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Ireland post (finally)
Zion and Bryce Canyon
Updated look

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Full Weekend

It was a fun and exciting long holiday weekend here. We kicked it off with dinner on Friday night at Yum Cha, an asian eatery located on the grounds of the Hyatt on the south shore. Dinner was delicious, but made all the better by the hollywood star sighting - Pierce Brosnan. We've been saying things lately like "Yeah, we grabbed a quick dinner with James Bond and his kids this past Friday, no big thing." I believe he owns a house here on Kauai and in considering how we would like to be treated while enjoying dinner with family, we didn't bother him and tried not to stare too much. This was a difficult task for Big Den.

The next morning, Big Den and I arose early to meet a friend at Port Allen small boat harbor for some deep sea fishing. We introduced ourselves and headed out on the water. We watched the sun rise out of the ocean and light the water so we could see the crystal clear blue. We trolled for awhile attempting to catch some big fish without any luck. Then we did some jigging to try and hook some Ahi (Yellowfin tuna) despite the outlook on the fish finder looking pretty bleak. Alan, our captain managed to hook something, handed the rod to me and I promptly lost whatever it was. I gave it a few more casts and then one of the other guys managed to hook something and reeled it in - a small one, good for a few pounds of fileted ahi. From that point we started to hook fish with some consistency for a total of 9. After getting the boat on the trailer, the guys taught us how to filet the fish and generously gave us 8 of the 9. We iced them down, drove home and I spent probably an hour trying to end my career while slicing up the fish. I enjoyed some sashimi while I worked. By the time it was over, I had about 20 dinner-size portions and most importanly, all my fingers intact. I would have made some sushi, but we were in a bit of a rush to get to the north shore to check in for our weekend escape. Ahi to the freezer and the 5 of us to the car for our trip to the north shore.


We checked in and were pretty happy with the place at Puu Poa. The condo overlooked the cliffs down to the ocean in near enough proximity that you could easily see the reef below surface - it beckoned to be explored with snorkels and fins. I made some fresh margaritas and we picked up pizza for dinner, but best of all we relaxed someplace with our everyday concerns far from our thoughts. Em and I had not been on a true vacation together for over 6 months and we missed the respite (even though you could argue that our whole life here in Hawaii is a vacation).

Maddie did well with her new surroundings and slept pretty well in our room.


Here's what she had to say about the trip.



In the morning, Em and I left Maddie with her grandparents and headed down the slippery trail to Hideaways beach with some snorkel gear. I headed out and saw tons of fish in the clear water.

After I don't know how long, I swam back to the beach to Em and we headed back up to the condo to eat some lunch and grab the rest of the crew to head back down to the beach.


Big Den and I spent hours in the water exploring the reef and well...I'll let the pictures and video speak for themselves.








More fresh margaritas and some Mexican for dinner which is a special treat for us since we don't really have a Mexican restaurant withing 45 minutes.
The next morning we packed up and headed to Hanalei Bay so the guys could paddle the Hanalei River and the girls could hang at the beach. The weather didn't cooperate as well as it could have so we got some rain on the river and the girls ended up at some of the shops. Nonetheless, paddling was nice with decent views of the mountains above Hanalei. I paddled it to the end and back while Big Den drifted and cast a line from his kayak. On our return to the mouth of the river we met up with the girls and had some excellent tacos at Pat's Taqueria. Then we headed back home after a restful, exciting and fulfilling weekend. All I can say is Hideaways is now THE beach in my book! 'Til next time...

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Grandma D Visit

Since many of you have requested more Maddie pictures, I'll post some random ones below. Also, I'm in the midst of working on a way that you can view all the pictures via the Costco photo page where I've uploaded nearly everything.
Grandma D arrived Jan. 4 to the delight of the entire family, especially Em who has received quite a bit of help from her mom. She's been a huge help around the house and with baby care tips to keep us sane while we adjust to life with a newborn. Maddie's been growing like a weed due to her bottomless pit of a stomach - runs in the family. She's been gaining at a rate of 1.5 oz a day and is now "normal baby size" at about 8 lbs, which is her fighting weight - translation: she can ride in the carrier on my chest to go out for sweet hikes. Mom has to carry the food though, so we have to get her back into gear since she's been off the trail for the past few months. There's nothing like spending 24/7 with a newborn for a few weeks to get you ready to get out of the house again. Speaking of getting out of the house, Maddie is already well-traveled, having visited several Hawaiian beaches, restaurants and made a few trips to the store by the ripe-old age of 3 weeks.

