Anyway, before the holidays, we found out that hell froze over and my mighty SMU Mustangs finally made a bowl game after 25 years. It was the Hawaii Bowl where, ironically, they played (and won) their last bowl game against Notre Dame in 1984.
So, in early December we decided that if SMU made it to the Hawaii Bowl, we would pack our bags and head to Honolulu. What better than to spend Christmas in Hawaii, right?? Our rationale, of course, was that if we're ever going to be spontaneous and take a fun trip like this, it would have to be before we have kids (more on that in a second).
Since the game itself was on Christmas Eve, it was difficult for a number of fans to make the trip. But our good friends and fellow SMU diehard fans Gerry Hedgcock, David Merkle, Tim Hampton, and Grayson Jenkins all Ponied up and made the trip with us. And what a trip it was!!While we were there we hit Waikiki beach, climbed Diamond Head crater, toured Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial (very powerful, especially at daybreak when I watched them raise the flag over the memorial in the stillness of the morning), and I learned to surf (not very well, mind you, but I could paddle out and catch my own waves). Throw in the fact that we got to witness SMU drill Nevada 45-10, and we didn't think it could get any better. Or so we thought...
Christmas morning we received the greatest Christmas present we could ever receive when we found out that Tina was pregnant. What a blessing, and what an incredible place to find out the news. It's definitely something we will never forget!!
2009 was a year full of adventure. We traveled to Sydney, Seattle and Hawaii. We figured that we traveled over 28,000 miles roundtrip to these 3 destinations, and can now safely say we've pretty much seen our fair share of the Pacific Ocean.
Here are some pictures from the trip:
Our first day on Waikiki Beach:
View from our hotel room:
Diamond Head Crater:
We made a new friend on our trip, Teddy, who got us connected with some fellow SMU fans. We were trying to figure out how we were going to get to the game at Aloha Stadium. Teddy's family friends happened to rent a stretch limo to take them to the game....and we just happened to need a ride. So we got a HUGE hookup and were able to cruise to and from the game in style. So cool!
The crew before the game at the ESPN tailgate at the stadium. This is the trophy and MVP trophy awarded to SMU. Of course we all knew we were going to win the game, so we reasoned that we HAD to get a picture with the trophies.
Naturally, we found Santa Claus at the game. Turns out he's an SMU fan, and was getting some R&R on Oahu watching his Mustangs before the night's journey around the world delivering presents. Obviously we were all good this year because our present was the biggest SMU win in 25 years.
The sweet taste of victory!
We decided to climb Diamond Head crater, which is an old volcano crater. The hike was good exercise and produced some breathtaking views of the island.
The boys learned to surf while we were there. We can't say we are any good at it, but we can honestly say we can actually do it. I had no idea how exhausting it is. The surfing part is almost the easy part. Paddling out and then paddling to catch the wave is the tough part. I was only out there for an hour or two, but by the time I got back to shore, I thought I was going to throw up!! My back and shoulders were shaking from fatigue. I definitely have gained huge respect for surfers because it's more physically exhausting than any sport I've ever played.
Daybreak at Pearl Harbor was very moving experience. The USS Arizona tour is free for visitors, however you have to get to the memorial park early to get tickets because it's first-come-first-serve. It was still dark when I got there, and there was already a line around corner. I had to wait for 2 hours to take the tour even though I got there so early. It was well worth it though. Once you are on the memorial over the Arizona, you can actually look down and still see oil slicks rising up from the ship. Such an incredible site.
If you look closely, you can see the USS Arizona behind the flag.
Me on the USS Arizona Memorial.
Our last sunset on Waikiki Beach.
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