The Helpful One-Armed Man

Every morning on the way to work, I stop at a 7-Eleven for a cup of coffee. Today, I also bought two 12-pack cases of soda that happened to be on sale. I paid for my purchases and headed for the door trying to balance both cases under one arm while holding the small coffee in my other hand.

As I tried to leave the store by pushing open the door with my foot, I received some assistance from a customer walking up to the entrance. Looking up as I thanked him, I realized the man helping me to open the door had just one arm. Walking over to my Jeep, I found the situation to be quite ironic. A one-armed man needing to help a guy with two arms to open a door. Heh!

Maui, Hawaii Pictures

I have posted my Hawaii Pictures from my trip to the island of Maui on Flickr and Facebook.


Here are the links:

Maui Pictures on Flickr

Maui Pictures on Facebook

Trip to Maui, Hawaii

I went to Maui this week with Lindsey. This was my first time in Hawaii. We stayed in Kihei on the west side of the island at the Best Western Maui Oceanfront Inn. We had a very tiny room, but the location was great. Right on the beach! We had a great view of the Molokini crater out in the ocean channel and the large uninhabited island of Kaho'olawe nearby. This is the middle of Humpback Whale season, so we could see them breaching out of the water and blowing spray from the the shoreline the whole trip.


I arrived a day late on Saturday because I missed my flight by going to the wrong terminal on Friday morning. So stupid of me!!!! Lindsey met me at the airport with a flower lei and one of kukui nuts which was very cool. I was starving so we stopped at Maui Tacos. I would definitely recommend their Mexican food. It is rare for me to find a good taco shop outside of Southern California. We had dinner with Lindsey's family over at their condo, a short walk away from our hotel. We had an interesting show from the deck as a group of people from the condos blew conch shells as the sun set below the horizon.


On Sunday morning, we drove south down the coast until the road ends. We wanted to go snorkeling at "The Aquarium" in the Ahihi Kinau Natural Area Reserve. It is a natural cove in the lava field protected by a shallow reef at the entrance to the ocean. There is a small path off of the main road that leads out over the lava fields. It is about a 45 minute hike over the sharp lava as we circled along the coast past small pools to reach the cove. The sun was out so it was great to pop on our fins and cool off in the water.


The Aquarium lived up to it's name as the water was very clear and it was full of colorful fish. I liked watching the small schools of fish feeding among the coral as we circled counter-clockwise around the cove. Lindsey pointed out an octopus cruising along the bottom before it hid under a rock. Near the end of our snorkel, I swam into a small shallow pool near the entrance to the cove with Lindsey's father, Greg. I thought it was the most colorful spot in the Aquarium. Greg pointed at a large black eel hanging out just to the left of where we had swum into the pool. Having those big teeth in my blind spot as I swam back out was a little scary but I was not too worried. Heh!


In the afternoon, Lindsey and I relaxed on the beach in front of our hotel before we went to dinner at the Sea Watch Restaurant in Wailea with her sister, Laurel and brother-in-law, Wayne. We had a nice table on the patio with great views of the sunset and had a delicious meal. I tried some of Lindsey's fish and I actually liked it!


On Monday, Lindsey and I drove the famous highway to Hana. It is a sixty mile road that winds crazily back and forth along the beautiful coastline of the eastern side of Maui to the small town of Hana. We started off with a good breakfast where I had some Portuguese sausage and delicious french toast made with Hawaiian bread. Once we passed the town of Paia and it's surrounding farm fields, we tried locating interesting things to see from our guidebook. It was a bit tough at first. The first fifteen mile markers were missing and we discovered a sheer cliff where a trail down to a waterfall was supposed to be located but we soon had better luck. The Haipua'ena Falls was the first thing we checked out and then we drove out onto the Ke'anae Peninsula where the rough surf crashed against the jutting black lava outcrops along the shoreline.


Our next major stop was the roaring Wakani Falls. We took the trail under the bridge to get closer to the falls right as a heavy rain shower hit. It is a steep little climb to get down there but hanging out under the bridge was a great way to sit it out. We stopped at the Black Sand Beach in the Wai'napanapa State Park before reaching the town of Hana. The jet black sand was a great contrast to the white water splashing back and forth onto the beach. We also checked out the blowhole in the black lava cliffs nearby and I went for a short swim in one of the freshwater caves. The crystal-clear water was much colder than in the ocean, but it was fun to swim underneath the low rocky ceiling. The only problem was the mosquitoes attacking Lindsey. They got her pretty good!


