I created this blog to reminisce on my experiences with mewithoutYou. Included is a playlist of video I captured over the years. Also included is some other footage that captured important moments as far as I was concerned.
This weekend, mewithoutYou will finish off their "Farewell" tour with two hometown shows titled "The End of The End" which will thankfully be live streamed and available to watch for a month after. I am glad for the extended viewing time as not only can I not attend the shows, I have other shows I am going to during the time of the broadcasts! I will certainly be watching several times no doubt during the duration of having access to the live streams.
I was fortunate enough to catch the very first show of the "Farewell" tour at Thalia Hall in Chicago. I captured the opening song and the entire encore on video. They opened the set with "My Exit, Unfair" and the encore included "Torches Together," "In A Sweater Poorly Knit," and "Son Of A Widow."
My friend and mewithoutYou documentarian Paul Harrison was also at that show and captured the entire set! He has a lot of other good footage on his YouTube channel called "Christian Rock And Metal Nostalgia" including a lot more mewithoutYou content. It is interesting looking through his stuff and seeing so much that I also captured...sometimes from eerily similar angles!
I saw mewithoutYou for the very first time in the spring of 2002 I believe. They were on a tour with Norma Jean who had recently changed their name from Lutikriss. I recall stickers cut up and rearranged to spell out Norma Jean rather than Lutikriss. This show was in a garage in the back of a youth center called the Escape Zone (if I am recalling correctly) in Mount Vernon, Ohio where I attended Mount Vernon Nazarene University (I believe it was still a college that year). I also recall having been reprimanded at another show in that space for simply holding hands or having my arm around my then girlfriend as it was entirely too much PDA for such a setting! During that show, mewithoutYou were dressed in beatnik style and Aaron would jump between microphones because they were intermittently cutting out. Even with the technical difficulties, mewithoutYou stood out to me as something special. I bought the "I Never Said I Was Brave" EP that night and listened to it a lot. Toward the end of 2002, that girlfriend I mentioned ended up cheating on me with some other dude (or dudes?) and the lyrics of that EP and "A => B Life" seemed to echo how I felt in a way nothing else ever could.
I would catch mewithoutYou many times over the next few years when they would play in Ohio...quite often at the Lime Spider in Akron. I also caught a set at Purple Door Fest in Pennsylvania in 2003.
As healing came and I continued my trajectory toward ministry in the church, I found myself questioning things I'd see in the American church...along came "Catch For Us The Foxes" which again, lyrically, seemed to reflect the state of my life at the time.
I believe in the summer of 2004, mewithoutYou played Akron at the Lime Spider then in Columbus at a small venue whose name I can't recall in the Short North on a back to back nights on a tour with Noise Ratchet...I went to both shows, going back to Mount Vernon to work during the day in between.
2004 was also the first year I attended Cornerstone Festival in Illinois. I caught the mewithoutYou set there, of course. I brought a camera to record whatever I could but its battery lasted no more than an hour so I was unable to capture that experience.
I do have some footage from Cornerstone 2005 of mewithoutYou I captured on that old video camera. A neighboring camper had a converter so I could charge it up! I have footage of every Cornerstone performance after that until they stopped coming after 2010.
https://youtu.be/apvKxyR6Vzs One moment that really stuck out to me from a mewithoutYou show was the mainstage performance at Cornerstone 2006. I had captured three songs from that set...a song from each album. "Brother, Sister" was coming later in the year and they were playing new songs from it. I had done the same during their set on Tooth And Nail Day in an Encore Tent. The moment, however, was not one I captured but one that the Cornerstone media team captured, edited and put out. The entire set was something special. They ended it with "In A Sweater Poorly Knit" and invited anyone to come on stage to sing and dance if they wanted to. Timbre played harp (it was the first time of many since seeing her perform). Something about that song and that moment felt otherwordly...to me and my friend Greg who was there as well. When the song ended and the band left the stage, the usual murmur of the crowd seemed absent even as we left the area. It will always stick with me as a special moment. As great as that song is, nothing including other performances of that song has ever come close to that feeling of that moment. Some of that feeling returns each time I watch the clip!
https://youtu.be/IOXxdUa3G7w I captured Norma Jean performing Memphis Will Be Laid To Waste from their Cornerstone 2006 mainstage performance as well and included it in the mewithoutYou playlist because Aaron did his guest vocal. While I don't think it quite lived up to the video of the performance from Furnace Fest some years earlier, it was still a lot of fun! Josh Scogin also came out on that song to do additional vocals.
Cornerstone performances were all pretty awesome! I already mentioned the collaborations that happened...but often Aaron would get scheduled to speak on another stage. Usually he'd say something about how he's inadequate to speak on anything...or he wasn't aware of being scheduled but here we are. At least one occasion became a potluck jam session. You never really knew what you might be getting at these events!
When "Brother, Sister" was released, once again the lyrical content seemed to be relatable to where I was in life. I'm not so sure the albums after that necessarily were as relatable however, I still really enjoyed each one. Even with the albums I like the least, I still like them a lot! There are very few artists that I feel can achieve that!
As the years went on, I kept going to mewithoutYou shows where ever I could whenever I could. Through 2012, it was usually somewhere in Ohio. From 2007 through 2012, often it was in the vicinity of Cincinnati. The Mad Hatter in Covington, KY was host to a good number of shows...some occurred at the Madison Theater. I recall at least once travelling to Columbus because I wouldn't be able to attend the Cincinnati area show of that tour due to work.
From 2012 until 2015, I lived in Pittsburgh I believe I only caught one show in Pittsburgh which was the Catch For Us The Foxes Anniversary. I traveled back to Cincinnati at least once for a mewithoutYou show during those years because of a scheduling conflict either with work or possibly with Audiofeed. Marco Castro and I traveled up to Detroit for the Underoath farewell tour and saw mewithoutYou there as well. I caught at least one mewithoutYou show in Chicago while still living in Pittsburgh. I happened to be in town visiting with Elphie prior to our marriage.
In 2015, I moved to Chicago and consequently most mewithoutYou shows I have attended since that time were in the Chicago area. I went to a show in June 2015 in Chicago at the Abbey Pub then had to leave for Cincinnati immediately after for our wedding and preparations ahead of time! I did travel to Indianapolis for a show due to scheduling conflicts with the Chicago date on the A => B Life Anniversary tour. Often Paul Harrison would be at those shows as well and it would give us a chance to hang out a bit. While at these shows I typically only would capture a song to share, he'd capture the entire sets!
MewithoutYou is a band that seemed to transcend typical genre boundaries and friends from so many different "scenes" liked them. It was something I could share with most people I knew. I am grateful for the time they have given us. They gave us many years...more than most! I will hope for a future where they play again, however, if they don't...I am thankful for what they gave.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCAA69C0A61832935 I compiled all the footage that I captured over the years into a playlist organized newest to oldest. The Cornerstone footage is all broken up by song. At the time, I wasn't able to upload video longer than 10 minutes so I decided the best thing was to break up full sets I had captured by song. I hope it is still in order of the set list for these full set shows.
Looking back at the playlist I created from the footage I captured of them over the years, it is much less than I thought I captured. I guess a lot of the time when they were most active was before I had an iPhone on me to be able to use if any moment felt it should be documented. While I brought a camera to Cornerstone, I was less likely to be burdened by one at regular shows. The idea of even capturing the Cornerstone experience on video was prompted by the "Ladies And Gentlemen: The Chariot" DvD.
These days it's commonplace seeing phones up to capture a moment and as such these moments captured digitally is likely over saturated. Nonetheless, I hope to share these moments with friends still, even if I'm one of many doing so. I am glad to have done so with part of the time that mewithoutYou was present.
Once again, thank you, mewithoutYou! You have given so much!
Spring living in Chicago in 2022 included a couple trips, a bout with COVID-19, celebrations for birthdays and anniversary, some new local Atlas Obscura discoveries and a bunch of shows. I created the intro once again using Motion 4 taking some photos that highlighted the various things we did...adding in title text on the last photo as well.
04.04.2022 During lunchbreak on Monday April 4th, 2022, a leak developed in the ceiling right outside my office! It was an unexpected and strange occurrence.
04.05.2022 Driving into work on Tuesday April 5th, 2022, it was extremely foggy...more so that I recall happening previously. I decided to capture it with my CrossTour CR-900 and sped up the footage of the drive into work that morning.
04.07.2022 Driving home from work on Thursday April 7th, 2022, there was a car with a Batman emblem and modified brake lights. A poor man's Batmobile I guess.
https://youtu.be/7Xde_fevFRA On Friday April 8th, 2022, I encountered an accident on the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive. A little bit further south, there was a police car that was a bit late arriving and stuck in the subsequent traffic. I received the Canon BG-E18 battery grip for my Canon Rebel T6s which I purchased more for the reason of being able to put two batteries in the camera and extend the time I can shoot live band footage. It also allows for shooting sideways easier with the additional grip. I have been quite pleased with this purchase and definitely recommend it for anyone trying to shoot video for long periods.
