Anesthesia Boards Are Easy!

I passed my written board exam - Kick ass!

In other anesthesia related news, I did a spinal on a lady for c-section yesterday. She was 5'5". She was also 345 lbs. That's a BMI of 57.4, in case you're keeping track. Anything over 25 is considered overweight. She also had Spam and doughnuts for breakfast, she told me. She had a great personality though. Likes reggae and quiet walks on the beach.

Now on to cooler non-work related topics.

I went for a legendary hike today, Em couldn't go because she had a job interview. Sounds like she'll be working for the Kalaheo Cafe down the street (http://www.kalaheo.com/). Good food and decent coffee. It's about time she got a job, because I'm tired of supporting this family...3 days a week.

Back to the hike. It's called the Nu'alolo/Nu'alolo Cliffs/Awa-'awapuhi Grand Loop. Based on the pictures, you're welcome to judge whether it's worthy of its name. It starts with a descent toward the NaPali coast shortly after which, the "Forbidden Island of Ni'ihau" becomes visible. This island is privately owned and by some accounts, its residents are quite inbred - sort of like Maryville, TN.

You pass a million strawberry guava trees on the way, the fruits of which are marble to golf ball size and edible.

Views start to open up after 2.5- 3 mi.

More later, gotta go celebrate passing boards...I'm back now, with my friend named hangover.

Anyway, back to the views...

Just a bit further, you encounter the Lolo Vista Point. Apparently, this is where they filmed Harrison Ford in 6 Days/7 Nights where he spazzes out and chokes the tree. I would choke everything in sight if I had to work with that fake lesbian Ann Heche.

The reef looks so close that you could almost reach out and touch it...if your arm was 2500 feet long. By the way, the water really is that color - the picture is completely unedited.

After tearing myself away from what is debatably the most beautiful view on Kauai, I headed on to the cliff trail, which turned out to be not quite as exciting as I had first guessed based on the enticing signage.

There were a few questionable spots, where a misstep 6 inches to the left would have meant certain death. For the most part it was a lot of tall grass and old growth forest, with a few spectacular views thrown in for good measure.

I passed a few friends on the Cliff Trail en route to the next lookout. Goats overpopulate the area and are subject to attempted eradication in certain parts of the island.

On arrival to the Awa-'awapuhi Lookout I was again granted spectacular views. Emily and I had been here before, but not on a day as beautiful as this.

Now I had to hike to the road, 3.5 miles and 17oo feet of elevation. Someone played a cruel trick towards the end of the trail by spacing out the quarter-mile markers to at least a mile apart...at least it seemed that way. This is a loop hike, but to get back to your car, you need to walk 2 miles downhill on the road. This is not fun after 10 miles on the trail even if it is downhill. Thankfully, my trusty steed awaited me at the end of the trail.

As I cruised down the road, it started to drizzle, but I felt triumphant when I passed the other hikers doing the walk of shame in the rain. Back to the car and then to Kalaheo to celebrate passing boards...but not before God said in His special way "nice hike".

Went to Kalaheo Cafe for dinner after a few GIN and tonics, back home for a few more with the whole crew - Em, Joe, Chelsae, Kaya, Mike, Nate and Nicole. It was one of those perfect days where everything was cool and you go to bed (pass out) feeling like life is pretty damn sweet. 'Til next time...

Superferry Cancelation and Various Other News

If you didn't follow the Superferry link in the last post, then you probably don't know that voyages have been suspended due to hippies on surfboards and in kayaks blocking the passage to Nawiliwili harbor. Voyages are canceled indefinitely for now. Thankfully, I checked the website before booking flights and a condo on Oahu. Good news though - Superferry will be honoring our canceled itinerary up to a year from now, including the $5 fares. Everyone on the island feels strongly about the Superferry one way or another. I can see both sides, but overall, I don't think it will change life here on Kauai once it gets up and running. You can view all kinds of ultra-liberal rants at http://www.kauaiworld.com/. Superferry may be required to obtain an "environmental impact study" before future voyages. Sounds reasonable, except that not a single other mode of transportation between the island has been required to do this including cruise ships, airlines or commercial shippers. All in all, if Superferry changes life on Kauai for the worse, I'll eat my words and be quite upset. Until that time, I'm looking forward to taking the car and all our outdoor gear to Oahu for an outdoor adventure on a different island.

Speaking of adventures, a lot of "stuff" has been going on here since we came: the aforementioned Superferry issue, hurricanes, tsunami warning and 2 nights ago, we watched through binoculars as part of the mountainside burned. I found out today that it was from a careless camper who bolted from the scene on arrival of the fire dept. Emily and I watched as a helicopter made multiple trips from a water source to dump on the fire. Interesting to watch, but sad to see forest burning.

I went on a mountain bike ride/hike yesterday. Two regrets - I didn't bring the camera and I didn't apply sunscreen. Thankfully, the views are burned into my memory and depsite my lack of sunscreen, I didn't get burnt, but I cut the hike a little short to avoid it. I've gotten a decent tan over the past 4 weeks, picture below.