Her first beach experience was Glass Beach on the south shore for sunset. While the sunset and beach were less than spectacular, having her along made it more than worthwhile. The beach gets its name from the sand, which is actually tiny pieces of broken glass polished over many years by the relentless Pacific surf. In any case, here is a picture of Maddie enjoying her first beach visit at sunset.


In other Maddie news, she's achieved the following milestones: her cord fell off, she got her first real bath in the tub and she holds her head up remarkably well. In the midst of all this, we tamely celebrated Em's 29th birthday due to lack of sleep. We look forward to a more lively celebration once some of our friends get back from Thailand and the whole group can get together (we haven't been able to do this for nearly a month).
Maddie also endured the awful road to Maha'ulepu beaches (think bobble-head) to check out some clear-blue water, rugged cliffs and pounding surf. She spent most of her time cuddling with Em underneath the sunshade.


While you may be concerned (or maybe you hope) that this blog may turn into "all Madeline, all the time", I assure you that I'll continue to post more adventures and Maddie will be part of some, but definitely not all.







On that note, I've found a new mountain bike trail that hugs the rim of Waimea Canyon. This is the singletrack I've been hoping to find with lots of ups and downs, exposed roots and tight turns with places to improve my skills such as jumps, steep climbs and loose soil. Oh, I forgot to mention AMAZING views into the canyon throughout. I'll try to work out some helmet cam action so you can join me on the trail. This past Sunday, I ventured out with a general location in mind (Koke'e, Waimea Canyon) and let the hike evolve as I was on the trail to encompass some 4 trails and several dirt roads for a 10 mile Tour de Canyon loop hike. This was a great way to see the varying landscape in the parks including dessert, jungle and river valleys. Once I passed the most popular first 2 miles, I saw only 2 hikers on the trail, but I did see several 500-800 ft. waterfalls, goats, lilikoi and ripening blackberries only weeks away from prime (which means blackberry pie in the near future). The first waterfall is Waipo'o which is easily seen from Waimea Canyon Road, but from the trail you cross over the stream and look down over the first drop. After continuing on the trail you can view about half the waterfall from the opposite side.


Continuing further, the ridgeline opens up to 270 degree views of the canyon with 600 ft. Awini falls in the distance. Someone managed to haul supplies up here and construct a picnic table - nice place for a secluded picnic lunch. From there, the expansive views close up as you descend into the lushness and seclusion of Kokee's forests, beautiful nonetheless.


Yesterday afternoon, all of us went to the beach in Kekaha though it was mostly cloudy and cool. The only remarkable thing about it was getting to see some whales breaching, spouting and flipping their tails - the first we've seen this season.


From there we made a quick stop home to grab the Baby Bjorn and walked up the street to the golf course to watch the sunset. The clouds were pretty dense so the sunset was OK, but it was still good to get out and take a walk.










Today, Big Den arrives on island and this weekend Maddie will take her first road trip as we head to Princeville and stay at Puu Poa to check out the north shore of Kauai http://www.summitpacificinc.com/puupoa.html.
Maddie says, if you don't like the pictures...

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Powerline Trail

I went for a quick hike on Sunday (7 miles), the first since the little one got here. She's still too small to fit in a carrier, but soon she'll be joining me for more hair-raising adventures.

The Powerline Trail was cut through the northeast side of the island to deliver power to the more remote areas on the northshore years ago. Now it's utilized for hiking, hunting and extreme four-wheel driving. It was muddy as hell and a few monster trucks had gotten stuck that day, but on the way out it looked like everyone had managed to get unstuck. I don't really have too much to write about this trail except that the 4-wheelers have made it just about impassable to themselves and hikers. The views were great and it would be nice if the trail was better cared for. Someday I'll thru-hike it (about 13 mi.). Here are some pictures.