10 Nights in Cincinnati

Friday
We arrived in Cincinnati exhausted, but happy to see everyone.  After a short nap we proceeded to Gran Fiesta to celebrate Lisa's graduation with some margaritas.  I'm sure Erv was happiest since he's finished paying tuition forever.

Saturday

We celebrated with a pre-Christmas Eve bash at Tina and Erv's since we'd be back on Kauai for the 24th.  Lots of snacks and beer while watching Maddie open her gifts or at least pictures of them since most were sent to HI.  Dominic got his FJ Cruiser Power Wheels for his birthday, Christmas, birthday, Christmas, birthday, Christmas present from us.  Both he and Maddie enjoyed it though Maddie was unsure of Dominic's driving skills and prefered to drive on her own.

Revealing pose for Lowrider Magazine

Sunday
Maddie got to meet some of Em's aunts and uncles for the first time since Cindy was kind enough to host the gathering with her usual excess of food and drink.  Afterwards, we just chilled out with her parents, sisters, and brother while the kids played with each other.

Monday
Great Grandma G hosted dinner and served her excellent chicken liver pate followed by the famous and most delicious ham crepes.  After dinner, we got to hang out and catch up with Erv's side of the family as well as selecting paintings that Great, Great Uncle Ernie had sent from Germany.

Tuesday
LaRosa's at Great Grandma D's house while we caught up with Big Den's side of the family.  Though I hated to eat and run, through miscommunication, I had made previous plans of which Em was unaware.  Hark, Paul and I went to Dilly Deli, one of recently named top beer bars in America, to sample some of their fine brews.  While enjoying some Troegs Hopback, we were accosted by some moron trying to impress upon us how expensive his Irish whiskey was.  The bartender should have served him a nice warm glass of "shut the hell up."

Wednesday
Em asked me to cut my hair as a Christmas present to her. 

.

So I did.  Instead of giving my hair to Locks of Love,  I wrapped it up as a Christmas present for Mike and Big Den since they needed it more.

Big hair runs in the family

Em and Maddie went to the frigid Festival of Crap at the zoo which Maddie apparently enjoyed despite the olfactory assault. 

Since our previous attempts to get to a Ruby's Steakhouse as a group had been thwarted, I took it upon myself to get there - a perfect opportunity for dinner with Big Erv since we had poker later in the evening.  Dinner was superb, though my massive filet was just the slightest bit overdone.  We departed the Precinct for Matt's house and played some cards amid wallowing in obscenity and inane conversation with the fellas, all the while slugging back the Elliot Ness on tap.  A fine evening to say the least.

Thursday
Mike, Hildog, Laura, Paul, Em and I, with our swarm of kids, descended upon downtown Cincinnati to check out the lights and the Cinergy model train display. 

I think it was Maddie's first time in a parking garage or the city, but she seemed to enjoy the action.  Afterward, we managed to get some tables at Rock Bottom Brewery for some pub grub and beer, followed by Graeter's Ice Cream on Fountain Square.

Friday
Our big night out since we had a babysitter.  There was a great showing with 17 people at Dewey's Pizza for dinner and then over 20 people at Northside Tavern.  We certainly appreciate the effort that people put into changing their schedules to hang out for the evening.  While waiting interminably for the Heartless Bastards to play, we learned that Northside Tavern has an awesome beer selection and that Todd has reproduced again (number 4!  Egads!).   The Bastards came on at midnight in their usual late fashion and played a decent show though I was disappointed on not hearing their new single "The Mountain".

Saturday
Slow to awaken from our late night with too much beer, I was thankful that we were going to Big Den and Cindy's house for a big brunch and Christmas celebration - just sitting around.  As usual, Santa spent too much, but we got great gifts and had fun spending time with everyone there.

Maddie kept stealing Chase's ride - not too good with the sharing yet

Sunday
Maddie's big day!  Her first birthday party, which seems so weird to me, considering I feel like she just squirted out all covered in goo.  I never thought birth was beautiful.  I'm amazed at how much she's changed in a year, starting out so helpless and small and just a year later she's a little person capable of talking, getting around, expressing her feelings and what she wants, etc., etc.  We had tons of people at my parents' house so we had trouble keeping everything in order and getting a chance to talk to everyone.  Maddie thanks you for all the gifts! 