Later that evening, I went to see Richie Ramone play Reggies. I decided somewhat last minute to attend this show. Kyle Bawinkel was there as well. I captured "Teenage Lobotomy" with my iPhone 8 early in the set while Richie was playing drums. He fronted the band most of the rest of the night while going back to the drums for a few songs later. This is likely the closest I'd get to seeing a Ramones set. They played a number of Ramones songs and a few other covers along with some originals. Public Nature, The Reaganomics, and Capgun Heroes were the opening bands.
https://youtu.be/u-rx0uKZvsk On Saturday April 9th, 2022, we went to Cabela's so I could use a coupon that they sent in the mail. I bought a few more broadheads and bolts for my crossbow as well as another replacement string to have on hand in case of another break. On the way back home, we encountered another accident.
That evening, I went back to Reggies for the D.R.I. show. There was a trend of older punk and hardcore bands coming through Chicago in the early part of this year and this was another one of those shows. None of them were excessively expensive either. There was quite a bit of stage diving, including a young girl that looked a bit like Little Jessie Dills. Intent, The Suffering, and Battle Royale also played. I got a talking to from one of the security guys for capturing a clip with my iPhone, stating that no photography or video is permitted and if he saw me do it again, he'd throw me out. After talking to someone else as well, he then went somewhere else for a minute then returned to apologize as he had a misunderstanding of the camera policy for the night. I respected that...no real issue in the end.
04.15.2022 We drove to Pennsylvania to spend Easter weekend with my family on Good Friday April 15th, 2022. Along the way, we made a stop at Albanese Candy Factory. The Easter bunny was there. We took a bit of a detour heading back to the interstate and found we could have paid 10-15 cents less on gas than we did as well. The drive was pretty typical...nothing out of the ordinary happened along the way.
04.16.2022 Elphie wore her bunny ears that she got from her mom last year. My parents cat, Charlie, was intrigued by them...Elphie ended up hitting the cat with the ears causing her to jump a bit on Saturday April 16th, 2022.
04.17.2022 On Easter Sunday April 17th, 2022, we had dinner with the family and my mom gave out Easter baskets. We made one for her as well! I decided to walk into the woods in the evening. I wanted to set up some wood around a spot I tried to hunt last year in hopes it will be more fruitful for me this next hunting season.
04.18.2022 On Monday April 18th, 2022, we drove back to Chicago. It was rainy but otherwise uneventful drive. We captured some nice footage as the sunset as we neared Chicago.
04.20.2022 On Wednesday April 20th, 2022, I decided I wanted to see the ruins of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church which was destroyed by a fire on Good Friday. It was to be torn down so I wanted to see it before it was gone. I also figured I'd check out the Pilgrim Baptist Church as well...it also had been destroyed by fire. Both started during restoration work on the roofs of the buildings. We drove to Pilgrim Baptist Church first. Two of its outer walls remain standing with scaffolding to support them. There's a sign about it being the future home for a National Museum of Gospel Music. We then drove over to Antioch Missionary Baptist Church and got to see it though demolition had somewhat begun. I captured this footage using my Canon Rebel T6s but hadn't charged up the batteries so my video capture was a bit more limited than I planned. I didn't want to hang around too long or be disrespectful to the situation but I definitely wanted to see it and capture it if I could.
04.22.2022 On Friday April 22nd, 2022, I captured some sort of demonstration going on at McKinley Park. I also captured the clouds sitting a bit low covering part of Chicago as I made my commute home.
https://youtu.be/iAoEPRH7pZQ On Saturday April 23rd, 2022, we headed to Joliet a bit early for a show. We stopped at the Joliet Prison and walked around the outside of it. It was on Atlas Obscura. We were too late to take a tour. Part of the prison is used as a haunted house. We drove to the Joliet Iron Works site (also on Atlas Obscura) that has been turned into a forest preserve. I didn't realize where the entrance was on a one way street and tried to turn around to get to it only to raise the ire of some of the other drivers. We walked around it for a bit and even found a piece of iron to take with us. I captured some footage of the former steel mill remains.
Afterwards, we headed to The Forge to see Wednesday 13, Grave Robber, Leper, and Nystrodamus. I took a bunch of photos as well as video using my Canon Rebel T6s. I captured "Cadaverous" by Wednesday 13, "The Beast Within" by Grave Robber, and "13 Peilearan Airgid (13 Silver Bullets)" by Leper. It was a good show and a great crowd. I think the footage I was able to capture turned out pretty well too.
Later, we went to Metro for Nocturna. We ended up sitting in the balcony for most of the time that we were there.
04.25.2022 On Monday April 25th, 2022, Elphie and I drove all around the southside into the south and southwest suburbs to try to find the litterbox supplies for Stein's Breeze Litter System. We also hit a car wash because I had a free one on my Speedway App. After that, we tried to hit a Taco Bell to get my free birthday Baja Blast Freeze. The first one I tried wouldn't show up to let me order on the app. The next one was closed. We found a third one and placed the order and got the Freeze.
04.28.2022
On Thursday April 28th, 2022, I noticed a lot of police activity, media, and bikes near Lake Shore Drive. I'm not sure what the situation was. When I got home, Elphie had baked some chocolate cherry brownies and bought some birthday balloons to celebrate my birthday!
https://youtu.be/ZwYtu_VSJuE Friday April 29th, 2022 was my 42nd birthday. On my way into work the Buckingham Fountain was on! How nice of the city to turn it on for my birthday! Skot and Rachel Shaw gave me a small print of the Swanson Pyramid Of Greatness which I hung at work. I got a Falco's Deep Dish pizza, Hawai'ian style for dinner and taste tested the Flamin' Hot Mountain Dew. It was ok. It sort of reminded me of Mexican candy with the chili pepper added. It also reminded me of Orange Slices candy but with extra spice. That evening I watched the last game of the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins - a win over the Columbus Blue Jackets!
https://youtu.be/QVqPuGHQPRE Saturday April 30th, 2022, Elphie made pancakes to continue to celebrate my birthday! They were good!
That night I went to Save The Rock-N-Roll Fest at Liar's Club to see Flatfoot 56 with Splatter Pattern, Squared Off, and The Rip Ups. I tested the limits of the battery grip on my Canon Rebel T6s as well as the recording limits during the Flatfoot 56 set by trying to record the entire set. I found that the recording limit is 30 minutes at which point one must hit the record button again. I reached that limit in the middle of the song "Hoity Toity." Everything seemed to work out fairly well. I noticed that somewhere around the 18 minute mark, the camera would blink a lot. I'm not sure what that means but it didn't seem to have too much of an effect on the files. During the editing process, I had to run one of the files through a second time as it stopped at around that 18 minute mark but whatever that issue was seemed to resolved when I processed it the second time. Again, there is a separate blog for the footage I captured at the Save The Rock-N-Roll Fest with some more details.
05.01.2022 I didn't feel particularly interested in any of the bands on the bills for Save The Rock-N-Roll Fest on Sunday May 1st, 2022, so instead of going to those shows, Elphie and I took Kaylynn and Tim driving around the Chicago to various spots that seemed they may be interesting dependent on what they said they wanted to see. While picking them up at the hotel, there were news crews outside and we wondered what may have happened. I think someone joked about a murder...unfortunately, that's exactly what had happened inside the hotel that where they were staying.
We drove on Lower Wacker due to its use in The Dark Knight and Blues Brothers then stopped by the ruins of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church before heading to the 95th Street Bridge where the Blues Brothers jumped their car. It's is also where the Calumet Fisheries are and both are Atlas Obscura sites. We got out and walked onto the bridge here.
Next, we stopped by Reckless Records on Milwaukee then got lunch at Devil Dawgs before going to the Lincoln Park Zoo. We got to see the lions in their new exhibit as well as visiting the apes and monkey houses. We also got to see the Polar Bear before closing time. We did not get to see any of the birds...we would find out later it is due to the birds being in quarantine due to the bird flu.
I wasn't feeling the best...I was beginning to have a bit of a cough and congestion. I was thinking it was likely some allergies but would find out a week later, it was COVID-19. Not realizing it, I worked through the week while having the worst of the symptoms.
05.03.2022 On Tuesday May 3rd, 2022, after three overtimes and losing their backup goaltender to injury and having to use their third string goalie, The Pittsburgh Penguins won the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Unfortunately, things didn't continue to work out quite so well and the Penguins would lose the series to the New York Rangers in seven games.
https://youtu.be/h7IfUQ8Tk0Y On Mother's Day, Sunday May 8th, 2022, I went to Cobra Lounge to see Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All, and Crown of Thornz. Agnostic Front always puts on a great show. Sick Of It All was ok, however the vocal seemed a bit off. I captured "For My Family" by Agnostic Front. I tried to be careful at this show as I had a nasty cough all week, in case of it being COVID-19 but the cough was mostly gone by this point. Once again I saw Kyle Bawinkel at the show!
