Happy New Year!!

I’m still posting stories from earlier in the trip, but since it is 12am on 1/1/9, I should say Happy New Year!!!  Cheers to another great year,and I hope everyone is safe tonight.

I’m off in Waikiki with some friends. We’re going on the theory that tonight is a great night not to drive. Even if you’re sober, somebody else won’t be.  So again, be safe.

Now on to story time:

Friday Bob dragged me along with him for a run. Actually I ran, he rode a bike. It’s a lot like what I do with my dad, only since I’ve been forcing myself to run really slow the last week (to ensure I don’t re-injure my ankle) Bob has to be really good at balancing a bike between 8 and 10 mph.  It turned out to be a great ride, about an hour on the nose, and I had a great conversation while I did it.  I came back just in time to meet up with Marion Summerer at the pool. I gave her a quick stroke lesson, then hopped into the 75 degree water for a shockingly cold swim that made me happy it was so sunny out.

After the swim I had lunch at my old workplace, India Cafe. I walked in through the back door, said hello to the wait staff and chefs, then made myself a plate and sat down for lunch with the owner who invited me to a table with his brother and a friend. I love the people in Hawaii, they just make you feel welcome, even when you’re just scheming for really good Indian food (ranked the best Indian Cuisine on the Island for a few years in a row now, even though it’s more Malaysian style.)

With a belly full of spicy lamb curry, I met up with my old roomy, Tai Blechta, for a quick spin around Tantalus, which is by far my favorite ride on Oahu.  The ride is a ten mile loop that goes up 2100 feet in five miles, then descends back down with views of Manoa (where U of Hawaii campus is located), Waikiki, Diamond Head, and downtown. Oh yeah, and no traffic at all.

A quick pit-stop back in Hawaii Kai let me shower and recharge myself for a night on the town with Adam.  We headed into Waikiki, and found a very relaxing hole-in-the-wall wine bar, where we easily met a half dozen international tourists with interests varying from shopping at Luis Vuitton for purses to finding somebody special to help with getting a green card. Socializing through language barriers was interesting enough I wasn’t even tempted by what looked to be some of the best Gelato in Hawaii.

I didn’t sleep well in Adam’s currently under construction condo in Waikiki, and I was craving a nap back home in Hawaii Kai. By mid-afternoon I was ready for a long workout.  I woke up Bob from a nap that would make a coma patient jealous, and convinced him to join me.  I went exploring from Hawaii Kai to Sandy’s beach and ended up running 22km, which is probably one of my five longest runs ever.  It was slow, but it felt good, and satisfied a craving for a long run that I’ve had for a while now. The highlight of the run was when I asked a guy if I could use his hose for a drink, then proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes doing laps around a park because the water made a b-line for my lower intestine. Ok, that wasn’t the highlight, the highlight was that Bob had split off to start back up heart break hill saying he would wait for me.  I took so much time at the park that I was sure he’d be gone, but as I crested the hill he was standing there with his arms extended.  He had waited for me, and didn’t seem to mind at all. Uncle Bob is totally the man.

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As if he hasn’t done enough for me, Bob took us out for dinner at an Italian place where I filled upon wonderful seafood and pasta. It was exactly what I needed to get me ready for the epic ride Sunday morning…