Amateur Tennis Tour II: Hawaii

Week two: Hawaii...what a life, eh?!

A View to A Hill

In some ways I was looking more forward to this tennis tournament because most of my friends from my tennis group in SF are participating as well. The weather in Waikiki was hot, but not as humid. The first thing I did after checking into my hotel was check out the beach!! Nice...in "all" aspects!!

Waikiki Beach at 2pm...what a life!!!

In order to surf the big waves, surfers had to get pass this...

Looking on with a Mai Tai in my hand at the Pink Palace

The weather throughout the entire tennis tournament was so-so at best. The first day of matches, we had a two hour rain out...right in the middle of my 2nd match against my roommate Sam. After the rain, everything went downhill...I lost my singles match then my doubles match. I was out by the end of the first day...the rest of the time, I was a chauffeur for Sam (who won the entire tournament).


Competitors from SF: Tim, Sam, Dat, me, Jon, Greg (L to R)

Prior to the last day, a new friend from NYC, Ron took us to the other side of the island. We saw some really nice rental houses next to the beach. There were these young folks setting up for some Kite Boarding. There were also two to three wedding parties on the beach (seems like Japanese like to have weddings in Hawaii, you can see them in all the hotel lobbies taking pictures).

Dudes on their way to do some Sky Boarding at Lanikai

I liked Honolulu (although I have never been to any of the islands)...I think it resembles some parts of Hong Kong, especially when I see stores open until 10 to 11pm. However, these stores are just along the beach. With all the tall buildings (and some ugly 50's residential apartments), I felt weirdly at home. This is a nice place to visit, but I cannot say I want to live here...

The Streets of Honolulu...the City infested with ABC Stores

Amateur Tennis Tour: Fort Lauderdale

The first thing that came to my mind when I arrived at Fort Lauderdale is "OMG, this is like Hong Kong humidity...YUCK!!" I knew I was in trouble for this tennis tournament because of the heat, the court (clay), and my old age stamina. Nonetheless, I am going to make this trip a fun trip. My friend, Frank was kind enough to host me at his condo in Pompano Beach, which is right next to Fort Lauderdale.


Outdoor View from Frank's Condo

Local Residence in FL: Big Iguanas...whew!! They are vegetarians...

I lost quite early in the singles competition. I had an 8am match (which is basically 5am in SF) on a type of court I had no experience on. But I did do quite well on doubles with a new friend, Hans from Washington DC.


Getting ready for a forehand on Clay Court Classic 2006

In between all the competition, Frank took me all around showing me the City...actually I consider it a town. FL reminded me of an expanded version of Palm Springs. I am a city kind of guy, thus FL was a bit of a disappointment. The downtown streets were kind of desolate, which reminded me of Downtown San Diego where everyone were in the malls.


Beware of Bikers on the Street....no helmet required in FL...DUMB!!!

An Antique Car Show: old Chevrolet...what a beauty!!

A night out in FL...where is everybody???

But one thing for sure, FL does have the weather that residence boasts about. I wore shorts the entire time (day and night) and got a bit of a tan in the process.

Relaxing at the Beach

The Pier where no one walks on...they are at the beach!!!