Grandma D Visits Maddie (...and Em and Me)

Yes, we've accepted the fact that we are no longer the most important thing in our parents' lives - the grandchildren are. So we let Grandma D spend as much time with Maddie as she wants. We get the fringe benefits of a peaceful dinner and movie alone as well as a killer hike along the Honopu ridge without the encumbrances of hauling a 30 lb load of child + carrier on my back.

Her visit, though short, was enjoyable in many ways. We spent a day at the beach, had a couple good meals together, hung out in the baby pool and most importantly Maddie got to hang out with her Grandma.

No diaper so I'm sure the pool was at least 10% pee.
Hey, you've gotta have sunglasses in Hawaii!
On Saturday evening, the one year anniversary of our arrival on Kauai, Emily and I went to Naniwa at the Sheraton for the most excellent sushi buffet. After stuffing my belly full of sashimi we went to see The Dark Knight at the theater. It was the first really great movie I've seen in awhile having amazing special effects as well as an exciting plot.

After a few short hours of sleep and putting Maddie down for her morning nap, Em and I departed for the Honopu ridge hike. Billed as a 2 mile one-way hike in the guide book, this was easily a 7 mile roundtrip with a fair elevation gain. The views over the last mile are spectacular and you may recognize them as the content for the blog title picture. We arrived home tired, but rewarded and spent our last evening talking with Cindy before her departure to Cincinnati.

The following morning I finished up work early and was able to join Cindy, Em and Maddie for lunch at the Kalaheo Cafe. Goodbyes were difficult, as always, but we were thankful for the short time together.

Recent Random Maddie Pictures

By the way, the Costco photo server and shared rooms are back up and running. We will upload more pictures soon. Email me if you want access.

Maddie was starting to look like Joe Dirt...

We had to give her a first haircut.
Sunset at the golf course

Showing off her first teeth
Rehydrating
Rejuvenating

Maddie's Biggest Adventure Yet (a.k.a. how forgotten hiking boots lead to a 5 mile survival hike with Maddie and her car seat on my back)

The title of this post, while verbose, should have caught your attention so read on for more exciting details.

Em worked on Saturday so Maddie and I planned for a hike in the canyon. Upon driving to Waimea and crossing the bridge, I noticed that the river was very muddy and flowing heavily, meaning significant rain in the canyon. At this point I knew our hiking possibilities would be limited, but with nothing else to do we continued up the canyon road toward Kokee. As I suspected, it was raining in the canyon so the trails would be slick and muddy... and I just realized I forgot my boots at home - a 45 minute drive.

Further west, the skies were clear and would most likely remain that way since the west side of the island rarely gets rain. We opted to skip the hike and drive the 4WD road along Miloli'i ridge down to the beach overlook for a picnic. We cruised down the steep and rutted, but dry road with ease in the FJ Cruiser as Maddie intermittently slept and watched the pretty forest scenery. We arrived at the end of the ridgeline and enjoyed the solitude as well as the view down to Miloli'i beach and along the NaPali coast.
I ate lunch, then Maddie had hers. We walked around and checked out the views from different areas and Maddie spent some time playing in the back of the FJ.

We felt a few drops of rain as clouds began descending on our nice picnic area so I packed Maddie up and started driving up the road. Little did I know that what was a few drops of rain at this lower elevation and extreme west side of the island was a full fledged rainstorm further inland and at higher elevation.

As we continued driving through the rain, my mind returned to those very steep, rutted sections of road and considered how they would look now. We climbed through the forest with ease in the FJ and the rain turned into a downpour as we encounterd the first really steep section. I shifted into 4WD, low range and locked the differential to keep equal power to all wheels should one start to slip - a distinct possiblity with the average quality factory tires. In the meantime, Maddie slept. We climbed and I felt the tires slipping almost impercebtibly on occasion.

