Birthday wishes

Yesterday was my younger brothers 49th birthday.

It is very sad to me that he is not here to enjoy it.
I thought of Ted often as I travelled thru my day.
As I look at pictures of him I cry inside and my eyes well with tears. I am deeply saddened by his passing. He had so much to live for.
He was a giving man and ran out of time to give.
I miss doing my magic for him. He was always uplifting to me whenever I performed. It was always a joy to me to see the little child come out of him at the fun he had when I performed.
The cups and balls, and linking rings became his favorites!
Mine too.
I am saddened by the golfing together that we know longer do.
It still hurts to think of him as gone, never to speak to him, hear his voice, see his smile... I miss him.
I am saddened by the way he died. We did not speak to each other during the last seven months of his life. He was very angry with me. I tried to get thru to him, but he wouldn't let me.
I am still hurting from this and it saddens me.
I think it has hardened my heart towards members of my family.
You would think that the death of a loved one would help people to see how valuable they are to one another, yet often times the opposite happens. Bitterness creeps in.
Left unchecked... it can eat you up. Like a cancer it grows and must be cut out.
I haven't enjoyed being alone in the sense of my other siblings, but on the other hand... it has been more peaceful in some ways too.
I often wonder how they are doing, what they are up too, where they might have gone this year for vacation etc...
To proud to call or ask, each of us are.
Life goes on, before you know it, another one is in the grave. Words should have been spoken. Love extended, forgiveness given, and received... Old wounds healed, new memories made, laughter shared, fears about children shared, but it seems, not in this lifetime... Some of us seem to just want to live in the past, rather than learn to live with the past, better yet to live in the now and let the past go.

Rubber band man...

Amazing what one can do with a couple of rubber bands...
Today after church, the family headed down to Seattle to hook up with Ryan and Miyoko for lunch.
We ate at an Indian restaurant, Miyoko's favorite!
As we were being seated Ryan noticed about 15-20 people still there from his church. One of the fellows was a young man I had met at the wedding the previous day. He had seen me perform some magic for several people and asked me if I had some cards with me, I didn't because they were in my jacket which I had left in the car, silly me...
But, I did mention that I had a couple of rubber bands, sneaky me...
I blew his mind with the crazy man's hand cuffs, not only his but people all around the table, reminded me of the first time I had witnessed this minor miracle in the hands of Michael Ammar, my chin hit the table, and my eyes bugged out of my head.
Of course I did it several more times, ending by doing it in his hands.
Wow! What a reaction!
I finished up my little impromptu set with the jumping Gems. It was wonderful as well!
Later in the evening, I drove Ryan back to Seattle as he is catching a five am flight and had some packing to do.
We ran by his friend Brandon's house. A little going away party was in progress for a friend named Jo Lynn... After a short introduction, and some heart felt words by several of the attendees towards Jo Lynn, I was getting ready to head to work when a young lady asked me to do some magic. She was one of the people that I had wowed earlier in the day at the Indian restaurant. I didn't recognize her but she must have been seated a ways away.
I warmed up with the crazy man's hand cuffs. There was a small group of young ladies, about five or six, the room was dimly lit. I performed the effect several times, ending of course by doing the trick in her hands, Ryan's friend Peter came over and said, "hey, let's shed some light on the situation, let's see you do it now!"
No problem... after that I did a three card trick medley consisting of the Biddle trick, done in Jo Lynn's hand, followed up that with the One Eyed Jack Sandwich, and began to move into the Paper clipped card trick finale, Jo Lynn was funny at this point, wanting me to slow down so she could digest what had just happened with the one eyed Jack sandwich. I must be doing something wrong with this trick as the day before I performed this same set for some people at the wedding, and one of the men, actually the very person I was doing the trick for, didn't get it. He said something like, "I must be stupid." Everyone else in the vicinity go tit. But anyway, As Dai Vernon would say, Confusion isn't magic, so I need to explore why I am not getting the results from this I expect.
But my oh my, the reaction from Paper clipped was OUTSTANDING!
Best reaction I think I ever got, at least verbally. Stunned silence is one thing, but sudden, spontaneous screaming is another level.
That is the reaction I got from all the young ladies that witnessed this miracle.
I especially enjoyed it because my son Ryan was standing about two feet away, watching his dad totally entertain and blow away his friends.
I think in the past, it has been a kind of, here goes my dad again feeling for him, but tonight, he got to see and feel something extraordinary!
Needless to say, i decided to end on that extremely high note!