We drove past Hana and the road seemed to get even more windy before we passed the Wailua Falls and reached the Seven Sacred Pools about an hour before sunset. Because of all the rain on Maui lately, the Sacred Pools as well as all the other waterfalls we saw were gorged with water. Cool to look at, but it made it impossible to swim in their pools which would have been fun to do. The waves were giant out past where the large volume of freshwater from the waterfalls surged into the ocean. We wanted to complete the circle and continue along the highway around the dormant volcano, but the road had been closed due to the rain so we had to head back the way we came. We made it back around 8:30pm and had a nice dinner at the same place we ate breakfast.


We got up early on Tuesday to go scuba diving. It was an overcast day as we boated out to the Molokini Crater from Maalaea Harbor on the "Pride of Maui". Molokini is a partially submerged volcanic crater that sits out in the channel between the two larger islands and our boat anchored in the shallow waters between the crescent shaped walls. Lindsey and I went scuba diving while Greg and Wayne tried out Snuba, a cross between scuba and snorkeling. The water was crystal clear all around us on the dive. Our dive master pointed out a shark in the distance but I was unable to locate it. I was too distracted by the sight of the Giant Trevally (called an Ulua in Hawaiian) that was swimming with it. I have never seen a fish that large before in real life. Awesome! Normally I get motion sickness easily but the Bonine that Lindsey's mother gave me in the morning worked like a charm the whole time we were out on the large dive boat.


Our next dive spot was a shore dive at Turtle Cove. As the boat headed back towards the Maui coast line, we went right by a couple of breaching humpbacks, a mother and her calf. When we dove to the bottom on our second dive, Lindsey signalled to me that she could hear the whale song. I was shocked on how easy it was to hear between the breaths in my regulator. It was definitely the highlight of my trip. I took an underwater disposable camera on this shallower dive, but none of the pictures came out. I think it is because it was too overcast and there was not enough light for the camera. Our dive master lead us along a coral ridge on the sea bed and over to a large round opening in a wall of coral. It was my first time diving inside a cave, but it wasn't too claustrophobic because it opened out on three sides. Inside I saw two large sea turtles and a smaller one all tucked away in crevices before we swam back out into the open water.


Near an outcrop of coral, our dive master pointed out to me a small red fish that quickly hid itself deep in the crevices. She spent several minutes trying to take it's picture, but had no luck. (Back on the boat she told me that it was a very rare fish that she had never seen before.) As we were waiting for her to lead us to the next stop, a fellow diver pointed right over my shoulder and as I turned to look, a giant sea turtle slowly swam right alongside me. It checked us out for a few moments before turning and lazily cruising off. Even though the water wasn't as clear as out at Molokini, this was my favorite of the two dives. We ended the day with a nice dinner party at the house of a family that Lindsey and her father met last year on their trip to Africa. It was a real Hawaiian dream home right on the beach with an amazing view.


Wednesday was a day for relaxation but the weather didn't completely cooperate. We went to the beach at Wailea for a few hours before the rain started to fall. Wayne and I went snorkeling along the rocky reef on the south side of the beach. Besides the large amount of small tropical fish, we saw a moray eel in a rocky outcrop and a school of large fish with fluorescent blue spots running along their edges. That was pretty cool. We all went to dinner at the Five Palms in the Maui Mana Kai resort next to our hotel. During our meal, a couple of humpbacks swam pretty close to the shore giving us a nice show from our table.


Our last day in Maui was the sunniest day of the trip with bright blue skies. We stayed at the beach in front of our hotel for as long as possible before we had to leave for our flights at noon. I went snorkeling around the rocky point twice and I didn't want to leave the water the last time. With the sunny sky, it seemed the water was even clearer than before. Seeing a large puffer fish and listening to the whale songs for the last time was a great way to end my vacation.