After everyone left, we settled down to some Chipotle for dinner and later made a quick trip to Grandma/pa D's to say goodbye.

Time with the family was definitely the "flavor of the week" so I regret not spending some more time with my friends.  However, I'd be hard-pressed to choose any of the family time to give up.  That's the hefty price we pay for living 5000 miles away.  Sometimes it's hard to justify, sometimes easy...like on Christmas morning when it's 75 degrees...you can walk out on the lanai in shorts...push Maddie on the swing with the sun shining...see the ocean and watch the palm trees sway in the breeze...you get the idea.

Kahili Mountain Park Cabin a.k.a. Just the 6 1/2 of Us Without Distraction

After months of talking about it and weeks of planning, we couldn't find a suitable place for an overnight stay in the mountains.  Joe, Chelsae, Mike, Kaya, Em, Maddie and I had finally managed to organize our schedules so that we could spend a night together without any of us having to work the next day.  Kokee cabins had vaious glowing reviews at TripAdvisor.com ranging from "Worst cabin experience ever!" to "A Hawaii state park disgrace" and multiple people we talked to said they were pretty nasty.  Despite such rave reviews, we continued to look elsewhere and decided upon Kahili Mountain Park cabins though they're only about 10 minutes from our house (Kahili Mountain Park).  While these cabins were not truly in the mountains, they sat at the base of the very beautiful Kahili Mtn. in a peaceful forest setting.
The cabins were billed as rustic and they were, but they were also clean with all the necessities.  Unfortunately, due to our late booking, we arrived in the late afternoon, but with enough daylight to take a walk and some pictures.

Maddie crawled around on a blanket in the grass while watching the dogs run through the meadow. 

The sunset was nice and shortly thereafter, a light rain descended on us from the mountain so we retreated to the cabins for some snacks.

The look of innocence.

The "drunken bum" look.

   I partook of some Boulder Brewing Hazed and Infused as well as a Stone Old Guardian Barleywine that I'd been saving for a special occasion.  We sat, talked and laughed while taking our time preparing dinner.  After filling our bellies, we got the firepit going outside since the rain had retreated.  Cool weather, warm fire, good friends and some excellent beverages made for a killer night. 

 Before we went to bed we were already making plans for the next outing at Kahili cabins.  Well some of us (Joe) didn't make it past 8:00.

The sunrise over the mountains greeted us fairly early and we made an efficient departure to Kalaheo Cafe where we enjoyed a nice breakfast together before parting ways for the day.  It was definitely a successful change from our routine and I think we'll head back soon to make a weekend of it.

Beautiful Weather Blesses Us Again at Kilohana

Em worked Saturday, so Maddie and I were on our own for the day.  With lots of rain and high winds in the forecast, we decided to forego the standard Saturday hike and drove to the North shore instead to view the surf, predicted to be 22-26 feet.  We had a nice time, but the surf forecast had certainly overestimated the size of the waves.

The following morning, Em decided to clean so Maddie and I headed to Kokee despite questionable weather.  We were greeted in Kokee by high clouds and wet ground, but no rain.  We kept our fingers crossed and turned onto the muddy Mohihi road for the 4 wheel drive approach to the Alakai Swamp Trail.  As a side note, Maddie used to hate four-wheeling, but now seems to enjoy the scenery and the bumps as long as she's warned with a "bouncy-bouncy".  The road was slick and muddy, but we hit the trailhead easily and quickly. 

Maddie had never been on the Swamp Trail all the way to the Kilohana overlook and at 7 miles round trip, this was the shortest way.  Hiking was occasionally slippery on the boardwalk and muddy ground, but generally very pleasant with blue skies over the swamp.  I began to think we might see something at the overlook.

