Last night I got back from the second of two trips I took this month to commune with the grand surlyclown. I arrived home on the redeye and barely slept after I got back to my apartment as I had another stomach attack. I went to the doctor today, and he says that airline peanuts, tomato juice and coffee arent the greatest combination for gastric health. Im feeling pretty funky still today. Those who know me will realize just how funky by the fact that I havent had any coffee yet for fear of a reoccurrence of the joys of last night.
So, my trips. Kauai earlier this month was essentially a journey to visit my boys parents. In what I was to find out was characteristic generosity, they paid for my trip and rented Surly, his sister and I a condo overlooking Nawilwili Harbour. We arrived early afternoon on October 9th, and his mom greeted us at airport with orchid leis. His mother gives great hugs. His parents took us to the condo to settle in. The condo had three balconies, two overlooking the harbour.
The first morning I woke to a rooster crowing as the sun was cresting a hill above the harbour. Surlys sister L, Surly and I sat out on the balcony, sipping kona coffee, listening to Hawaiian music and feeling the sun increasing in warmth on our skin. We had a lovely relaxing wakeup conversation. His mom and dad picked us up in their car shortly after that to take us on one of many mornings of touring the island. Surlys dad knows the scientific names of all the plants and animals in the area. He was a wealth of information as he showed us the islands treasures. Over the course of the week, we visited wildlife preserves, a canyon with waterfalls spilling thousands of feet, a guava plantation, a coffee plantation and many lovely hidden areas of Kauai. We also feasted at a luau. Ive decided I dont like poi much, but mahi mahi and ono are delicious.
Things you should know about Kauai:
--October is the end of the hurricane season. The water is somewhat rough still, but there are barely any tourists around.
--The island has chickens roaming freely everywhere. It is rumoured these are descended from domesticated chickens who escaped during a hurricane in the 30s.
--Kauai has GREAT coffee. *drool*
--One breakfast dish enjoyed by residents is Loco Moko: Rice with a hamburger on top, a fried egg on top of the hamburger, and all covered in gravy. It sounds crazy, but is actually pretty good if too rich to finish.
--The people of Kauai are incredibly friendly and laidback
--Ive not seen so many gorgeous women in awhile oh, and cabana girls rock.
All in all, trip one was a wonderful experience. Im happy to have met my mans family and gotten more insight into his character and where he came from. One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see adorable baby photos of the puffin.
Trip Two: LA for Halloween.
As Friends of Surlypuffin (FoS) probably know, he is enamored with all things darkish and spooky, especially Halloween, which is sorta like his Christmas. I decided since I couldnt be with him for his birthday this year that I had to be with him for the Halloween weekend. I arrived on Friday morning and Surly met me at the airport. We went to an, um, implement store, then back to his place to play with our toys. Then a walk, and horror movies in the dark, curled up in front of his tv.
Saturday we went to see Cronenbergs A History of Violence, which despite all of the smashed in craniums was an oddly subtle movie. I enjoyed it, and particularly enjoyed the performance of the kid who played Viggo Mortensens kid, his name escapes me at the moment and I cant look it up as Im actually composing this journal offline in Word as my cable is down. Saturday night we saw Oingo Boingo without Danny Elfman at the Grove in Anaheim. Eclectic barely begins to describe the scope of the show. I enjoyed it. After we got back from Anaheim, we stopped by our friend Ms big Halloween blowout, in time to witness the costume awards. The theme was Villains, and Rawr_Ima_Monster won an award for going as George Lucas, replete with fake cash spilling out of his clothes and his next big brilliant idea concept: Darth Chewy.
Sunday we went to Disneyland after I expressed the desire to go on Space Mountain which was down last time I was there. We did Space Mountain as the first ride of the day, and thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the fact that Surly had his eardrums burst by the non-stop screaming of the pintsized 8 year old seated behind us. Space Mountain was great, but not nearly as fun as the Nightmare Before Christmas version of the Haunted Mansion, which was my favourite part of the visit. Surly and I packed in a bunch of rides as well as a churro. Surly got me a cool Nightmare Before Christmas coffee travel mug. He wanted to get me a sweater, but I couldnt find the one I wanted. On the ride home from Anaheim, we got to sing along to Mike Ness of Social Distortion covering old country classics. I love Surlys cd collection. Then it was more horror movies and sleep. Isnt it wonderful sleeping next to someone you love?
Monday we went to Harrys diner for breakfast, and to do some work on some game concepts. Then off to the airport. I was really good and didnt cry at all well I didnt cry til I got teary-ish on the flight later. Oddly when I went to check in (the nwa website told me I had to check in at the counter and couldnt do it online) they took twenty minutes to get me boarding passes as apparently I was booked on seats which didnt exist *cue Twilight Zone music* They managed to reseat me, in what the clerk said were *better* seats (personally, Id say *any* seats were better than *no* seats). The upside was the final leg of my trip on this ageing DC9 saw me booked into a weird seat by itself with no seat in front, so that was cool.
So thats it, my two trips in a giant nutshell. I wont get to see surly for awhile now, and Im trying not to think about that.
