Happy Birthday To Me!

I disappeared for a few days to go to Hawaii. This is me at 14,000 feet on Mauna Kea. At 14,000 feet it's downright freezing. I think it was 30 degrees. The altitude made me sick and dizzy but I was determined to enjoy every minute because it was my birthday. (I wasn't feeling so well here.)

However, I had an awesome birthday this year. The day began with snorkeling. Don't have the underwater pictures developed yet but, trust me, I saw some fun stuff, or stuffs, as they say over there. But best yet, I got to swim with sea turtles. It was the coolest thing ever. They are just so darned peaceful, minding their own business, swimming along looking for lunch. At first I didn't see any turtles underwater and I really wanted to, so I asked God. He sent me two.

Then the trip to Mauna Kea. On the hour and a half bus ride, I realized that we'd been over a large part of the island (the Big Island) and I hadn't seen a Nene, the Hawaiian goose. Saw signs for Nene crossing all over the place but never saw any. So I asked. Within 10 minutes I looked up on one dry hillside and up popped a dozen Nene heads watching us drive by.

And then I stood on top of the world. We looked down on clouds without being in an airplane. I was interested in the observatories on top of the mountain, but we didn't get to do much more than look from outside. Our driver took us back down to 9,000 feet and we had a star party with their Celestron 11". Got to see my two favorite sights in the night sky, The Lagoon Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy. They are my favorites because they look pretty cool and I can find them.

I was blessed with stuffs. Swimming with sea turtles and standing above the clouds in one day. I like to think that I am my Father's favorite, but I know I'm not. He doesn't play favorites, He just makes you feel like it. I plan to extend this birthday blessing out all year. I'm looking for something cool to ask everyday. It may not be my birthday everyday, but everyday is the first day of the rest of my life and I plan to celebrate.