Lei-Z Daze

Moving

2007-07-15T04:54:00.000-10:00

I'm shutting Lei-Z Daze down and will now be posting San Onofre and related stuff on San-O Dized, not to be confused with San-O Daze. Aloha.

Flat Saturday.

2007-07-14T05:49:00.000-10:00

Flat, flat, flat. Knee to maybe waist high wind waves. Nothing in the near future. Aloha.

2007-07-14T05:46:00.000-10:00

Small stuff only.

2007-07-14T05:44:00.000-10:00

Making the most of what there was to offer.

2007-07-14T05:40:00.002-10:00

Weekend warriors. Desperadoes. Die-hards. Whatever you call them , I was not among them today.

2007-07-14T05:40:00.000-10:00

Perfect conditions for this guy.

2007-07-14T05:37:00.001-10:00

Not a whole lot to get excited about.

2007-07-14T05:30:00.001-10:00

Low tide casualty.

2007-07-14T05:19:00.000-10:00

As much as I like dogs, they are still not allowed at San-O. Signs are everywhere. But if you're not caught...

Teeny, Tiny

2007-07-13T09:28:00.000-10:00

I went down to San-O this morning and got in the water, mostly for exercise as the surf was puny, knee to waist high with a tad bigger set every half hour. I met one of my fellow bloggers, "M" from 'The Surf and the Fury', who made the trek from up L. A. Now that's dedication on her part.

The water temp has dropped a bit, I'd say about 5 degrees or so, to around 67. I wore a fullsuit after using a long sleeved springsuit for most of my other sessions and was glad I did. When I first got in the ocean this morning, my little toes started to gripe because they were cold, but by the time I got out, they were fine. If this west winds stays blowing, the water will stay on the coldish side, but once they stop and return to the norm, it should heat back up to the 70's and it will be back to the springsuit. I don't see myself going bareback, unless it hits the high 70's like in Hawaii. Aloha.

Concert

2007-07-12T10:10:00.000-10:00

Pictures from cell phones aren't the best, but it's better than nothing. Stephen Stills at the Downtown Disney House of Blues, 7.11.2007.

2007-07-12T05:25:00.000-10:00

Last night I attended the Stephen Stills concert at the House of Blues at Downtown Disney. I wasn't sure what to expect as I haven't heard much of his stuff for a long time. Remembering how he looked many years ago when he used to hang out in Lahaina, I kind of expected the worst. As it turned out, he was very good. He actually looked better than he did back in the 70's, when he was drinking and partying up a storm, which actually was pretty much the norm back then. I took a couple of pictures with my phone camera, but they didn't come out worth a bean. One of our group went down to floor level and got right in front of the stage and took some pictures as well, again with a phone. Hopefully I can get my hands on one and will post if successful.

Surf is flat, but it looks like, for a few days at least, that the morning overcast is gone as today it is bright and sunny from the get go. Aloha.

Decision

2007-07-07T07:20:00.000-10:00

I've decided to keep this blog going instead of starting a new one, at least for the time being. I've been hitting the surf at San-O quite a lot in the last week or so and the waves, especially on the fourth, have been just fine. For some reason on the fourth, even though it was crowded as heck, I caught all the waves I wanted and was hopped very few times. Maybe it was because of the look on my face, I know people were probably thinking, "Oh no, here comes that out of control guy again!" Actually, I felt totally in control for a change. I sat outside and picked up just about any set wave I wanted, starting with the 75 minute session at 6:00 a.m. and extending to my second go out at 8:00 a.m. I probably surfed at least 2 1/2 hours. In fact, I have been staying out for a good 2 hours every time I have surfed lately, the water seems just fine to me. I think I have surfed about 5 or 6 days out of the last 8 or 9, more than I did on Kaua'i. I know part of the reason is that at San-O you don't have to paddle a quarter to a half mile out!

My homecoming at San-O has been great, I appreciate being back among the gang and their warm aloha's. Hopefully I won't wear thin on them. Now all I need is a job and a car and a place to live of my own.

Pictures below are from Thursday. Aloha.