05.09.2022 Despite having no more symptoms, I tested positive for COVID-19 at work and was sent home to quarantine for the next 10 days. I had unfortunately spread it to one of my co-workers as well. As I was feeling better, Elphie had her symptoms occur which were different than mine. Both of us felt fairly good on Monday May 9th, 2022, but nonetheless I was not permitted to be at work. It was a nice day so we hung out in McKinley Park to feed squirrels and geese We kept our masks on if any people came near us to do our best to not spread it to anyone else. Some military helicopters flew overhead.
https://youtu.be/hyQT-b5zKis On Tuesday May 10th, 2022, mewithoutYou kicked off their "Farewell" tour in Chicago at Thalia Hall. I did not want to miss this likely last chance to see one of my favorite bands so I decided wear my mask and keep my distance as much as I could from any friends who would be at the show. I did end up seeing a few such as Kyle Bawinkel and Paul Harrison. I captured the first song of the set, "My Exit, Unfair" and the encore, "Torches Together", "In A Sweater Poorly Knit", and "Son Of A Widow" from their set. The Opening band was Tiger's Jaw and I captured "Cat's Cradle" from their set. It has been a pleasure seeing mewithoutYou every time I saw them over the entirety of their career. I hope it wasn't the last time to see them live in person, but if it was...Thank You!
05.11.2022 I drove to work on Wednesday May 11th, 2022, to let a copy of my office key be made so that some of my responsibilities could be dealt with while I was in quarantine. On the way home, Elphie and I decided to drive around Graceland Cemetery and see if we could find the glass encased statue of Inez Clarke and so Elphie could see Eternal Silence. Just as we got to the cemetery, I got a call that the copied key wasn't working...I had apparently given the wrong key! I returned so another copy could be made then we returned to the cemetery to see these sites from Atlas Obscura. During my previous visit to the cemetery, I had not seen the Inez Clarke statue so we made a point to find it first. I knew generally where the Eternal Silence was to be able to visit it after. We did find the Inez Clarke statue. We also encountered a headless statue along the way...apparently damaged somehow. After visiting Eternal Silence, we decided to just drive down Western Avenue to get home. We also decided to stop by a Meijer to get some groceries we would need since we'd both be home a bit more. Along the way, we captured footage of the giant Puerto Rico flags near Humboldt Park near the intersection of Division and Western. I got another call from work to take care of some documentation before I was able to get home which was frustrating.
05.13.2022 On Friday May 13th, 2022, Elphie celebrated her birthday. I gave her a card I drew and brought in the balloons that were still floating from my birthday. I apologized there wasn't much more we could do. We got food at Chop Suey City as well to celebrate.
https://youtu.be/UuuM4172nIw On Saturday May 14th, 2022 we went to Metro to see Front Line Assembly with Rein and Choke Chain. On our way, we saw a Divvy bicycle leaned against the divider in the median of Lake Shore Drive. It was a strange sight. We masked up and tried to keep distance at the show again though we figured to be mostly clear of COVID-19. We chose to go to the balcony and because we got there so early, we were able to secure spots on the railing and it made for an interesting view different than what we usually get there.
05.15.2022 On Sunday May 15th, 2022, we went to Andy's Custard to further celebrate Elphie's birthday. We weren't able to go bowling as originally planned...we didn't want to potentially infect anyone else even though we both figured we were clear of COVID-19. On the way back home, we encountered a wreck on Archer Avenue.
05.16.2022 We officially both tested negative on Monday May 16th, 2022. I was still regulated to quarantine from work but we decided to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo for the day. While we were there, we learned that the birds were in quarantine due to the bird flu. It explained why there weren't birds out on our previous visit a couple weeks before. We were able to see pretty much everything else though! We learned we had just missed a show with the seals. We did see the lions eating.
As we left the zoo, we ended up driving passed Oz Park. We figured we should come back to see that sometime! We ended up in Lincoln Square visiting with The Castros as they finished up some work at Oromo Cafe then headed up the street to Barba Yianni for Greek dinner! We hung out there for quite a while. We told The Castros about Atlas Obscura and found that Merz Apothecary was nearby. It was basically across the street! Elphie and I got a shot of it before heading home for the night.
05.17.2022 On Tuesday May 17th, 2022, after Elphie got done with an appointment, we stopped at Home Depot to get supplies to fog our apartment. We then decided to find a couple southside Chicago Atlas Obscura sites. To get there, we passed the Garfield CTA station we had visited a couple years ago. We also passed a M*A*S*H vehicle as we got near University of Chicago. At the University of Chicago, we found three Atlas Obscura sites all relatively close to each other. After taking a minute to get parked, we began to look for the first I had marked to find. It was a couple of Cosmic Ray Detectors that had apparently been in space! The address listed was a bit off so we made one wrong turn into the wrong alley trying to find it before going the other way and finding it behind a day care center. I think it was listed well enough on the site, I just didn't take the time to read it thoroughly enough. Part of what helped piece together where to go was the buildings in the background of some of the pictures people posted from their visits to this site! We visited a monument to Nuclear Energy next...again using the pictures as a guide to find exactly where it was as the street address was a large building. Our final Atlas Obscura site in this area was a car encased in concrete called Concrete Traffic. It is parked at street level in a parking garage which also houses a bowling alley where the Obama's apparently would go on dates.
We left the University of Chicago to see a couple sites along Lake Michigan but not too far away. One of those is the Shipwreck of the Silver Spray. Unfortunately where it is located, there wasn't a spot to pull off or park. We continued to Oakwood Beach where we walked to the Secret Mermaid. Elphie wasn't with me when I found it in 2021 as I had gotten up early to shoot the sunrise on the Summer Solstice last summer. While we were there, we walked closer to the lake. While the water was quite clear, there was debris collecting near the seawalls which had an interesting look. We decided not to walk to the shipwreck site and headed back home at this point.
05.19.2022 I captured the hazy city on my way in to return to work on Thursday May 19th, 2022. Coming home that evening, I captured a street preacher with a sign near Buckingham Fountain along Lake Shore Drive.
05.20.2022 On Friday May 20th, 2022, I captured the Buckingham Fountain at full flow as I returned from work.
05.21.2022
https://youtu.be/vLLmaegw7Xg On Saturday May 21st, 2022, we went to the Aragon Ballroom to see The Offspring. I captured "Gotta Get Away" from their set. They played a good mix of songs and it was a good show. We intended to get Poke at Pokiology but it was closed so we got Sonic instead.
Afterwards we went to the building where the Double Door is meant to be, eventually...possibly. The Castros tipped us off that there was a show going on in there. Apparently it was something that's been happening regularly but on the down low. We got to see the inside including the basement where there is a vault and some apparent tunnels underneath. The building is an old bank. It reminded me a bit of when we first began renovating Top Cats to become The 86 (before it became Top Cats, again).
After this, we visited The Castros van called 'Remmy' and got to see how they are living these days. They made a comfortable space, it seemed. We also hung out at J.P.U.S.A. for a while that evening.
05.25.2022 On my way into Uptown to go to work on Wednesday May 25th, 2022, I captured a sign in protest of Cedar apartments not paying a standard wage to construction works while raking in massive profits.
05.26.2022 On Thursday May 26th, 2022, as I left the neighborhood to go to work, I captured a burnt van loaded up on a flatbed.
05.27.2022 On Friday May 27th, 2022, we headed south because Elphie had nephews graduating from high school! We captured the usual footage leaving Chicago, going through Indiana, passing the windmills, going into Ohio, passing through Cincinnati, and arriving in Northern Kentucky to stay with the Sheehys. There's also a clip shortly after our arrival at the Sheehy's house while hanging out a bit with them.
05.28.2022 On Saturday May 28th, 2022, we left to finish our trip to North Carolina, passing the Florence Ya'll (which I just realized was on Atlas Obscura!) and entering into Tennessee. The rest area was decked out in American flags I suppose for Memorial Day. I captured shots of the weird amusement park rides along side the highway and the large cross by the adult store. We made a stop at Bojangles, of course and I got some Mountain Dew Southern Shock. I also captured the going through of the tunnels once in North Carolina. I captured a van with kayaks as well. I kept footage of an apparent accident as we passed it then a shot of King's Mountain as we continued east. Shortly after our arrival, we drove to pick up some Krispy Kreme donuts (because it was founded there) and some pizza for dinner with Elphie's family.
05.29.2022 On Sunday May 29th, 2022, there was a pool party to celebrate the graduates. There was some great food and the kids seemed to have fun in the pool. There also was photo shoots of the graduates in their gowns. It turned out Elphie's brother caught COVID-19 and wasn't able to be there...we didn't really get to spend any time with him due to his quarantine.
05.30.2022 On Memorial Day Monday May 30th, 2022, we visited with Elphie's mom and took her to see Top Gun: Maverick! We also went grocery shopping with her where I purchased a bottle of Mountain Dew Uproar from the Food Lion and Mountain Dew Maui Blast at Dollar General. We took Elphie's mom to Poke Bros. for dinner before catching the movie. After dinner, we witness a gaggle of geese crossing the main street through town and doing so successfully!