Friends Wedding

Saturday Joan, Katie and I attended the wedding of one of Ryan's friends...
Matt and Jen. They were married in a park in Seattle, kind of an open area with lots of things happening around them. People riding bikes by, people playing volleyball, and one very strange thing happened. During the cutting of the cake ceremony, a group of about 15 nude bike riders decided that this was a good time to ride their bikes behind the wedding couple.
Many people laughed but I found it to be a rather rude situation. Yes, In some ways it is rather comical. But the bicyclists decided that simply being nude wasn't "statement" enough. One man, harry chested and over weight, stopped and pulled out a set of binoculars and peered thru them at us, it was like he was saying, "hey, if you're going to stare at us... I'm going to stare at you." I guess he thought he was something. But he fact is, they are all selfish and rude people, self centered, childish brats. One lady stopped an began waving at everyone and tried to strike up some kind of conversation.
The wedding couple handled it really well, but should never have been put in that kind of situation. IMHO!
I did a special magic effect for the bride and groom, it is called Anniversary Waltz. Both the bride and groom select a card, sign them and return them to the deck, I place the cards in their hands and magically the cards become one card. Like a married couple becoming one.
Matt and I had discussed doing the trick just for the wedding party table. I approached Matt after the nude bicycle incident and told him, "I don't think I can do the magic trick now." He said, "how come? I'm really looking forward to it."
I said, "How am I supposed to follow up nude bicyclists!?"
Anyway, I did perform the effect and at one point I looked up and noticed that the crowd had swelled to not only include the wedding parties table, but just about everyone else at the celebration. I got a little nervous but the trick went off without a hitch, at last that's true, but Matt and Jen looked wonderful as they become one!

Tears in my eyes...In My In Box

Sent: Fri 8/28/09 11:57 AM
To: Tim Flynn

dad, how ya doin? i know i wrote you a couple hours ago... but this was just on my mind. i want you to know that you are such a great father. you are amazing... such an example for me to look up to. you say what you believe and it shows in your actions as well. i am so greatful to have a man like you to look up to in my life especially when it seems that i cant find anyone that i really want to follow after here. thank you for being such an amazing influence for me. man i wish i could call you right now and tell you what im feeling, but since i cant this email will have to do lol. i know i have been a selfish and proud guy and not given you and mom all the love and appreciation that you deserve, but let me tell you... i appreciate EVERYTHING that you two do. i honestly, when i really think about it, cant imagine what kind of person i would be if i had grown up with "normal" parents. geez i am so glad that you two are in my life. not to mention ryan and katie. what better brother and sister could i ask for... what a combo!! haha well dad... i just wanted you to know what was on my mind. i wish so bad that i could see all four of you right now and tell you how much i love you. i wish we could have a big family hug and just spend some time together. alrighty well im gonna get going. i love you dad. please give mom a hug for me and katie too... if ya see ryan give him one as well. i love you all so much.

eric

I don't know what prompeted this, but Wow!
I am full!

Hot Rod or?

So after fishing last Wednesday, and Katie using an old rod of mine, we bought her a new fishing rod and reel.
Her she is pictured with the new gear, and some of her fine catch from this morning!
She out fished me today!
Everyone around her on the river is pulling for her. It is great to watch the smiles go up and down the line when she hooks into one.
Can't wait til she hooks into a really big one and has the time of her life!
Going to be smoking some fish soon, when we get some time!

Yesterday's fishing report.

Katie and I hit the Puyallup river again on Wednesday.
It was a beautiful day for fishing and the fish weer in the river thick.
Katie has been using and fishing rod of mine. I think it is a bit tip stiff, that means that it doesn't have very good "action" at the tip. Feeling fish strikes is more difficult.
Anyway, Fish were being caught all around us and I was looking like a fish catching machine.
My friend Rudy told me to be aware that when the rod tip stops bouncing, that is often a "pick up " by a fish.
The weight bounces along the rocks on the river bottom as your lure drifts down stream. This causes the tip of the fishing rod to bounce. Any difference in this bounce could indicate a fish strike.
I think I am one of those guys that often yanks the fishing rod when no fish is hitting it. But, On the other hand... I catch many fish as was the case yesterday. I caught seven, Katie one, and I lost a few as well.
We stopped on the way home at Fred Meyer. They have a wonderful "humpy rod combo" going on!
30 bucks for the rod and reel. The reel is a Shimano spinning reel and is worth the price alone!
We'll get back out there and see if she does better with a better quality rod!

