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| Overhead view of Waikiki and Diamond Head |
I was fortunate enough to visit Hawaii - one of my favorite
bowling destinations. Every year, there are PBA Regional events that take place
on the islands of Hawaii. This year the tournaments started on the Big Island
at KB Xtreme in Kona.
Having great success at this bowling center last year in its
inaugural event, I was excited to make the trip back to Kona. Prior to the
tournaments, Scott Norton and I flew in early to do some sightseeing and
relaxing.
Last year, we were able to visit the Volcano National Park,
the Southern Most Point in the U.S. as well as Black and Green sand beaches.
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| Volcano National Park |
This year, we decided to visit the other side of the island
and drive to Hilo. We took the long and scenic route to Hilo, making pit stops
at Akaka Falls and Kahuna Falls. Then later, we stopped at Rainbow Falls, where
we hiked (in flip flops) through the mud and over rocks to get to the top of
the waterfall. Ten mosquito bites and muddy feet later, the hike was well worth
it for the amazing views and close proximity to the sheer power of the falls.
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| Akaka Falls |
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| Rainbow Falls |
We later went into the historic town of Hilo and ate at Café
100, home of the Loco Moco. I LOVE Hawaiian food and I definitely got my fill
while on this trip! Spam musubi, Kalua pork, and my staple breakfast – spam,
eggs and rice.
After a yummy lunch, we headed to a natural thermal ocean
pool, which is heated from lava underneath the rock and allows ocean water in,
leaving fish, eels and other ocean life in a heated environment great for
snorkeling.
Afterwards, we made our way up to Mauna Kea for stargazing
at night. Although it wasn’t the
clearest night, we were still able to view Jupiter with its four moons as well
as see all of the lines that surround Jupiter, which we learned are actually
storms. We also viewed Mars, Orion’s belt and numerous other constellations and
stars. It was an amazing day to say the
least.
Then started the tournament in Kona. The lanes were pretty
challenging with massive out of bounds from 8 to the gutter, which definitely
put more of a premium on shot making and spares.
I started off great shooting 229, 213, 222 and 191 using my
Ebonite Pivot. Then I missed the transition and shot games of 171, 175 and 189
to put me out of the cut. Needing a big last game to cash and possibly make the
cut, I switched balls to my Columbia 300 Eruption Pro and shot 235 for +25
overall. I ended up being the first one
not to cash, just missing by 21 pins as well as barely missing matchplay by 33
pins.
Although I was disappointed, I was still extremely pleased with
how I bowled considering it was my first real test of a lot of games since I
had injured my groin muscle in early January. After the USBC Masters, I took an
entire month off from bowling to try and let it completely heal. It seems to
have worked! J
We then ventured to Oahu, Hawaii for our next two
tournaments. Prior to the tournaments, our Columbia 300 and fellow EBI staffers
held a coaching clinic at Hickam AFB, which filled to capacity.
The next day, we had a one-day event at the Pearl Harbor Naval
Station bowling center. The day was extremely high scoring with Scott leading
the field shooting 300 and 278 to start out the event. I started out strong
using my Columbia 300 Crazy Antics to shot 268 the first game. However, things
quickly fell apart the second game as I struggled to find the pocket, shooting
158. I found a line, switching to my #emergencyorange Eruption Pro shooting games of 212,
246, 223, 250 and 249. Needing a big last game to cash and make the cut, I
figured I needed to strike out and shoot 250. I got the first strike in the 10th
and then left a pocket 7-10 split to shot 242. The 7-10 ended up costing me
making matchplay, as I shot +240 for all 8 games, but missed matchplay by 1
pin. I did still cash in the tournament.
I then played cheerleader and watched Scott win his 6th
regional title using a Columbia 300 Crazy Antics, defeating local Chad Pojas for the win.
In between events, we were able to visit Spam Jam 2014 that
took place in downtown Waikiki. I of course was in heaven, loving spam and bought a couple of spam musubis and
event bought a t-shirt that is perfect for me!
Our final tournament was held at Hickam AFB bowling center.
The lanes were even more high scoring at this event. I didn’t fair too well at this tournament, not being able to carry. Scott didn’t have any trouble, shooting 300
both the first and 8th game of the event using his Columbia 300 Crazy Antics. He ended up coming in 2nd
place for the event, behind David Haynes.
I have had the pleasure and privileged of traveling and
bowling in Hawaii since I was 12 years old. Over the years, I have made many
friends on the islands, which is why every year we all make it a point to see
each other, usually for a dinner/BBQ.
This year wasn't any different as we had
a yummy BBQ and celebrated one of our friends’s daughter’s birthday. Timing also worked out perfectly as we were able to attend our friends' wedding.
All in all it was a great trip to Hawaii. I can't wait until next year! Til then...
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