Maui on Dwellable

Chargers vs. Titans Playoff Game

I went to the Chargers Playoff Game against the Tennessee Titans yesterday. They came back to win 17-6 after trailing 0-6 at the beginning of the third quarter. It was so much fun!!! It was the first Chargers win in the NFL Playoffs in thirteen years.


I was up in the nosebleed seats near the eastern end zone of Qualcomm Stadium. It started raining right as the game started, but I had a good poncho that kept me dry for the entire game. The crowd was very loud and waving the white towels handed out at the front gates.


The Titans started the game tough. They did a good job running the ball and controlling the clock. The Charger's offense was sluggish for the first half and Antonio Gates, the best tight end in the league, was hurt in the second quarter and had to be carted off the field. But our defense played very well, keeping the Titans to only two field goals and Shawne Merriman forced a fumble near the end zone on another drive.


The Titans went all out to stop the run the entire game, keeping LaDainian Tomlinson contained. They were very effective, but this left them vulnerable in the passing game and Philip Rivers started to get on track in the second half with long passes to Vincent Jackson and Chris Chambers. They both ended the game with over 100 yards each. I can't count how many times I leapt from my seat yelling as Rivers threw long balls to the wide open receivers down the field.


I had a great view from my seat of LaDainian Tomlinson's giant leap over the pile to score the clinching touchdown in the 4th Quarter. He was met hard right at the line by a Titans linebacker, but he was able to reach the football into the end zone on a second effort before the whistle blew. It was crazy in the stands, everybody yelling and high fiving.


Next week, the Chargers go on the road to play the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Indianapolis Colts in the Divisional Playoff Round. Should be a great game. Can't Wait!!!


Traffic was horrible on the drive home, but I was in too good a mood to care. I did witness a crazy accident as I was making the long walk back to my car. A woman's car spun out of control 100 yards in front of me, jumped the curb and hit the concrete wall on the side of the bridge. Right where I was about to walk!!! Luckily she was unhurt, but rain causes crazy things.

UPDATE: 1/14/08

The Chargers beat the Indianapolis Colts in a major 28-24 upset in the Divisional Round of the Playoffs. It was an exciting game with a lot of lead changes and big plays. LaDainian Tomlinson got hurt in the 2nd Quarter and Philip Rivers was injured at the end of the 3rd and they both had to leave for the rest of the game. The backups had to come in on offense and they drove down the field for a winning touchdown in the 4th quarter. The defense had two great defensive stands, forcing the Colts to twice turn the ball over on 4th down at the end to win the game.


Next week the Chargers go to face the undefeated New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. The winner goes to the Super Bowl!!!

UPDATE: 1/21/08

Well, it was fun while it lasted. The Chargers lost to the undefeated New England Patriots yesterday, 21 to 12 in the AFC Championship game. It was a close game with New England leading by only 2 points before they got their final touchdown in the 4th quarter. The injuries to LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates were hugely detrimental in this game. They are the Charger's biggest weapons in the Red Zone, but we had to settle for three field goals down there instead of touchdowns with both of them hurt. The defense played great, holding the high-powered Patriots offense to their 2nd lowest point total of the year and they picked off QB Tom Brady three times. He only had 8 interceptions all through the regular season.

There is always Next Year!

Portland Trip

I went to Portland for a three days this last weekend to visit Lindsey. She picked me up from the airport in the early afternoon and we went to lunch in a nice pub at Edgefield Manor outside of the city. It was pretty cold in the 30s with a drizzling rain.


After lunch, we drove along the Old Highway to get to the Waterfalls in the Colombia River Gorge. It was very scenic as we drove past farms and through the temperate rain forest here in Oregon. As we gained a little altitude, it started to snow lightly. Before descending into the gorge, we pulled over at an impressive scenic overlook with a great view of the Columbia River in both directions despite the fog. We didn't stay long because the freezing wind was blowing hard at the top.


The first waterfall we arrived at down in the gorge was the Latourell Falls. It was cool with the water plunging 249 feet past the intricate formations on the black rock of the cliff. A large patch of yellow lichen high up on the steep inverted face was a nice visual touch.


We then drove down to the less dramatic, but more beautiful Wahkeena Falls. The waters drops 242 feet across several tiers and then flows over moss-covered cobbles. We had a nice little hike up to the small stone bridge and tried to avoid the spray from the waterfall as the snow started to lightly fall again.