Some people say the nicest things!

Got an email from a woman who is in my clown alley.
Her and her 15 year old daughter.
I am the secretary of our alley,
Here is the email:

"You do a terrific job with the minutes.....but....the presentation you made....was so awesome!
Thank you for your time, talent and dedication to bring a breath of fresh air to people's worlds when they get to be entertained by you. See you later."

Eileen & Felicia

It is nice to hear words of praise now and again!
I believe this was at our annual picnic gathering. Anyone who wanted to could do a five to ten minute gig.
Maybe something you have been working on.
I performed the six card repeat which Is new to me and then the cups and balls.
It was probably the cups and balls that "wowed" her.

River Fishing

This morning I will be taking Katie fishing on the Puyallup River!
It will be a great time of learning for both of us.
She has not actually ever fished on the river, well... she did take a class at school that they taught her to fly fish. I believe they got to go one time, but there were so many students... I wonder how much actual fishing they got in?
A friend from work, Rudy Shimada has agreed to take us both on the Puyallup with him. We will be fishing from shore, casting our lures upstream and drifting the bait down stream. As your bait drifts, it bounces along the bottom of the riverbed, you can feel every rock the weight bounces off of. Often times these feelings feel like strikes from fish and many might be, you must give a nice yank on your rod, hopefully it will turn into a fish, run fish run...
Katie picked up a nice set of chest waders on Sunday, she looks ready to go in them!
I hope she hooks into a fish today!
Here is Katie with our catch!
She was the first to actually hook into a fish! It sure was exhilerating to watch her try to land it. That one got away, but later she caught one. Hers is the larger of the two.

This week

Well, here it is Saturday and haven't posted in awhile, gotta admit I am really tired right now!
Went fishing Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday we caught three humpy's. Eric and Katie and I. We tried to troll over at Pt. Robinson but gave up after a couple of hours.
Crossed the Sound to the Redondo side and tried our luck at catching Pinks, or also known as humpies.
I caught one on my second cast. I let Katie reel it in. We didn't have official Humpy fishing gear and I think we got lucky. We caught three and lost four. Called it a day.
Eric flew off to Iwakune Japan in the wee ours of Thursday morning. I got off work at about 6 am and he was already in the air.
I told him before he left that I already miss him.
It was kind of strange having him home for two weeks. He is such a man now. He looks great!
It took several days to get used to him being here, I think Katie and him had a great time together, just being, just going to the store etc.
When I got home that morning, I walked directly into his room, sat on his bed and got all teary eyed, can't really say why. He is not heading to Afghanistan, or Iraq where the chances of getting killed are greater. He is going to Japan for a year.
It should be a great time for him. I hope he has a blast!
Friday I stayed up all day, I lasted to about 7 pm. Fishing in the morning with Katie, and we took Cub, her dog.
We didn't troll too long, but we did try casting for Humpies for about two hours, we didn't catch any, I had one solid hit, but no hook up.
I don't think we have the right gear, so Katie and I stopped on the way home and picked up some two inch, and two and a half inch Buzz Bombs. All the pink ones were sold out so we bought some fluorescent spray paint and painted them pink.
Look out Humpies!
Saturday I had a show to perform at a four year olds birthday party.
Joan went with me and it was a good show.
Handed out lots of business cards and people always say they will get a hold of ya, we'll see! :)

Tim Flynn a star in HOLLYWOOD

Posted on youtube by my friend Tom Frank, I did some guest sets at the Universal City walk in Hollywood.
Sure can learn alot by watching yourself, things like, don't yell into the microphone!