05.31.2022 We hung out some more with Elphie's mom on Tuesday May 31st, 2022. I taste tested the Mountain Dew Uproar. It is a Strawberry Kiwi and it's ok. We also had dinner with her neighbor. Elphie and her mom made a strawberry cheesecake that they bought at the Food Lion on the day before. We were told a bit about the fire at the church down the road from Elphie's mom's house as well.
06.01.2022 We finally got R.O.'s Bar-B-Que on Wednesday June 1st, 2022. We went for lunch and Elphie's mom joined us. At dinner, we got Sake Express with Elphie's brother (a different brother than the one with COVID-19). We had some good conversation time. The waiter even refilled our drinks since we hung around so long!
06.02.2022 Elphie took her younger nieces and nephew to Kate's Skating. On our way, I taste tested the Mountain Dew Maui Burst. It is pineapple and NO coconut therefore I liked it! Her mom decided to join as well...unfortunately she perhaps got over confident a bit and fell. We'd learn later she broke a bone in her foot or ankle. The strap on my roller blade broke as well and I had to do a little creative work on it to be able to skate. We went to Cookout later with them then to a park to end the night.
06.03.2022 On Friday June 3rd, 2022, we took the graduating nephews to Carowinds. The amusement park is build on the state line of North and South Carolina so we visited both states during our day there. We rode one roller coaster - The Intimidator, one kid's roller coaster that was like a Scooby-Doo type (different because of copyrights) and Elphie and I road the bumper cars. The nephews played the basketball game to win a free basketball. We ate some way overpriced Chick-Fil-A. Unfortunately rain moved in and didn't appear to be ending so we left having only gotten in the few rides. We tried to then take them bowling but all the alleys were booked. We did see a rainbow though!
06.04.2022 The graduation was on Saturday morning June 4th, 2022. Way too early! It was outdoors at the football stadium and a relatively short service! We had a celebratory lunch at El Patron. Elphie's family were headed to the beach for a vacation. I took a little nap then we went to The Captain's Cap for dinner with Elphie's cousin. It was good! After dinner and hangs, we drove to South Carolina to get cheaper gas at the Hot Spot before buying some sodas to bring back north.
06.05.2022 On Sunday June 5th, 2022, we began our journey home, once again stopping in Cincinnati. I captured the usual footage on our drive back through North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. We got a chance to get dinner with Chris Human at The Anchor Grill in Covington, KY. It had a "Show Box" with a doll band which included a Barbie doll that "played" Shania Twain's "I Feel Like A Woman." It was a good time catching up with Chris. It has been a few years since we had a chance to do so between the busyness of life and pandemic. We hung outside with the Sheehy's for a while afterwards.
06.06.2022 On Monday June 6th, 2022, we made the rainy commute back to Chicago. We stopped by The 86 where I purchased some more coffee to get a few more months through the year. Chris had to head out but we got to catch up with Gabrielle who was working. It has been a long time with her as well. I picked up some Ale-8-One at Meijer before heading north. I captured some storm shots along with the windmills and some guy called Bubba at Meijer in Highland, IN prior to heading into Chicago. I captured the clouds and sunset as well.
06.07.2022 On Tuesday June 7th, 2022, upon returning to work, I captured the cloud cover over Chicago again as well as on my way back home.
06.08.2022 On Wednesday June 8th, 2022, Elphie shared some video of Stein purring loudly while cuddling. That evening, we could hear a cat fight going on. I went outside just as it broke up I guess...there was chunks of fur all over the driveway where the fight must have occurred.
06.12.2022 On Saturday June 12th, 2022, Elphie and I held a bowling get-together to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary at Diversey River Bowl. It was rescheduled due to COVID-19 in May. A few friends were able to come out. We bowled quite a bit in the block of time we reserved. I bowled a couple times right handed for fun. I think I even got a strike! After bowling, we got dinner at Portillo's then headed to Romeoville for a public suspension day with Disgraceland Wasteland Suspensions. At the end of the evening, there was a slight mechanical problem where equipment got tangled up in the pulley so they had to get a ladder and disassemble the pulley while someone was still suspended. It was a sort of funny moment.
06.13.2022 Our anniversary, June 13th, 2022, fell on a Monday this year. It also happened to be a stormy day with tornado sirens going off in the city, which is rare. It all started happening as I got home from work. I decided to hang around outside as the storm approached. It was interesting to watch as the cloud movement changed completely to the opposite direction and seemed there could be some rotation of sorts as well. The lighting was mostly flashes rather than seeing bolts but some of the thunder was extremely loud. It took a while to hit but once it did, it hit hard and moved through fairly fast I think. The storm came ahead of some high temperatures. We didn't really end up doing anything on our anniversary due in part to the storm.
06.14.2022 As I drove to work on Tuesday June 14th, 2022, I captured a couple clips of storm damage in the neighborhood.
06.15.2022 On Wednesday June 15th, 2022, as I was coming home from work, I saw the temperature showing in the car at 101 degrees! It definitely felt like a hot day!
https://youtu.be/0x3bs-mK3rk On Thursday June 16th, 2022, we went to the first of several shows for the summer season at Tinley Park's Hollywood Amphitheater. I had to leave work a bit early to make it on time. We had lawn seats so we prefer to get there early to try to get the best viewing spot that we can. The show featured Tears For Fears and Garbage. I captured "Wicked Ways/Personal Jesus" by Garbage and "Head Over Heels" by Tears For Fears. I thought about capturing "Mad World" but I think "Head Over Heels" worked out better. Both bands played great sets and sounded good too!
06.19.2022 On Sunday June 19th, 2022, we decided to visit the Shrine of Christ's Passion in St. John, IN. Folks are able to walk the prayer stations and it has statues depicting each moment along the way, along with a narrative one can listen to if they choose. The church behind the shrine also was fairly interesting. It was pretty cool to walk through. There was also a new part which is Moses at Mount Sinai with the commandments. In the narrative one can play there, the "voice of God" is accompanied by lights flashing in part of the rocks around Moses. There is also a shrine for Our Lady Of Guadalupe and I believe it's a large Virgin Mary statue near the parking lot entrance. There's quite the gift shop there as well. After we left and went to get our groceries, we saw an old Volkswagen Beetle in the parking lot at Meijer.
06.20.2022 On Monday June 20th, 2022, I taste tested the new Mountain Dew Baja Gold. It was pineapple. I think it was just like the Maui Burst from Dollar General that I taste tested while we were in North Carolina. It was good! I was once again glad that there was no coconut flavor to it...especially after buying several cases of it!
06.25.2022
https://youtu.be/gDh8DMJnnbs On Saturday June 25th, Nocturna had its 34th Anniversary event at Metro. French Police also played and Kaytee Thrun did some poetry during the evening. It was a fun event and good to see some folks again as well.
06.26.2022 On Sunday June 26th, 2022, Elphie and I went to a middle school graduation for Bob and Nora's son Bobby. It was fun. Jon Pratt was there as well so it was good to catch up with him for a bit about fireworks, amusement parks, and other shenanigans! There was some good food too!
https://youtu.be/gintjfmt0PY On Tuesday June 28th, 2022, we had tickets for Billy Howerdel at Metro. Elphie met me at work and I did a taste test of Mountain Dew Mango Gem. I liked it! It allowed me to be entered in the Treasures Of Baja Island sweepstakes to get a special flavor if I win! We went to Pokiology then headed to Metro. We had to park quite a ways away due to a Cubs game. After parking and walking to Metro, we found a sign that the show had been moved to Bottom Lounge. This was very frustrating. We had just purchased the tickets on Friday! It seemed there should have been some notice about the venue change. As I investigated while walking back to the car, I found nothing except a new event page had been created later in the day on Friday (when I got the tickets). Once back to the car, I entered Bottom Lounge into my GPS and it seemed we could likely still arrive before the show started so we drove over and parked the car...again. We did arrive before any of the bands had started. I think maybe the venue delayed the show a bit for poor souls like us who went to the wrong place!
Billy Howerdel played a good set. The openers were Vowws and Night Spice. All the music had a lot of synth in it and I enjoyed the show. When we got home, There was a helicopter flying around the nearby neighborhood.
We spent the next evening preparing for our return to Audiofeed!
Things worked out in February 2022 that we could go on a vacation to Hawai'i even while the COVID-19 pandemic continued. We had to be in masks in the airport, on the airplane, and during any public transit we used...but we still got to go! It was a fun trip! We had to use "Safe Travel" to provide documentation of having the COVID-19 vaccination so we could receive a pass from the screening process. It wasn't a big deal to me...it was less hassle to provide the vaccine record this way than to have to go through the screening process once we arrived. I saw in a newspaper while there that the "Safe Travels" protocols were potentially being lifted in the coming months.