2007-07-07T07:18:00.001-10:00

Howard. Visit his blog at this link.

2007-07-07T07:17:00.001-10:00

Since I didn't ask him if I could name him, he shall remain nameless.

2007-07-07T07:16:00.001-10:00

Mark, San-O July 5th, part 1.

2007-07-07T07:13:00.001-10:00

Part 2.

UPDATE

2007-06-13T04:31:00.001-10:00

I still haven't started a new blog, but I have returned to posting gibberish on San-O Daze, my original blog. However, it is not for the faint of heart as I am not the only one posting there...

Aloha Kaua'i

2007-05-13T11:30:00.000-10:00

I have alluded to changes coming for me in the past few months. They have begun in earnest. I no longer reside in Hawaii, I have returned to Southern California, where hopefully I will find more lucrative money-making opportunities.

Why the move, you may ask? There were many reasons, ranging from $$$ to politics and what I consider an ridiculous tax structure in da islands. Hawaii withholds more from paychecks than the federal government! I view it as becoming more and more of a welfare state. I met many people living off of welfare and food stamps than I could believe, and they have no desire to work or better themselves. The roads are atrocious, they just keep building more and more condos and hotels and are not concerned with traffic, from what I could tell. The cops are corrupt. The politicians are corrupt. The locals keep electing the same fools who keep screwing them. It's a plantation mentality.

Hawaii has the lowest unemployed rate in the nation, but a overwhelming amount of those jobs are minimum wage service industry jobs. You need to work two or three jobs to make a decent living and what time does that leave for enjoying the swiftly disappearing beauty? Not much. The place is going downhill fast if you ask me. Maybe that's because I remember what it used to be like 30 years ago when I lived there previously for close to 15 years.

Anywho, I left Kaua'i Tuesday for good. Whether I continue this blog is undecided, I am leaning towards starting a new one, which I will let everyone who visits here know about when I get it up and running. So for the last time here, Aloha.

2007-05-03T08:27:00.000-10:00

2007-05-03T08:26:00.000-10:00

About the size of a lime right now.

2007-05-03T08:24:00.000-10:00

2007-05-03T08:06:00.000-10:00

Can you smell them?

2007-04-23T08:15:00.000-10:00

This old body is hurting a little after yesterday. I 'surfed' 3 times! Kind of. It was 3-5 feet and pretty darn nice. A little crowded also. But still worth the effort. I went out early, around 6:30, and was in by 7:30. I hung around and talked to some people, then a friend offered me his stand-up board for a try. I had never attempted it previously. I thought, "why not?" and gave it a go.

First off, the break at the Bay is at least one quarter of a mile out, it seems like a mile when you are paddling, believe me. I walked out a ways, then stood up and started paddling, standing as I had been instructed. OK, I can do this. Turned out I could, as I stroked right on out to the line-up. At which point my legs said they were pretty much over this for now. I sat on the 'board', which really was more like a boat, 12 feet long and 5 and 1/2 inches thick. You could have brought a chair and small barbeque and had a party on this thing. I'm watching these other stand-up surfers cruise around and steer their boards with ease and with maybe a stroke or two, catch waves. I stand again! I stroke, but I'm heading out to sea. I can't turn this behemoth! I sit. I turn the monster around. Here comes a little wave and nobody is bothering with it. Screw it, I'm going! Oh yeah, I'm still sitting. "You're not going to stand and catch it" my body informs me, so I paddled as normal from the prone position. I catch the wave, jump up on me tired old legs, and kind of ride for a bit. Then I fell off. Fortunately, I used a leash, I'm not going to swim over that reef at low tide! I am totally 'over it' and paddle in...prone on the boat.

I knew that style was hard on the body, last night I was feeling it. Not so bad today. It is a great workout, for anyone looking to shape up! No wonder a lot of the guys (and gals) practice by paddling in the river. It's killer on the legs, tough on the lower back. Imagine standing in a small dingy in rough weather and constantly having to keep your balance with nothing to hold on to but an oar. Ouch. Better to sit. Better yet to lie down.

