Summer Time Chongolian Update

Well last month on May 15 the one anniversary of my move to an island in the South Pacific quietly came and went without much fanfare or hoopla. I did reflect quite a bit on the last year and where the adventure has led and I am still very thankful for getting this chance to experience life on Kauai. There has been plenty of ups and downs as days move forward. I have had lots of graphic design work come my way and have been putting in long hours working at the silkscreen shop. But I am grateful to have work doing something I enjoy (most of the time) and also allows me to meet some interesting people from time to time. I have also been working on getting my art and t-shirt designs together which I hope to start selling in shops and fairs around the island.

There have been times of loneliness and sadness like when I received the news that my friend Geno had passed away and I did not get the chance to say goodbye and I will never see him or play our ukuleles together again. There was also a very scary incident with a friend of mine who I surf with at Kalapaki beach. He was knocked unconscious in the water and nearly drowned right in front of a group of us who surf together frequently. Fortunately we were all there to help in some way or another to save his life. He will be alright but it will be sometime before he is well enough to return to the water because of the amount of water he took into his lungs. He is a great guy and one of the first people I had met when I got here. All his friends and family are very thankful that he is still with us, but nobody really knows exactly what had happen because no one saw it happen and he has no memory of it either.

Some of the holidays can also make me feel very far away from the people I love and can be a little rough too, but I know this is where I choose to be because I really appreciate the beauty and lifestyle that the folks who live here get to enjoy every day. I still try to start my day early on my surfboard or the stand up paddle board before I go into the shop which will always is a fantastic way to begin a workday. Also, I recently bought a new army green 3 speed beach cruiser and have been riding the bike paths and getting into the nooks and crannies of Kapa'a on the weekends and after work. I have been telling myself to try to eating at a new restaurant on each payday but have yet to do it. I actually have been cooking a lot more for myself and have been reading and trying new asian recipes from cookbooks I have been checking out with my new library card.

My housing situation is still on shaky ground because of unsteady roommates. I now have a kid from Missouri living with us until he completes an internship in September. A nice kid but soaking wet behind the ears and I don't think has spent much time away from home. My other roommate,a 23 year old girl who I originally moved in with at the start of the year, continues to keeps going back and forth about moving back to the mainland for one reason or another. At this point I am tired of dealing with the constant search for stable people to live with and the unstability. So I will continue my search for another place to call home where I don't have to deal with two other people, an always present landlord and all their associated poop.

So thats about it for now, For the most part all is good and I am very happy. I am just trying to stay positive when the going get a bit difficult and feel grattitude for all the awesome things that life has given to me. I hope everybody is enjoying and loving their lives as much as I am mine.

One year of Island livin'

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my move to the island of Kauai. It's been an adventure and I have had a few ups and downs but never any regrets about my relocation. I do miss my family and friends but have been feeling more and more at home with each passing day in paradise. I happily await for new adventures, friends and experiences as year number two begins.

Strum in peace Brother Geno

Photo by Debi Parola.
Very sad news was delivered to me yesterday about the passing of my friend Geno Galle. He was great guy who was always willing to share a wave, a laugh and a song. I already miss the time we spent playing our ukuleles, summer sessions at Cappy and the freedom jams he hosted at his shop. My thoughts and prayers are going out to all his family and friends. We all love ya Geno!

The Kalapaki Paddler

Here is some recent artwork I created that gives a good idea about what my mind has been on lately... the stand up paddle boards floating around Kalapaki. Hence the name "The Kalapaki Paddler." This one measures in around 6" x 6" and was done with acrylic paint and paint pens along with the rope boarder. If anyone is interested in purchasing this one zap me an e-mail.

My New Stand Up Paddle Board

Well I did it, I went down to Kalapaki and dropped some change on Uncle Sal who made the call to Bill Hamilton who showed up later with my new VEC stand up paddle board! 10' 10" x 28" of pure stokage! Now I just got to learn how to drive it. Here I am paddlin leashless around the T-shirt mines:

Springy Chongolia update

Time for another Chongo in paradise update! Oh boy!