Our last stop was at the second tallest waterfall in the United States at 620 feet, the Multnomah Falls. I am glad I saw this one last because it was the most impressive with the water taking a long plunge into a pool and then over a second drop right underneath the arched bridge.


After a short little hike past the bridge, we went inside the Lodge near the base of the falls for a cup of tea. It was quite nice sitting in front of a warm fire with views of the Columbia River.

Friday night, we went to see a movie at the Bagdad Theater. I have always wanted to go to one of those theaters that serves food and drinks to you at your seat, so it was pretty cool. I had the Captain Neon Burger with blue cheese and bacon and Lindsey had the Fish and Chips. We also had a pitcher of the Ruby Beer which had a nice raspberry flavor. Drinking alcohol while watching "Superbad" is a perfect combination.


Large snowflakes were falling from the sky on Saturday morning, but they had turned to rain by the time we went to breakfast and caught a train downtown. We walked over to Powell's Books, a huge bookstore the size of a city block, that is at least 5 stories tall. I was able to buy a few out-of-print books that I was missing from my bookcase at home.


Afterwards, we went over to the Beer Festival at Pioneer Courthouse Square to meet up with Kristen. It was very crowded inside with long lines to get to the kegs so we end up getting full mugs of beer instead of going for multiple tasting samples. Lindsey and Kristen chose "Bye-Bye Frost" which was extremely bitter and I got the "Organic Kentucky Christmas" which wasn't too bad. To escape from the crowd, we walked over to the Oliver Twist Pub down the street to have another drink and chat.


We finished up our Saturday night by going to the Portland City Grill on the 30th floor of one of the city's towers. The fancy restaurant had great views of the river and the city. We found a nice table in the bar where we started off with some Pomegranate Martinis. Very tasty, but also very sticky. For dinner we had the Tomato-Pesto Ravioli & Butterfish. I was full, but I couldn't resist their specialty desert, Fresh Baked Cookies served with Ice Cream. Very Good!!!!

The weather turned stormy on Sunday with heavy winds. The rain was blowing sideways. My flight home was very turbulent.

Portland on Dwellable

Las Vegas Trip

I went to Las Vegas this week to meet up with my friends, Craig and Chris, who I met while traveling in Australia two years ago. Craig is South African but lives in New Zealand and Chris is from England. They had just flew down from Canada after spending time going across it by train to Vancouver. Our first night in Vegas we went to the new Cirque du Soleil show about the The Beatles called "Love" at The Mirage. It was the best live performance I have ever seen. It was a great mix of acrobatics and dancing. The countless ways the stage could transform was amazing.


We stayed at the Bellagio with a nice room facing the fountains. We could watch the water spraying to the music on a special fountain channel on our room TV. I had the best accommodations of the three of us, a sleeping bag on the floor. I wanted to go with Craig to Monument Valley with a flight over the Grand Canyon but the tour was sold out so Chris and I cruised through the hotels on the Strip. I am always the most impressed with Caesar's Palace. I won a big jackpot on the slots at Luxor! Too bad it was just the Penny Slots!! We hung out around the pools at Bellagio on Wednesday relaxing.


I have always wanted to go to the Fremont Street Experience while in Vegas, but I have never had the chance in the past. Wednesday night, we took the monorail and a public bus to reach downtown and we got there right before the first show of the lighted ceiling. It was very impressive and the sound system was powerful. The street was full of street artists, musicians and performers. Watching a guy make colorful portraits with spray paint was pretty interesting but the coolest was a gymnast who would balance on a pole held between two strong-looking guys. She would be thrown up into the air, doing twists and turns before landing back on the pole with her feet and she never lost her balance. I liked the vibe here. Very relaxed.