First, a little background. Mountain biking here basically consists of trespassing. So I hopped on my bike after tossing it over a gate and rode uphill for about 3.5 mi, pretty tough climb on golfball-sized lava gravel. Soon the road turned to slippery, rutted, red clay, so I ditched the bike behind some sugar cane and started hiking. Wild orchids lined the road and the views to the ocean were stupendous. Shortly thereafter, I climbed on the road above the trees and found myself in an amazing valley with Kahili mountain ahead and Wai'ale'ale (rainiest place on earth)to the left, swamp below. The clouds moving between the mountains were awesome. I hiked on a climbers trail to just below the summit of Kahili, near a communication station. I called Em and she looked with the binoculars out our front window, but couldn't quite see me. Had I applied sunscreen and brought some food on what was supposed to be a 2 hour trek, I would have continued to the summit. The trail ahead looked pretty dicey, so I decided it would be in Gary's best interest for me to return home.

The hike/bike back was pretty unremarkable aside from the wretched mud and the amazing things I already mentioned. Upon arrival at my car, a little mist had started coming down the mountain, but it was definitely worth dealing with to see the full arch double rainbow from mountain to sea. A fitting end to a spectacular journey. Not bad for a work day.

Working OT today, right now actually. It's a rough life.

Oahu Superferry Voyage

We booked some tickets on the Superferry today (http://hawaiisuperferry.com). Don't tell anyone here on Kauai because nobody is too happy about it. Lots of issues - vagabonds coming to Kauai from Oahu, whales, gasoline, animal/plant intruders, etc.

On the positive side, they were offering $5 fares through Sept. 5th. I can't get any beer here and Em can't get any baby furniture for Gary (that's the nickname of the fetus, Gary Gebhardt, nice ring to it, huh?). Therefore, we're taking the car on the Superferry to load up on swag. Normally this trip costs 450 bucks with the car, but with the promotional fares - 30 bucks! Slight problem, the only days available were Wed, Aug 29th to Oahu and Wed, Sept. 5th back to Kauai. Oddly enough, I have to work some of those days. No problem, we'll shoot back and forth in between on some of the cheap inter-island flights and leave the car in long term parking in Honolulu for a few days (we won't pick up our purchases until the 5th).

Sounds like a hassle, but not too bad considering the prohibitive shipping costs for baby furniture. Like Gary really cares what he/she sleeps in. I told Em she can have free reign on choosing the furniture as long as it fits in the closet under the steps - that's Gary's bedroom. At least that's what I told our real estate agent. Speaking of Gary, don't forget to check out the Countdown to Gary at the bottom of the page.

Finally, after nearly a month in Hawaii, I've started this thing up. After rejuvenating during my first 6 day weekend, I have enough time and things to post in order to get started.

The "weekend" started well with a 36 mile ride including 4500 feet of elevation gain up Waimea Canyon road to the Kalaulau lookout shown below.

Don't worry, I already know it's not about the destination, it's about the journey - that's why there are "little" diversions along the way (in the form of 800' Waipo'o falls).

Still had enough energy to hang out with our friends (and drink plenty of beer) for a party before the wedding this weekend.

Saturday was pretty tame, but Emily and I watched a movie on the new home theater equipment, which was quite enjoyable

Sunday was our friends' wedding at the Hyatt in Poipu. Outdoor wedding overlooking Poipu beach, sunny, breezy and beautiful with the bride and groom in bare feet. The reception at Kalaheo cafe, right down the street from our house, was equally as fine. Most excellent reception food...ever!

Tuesday we headed to Koke'e state park and took a 4x4 trail to Sugi grove, a primitive campsite. We hiked along Kawaikoi stream trail for a few miles. Off and on misty, rain through the afternoon and evening; nothing soaking, so we could get a fire going and enjoy the cool weather at 4000'. Overall, a spectacular evening.

Not having had enough hiking after only a few miles, I planned (with Em's hesitant permission, of course) a pre-dawn, solo hike to Kilohana lookout along the Pihea and Alaka'i Swamp trail in hopes of getting a glimpse at the sunrise. After 4 dark, lonely miles through forest and swamp with only a headlamp as company, I got a beautiful glimpse of...clouds and mist. I knew this was a distinct possibility, so I waited out the clouds in the chilly, misty air at the overlook, completely alone for about 45 minutes. During that time I was treated to about 7 minutes of sunshine, but did manage to snap a decent picture.

If you were paying attention before, you saw that the hike goes through the Alaka'i Swamp, which is the highest swamp on earth. Thankfully, they've built a walkway through the really nasty parts. Ah, the swamp at 7 AM, have you ever seen anything more beautiful? Very unusual, but probably not my favorite part of the island. What do you expect when you live near the rainiest spot on earth.

After returning safely from the 8 mile hike by 9 AM (!), we ate lunch at Koke'e lodge and headed home to clean up the camping mess. Back to work tomorrow - 2 whole days before the weekend!