Video: Crushing Kauai

It was 9pm on a Monday night in mid May.  My friend Ryan and I had been talking about taking a surf trip to Hawaii sometime during the summer but we hadn't really looked into it.  I decided to go online and see what airfares looked like from June to August.

It wasn't looking good for us.  Summer is peak season and airfare from Los Angeles was going to be upwards of $1500.  Accommodations were looking expensive as well.  I texted Ryan to tell him we may have wait until peak season was over.  I groan and sink into the couch.

A few minutes later he texts me back and tells me to take a look at fares for the month of May.  I get back on my computer and see fares for the following week are exceptionally low, hovering around $375.  I perk up instantly and feel a huge jolt of energy run through me.  There may yet be hope...

I grab my phone and dial Ryan.

He picks up: "Yo brotha."

"Dude, these tickets to Kauai are a steal if we leave next Tuesday and come back on Sunday."

"I know man, I really want to make this happen but I'm just not sure I can swing it."

"Yeah, I'm not sure if I can pull it off either.  But otherwise we wont be able to afford it unless we go next fall."

"I guess let's just watch the fares."

I hang up and go to bed.

The next evening I look at the fares and their up to $450.  I call up Ryan again.

He picks up: "Hey man."

"The fares are up and are suppose to keep increasing.  If we're going to do this we need to pull the trigger now.  Can you get off work?"

"Maybe, can you?"

"I can make it happen."

"Are we really going to do this?"

"Yeah, f*** it.  I'm pulling the trigger." I buy the ticket.  "It's done. Don't leave me out in the wind..."

"Haha, ok I'm going for it."

We had just booked a trip to paradise a week in advance.  We didn't know if we could get accommodations.  We didn't know if we could get the days off.  We didn't know how our girlfriends would react when we told them we booked a trip to Kauai without inviting them.

But that didn't matter.  Because what we did know is that life is short and we needed to live the adventure while we could.  Because what we did know was as soon as we booked that flight we felt the power of Mana Loa, the Great Power, running through our veins. And when you feel that power you just know that everything is going to work out.

It turned out to be one of the best weeks of my life.  We surfed, we hiked, we jumped off cliffs, we went off roading, we socialized with locals.  It was nothing short of epic.

Mana Loa is real and if you have to courage to seek it out you will never be disappointed.

We hope you decide to join us in the search for the Great Power.

-Matthew Engel, Founder