OT: Shorts and Flip Flop Day in Orange County

I read people in da Norwegian countries love da cold.  They say it’s healthy and take dips into ice cold lakes, keep their windows open all day and night to breath fresh cold air.  Dang, I would die up there from Pneumonia.  Not for me (NFM).

I remember da cold well growing up in da Central states.  Hell, during the winters it would get sometimes -5* and average 20*.  Freaken cold air from Canada froze our arses.  As a teenager, I seriously thought & dreamed about living in Hawaii.  And, right after college, packed my things & caught a nice, one way TWA flight to Honolulu.  Dat was a Big Shaka.

Read up dis stuff about Cold weather/climate and its benefits.  This article makes sense.  And, wouldn’t virus and bacteria freeze and die in freezing temperatures?

https://www.kvaroyarctic.com/blog/benefits-of-cold-weather#:~:text=Colder%20air%20boosts%20your%20brain,show%20that%20our%20cognitive%20functions

• This reply was modified 1 day, 8 hours ago by Butkus51.
• This reply was modified 1 day, 4 hours ago by Butkus51.

I remember about in da 80’s icing down for athletes were good treatment for injuries and recovering from workouts.  Back in the 50’s and 70’s liniment and Ben Gay were the treatment for injuries.  Then, we learned ice baths and icing down injuries was mo betta.  I used ice treatments a lot in my tennis tournament days.  Shoot it worked.  So Cold is good stuff…  Cheers

Man Bruddah dat’s some kind World Tour!  Yeah, no pictures can replace being there.  I saw mucho pictures of the Grand Canyon, dang when I saw it da real for da 1st time left me speechless.  The scope/scale of the GC was so awesome ang so Big.  Your trip will be da same thing.  Eh, like Bruddah Java’s New Zealand vacation, please take a lot of photos and share it with us.  Dat would be Great stuff.

Oh, I thought you were moving to Cambria, Calif?  Sedona, Az mountains looks kool, but no ocean…  Cheers

• This reply was modified 1 day, 8 hours ago by Butkus51.

Bruddah Balls, my bad I misread your last line.  I thought you were moving to Zona & Sedona but you were asking me if I was moving to Zona, Sedona.  No we are not.  We want to be close to our daughter, within good driving distance.  From SC Valley to Brentwood is an easy 35 minutes drive, 405 South (good traffic)…  Cheers

No way in hell would I live in AZ.  It’s nice to visit, but it’s REALLY nice to be able to leave.  Probably end up in the Carolinas, on the water for spring fall and winter, up in the mountains for summer.  Would maybe think Florida for the same schedule, but it’s not as convenient to get to cooler areas, can still do it, but like to be able to drive it in one day each way (like no more than 5-8 hours).  The problem I have is that anything that is great NOW won’t be when I am ready.  And, I am reluctant to jump into that “hotspot” that turns into a total transplant Mecca and changes away from what I really liked about it in the first place, like has happened with places like Franklin, TN, or Coeur d’alene. I don’t want to live in an area that suddenly sees a ton of growth, I want less people, not more.

Bruddah Fraud in your photo, where dat coastline?  Looks like da Big Island, Hawaii?

• This reply was modified 18 hours, 35 minutes ago by Butkus51.

It’s Kauai.  Poipu Beach looking East/Northeast, towards Ni’ihau.

You mean northwest looking out to Ni’ihau.  Poipu is located South Kauai and Ni’ihau is NW of Kauai.  But, dat shot is not from Poipu, maybe Spouting Horn which is further up da coastline about, 2+ miles NW?  Poipu Beach has many development and I do not see any in your photo?

Northeast view from Poipu Beach looking out = Lihue, Nawiliwili Harbor/Bay.

Anyway, nice shot of South Kauai…  Cheers

https://vacations.hawaiilife.com/blog/kauai/kauai%E2%80%99s-top-5-south-shore-beaches

Sorry, looking northwest. And, yes, between Poipu Beach proper and spouting horn. You know the geography well!

Bruddah Fraud, 1st time saw Poipu Beach in 1961, on summer vacation.  I met a Japanese Hawaiian at college, became good friends, he was from Honolulu.  After he showed me Oahu, we flew to Kauai, stayed with his relatives in Lihue; he showed me Kauai.  His family and relatives were so gracious, wonderful people + great cooks.  Man I thought Poipu Beach was gorgeous, 2 small coves with hardly any waves due to the reef acting like a barrier.  The Poipu Beach had a nice park with 2 small plantation type buildings, very nice, well kept landscape.  You could see da locals relaxing with family grilling, the amazing huli huli chicken and teriyaki smells.

The backdrop nothing but sugar cane.  There was a small cottage type lodging, maybe 20 units.  There was a small fast food joint that served all kinds of food, plate lunch, burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fry’s, sushi, fried noodles, bento box, etc.  Xlent food.  Wife and I stayed at the Stouffer Waiohi Resort, 1984 for our wedding anniversary, it was one of Hawaii’s most beautiful hotels.  But, Big Hurricane Iniki, demolished it in 1992, the whole Southern coastline got heavily damaged.  After like 5 yrs idle, the property was bought by Marriotts and razed it turning it into an OK, Beach Club, but no where close to da original & beautiful Waiohi hotel.