Tired but happy

Sunday/Monday long hour run...
Made longer by the fact that I went home after work Monday morning and hitched up the boat, woke Eric up, and took him fishing in Puget Sound.
We launched at Redondo and flew North to Three Tree Point.
Had heard good reports about lots of fish at Three Tree. Of course, I am usually a day late and a dollar short... this may have been the case again, as last week I wasn't in the mood for fishing, sometimes life gets in the way of pleasure...
Not that I would know, I mean, having spent several days in Hawaii and Los Angeles recently!
But you gotta fish when the fish are present, and I didn't do that this season.
Eric and I enjoyed the time together, smoking cigars, and Eric caught a 3-4 lb. Pink Salmon.
Pinks aren't the most liked salmon in the sea, but at least it created a little excitement on the boat!
I filleted the fish when we got home, got to bed around 2pm and slept to 6:15, had an errand to do for Tuesday.
So, here I am all tired and it's not even near the weekend!
Life is great!

Beck Shows That Cash For Clunkers Web Site Declares Federal Control Over Computers Accessing It

Wow, are you aware of this...
So, what you might consider doing anytime you need to access government sites is to use the p.c. at the library!

For Tom

Dinner tonight!
Awesome Fillet Mignon.
Cooked just right on the Hibachi pot!

Add in the extra's like baked potato, mushrooms, and corn on the cobb!

Yum Yum

Clown Alley!

Last night we enjoyed our annual picnic at the Fife Community center.
We had the picnic outside which was nice, almost got rained on.
Several alley members did some form of entertainment, me included. I performed a new effect I've been working on as a piece to use as an MC. It is a 6 card repeat effect. It went perfectly!
I also performed the cups & balls as many new members and guests haven't seen the effect.
It is amazing to perform this with people virtually right on top of you, and yet, they see nothing!
It to was wonderful.
A newer member did some nice magic with a Christian theme,
and our president did a wonderful, fun, story telling. She mixed up her words and this is called splinterism.
Maybe not?
Anyway it was really good and funny!
Our own Sean did a nice singing about rainbows.
We also did some sign language learning in fun manner. Learning colors in sign via tossing water balloons around in a circle, before you could toss the balloon, you had to sign the color. I don't know why, but I took a direct hit in the middle of my back with a water balloon. :)

Kamaaina?

Just some thoughts about something I don't like.
We live in America, and yes we as a nation have made some terrible mistakes in the 230 years we have been a nation.
But I always learned that two wrongs don't make a right.
Like the slavery institution that we had in this country. And of course the way we conquered this country in regards the Native Americans, I almost said Indians, but...
How long are we as a nation going to live there.
Are you an American, or a hyphenated American?
Seems to me that we as a nation, and people as a people hold themselves back when they label themselves as such.
We try to get over racism, but the very people that think they are hurt by it, are the ones who perpetrate and perpetuate it the most, and keep themselves in bondage to it.
Another thing is in Hawaii. There is this thing known as Kamaaina, (Pronounced coma ina).
If you live in Hawaii, you get something called Kamaaina rates on expensive items, like a round of golf.
At Kapalua for example, the rate for a non resident is about $295.00. However, if you are a resident, it is only $85.00... Talk about legalized discrimination! Wow!
The thinking is that the locals need a better rate and the tourists can afford it. To me this is backwards thinking. And it is also discrimination pure and simple.
Because the rates are so high, I won't golf there very often, also, I won't be spending money in their pro shop for shirts or golf balls. I won't be spending time in the 19th hole on any of their fine restaurant food, or alcoholic beverages.
If they lowered the rates for non residents, they would attract more golfers who would have more money to spend on the other things golf. I mean, 100 X 0 golfers, is still 0!

