Diamond (Head) for Mother's Day

We're lucky enough to live in a place with such stunning natural beauty, so for Mother's Day we decided to take Sandra out for some time with Mother nature. We see Diamond Head every day while driving around Honolulu, but this would be our first time hiking to the top of it. Max started out strong & did a great job trail-blazing for his Mami.

About two-thirds of the way up we stopped for a quick photo-op with the crater. We learned here that Max is obviously not afraid of heights, and after reviewing this pic I learned that my left-hand's shaka could use a little work :/

I thought for sure I'd be wearing Max on my back by the time we neared the top of the climb, but truthfully the kid was an animal... no, really... look at him attacking these stairs on all fours. And our cute little animal apparently couldn't understand english as we pleaded for him to "wait" and "slow down."

Finally, we reached the top in less than an hour, and it was totally worth it. The ocean just seemed to go on forever, and the city seemed tiny. Sandra's favorite part was the amazing breeze that came in like a reward for making it all the way up.

Max had a blast running around exploring every nook & corner of the bunker/look-out, until something else caught his attention...

Atop another bunker just across from ours was a shirtless guy who'd just run the trail, and he was now doing push-ups and crunches. Max, maybe feeling as if he needed to defend his position with an equal show of force, immediately broke into his own awesome workout routine complete with his own push-ups and crunches. Maybe we should've named him "Extreme Speed" or "Hardcore Speed" or even "OMG Speed?!"

I guess matching the other guy's effort wasn't enough for Max, because just before leaving he had one more demonstration. That's right, tourists, you can go home and tell your family & friends that you saw a four-year old doing one-arm push-ups at the top of Diamond Head! Sandra and I were laughing and loving it, and I think the other guy may have tucked his tail between his legs and run back down the trail.

We had a great time as a family, and Max made some sweet memories with his Mami... that was the point of the whole day, and we all left smiling (and exhausted).

Happy Mother's Day, Sandra!

One Dead Duc

When I came out to my bike the other morning, I discovered the battery was dead. I mean, it was deader than dead. The only thing I could do was take the battery to the dealer so they could charge it for me. But first I'd have to get the battery out.

I've been a Honda guy for most of my motorcycle-riding life, and the battery on an '03 & '06 CBR 600RR is under the seat. So naturally, that's just where I assumed the battery was on all bikes. So, imagine my surprise when I peeled back the seat on my Ducati 848 and found... no battery.

Guess I was gonna have to swallow my man-pride & break out the owner's manual. Usually, I avoid manuals at all costs because there are so many words to read and I tend to fall asleep of boredom before I ever actually fix the problem :\ Luckily, this manual has pictures, too! You win this round, Duc book.

While I removed bolt after bolt on the left side of my bike, Max enjoyed cartoons on the ceiling of my Jeep courtesy of a pocket-projector sent by Uncle Jamion. Very cool gadget, indeed :) Thanks, bruh.

Cisco doesn't really care for Phineas and Ferb (hilarious, btw), so he just hung out, protecting Max and the pocket-projector. Good boy, Cisco!

Back to the bike, and.... Wa-BAM! Left-fairing is removed, and what do we have here?

That would be one ice-cold, juiceless rock in the shape of a battery!

I ripped that dead sucka out & hopefully we can pump new life into it so that I may ride again! Success is a happy ending (and I didn't even 'lectricute myself).