However, one thing I could clearly perceive were the rivers of mud and water running down the ruts of dirt road. We ascended through the worst section of road and continued climbing steeply, but the mud had overpowered the tires. The FJ slowly lost speed as the muddy tires lost their grip and soon we were sliding backwards. I shifted into reverse to regain positive traction and guide us into a safe position along the side of the road. Again I tried to climb, but lost traction even sooner and began sliding sideways down the rutted, sloppy mess of a road. Thankfully, the road is not exposed at this section so even in a worst case scenario the trees would arrest our egress from the road. I managed to guide the vehicle all the way below the steep section to make one more attempt at the road taking as much advantage of momentum as possible (i.e. going fast). No dice...and another uncontrolled slide down the road...and sweaty palms...and racing heart. We'd been defeated by cheap tires. I would've given anything for my trusty '96 Cherokee and its indefatigable Yokohama Geolander tires that've carried me through muck much worse than this.

At this point, I took inventory, both of what was important to me and the tools I had to get out of this mess.

Important: Maddie, me.

Not: Insured, replaceable vehicle, other stuff.

Time to cut our losses and use what we had to get out of the woods (pun intended) safely. The good news was that I had the kid carrier, water, food, first aid kit, emergency blanket, Leatherman, warm clothes for Maddie and she had just eaten an hour ago. Bad news was that I was wearing 7 year old Birkenstock clogs, it was raining hard, no cell phone reception, no one knew exactly where we were and we only have 1 car seat necessitating that I haul it out with us to ensure Maddie's safety on the trip home. One more positive - I think of a 5 mile hike in the rain with 50 pounds of gear and kid on my back as fun and exciting, not a scary survival exercise.

I loaded a smiling Maddie into the carrier and put the rainfly over the sunshade so she'd stay dry, but still be able to see through the plastic windows. Next I used a cargo strap from the FJ to secure the car seat to the back of the carrier. I wish I had a picture, but now was no time to be messing around with the camera. I hauled the load onto my back and bid adieu to the reliable vehicle with the not so reliable tires.

Up the road we went as the downpour began to wane and I wondered if it was worth another try. At this point, I think the only thing that would have improved the road was time and the sun. We continued up the road with only a few minor slips and again Maddie watched the forest scenery pass us by, but more slowly and in reverse. I dug my hands into my pockets and found something as good as gold during this rugged, muddy, rainy hike - my iPod and headphones. I put them on and chose the eerily appropriate "Into the Wild" soundtrack by Eddie Vedder.

Maddie behaved extremely well for the great majority of the hike, but was getting tired toward the end since I had rudely interrupted her snooze in the car.

We reached the paved Makaha ridge road in about 2 hours and walked the final half mile to Waimea Canyon Road. There, I was pleased to find a lady cutting wild ginger with her sister and kids. Imagine her surprise when the sweaty 6 1/2 foot tall hiker wearing a kid, teething ring, car seat, muddy Birkenstocks and a ponytail asked her for a ride to the nearest pay phone. After explaining my dilemma and introducing ourselves I found out that she was a nurse who had previously worked at my hospital. That's Kauai for you.

We strapped Maddie into her seat, the seat into the car and soon we were on our way down the canyon road to meet Em (who we called on the way down). Maddie was home in time for her next meal. Em was pleased at our safe return, but needless to say, displeased that we were a vehicle short.

I waited a couple days for the road to dry out and then returned to the scene armed with my Jeep and mountain bike. I hiked the last mile or so in order to avoid losing 2 vehicles although the road had dried out and looked like easy 4-wheeling. The FJ was intact on my arrival and I easily cruised up the difficult, but dry road to my Jeep. I drove the Jeep out, mountain biked down to the FJ and drove that out. We now had 2 cars on a paved road so Em got a ride to Miloli'i so we could get them both home. Thankfully, the worst that happened was a small dent in the rear bumper, but it could have been worse.

We're buying new tires tomorrow.

