A Year of Change

Yesterday we accomplished a lot and today will be more of the same. I’m off to Denver at 7 to pick up Ty, meet Jagger and drop him more stuff, pick up some steaks at Edwards (for the big game tonight) and hopefully be back between noon and 1.

Upon arriving home, we found some small ants coming up through the floor boards over by the window. This happened a year or so ago too and they pretty much stay in one spot and go in and out of the ant traps I put down. Orkin will be here tomorrow afternoon to spray them and put and end to them. It’s because of all the moisture we’ve had. They’re harmless but annoying.

Blue sky up here. I was out with my shirt off yesterday getting some sun as it was 70 and sunny in the afternoon. Looks foggy and soggy in Denver. Big game tonight at 6, can’t wait!

We hit the gym hard yesterday and are both down shedding about 90% of what we gained on our trip. It was mostly salt and water weight.

My Partner Brian and I are finally starting our new business. In general it’s an exclusive wine club for extremely high end VVIP consumers that want the best and hardest to find wines. We’ll have a retail license in California along with a store front but won’t serve the public. We need to do that for license requirements. Everything is basically a pre-sell as all product will come in and then ship to the customer. We’ll also have storage facilities for customers to store their wine purchases if they don’t want to take immediate possession. The goal is to scale this in 24 to 48 months and spin it off. We’ve been working on it for a year and can’t seem to find any holes in our plan. Might even eventually retire from the import business on a day to day level as the projected cash flow here is so strong, we’ll be able to do so. More to come but the money is there and so are the customers as both are lined up. We’re limiting both which is a good place to be. Our customer list is a who’s who of a mixture of celebrities and sports figures and uber wealthy people as we’re charging a hefty fee to even join. To get in, you essentially need to apply. People always want what they can’t get and even more, what other people can’t get. More to come but we’re close to the launch point. Exciting.

That’s it, time to move and groove, God Bless and Go Nuggets!

Nice and cool and foggy outside. Harley has been a little crazy since we picked her up yesterday. They said she calms down well about a day after we drop her off but once she saw us, it was game on.

Ty and Jack went to Tommy’s and picked up Jaggers bed and desk yesterday afternoon and took it to Boulder to where Jagger is sub-leasing a room for two months for summer school. Not sure when they were done as Tommy fed them and they hung out a bit. Lori and I finally went to bed around 8 or so and slept until about 7:30 this morning. We’re both up about 7 or 8 pounds but some of it is water. We’ll get back after it by heading to the gym this morning and probably fasting for the day.

Lots of rain in Denver. I guess it rained most of the time we were gone. It’s really green up here with everything in bloom. We went to visit Dixie who is fine. She just keeps hanging in there. No basketball game until tomorrow but we did manage to watch most of it between planes while flying home. Hope we win tomorrow and keep on winning.

It was a great trip. One of those where we really reconnected as a family. We’re already planning where we go next. Buying memories are so much better than buying things. It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day struggle of life and lose sight of the big picture. I watched a movie called The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, on the way over. It’s sort of a documentary of this kids life and worth watching as it outlines the mundane trap we as people are in chasing money and validation by being conditioned by society to do so. It would be so great if the internet and social media just vanished. Remember when Bill Gates said the internet was going to make our lives so much better and give us all more free time. Well, the exact opposite happened, everyone is now consumed by their phones that are like a new appendage of their bodies that people look at an average of 2 or 3 hundred times a day. Life was so much better before cell phones and social media. Not sure we’ll ever come back from our so called technological advances. I read yesterday where an AI drone killed its operator as it was preventing it from completing its mission. God help us.

Before I go, it’s Mom and Dad’s anniversary today! They were married on June 3rd. Sure miss them both. Enjoy each and every day as life is a gift, don’t forget it! Here’s a great picture from when we all went to Italy!

Time to get on with the day, great to be home. Have a great weekend and God Bless.

Making up for yesterday, here’s a quick recap. We landed at 6:10 am and were headed up the hill after dropping Ty at Maddy’s. Once home, we began putting things back together around the house. Jag headed to Boulder about an hour after we arrived and we headed out to run some errands. The flight was fast, about six and a half hours. I slept on an off most of the way. Good to be home, GB

This morning at 8 we were at the Mala Boat Ramp to meet Woody and head out on the water for 4 hours of snorkeling, fishing, sun and fun. Around 12:15 we were back and headed home for a rest. We saw lots of turtles and a sand shark while snorkeling. We trolled for big stuff (fish) but had zero action. We did catch some tiny puffer fish but threw them back. The boys got to snorkel with spear guns which made their day.

