We spent most of yesterday hanging out at the party house, the place in Princeville where about 15 of Brad and George's friends have rented out for the wedding. It's 11 guys, 4 girls and 8 laptop computers. So far only one of the groomsmen has fallen down a cliff (he's scraped up but OK), and most of the guys think it was a ploy for sympathy from the girls.
The house is huge - rumor has it was built by Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash fame. Every time Brad comes over to visit he says: "I'm never getting my cleaning deposit back."
In the morning Brad, Jason and I went snorkeling at Queen's Bath, a little lagoon created in a huge sheet of lava here on the north shore. It's very nice - and best of all there were a bunch of turtles swimming around in the ocean. They move very much like the surfer dude turtles in "Finding Nemo." We then went back to the party house and picked up Brad's dad and Jake and went snorkeling up at Tunnels. Neither Brad, Brad's dad, Jake or Jason knew what time the wedding starts today. We later figured out it was at 2:30. Or maybe 2.
After my morning of being outraged by Northwestern football, Jason is now being outraged at UCLA. We're going to leave for the wedding at about 1:30 - covering the bases for either 2 or 2:30.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Friday, October 22, 2004
Eco-Challenge Kaua'i
We did the death hike! OK, we only did 4 miles of the death hike, but it was hard enough that I can't imagine doing the entire 22 miles round-trip. Ever.
It's called the Kalalau Trail and runs along the Na Pali coast on the west side of the island. You can hike the first 2 miles to Hanakapi'ai Beach, but the next 9 miles of the front end require a camping permit. The boat captain on the snorkeling trip said people at mile 11 always swim out to the boat and beg to come aboard instead of making the return hike.
It was very muddy and slick in some parts, which wouldn't generally have been a problem if you weren't hiking along an 8-inch-wide trail with a 500-foot drop straight into the ocean on the other side. No problem.
We went with Brad's friend Jake from Oregon, who said that it was the most vertical hike he's ever taken in his life.
Why no pictures? Well, mainly I look like hell in all of them. Muddy and insane hair. And also I dunked my camera when crossing a stream and it's drying out. It still works, but the photos I took before I submerged it aren't that great.
At the end of the trail at the beach there was a black and white mother cat and kitten begging for food like professionals. They like Power Bars.
After the hike I took a serious nap, then we went down to Poipu to go to Roy's Restaurant, a combination of Japanese and Hawaiian food. Thanks for the gift certificate, Bridget! It was great and yes, we had the chocolate souffle.
It's called the Kalalau Trail and runs along the Na Pali coast on the west side of the island. You can hike the first 2 miles to Hanakapi'ai Beach, but the next 9 miles of the front end require a camping permit. The boat captain on the snorkeling trip said people at mile 11 always swim out to the boat and beg to come aboard instead of making the return hike.
It was very muddy and slick in some parts, which wouldn't generally have been a problem if you weren't hiking along an 8-inch-wide trail with a 500-foot drop straight into the ocean on the other side. No problem.
We went with Brad's friend Jake from Oregon, who said that it was the most vertical hike he's ever taken in his life.
Why no pictures? Well, mainly I look like hell in all of them. Muddy and insane hair. And also I dunked my camera when crossing a stream and it's drying out. It still works, but the photos I took before I submerged it aren't that great.
At the end of the trail at the beach there was a black and white mother cat and kitten begging for food like professionals. They like Power Bars.
After the hike I took a serious nap, then we went down to Poipu to go to Roy's Restaurant, a combination of Japanese and Hawaiian food. Thanks for the gift certificate, Bridget! It was great and yes, we had the chocolate souffle.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
No, Mom, we didn't die.
We took a helicopter tour! It was absolutely the highlight of the trip to date.
We went with Jack Harter Helicopters, based out of Lihue. Jack has run the company for 30 years, making it the oldest on the island - and he has a perfect safety record. Whenever you see a stunt helicopter trick in a movie that was filmed on Kaua'i, Jack flew it.
Our pilot was Billy, who was very cool and looked like Jon Bon Jovi. He took us and four other people on a 90-minute tour. It was revenge of the tall, skinny people - Jason and I got to sit up front with the pilot because they assign seats to balance the weight.
The flight itself wasn't scary at all. Not bumpy, not swoopy, not particularly fast-seeming and we wore noise-dampening headphones. Billy took us around a lot of the lands that are owned by the Robinsons and therefore inaccessible except by helicopter. They must make a pretty penny off of movie filming fees - most of the "Jurassic Park" movies were filmed on their land. Billy played the music from the movie when we flew around that area - it was cool.
We flew through Waimea Canyon and the highest part of the swamp that we hiked the other day. It was misting but not raining hard, so he took us to the wettest spot on earth on Mt. Wai'ale'ale. It's shrubby and full of dead trees - too much rain for things to grow, and the full-grown trees that get seeded there by the wind don't make it to maturity before they die.
We saw the Na Pali coast which is just as impressive from the air. The tour wound up with going into the crater of Mt. Wai'ale'ale, the extinct volcano the was the original source of the island. The walls are 3,000 feet tall, entirely green and with dozens of waterfalls. Native Hawaiians believed Pele lived here before she got ticked at all the rain and left for the other Hawaiian islands.
