you had to be there, it was hilarious!
Later on in the day, our host BJ picked us up and took us to Jamesons, which is this nice restaurant in North Shore. We enjoyed great seafood while watching the sunset and afterward we got to see some sea turtles just off shore.
On our first full day in Hawaii we went to what I would call the best shopping Mall in the world -- Ala Moana. Look it up! It's sweet! While half of the crew wanted to actually shop, Moose, Burch, and I met up with one of Moose's friends, Vinny, who lives in downtown Waikiki.
He took us to the beach (by the way -- incredible!). Vinny's a big time surfer, so Moose and I got some boards, Burch laid out on the beach and Vinny basically taught us how to surf. We each road some waves which was an incredible rush until I fell off and landed in some shallow corral. Unfortunately, I had to end our little surfing expedition early due to some cuts on my leg from the corral -- no biggie, I'm perfectly fine now!
By the way, don't leave your stuff on the beach, my sandals definitely got stolen!
The next day, we traveled to camp Kanehoe where we held a clinic for the Marines. There weren't that many adults, so we kept everyone in one group, we went through a warmup, did cone drills, skills, juggling then shooting. When the clinic ended everyone ran to the closest TV to see Wake Forest on national television win their first national championship.
Moose (who is a Demon Deacon) jumped like a l'il kid after the whistle blew.
Today, we traveled to Hikem Airforce base to do an autograph session along with a clinic for the kids. There were a lot of kids, so we split up into two groups -- Nick and I were teamed up together and we taught the proper techniques of passing and also played some games! Moose and Burch taught the kids moves and showed them how to juggle. After the clinic, BJ picked us up and took us to another nice restaurant called Chart House. We all enjoyed a nice dish of seafood and some good memories. Now we're all just hanging out watching a movie ... goodnight!
We found a couple Paradise islands in the past week - one being Guam and the other Kwajalein. With only one day in Guam we basically just soaked up the sun and enjoyed the first encounter with warm weather.
We have kept busy on the islands with beach volleyball, golfing, swimming, running, sailing, learning sailor knots, busting coconuts, hanging out with rocket scientists, star gazing, exploring the islands and snorkeling. Snorkeling was my favorite. We saw clams, fluorescent fish, an octopus, and sea turtles. We didn't see any sharks while we were in the water, but I wasn't all that disappointed for some reason. We did get to see quite a few in the Marina in Kwajalein.
Jeff and Nick got lucky against Burch and I in volleyball. Burch beat us in golf. I beat Burch in knot tying contests and was first to find a way to drink out of one the coconuts that Jeff fetched from the top of a tree.
We took a day trip to Bigej with a friend we met at a clinic. A three-hour sail to an uninhabited island. It was one of the best days of my life. Diving off the boat and snorkeling around for hours. Heavy applications of sun tan lotion were required because of our location seven degrees from the equator. Power snorkeling was awesome. We all grabbed a rope from behind our giant sailboat and looked at fish and coral through crystal clear water at the bottom of the ocean.
The people were awesome and invited us back which is nice because getting to Kwajalein can only be accomplished if you are a visitor or have a government job (like making computer software to intercept missiles and blow them up from the other side of the world).
The seventeen-hour time difference has been cut to five now that we are in Hawaii. It was another sleepless night getting in at 3:30 a.m. and finally in our rooms after 6 a.m. partially due to a taxicab ride from Hell. With the day off, we are going to get our lives together and have a great time these last few days. Try not to be too jealous.
Justin
Kwajalein here we come... I hope!
Our trip to the atoll was not without excitement. In terms of getting on flights, holding a Jamaican passport does not do me any favors as the airline people don't know where that is. Our day started with me getting up an unnatural 4 o'clock in the morning by mistake (seems someone set my clock ahead by an hour - thanks guys). Finally, we made it to the airport only to find out our plane would be making three stops on the islands of Chuk, Pohnpei and the island of the mysterious lady - Kosrae (Never heard of them). They are part of the Micronesian islands.
Before boarding the plane while juggling, Burchy and Moose succeeded in redecorating the ceiling tiles in the airport. Upon making these stops we had to de-plane and go to the waiting area/multi-purpose rooms while we amused ourselves by listening to Burchy yell, "Do you think they have wireless internet here?" Mind you, these places didn't have walls! Each airport was smaller than the first and we laughed harder and harder as he became furious trying to figure out what "that smell" was.
But finally, after three stops and numerous naps we made it safely to our destination, which is as beautiful and secluded as it probably can get in this day and age. We met some wonderful people who were happy to see us. We hung out with some comedians and a couple people who work on the atoll. It was then I realized that being on this atoll reminded me of how good life can be. While everyone is driving in snow, my feet are up watching the tide come in. This is where I decided that, "It is the small things in life that make life worth living." Big ups to Aprile for the trip so far and all the Armed Forces for great hospitality.
So, we had a very busy day of work on my first day (and the other guys' second day) in Japan -- if you want to call it work. We went to two different bases and had three appearances. We had a meet-and-greet at a little round robin soccer tournament, where we met some guys and just talked about everything. Afterwards Jeff and Moose were feeling a little crazy so we headed to a beach on the base, the water is so clear and it really is beautiful over here.
Later that day we had two more appearances at a children's center on a Air Force base. Moose did some of his crazy skills and the kids tried as hard as they could to copy him. I think the kids really did appreciate it, and I know the parents did, too. We arranged to go see some of the 48 F-15s that they had on the base with one of the pilots. So, we headed over there and he showed us where they all hang out -- it reminded me of a fraternity party room and he said that is exactly what it is, where they meet and hang and tell stories on almost every Friday night. We went to see the F-15s and they were amazing!
Afterwards we headed back to our base and get some dinner, and head out and experience a little bit of Okinawa!
Today, we are still without Mark Burch and Justin Moose's bags, but we enjoyed a day of shopping in Camp Foster along with our first soccer clinic to start the tour! We visited the American Village, which is the big shopping mall on the base of Camp Foster. It was cool to go to the village because it was a good time to catch up with everyone along with enjoying some of the Japanese culture.
Later in the day, we led about 30 adults and kids in a clinic that lasted about two hours! We played games with the kids and taught the adults various skills. I was very surprised when we got into a 9-v-9 game with the adults, because all of them were very competitive and could play.
After the clinic was over we did a meet-and-greet session, which was really cool because we found out that all the bases on the island each have a couple of teams and they all compete to see who's best! I also want to add that everyone I've met on the base is extremely outgoing and polite which I feel has made all of us who are a part of the U.S. Entertainment Tour feel welcome! Thank you!
Greetings from Okinawa, Japan!
We just arrived at Camp Foster after quite the journey. There was controversy due to the inclement weather back in the states. From Charlotte, I was supposed to meet Marc Burch in Chicago, but the Cincinnati airport decided to send him to Portland for his connection to Tokyo. I would let him tell you all about it... if he actually made it to Okinawa. Burch will be bunking in Portland this evening and we will surely hear all about it and then some tomorrow.
Meanwhile, we are living large with our own rooms that have a kitchen, TV, internet access, and big beds. I was expecting something a lot more barrack-esque. E-40, the rapper, was on our bus to this Americanized base. He is performing tomorrow night. I will miss it unfortunately because I will be at the airport in Okinawa hopefully getting my bags. My clothes and guitar are spending the night in Chicago.
I will send some pictures and some stories soon. Going to get some sleep finally while everyone at home is about go to lunch.
Get the full story about Marc's eventful day at BobbyBoswell.com:Click here >