After heading home, we all needed a rest. Especially the boys as they were going surfing at 5 with Nick and his high school best bud, Jonah. Both grew up on Maui and are really good kids, around 30 years old. Both boys are slaying it after only two days. They’re riding 5 foot waves all the way into shore. 5 feet doesn’t sound all that big until you have one crash down on ya! Super happy and proud of them.

Today we’ll hang out at the house until around 3 when we’ll head out to the airport. Our flight to Honolulu leaves at 5:35 and is 40 minutes long. Then at 7:40 pm we board our 777 for the seven hour flight to Denver. Hopefully we’ll sleep as we land at 6:30 in the morning.

It’s been a great trip. We’re already making plans to come back. It was one of those trips that will be remembered forever. Everyone had a blast and we did a lot! Time to get back to reality. I’m tan enough anyhow, ha. Have a great day and happy June! God Bless.

Yesterday the boys hit the waves. They both did really well and will be surfing again at 5 this afternoon. First up, at 8 this morning, we’re going fishing! It’s 6:02am now.

After surfing the boys went and hung out with Jagger’s friend from college, Max. His family, 30 people strong, are here for a week. Lori and I went to the grocery store for a few essentials and then went and picked them up. Then it was straight to our favorite restaurant, Star Noodle. After that, it was home to hang out, and watch the sunset.

Been a much needed great family vacation. Hard to believe it’s already been a week. We all feel like we’ve been recharged and are ready to tackle challenges anew. We’ve agreed we need to get back here in the Fall for sure. That’s it for now, time to get moving, Aloha and God Bless.

watching the boys surf

waiting for waves, Jag on the left, Ty on the right, with Nick, their bud and instructor in the hat

last nights sunset

Yesterday we drove up to DT Flemming Beach which is at the bottom of the Ritz Carlton property in Kapalua. The boys hit the waves with boogie boards while Lori and I read our books. After that we hung out at our pool. At one point we played basketball in the pool. It was Ty and I against Lori and Jagger. It was a close game until I had the ball and was getting ready to take a shot when Lori lifted up her top at me, distracting me and I missed! Oh well, all worth it, ha! The boys missed the whole thing but I couldn’t stop laughing, neither could she, fun times.

Around 5, we drove down to see Jeffrey and Pete play a few songs at the Maui Coast Hotel where their gig was. We didn’t hang out too long as we were going for dinner. On the way home, all of a sudden, traffic stopped. There was a grass fire off the two lane highway that delayed us for well over an hour. By the time we made it through, it was about 8 so we just went home.

This morning the boys have surf lessons. They’ve both surfed before but we have a guy taking them to the next level. It’s at 10:30. Tomorrow we’re fishing with Captain Woody and then Thursday night we fly home arriving in Denver at 6:30 Friday morning. It’s 6am here now, 10 am in Denver as we wake up this time every morning. That’s it, hope all’s well, Go Nuggets and God Bless.

First up, thanks to all those that served, are serving and that gave their lives for freedom. Sadly many today take freedom and all that comes with it for granted. Seems many are willing to give it up, little by little, not realizing just what they’re doing. Wish everyone could go to Pearl Harbor and see the USS Arizona in person.

Yesterday we headed to Paia to hang out for a bit. We met Jeffrey for lunch and then hit Costco and another grocery store called Down To Earth. It’s like a more natural Whole Foods. We decided to bbq steaks by the pool last night and eat in. It was nice and the food was great. I think today we’ll head up to one of our favorite beaches in Kapalua by the Ritz.

Remember the other day I mentioned the wild chickens everywhere. They don’t bother anything except they start crowing an hour before sunrise, every morning. You can hear them right through the walls even with all the windows shut. Natures alarm clock.

Sure is nice with no tv, no news, no politics or anything. Back to reality at the end of the week. Happy Memorial Day, thank a veteran! God Bless the USA.

The Sun is an amazing thing, especially here on Maui. We all had a bit too much of her today. The day started with getting up island to a beach where Lori and Jag could wrap up their certification by 8am. They had 3 dives to do today. Ty and I dropped them and went to breakfast. Next up was a couple surf shops and an art festival outside where Ty found a necklace for Maddie. We then grabbed breakfast for Jag and Lori and headed back.

