Hawaiian Vacation
Aloha! Been in Hawaii for 10 days now and have had a truly great time enjoying the people and the beauty of this place.
The boat you see in the shots is a six-man outrigger canoe, a very traditional boat that has been modernized. People race them between the Hawaiian Islands and all over the South Pacific. It’s a traditional sport out here and I had fun trying my hand at it. The guys here at Kukio are among the best in the world, if not THE best.
As a gesture to LIVESTRONG and all it represents, they painted up one of their racing boats black with LIVESTRONG in yellow all over it. And they LIVESTRONG‘ed out their jerseys as well which was really cool.
We had a pretty humbling and awesome experience with the whale you see in the photos here. We were going along in the LIVESTRONG outrigger when a humpback popped its face up out of the water, gave us a look and then tucked back into the water to swim under our boat. I swam with a whale shark once which also humbles you but this was pretty interesting. I was A LITTLE excited and A LOT scared.
An amazing experience and amazing trip. To be able to be out in the ocean and appreciate this part of nature is something one tends to forget living in Central Texas. I’ve appreciated it a lot.
Now I’m ready to get home and get back to work.
LIVESTRONG,
Lance
Nue, Earl, Nate, Billy, Charlie, Seth, Thibert, Cameron, Chris, Ikaika, Lance, Nick, “College” and Mike
Posted in Lance | |
February 27th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Well deserved vacation Lance. Great photos! Seeing the whale must have been incredible experience and you are lucky to have caught it on camera.
February 27th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
That is a magnificent experience. I’m deeply envious.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Beautiful photos. What a great experience for you Lance… So sad to see how you’ve “let yourself go” since retiring from cycling…:)
February 27th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Great photos. I encourage you to continue making a difference in the lives of many. Thank you for the awesome work you have already done.
February 28th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Shhhhhh….don’t tell everybody what an awesome nature vacation Hawaii is!!!! It’ll turn into Disneyworld (or Waikiki)! We saw the same sights on horseback in Maui and went bike riding with your old pal Donny!
LiveSTRONG! Now, back to work!
February 28th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I cannot BELIEVE that whale picture. That is just INCREDIBLE!!
March 1st, 2008 at 1:20 am
Cool pics, Champ! Nice form on the paddle stroke- outriggers are training wheels for canoes. Looks like ur ready for the texaswatersafari.org
March 1st, 2008 at 1:33 am
BTW, just kidding about the training wheel remark- hope none of you outriggers out there took offense!!!
March 11th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Hawaii is such a wonderful tonic. Nothing like breathing the fresh air and being in touch with nature.
Ok.. The Alps have that too, but…Hawaii is special
March 12th, 2008 at 3:49 am
These photos are simply poetic. To be at eye level with such an amazingly beautiful creature is like finding gold at the end of a rainbow.
I’ve witnessed their beauty within 50′ back when I worked on a whale watching cruise ship, but I’m completely envious of you and your mates for that opportunity. Although, how befitting to have such a close encounter between a man of hope and an animal of wonder. Kudos on you, Mr. Armstrong.
April 10th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Lance, you can always work from Kukio, the best place on earth.. The whale is amazing, wish i was there - thanks for all you’ve done and continually do for these amazing people. keeping the hope and anticipation alive is a gift!!
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:11 pm
hello lance i say to you today my friend i am a big fan of you and your cyclist career are very wonderful. you’re my example in my life.i’m a french teenager who know that knowledge is power and attitude is everything! your association is simply great and wonderful
June 24th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Nice you should have turned it into a pedal boat.. I’m sure you would have gone a lot faster! =P