Hawaii - Day 2

Kauai is so breathtaking! The 30 minute drive to the start of our hike alone was gorgeous. We drove over lush valleys and smooth rivers (more to come on those - the Cocohut has a kayak we plan to make good use of later this week). We crossed bridges where only one direction of traffic could pass at a time. We glimpsed hidden waterfalls as we winded through the roads along the coast. We passed massive caves where we couldn't even see how far back into the mountain they went. Alisha peered out the window and got excited about surf lessons later this week as she watched the waves crash into the sandy beaches... and did I mention that was just the drive to where we would start our day!?!

Alisha said today was 'my day' so I got to pick the activity. I had researched various hikes online and landed on the hike to Hanakapai'ai Falls. I really had my eye on the Kalalau Valley, but determined a treacherous 11 mile (one-way) hike on the first day of vacation was probably not the best idea. In addition you have to get a permit and camp overnight before coming back out the next day. The first two miles of the Hanakapai'ai hike are the same as the Kalalau Valley hike though, and there were a lot of great reviews online. 

After waking up at 3:00am and not being able to go back to sleep this morning, we had eaten some of the best omelettes we'd ever had and were at the trailhead and ready to go at 7:20am.

At the Cocohut all packed up and ready for our hike.

Alisha is already worried after seeing the warning signs at the trailhead.

Backpack contents of both our packs: Water shoes, 2 liters of water, water filter (life saver - we refilled 4 or 5 times by the time we made it back at the end if the day), pb&j sandwiches (London would be jealous), apple slices, power bars, granola bars, rice krispy treats, sunscreen and bug wipes, Nikon camera and lenses (ended up only using my new one - should have just left the others at the Cocohut), iPhone (loaded with some good island tunes and Jack Johnson classics), and other misc items (car keys, Chapstick, etc).

We didn't see many others on the way in, but did link up with some other couples that we would leapfrog as we each stopped at different times to take breaks or when we would both get lost and had to put our heads together when the trail got hard to follow. A nice couple from Colorado Springs took a picture of us at one of the higher points along the trail to Hanakapai'ai Beach. Note we're already pretty soaked... We had no idea that this was the EASY part of the hike : )

After a little over 2 miles, we crossed this stream just before the Hanakapai'ai Beach. I don't know if it was her hurdle experience or what, but this chick can rock hop with the best of them! We both made it all the way back to the car without getting our normal shoes wet.

Hanakapai'ai Beach

We refreshed our water, grabbed some snacks and headed up the mountain toward the falls. This is where the Kalalau trail continues another 9 miles down the Na Pali Coast. We met a couple of nice guys - one of them was celebrating his 50th birthday that day and he and his friend were packing all the way in to camp at the Kalalau beach while their families relaxed on Maui! Alisha said I should do that when I turn 50. I mistook her comment as an offering to do that with me... don't worry, she quickly cleared up any confusion and let me know that I could go with a friend(s) while she and the other spouse(s) went to the spa and shopping on Maui! ;). Matt/Kurt/Brandon... I'll be calling you in 18 years.

I didn't take many pictures on the way up to the falls as the trail was quite challenging... We got some good ones on the way back down after the trail had some time to dry out a bit. It had rained the night before and we knew it might rain today as well, but took our chances with the next day looking even worse for rain during the day. It turned out just perfect and the rain held off until just after we returned to the car. The picture above was the first look we got of the falls, about an hour and a half after leaving Hanakapai'ai Beach.

Alisha being funny to try to forget about how terrified she is while scaling these rocks. Hey, at least there wasn't a waterfall tumbling down these rocks like at other points on the trail! : )

Almost there!

The hike was a beast to get here, but seeing this spectacular waterfall was worth every step. I'm so glad we thought to bring water shoes since we had to cross the stream many times and in several places there was no way to do it without getting wet. 

The water wasn't exactly warm, but we didn't come all this way just to take a few pictures and turn around! Alisha was a bit braver than me, jumping all the way in up to her neck.

Our newly acquired hiking friends. The dude without a shirt straight up dove in and swam under the falls. That would have been fun to do, but we read too many blogs and saw the posted signs down by the beach that said rocks frequently come over the falls with the water. There is no way a helicopter could get in there and one story online told of a teenage girl that split her head open and the father had to painstakingly get her the 2+ miles back down to the beach to get LifeFlighted out... Just not worth the risk!

It was probably because we were so hungry or maybe it was the delicious Hawaiian bread, but the pb&j sandwiches we ate were unreal delicious! We must have been at 3 liters of water consumed each at this point - so glad my dad had introduced me to hand water filters on our hunting trip a couple years ago. We refilled the water bladder, admired the falls some more, then reluctantly started back down the trail. 

I guess we were energized by the awesome waterfalls and motivated by a little bit of help from gravity as we started back downhill - just couldn't resist a little Tarzan style swinging!

This was a cool part of the trail where we crossed a light waterfall. It looks a lot less dangerous in this photo than it really was.

Back at the Hanakapai'ai Beach, we were really starting to feel the impact of the 6+ miles we'd traversed thus far. We were starting to see a lot of people at this point and many were grateful for the tips and directions we were now able to provide, being the resident experts that we now were ; ). Honestly, though, we were able to provide some good info that hopefully saved people from getting lost or even attempting to hike to the falls (one couple had a tiny baby they were carrying in their arms - getting to the beach is one thing, but going all the way to the falls would have been extremely dangerous with an infant).

It is hard to get a real feel for the drop off to the ocean in these pictures, but it was really pretty cool to see the clear blue ocean below and listen to the crashing waves as we hiked.