Fishing with my boy

Monday afternoon Eric and I took the boat out for the first time this year...
Alki beach and the Elliot Bay bubble fishery is open Friday-Monday.
So, rather than go to Redondo area, we fished the Elliot Bay fishery, with no luck whatsoever.
We had one "take down" on the down rigger but did not get a hook up.
We started about 4:30 and I decided to call it a night at about 7 pm.
It was getting rather nasty out with drizzle and the winds began to pick up. I wanted to beat the crowd and we did.
I find it interesting how some people think. While tying the boat down to the trailer in the staging area after fishing, a man came up to us, asked how we did, and then proceeded to tell us how great the fishing is with 27 fish caught out of 90 boats. WHAT!!!
I said to him, that's pathetic, think about it, if each boat averages two fishermen, and each fisherman is allowed four fish,(Two pinks and two kings or two silvers or one of each silver and king) that's 180 fishermen caught 27 fish, and their limit is 720 fish. He decided to argue my point by telling us that 20% of all those fishing don't know how to fish... Well, Ignorance is bliss I guess.
Pathetic is what is going on with our fishery.
I don't want to blame the indians, but the use of nets to snare any, and all fish is a big part of the problem. Us line fishermen have to release all native fish, and all fish to small. The Indians nets don't discriminate, they catch all those fish and release none.
I have some other reasons why the Indian fishery problem is a big cause of the lack of fish, but I may be wrong so I won't air it here, but it seems to me that to put a group of people in charge of the hatcheries, where the salmon fry are marked by cutting off the adipose fin, is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.
Us line fishermen must release all fish with the adipose fin still intact. Seems to me to be a simple matter of NOT cutting of many of the adipose fins, thereby marking those hatchery fish as if they are really native and must be released by fishermen, these released fish then can be taken in the tribes nets.
Boy, I'm glad I didn't air that!
Well, that was quite an unexpected rant, I guess I am getting tired of the idea that everyone is equal except...
It was enjoyable to be out on the water with our son, he is home for about two weeks and we will give it another go Wednesday, weather permitting!

Magic Castle

Tom & I visited the Magic Castle on Thursday night.

(http://www.magiccastle.com/)
I was really looking forward to going to the castle and seeing the shows, visiting this nostalgic place, and seeing, and being in the rooms where so many great magicians have sat and shared our art.
The Magic Castle is a private club, you must be a member or have a guest card from a member to enter. No one under 21 years old is allowed except for Sunday brunch.
We posed for some photo's for the memory book before heading in.
The Castle has a strict dress code, suit and ties for men, and dresses for the ladies.
Many people arrive dressed to kill. A valet to park your car, a secret word to get thru the inner door and you are in!!!
Tom and I enjoyed a cigar before entering, we saved them for later as we had time between shows for a puff or two.
At the castle you can get an excellent dinner if you like, or you can get a burger at the bar. We ate before going, the prices are fairly steep.
A drink was 12 dollars. That's a wee bit steep. If you can afford to pay that price, that truly is magical!
We visited the library at the castle to thank the gentleman who got us in. He did a nice magic card effect for us. He is the library's curator and does an excellent job. Ask him about a trick and he most likely can point you in the right book for your study.
I have to admit that the castle was somewhat disappointing to me. I guess I expected more from it. The place is in need of some re furbishing.
While in line for one of the shows, the railing people lean on seemed to be ready fall over. The restrooms too, were a bit small and outdated.
A few of the acts were mediocre and were not well choreographed. A woman played the violin, and while she was an excellent violin player, she had to walk off stage to get her linking rings after one song, and then when she finished her linking ring routine, she again walked entirely off stage to put her rings away and to gather up her violin to finish her set. I found that whole sequence rather unprofessional.
There were several small things like this that were... rather strange.
I did not feel like they were very welcoming, in fact it seemed that everyone was tired. One man, who seemed to be in charge of directing people was telling guests how terrible his day was and that he couldn't wait to get off work.
I guess they don't realize how excited people from all over the world are to come to the castle for entertainment.
I found out the hard way that no pictures are allowed inside the castle, this seems a little bit "stuffy" to me. I took a picture of Tom, and was told in no uncertain terms that picture taking is off limits.
I find this rather strange for a place that should be trying to attract people to their venue rather than repel them.
Two of the acts stand out to me. A magician from England had a very nice, polished act, and of course, Paul Gertner.
Tom and I had front row seats to Pauls' close up show.
He did some marvelous magical work. His signature cups and balls using steel balls to finish. Paul did a wonderful routine using The Masuda "Wow" card effect. Finally someone to put it to practical use with a solid routine.
Nice job Paul!
Another solid act was the stand up act of Aye Jay. Aye Jay is a real carny, from the old school. He has a very nice act with wonderful audience participation.


Tom and I talked magic almost non stop for the entire five days of my visit. Tom spent many hours on the computer editing a dvd for Sylvester the Jester. They are great friends. It was eye opening to spend three nights at the City Walk watching, and observing Tom perform close up. His hand movements are beautiful to me. Subtle things, simple things, like simply turning a card over can be made to look "silky." I have a lot to learn and am excited for the future!
Watching a few things that Aaron Fisher did with cards was, well... astonishing. I know a lot, and I know nothing!

