Eddie would go

I know I have many faithful followers of my blog out there who are wondering where I disappeared to. I am sorry for the lack of update. Right now we are just in the process of waiting, waiting, waiting. We had a WONDERFUL time on the mainland and quite an adventure traveling back. It is great to be home but it is agony. It seems like the end is the hardest because we are all so anxious for Joel to come home. As of now, he is "supposed" to leave where he is on December 18th. So we can expect him home who knows when! The whole traveling process is a mystery, so we are on our knees praying for him to make it home for Christmas. We have spent the past week frantically getting Christmas decorations up, attending Christmas parties, mailing packages, and getting everything ready for his return. As our lives our routine to the business of Christmas, Hawaii itself is experiencing something extraordinary.

This is a professional surfer riding the waves during the Eddie Aikau Memorial surfing competition. Eddie is a a Hawaiian hero and pioneer of big wave surfing. A legend who was lost at sea attempting to save his crew in 1978 stranded on a capsized canoe during a 30-day journey to follow the ancient route of Polynesian migration between the Hawaiian and Tahitian island chains. He was last seen paddling his surfboard out to search for help.

The Eddie surfing competition is only surfed when the waves reach a ridable (!) consistent 40 feet. It has not been held since 2004 and the waves were bigger than anything in years (50 to 60 feet).