Sunday, Jan. 18

Hey everyone. Howzit? We are doing good here. I finally got a day off today and Jess and I took advantage of some great weather and spent most of the day at Richardson's Beach Park, which is about four miles from the house. Hilo, being on the volcano side of the island, doesn't have the white sand beaches that most associate with Hawaii. There are pockets of sand, but for the most part, there's a good deal of lava rock on the Hilo side beaches. We found our little plot of sand, got some sun, did some swimming and just relaxed. We also stopped by the brewery today so I could check on two fermentations. I pitched new yeast for the brewery on Friday and was anxious to see if things were taking off. Both tanks are fermenting well, which will allow us to supply the entire brewery with a new, clean strain of yeast. Last night, I took Jess to one of Hilo's local bars, The Emerald Orchid, for some drinks. The place got pretty packed and we lasted until about 11:30 before walking home. It's great to be able to walk home from the bar and not even have to think about driving. Other than that, Jessie did some laundry today and I cut the grass, which was getting a bit overgrown. I forgot how much I missed the smell of freshly cut grass. Well, it's back to work with me tomorrow. I will get Jess to post her thoughts on Hilo very soon.