More from California

Wednesday morning came early as I got to bed at 4:30 am the night before. I had been awake for about 38 hours straight, performed magic at the Universal city walk, went out dancing, and partying with the boys and finally slept til about 10 am.
A hike was on the menu for the day.
We hooked up with Aaron Fisher again, and another magician named Irving.
We hiked up Griffith park, well part way up anyway.
(http://www.lacity.org/rap/dos/parks/griffithpk/griffith.htm)It was a nice hike in the California sunshine! I got a nice burn in my calves and was sweating well.
Griffith Park has an amazing history, look it up at the link provided.
Near the beginning of our hike is the entrance to the "Bat Cave" from the original T.V. series, Batman from the 1960's, this little hole in the earth brought back some interesting memories for me! it was a nostalgic moment, as you can see, I did a batman "POW" from the t.v. series! Haha!(Guess you had to see the t.v. shows?)
Tom & Polly treated me superbly.
They wouldn't let me do any work, Tom's point was simply, relax, you are on vacation!
He BBQ'd daily for us. Chicken, steaks, and pork chops, salads, and fruit! Needless to say, we ate great!
I even got along great with their cats!
Sun bathing in the back yard, and smoking cigars.
Saw some interesting bugs too, look at these beetles with their heads stuck into some fig tree fruit! Gotta tell ya, these baby's are big, and when they fly, they make a loud buzzing sound with their wings. Yuck!

Trick Rubber Bands???

I arrived in L.A. yesterday and took the flyaway shuttle to Van Nuys where my friend and magic mentor Tom Frank picked me up with a big hug, and a ready cigar! He whisked me away to adventure land! Actually to his air conditioned home. A very nice home that Polly and Tom are enjoying.
Polly was home when we arrived which is a rarity at the time because of her work schedule.
Tom made us each a turkey sandwich and it wasn't long, after visiting for awhile and we were off to the famous Hollywood Universal City Walk, where Tom performs his brand of magic.
Somewhere in the evening, I performed some rubber band magic for some people. Afterwards, unbeknownst to me, one of the spectators asked Tom if those rubber bands were gimmicked... too funny!
I watched Tom set up his work area, and it was but a few minutes and he was into the Magic! A magic show ladies and gentlemen! Right now, right before your very eyes this coin is going to get smaller and smaller...
Tom surprised me right away in his first set, he immediately threw me into the proverbial fire.. introducing me to the crowd he had gathered, and I performed wonderfully, a three card set for them.
Tom repeated this scenario several times during the evening.
After working until about 9:30, we broke camp and met up with Aaron Fisher, and went out for an evening on the town, can't recall the name of the place,(Marlon's) but the band (Cubensis) was playing all Grateful Dead music. We had a jammin' good time.
Aaron performed some great card magic for me and he also enjoyed me performing some as well.
On the drive to the Marlon's in Huntington beach, we saw a car on the freeway engulfed in flames, I mean not just an engine fire, the whole car was engulfed in flames, very odd!

After that we ended the evening having a late snack at the Canters deli. Great food, and we enjoyed the time together.

Other Hawaiin days

Things Joan and I did while on vacation included snorkeling with beautiful fish and two very large sea turtles, shopping at Whalers village, dining out every night, Bubba Gumps, Lahaina Grill, Cheeseburger in Paradise, La Cucaracha, and others.
We also took in a splendid magic show in Lahaina called the Warren and Annabelle show. (http://warrenandannabelles.com)
Warren wasn't there as he was on vacation, but two of his students were performing and they are very good.
It was great to see my wife enjoy the magic. The performers John Shryock and Chris Blackmore were extremely talented and FUNNY! They had the audience in stitches. Wonderful for me to watch these guys perform and know I am not far off from them, simply a matter of time and energy, and performing more often.
Their audience interaction was marvelous! That only comes from performing night after night!
The evenings were in many ways more wonderful than the days. The days we spent swimming and laying around in the sun. It was great, but the nights turned into long walks on sandy beaches, a cooler breeze and enjoying each others company.
Taking in the many shops and dreaming dreams of Rolex's and vacations to come. Jewelry stores abound in Hawaii. We had fun looking at many earrings, rings, and watches, pearls, diamonds, and other stones.
We spent lots of time trying on shirts of a Hawaiian flavor, looking for just the right one, I brought home three...
Another thing I brought home was the nicest tan I've ever had! Normally I burn first, not this time though! Wisely Joan and I made several trips to the electric tan in our home town before heading off to Hawaii!
Now with the great weather in Seattle, I'll try to deepen the tan even further. My wife thinks I'm crazy! Of course I am! :)

We did many of the touristy things on our first visit to Hawaii. It was hard not to, next time we will get away from the crowds better and visit the less crowded beaches.

