• Ahahui Malama i ka Lokahi

Both of us have an exciting summer coming up!  I will definitely keep you guys updated!

Remember that bird I saw on the Manoa Cliff tral?  It's called a White-Rumped Shama.  There were introduced to O'ahu in the 1960's and are naturally found in Asia, like in India and Sri Lanka. They sing beautiful songs, so next time you go hiking, keep a lookout for them!

I think every post should include a picture (it's makes the post more fun)!  So I will end with this beautiful picture of my friend who works in the forest everyday!  Him and his team climb trees and cut the branches that are too close to the power lines.  Here he is in an Albezia tree, 75 feet up!  Sometimes they climb up to 200 feet high!  What a job!  Click on the picture and you can see him better, he's the little guy in the tree on the right!

Manoa Cliff Trail

I went hiking on Manoa Cliff trail this weekend with Ryan and some other friends. There were so many native plants! Lama, koki'o ke'oke'o, mamaki, uluhe, koa, ohi'a, ike'ike, uki'uki, hilo holly, ti leaf, kopiko, and lots of ginger! Ryan was teaching me all the names of the plants, in preparation for HYCC!

Check out the view of Kane'ohe Marine Base

We kept seeing this bird! Does anyone know what it is? It looks exotic, very beautiful!

Stone pathway:

This is a rare species of heart-shaped tree fungus:

Ground orchid:

Glassing on a Fin 101

Glassing on a fin is easy! If you're Ryan! Hahahaha. Here he is setting the fin:

Nice and straight!

Now it's time to glass the fin on!

So easy!

Cut the extra cloth while it's gelling, don't wait till it's cured! Isn't it beautiful!?

THANKS RYAN!!!!

The Stoker and the Koa Fin

Ryan is almost done with The Stoker! I'm getting really excited! Check out his fill coat! This is looking at the deck, from the tail to the nose.

He had some koa wood laying around (random), so he decided to shape me a koa fin! :) I couldn't say no! This is before foiling:

After foiling:

Ryan was covered in koa dust! (instant tan)

Banana Skateboards

My dad made these two skateboards back in the 1970s-ish. Me and Ryan decided to fix them up! At first the wheels wouldn't spin, but after a little bit of WD-40, they were just like new!

These are the Stoker Wheels that I'm naming my new board after!



Check out the deck!

The Stoker!

The Stoker, my new EPS 7'9" min longboard is almost complete! :) We are in the process of glassing it! So far it's got glass on the deck, Ryan is cutting the lap at this very moment! Isn't it beautiful?! I'm still trying to decide what kind of design to decorate it with! I've got POSCA pens, DECO pens, and clear acrylic sealer - the possibilities are endless!

Mangos

I love love love mangos!!!!!!!! So when Ryan told me he had some, I just couldn't refuse! Yum! :)

Anna Millers

My mom took me to Anna Millers a couple nights ago to celebrate my graduation! Did you know that you can get a slice of pie with a dinner entrée for only 99 cents? I love pie!

Ryan's mom made me another lei! Isn't it beautiful? I took it with my new camera! It can accent any color!

Gecko Shoes

My dad bought these silly shoes, they're called Vibram. They're supposed to be really comfortable and you can use them for hiking, walking, running, or SUPing - that's what my dad's using them for! I think they look silly! They remind me of geckos! I wouldn't be surprised if I came home one day and he was walking on the ceiling! Hahahaha

Marko Blanks

For my graduation gift, my mom took me to Surflight Hawaii to get an EPS blank! It's the only place on the island that sells it! It's going to be a 7'9" all arounder board, one that you can nose ride or throw around! Check it out!

Graduation

This past Saturday I finally graduated from UH Manoa! It was such an exciting experience!

I painted my cap with a jellyfish so that it would be easier for my friends and family to spot me from the bleachers.

I graduated with a BA in Environmental Studies and a certificate with the Marine Option Program. Maybe now that schools over I can surf more often! :)