Sun Sets on Hawaii–Dead Rooster Hits the Mainland
Yeah, I kind of sucked at updating while in Hawaii–but, can you blame me? I was totally overstimulated–surrounded by major life-changing scenery; perfect weather; exotic women and endless adventures. If I was awake, I was doing something exciting and wasn’t about to go sit in my room and type blog posts.
But, I’ve got plenty of stories to tell and well over 300 photos to back it up, so be prepared for some Hawaii related blog posts over the coming days.
Speaking of photos, I have to take a moment to praise the little camera I bought to take with me on this trip. It’s a Casio Exilim EX-Z80 
I can’t tell you how many times I was truly thankful to be able to whip it out of my pocket and snap a picture. My regular camera would’ve been a burden to lug around and I wouldn’t have gotten nearly as many photos. Thank you Casio!
The movie shoot we did was very interesting and I intend to devote an entire blog post to it. Also, it was the first movie shoot I ever did where they didn’t seem to mind that I was taking photos–so I loaded up on them. You’ll get to see some interesting “behind the scenes” images to go along with the story.
Other highlights of my Hawaiian adventure I intend to write about include a trip to the North Shore and the infamous Banzai Pipeline where they were getting ready for a major surfing contest; my Hamana Bay snorkling experience; Thanksgiving at the Hard Rock Cafe; getting lost on the backroads of O’ahu, and much more!
I wish I could say it’s great to be back home, but it’s not…
I MISS HAWAII ALREADY!
Dead Rooster is the online home of 
Rooster, your comment about the camera is exactly right. Jerry Pournelle says “the camera you use is the one you have with you” I used to say I wanted the zoom feature etc etc. but I have missed a lot of shots because the camera was too big to carry. I’ll check out the Exlim. Last time I was in Hawaii a friend who lived there swore to me that states like Minnesota and Michigan bought their homeless people one-way tickets to Hawaii so they could live on the beach! Thanks Aloha!
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William McCamment
reply on December 8th, 2008 8:53 am:
I bought the Exlim because it was small and at $130 it was practically disposable. It turned out to be WAY better than I imagined. I’m real happy with it.
I saw a “tarp town” on the north-west shore of O’ahu. Otherwise, not too many bums.
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What, you mean the Banzai Pipeline isn’t the way Buckaroo Banzai communicates to the rest of the Hong Kong Cavaliers?
Bummer!
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William McCamment
reply on December 8th, 2008 8:48 am:
Haha! I was thinking about that when I was there! LOL
I think I’ve got it straight, too (for some reason, I sometimes confuse Buckaroo Banzai with Brisco County Jr.)
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I went snorkling in that bay. I nearly drowned! In three feet of water! I’m sure I stood on a poor fish or two as I shamefully scrambled my way out. You’re a lot braver than me.
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William McCamment
reply on December 8th, 2008 9:46 am:
The tide was out while I was there and so a lot of the coral was in only about two feet of water. I went out beyond the rocks and began to get sucked out to sea (probably not really, but it felt like it) and started to panic. It was then as I worked to get back to shore that I noticed I am severely out of shape.
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Awww I’m so sorry you had to come home William, but I missed your funny posts! I can’t wait to hear and see all about it! Ummm…do any of the shots include you in a bathing suit?!! Just curious.
)
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William McCamment
reply on December 8th, 2008 1:07 pm:
I do remember a shot of me wearing some pretty radical board shorts; but, I’m also wearing a t-shirt which somewhat hides my incredible muscularity. LOL
I didn’t get a lot of shots of me because I was the one taking most of the photos. But, there are a few.
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Glad to see you back. You had enough fun, erm, I mean hard work under horrid conditions.
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William McCamment
reply on December 8th, 2008 1:10 pm:
It was extremely miserable, but, gosh darn it, if I had to do it again, I would, because that’s just the kind of guy I am…
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Glad to see ya back also, ya Hawaiian loser haha Sound’s like you had a great time. I need to get my butt out there sometime…
Looking forward to the pix!
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William McCamment
reply on December 9th, 2008 5:04 am:
You absolutely HAVE to get over there. It’s unreal!
What did you guys do to my So Cal weather while I was gone? THIS SUCKS!
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Knowing a little about Hawaii, I can assure you I know just exactly how you feel…sucks doesn’t it? The last time I was there was for about 10 days and I almost sold my ticket back to the airlines and just stay, but housing and work was a factor in my returning. Blah!
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William McCamment
reply on December 10th, 2008 9:09 am:
I was very tempted to stay. I actually made more money than I spent while I was there and the idea of staying popped into my head several times. But, I’m a rare book dealer and had some orders while I was there, so I had to return in order to ship them. Otherwise, I’m not sure I would’ve left so soon.
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William, I would say I feel sorry for you, but I’m not. After all, you forgot to take me. Oh that’s right I told you that. I am so glad you are back.
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William McCamment
reply on December 11th, 2008 6:48 am:
Feel sorry for me! Come on!
I’d feel sorry for YOU if you went to Hawaii for 12 days and had to return.
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Hmmm, I may want that camera for Christmas. The one I have is way too needy! Speaking of needy…tell me more about your trip and show more pics. That’s as close as I am going to get to going there.
Eve
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William McCamment
reply on December 11th, 2008 11:20 am:
That camera is awesome (the link I supply goes to Amazon where it sells for just over $130). Also, it comes in many different colors; so, if you don’t like black, you can get pink; or yellow; or blue, etc. I am real big on that camera!
I will be writing stories and posting more pics as I go along.
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Welcome home and back to reality! I do feel sorry for you about having to leave Hawaii – a few months would be better than a almost two weeks, but at least you were there. Ever see the show “Condition Black” on PBS? Great show about a day on the north shore of Oahu when the “perfect storm” created waves up to 40′ high. Imagine seeing a 4-story wave and wanting to surf it? These guys did just that and the footage is amazing – some shot by a helicopter. Hang ten, dude!
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/conditionblack/
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William McCamment
reply on December 11th, 2008 7:33 pm:
While we were there the waves were 25′ high. That was high enough! You could literally feel the ground shake–I’m serious.
Thanks for the link; I’m checking it out now.
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William McCamment
reply on December 11th, 2008 7:42 pm:
Some of those waves were definitely bigger than what I saw when I was there, but I didn’t have to deal with a “condition black” either. LOL
I’ll be posting some photos of my adventure.
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SOB … I wanna go to Hawaii. It’s snowing here. It’s cold and I hate it!
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William McCamment
reply on December 27th, 2008 12:28 pm:
It’s cold HERE!–and, I’m in southern California! 25 degrees this morning! What’s up with that!
p.s. I want to go back to Hawaii too!
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