OMG, welcome back summer! the blue sky, the warm water, and the cool trade winds. it was a perfect day! so happy to be back to normal here in hawaii and as for the weather for the past 10 days? i don’t know what that was!!! but for the next 10 days, it will be looking super good for now!

i was down at ala moana park yesteday watching everybody starting to line up for the floating lantern ceremony. it got too crowded so i came home and watched it on tv. omg, i couldn’t believe how many people were down there!

i’m not a religious kind of guy so watching this ceremony on tv was a learning experience. each lantern was a symbol of a loved one that passed away. it was kind of sad watching the people light the candle and setting the lantern on the water.

this woman is the top of the top in buddhism. her name is Her Holiness Shinso Ito.

and yes, ala moana beach park looked amazing once the sun set. such a beautiful japanese ceremony bringing people from all walks of life together. at each and every memorial day, i always remember my Grandpa and Grandma Osaki, and my Grandma Fukunaga. they are the reason i breathe the air do today. and i am very thankful for that. maybe next year i’ll place a lantern in their memory. and if i do, i know i will cry. it’s sad even thinking about it.

watching someone play the Koto brings me chicken skin. i can still clearly hear the songs my grandma use to play for us when i was a little kid. Sa—Ku—Ra—

well, the waves were awesome! uncrowded surf all day long. had fun surfing with Akudo-san this morning, then had fun surfing with Eriko-san this afternoon. more surfing all day every day all week. going to be a busy week, but a very happy one too. see you in the water. goodnight for now.