I used my Canon Rebel T6s quite a bit on this trip. I kept the Audio-Technica AT8024 microphone plugged in as well and had to keep remembering to turn it on as I shot. There are some clips where I forgot (or Elphie was shooting and didn't know about it). I had apparently forgotten to turn off the microphone after shooting the sunrise over the frozen Lake Michigan in Chicago so I ended up buying batteries for it the first day in Hawai'i. I noticed during the flight that the microphone was still in the 'on' position. Some of the Pearl Harbor footage is a bit over exposed. I'm not sure what happened exactly. I thought I had the camera set to adjust automatically but I guess I didn't. I adjusted everything once and it went back to over exposed again so I had to reset it again.
The clips during the flights were shot using our iPhones. We used our iPhones at other times as well such as traveling around the islands or, in my case, if I didn't have my Canon Rebel T6s ready to shoot at the time. Elphie's friend Debbie, who also had her vacation in Hawai'i as we were there...and hit her 50th state, shared a shot she got with her iPhone of a sea turtle up close and it is included as well.
Creating the intro I wanted took more time than it did to actually edit the footage! As I have been doing, I wanted to create the effect of photos being dropped onto the title map. Originally I had an idea of having them land in different spots dependent on the location of the shot but I settled on having them all land at the bottom. In some previous projects, I ran into some difficulties as the number of files became large so I decided to do groups this time, adding with each new group until I had all the photos "stacked" in a pile. I set the flight path to pause at Kona then Oahu where the majority of the photos were shot. I created the intro after I finished the editing of the project so I hoped to keep it around 30 seconds so the project would stay under three hours in total but it ended up being around a minute and 30 seconds. The font I used was chosen by Elphie as it appeared "relaxed" and felt somewhat Hawai'ian. I added in the state flag of Hawai'i as well as the flag for the Kingdom of Hawai'i, placing them on either side of the main title. I used a relaxed effect as well and chose to not use the intermittent effect this time.
For the soundtrack on this intro, I decided to take a few different songs and transition between them using a sound effect of tuning a radio with a knob to the channel. The effects I found and used were two different ones for "AM" and "FM" then I added very short snippets from Dread Pirate Roberts "Word Power (Instrumental)" version of "White Riot" as well. The song clips are from "Aloha, It's You" by Huntingtons, "Paradise, Hawai'ian Style" by Elvis Presley, "Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho, and "Aloha, Oe" by Johnny Cash.
I created a couple of map animations using Motion 4 on my Macbook for the footage shot during our flights. I created dotted motion paths and had a little Southwest Airlines jet follow with the path over screenshots of Google maps. I decided not to try to make maps of the drives around the Kona or the bus ride around Oahu.
We left Chicago on Friday February 11th, 2022. We took the CTA to Midway International Airport in the morning and passed through the security checkpoint with little issue. We were flying on Southwest Airlines. Our flight was meant to leave around noon but it was delayed by around 40 minutes. We had a layover in Phoenix, AZ but it wasn't affected by the delay. I captured a couple shots going to the airport using my iPhone and captured some shots during the take off process and during our flight to Phoenix of the terrain below us. I tried to capture another plane flying by us in the opposite direction but missed the opportunity.
After landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, I captured a "Welcome to Phoenix" sign along with another highlighting the black history of Phoenix. We had to do a pre-registration during the layover so we didn't have to go through COVID-19 screening upon entry into Hawai'i. The pre-screening was a fold out table in between gates of the terminal. Once we were directed to it, it was easy to find and the process was pretty simple as well. We got a special wristband to wear. We went searching for food. Elphie was in the mood for McDonald's but apparently they were out of beef patties and fish. We ended up getting food from Los Taquitos instead and sitting in a hallway to eat it while we waited for our next flight. As we waited to board, I noticed a few folks in Pittsburgh gear and we spoke briefly.
After boarding, I captured another plane landing through the window and some of the sunset as we taxied to the runway. I captured our departure from Phoenix and during this flight, I was able to capture two planes going the opposite direction with their exhaust showing clearly in the sunset sky. I also captured as we crossed over the ocean near what I assume was San Diego. There wasn't much to see while over the ocean.
I captured our landing at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport in Keahole then a shot while at the airport after we got off the plane. This airport was open air and we walked down the steps off the airplane to the tarmac and then to the gate. At this point we had to show our wristbands to bypass the COVID-19 screening process. Once we were able to obtain our luggage, we got a taxi to the University of the Nations which is run by Youth With A Mission. This was where we were staying because Elphie was part of YWAM some years ago and attended the University of the Nations. We were afforded a nice low-cost room for a week! Upon our arrival at the University of the Nations, we ran into a little bit of trouble getting in touch with the person responsible for getting us into our room. While we attempted to call, we were offered to hang out with some of the folks on the campus. I was pretty tired by this point after two long flights and a generally long travel day. Also, for our home time zone, it was quite late at this point. I think the idea of hanging out was appealing to Elphie but I just didn't have it in me. Thankfully, the lady we needed so we could get in our room finally called back and she got herself up and over to help us out. We felt bad she needed to get out of bed to help us but we were glad she did. Otherwise we would have been squatting on couches in the common area. Once settled into the room, I documented the travel experience a bit on social media before going to sleep.
02.12.2022 We woke on Saturday February 12th, 2022 earlier than I think I had expected to. The rooms had open screened areas near the ceiling and so we could hear birds and the campus noise. The time difference from Chicago also probably played into us waking when we did. We had an ocean view room! We were too late for breakfast as we were misinformed so we went to the Banyan Tree Cafe to get some coffee. We had some stuff we could eat in our room from a gift basket we were given so we made that work. We also walked a little around the campus.
Debbie was flying in later in the afternoon so we decided to walk downtown. We checked out a couple sports bars to see what seemed best to watch the Super Bowl the next day and checked out some of the other restaurants in the area. We visited a farmer's market and ran into the Pittsburgh folks again! We stopped in an ABC Store where we loaded up on souvenirs to give our family for Christmas, including some Kona Coffee. I also got a battery for my microphone. We continued to walk and passed the Hulihe'e Palace and the Moku'aikaua Church across the street. The church is the oldest Christian church in Hawai'i and the palace was used by the Hawai'ian royalty at one time. We continued through another business area where Elphie had worked during her stay here, however, none of the buildings appeared to be where she worked from what she remembered. She recalled a large tree over where she worked. We found the only large tree in the area...but the closest buildings were not what she remembered. Some people we talked to gave the possibility that the building may have been torn down.
We continued by the Kailua Bay area with a couple beaches. Niumalu Beach on one side where there was a sand castle and a homeless person bathing. On the other side was Kikaua Beach and Kamakahonu Beach further over across the pier which appeared to also be part of a resort. We hung around here a bit and got some shots of Ahu'ena Heiau which is a protected religious site that had been reconstructed. It is part of the Kamakahonu National Historic Landmark. It's interesting because you can swim up next to it. Signage asks folks not to go onto it though. We decided to head back to the campus. As we walked on the oceanside, we noticed crabs on some of the lava rocks and I got some shots of them as well as the waves crashing. We also stopped to get tacos from Ocean Street Tacos for lunch. While sitting on the balcony of our room, I took a shot of an interesting looking building across a field. In searching the maps, I believe it to be the temple for the Church of Latter Day Saints.
Once Debbie arrived, Elphie met her at the gate and road with her to park her rental car. Elphie had bought her a leis and flower for her hair to celebrate her 50th state visited. She had also bought some mac and cheese flavored candy canes and a couple other things for her birthday. This little celebration I did not capture on video. We decided to go to Wal*Mart to get a cooler and some food to carry with us as we went about our days. I also bought a pair of water shoes. I captured the Hawai'ian flag on top of the Wal*Mart. As we returned to the campus, I captured a couple shots of the sunset.
We went back into the town to search for somewhere to eat. We ended up going to a place called the Fish Hopper. Elphie and I shared a seafood pasta. We walked back over to the Kamakahonu Beach where Debbie got in the water a bit then went back over to the Kikaua Beach and Debbie got in that the water there as well. Elphie was spooked by some fish! As we returned to the campus, we stopped near a beach volleyball court where a game was going on. Nearby was another game with a mini trampoline and a ball. There was a band playing in the courtyard area. We would be back frequently to this area including the next day to watch the Super Bowl.
02.13.2022 On Sunday February 13th, 2022, we woke to see a cruise ship from our ocean view. We went to the cafeteria and had breakfast and got our 'to-go' dinners which we left in our rooms. We walked around the campus again so Elphie could show Debbie around. We went to Oceans Sports Bar to watch the Super Bowl. We got there quite early actually, ha! We got quite a bit of good food and drink during the time we spent there watching the game. It was a decent spot to watch the game. We saw a few geckos running around the walls.
