The summer adventure begins

The purpose of this blog is so that you will get to know a few interesting individuals throughout the world. Via my summer adventure, you can keep in touch with where I am, what’s going on around the world, hear recommendations on new music and just get to know some faces you have never seen before. Today I’ll tell you about my trip and a little bit about a couple of girls I will be traveling with.

Beginning on July 1 I will be leaving the Pacific island of Oahu that I currently call home to embark on a 2 month, multi-continental adventure. The goal: to explore more about two amazing cultures. More specifically, via watching two international sporting events in South Africa and attending the wedding of a very dear friend of mine in Madrid, I hope to create relationships with people who are different than me. But in reality, I just wanna have FUN!

My Itinerary:
July 1-Depart Honolulu

July 3-Arrive Capetown and get dropped off in Fan Park at the stadium to watch the semi-final match with Mia Grundlingh.

July 9-Depart Capetown in the “noddy” (Mozzi-G’s car) and drive to Jeffery’s Bay/Port Elizabeth in order to attend the match that will determine the 3rd and 4th place teams in the World Cup of 2010. Directly after this we will be watching some rounds of the World Tour of Surfing at JBay.

July 17 – Back to Capetown to do some wine tours and some reading and relaxation/tourism.

July 27- Depart for Johannesburg to see Vlasa-T in her new natural habitat as well as visit a beach town just outside of Durban.

August 4- Return to Capetown to celebrate my quarter century birthday with Mozzi-G and fam. This is epic, because just a few years before I was in Capetown with Mozzi’s family celebrating her quarter century birthday.

August 8- Fly to Madrid.


August 9-Travel to the north of Spain where I will meet with Carlos and his family as well as spend time with my niece, Christie Gibbs, who is living in Valencia right now.

August 17-Vlasa-T arrives in Spain and we travel to a still unknown destination until…

August 24- We go back to Madrid and settle in to celebrate (and the Spanish knoooooow how to celebrate) Angela San Juan Cisneros’ marriage to Alex. 

August 30- Alas, the fateful day that brings me back to reality, work, school and a very small paycheck in Hawai’i again.

Now without further adieu, let me introduce the two main suspects behind the planning of this adventure: Mozzi-G and Vlasa-T.



I am L-Dog. The three of us are about to re-unite after years of living our own lives. It all started in Dallas in the year 2002. I went on a recruiting trip to Dallas in order to see if I wanted to attend SMU. Marizanne was my hostess. Being the ever graceful hostess, Marizanne left me with other college students to party one Friday night, hoping that this would convince me to come to SMU, and to fend for myself as far as a bed to sleep in. This charming experience with the lovely South African dame, Marizanne Grundlingh, is what convinced me to live in the middle of a state with no ocean or altitude for 4 years. Shortly after that, Michelle Vlasakova, the tall exotic Czech girl, arrived on the scene. In our freshmen class, Michelle was the only one living alone (without the other athletes) in a dorm across campus. I took Michelle under my wing, however, teaching her new English words on road trips like “opposite” and its correct pronunciation.

Four years later, a few good friends deeper and MANY bottles of wine later, Mozzi-G, Vlasa-T and L-Dog live to continue their legacy. Please stay tuned, and may the adventure begin.