Although Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith will be making his fourth Pro Bowl appearance this week and has to travel cross-country to get here, he never loses his enthusiasm for the NFL's annual all-star game.

The Pro Bowl is set for 11:30 a.m. Sunday at Aloha Stadium.

For Smith, the trip to Hawai'i means quality time with his family. Aside from the practices and the game, his free time has been spent horseback riding with his wife or taking his children to Sea Life Park to participate in some of the dolphin encounter programs over the years.

"I enjoy it," said Smith, who completed his eighth NFL season, all with the Panthers, who picked him in the third round in 2001 draft out of Utah. "My family enjoys it. I can hang with my family, swim at the beach with my kids, do family activities.

"Each time is different. The first time I went, my little girl was 5 years old. This time, my youngest son is 3."

Before his first Pro Bowl experience in 2002, Smith's other visit to Hawai'i was in the Hula Bowl, when it was held in Maui. It was memorable for another reason.

"Maui is expensive," he said with a smile.

His Pro Bowl selection was well deserved. Smith was third in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,421 in helping the Panthers win the NFC South at 12-4. But the conference's top seed fell victim to the Arizona Cardinals' storybook postseason run in a 33-13 loss in the divisional playoffs. It was a tough way for Carolina to end a season that showed so much promise. But Smith was gracious about the loss.

"It's just a game that didn't turn out in our favor," said Smith, contained to just two receptions for 43 yards with one catch for a touchdown in that game. "It was not our time. It was Arizona's time. They showed (it was their time) by the way they played and the way things happened for them, so no hard feelings. That's the game."

But Smith didn't want to offer any thoughts on next season, preferring to enjoy his week in paradise.

"I'm not thinking about next year at all," he said. "I'm enjoying it here. It's nice here. When I left Charlotte, it was 27 degrees. I'm just concerned about the current moment."

Since Hawai'i and the Pro Bowl have been rewarding to Smith, this year he was able to give a little back. He spent Super Bowl Sunday aboard the USS Port Royal, a guided missile cruiser based at Pearl Harbor. He watched the game with crew members in the mess hall, signing autographs and posing for photos. He presented the ship's commander with a football autographed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on behalf of the league. The commander offered Smith an autographed football of the ship's officers and other souvenirs of the vessel.

Although Smith was the honored guest, he said the reality is the honor was his.

"It's good to interact with people, who I guess put me on a pedestal," he said. "But I don't look at it like that. I mean, I have the opportunity to meet the people who help make our home safe. It's not really about me. It's more about them for what they give up in return, which is their life. I run around in a tight uniform in shoulder pads and a helmet. They have to risk their lives for our freedom."

LEARNING NEW CRAFT

At 29, Smith is still looking for ways to improve himself. He has interned at Morgan Stanley in Charlotte as a financial planner.

"It's just something I enjoy about the aspect of the finance business," Smith said. "It's just a different craft that I wanted to learn. Right now I'm just getting prepared to take my Series 7."

A Series 7 examination is for those who want to be licensed to sell securities.

Smith played collegiately at Utah, where a number of Hawai'i high school players also attended. Some of his former Ute teammates were brothers Ma'ake and Chris Kemoeatu (Kahuku) and Darnell and Anthony Arceneaux (Saint Louis), Wes Tufaga (Saint Louis) and Donny Utu (Punahou). Ma'ake is his teammate at Carolina.

"I'm supposed to meet up with Ma'ake (this week)," Smith said.