It has been a while and there has been a few changes in my Hawaiian lifestyle both good and not so good... but mostly good! My new house is really sweet and for the most part get along with my new roommates. However, one of my roommates is the inconsiderate slobby dum-dum type. But I also have a cool and fun roomie who likes to cook meals together, hang out, laugh and she cleans up after herself. She was going to move back to the mainland but missed her flight and decided to stay on island. So I was stoked that I did not have to find another roommate and have to possibly live with two piggies. The landlord is pretty cool also. He has a cat named Ski who likes to comes by for a visit whenever there is fresh fish in our house.

Speaking of fish, I was given a couple Nenue (rudderfish) that were caught by a local fisherman that I had met down by the Wailua river throwing a net on the reef. When I told him I didn't know how to clean them he went into a state of disbelief. When I finally convinced him it was true that I had never cleaned a fish before he took me, a few of his fishes and a knife down to the oceans edge and gave me a seaside fish cleaning lesson. The next day back up at the house I drank a few fish smelling beers to get my nerve up then pulled the nenue out of the cooler then cleaned and gutted them fishes all by myself. That night the cat and I ate fresh grilled fish! Awesome!

I was so proud of myself that I took a picture of my handy work cookin' on the BBQ. The bad news is that a large part of my digital life including, pictures, t-shirt designs, an episode of Coconut Wired and other files created over the last 3 months were lost when I fried my laptop a few weeks ago. A series of circumstances, all which could of been avoided if I was using my brain, had converged leaving the death of my laptop as a result of their collision. Picture in your mind me driving my van with a full cup of coffee in a wobbly cup holder half filled with loose change. Next imagine a cell phone in one of my hands and an unzipped briefcase with my lap top sitting inside with the DVD slot staring upward. Now envision a twisty tropical road that I had never been on before. Well I probably don't need to tell you that I hit a turn, the coffee cup tipped over and drained into my briefcase and soaked my laptop. I took it to a Mac specialist but there was nothing they could do for it. I am still trying to get the data off but so far it does not look good. This unfortunate accident has limited my ability to get online, put an end to my podcasts and chongovision, and will hamper my internet shenanigans. I am still going to be online from time to time but in lurk mode for a little while.

There is a bright side however, I now spend less time in front of a computer and more time outside surfin', exploring Kauai and having fun goofing off. Also, it has given me the excuse I need to regroup and focus more on my art and creative endeavors as well as get caught up on a few things. I have decided to shutdown my website Lost-isle.com and end my podcast Coconut
Wired. I will be using my blog and social networking sites to keep an online presence for now. I will replace my laptop eventually but for now I think its time to buy a new toy instead... like a stand up paddle board, or a little sail boat, maybe a dirt bike or quad. Shootz, I may even go out and buy a fishing pole. yee haw!

So all is good for the most part Losing my beloved lap top was the worst thing to happen to me since I got here so I am still in good spirits and try not to bum out to much about the loss and my carelessness.

Mackin' Hanalei Bay

Reports started filterin' in of whompin' 12-15+ waves hitting the north shore starting friday. I had not had a chance to spend much time in Hanalei, so I loaded up the van with cameras and boards, grabbed a bag of sunflower seeds and and went on a surfin' seed spittin excursion to get wet and explore a little more of beautiful Kauai. After talkin' with a few friends down at the beach they mentioned a spot called Donkey Beach would be a little less intense. It seemed a better plan than trying to go from 2-3 Kalapaki Beach rollers to huge outer reef crushers. So I made my first destination which I later found out has a bit of a spicy past as nude beach but has since been cleaned up and policed.