Almost exactly 7 hours from starting up the trail and 8+ miles later, we arrived back at Ke'e Beach where we left our car. As we drove down the road we realized our hike would have been another 1/2 mile each direction had we not gotten the front row parking spot that was available at 7:00am.

Some stats from the hike à la Fitbit (we walked around quite a bit this morning getting ready so not all of the stats are just from the hike):

Steps

Flights of stairs (I think Alisha got more because she has shorter legs)

Miles (I probably got more because of my longer stride)

Calories burned (thanks to Fitbit for highlighting that I carried more weight up the mountain)

This hike was one of the most amazing activities I've ever done. I don't know if we can top this activity this week, but we're sure going to give it our best shot! 

On the way back we stopped in a small town and grabbed a shaved ice and some fries (we did just burn a combined 6273 calories). The shaved ice here is SO good. Not sure how to even describe it, but it is different than what you get back in Texas. The ice is very smooth for a lack of a better word.

The birds stole a fry right out from under Alisha's nose so she decided to teach one a lesson on who is bigger and played a little game of french fry tug-of-war. The bird won : (

We took in some more scenery and stumbled into a Costco where we dang near bought them out of macadamia nuts. We then ate dinner a local hole-in-the-wall in Kapaa (we were the only non-natives in the place) and headed to bed early after having fully spent our energy for the day. 

Hawaii - Day 1

All of our kids slept over at good friends' homes last night and I can't believe we still got up at 3:30am... That's just not right! ; )

After realizing that they changed our gate after already being dropped off at Terminal E, we booked it  over to Terminal C to arrive just in time to hear them calling our zone to board. We wanted to get some exercise on this vacation instead of just sitting on the beach (well, at least not the WHOLE time ; ) ), but didn't plan to be out of breath and drenched before we even left Houston.

Upon arriving in Lihue at 11:30am Hawaii time (13 hours after waking up), we picked up our rental car and headed to the Kapaa First Ward building for 1:00 church. This building was very unlike any I've ever seen in the church. Sacrament Meeting was held in a separate building that was almost all glass doors (you could see into the chapel from almost anywhere outside the building. It was filled to capacity and had only a couple of small A/C units that struggled to make any kind of difference. We quickly realized that a hand fan is a must and we were among the very few without one. Lesson learned for next week!

We drove to the north shore after church and  'checked in' at the Cocohut. It was a little surprising to find that nobody here locks their doors, let alone even closes the doors or windows. There wasn't even a lock on the door that could be locked. I guess we'll take our valuables with us everywhere we go!

Before it got too late we decided to call and make sure Gram Gardner was alive. No, I'm not worried about my kids... they are in good hands... It is those that have to wrangle them that I feel for ; ) - THANKS again Gram for flying in all the way from Alaska after visiting Danielle as well as all those who helped with our kids until she could get there.

After picking up some overpriced groceries, we grilled up some delicious New York steak, potatoes, onions, and Texas Toast. We still had a lot of daylight left so we decided to go for a little walk down to a nearby beach. I still can't believe Alisha was able to make the hike in a dress and flip flops, but somehow she did. No worries about the hike to Hanakapai'ai Falls tomorrow!

 

Glass Repair

In hindsight, I shouldn't have carpooled today, leaving my car as a ripe target for stray projectile rocks. I knew the lawn guys were likely going to show up today based on how long the grass was this weekend... guess I'll be getting free lawn cuts for a while...

BEFORE (or should I say AFTER the lawn guys left)

IN BETWEEN (pit stop at McDonalds)

AFTER we made a visit to our friendly neighborhood salvage yard

I would have probably been up until midnight if I didn't have a good flashlight holder ;). In the end, it only cost $45 and took just a few hours including travel time to go from a hole in the window to as good as new. :)

Baseball

Carson decided he wanted to play baseball again this spring. However, this season we decided to try out the Humble League. The past few years we played in the Kingwood League. He plays in the same league as a lot of kids in his school and class so that is fun. Plus the drive is a lot shorter. He is in the 8U League on the Rays! So far this season they have lost two games and tied one game due to having to call the game early. One of Carson's teammates (Brayden) got slammed by the ball which ended with him being taken off the field by ambulance. He is okay but not cleared to play for one week. He has an awesome black eye!  Monday night (4/8/13) they had another game.What a game it was! One Carson will never forget. He was doing well so far throughout the game. He had gotten on base every time thus far and nothing had come to him in the outfield yet. He stepped up to the plate and swung with all his might. BOOM! The ball flew through the air, dropped down just in front of the outfielders and rolled all the way to the fence. Immediately I am screaming, RUN, RUN, RUN! He rounds first and heads to second, then to third and the third base coach motions to run into home. He slid into home with a BIG HUGE GRIN plastered on his face and his arms in the air! Carson hit his FIRST HOME RUN! Here is a picture of his team after their first victory! All the kids wore eye patches to match Braydens black eye. Sorry the picture is blurry. The kids were so excited they wouldn't hold still!

Maui VS Kauai

Bridger and I will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary this summer! Since we haven't had a kid free vacation with each other since Carson was 7 months old (he turns 8 years old this summer) we are thinking about heading to Hawaii kid free for a week or so. We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon (Kona - big Island). We plan to spend a few days in Oahu doing all of the touristy stuff ie. pearl harbor, polynesian cultural center, etc. but then we want to island jump for the rest of the days. Do we want to visit Maui or Kauai? Things we (mostly just me) are interested in are: beaches, surfing, and hiking. Which one is better? I'm getting lots of mixed reviews online. Any suggestions?

Family Pictures

Does anyone even read this blog anymore? Oh well, I wanted to post a few of my favorite pictures from our family photos we had taken the beginning of December. Bridgers whole family was here and it was fun to have everyone together.