I've been to Kilohana overlook 5 times now and spent about 2.5 hours there waiting for the view of Hanalei, the bay and Wainiha Valley...and  I've gotten about a 5 minute glimpse of Hanalei Bay from this overlook...and nothing more...and I've begun to wonder whether or not this view actually exists...and on arrival to the overlook, I wonder again, because all I see is clouds.  Maddie is being delightful so I spread the blanket on the viewing platform and start feeding her lunch. 

More than we usually see

No more that 10 minutes into lunch, the clouds become wispier and soon I see sunshine.  Next thing you know, Maddie and I are looking down to unobstructed views of Hanalei, the bay and Wainiha Valley notched with thin, ribbon-like waterfalls from yesterday's rain. 

We spent about an hour intermittently eating, playing and viewing this awe-inspiring sight. 

I don't think Maddie was as impressed as I was, but then again she got the view on her first trip out.  She hadn't invested 24 hours of hiking and 2.5 hours of waiting in cold mist to see this.  I'm glad she got to see it on her first try since she is probably one of the youngest people to make the trek back to Kilohana Overlook.  We got a lot of "aren't you a lucky girl to be all the way back here" on the way to and at the overlook.  Maddie behaved perfectly on the way back to the car and on the way home.  She's become more and more well-behaved in the carrier on hikes, but I fear this will be short-lived once she starts walking.  Time will tell.

Our Most Ambitious Hike Yet?

The Kukui Trail to the bottom of Waimea Canyon (and back up) may have been our most ambitious hike to date.  It offers several challenges in the form of elevation change, steepness, exposure and heat.  Certainly not the longest trail Maddie and I have ever hiked, but 2.5 miles down and 2.5 miles back up with 2500 feet of elevation gain and temperatures in the mid-80's combine for a pretty tough hike.  Maddie seemed to enjoy the hike despite the annoyance of mosquitoes at the lower elevations near the river.

View from lunch spot

Once we got away from the mosquitoes, we spent about an hour under the shade of a tree soaking up the view and having lunch.  With the shade and the breeze, the temperature felt much less oppressive.  After that short respite, I started the march out of the canyon which took about 1 long, hot hour.  Maddie laughed her way to the top - I only hope she was enjoying herself, not laughing at her hot, sweaty, worn-out dad.

Killer Views of Wai'ale'ale

A few weeks ago, Em, Maddie and I had a day together to hike and Em had the foresight/luck to choose the Moalepe trail featuring wide-open views of Wai'ale'ale.  One caveat: Wai'ale'ale is the wettest place on earth, so I've seen the top unobstructed by clouds only once - on the Blue Hole hike.  However, on this day, the weather would be on our side.  Maddie was an angel and we had views to the top of Wai'ale'ale the entire hike, so needless to say we had a tremendous day.  A few pictures which certainly don't do justice to this awesome spectacle.

Ladybugs, Dynamite and a Housewife

Halloween was a good time this year.  We celebrated twice: once with Maddie in a wholesome fashion distributing candy to the neighborhood kids and once with our friends at a Halloween bash in our neighborhood.
Maddie was a ladybug and didn't seem to mind her costume once we managed to get her into it.  She enjoyed the constant activity of all the children arriving at our porch in their colorful costumes.  It was a cool evening (by Hawaii standards) so we wore sweatshirts and sipped our drinks while Maddie crawled around like a ladybug and helped with the candy.

MMMMMMMM...candy!

MMMMMMMMMM...alcoholic beverages!

Maddie gets the munchies when she drinks.

Later, while having dinner at the Kalaheo Cafe, Maddie decides she is NOT a vegetarian.

Who's number 1?

A few nights later, we put Maddie to bed and had a babysitter stay while we went to Joe and Chelsae's house.  I was Napoleon Dynamite, Em a housewife, Joe was Slash and Chelsae went straight 80's style. 

 We had a few drinks and then departed to a big party down the street.  It was already hoppin' by 9:30 when we arrived and Joe jumped right into the action playing guitar for the Guns 'n' Roses karaoke. 

Despite several "costume" cops, the real cops still came at one point due to the noise - a definite sign of a good party.

Em acting the part.