The last time in Vegas when I went to the Stratosphere, we weren't able to go up to the top of the tower due to high winds. So it was nice to go up this time and see the whole city landscape at night. The Strip was brightly lit and colorful to look at from this height. We went on two of the rides at the top of the tower. The Big Shot which catapulted us straight up into the air and free-falls back down. I have been on this type of ride before but never up at 1,000 feet which makes it intense. We then went on the scariest ride I have ever been on in my life, the X-Scream. It sits on a pivoting track that tilts out over the side of the tower as you slide quickly down the rail about 30 feet before coming to a sudden stop. I don't know why I sat in the front row with Craig, hanging out over the city streets with just a lap restraint. My palms were sweating and my knees shaking as I got off of this one. It was worse than skydiving.


Chris flew back to San Diego with me to stay at my house until he flew home to England on Sunday. Craig was on his way to Orlando before flying home. I showed Chris around town, Point Loma, La Jolla, Pacific Beach and down to the Gaslamp Quarter in Downtown where we had dinner and went inside the Haunted Hotel.


On Saturday, Chris and I went down to the USS Midway in the San Diego Harbor and then over to Sea World. The audio tour of the USS Midway is very informative and the aircraft carrier is huge. I have been wanting to come visit it for a couple of years now. I always enjoy the shows at Sea World.

Camping in Erendira, Mexico

I went camping down in Mexico this weekend with Kurt, Dave, Joe & Suzie. We drove down Friday night to the town of Erendira in Baja California. It is a 4 hour drive from San Diego and about 60 miles south of Ensenada winding through the small mountains. We didn't get to Coyote Cal's until midnight but we stayed up til 3am drinking beers after we set up our tents.


Saturday morning, we drove south down the coastal dirt road to an ancient volcano vent where the lava had flowed into the ocean. There were nice tide pools and little waterfalls caused by the high tide pouring over the reef. In one narrow channel of the reef, waves were powering through and funneling up the beach. It was fun to watch the bigger set waves crash through. Further down the beach in the distance, we could see a large spout of water repeatedly shooting high in the air so we decided to go check it out.




It was blowhole formed in the reef about 50 feet from the ocean. A warning spray of mist from the hole would be followed by an explosion of water of varying sizes between a waist-high gout of water to a pillar of spray high over our heads. It sprayed water at regular intervals and we could stand right next to it or jump over it. A group of dirt bikers came up to check out the blowhole and one got soaked as he was posing for a picture. The picture was pretty cool as it looked like a still from a Jerry Bruckheimer film of the hero trying to out jump an explosion right behind him.





We then drove north to Long Beach to go surfing. It is a nice sandy beach with lots of dunes but it was pretty windy. Kurt and Suzie took naps on the warm sand while Dave, Joe & I went out in the water. It was small but I caught a few long waves. The water is much colder down here because the warmer currents bypass this area and the colder water rises up from the ocean depths. Afterwards, we drove down to a secluded cove that blocked the wind to hang out for the rest of the day, eating sandwiches, tossing a Frisbee, and relaxing.


Saturday night, Suzie made an amazing dinner at our campfire on the beach. She took pieces of chicken and vegetables and sealed them with a little white wine in aluminum foil packets. She set the packs directly on the hot coals for 30 minutes and they came out perfect and steaming. The chicken was very tender and the vegetables were delicious.


On Sunday, I stayed at the camp while the rest went out fishing on a boat. I would have liked to go, but I get seasick like crazy on those little boats bobbing out on the ocean. They caught a lot of fish while I hiked out to the rocky point full of pelicans and sea lions and then walked down the beach to check out the "Vortex". It is a natural formation of swirling concentric circles set in the stone face of the beach cliff.


The drive home in the afternoon was the only bummer of the trip. It started out with hearing the sports score updates for the Padres & Chargers while we drove north. The Padres had lost the last two games to force a one game playoff in order to clinch the Wild Card and the Chargers blew a 16-6 half time lead to lose the game against Kansas City. The border crossing wait is always a nuisance but our two cars got separated due to the heavy traffic. Dave and I were waved through to the main border crossing but Joe, Suzie & Kurt who were behind us got diverted by the Mexican Police to the Otay crossing. They ended up getting home 2 1/2 hours after we did.

China Pictures

I have posted my China Pictures of Beijing, Xian, Li River and Shanghai on Flickr and Facebook.


Here are the links:

China Photos on Flickr

Beijing Pictures on Facebook

Xian Pictures on Facebook

Li River Pictures on Facebook

Shanghai Pictures on Facebook