I return to the beach and pass the 50 pound board off to another tester. I went to my car and watched the surf for a short time. It seemed to be getting better and what did I do? Grabbed my regular board and paddled back out! Caught a few waves and started back in.

This is where things got really bizarre. Bizarrer? My friend's son (160 pounds) was cruising along on the stand-up board with a chocolate lab (120 pounds) on board (I told you it was BIG!) I was maybe 30 or 40 yards portside of him. Between us were three rather large women. Oh hell, let's call it like it was, they were enormous! There had to be 300 pounds on one, at least. At first I thought she had on some weird colored swimsuit, but when she dove under the water and I saw this giant butt crack, with a sickening feeling I realized she was naked! Her friends kept throwing her outfit to her and she would grab it and throw it away. I couldn't stop laughing all the rest of the way in. My friend's son told me that when the dog saw them, she (the dog) started barking and cowered down on the boat/board. Needless to say, they were the talk of the beach for awhile as they continued to frolic for another 10 minutes.

Surf's supposed to jump up yet again today, I'm off to see. Aloha.

2007-04-18T13:51:00.000-10:00

I just returned from a two hour surf session at the Bay. 1-3 foot, uncrowded and fun. I even got three little tubes! Aloha.

Lack of Posts

2007-04-17T07:17:00.000-10:00

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I am going through some life changes...again.

The surf is, once again, supposed to jump up today to the 10 foot + range. We shall see. Aloha for now.

2007-03-16T09:05:00.000-10:00

Late Wednesday morning at the Bay.

2007-03-16T09:02:00.000-10:00

Sunrise from a couple of mornings ago.

2007-03-12T09:27:00.000-10:00

The last few days has been junk as far as surfing goes. The kona winds turned into north winds which blow everything onshore, making less than ideal conditions. I just returned from a morning surf check and it is pretty small and junkie right now. We are supposed to have a large swell starting this evening, so maybe things will improve. Aloha.

2007-03-08T18:39:00.000-10:00

Yippee! I surfed twice today, for a total of about 4 hours! With the Kona winds, a lot of the places around here are offshore, so the waves are a lot better than normal. It's supposed to continue for the next few days, so I plan to take advantage of it. Aloha.

2007-03-07T14:08:00.000-10:00

I got wet yesterday, surfing Hanalei for a couple of hours. Fun surf, 1-4 foot, and not too crowded. We are experiencing a bit of Kona (non-tradewind) weather and a building swell, nothing huge. If all goes according to plan, the next few days should be great surfing-wise. Aloha.

2007-02-24T07:46:00.000-10:00

We had quite a storm last night, lightening and thunder booming! I swear, just like last year, one bolt of lightening struck within 1/4 mile of where I was. Instantaneous thunder accompanied it, 30 seconds later the power went out. It was kind of funny in a way, as right afterward you could hear people hooting.

The storm has passed, the sun is coming out and it should be another nice Kaua'i day. Aloha.

2007-02-16T15:08:00.000-10:00

2007-02-16T15:06:00.000-10:00

2007-02-16T15:05:00.000-10:00

2007-01-30T08:56:00.000-10:00

I worked my last scheduled shift at the restaurant last night. I'm not sure what I am going to do work-wise. Since the unemployment rate here on Kaua'i is 2%, finding a new job shouldn't be hard.

The surf is supposed to be huge today, I am going to try to get pictures, but it is raining so we shall see if they come out.

My landlord is over for a visit from his home in California and he made me go surfing Sunday morning. We went to Rock Quarries and surfed for over two hours, most of the time just the two of us. The waves weren't the greatest, but with warm water and sunny skies, it was difficult to complain. Aloha.

2007-01-12T21:12:00.000-10:00

I know, I know, you are wondering where in the heck I have gone. Changes are in store. I have given notice at the restaurant, for reasons better left unsaid, at least for now. More as it develops.

Surfing has taken a back seat for a while, I have been in the water once, a couple of days ago. I caught Hanalei 2-5 foot with 5 guys out, but less than ideal. But not that bad either. Aloha.