So, my trips. Kauai earlier this month was essentially a journey to visit my boys parents. In what I was to find out was characteristic generosity, they paid for my trip and rented Surly, his sister and I a condo overlooking Nawilwili Harbour. We arrived early afternoon on October 9th, and his mom greeted us at airport with orchid leis. His mother gives great hugs. His parents took us to the condo to settle in. The condo had three balconies, two overlooking the harbour.
The first morning I woke to a rooster crowing as the sun was cresting a hill above the harbour. Surlys sister L, Surly and I sat out on the balcony, sipping kona coffee, listening to Hawaiian music and feeling the sun increasing in warmth on our skin. We had a lovely relaxing wakeup conversation. His mom and dad picked us up in their car shortly after that to take us on one of many mornings of touring the island. Surlys dad knows the scientific names of all the plants and animals in the area. He was a wealth of information as he showed us the islands treasures. Over the course of the week, we visited wildlife preserves, a canyon with waterfalls spilling thousands of feet, a guava plantation, a coffee plantation and many lovely hidden areas of Kauai. We also feasted at a luau. Ive decided I dont like poi much, but mahi mahi and ono are delicious.
Things you should know about Kauai:
--October is the end of the hurricane season. The water is somewhat rough still, but there are barely any tourists around.
--The island has chickens roaming freely everywhere. It is rumoured these are descended from domesticated chickens who escaped during a hurricane in the 30s.
--Kauai has GREAT coffee. *drool*
--One breakfast dish enjoyed by residents is Loco Moko: Rice with a hamburger on top, a fried egg on top of the hamburger, and all covered in gravy. It sounds crazy, but is actually pretty good if too rich to finish.
--The people of Kauai are incredibly friendly and laidback
--Ive not seen so many gorgeous women in awhile oh, and cabana girls rock.
All in all, trip one was a wonderful experience. Im happy to have met my mans family and gotten more insight into his character and where he came from. One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see adorable baby photos of the puffin.
Trip Two: LA for Halloween.
As Friends of Surlypuffin (FoS) probably know, he is enamored with all things darkish and spooky, especially Halloween, which is sorta like his Christmas. I decided since I couldnt be with him for his birthday this year that I had to be with him for the Halloween weekend. I arrived on Friday morning and Surly met me at the airport. We went to an, um, implement store, then back to his place to play with our toys. Then a walk, and horror movies in the dark, curled up in front of his tv.
Saturday we went to see Cronenbergs A History of Violence, which despite all of the smashed in craniums was an oddly subtle movie. I enjoyed it, and particularly enjoyed the performance of the kid who played Viggo Mortensens kid, his name escapes me at the moment and I cant look it up as Im actually composing this journal offline in Word as my cable is down. Saturday night we saw Oingo Boingo without Danny Elfman at the Grove in Anaheim. Eclectic barely begins to describe the scope of the show. I enjoyed it. After we got back from Anaheim, we stopped by our friend Ms big Halloween blowout, in time to witness the costume awards. The theme was Villains, and Rawr_Ima_Monster won an award for going as George Lucas, replete with fake cash spilling out of his clothes and his next big brilliant idea concept: Darth Chewy.
Sunday we went to Disneyland after I expressed the desire to go on Space Mountain which was down last time I was there. We did Space Mountain as the first ride of the day, and thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the fact that Surly had his eardrums burst by the non-stop screaming of the pintsized 8 year old seated behind us. Space Mountain was great, but not nearly as fun as the Nightmare Before Christmas version of the Haunted Mansion, which was my favourite part of the visit. Surly and I packed in a bunch of rides as well as a churro. Surly got me a cool Nightmare Before Christmas coffee travel mug. He wanted to get me a sweater, but I couldnt find the one I wanted. On the ride home from Anaheim, we got to sing along to Mike Ness of Social Distortion covering old country classics. I love Surlys cd collection. Then it was more horror movies and sleep. Isnt it wonderful sleeping next to someone you love?
Monday we went to Harrys diner for breakfast, and to do some work on some game concepts. Then off to the airport. I was really good and didnt cry at all well I didnt cry til I got teary-ish on the flight later. Oddly when I went to check in (the nwa website told me I had to check in at the counter and couldnt do it online) they took twenty minutes to get me boarding passes as apparently I was booked on seats which didnt exist *cue Twilight Zone music* They managed to reseat me, in what the clerk said were *better* seats (personally, Id say *any* seats were better than *no* seats). The upside was the final leg of my trip on this ageing DC9 saw me booked into a weird seat by itself with no seat in front, so that was cool.
So thats it, my two trips in a giant nutshell. I wont get to see surly for awhile now, and Im trying not to think about that.
VIEW 16 of 16 COMMENTS
wurly:
wow, awesome! you packed in alot of stuff in a small amount of time. I am glad you had a good time.

sunfeather:
Yes, I am using 'the K-hole' in full cognizance of its significance for ketamine users, not that I have ever tried it myself (nor would I want to, given what I have heard), I just find it funny to use this loaded drug slang to describe a crappy little town where 99% of the residents have probably never even heard of ketamine...