“Sorry, there’s only men’s extra-large or women’s extra-small left,” the dreamy North Shore oceanface was saying to me, kind of impatiently at the T-shirt table. There was a huge line behind me of people who wanted to get their shirts and get to writing on them but I was holding it all up trying to decide if I wanted to go for extra small or extra large. A quick glance around the room of the healthiest, fittest, tannest people I’ve ever seen in a room together pretty much made the decision for me. Extra large, [please.It] was Friday night but it felt like Saturday. 10pm but it felt like midnight. Haleiwa Joe’s was the spot for the B-Ware White Tee Party and pretty much immediately the place was packed solid with people in white T-shirts scribbling all over each other. Hello, winter. I couldn’t help but scan the place for all the famous faces that I always hear about visiting the country this time of year. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a North Shore groupie. Every time I go up there, I’m excited. Once you pass the pineapple fields and you just stare at that side of the planet for a while before entering the small town of Haleiwa, it’s a magical transition. The Friday night party was heaven. Seriously, we all get to write on each other? It was the best way to break through a layer or two of the social barrier that I feel whenever I walk into a room full of surfers. Not like they scare me, I just don’t have much to talk about. I don’t know the ocean as well and certainly wouldn’t be seeing any of these people in the morning at Pupukea Starbucks or V Land. What’s great is I knew six people in the room that night but it was all I needed to feel at home and welcome. Jimmy DiCarlo, better known as Jim Browskee, knows how to make it a good party. I spent an entire day with him a few months ago as an extra in his second “Where’s Waldo” B-Ware ad that’s seriously the best campaign I’ve seen in Hawaii. It was a complicated shoot involving many people that took most of the day in the middle of Chinatown but the guy was just all smiles all day. He really loves what he does.

Sunday was even more amazing at the Rell Sunn Aloha Jam at Waimea Valley. The first person I saw when I walked in was TransWORLD Surf and local water photog hero Zak Noyle, who had casually allowed me to use his 600mm L series Canon lens the day before at Off the Wall. The contest had just ended, quite a few people were in the water and the beach was brimming with photographers. Zak was the only one with a vantage point on the second level balcony at the Red Bull House and didn’t even mind letting me get shots of the giant sunset with his rig. Only seven or eight thousand dollars worth of equipment and it was no thing. He is a legend. The jam was so beautiful, there just aren’t words. Joel Centeio was in the house smiling ear-to-ear the entire night after winning the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa, along with pretty much everyone in the world of Hawaii surfing. I was standing next to Zen Yoshifuku or Zak for most of the time to lurk their hellos and get photos of the legends. Patagonia Surfing Ambassador and activist Crystal Thornburg was back home fresh from Chile, cracking me up because a lot of people didn’t recognize her without her glasses. Every time I went to have a cigarette I had another conversation with someone amazing and interesting and truly in love with life. At the end Cyril Pahinui, Paula Fuga, Jake Shimabukuro and Rob Machado were all on stage together, the entire room singing along to Hawaii Aloha holding hands. Just–wow. Rell’s spirit was with everyone in that valley. If you really want to feel the love on this island, go to the North Shore. No, really.

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