2007-01-03T08:23:00.000-10:00

This is one BIG wave...

The Waiting Game

2006-12-30T07:58:00.000-10:00

The huge surf never made it to shore. While it was somewhat large, the conditions were not conducive to surfing. We are waiting on what is supposed to be another huge swell Monday and supposedly the conditions will be great. Aloha.

2006-12-28T06:09:00.000-10:00

I've been having computer problems and unable to post for a few days. Below are more pictures from Christmas Eve.

The weather the last few days has been gorgeous. That changed last night as we have a front moving over us as I write. The surf is supposed to be in the big range today. Wow! I just looked at the buoy report. 20.7 foot at 16 second intervals! That is HUGE! I must go look and maybe get some pictures. Aloha.

2006-12-28T06:08:00.000-10:00

Clean-up set.

2006-12-28T06:06:00.000-10:00

2006-12-28T06:03:00.000-10:00

Tubed!

2006-12-28T06:01:00.000-10:00

2006-12-28T05:58:00.000-10:00

2006-12-28T05:57:00.000-10:00

2006-12-24T10:00:00.000-10:00

2006-12-24T09:49:00.000-10:00

2006-12-24T09:15:00.000-10:00

2006-12-21T09:19:00.000-10:00

The surf is coming up, finally getting some real size. Probably big enough that later in the day the tow-in guys should be out in force. I have to work the lunch shift, but afterward I will go looking for some more picture opps.

2006-12-21T09:15:00.000-10:00

2006-12-21T09:13:00.000-10:00

The lady is out there every single morning and from what I am told, surfs 3 or more times a day! She is getting very good at the 'gondolier' style.

2006-12-21T09:12:00.000-10:00

2006-12-21T09:10:00.000-10:00

2006-12-21T09:09:00.000-10:00

2006-12-21T09:08:00.000-10:00

Monday Blues

2006-12-18T07:45:00.000-10:00

As shown by yesterday's pictures, the surf was small. There was only the one spot breaking when I checked early in the morning. Today it is even smaller, at least on the north shore. I hear that the south side has some surf, but since I work tonight I don't feel like making the hour + drive. If things don't improve around here tomorrow, I may make the trip. Aloha.

2006-12-17T08:11:00.000-10:00

2006-12-17T08:10:00.000-10:00

2006-12-17T08:09:00.000-10:00

2006-12-17T08:07:00.000-10:00

Lucky live Hawaii.

Ho-hum

2006-12-12T09:05:00.000-10:00

Just another day in a long line of beautiful weather. Actually it is partly cloudy and the wind is just starting to pick up, but this morning was excellent, at least surfing wise. Hanalei, 2-4 foot with a 5 and 6 footer every now and then. Nice calm conditions and only about 15 people out. I may have to go look again later as I am off of work today and have nothing better to do. Aloha.

2006-12-10T10:22:00.001-10:00

2006-12-10T10:22:00.000-10:00

2006-12-10T10:21:00.000-10:00

2006-12-10T10:20:00.000-10:00

2006-12-10T10:18:00.000-10:00

Casualty.

2006-12-10T10:17:00.000-10:00

2006-12-10T10:15:00.000-10:00

2006-12-09T15:10:00.000-10:00

I caught the Bay pretty darn good this morning. 3-5 foot with about 15 guys out. The wind was offshore and the direction was just right, it was the best I have ever seen the bowl. I got about 10 waves, 2 of which I got little tube rides. I had to work the day shift and have the night shift as well, so I am not able to check out what I supposed to be some large surf. Maybe tomorrow. aloha.

2006-12-06T09:59:00.000-10:00

After posting yesterday morning, I returned to the beach and surfed again. I also surfed this morning. Today was the best I've seen Hanalei this season in the early morning. When I pulled up at dawn, it was connecting from outside all the way through the bowl. Unfortunately, it got more sectioned as time went by. Every time I grabbed an outside one, somebody inside on the bowl would hop me and prevent me from making it. I was getting mouthy so I figured I better get out of the water. It's not worth the grief, no matter how good the surf is. A guy who I said something to came up to me after he got out, asking me if I had anything to say to him. I explained that I was frustrated, getting mouthy, and that is why I got out. I apologized for my actions, he stuck out his hand and introduced himself and it was all fine from there.