While they were diving, Ty and I went snorkeling. At one point, Ty was above Jagger and yelled at him and surprisingly, they heard him! Eventually they had their third dive done and passed all the tests. Their last dive was 50 feet deep which is deep! Michelle is going to try to find some time to get me wrapped up before we leave as my ear seems better.

Afterwards we had lunch in Lahaina and then headed back to the house and relaxed at the pool. Soon it was 4:30 and we got cleaned up to go see my close friend of 48 years, Jeffrey, play at a bar down in Kihei. Jeffrey is one of the best guitar players on the planet, no exaggeration. He’s also known as the Guitar Doctor and coincidently, recently worked on a couple of Kirks, (Metallica) guitars. Kirk lives here in Hawaii. Small World. Anyhow, Jeff’s played with everyone from Fleetwood Mac to, well, just about everyone, doing studio work on albums. We met when I was 19 and we both worked at a guitar store in Seattle. We’ve been good friends ever since. We’ll see him in the next few days for lunch too.

Lori was really tired so we stayed for a set and then hung out for his break. Pete, who he plays with gave me some local Maui herb for the family, in case anyone needed any. We drove home and were in bed by 9. I’m sure someone will put it to good use.

Today I think we’re headed to the North Shore and Paia. We love Paia and always go when here. I think we’ll bbq at the pool tonight. We’re all going to try to stay out of the sun for at least a day. That’s it, here’s a few pics, more to come, God Bless.

Fresh coconuts Carlos got out of a tree for us!

Our pool, waterfall and all that the boys love jumping off of into the pool!

My good friend Jeffrey, he’s always been an amazing player and we had some great times, lots we can’t talk about, ha. And we’re the same age! More to come.

Ok, this scuba diving thing is work. No way around it. We all did well until mid-afternoon when my left ear wouldn’t equalize to the pressure. That’s when I had to stop for the day. We started out in the ocean becoming familiar with all our new gear. First we had to learn how to put the whole kit together, and take it apart. This involves lots of steps testing of multiple pieces of gear from your regulator to the air cylinder to secondary air, meters and weights and your BCD which is your vest that inflates and deflates depending on what you do to it. We had the general idea down from our training so all was good. There’s a trick to scuba diving, it’s to just relax. It’s easy to panic underwater and feel like you’re not going to get a breath. After some time in the ocean, Lori was getting cold, even with a wet suit, so we went to James and used the pool there to continue training. About halfway through that is when I blew my ear out, so to speak. Not wanting to push it, I stopped. Lori and Jag needed to go back to the ocean with Michelle, our instructor, for an open water dive. They were under water for about 20 minutes and both did well.

After getting cleaned up, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Star Noodle. We took Michelle with us as she’s a great girl and now our new best friend. She’s 41, single and is quite together, but still a young single girl. We all had a blast and will pick it up again this morning. If my ear doesn’t feel better, or won’t equalize the pressure, I’ll snorkel with Ty while Lori and Jag do another open water dive. You can’t push your body if something’s wrong. That’s the number one rule of diving, besides, don’t ever hold your breath. If you have a cold, you can’t dive, if you’re physically cold in the water, you end the dive. If you had a rough night the night before, you don’t dive. Safety is always first.

We should be done around noon today. I need to lather up the sunscreen as even with my wet suit, I got good sun and so did Lori. It was a short sleeve suit so that’s why. The weather is great, and we’re having a blast. More to come, GB.

We’re off early this morning for our live water training. It’ll be a long day so I’m writing this the night before.

Yesterday we had fun. Lori and the boys did a little paddle boarding and ocean kayaking while I finished my scuba exams. We were up early, like 5 as we didn’t sleep well. We went to breakfast at our favorite health food cafe on the island for Acai bowls. Then after another stop we headed home. For dinner, we went to PacificO, a great restaurant that sells our wine. It was seaside and fun. Then we went to the grocery store to get the food we needed for an 8 hour day of training.

Everyone is having fun and we’re so glad to be here. We needed this bad and it’s just what the doctor ordered. I did get pics up yesterday so if you missed them, go back a day. Here’s a picture of the giant tiki with cameras in the eyes near the front gate. One of our favorite things is the outside shower outside our bathroom, nice touch. James and Adriana are having fun in France and have been sending pictures, they and we wish we were there. Maybe next time. More tomorrow, GB.