An art form that uses the night sky as the canvas

Rachel and I saw Balls of Fury last night. I’d only give it Two mediocre thumbs in the middle (5/10).

Fireworks Over Canal in Pittsford

On our way home, we saw some flashes in the sky to the north and determined it was fireworks so we resolved to go find them. On our way through Pittsford we saw some more flashes and sure enough fireworks they were. When a few more went off as we were crossing the bridge we decided to stop and watch there. I’m glad we did because the reflection in the Canal of each explosion of color just added to it.

A great (random) end to a good day.

I have to apologize for the quality of the picture as I only had my pocket camera with me and it does not have good manual settings for long exposures. I’ll be sure to carry the other one from now on.

I would rather beat the Yankees regularly than pitch a no hit game.

Frontier Field

We saw the Yankees Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Farm Team play the Rochester Red Wings at Frontier Field tonight. The company my dad works for was having their annual Red Wings outing where everyone gets food, drinks and decent seats at the game. It’s always a good time and this year was no exception. Rachel and I went with my parents and my niece Cassandra. Unfortunately the Red Wings Lost, but don’t worry, we’re going back again tomorrow and they’re sure to win then!

Yankees Farm Team at Rochester Red Wings

That's one Ugly Baby!

Ten Ugly Men Festival

Last Saturday Rachel and I (and a bunch of friends) hit up the Ten Ugly Men Festival. For those of you who aren’t aware it’s an all day charity event that puts on music, food and drinks for $30 per person. We happened to win Tickets from the Zone so we got food, drink and music for the reasonable price of free! Lots of fun and we’ll definitely be attending next year. Will you?

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans

Gasoline 1, Bon Fire 0

Rachel and I have been up to a lot lately. For the 4th I ended up going to my friend Anthony’s for some fireworks and some general crazy pyro behavior. One bon fire lit with gasoline and a roman candle another lit with a gasoline trail.

Saturday I went fishing with Anthony and his father in Fairhaven bay. When I got home Rachel had steak, salt potatoes, corn and beer waiting. Yeah, she’s that awesome.

A Joust

Sunday we took our annual trip to the Sterling Renaissance Festival. On the way we got to see an awesome lightning storm. I wish I had my tripod it would have been perfect. The lightning started out at the horizon and then we drove right through it. While there we saw a few shows we weren’t able to catch last year but was overall uneventful. We have determined the next time we go will be with people that have not been yet, and we’ll probably dress up.

Big Beach

Big Beach

Our last full day in Hawaii, how sad. We spent it in true Hawaiian fashion by just relaxing and ‘taking it easy mon’. We hit up

Fun in the SandBecause its over 100′ wide and over 3,000′ long, the natives call it ‘Big Beach’ not to be confused with ‘Little Beach’ next door where the nudists hang. Big Beach is probably our favorite beach thus far. Its golden sand, perfect crescent shape and sparse population all make it a perfect spot. We swam in the clear waters, tried to catch a few waves and played in the sand.Whaler’s Village and popped in and out of a few shops before lunch. Then we were off to Makena and Oneloa Beach.


Sunset at Big Beach
Mr and MrsAs the evening passed we picked up and moved south along the beach to get a good view of the sunset. We can safely say that tonight’s sunset was the most beautiful we’ve seen since arriving in Hawaii. This is saying a lot as our previous posts have mentioned the other sunsets we’ve had the privilege of seeing. What a great way to say goodnight and goodbye to Hawaii.

With Aloha,
Randy and Rachel

Surf's Up Dudes!

Us

That right, we did it! Our first surf lesson started at 9am today. We went through a basic training on land where we practiced our pop ups and how to balance our bodies. Right off the bat our instructor told us with surfing tall people have a disadvantage. It did take us a little longer than our shorter classmates but with persistence there was success. By the end of our lesson we were catching waves and riding them in to shore.

Naptime

Surfing is a very physically demanding sport and we were in much need of nap afterward.

Dinner tonight was at the Tiki Terrace where we dined outside and enjoyed live music and Hawaiian dancers. When dinner was finished we moved to the Tiki bar and continued to enjoy the music and couple more drinks. We met two nice honeymooning couples and had a few more drinks over some conversations.

Crazy Checkers

We ended the night with a game of coconut checkers. In our hotel’s courtyard there is a massive checker board with painted coconuts were you walked your coconut over the opponents and then get to throw their coconut off the board. How fun is that! I don’t remember who won but I’m sure it was me (just don’t tell Randy).

only a few days left 😦
Rachel and Randy

20,000 Leagues under the Sea

Molokini

Another early start to a long day, but here that sort of day is welcomed. At 7am this morning we caught a ride on the leilani. She was a charter boat serving those interested in snorkel, snuba or just enjoying a ride on some of the most beautiful waters mother nature has to offer. It first took us to Molokini, a half sunk crater islet. It’s a popular snorkel spot with clear waters, a thriving reef and an abundance of aquatic life. We suited up and headed out to try our luck with the funny goggles and somewhat fishy breathing apparatus. The object of the game was to stick your head face down in the water and see as many fish as possible before swallowing too much sea water that unavoidably was sucked down the spout of your snorkel. It was amazing though. there must have been at least 50 different species of fish down there, some getting close enough you swear you could reach out and touch them. it was a good call buying that underwater camera. you’ll have to wait for pics from that till we get home.

Us

Next we ate a BBQ lunch prepared by the ships crew and headed to Turtle Town. Here we tried Snuba, a combination of snorkeling and scuba. really it was scuba diving with a tank on raft above you instead of on your back. It took a little while to get used to the breathing but once we did it was great. We are both in agreement that snuba kicked snorkels butt. Once in the water it took no time at all to see a turtle. As matter of fact one was waiting to greet us right off the ship. We saw two others that day and again were able to get pretty close. these guys aren’t shy. we don’t dare touch them though. sea turtles are a protected species and you could get fined up to 2000 if caught touching one. we left turtle town and it was back to Maui.

when back at the hotel we decided to catch up on some relaxation. we rented a cabana on the beach and sipped pineapple juice and coconut rum cocktails till sunset. This is the life.

aloha,
the Mr. & Mrs.