The waves are 3-5 foot right now but coming up fast, expected to peak in the giant range later in the day. Aloha.

2006-12-06T09:55:00.000-10:00

2006-12-06T09:54:00.000-10:00

2006-12-06T09:52:00.000-10:00

2006-12-06T09:51:00.000-10:00

2006-12-06T09:49:00.000-10:00

2006-12-06T09:43:00.000-10:00

This morning on Kaua'i.

2006-12-05T09:19:00.000-10:00

Try as it might, the surf is still just a bit off, but to me, better than it has been. I surfed early this morning and had a great time. I swear, when I take a few weeks off from surfing, I do much better. While some of the sets were well overhead, most were head high to just overhead. The crowd was thin, but lots of people were heading into the ocean as I left. It will be a zoo as everyone is kind of starved for some quality stuff.

After a couple of rainy/cloudy days, today looks to be back to Paradise conditions. Aloha.

2006-12-05T09:17:00.000-10:00

Bigger and better than this looks.

2006-12-05T09:13:00.000-10:00

Morning fire.

2006-12-01T11:42:00.000-10:00

Life goes on in Paradise. The surf has been trying for the last few days, but has come up short. It's a mess out there, multiple directions of swells all clashing together. There is some size, but it's much too confused. Aloha.

2006-12-01T11:40:00.000-10:00

2006-12-01T11:38:00.000-10:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T08:35:00.000-10:00

Here's how it looks this morning in my part of the world. I hope everyone's day is as beautiful as mine. Aloha.

2006-11-21T11:46:00.000-10:00

2006-11-19T09:55:00.000-10:00

The surf has been up for the last few days, nothing huge, just fun size stuff. Aloha.

2006-11-19T09:52:00.000-10:00

2006-11-19T09:50:00.000-10:00

2006-11-19T09:47:00.000-10:00

2006-11-19T09:45:00.001-10:00

2006-11-19T09:44:00.000-10:00

2006-11-11T09:32:00.000-10:00

I actually got in the water twice in the last 15 hours, surfing late yesterday afternoon and early this morning. Nothing special, small kine waves, but as always, warm water and warm air makes it hard not to have a good time.

The wind is supposed to shift back to southerly, meaning the humidity will be skyrocketing and it will be uncomfortable. Hopefully there will be some surf as the south wind makes for good conditions at the less surfed spots. Aloha

2006-11-09T09:17:00.000-10:00

I got a little action at the Bay yesterday, 2-3 and good conditions. Nice crowd until the stand-up paddle guy came out and started hogging the waves. Since I had already surfed for over an hour, I decided I'd go in. I knew if I stayed out I'd say something to the guy and probably get upset. After all, the sets were every 20 minutes or so. We had been waiting and this guy paddles right out and takes off on the first nice one that comes. Lucky for me there were a couple more. Aloha.

2006-11-07T09:44:00.000-10:00

Happy Kaua'i grapefruit.

Slight Bump

2006-11-06T08:29:00.000-10:00

The surf came up a little yesterday afternoon. I could hear it all night long. Not real big, I'd say 3 to 5 foot. Conditions are junky this morning though, the swell interval is too close together. Perhaps later today it will string out better and get outstanding. Unfortunately for me, I am working.

We are having some of the clearest mornings I have seen since I got here. Nary a cloud in the sky, not even over the mountains. Then there is the humidity, which has been brutal. That's the price we pay to live here. Aloha.

2006-11-06T08:27:00.000-10:00

Pictures lie, part 1.

2006-11-06T08:26:00.000-10:00

Pictures lie, part 2.

2006-11-06T08:25:00.000-10:00

11.6.2006.

2006-11-06T08:24:00.000-10:00

Another beautiful Hawaiian day.

No Surf 3

2006-11-04T09:05:00.000-10:00

Still nothing. However, it is a simply beautiful day here in Hawai'i. Aloha.