I took the alternate route that goes around Kapa'a and ended up at where I had thought the walk to Donkey Beach began. The spot is called Kealia and I was at a bonfire there once before. I asked a lady who had just got out of the water and what looked to me like windy choppy conditions. She let me know that it was not this beach where the path started but actually the next turnout up the hill where the path begins. Back in the car and a few miles later. I had found the parking area which looked clean and freshly built. Some dude pickin' up litter pointed me in the direction of the path. He didn't know much about the surfin' there.

A ten minute walk down a paved path brought me down to a stretch of beach. With exception of two hikers (with clothes on) over on the far side of the trail there was nobody else there. Nobody was in the water which as I had feared was windy and blown out.


I cruised out to the end of the beach where I had spotted a flotsam structure that somebody had built out on the tip of a lava rock point on the far side of the beach. After I walked around for a bit and taking a few more pics I headed back up the hill and started for Hanalei.



Twenty minutes later and several miles of gorgeous tropical scenery I found myself in the town of Hanalei. I drove through town to the other side of the bay and could see the jumbo style waves breakin' way outside. I drove back into town to get a better look at the dudes surfin' I didn't really know where the breaks were so I just picked a road that went the direction of the beach. I followed the road past some really cool houses right on the beach until it ended in a very congested parking area. Yeah... the word was definitely out about the swell and the beach was buzzin' with surf rats, locals, tourist all makin' the scene. Although wind had died down , the surf was way more mellower on the inside and looked like a lot of fun it was way to crowded for me to get excited about getting into.



I walked out to the end of the pier where kids were jumpin' off and people were fishin' from and watched all the whole party take place.

I was able to see the waves better from the pier but I really could of used some binoculars to get a better veiw of the guys surfin' those bombers. I got a few pics but you can barely make out the surfers.


After watchin' the surf action for awhile and the guys on jet Skis pulling dudes out of the impact zone I headed back torward Kapa'a where I was house sittin' over the holidays. On my way out of Hanalei I pulled over and snapped a few shots of the Taro and the loi (taro patch).


Although I didn'tget wet it was a pretty nice way to spend the day. Next time I go up to Hanbalei I think I will be leaving much earlier in the morning and will plan do some campin'.

The Searchers from the Tikis & Turtle Series

Here is another one of the characters from the turtle series I was doing for the
Tiki Magazine Bali Hai Art Show which was a blast by the way. These guys were done using a acrylic wash for a background on a canvas that I had sitting around for awhile. After I had most of the background and shapes blocked in I sealed it with polyurethane and went at it with the trusty, yet temperamental at times, paint pens. The final had a sea grass frame around it which along with the painted canvas was mounted on a piece of masonite board to help give it some girth. I gave this one to my sister for her birthday. You may still see or better yet hear more about the Turtles and Tiki Travelers Once the
Coconut Wired Under Ground Testing is complete.

The Concaves, Pollo Del Mar and Davie Allen At Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz

I got a heads up from my ol buddy Big Tiki Dude the other day on my IM telling me Davie Allen and the Arrows were touring California and would be playing in Santa Cruz along with Pollo Del Mar and The Concaves on Saturday night at Moe's Alley. After a fun filled musical day of jammin' with friends from the Uke Club of Santa Cruz and a few drinks, I thought headin' in to town for some surf music would be a nice way to round out what had become a super killer trip to the mainland. Unfortunately, I missed most of the Concaves set, but did get a chance to say hello to JD and Bill. Pollo Del Mar was tight as ever and it was cool to catch up Ferenc and Jono again as well as meet their bass player Jeff. Davie Allen was amazing and had recruited Sam and Brian from Dick Dale's band to play with him for a scorching set of loud and fuzzy goodness. Dave told the audience that they had only a few days to practice the songs but they sounded like they had been playin' together for years. I also had the privilege of meetin', chirpin' and hangin' out with the MC of the evening Unsteady Freddie. Dang my ears are still smilin'.

Jammin' with the Sea Monkeys

We had a fun little jam at my Mom's house on Saturday. I invited some folks over and before I knew it there was a full on band jammin' away! Big Good fun with The Sea Monkeys!