Up, up....and AWAY!

If there was ever something to get done soon on my Bucket List (among many items), it would be a hot-air balloon ride. I got to check that one off the Bucket List on Wednesday, October 3 with a sunset balloon ride over Del Mar, California with Magical Adventures Balloon Rides company.  It was a gorgeous afternoon when we met the rest of the group....in our group, there were four, but in total, nine plus the pilot.

We were taken to an open field where two other companies were also launching their balloons that afternoon, then given a safety briefing about the ride, plus how to enter the basket and the position we take in the balloon when it's landing.  All very interesting...and exciting! If you've never seen a hot-air balloon getting inflated, it's quite a laborious procedure that requires about three people for each balloon.  Maybe we lucked out, but it wasn't that cold that day, and with the "hot air" in the balloon, you didn't even need a jacket.

When it was time to launch, it was quite a rush - both literally, and of the adrenaline variety.  Once the balloon was inflated, our pilot instructed us to hop in the basket before the balloon wanted to take off on its own.  No sooner, you're suddenly being lifted off your feet and into the skies.  WOW!  What a feeling!  We got up to about 3,000 feet and it is so peaceful, it's incredible.  As you ascend into the heavens, it gets quiet and suddenly, you are SOARING!  The ride lasts about an hour in the air and depending on the winds, the experienced pilot will choose a field several miles away to land.  All the while we were in the air, the pilot kept in radio contact with two guys on the ground to gauge the flight and the ride...throughout the entire experience, we all felt very, very safe.

One last impression of our incredible flight....yes, that's right, our University of Hawai‘i flag affixed on the basket, flying high over Del Mar, California. What an amazing experience...highly recommended, and something you will never forget.

California Dreamin'

Been away on my latest adventure...a week in San Diego with an overnight stop in Dallas to see the Dallas Cowboys play on Monday Night Football against the Bears.  While the game was pretty forgettable (for Cowboy fans), that stadium is as splendid as ever.

We had some major golf adventures too, including playing on Coronado Municipal Course, which might be the best municipal course this country has to offer.  When we teed off at 7 a.m., the Coronado area was blanketed in fog. Imagine trying to hit the ball and not knowing where your ball goes...it was FUN!  In the photo collage, you can see the famous Coronado Island bridge in the fog.  OH, and something neat:  at 8 a.m., golfers pause for the National Anthem coming from the Coronado Military Base....awesome!  God Bless the USA!

One of my favorite photos is the last one in the collage where you can see G hitting in the fog at the beach near a boat. Hilarious!  You don't see that in Hawai'i - ever.

RIP Steve Sabol

The world has lost a great artist.  His medium was video, and his subject was the National Football League. Steve Sabol of NFL Films succumbed to cancer on Tuesday.

Sabol was the creative force behind the company his dad Ed founded, which brought the game of professional football into millions of homes beginning in the 1960s. They paired potent scriptwriting and narration with amazingly vivid video and audio to tell the story of the National Football League.  In fact, Steve Sabol is credited with coining the phrase "frozen tundra" to describe the Packers' home, Lambeau Field.

These films made me fall in love with watching football as a kid.  Thank you Steve, for sharing your love of football with generations of boys and girls. God needed a cinematic virtuoso.

Only in Hawai'i

Saturday marked the official beginning for University of Hawai'i Football v2012 at home in the confines of Aloha Stadium. And that meant the return of tailgate season!!!  Our tailgate featured Hawai'i's favorite "meat," SPAM...and some popcorn that I had never seen before...and let me tell you, it's ono!  Ever heard of Prime Rib End Cut and Heinekorn (no beer) popcorn flavors?  Wait, how about Raging Crab?  These come from a company on Sand Island called Primo Popcorn:  And from our trip to New York City, cheesecake from the landmark Carnegie Deli on 7th Avenue. Of course, our tailgate always features wine....and beer.

Another thing, a new tradition began for the University of Hawai'i football team and its arrival to Aloha Stadium prior to the game.  It's a whole new arrival experience, entering in the middle of the parking lot and getting greeted by fans and excited tailgaters.  Nothing like getting the boys jazzed up for their first game at home under first-year Head Coach Norm Chow.  Here's a video of it in case you missed it:  The First Warrior Walk.  Those are some chicken-skin moments, as we say in Hawai'i.

Giant Survival

So who plays Survival Fantasy Football? Who are you picking this week?  They may not be the heaviest favorite of the weekend, but my pick goes to the New York Giants. The defending Super Bowl champions are not going to lose twice at MetLife Stadium in consecutive weeks. They host Tampa Bay.

Looks like close to 45% of the picks is leaning toward New England besting the Arizona Cardinals at Gillette Stadium.  It's during the early set of games, so everyone's probably counting on that West Coast-to-East Coast futility in the early set.