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San Diego Pacific Islander and Indigenous Native American Communities Send off Pacific Voyagers on their 10,000 mile journey in Canoes.

San Diego, CA- San Diego's Pacific Islander and indigenous Native American communities hosted a traditional Polynesian farewell ceremony for the Pacific Voyagers on Saturday, January 21st at Spanish Landing Park. The Pacific Voyagers have been in San Diego for the last six months winterizing their vakas (traditional Polynesian canoes), and will be departing on Tuesday, January 24th to finish the last leg of their 10,000 mile ocean journey.
Natay Holmes and I were lucky enough to spend some time with them sailing the bay on Te Matau a Maui / Aotearoa a few months ago, and we returned today to finish up our story. The Pacific Voyagers are a network of sailors from various Pacific Islands, including Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Solomon Islands and Hawaii. For me it seemed a bit familiar to be surrounded by pacific islanders. They, of course, served a bunch of food, but as I stood at the food table I asked, “Hey, where is the Spam and Rice?” A young Samoan teenager with braces next to me laughed and said, “Hey Bra you have to try the Pink dish.” “What is it?” I responded. He said, “I don’t know but it’s delicious.” I did and it was.

The six Vakas were anchored at the Spanish Landing, and as the tide receded they started getting stuck. We lent a hand moving one of them, but one other had to wait for the tide to come back up for it to be moved back to the dock.

On this journey the Pacific Voyagers' purpose is to bring awareness on conserving the waters of our oceans. The Pacific Voyager's vakas are special because the 
entire fleet is eco-friendly. The vakas are powered by wind and sun, giving them freedom of movement without any reliance on fossil fuels.

The Mayor’s office made a special visit to help recognize the sailors. In honor of the Pacific Voyagers, their time in San Diego and their important message of ocean sustainability, Mayor Sanders issued proclamation making Saturday, January 21, 2012, Pacific Voyagers Day in San Diego.

After leaving San Diego, the Pacific Voyagers will continue their 10,000 mile journey to Cabo San Lucas, Costa Rica's Cocos Islands, the Galapagos, the Marquesas and Tahiti. They will then conclude their journey at the Festival of the Pacific Arts in the Solomon Islands, in July.

We will most likely stop by on Tuesday to see them off, but since these are sailing ships there is no hard time for the departure. A simple reminder that the journey itself, sailing 10,000 miles, is about working with Mother Nature, not controlling it.

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by David Kamatoy with Natay Holmes

VideoBlog / Podcast / Viral video/ Tv It's a video people...

I love all these new terms it's basically "video". The format has changed, the production values are their own but essentially it's video. If I shot this on a $100 camera or a $10,000 camera the content will basically be the same.

That being said...

The first day of the National Hardware Show were just getting out footing. The booth has been set up. I'm about to post some media. But really the bulk of the editing will happen in the evening.

I'll post a few things and then back to media land....

Trippy Observations: The Desert Empire Fair

Ridgecrest, Ca-  is basically a small military town. Quaint, Nice, actually pretty diverse because of the military. I felt no tension at all and never felt like an outsider. However with any town there were several cultural shock observations that I make note of in thise light hearted entry...

THE BEST LOGO EVER- The Galloping Rib Cage was basically a barbecue booth with the classic Drum Smokers/Barbecue. Wow! what can you say this logo was both attractive, disgusting, and funny. But it did grab my attention and I came incredibly close to ordering a sandwich. close...





Destruction Derby- This was by far the biggest draw. On Sunday there was a line that went accross the fairgrounds. Phantom of the Opera or Destruction Derby. Hmmmm? The reality is that if you were there, you would want to go. I didnt because I was doing a show at the same time.  Ive only seen them in movies, I thought it was an urban myth much like human spontaneous combustion.

Are there no tailors in small towns? It's called a Hem apparently even though this is a military town and military personel have to adhere to strict uniform codes. It seems that casual wear takes on a rather extreme here as I saw a lot of jean dragging and sagging. This is not a style people it's a mistake. Here is the one tailor I found online. (This was not everyone by the way. They were  many up to date casual wearers as well, Id say about 60/40.)                                                                                                                       

Towne Center 1-Hour Cleaners
820 N China Lake Blvd # A
Ridgecrest, CA, 93555                              
(760) 375-0234

                           
Fast Food Cologne- I found this at a Truckstop on the outskirts of Ridgcrest,CA. Click to enlarge to see the details. You deposit your .25 cents / quarter and then you can choose via dial a scent. Notice the descriptive copy, "Our exquisite replica of POLO Spray"  Once you choose your toilet water,( I was in the Mens Bathroom, can you smell the irony.) You then use the manual Pump to dispense the exquisite replica scent.

This of course begs the question, Why would I want cologne when I'm driving alone and hauling a semi-truck full of tires bound for San Fransico. Hmmm. There is something about these truckers and their routes that is yet undiscovered.