Killer Bees

The Novice Bee's strike again!

On Saturday, the 'official' start to the paddling season began with the Kai E Hitu regatta. We were all a little nervous because this was our first real race, this was my first race steering the boat, and this race could make or break our chances for participating in the state championship race in Maui.

We paddled out to the quarter mile starting line. Our arms and legs we were shaking and our adrenaline was pumping as they waved the flag to start. 2 minutes and 13 seconds later we crossed the finish line.

We were unsure if we had won the race because it's hard to see based on the finish line. Every boat comes in at a different angle so it's hard to tell. We were all pretty certain that we came in second or third but definitely not first.

However, 30 minutes later, the official results came in and we had done it! We won by one second!

Needless to say we were all pretty excited.

There are 7 more races before the championship race. Us winning this first race does not guarantee us a trip to Maui for the championship but it certainly helps.

We have a tough season ahead of us and our competition is really good. However, the Bee's have spirit and we're in it to win it! Get ready for an action packed summer.

Pennsylvania -----> Hawaii

We've had a handful of visitors since moving to Hawaii and everybody that comes asks us the same thing, "what can we bring you"? It's true, things on the mainland are cheaper than they are here, but we don't need much here. I've asked for a handful of beauty products, some clothes we left behind and a few homemade goodies. But aside from that, we really don't need anything. The one thing we've missed the most has been certain foods. Judy Willey enchiladas, Tasty Tacos, Susan's chicken pot pie, and Yuengling to name a few.

Last week one of my very best friends came to visit. Jesca Prudencio. Jesca has been my friend since Elementary School. My once tiny theater obsessed Filipino friend is now an uptown New York City director. (i'm so proud of her)

Jesca and her family flew to Oahu for a cousins wedding. After the wedding, they all flew to the Big Island for a few days. Tommy and I did the best we could to show them around and give them the "Big Island experience". We took them cliff-jumping, drove on the scooter, played on the stand up paddle board and ate the best food!

Having Jesca here was wonderful. A real taste of home. Central Pennsylvania in the middle of Hawaii. Right when Jesca was leaving, she pulled out of her suitcase the one thing she brought us from the mainland. Yuengling!

As many of you know, Yuengling is the oldest (and best) beer in America. Tommy and I are huge fans of this beer and even had the opportunity to tour the brewery when we were home over the holidays. Yuengling is only available on the East Coast and only in a few select states, it's very hard to come by...and there have been times when we have craved it!

As Jesca was packing up to leave, she pulled out 4 sparkling bottles of Yunegling all for us. We have been savoring every drop of them. We have 2 left in the fridge that we are saving for that "right moment". But for now, I enjoy opening up the refrigerator and seeing bottles of Central Pennsylvania amongst our Hawaiian foods.

Jesca (and the entire Prudencio family), it was so good to see you and I miss you all terribly. I hope to see you all again very very soon. I hope you enjoyed your Hawaiian vacation as much as we enjoyed seeing you.