All in all, anyone who comes here has to do a helicopter trip. Most of the island is inaccessible, so you really don't get a sense of it unless you see it by air.
We went with Jack Harter Helicopters, based out of Lihue. Jack has run the company for 30 years, making it the oldest on the island - and he has a perfect safety record. Whenever you see a stunt helicopter trick in a movie that was filmed on Kaua'i, Jack flew it.
Our pilot was Billy, who was very cool and looked like Jon Bon Jovi. He took us and four other people on a 90-minute tour. It was revenge of the tall, skinny people - Jason and I got to sit up front with the pilot because they assign seats to balance the weight.
The flight itself wasn't scary at all. Not bumpy, not swoopy, not particularly fast-seeming and we wore noise-dampening headphones. Billy took us around a lot of the lands that are owned by the Robinsons and therefore inaccessible except by helicopter. They must make a pretty penny off of movie filming fees - most of the "Jurassic Park" movies were filmed on their land. Billy played the music from the movie when we flew around that area - it was cool.
We flew through Waimea Canyon and the highest part of the swamp that we hiked the other day. It was misting but not raining hard, so he took us to the wettest spot on earth on Mt. Wai'ale'ale. It's shrubby and full of dead trees - too much rain for things to grow, and the full-grown trees that get seeded there by the wind don't make it to maturity before they die.
We saw the Na Pali coast which is just as impressive from the air. The tour wound up with going into the crater of Mt. Wai'ale'ale, the extinct volcano the was the original source of the island. The walls are 3,000 feet tall, entirely green and with dozens of waterfalls. Native Hawaiians believed Pele lived here before she got ticked at all the rain and left for the other Hawaiian islands.
All in all, anyone who comes here has to do a helicopter trip. Most of the island is inaccessible, so you really don't get a sense of it unless you see it by air.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Double rainbow
Today was the snorkel day to end all snorkel days. We took a cruise with Holoholo Charters to the Na Pali coast and Ni'ihau (more dramatically called THE FORBIDDEN ISLAND.) The boat left the south side of Kauai at the o-dark-hundred hour of 6:15 a.m., so we got up at 4:30...which actually wasn't that bad since we're incapable of staying up past 9 p.m.
The boat ride was on a catamaran with about 20 other people. Literally me, Jason, one other woman and the crew were the only ones not to get seasick. The oceans coming up to the Na Pali coast were kinda rough - and then the trip across the channel to Ni'ihau was over open ocean - so you do the math.
We snorkeled off of THE FORBIDDEN ISLAND, so called because it's privately owned by the Robinson family, which also owns about 25% of the land of Kaua'i. About 600 native Hawaiians still live there, coverted to Calvinism in the 1840s by a Robinson ancestor. If you land on the island they get crabby and not-so-politely ask you to leave, but they don't care if you snorkel off shore.
We anchored in a cove near the bird sanctuary of Lehua, a little rock outcropping to the north. Sailors used to drop rabbits off there for food when they returned to the area, but over the years the rabbits ate all the greenery on the island, so they started eating the birds. Some enzyme in the birds makes their hair fall out, so now the island is overrun with hairless, carnivorous, in-bred rabbits. Monty Python?
At night we met up with wedding couple Brad and George, who are staying in the same condo complex we are. We ate at a Brazilian/Mexican restaurant in Hanalei, then came back here for a poisonous first attempt at making mai tais.
Brad and George have the following information for people who want to get married on Kauai: You have to get the marriage license in a beauty shop. The guy who is doing the ceremony is named Coco, and Jason hypothesizes that it might actually be Coco the sign language gorilla. And to get her wedding dress pressed, George had the option of dropping it off at the burger joint that the dry-cleaning lady works at with her husband.
The boat ride was on a catamaran with about 20 other people. Literally me, Jason, one other woman and the crew were the only ones not to get seasick. The oceans coming up to the Na Pali coast were kinda rough - and then the trip across the channel to Ni'ihau was over open ocean - so you do the math.
We snorkeled off of THE FORBIDDEN ISLAND, so called because it's privately owned by the Robinson family, which also owns about 25% of the land of Kaua'i. About 600 native Hawaiians still live there, coverted to Calvinism in the 1840s by a Robinson ancestor. If you land on the island they get crabby and not-so-politely ask you to leave, but they don't care if you snorkel off shore.
We anchored in a cove near the bird sanctuary of Lehua, a little rock outcropping to the north. Sailors used to drop rabbits off there for food when they returned to the area, but over the years the rabbits ate all the greenery on the island, so they started eating the birds. Some enzyme in the birds makes their hair fall out, so now the island is overrun with hairless, carnivorous, in-bred rabbits. Monty Python?
At night we met up with wedding couple Brad and George, who are staying in the same condo complex we are. We ate at a Brazilian/Mexican restaurant in Hanalei, then came back here for a poisonous first attempt at making mai tais.
