twoltman

I’ve had so much fun in Hawaii (still have to visit the Big Island and Kauai). We borrowed a condo just a block up from the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki. It was the middle of December (my secret time to go to the islands). My best memory was walking down the street in my swim trunks, coffee in hand for a morning swim and hearing “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer” being played on some steel drums and thinking to myself, “It’s 80 degrees, I’m going swimming, what are they playing Christmas songs for?”, then comming ot the realization that Christmas was just a week away! Paradise.

Maui I was just at for Memorial day weekend last year. Some friends rented a big house on the hillside looking out towards Lanai and got married in the backyard there. I didn’t want to leave I loved Maui so much. I would’ve punched my Grandmother in the face to be able to spend all my time in that very place.

Next up will be the Big Island, so I can visit the telescopes there (hopefully) and maybe a helicopter tour of the volcanoes!

My friend and I raced in the Rally America (was SCCA when we started) and the NASA (not the space agency) clubs in the pacific northwest. We started in a small 2 wheel drive and ended up finishing up in a 2.5RS Subaru. If you are looking to get into this, I can only give you this advice:
1) Start by volunteering. There is a rally race close by. Really. Even in the U.S. Google is your friend, as is http://specialstage.com
2) Co-drive, that is, be the navigator. I only drove a couple times and had one of the best seats in entire rally most days by riding shotgun.
3) Go rally-cross. No safety equipment needed other than a helmet (most clubs will provide one) and a seat belt. You could even use your daily driver.
4) Buy (or better yet, rent, a cheap-o, already built, first car. Small, front wheel drive, cheap (as long as it’ll pass technical inspection). You won’t kill yourself, probably, at the speeds these cars will give you. Learn to drive fast, before actually driving fast.

The rally community I was (and am) involved in were great. Top notch competitors and when the going got tough, everyone bands together.

This was very cool. My parents used to tell me about it while I was a kid and no matter how much I begged, they would never wake me up. Well, a number of years ago some friends and I were on our way back from a concert up in the Cascade Mountains (outside of Seattle) and I finally got to see them. Brilliant, beautiful, ghostly shimmering lights. They seem to defy all logic. In your lifetime, you must see these. They are spectacular.