Now Back to Moloka'i...

As you probably gathered from the quick post on Moloka'i we got to do some really cool things, but lack of sleep may have affected our ability to do everything we wanted. There were highs and lows to the first real family vacation (believe it or not, traveling back to Cincy is considered a less than relaxing vacation for us because we want to see everyone). Highs being the boat ride behind the island viewing 3000 foot sea cliffs (the world's highest) and 4-wheeling to the very remote Kawakiu Nui Bay Beach. Lows being Maddie teething and awakening 4 times a night to her crying and my underwater camera leaking, thus destroying (most of) our pictures of the highest sea cliffs in the world.

After nearly missing our flight due to some late cases in the OR, we caught our flight to Oahu. From there we caught our single prop Cessna to Moloka'i. This was one of the most enjoyable flights of my life, first because the aircraft was very nice, second because we flew at a low altitude so we could see the topography of the islands and third because I got to see Em squirm at the thought of flying in such a small plane. After a short while in the air, I think Em enjoyed the flight as well. We landed on Moloka'i and picked up our ridiculously expensive and dirty Jeep Wrangler from Island Kine car rental and continued to the condo on the southeastern side. The condo was nice and we crashed shortly after confirming our boat ride in the morning.

We awoke for the 12th time to a fairly cloudy morning and drove to the lush Halawa Valley on the east side to grab our boat. Maddie seemed to enjoy the ride with it's constant movement and changes in scenery. I took some nice pictures and marveled at the natural beauty of the sea cliffs. Our guide gave us the history of the essentially inaccessible valleys of Moloka'i's north shore. We saw the tallest waterfall in HI, but at this time of year is was nothing more than a trickle. You may notice some of the "special" copositions of the pictures below due to the camera malfunction and some creative editing.

The scenery was breathtaking and included huge waterfalls, sheer green cliffs, lush remote valleys, sea caves (one of which we drove through), gorgeous beaches and views of the Kalaupapa peninsula ("leper colony"). We paused for awhile to snorkel in a cove with a 30 ft. waterfall pouring into the ocean. The snorkeling was unremarkable, but the surroundings were amazing. It was at this time that I realized my camera had leaked and I may have lost all the pictures/ruined the xD card/ruined the camera. Thankfully, none of these were true, but I did lose most of the pictures and movies that I had taken that day. I didn't let it spoil the rest of the ride (unusual for me). Maddie got a little fussy toward the end of the 4 hour ride as the ocean swells increased, but did exceptionally well otherwise. On the drive back, I counted 3 passing cars over 9 miles.

The following day we drove the 4WD road to the Kamakou preserve in the mountainous center of the island. Maddie does not like 4 wheeling. I do not like screaming kids. This made for a very pleasant 2 hour, one-way ride for Emily. The preserve contains 250 species of Hawaiian plants, most of which can be found nowhere else in the world. It was an otherworldly place, the bog being very different than the Alakai Swamp on Kauai. We hiked only a short while because the trails were not very conducive to carrying a child due to overgrowth and low overhanging branches. We saw nothing but mist at the overlooks, but it was still a nice thing to see. Thankfully, Maddie slept most of the way down.

Another rough night followed by a day of relaxation. I went snorkeling for a short while and then rejoined Em and Maddie for her first dip in the pool. She looks hilarious in her life jacket, but enjoys being in the water as well as floating around on her back.

We drove to the hot, dry west side of Moloka'i to spend a day at the beach. After taking our chances on a sketchy 4WD road, were rewarded with a beautiful crescent of white sand surrounded by rugged black lava rock sporting a current population of 3 - Em, Maddie and me. I set up the beach tent on the hot sand and then cooled off in the pristine blue water. Maddie enjoyed the waves and floating around while we kept our feet cool in the water at the shoreline. I snorkeled for awhile and caught a glimpse of 2 BIG fish...I'm not saying they were sharks, but I'm also not denying it because it was too hard to tell as I saw them turn and swim away from me. I took the safest (maybe "less dangerous" is more appropriate) course of action and continued snorkeling further north in the bay where the fish had pretty colors and no teeth.

The following day I was unable to secure permission for hiking down to the "leper colony" so we visited the macadamia nut farm, the coffee plantation and did some short hikes to overlooks for the Kalaupapa peninsula.

Em was forbidden to go within 20 feet, but Maddie and I visited Phallic Rock, rumored to have amazing impregnating capabilities. Personally, I think Cock Rock, Bone Stone, Boner Boulder or Mineral Member are better names.
Maddie did not cooperate with the hiking so we returned to the condo and spent a little while in the pool.

The next morning we arrived at the airport in plenty of time to be informed of another legendary Go! Airlines F*#$ - up (that's foul-up).

Go! employee: "We tried to get ahold of you to tell you your flight had been canceled and we couldn't contact you despite having your cell phone number, email address, various other methods of contact and knowing well in advance that our flight schedule was changing 3 days ago. You'll just have to wait 3 hours at the smallest airport in the world with your 6 month old." Me: "Thank you again for your stellar customer service and precise attention to detail. Your airline and your employees are a guiding light to the industry in this time of affordable airline travel. Now let me get a crowbar to remove my size 13 boot from your rectum. Should you need surgical and anesthesia services for this extraction, I know just the person to provide them."

After that, we made it home without much of a problem and on a positive note, I was able to get a picture of the remote Kawakiu beach from the air - Cool!