Afterwards, we walked through the town again. The idea was to capture the sunset, however, we probably would have had better luck if we stayed back near Oceans. Along the way, we stopped by a place called the Surfin' Ass which sold "Donkey Balls" and Elphie got some video of the product. When we got to the Kailua Bay Pier, we found that the sun was setting behind the trees and land on the other side of Kamakahonu Bay. I was able to capture a rainbow and some of the sunset along with a few other scenic views. I also captured the moon. I captured as a cloud passed in front of it. We unexpectedly ended up listening and watching from a distance as a Luau was happening at the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. It was interesting. We captured a couple songs including 'Happy Birthday' for Debbie and a fire dancer. At least one of the songs sounded much like a praise and worship tune. This was basically the end of our night. Back at the campus, I had a sudden upset stomach and had to hurl in the toilet. I felt find afterwards. Elphie and I walked up the campus to a water fountain then sat on a patio where some of the students were hanging out for a bit before heading back in for the night.
02.14.2022
On Monday February 14th, 2022, we took a drive to Volcanoes National Park. Along the way we stopped on a lava flow and checked out the scenery which included looking out toward Ka Lae or South Point which is the southern most point of the United States of America. There were information signs regarding the lava flows and the terrain of the area. We also stopped at Punalu'u Bake Shop along the way and got some breakfast. The have a famous sweet bread as well as Malasadas which Elphie got. I got a chocolate cream puff. There was a guy there playing music. We sat outside and ate our food before continuing to Volcanoes National Park, capturing scenery along the way. Elphie saw a couple of goats as well but I didn't see them. Turns out they were there...we saw them the next day and a lot more of them headed to Hilo a couple days later.
We passed a sign welcoming us to Volcanoes National Park and that was also the point where the GPS indicated we had reached our destination but there were no buildings or parking lots or anything so we kept going. We kept seeing signs for Nene crossing. We passed through an area with a sign calling it Ka'u Desert. We started seeing smoke as well and finally got to a place with a ticket booth and parking lot. I did not prepare for the higher altitude and cooler air. We bought a hoodie at the gift shop and I had to borrow Elphie's hoodie that looks like Fruit Stripes bubble gum. A park ranger explained how to access a viewing area of the current lava flow in the Kilauea Caldera in the Halema'uma'u crater (not sure which name to use for it) so we headed out to see that. We got to a parking lot to walk to the viewing area and encountered a couple of Nene. They are apparently geese. As we walked, it appeared a lot of the trees had ash on them. The road we walked was called Devastation Trail which circles the crater of Halema'uma'u. It had a broken spot with quite a pothole. As we got closer, we could see the smoke rising. We entered into the designation viewing area. The crater had a lot of areas where smoke and steam were rising up. The area with the lava had a distinct area where it was flowing from and a pool where it was collecting. Some of it cool and grey in color while other areas were glowing red or orange. You could see it bubbling up at times in spots as well. I did my best to capture this on camera. I took a lot of pictures but also video. In the editing process I cut out the points where I took a photo while capturing video. I used my larger lens to get some close up views and tried hard not to be too shaky. I know it still is shaky but I think I am improving somewhat at being more steady with my shots when I don't have a tripod available. The whole area was pretty cool to see including the various different lava flows and the different colorings and designs they made. We were there for quite a while.
After we left, we decided to drive down the Chain of Craters toward the ocean where a previous lava flow had occurred in recent years. We stopped at an overlook for a bit before continuing toward the ocean. The road had quite the turn in it! Down by the ocean, we saw a few signs describing the vegetation and whether it was considered native to Hawai'i. There were wild mangos growing there! We also saw the Holei Sea Arch. We walked a bit more. There was a patch of Palm trees growing nearby. I captured some shots of the terrain. I shot closeups of the lava right in front of me then the hillside just a bit further where we had drove down to get here. I shot the sun through the cloud cover on one side of us and the clear skies with the moon on the other side of us. We decided as it was getting dark to drive back up to the lava flow to see it at night.
When we got there, we had to park down the road a bit. Elphie decided to remain in the car. while Debbie and I walked the trail. There was a glow in the sky from the lava flow and it was definitely worthwhile to see at night. I got quite a few pictures and video again. I used one of the posts to keep folks from leaving the viewing area and finding themselves in a dangerous spot to try to steady my shot a bit. Again, it is shaky but I'm happy I captured it and happy to be able to share it and have it for memories.
Afterwards, we tried to go somewhere to eat nearby. There was a restaurant but it required reservations due to Valentine's Day. After driving back to Kona, we tried to eat at Humpy's but they were no longer serving food. We were directed to A-Bay's and got our dinner there. As Elphie warned, this was the downside of Hawai'i...everything closes quite early.
02.15.2022
On Tuesday February 15th, 2022 we set out for Ka Lae (South Point). Elphie talked about folks cliff jumping here and so I figured I might give it a try. As we drove in we passed farms which included herds of cattle as well as some satellite dishes which are apparently part of a Universal Space Network. There was also a windmill farm. We got to South Point. There's a hole in the ground where water flows in that Elphie believed to be where you climbed out of the water after your jump but I didn't see how that would work well. I got some shots of the hole and the scenery around us. It turns out there is a chain ladder that you climb. Some young girls had apparently just got done doing their jumps. I figured if they could do it, it couldn't be that bad but I did want to see someone else go first to get an idea of what I was in for. A couple of dare devil types ended up doing it and doing it together. The guy launched himself backwards while the girl took a running leap toward him. Another couple took a turn but doing separate jumps. The girl went first then the guy who had somewhat lost his nerve, ha! The dare devils then decided to jump in the hole! That was interesting. Once in the water they were taken back out to sea and climbed up the ladder. I captured some footage of these jumps. Back at the cliff, another guy went and I decided it was time to give it a shot. While I got ready another girl took a jump...it took her a few minutes but she finally worked up the nerve to go! That other guy jumped again then I got up on the platform. As I was getting ready to jump, the guy swam underneath me so I had to wait. This was a bit nerve racking as it seems a bit higher once you're on the edge and ready to go. Once he cleared, I took my jump. While editing the video, it was the first time seeing myself do it. I more stepped off the ledge rather than leap. Hitting the water stung a bit but I was fine overall. I swam over to the ladder. I guess the dangerous part would be getting swept out by the tide. Once I grabbed the ladder, the tide went out and I was left dangling until the water came back and I could pull myself up and get my feet on the rungs. The ladder moved a lot with the water and with my motion. This was the harder part to do...a lot harder than taking a jump! After the jump, I got a bit more footage of the area then we walked over to the actual southern most point. There was a little bit of a pond where the tide was coming in and out at this area. The waves were getting bigger and a storm was coming in so we decided to leave at this point. Along the path from the jumping area there were different art pieces that I captured some footage of as well. This was a fun experience. As we left, I captured footage of the satellite dishes right before the heavy rain hit.
We stopped for lunch at L&L Hawai'ian Barbeque. I got a BBQ burger and crab rangoons. They were pretty good. They apparently sold a Spam Masabi there...Elphie was not impressed. During the drive back toward Kona, I hoped to get video of a cemetery we had passed. I kept preparing to shoot when we got to what looked like it could be it only to nearly miss it as we went by. I did capture a quick clip, though. Since we didn't really have any other plans, Debbie decided to find a beach to go to. It was north of Kona and passed the Mauna Lani Resort where she was going to stay for her birthday the next couple of nights. The beach we ended up at was called Hapuna. As we walked from the parking lot, I noticed there were big waves! There was quite the sound from the crashing of the waves. Elphie was concerned about safety but I enjoyed the waves and had a good time! I captured the sunset along with the waves. I struggled to get a steady shot. As we watched the sunset, we noticed whales jumping in the distance. I was fortunate enough to get a decent shot of a couple of them jumping. The waves continued to get bigger and crash harder as we sat there. Someone indicated that there was a surf advisory. Behind us, the moon was rising so I got some shots of that with the palm trees in front of it.
When we decided to leave, we drove over to where Elphie thinks she might have lived when she was no longer living on the campus of the Univeristy of the Nations, though she wasn't entirely sure. We decided to get dinner at Humpy's. I realized that we ate at another Humpy's while in Anchorage and did a little search online to see that they were associated with each other. While sitting there, I shot some more footage of the waves.
02.16.2022
On Wednesday February 16th, 2022, we rode with Debbie to Mauna Lani Resort so she could check in and get situated. We checked out the view from her room prior to leaving. We headed to Hilo, Hawai'i to see a black sand beach and see the other side of the island. While we traveling, we saw lots of goats along the road. I was able to capture a few of them as we drove. We took a mountain pass road and experienced quite the downpour complete with hail as we went along.
In Hilo, we decided to get Poke. I had never had it before but I really enjoyed it! We went to a place called Poke Market and I think we ordered the "local favorite" possibly. It was good whatever it was that we got. We drove to Carlsmith Beach Park passing a park with "Kamehameha The Great" statue. We parked then Debbie and I decided to get in the water. There were sea turtles swimming around. Debbie got a video fairly close up. While I was in there, one came right up to me and then swam away.
We walked from there to Richardson Ocean Park where the black sand was. I decided to adventure a bit on some lava rocks. The waves were pretty good here to. I had left my camera and phone with Elphie and I'm glad I did...coming back I stumbled a bit and ended up in the water completely soaked!
