Shawn Fujimoto is one of the best divers i know. he taught me a lot about diving and has caught more fish than any other diver in hawaii. i still can’t believe i met him in the ala moana parking lot about 5 years ago. he was getting ready for a dive, i was getting ready for a surf. we talked, we exchanged phone numbers, and now we’re friends. cool!

on the left is expert diver Vernon Takata. and on the right is Vernon Podlewski. i met these 2 Vernon’s for the first time yesterday and now i’m looking forward to diving with them again. super fun!

all our gear together would cost thousands of dollars. but that’s nothing compared to all the fish we eat and share with our loved ones.

shawn’s boat has nice soft comfortable seats for everybody. it’s hard not to fall asleep.

i drank one huge power drink, i drank one big bottle of water, i ate one big bento from zippy’s. and on the way home, i ate one greasy cheeseburger. i loved every bite!

can you believe today was my first day off since i came back from the mentawai? and before i left, i don’t even know when i had a full day to go play. last night, my job for today was cancelled. then i get a call from my dive friend shawn who also hasn’t been able to dive for a while because of his job. i really wanted to stay home today, turn on my air conditioner, and relax. but when somebody invites me for a dive, there’s no way i’m turning it down. i wake up at 4am, i drive to hawaii kai, hook up shawn’s boat, drive to waianae, and dive all day. i surely needed some really deep breaths!

you couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. going on my boat gives me a little stress because i have a big responsibility. so when i go on my friends boat, i can just sit back and relax.

i forgot to take my fin socks so i started getting blisters on my feet. went back to the boat, taped it up, and dove all day. shawn tells me that we were going to start off shallow. my first drop was 40′ or 12 meters. that’s shallow to him. my breath holding felt pretty good all day long. felt super relaxed deep on the bottom lying down waiting for the fish.

see that broom fish? the colorful one? that is the best sashimi hawaii has to offer. when i seen that, my mouth started to water. now it will be one of my fresh dinners this week.

i’ve heard a lot about this guy Vernon Takata. he’s won many free diving tournaments, been in all the skin diving magazines, and on tv regularly. today i was a student. i just watched as these professionals did what they do best. check out this huge flounder!

on our last dive, a mother dolphin and her newly born baby swam right by us. a great way to end the day.
south shore swell came up. i’m going surfing tomorrow morning. my body and soul couldn’t feel any better!

i surfed with the coolest couple from Shizuoka yesterday. Mr. and Mrs. Tomita, one longboard, one shortboard. we surfed for 3 hours and caught so many long waves. then ate curry, talked, laughed, and had a great time. Mahalo to the both of you and hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Hawaii.

ok, i have to say that my sister is getting good at photography. this is one great photo! and after i finally get the same lens she has, she goes and buys another one. i swear that Canon is a smart company. kind of like Apple where you need everything they make. i’m going broke trying to keep up with technology and my sister. haha.

ok, i bet my sister doesn’t have a photo like this. i took this on the 4th of july from the ilikai hotel. not bad for a surfer yeah? haha.

and i bet my sister doesn’t have a shot like this. i took this from the Ilikai looking up at the Modern Hotel. haha. the Modern Hotel promotes its privacy. i don’t think so! haha.

after taking these photos to adjust my lens, i told myself that i would never stand on any hotel balcony naked ever again. haha.

and last, been getting so many comments on my new wetsuit. i just wanted something different so i ordered a front zip 2mm white wetsuit with one arm black. i got so many good compliments. one guy even ran up to me as i got out of the water and asked “hey, where can i get one of those cool wetsuits?” well, here it is! it’s called a Dove Wetsuit and i’ve been using it for the past 20 years. and if you know me, i only use the best! CLICK HERE TO GET THE BEST WETSUIT IN THE WORLD!