there is a casino in my hotel!   went there with the boys to gamble.   but i’m not a gambler so i didn’t lose anything.  but it was fun watching the boys lose all their money.  haha. i get a call this morning at 5:30am from Peter King.  he invites me for a foil and told me i don’t need to bring anything.  5 minutes later, i was running to his hotel full speed.  no brushing teeth, no breakfast, and no nothing.  i didn’t want to miss the chance to try the new JS foil board he just got.  by the way, it was super cold but after running that much, i was sweating.  haha.. Peter King is hooked more than anyone i know on foiling.  this kid makes me laugh so much.  thanks for setting up my board! then the Chinese came to check us out.  they were probably thinking “i can make that $2,000 foil for $60.”  haha.. you should have seen us out early this morning at Snapper Rocks.  i caught my first wave all the way to the beach past Greenmount.  it took 2.5 minutes to get there and my legs were burning!  then i caught so many more good ones.  those were my longest waves in my life!  one guy said that these past few days were the best it ever gets for foiling. after 2 hours of foiling, i came back to my best friend Matthew’s foil shop and we got ready to go back out again.  yes, Matt is my new best friend!  haha…  borrowed JS foil board from Peter King, borrowed Dakine leash from John John Florence, and borrowed Signature Foil from Matthew.   i’ve been foiling 2 rounds per day on the best foiling waves of my life.  nothing in Hawaii can even compare to the waves here.   then come home and get a text and photos from Nana-chan.  OMG!  she took these beautiful photos of Seth yesterday during his heat.  i just love it!!! i’m still in disbelief that this day has finally come.  it feels just like yesterday when Seth was just a little baby… i love this photo so much!  Seth coming in after winning his heat.  total calmness and total confidence.  he just created the upset of the day beating Julian Wilson.thank you again Nana-chan for the priceless photos!!!  i’m totally living in my dream life right this moment and i don’t want anyone to wake me up!!!

 Seth better get use to post heat winner interviews because this is only the beginning.   the sand is so fine here that it squeaks when you walk.  it’s so weird!  wake up in the morning and train.  Kelia is so fit!  i wouldn’t want to get her mad!   it’s so cool to see professional athletes training so hard to become the worlds best.  i was surprised to see Seth’s eye to hand coordination.   punching a tennis ball on a elastic string so accurately.   it looked so had to do.  and with Coach Rainos in his corner, Seth will keep on upsetting the worlds best surfers. so good to see Occy at the contest.  i got to have a chat with him and told him how much i use to admire his surfing style, and still do…when ever i see Kelia, i get happy.  she has a way of bringing joy to millions of people around the world.  there is something very special about her…

 i went to get a full body massage and it turned out to be good, and bad.  good because the lady was really good, bad because the lady forgot to massage my arms.   she said “no more time.”  really? weather has been funky here.  heavy rain off and on.  but amazing views like this so it’s all good. wet surfers don’t get to ride in the car, they ride in the back.   this is a professional surfers job.   rain or shine… woke up this morning, foiled, watch the contest, and foiled again.  two rounds of foiling the longest wave in my life. Seth is fully prepared for anything.  i don’t know how he can be so calm? maybe it’s easy to stay calm when you’re staying in a place like this? this was a couple of hours before his heat this morning.  the media following Seth around everywhere.   and so cool to see a bunch of his Hawaiian friends fly all the way here to support him.  i know it means a lot to  him. i will remember this day for the rest of my life.  Seth beat world #2 Julian Wilson in round 1.  he beat him with both surfing, and strategy.   very impressive for his World Tour debut.  welcome to the Moniz era… now this kid has fans all over the world.   and little fans too.  Seth loves kids so he will always take the time out for a photo or autograph.   seen a huge poster of Kelia on the wall so decided to take a photo with her.  haha…after Seth won his heat, we went to eat a healthy and happy lunch.  i was so tired from being so nervous for him all day long.  all i want is the best for this kid and win or lose, we will love him the same…

then went for a sunset foil session with Tony.  i rode a wave for over 2 minutes.  it was the closest feeling of flying like a bird for so long.  will foil 2 rounds again tomorrow.  can’t wait!