Driving back to Kona, I captured the fog as we headed back up into the mountain pass, then the clouds surrounding Mauna Kea. I also captured the sunset as we headed west and possibly a shot of the snow cover on the top of Mauna Kea. Perhaps during another trip but I think it could be interesting to experience snow in Hawai'i!
When we got back, we returned the cooler to Wal*Mart. While there, we encountered a couple folks in black body suits. We decided to go to Outback Steakhouse for Debbie's birthday dinner. The poke filled me up so I wasn't particularly hungry but she insisted we eat some of her food. I ate as much as I could of the bread and Bloomin' Onion but I couldn't take much of it!
02.17.2022
On Thursday February 17th, 2022, Elphie ventured on our own. The waves were still pretty high! We went into the business district to see if we could find new sandals for Elphie then decided to go to a beach I found on the map near the campus. As we walked that direction, we decided to detour around the jail and walk along the oceanfront at Hale Hawalai Park. I think it was a jail. It had bars and the word "police" on it but it is likely the nicest jail one could ask to be incarcerated in. There was a sign regarding the marine life featuring a sea turtle. We saw a helicopter taking water up from the ocean in the direction of the campus and wondered what might be on fire but never did hear anything about it.
We walked to Honl's Beach. It seemed like it could be fun with the waves, however, it was very rocky. There were some folks boogie boarding in the area. There was a sign about the inventor of the boogie board and some ancient history of surf or boogie boarding. I also captured video someone parasailing.
After a while, I decided it just wasn't really doing it for me and we decided to walk back to Kamakahonu Beach. The water was considerably calmer here...and it also was rocky, but one didn't have to worry about being knocked over by waves onto the rocks. As I swam around, I noticed the fish all around me. I was able to capture a few shots of these fish! I swam out by the Ahu'ena Heiau at the Kamakahonu National Historic Landmark though often I could still touch bottom. I swam beyond it a ways before coming back in. It began to get a bit cool. There was another Luau that night and we hung around during part of it. It was the same program so we eventually decided to go elsewhere. I tried to capture another sunset as best as I could with the trees in the way. There wasn't as much cloud cover this time though.
As we walked back, we decided to get a pineapple whip float at Bubba and Finn's. Thankfully we got there just in time! We ate it outside the Just Uke's ukulele shop. We ate food we had in our room for dinner so we could get rid of it before we left the next day and we packed up to prepare to go in the morning back to the airport then fly to Honolulu on Oahu.
In the morning on Friday February 18th, 2022, Debbie returned from Mauna Lani Resort to pick us up and head to Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport in Keahole for our flight to Honolulu on the island of Oahu. We were awakened much earlier than we would have preferred due to maintenance crews apparently cutting down coconuts from the trees outside of our unit. We saw them working on other trees as we left. Debbie dropped us off then returned the rental car. As we went through security, my patched up shorts I was wearing apparently caused some issues with the body scanner so I had to go through extra security. We were fairly early and due to limited space at the gate despite it being an open air airport, we had to wait in another part for a while. When we were permitted to go into the gate area, we had to pass through another security screening to ensure we weren't bringing fruits or vegetation with us apparently. We had to get in a boarding line that was split between two destinations which seemed like it could get confusing. Eventually, we ended up boarding our flight, walking out to the airplane. I got some shots of the flight staff giving the emergency information and, as we taxied, of the lava flows surrounding the runways. I then shot our take off, a few shots of Maui as we passed by, and a shot of the shadow of our airplane over the ocean. As we approached Oahu, I got some more shots then captured the landing process at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. I was a bit disappointed in that we were on the wrong side to see Pearl Harbor as we approached for landing. In looking at maps now, I'm not sure we could have seen much had we been on the other side anyway. We passed over another airport that I found to be called Kalaeloa. Once we gathered our luggage, we decided to take a taxi to where we would be staying. Elphie and I had an AirBnB unit...tiny, but we didn't need a lot of space. Debbie had a hotel room. It turned out we could see her hotel from our window! We stayed in a building called "Big Surf" and walked to it from Debbie's hotel.
Once we unloaded, we went to find dinner. We decided to go to the Ala Moana Center. It was a mall. We also needed to get bus cards so we figured that there was a transit center there we could use. We were told to try the ABC Store by a local bus rider since we didn't see any machines around. We could have done this by the places we were staying, ha! We got our bus cards then decided to get dinner at the food court. Elphie and I tried Poi Bowls and they were pretty good. We went to Wal*Mart to gather a few things to get through the rest of our time including stuff to make sandwiches to take while we were out during the days. After this, we decided to walk over to the beaches. We saw a bird in a lagoon that had head feathers that sort of looked like a mohawk. I messed around a bit with my Canon Rebel T6s camera seeing what I could do with it in low light. I played around with the exposure settings and ISO. I was hindered a bit by not having my tripod to get steady low light shots. Debbie decided to go back to her hotel while Elphie and I hung around a bit longer. I came away with some footage of the stars, the moon, clouds, and the building along Waikiki.
02.19.2022
we got up fairly early on Saturday February 19th, 2022 to make our way to the North Shore area which is known to be a favorite spot for surfing. We rode TheBus and passed by the Dole Plantation among other interesting things on our way out. Funny thing about the Dole Plantation, my parents' made a trip many years ago and included in the trip was a tour of the Dole Plantation where samples are available. The tour guide warned not to eat too much as it may upset one's stomach...my father apparently didn't heed the warning and ended up not feeling well and missing out on snorkling.
We arrived in the North Shore area. We got off at a stop by a Starbucks so Elphie could get a drink. We then began to walk, stopping relatively soon after to get some Poke at Poke For The People. At this restaurant, it was sort of like ordering at a Subway where you tell them what you want and they build it for you. It was pretty good. Across the street was a smoke shop which I took a shot of for Elphie's mom and next to it was Kaimana Hawai'ian Shave Ice. Debbie got some for dessert but Elphie and I felt full from our Poke and figured we'd get some another time before the trip would end. We continued to walk through the business district included passed a farmer's market. When we got to where we could see the beaches, we turned left across a small bridge where children were jumping off into the water. We passed by a surf shop then asked someone which way for the best waves in the area. It turned out we needed to go back across the bridge to the beaches on that side. We crossed back over as the children continued to jump then went into a parking lot only to find a dead end into water we couldn't cross so we backtracked a bit to get around and to Haleiwa Alii Beach. The waves were pretty big and there were folks surfing. I captured a few shots. There was a guy shooting near me with a telephoto lens. Debbie and I also decided to go into the water. We chose a spot that seemed a bit away from the surfers so as to not get hit in the head with a board. While swimming in the waves, we encountered a sea turtle also swimming in the waves. I got knocked a couple times pretty good by the waves but it was fun!
We got on TheBus to head back but taking the other direction so we could see more of the island as we rode. We rode along the shoreline, seeing a ton more beach areas and a couple resorts. We saw an inlet area that appeared to have a beach dividing the ocean from the inland water that came from the mountains. It was likely a nice area for hiking and probably some waterfalls had we gone there. We passed by some more farmer's markets and through some state park areas. I saw an island that looked familiar from movies like 50 First Dates. We encountered some rain as we returned to Honolulu.
Once back in Honolulu, we got dinner at Romano's Macaroni Grill in Ala Moana Center. Debbie apparently had developed blisters from all the walking we had done during this trip and was not interested in walking any more. The next morning she was flying back to Seattle. She decided to hang back in her hotel and Elphie and I went exploring around Honolulu a for a bit longer since we had a day pass on TheBus. We went into downtown looking for any sort of "night life." Before we got there, we stopped at the King Kamahameha Statue in front of Ali'iolani Hale and the Iolani Palace across the street. Both sites are on Atlas Obscura. We walked down the road and came across a Bourbon Street Bar that seemed to be the place were most folks were going. After this we decided to head to Waikiki. We found the hotel my parents stayed at - the Hyatt Regency. Across the street was a statue of a surfer which had been Lei'd called Duke Paoa Kahanamoku. Apparently he is an Olympic champion and "father of international surfing." At this point we decided to call it a night and headed back to our AirBnB.
02.20.2022
On Sunday February 20th, 2022, we didn't have anything planned. We decided to just go to the beach. We walked and entered near the lagoon where we had gone on our first night in Honolulu. We kept walking and ended up in front of the Hyatt Regency again. I brought the Boogie Board that was in the AirBnB and wanted to give it a try so we were looking for somewhere with some waves. Before settling in at the beach, we passed the Waikiki Christmas Store. We also found a stand to purchase a pineapple beverage in a pineapple called the Waikiki Grass Shack Bistro. It was good, it was also quite pulpy. It's a good thing we arrived when we did as it closed almost immediately after we made our purchase.
