My Pal, Casey McKinley

Case had an incredible adventure at the Duke's Ocean Fest in Waikiki. He competed in the tandem competition with his neighbor, Brian Suratt. They rode a tandem surfboard together. Several days earlier, after a breathtaking ride, Case was quoted as saying, "I had an out of body experience. This was the best day of my life!"
Bravo, Case!!
(This photograph and the following four were taken at the Duke's Ocean Fest in Waikiki at Kuhio Beach, by the Duke Kahanamoku statue.)

My Newest Friends

Namika, on the left, and her sister, Luna, were in top shape for the events in the Duke's Ocean Fest. They were having a fine day with their mom and dad. They love to surf!! Like me!!

A Fellow Surfer

Namika adored me!! She especially wanted me to "ride" my little surfboard like she rides hers. Here I am catching a wave in her arms!

Big Wave Rider

Ken Bradshaw lives a few houses down from me at Sunset Beach. He's a surfer who rides the biggest waves on the Earth!! Here he is in Waikiki competing in the Dukes' Ocean Fest. He's been surfing since he was a young boy. He shapes surfboards for a job and loves it!
Check out his web site at KenBradshaw.com

My Parisian Pal

Here is Maximillian holding me in my garden in the mountains. We had fun together! He was always making me laugh with his happy smile and witty remarks. He was visiting the islands with his parents from Paris, France.
If you look really, really hard, you can see my friend, Honey Girl, to the left of Max, sitting on the ledge!

My Friend, Kaya

Kaya is a very kind and generous friend of mine who lives in the little beach town of Haleiwa. It's about 15 minutes from my home in Sunset Beach. He has the most beautiful lotus garden which he loves to share. I felt fortunate to visit with him and walk around viewing his flowers and sculptures and collectibles. As I was leaving, he invited me to have a ginger ale under a giant banyan tree. He had a little cooler there and the drinks were chilled to perfection. He is such a fine gentleman. And best of all, he has a great sense of humor!
The next five photographs were taken on his property.

Wow! What a Fountain!

I loved this fish sculpture in Kaya's garden. The water spouting from its mouth into the lotus pond made a beautiful sound. It was quiet and peaceful there. I was ready to lie down, curl up, and take my afternoon nap!

Hawaii Takes My Breath Away, Again!

Living in Hawaii is so special. Today I'm in Kaya's Lotus Garden.
Everyday I am able to experience beautiful scenes of mountains, valleys, exotic flowers, blue skies with floating clouds, waving palm fronds (which tell me I'm in a tropical place) and all the while feel the trade winds caress my whiskers. Best of all, I'm on the beach.

Being here keeps me healthy. Read THE VELVETEEN RABBIT and find out where the main character went to recover from his illness. It's a great book, and one of my favorites!

The Lotus Flower Up Close

This breathtakingly beautiful blossom is a lotus flower. It lives in ponds where the seed grows out of thick, oozy mud. In Hawaii it starts blooming in May and continues until September. Artists love to paint the lotus. Check out this website to see some fabulous paintings:
www.the-gallery-of-china.com

Making Sugar the Old Fashioned Way!

Growing sugar was very popular in Hawaii for a long time. Now all the cane is grown in southeast Asia.
I'm standing by a very old sugar cane press. Sugar cane is just giant grass. It was harvested and fed through the rollers on this wooden machine when a crank was turned. The juice was squeezed out and then "cooked down."
Presto---sugar!

Yikes! Geese Everywhere!

Kaya keeps geese and they love the ponds. They are good "watch dogs" too because they start honking and moving in if strangers approach.
They made me a little nervous. I wasn't sure if they thought I was a stranger!!

My "Made in Hawaii" Surfing Throne

Last weekend I had a lot of fun. I went to the Made in Hawaii Show in Honolulu. There were over two hundred businesses selling items from cookies to t-shirts to photographs to sculptures. I could go on and on. I stopped and talked to lots of friendly people and tasted many yummy treats. I'll go again next year for sure. The following six pictures were taken while I was there!

Above the Crowd

Wow, look at me way up high! Kimberly Walsh is always clowining around and telling jokes. She's a fun person! She's standing in front of her business. She sells the coolest switch plate covers. She has a web site if you want to buy one or two. The address is on the banner above us. I left her feeling all happy inside!!

An Artisian from Sunset Beach

Karen Howes is one of Mom's friends. She works at Sunset Beach Elementary. She also sells yummy food and handmade crafts (like those on the tree) at the Farmer's Market at the school every Saturday morning. She liked me a lot, especially after she looked at a photo of me on my summer trip. She had been to to same town, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, with her sister several years before and was very excited when she saw me there too!

Ummmmmmm, Lavender

I was so lucky! Mom placed me in a big tub of fresh lavender to take this picture. We were at a booth that sold soooooo many items made with the herb-----lip balm, misters, bubble bath, and even scones to eat! The farm that grows the lavender has tours all year long and you can even make crafts there. It's called the Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm and is located on the island of Maui. As they say, "Maui No Ka Oi!"

One Happy Wahine

Moana adored me!! She is a recycle artist and had lots of her creations displayed at the Made In Hawaii Show. Her big smile and bright eyes made me happy!

The Printmaker

Aren't those cool colors and designs behind me? Phillip is an artist who creates pictures and silk screens them on t-shirts and dishtowels. I bought one that had the cutest little dogs on it!! (If you look very carefully, notice the tip of my surfboard sticking out of my backpack to the left of Phillip's hand with the red bracelet.

Baby Clothier

Here I am with Dara. She makes cool clothes for babies. Lots of people stopped at her stall and oogled her baby wear. Do you think some of those little outfits would look good on me? Are they my colors?

The Young Artist

Mickey Wooley is a twin. He and his brother, Nat, are opening a brand new silk screening business and gallery in an old sugar plantation town called Waialua. (It's about 15 miles from my home at Sunset Beach.) They are renting a Bank of Hawaii building that is many, many years old. Their shop is across from the public library.
I am very excited!
They will be printing the first of my clothing line. Hooray!

A Farmer's Market in Paradise

I'm heading into the largest farmer's market on Oahu. It's every Saturday morning near Diamond Head at Kapiolani Community College. I love all the fresh food and flowers, and so does Mom!! I sure am glad she' packin' me on her back, otherwise, I might get trampled!! Yikes!!