1/4 mile South of Poipu Beach, was Brennecke Beach, a small cove that had the most amazing, perfect body surfing waves, 8 to 14 feet waves (big waves).  No surfing was allowed.  Man, I had a blast and we BS for like 2 hours.  Again, after Hurricane Iniki, 1992 which busted up BB, its amazing big waves were longer, maybe 2 to 5 ft waves.

Note:  In my photo link, 1st beach is Brennecke, next 2 are Poipu Beaches.

I got to see Hanalei Bay/Beach, now dat was the most Beautiful beach in Kauai (Northeast Kauai).  My God, HB struck me like a thunderbolt.  There were no development, no hotels, just scattered homes way back from the road.  Now, it is overwhelmed with development.  Saw Waimea Beach and Canyon (little Grand Canyon), dat area was nice too.

As a teen growing up in da Central States, farming rural town, I saw many magazine pictures of Hawaii and dreamed about living there one day.  And, after going on dat Hawaiian vacation, 1961 I thought and told my friend dat after college I’m gonna live in Hawaii.  Sure enough after Grad school, 1963 packed up and flew to Honolulu.  Hawaii was good to me, got a good job, married my beautiful Hapa Hawaiian Portuguese wife, my daughter was born there.  I picked up da Hawaiian culture, loved everything about da life style and people.  We go back all da time, my wife has family in Oahu.  Sadly my good friend passed away in 2022.  Peace & a warm Aloha

PS.  Hawaii is like our international vacation, but no passports needed. Shaka

• This reply was modified 11 hours, 6 minutes ago by Butkus51.

Thx, dude. We love it too. Less history. Same love.

Oh, Kauai has another very nice but funny as heck beach on West Kauai, after Waimea.  My friend took me there, he told to dig a hole and each dig I swear there was a dog bark noise.  The quicker I dug, the quick digs would create sounds like a dog barking.  I laugh so hard.  Then he told me this beach is called Barking Sands beach.  Crazy sheet ever…  Cheers

PS.  Before 1992, Spouting Horn shot water 80+ feet high.  Again, Hurricane Iniki damage it, now days it only shoots up water maybe 15 to 25 feet high.

You like Kauai the best out of all the islands?  Have not spent too much time there, only remember going as a kid and that was just a quick leg after a week on Oahu.  Was fun though, remember that trip well, still laugh at how PISSED my dad was when he got the bill at John Dominis.  It was his own damn fault for putting all the kids at our own table and then not paying attention.  There were 6 of us and we all ordered the 2lbs lobsters and a bunch of appetizers.  The waiter didn’t think to check in with the parents and just let us have at it.  My dad came unglued that they put in an order like that for a bunch of kids.  So damn funny.

• This reply was modified 7 hours, 38 minutes ago by Daystalker.

Bruddah Daystalker, hard to pick our favorite island.  Since I lived and worked on Oahu and my wife was from Honolulu, I guess Oahu is our favorite island (wife has her 1 brother and 1 sister still living there, family ties, her oldest brother passed away years ago).  We like Maui and Kauai a lot too.

Shoot, when I saw Maui and its beaches in 1965 I fell in love with Maui.  Maui has gorgeous beaches as well:  Kaanapali, Napili, Kapalua, Wailea and the very neat town, Lahaina (sadly it was burned down in 2023).  In fact we had our honeymoon on Kaanapali, 1966.  So Maui has a special place in our heart.  Sadly, Lahaina is only slowly getting back on its feet.  There are Mucho problems with insurance claims and class action suit vs Maui Electric, city and state government.

I think Kaanapali Beach is 2nd to Hanalei Bay in beauty.  But, old timers say Waikiki in the early 1900’s before the big hotels was da #1 most beautiful beach with iconic Diamond Head in the back drop.  I’ve seen old pictures of Waikiki and I have to agree with them.  When, I got there 1961 for vacation, Waikiki was very nice, but the big hotels spoiled the natural beauty.  Heck, I think Lanikai, Kailua is a very beautiful. beach too.

Funny story about your father’s bill at John Dominis (which was Oahu’s top seafood restaurant).  Dam your dad’s bill was mucho dinero, lol.  We’ve eaten there a few times 80’s and 90’s on visits, sadly it closed around 2010 after 3o yrs in Biz.  Very nice ocean views of Kewalo Basin  water ways & ocean front and distant Diamond Head.

Good talking story with you Bruddah…  Cheers

Ya I don’t remember what it was, in today’s prices it was probably nothing.  What made him even madder was when he was in the middle of a rant my cousin piped up and said something like “well, if we were not supposed to order lobster why did you bring us to a seafood restaurant, why are we even here?”.  Place was cool at the time, had sharks and fish under the floor and watching the surfers right o outside at sunset was pretty damn epic.

I kinda recall our bill in 1982, 3 entrees, 2 cocktails, soft drink, 2 glass of wine, coffee and one desert came to with tax $77 + $10 tip = $87 which converts to $294 today.  Yeah, your dad’s bill must have been a lot (6 lobsters, dang).

Shoot your dad should have taken you guys to Ala Moana Shopping Center food court.  Man dat place had Ono, all kinds of ethnic foods for da cheap.  Hmm, 1982 a good plate lunch type meal was about $3 to $4 and very good too…  Cheers

I’m 100% going to checkout Barking Sands Beach. We’ve been to a locals-ish beach called Salt Pond that we’re going back to and to Polihane State Park which felt like the end of the earth. Amazing.