Our last night in Honolulu, we enjoyed a Mexican dinner, and then walked along the Waikiki strip. Many artisans and street performers were peddling themselves and their wares. It was a fun evening for me.
I stopped in a magic store at the International Market.
The fellow behind the counter allowed me to perform for some customers, I had a rockin' good time doing a nice three card set for them.
Then we headed back out to the strip where we watched a street painter do his work, he was very, very talented. I bought one of his paintings, I liked this one because it reminds me of my time swimming with the sea turtles. His name is Christopher Michael Sebo. His web address is www.seboart.com.
It is worth the trip to visit his site! Check out his youtube video there!

We also ran into a street performing magician. His name is Jesse, and he is friends with some magi I know from Seattle. He was between sets so we did not see him perform.
Aloha!

More to share...

Golf on Maui was interesting. I was planning to golf two days but golfed only one, last Monday. I golfed on the Ka'anapali Royal course. This is the more difficult and picturesque of their two course.
The days leading up to Monday were relatively calm as far as wind speeds, but of course the day I was to golf... well, imagine 25-25 mph winds.
You can notice some of this in the pictures. Look at the palm trees bending in the wind.
I honestly believe the wind added 10 -15 strokes to my round. On one particular pitch shot of about 15 yards, the ball actually to a straight right turn! This was on a short pitch shot, and the ball then was pushed to run uphill on the green. Imagine what that wind was doing on longer approach and tee shots!
My score, a 96.
Funny too, because I started the round with a birdie on the first hole a par five.
I was paired with three other golfers from all over the U.S. We had a fun time, laughing and rooting for each other.
I decided against golfing on Tuesday as the wind beat me up pretty bad and I went their to enjoy some time with my lovely wife, which I did.
I made the right decision for a change!

Welcome home!

Last night Katie arrived home from her three week trip to Australia!
Because of a lack of more vacation days at work, I was at work when her plane arrived home.
My wife Joan picked her up and stopped by my place of employment and Katie ran from the car to greet me! that was excellent.
My oh my did she have a lot to talk about!
It was funny to hear her talk of her many adventures, one led into another and she was non stop go from the moment we hugged!
Since I am at work, I cannot wait to hear more tomorrow!

Maui Wowie!

Last week Joan and I flew to Maui Hawaii.
I didn't post about it because who knows who might take advantage of us not being home, although we ended up having a house sitter and a nephew came by regularly to water the over heated plants.
The trip was a blast!
Too much fun in the sun! Seems we went to Hawaii to escape the blistering heat of Seattle!? Who woulda thunk it! While we were in Maui, Seattle set records for heat.
We arrived in Maui on Wednesday afternoon and settled into our beautiful, luxury resort hotel called the Westin.
The Westin was a spectacular venue! Three swimming pools, and right on the Pacific Ocean! Every morning we were treated to a wonderful breakfast buffet. Fresh fruit, waffles, pancakes, Bacon and eggs, and more!
Every morning we would get up sort of early and head on down to breakfast, we always ate a large breakfast as we wouldn't normally eat until around 8pm that evening.
Joan booked us for six nights in Maui, and two in Oahu, along the Waikiki strip!
Snorkeling, Scuba diving, para gliding, fun shopping, Luau's and more were at our beck and call.
So much to do and so little time, what a delimma!!!
The Westin was nestled between many other resort hotels, almost a perfect, in the middle location. As we traveled North along the Pacific, we saw many restaurants to choose from. Also to our right was a place known as Whalers Village, a wonderful money grabbing shopping strip, and yes, they captured some of our green backs.
Also roaming this area are what are known as artisans, people selling their wares. It was quite fun to watch and see all the exhibits.
Every hotel had it's own artisans, many of which would sell their wares at a different hotel daily.