I went in the water where we first set up and found it wasn't particularly deep then there was a wall. We moved to another area on the other side of where the wall was and I went quite a long way out before getting where I couldn't touch the bottom. I took the Boogie Board out as well but never figured out how to catch a wave. At some point I began to feel a bit nauseous from looking through the clear water and the movement. I was trying to watch where I stepped in hopes to not end up stepping on any sea creatures, especially a crap or jellyfish or something like that. While letting the nauseous feeling pass, I got some shots of Le'ahi (Diamond Head) volcano. At sunset, I set up on the rocks that make the wall and got a decent shot of the sunset with boats and surfers in the foreground. I lost the focus a little bit and was somewhat shaky without the tripod but generally, I was happy with the shots. I got a few shots of the surfers after the sun was set as well. It got quite a bit cooler once the sun set.
We decided to get Hawai'ian Shave Ice at Lawson Station. I got a Blue Hawai'i and Elphie got a Strawberry Mango Snow Ice. We found a spot to sit nearby and enjoyed them though we got pretty cold from it, ha! At this point we decided to go search for dinner. We headed to the mall nearby called the International Marketplace. As we walked we passed some street performers. We arrived at the mall but most everything in it was closed or closing. We found the food court area and across the street was Surf And Turf Tacos which we decided on getting. It was a long line with capacity restrictions but eventually we were able to get some food. I got a quesadilla and Elphie got a bowl. We ate outside again then went into the mall to try to use the restroom but they were all closed. We went back to the beach to use the restroom there. On our way out of the mall, we passed a Don Ho statue. As we headed back toward out AirBnB, we passed the street performers again from across the street as well as some kids playing reggae in a band called The Free Little Birds. We also encountered a couple drunk guys as we got closer to our AirBnB. One didn't quite make it and fell on the lawn by a hotel and took a nap there I guess...the other guy stumbled away and around the corner.
02.21.2022
On Monday February 21st, 2022, Elphie and I took TheBus went to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial site. My mom really pushed for us to go...but I had hoped we would get a chance anyway. Most of the exhibits were free and we were able to take the ferry to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. While we were at the U.S.S. Arizona, a sea turtle came swimming along the remains of the ship. I went into a couple of the buildings that highlighted the days leading up to the attack and life after during war time. One thing I found interesting was that some of the attacked ships were able to be repaired and put back into use fairly quickly so that they played a part in the ongoing war. For some reason, I had some trouble with my Canon Rebel T6s and its exposure settings. Some of the photos and footage is very much over exposed.
Once we finished up the time we wanted to spend at Pearl Harbor, we tried to take public transit to a McDonald's in the Hickam Air Force Base only to find that it was closed to the public since it is still an active base. Our hope was to see the buildings which still show some damage scars from the Pearl Harbor attack. While sitting outside the fence, I zoomed in on a building to see if anything might show up. I also zoomed in on a building near where we were sitting that had some holes...but they may have been from old signage rather than scars from the war.
We caught TheBus into Honolulu to find an Elvis statue commemorating "Aloha From Hawai'i" the first concert ever broadcast on satellite television. It stood outside of Blaisdell Center. This was the second Elvis related Atlas Obscura find for us! While there, a guy was feeding the fish in the pond. Some of the fish had fins sticking up out of the water like sharks but when they got closer it was obvious that they were not sharks. The guy gave Elphie some cookies to feed the fish as well. We headed across the street to Jack-In-The-Box but decided we didn't want anything from their menu and headed to the Ala Moana Center food court. We stopped by Wal*Mart again then I went to the McDonald's nearby to get my first Shamrock Shake of the season!
From here, we walked back through the Ala Moana Center and out to the Ala Moana Park and continued to the "Magic Island" then onto one of the beach areas. I tried to take a panoramic of Honolulu and Waikiki Beach at night with the lights on and captured some footage as well from near the breaker wall before heading back to the AirBnB. I was trying to see if it seemed likely to capture a sunrise, however, it seemed more likely that the sun would be rising over the mountains from the other side of the island. As we walked back, we encountered cats who apparently must live in the park. There were quite a few! We also passed by a guy fishing in the nearby lagoon.
02.22.2022
Tuesday February 22nd, 2022 was our last full day in Hawai'i. We'd be flying out early the next day. I had thoughts about getting up early to catch a Hawai'ian sunrise with my camera but after determining that it was more likely to rise over the mountains than the ocean, I decided to stay in bed. We slept in a bit. After discussing possibly taking a bus west of Honolulu to see whatever is out there, or perhaps going to the zoo, we decided to just hang out at the beach again. This time we rode TheBus. I tried once again to use the Boogie Board but couldn't figure out how to launch and catch a wave. We went to Kapi'olani Beach Park that indicated they may be good for surfing. There were folks on surf boards in the area. The first beach had a lot of rocks when I went out into the water so I decided to move a bit to an area that looked less rocky. There were still rocks but it seemed better. Before going into the water, I took a couple more shots of Le'ahi (Diamond Head) from a wall going out into the ocean called The Queen's Walkway. I also got some shots of fish in the water.
Moving where we did, we were now at the Queen's Beach. While I was in the water attempting to figure out how to use a Boogie Board, I encountered another sea turtle in the waves. Elphie bought some sort of Hawai'ian pastry from someone to enjoy while sitting near some folks practicing poi. She also pulled a broken chair out of the garbage to sit on.
When I came back from the water to catch the sunset, I used the chair to try to get a more steady shot. This sunset was somewhat impeded by clouds at the horizon. After the sunset, I got some shots of ships and folks Boogie Boarding near a wall where the waves were crashing. It seemed the waves would take the folks around the wall rather than smash them into the wall. After changing into dry clothes, I got a couple shots as it got dark of folks on hammocks and more shots out into the ocean. I also captured a couple more statues of surfers. We had Burger King for dinner before heading back to the AirBnB for our last night. We packed up and got a little sleep...not much, as we had to get up really early to make it to the airport in time!
02.23.2022
We got up sometime around 4:30am on Wednesday February 23rd, 2022 to catch a TheBus to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. The bus arrived close to on time. I was a little be unsure about the bus due to indications of a detour but when I put in our time we wanted to arrive into the map app on my iPhone, it showed it as a possibility to catch a bus just down the block from our AirBnB. We loaded up, returned the key to its spot, and got to the bus stop and waited. The bus took us to the terminal as we hoped it would and we set off to go through the various security checks. Once we got through it all, we got to our gate with just about 15 minutes to spare! The sky was lightening up with the sunrise which I caught out the window of the plane as we began to taxi. I got some shots as we took off which included Diamond Head and another crater. As we approached Los Angeles where we would have a little bit of a layover, we hit clouds coming over the land. It was interesting capturing the shadow of the plane in the clouds below. I was able to capture the Hollywood sign, Dodger Stadium, downtown Los Angeles and SoFi Stadium as we came into for a landing at LAX.
Once off the plane at LAX, we found which gate we would be departing for Chicago from then went to get food. I had mistakenly believed that there was an In-N-Out in LAX. It turns out what I had to eat last time was Chick-Fil-A and for some reason thought it was In-N-Out in that spot. If I wanted to get In-N-Out, I'd have to leave the airport. It wasn't far but I definitely didn't want to go through the security checks again. I got Chick-Fil-A and Elphie got Panda Express. Our flight to Chicago was delayed by several hours.
We finally boarded our flight and it was dark by this time. I captured our take off and some city lights below us as we turned east to head home. I captured our landing at Midway International Airport and the baggage handler while we waited to get off the plane. Once we gathered our belongings, we were going to take a bus home, however, someone was in the midst of being arrested in the tunnel to the CTA from the terminal so we decided to just take a cab home. It cost more and was a bit of a hassle as the cabbie didn't seem to want to use GPS so we had to direct him how to get to where we lived.
Once home, we were greeted by Stein who seemed unsure about us at first but eventually became he usual, snuggly self...purring like crazy. I was going back to work in the morning and it was already 1:30am so I unloaded my stuff as quickly as I could then went to bed.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpMwCQYi9D2CDrJ8rh3XFk7k I really enjoyed this trip. I enjoyed the big waves in the ocean when I had the chance to experience them. Seeing a volcano was awesome! It is definitely a trip I will look forward to doing again in some years once we get some other things we would like to do out of the way.
I layered the closing credits on the return flight footage...I put the soundtrack information scrolling over some of the footage prior to arriving at Midway. The rest I put on the approach to LAX. Besides the soundtrack listing and information on the shooting, editing, and animation/title work, I included a "thank you" to Youth With A Mission and University of the Nations for housing, AirBnB, Wal*Mart, ABC Stores, TheBus, Southwest Airlines, and of course, Atlas Obscura for making the trip possible.
The soundtrack came together pretty well with this project. I was able to have most songs that I wanted in specific areas fit in together. I realized after I was done working on the project and compressing the files for YouTube, I had entirely missed a song I had intended on using since we planned the trip. Oh well...I suppose I will use it next time the place we visit makes sense for it as Hawai'i would have.
The first file I had uploaded for the Kona part of the trip had something go wrong during the compressing process. It created psychedelic color effect starting with the sunset on February 15th, 2022 and continuing most of the rest of that file until the end of February 17th, 2022. I didn't check the file before uploading and so I was unaware until it's YouTube 'premiere' while it played through and I saw it. A new file was compressed and uploaded in its place.