Brad and George have the following information for people who want to get married on Kauai: You have to get the marriage license in a beauty shop. The guy who is doing the ceremony is named Coco, and Jason hypothesizes that it might actually be Coco the sign language gorilla. And to get her wedding dress pressed, George had the option of dropping it off at the burger joint that the dry-cleaning lady works at with her husband.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Ukulele without irony
We took it much easier today - I think we're growing more accustomed to island life.
We got up in the morning and went snorkeling at Tunnels, a beach east of here that's named after the appearance of tunnels underneath the coral. It was by far the best snorkeling of the trip - we saw actual fish, which is a plus. I got one of those underwater disposable cameras at the grocery store and between me and Jason we took all 27 pictures. Most are probably going to be of out of focus fish butt, but we'll see.
Three hours of snorkeling was pretty tiring, so after lunch at Bubba Burgers in Hanalei we took a nap and watched the Yankees-Red Sox game. Got up in time to walk down to the beach that fronts the condos to watch the sunset, at which point it started pouring rain. We hid in the jungly area until it was over.
We ventured down to Kilauea for the first time for dinner at a combination bakery/pizza place. Now, why didn't I think of that? We ate outside and saw a bunch of older Hawaiian guys hanging out, talking and playing the ukulele - for real. No camp intended.
The bugs continue to attack. Jason got a mosquito bite in the dead center of his forehead. He looks like he's wearing a bindi. I'd laugh, but I fear the bug bite karma.
We got up in the morning and went snorkeling at Tunnels, a beach east of here that's named after the appearance of tunnels underneath the coral. It was by far the best snorkeling of the trip - we saw actual fish, which is a plus. I got one of those underwater disposable cameras at the grocery store and between me and Jason we took all 27 pictures. Most are probably going to be of out of focus fish butt, but we'll see.
Three hours of snorkeling was pretty tiring, so after lunch at Bubba Burgers in Hanalei we took a nap and watched the Yankees-Red Sox game. Got up in time to walk down to the beach that fronts the condos to watch the sunset, at which point it started pouring rain. We hid in the jungly area until it was over.
We ventured down to Kilauea for the first time for dinner at a combination bakery/pizza place. Now, why didn't I think of that? We ate outside and saw a bunch of older Hawaiian guys hanging out, talking and playing the ukulele - for real. No camp intended.
The bugs continue to attack. Jason got a mosquito bite in the dead center of his forehead. He looks like he's wearing a bindi. I'd laugh, but I fear the bug bite karma.
Bugs like Jason more than me
For the first time ever, I have found a person that the bugs find more tasty than me. I have three bug bites; Jason has 10. He found a spider just hanging out on him in the car today. Our car also has a cockroach problem. They like day old milkshakes, apparently.
Besides that horror, we had lots of fun today. We went to the west side of the island to see Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park. The canyon is amazing; 4,000 foot tall walls that are green and interspersed with waterfalls. Koke'e State Park is just up the road - after some ill-advised off-roading ("Jurassic Parked" Jason called it) we decided to take the Pihea Vista trail and part of the Alaka'i Swamp Trail.
The trailhead is at the Pu'u o Kila Lookout, which is right by the Kalalau (yes, I'm looking at the guidebook as I spell all of these) Valley - that impressively green huge chasm on the Na Pali coast. It's at the very end of the 11-mile Na Pali coast trial - I'd much rather see it from above than do that haul to see it from below.
The Alaka'i Swamp trail was exceedingly cool - it winds through the swamp with the highest elevation in the world. Apparently it's the original caldera from the volcanic eruption that caused Kaua'i to form. Cool.
After the hike (on a Sunday! We continued the Sunday hike tradition - 4.22 miles, 2:14 hours, 400 some odd calories...) we ate shave ice at Waimea - who knew ice cream and sno cones were such a good mix.
We saw the cool Spouting Horn rock formation in Poipu and ate dinner there to wind up the day. I had macadamia nut encrusted shrimp. Mmmm...macadamia nuts.
Besides that horror, we had lots of fun today. We went to the west side of the island to see Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park. The canyon is amazing; 4,000 foot tall walls that are green and interspersed with waterfalls. Koke'e State Park is just up the road - after some ill-advised off-roading ("Jurassic Parked" Jason called it) we decided to take the Pihea Vista trail and part of the Alaka'i Swamp Trail.
The trailhead is at the Pu'u o Kila Lookout, which is right by the Kalalau (yes, I'm looking at the guidebook as I spell all of these) Valley - that impressively green huge chasm on the Na Pali coast. It's at the very end of the 11-mile Na Pali coast trial - I'd much rather see it from above than do that haul to see it from below.
The Alaka'i Swamp trail was exceedingly cool - it winds through the swamp with the highest elevation in the world. Apparently it's the original caldera from the volcanic eruption that caused Kaua'i to form. Cool.
After the hike (on a Sunday! We continued the Sunday hike tradition - 4.22 miles, 2:14 hours, 400 some odd calories...) we ate shave ice at Waimea - who knew ice cream and sno cones were such a good mix.
We saw the cool Spouting Horn rock formation in Poipu and ate dinner there to wind up the day. I had macadamia nut encrusted shrimp. Mmmm...macadamia nuts.
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