Now That's Cool

A while back we were over in Tahiti.  We were in a small bungalow on the beach.  I always travel with my volleyball net and was looking forward to some beach volleyball.  What I did not know was that because of the reef surrounding the island of Huahine, there was very little beach.  I was undaunted and determined to find a spot.  I got on a rented bike and went down the road and found a beautiful stretch of grass.  I went back to the hotel and announced that there would be a volleyball game the next day at 2pm.  The hotel management heard about the game and the manager came over to my hammock to tell me that we could not do that.  The fact of the matter was that the grass area was owned by the President of French Polynesia and that it would be trespassing.  I was not to be swayed.  I jumped back on the bike and knocked on the front door of this palatial estate.  No one answered.  I went around back and there were some workers there and I explained that we were planning a volleyball game in the front yard the following day.  They said that was fine and I went back and told the manager that we had received permission.  The next day we put up the net.  The manger showed up with a referee chair from the tennis courts and a bunch of beer.  Awesome, game on.  About 2:30, the local villagers showed up with their families.  Little did we know that volleyball is the national sport of Tahiti.  These guys were spiking from the back line!  Even the small kids were amazing.  Needless to say, we had a great day and a wonderful vacation.  That was in 1992!