traveling is so amazing. it’s the experience, the friends, and the memories. but most of all, it makes me realize how good we have it here in hawaii. each time i leave, i appreciate hawaii and my lifestyle much more. rain doesn’t bother me. traffic doesn’t bother me. and pretty much nothing bothers me. i’m in a great place mentally and spiritually. i take my friends surfing and i’m feeling just as good as they are. the more they look around and realize how beautiful hawaii is, so do i. and to spend my life in the ocean is just the icing on the cake. i seriously feel like it’s my first time to hawaii each and every time i come home. i love it!

Inaida-san is very technical when it comes to surfing. he just wants to get better and better. yesterday was a big jump in his surfing level. much more confident riding bigger waves. longer rides, and bigger smiles. i keep on telling everybody that it is never too late to start surfing, Inada-san is a perfect example of that.

and i still can’t believe that Yuki-san only started surfing 3 years ago. she surfs like she’s been surfing her whole life. amazing!

i pretty much have my hang 5 down. it’s pretty easy to get to the nose and ride it the whole way. now i’m trying to hang 10. i think i’m almost there! i just have to do what i tell everybody else to do, LOOK FORWARD AND BEND YOUR KNEES!!!! haha.

What??? Backdoor and Pipeline in May? 5:45am.
3-4′ right now and GOOD!
South shore waist high and GOOD!
Diamond Head shoulder high and perfect again.
No wind so perfect conditions.
Super sunny and warm day.
Going surfing!
Have a wonderful day!

when i passed by Diamond Head this morning, i couldn’t believe how perfect it was! super good swell direction, perfect winds, and overhead rides lasting over 2 minutes. there were about 40 surfers out but more than enough waves to go around.

there was a kayak out in the deep blue ocean so somebody must have called 911. 3 fire trucks, police, and a lot of spectators were looking out at the kayak. i thought to myself, “oh, it must just be another crazy blue water diver with his kayak.” haha. his kayak was right on the ledge where the ono’s come in. from land, it looks crazy to see somebody way out there, but the diver probably didn’t even know anybody was looking for him. i was just happy to see the fire fighters doing their job of making sure everybody is safe. this is the part where hawaii is number one in the world.

Lighthouse has been the best spot by far on the whole island. i seen some solid 3′ sets breaking perfectly.

i took Sakamoto-san to bowls and we scored some awesome waves. i was so stoked to see him surfing much better than the time he came 2 years ago. surfing better and smiling more. this kid loves to surf.

then i went to pick up his father and we ate lunch. Mr. Sakamoto is a young 70 years old and super energetic. he’s worked his whole life and now is enjoying his retirement to come. a very kind man with a big heart. i really like this family a lot as i can feel the love. it’s just so amazing.