A bunch of us gathered to celebrate the birthday of Laredo Muredo or Larambo or Lawrence Murray, one of the legendary pillars in the local hiking community. Mahalo to Aileen and Menchie who came early to snag the prime picnic spot and decorate the place.

Surprise!

Is that for me? Moi?

Hello

The birthday boy getting lei’d by Lydia.

Greetings

Pressing the flesh.

Kinsley

I want my mommy!

New Balance

A birthday gift from Aileen and Menchie in size 9.5, so that he could rack up more miles on his favorite stairs.

Say cheese

First group photo of the day as Brian and Naomi had to take their leave of the party. Front row, left to right: Matt, Roseann, Naomi, Allison, Menchie, Tessa, Ani, Mari, and Agnes. Back row, left to right: Andrew, Tricia, Edgar, Chris, Brian, myself, Laredo, Cisco, Lydia, Kinsley, Richard, Ethan, Aileen, and Chico.

Oxtail soup

Going, going and gone. Who got the bones?

Awkward

Group photo, left to right: Chris, Matt, Andrew, Chico, Richard, Cisco, Laredo, myself, and Edgar.

Happy

Group photo, left to right: Roseann, Ani, Menchie, Lydia, Agnes, Allison, Laredo, Jasmin, Tessa, Aida, Aileen, and Mari.

State workers

Thanks to Andrew for being the grill guy.

Photobombers

Target demographics: 35 year olds. I think there’s one in the background.

Dancing with the Star

Matt dragging Menchie to the “dance floor.”

Dirty Dancing

Working up an appetite.

Hummingbird Hammocks

Get me when the food is ready.

Blessings

Father Vidaurri expressing gratitude for the food and friends that we had today.

Grindz

Time to kaukau. Many thanks to all that bought, contributed and made all the ono food and drinks that we had to fill our tummies and still had enough for leftovers to take home. Ribeye steak, mushrooms, zucchini (Andrew, Allison, Cisco, Matt, Mari and myself). Pancit (Lydia). Rice (Tessa). Butter garlic shrimp and decorations (Roseann and Richard). Chicken and rice and toss salad (Chico and Lilia). Lechon (Aida). Chicken (Chris). Crispy pork belly and Rainbow pandesal (Jasmin). Coco Puffs (Ani). Blueberry Butter Mochi (Tricia). Assorted ice cold drinks (Edgar). Decorations, utensils, napkins, plates and cups (Menchie).

Happy Birthday!

Birthday speech. Birthday dance. Birthday wishes. Somebody forgot the 79 individual candles. So we had to settle for numbers instead. Age is just a number. 79. Thanks to Agnes for getting the personalized cake.

Cake smash

You suppose to put the whole cake on his face, not just the frosting!

Frosting on the Face

Andrew wanted to get a taste of Laredo. Get in line.

Aiea Loop Trail

Once the festivities were done, some went home and the rest of us decided to do a short stroll on the bisectional trail. Turns out nobody had done it before. Who’s leading? Andrew, Edgar and Tricia stayed behind to watch our stuff.

Aiea Loop Trail

Do I need my two bottles of Tang?

Aiea Loop Trail

Agnes enjoying the solitary views.

Aiea Loop Trail

We soon bumped into Leslie Pelton who was kind enough to point us in the right direction.

Bisectional Trail

Detouring off the main trail onto the path that basically bisects or divides the main trail in half. A short cut in other words.

Embrace the simple things.

Words to live by.

Bisectional Trail

Following the trail.

Bisectional Trail

Chico channeling his inner Ferlino.

Bisectional Trail

Slipper friendly trail.

Bisectional Trail

Postcard perfect.

Bisectional Trail

Nice to see Cisco again on the trails, who put down his pickleball paddle to join us today.

Bisectional Trail

Climbing out of the ditch to join back up with the main trail.

Aiea Loop Trail

Maybe somebody should’ve got their own pair of New Balance shoes?

Aiea Loop Trail

We backtracked on the trail while trying to maintain a contactless experience with a certain four legged hiker.

Aiea Loop Trail

Thanks to Dale for pointing us in the right direction to find the oft-photographed Loop Tree.

Loop Tree

Matt balancing on the tree.

Loop Tree

Group photo.

Loop Tree

Ethan getting a booster seat.

Loop Tree

Unmistakably Agnes. Fallen angel.

Loop Tree

Chico’s running start got him pretty high up on the tree.

Loop Tree

Aileen straddling the tree.

Loop Tree

Laredo standing tall.

Loop Tree

Lydia reclining on the tree.

Loop Tree

What happens when Jasmin falls from the tree? Does she get pulled up? Hiker pile-up. That’s what friends do.

Loop Tree

You can do it!

Loop Tree

Hands off! I’m not your birthday gift!

Loop Tree

Matt wants to be a loop when he grows up. A fruit loop.

All pau

We came out of the trail and climbed back up the hill to our picnic site and went home.

Video by Edgar Gamiao of Laredo’s Birthday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1qxzcMbh1E

A big shout out to everybody that came out and made Laredo’s birthday his special day. Mahalo to Agnes Bryant, Aida Gordon, Aileen and Ethan Agustin, Allison Banks, Andrew Green, Ani Lagpacan, Chico Cantu, Chris Bautista, Cisco Quintanilla, Edgar Gamiao, Jasmin Nepomuceno, Lydia Daeksplora, Mari Saito, Matt Vidaurri, Menchie Bautista, Roseann, Braelene, Kinsley and Richard Espinoza, Tessa Bugay and Tricia Kunihiro. Good times. Good laughs. Good memories.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.