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...
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