Mahalo Nui, Andy Irons

Since we left our best boards in Nicaragua, the first order of business was to make enough money for each of us to buy a stick for this winter in Hawaii.  That didn't take too long and here's what we got:

Ian got a sick Tractor board shaped coincidentally, for Andy Irons (yesterday was his passing - RIP Andy - what a truly devastating blow to the islands of Hawaii and the entire international surfing community.)  I got a JC.  Ian is madly in love with his new board and I'm getting used to the thinness of the nose on mine, but am loving the ease of duck-diving.  Unfortunately, neither of us are getting in the water as much as we'd like but I suppose that's the trade-off with work and also, the commute to waves.  

This project has made us feel like we brought a little piece of Nicaragua home with us.  Ian built a raised planter box a couple of weeks ago, and we've planted an array of herbs, vegetables, and strawberries.  Everything is doing really well, especially the tomatoes, the jalapeños and the manoa lettuce.  It's fun to check the daily progress of our plants.  The Hawaiian chili plant was struggling initially, but has somehow managed to pull through.  Bless this state and it's year-round growing season.  

And here are a couple of throw back pictures from our last couple of weeks in Nicaragua.  Jaime was visiting from Maui and convinced me to get on a horse, after the fin of her board gashed open her arm and put her out of the water for her last few days in town.  I'm glad I did because it was a blast.  Puna followed us the whole length of the beach, keeping an appropriate distance and I managed to get my old girl Canelo, moving at a jockey's pace.  What a beautiful sunset we got too.  

And that's that.  More to come.  The circus is arriving to the North Shore and the Rip Curl Pro starts this week.  

The Rescue

After the truck found its way into the river, everyone in La Vista stopped what they were doing to either help out, or witness the events of the afternoon.  Marvin, one of the head builders for La Vista, is a ridiculously skilled tractor driver.  He managed to pull the half submerged truck to the edge of the riverbank in an hour, where it hence, became stuck in the mud.  Four hours of switching out different chains, the snapping of the proclaimed "unbreakable" tow strap, and one battery swap later, the truck actually started, and with the pull of the tractor, was able to back its way to the top of the hill.  What an impressively played out spectacle.  From the idiocy of attempting to cross, to the mastery of the dislodging, I have no words to describe the selfless rally that ensued.  Not your typical Wednesday.

The River takes its First Victim

Last night as we were settling into sleep, the steady rain intensified.  In fact, it rained so hard that we knew, without question, the car would officially be stuck on the La Vista side of the river until further ado.  At around four am it let up, and in the morning Ian walked to the crossing and there was no question.  

At eleven in the morning we got a call from our friend Jason, who also has a completed house and is living in La Vista, telling us that Lorena Cruz had come to deliver a bed and low and behold ..... they attempted to cross.

So, the river has taken it's first victim this season.  The boys are currently waiting for a tractor, yes a tractor, to pull them out.  I bring you this update live and will post pictures of the rescue, when the rescue occurs.