Editor’s Note: The following piece was made possible through the support of Delta.
Plenty of Aloha to go around
A few weeks ago, we got word that our film, Sine Qua Non: The Psychology of Big Wave Surfing with Greg Long, was accepted to the prestigious Waimea Ocean Film Festival on the Big Island in Hawaii. We had just released the film on iTunes, and since film festivals haven’t exactly become a consistent part of The Inertia repertoire (yet), the opportunity to screen our alongside classics like Endless Summer (now in its 50th year) and Academy Award nominated documentaries like Gasland was too precious to pass up. So after returning from an amazing stay on the North Shore for most of December, we hopped back on a Delta® flight to the Big Island to rub elbows with big shots, surf, and check out some volcanoes. No harm there.
Wandering roads. Kinda cold. Unexpected.
1. After passing out for the entire 5-hour flight – feet stretched out like a champion in Economy Comfort™ (it took about a half second while booking online for a baller upgrade…), we made landfall on the Big Island. And getting first dibs on plane drinks didn’t hurt the relaxation process. The Big Island is very different from every other island in Hawaii. The Kona side has a decidedly post-apocalyptic feel to it. Dry. Spartan. It looks and feels rough the moment you step off the plane. Interestingly, Big Island has 11 of the world’s 13 climate zones. Apparently, it’s missing the Arctic and Sahara, but you can snowboard and surf in the same day. We did not. We also did not expect to be cold in Hawaii…but, alas, we were cold. If you’re headed to Big Island, treat yo’self and pack a parka, braddah.
Alison Teal, Aloha Big Mike, and Sarah Lee…and a rainbow!
2. The film festival provided an excellent showcase of ocean related storytelling. Alison Teal and Sarah Lee, both friends and contributors to The Inertia, showed us around the island – including a trip to surf one of the most localized spots there (thanks for that one!), and also shared an inside look at their project, Alison’s Adventures, which also premiered at the Festival. The series mixes travel, cultural immersion, and even a little surfing to share humor, life lessons and Disney-like inspiration with a younger audience. If you’ve got kids or want a refreshing and wholesome snack of thoughtful, surf-related cinema, check it out.
3. Food. Don’t miss Annie’s Hamburgers and Lotus Cafe. The poke cake burger at Annie’s in Kealakekua Bay is amazing – even worth a little upgrade for the garlic basil fries, if you’re feeling saucy. The place is run by a charismatic and gregarious character named Kai, who told us the restaurant’s birth story in fifteen minutes, gave us a free scoop of homemade ice cream, and generally wanted us to have an excellent time. Which we did. And Lotus Cafe has excellent Thai food. GMO free. It’s a little more expensive, but, hey, you’re worth it. They claim to be the only entirely GMO free restaurant on the Big Island.
Pololu Valley Lookout. Lookin’ might fine.
4. There is an abundance of natural beauty on that island. Between screenings, we hiked Waipio Valley, got rained on in Polulu Valley (good thing we upgraded our rental car to a Kia Soul…that thing’s a monster), and discovered there is such a thing as vog at the Volcano. Don’t breathe sulfur dioxide, brah. Bad for you. We also learned that Mauna Kea is the largest volcano on earth when measured from the ocean floor. At 33,100 feet, it actually dwarfs Mt. Everest’s base-to-peak height size. (Although most of Mauna Kea is underwater…but, hey, it still counts. Kind of.) The point is, it would take a year to see all of the island’s beauty, and exhaustion is no excuse. It’s worth it.
Discovering Cape Saint Francis. This started it all.
5. And then, of course, a screening of Endless Summer reminded us why we started surf websites and hopped on airplanes with surfboards to begin with. Bruce Brown’s narration is timeless (albeit mildly racist upon arrival to Africa), and spending an evening with Wingnut and Mike Hynson as young men exploring earth in search of waves reminded us how much adventure and exploration has evolved in such a short time. It’s an obvious observation, but not long ago a paper map and a text book were the only resources available to scout a new location. It’s wonderful to watch a film from the Endless Summer era to remind ourselves just how much information has converted from the unknown to the well known. It’s also a nice reminder that adventure is alive and well if you’re willing to venture beyond what you know. Watching Wingnut slide across perfect peeling waves at Cape Saint Francis inspires us to climb that hill, book that flight, and continue to search for what makes us happy. At the dawn of 2014, there’s not much else we should be doing.
This post is sponsored by Delta. To see why Economy Comfort is #worthit and to upgrade your seat visit delta.com/EconomyComfort
