Worth many words.

This week can be summed up in a few random pictures.

Did some fishing.

Walked a bit. (Hiking.)

Tried to convince Ben to get a dog.

Had friends over, drank Absinthe.

Went to trivia night where Ben tried to turn it into a gay bar. (Nearly successful.)

PV part 2.

Rooster! 

Very cool to see in person. 

My National Geographic moment. 

The boys. 

The malecon.

Lots of casting practice.

So we didn't have any luck from the boat, but I did catch my first Roosterfish from shore. After watching a turtle lay eggs on the beach nearby. How awesome is that?

We also saw the Pan American Championship triathlon race. Collins did well and I was stoked to see him race!

Puerto Vallarta.

Hanapa'a!

So we arrived yesterday and immediately, we got in some fishing. There are baitfish close to shore we we could see larger fish were chasing the small ones. I caught this baby Ahi looking fish and was thrilled. Then I saw more fish on a sandbar at the mouth of a river. I sprinted across the river not worrying about the diseases that were surely swirling round my legs as I splashed my way to the sand bar. There were hundreds of fish showing me their shiny sides like quarters that had been squished and elongated on railroad tracks. I was amazed to be in the middle of the baitball as I felt the fish hitting my shins. I clumsily through my fly anywhere I could and when I would hook up a fish they would jump and shake out the fly like I would imagine a Tarpon would.

It was frustrating when the schools of fish would be just out of range of my casts. I would be waist to chest deep hucking flies very ungracefully at water that looked like it was boiling until a sleek football shaped fish would jump out and I wished I could get out further.

Pelicans having a feast just out of range!

So today we borrowed the kayaks (resorts have perks) and paddled around looking for the fish. The diving seabirds were sure signs, but as we approached, the birds would fly away and the fish would swim down and stop eating. I was trolling along, rod wedged between when I had my first hit. The reel let out a short yelp and before I could get a hold of it, the line broke and the fish disappeared. I was left staring at some foam and ripples. In my mind it was a monster!

Smaller than he felt!

A while later, I was casting into nothingness when some small baitfish began jumping away from my fly. The closest thing I got to catching a fish was seeing a fish follow my fly. Not quite what I was hoping for from the kayak.

(Jason I owe you a fly!)

SATURDAY

Today we went to a timeshare deal where they tried to sell us stuff. We walked away with no timeshare, but a big bottle of tequila! The taxi ride there and back was fun as we got to go through the non touristy part of the area. Our impatient taxi driver hated being stuck behind anybody, so he nearly had a coronary when we  got behind a tractor and a tow truck. Once we were on the freeway and we passed the tractor (why wouldn't the tractor drive down the freeway?) he loosened up a bit.

Then we attended the pro athlete briefing for Ben's race tomorrow. It was pretty funny because as of today, the athletes don't know the race course. There are two options because the road that that the race occurs on is currently being paved. If it is paved today, option A will occur, if it is not paved by 7 am tomorrow, option B will be put into place. There were a lot of astounded faces as some prima donna triathletes don't know their exact course now.

This evening I caught my first (and second) Roosterfish. A turtle was laying eggs on the beach near where I was fishing. It wa s good evening.

Mexican bus ride.

On the malecon.

Kona. Again.

What a great last few days. (Get ready for plenty of links for non-tri people.) So much has happened. Lifesport and Blue created a lounge for people to hang out in during the week.

Here is Moj with the new Triad SL.

Blue showed off some bikes and allowed us to demo them. My buddy Nguyen flew in from O'ahu to hang out and help volunteer in the water with us. He owns Momentum Multisport. We demoed a couple of Cervelos today. I got on the new P4. It felt very skinny. It didn't climb as well as my Triad. It was nice, but I wouldn't spend the money on it. While riding we met a pro from Spain. Over the last few days, I have hung out with Marky V, met Amanda and Michael Lovato (cool people), yelled at Mitch Thrower, saw Macca giving interviews, Chrissie signing autographs, all kinds of cool things. We hung out a the K-Swiss booth for a while as well as the Avia booth.

Maarten van der Weijden picking the winners.

We got to attend a party at the BlueSeventy house organized by Slowtwitch. It was cool to put faces to names. There was a raffle where lots of people won prizes. Maarten van der Weijden was the Olympic gold medal winner in Beijing for the swimming 10km. He picked the names of the winners. He is huge.

Chrissie touching herself while giggling at me.

Rudy Garcia-Tolson.

If you don't know who Rudy is, check him out here. Luke Bell was also wandering around so I snagged a picture with him. I like his Zoot suits every year.

Luke and some guy.

We have been hanging out with Erica while in Kona. We went snorkeling at Kahalu'u. Tomorrow, is race day. I am excited to see Terenzo, Macca, Lieto, Crowie, Rudy, Ian Charles, Nick Kaiser. Everyone! Going to bed now. We are getting up early for water patrol. Sunday is Ben's race. What a great weekend.

Eating is good.

Being a guest at the Collins' house is amazing. Despite trying to eat everything that we can, they are still nice to us. There is amazing food and wine available whenever we want. Tonight's menu is set to include crab cakes on a bed of spinach with a white sauce and teriyaki short ribs for those of us that prefer not to dine on crustaceans and their ocean dwelling counterparts.

Just trying to get kicked out.

I raced in the Kirkland Triathlon this past weekend. Ben won and I was happy with my result. I will post pictures when I get them. Staying with Ben, I always jump on the opportunity to train with him. I am horrible at training on my own so having someone much better than me is motivating. Even if I don't see him for most of our runs. Today, the weather was in the mid 80's and sunny.
I was a little nervous when I opened a drawer and saw a container labeled "Carl's Gruel". I wish that there was a person named Carl here. Maybe even a dog. Either way, I wont complain about the food.

My Lake Washington Swim

Lake Washington

 

Last week's race.

I am having a blast hanging out with old friends from Hawai'i. Ben has taken us wakeboarding and tubing on the lake almost everyday.

 The good life.

His girlfriend Courtenay won the largest women's race in North America this weekend. Trish is doing the Leadville 100 running race next weekend.

If you look closely, you can see the baby fish that I caught off the dock in front of Ben's house. It was great to see an evening rise and be able to go out and catch one. Size doesn't matter!
Life.Is. Good.