Goodbye to Nate and Nicole

There's been a flurry of activity the past few weeks with Nate and Nicole attempting to do all their favorite things before they leave. The highlight of the activities was their last full day before departure. Everyone (except Em, Maddie and me) went to Hanalei for a day at the beach to be joined by us near Kilauea at the One Love Gardens for a reggae concert. The bands that night included local favorite Sashamon as well as internationally known (but unknown to me at the time) Israel Vibration.

We met outside the venue, walked the rest of the way and were pleasantly surprised to find out we could take chairs, blankets, coolers, beer, etc., etc. into the concert. No metal detectors, no pat downs, no piles of half empty beer bottles at the door; everyone was just trusted to enjoy and behave themselves - a refreshing concept. You couldn't ask for a better place to listen to reggae. A grass hillside sloped down to the stage providing mostly unobstructed views while surrounded by fruit trees, forest and towering green mountains. We put our blankets down and stretched out to listen to Sashamon while enjoying our beverages of choice. Unfortunately, it rained for about 2o minutes, but cleared up for the rest of the evening. Everyone enjoyed hearing Sashamon (except maybe Mike) and Maddie even got to meet him.

More and more people arrived throughout the evening and the place was packed by the time Israel Vibration started performing. Israel Vibration played a very energetic first show on Kauai and will gladly be welcomed back. We enjoyed the music, the people, the surroundings and our last night with Nate and Nicole.

Naughty, Naughty...good thing he wasn't driving.

After the show we tiredly retreated back to our house for some pupus (look it up, it's Hawaiian). We hung out awhile and then it was time for goodbyes. We've known Nate and Nicole almost exactly a year, but when they're a 1/3 of your support system 5000 miles away from your family, those goodbyes can be pretty damn tough. A big "Thank You" to them for all the babysitting, good times and especially for being great friends.

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!

Laura, Paul and Chuminga the Destroyer

Chuminga - name meaning: of the Lord, Spanish familiar form of Dominic

Destroyer - adjective meaning: one who wakes at God-awful hours of the morning to run, play and throw Nalgene water bottles on the floor thus awakening Maddie the Crier so they may collaborate to create a most boisterous racket

After a day of recovery from our trip to Moloka'i, Maddie and I hiked the canyon so Em could get the house cleaned up for Laura, Paul and Dominic's arrival that evening. Maddie was overall well-behaved as was Dominic on the flights per Laura and Paul's report. They were exhausted, but happy on arrival and we planned a day at the beach to relax the following day. Of note, Laura and Paul were kind enough to supply me with some excellent beers from the mainland to restore my dwindling supply. Stone + Great Lakes + Bell's + Boulder = Yummy!
Maha'ulepu was more crowded than I'd ever seen it likely because of the holiday weekend. Still, it was deserted by Florida standards. Dominic didn't have quite the love of the ocean that Maddie has, but he's probably just old enough to understand that it's something unknown whereas Maddie just rolls with any new experience at 6 mos. By the time Dominic left HI a week later, he was smiling, laughing and asking for more.

We spent most evenings talking and having a few cocktails while the kids were sleeping. It was our 2-3 hours of respite from the hectic days of hauling 2 kids around and trying to do/see as much as possible.

The next day we spent driving Waimea Canyon Road and checking out the overlooks to the canyon and north shore valleys.

Dominic feeding the pests

On Monday, Paul, Nate and I hiked to a waterfall which will be chronicled in a separate future post due to it's utterly spectacular nature.

The rest of the week we spent checking out the drive up waterfalls on the east side, Sheraton beach and Ke'e beach. Paul and I managed to sneak in a couple 4-6 mile hikes on Sleeping Giant and the Kalalau trail.

Sheraton Beach and pool (illegaly, of course) because Em's still pale enough to pass as a tourist

"I'm not so sure about this..."
"It's all good!"
The 4 of us...I mean 6 of us. Boy, a lot's changed in the past 2 years.

Laura, Paul, Em and I also got an evening to ourselves at Tidepools thanks to our friends here who babysat as a team. We enjoyed a tremendous dinner and as a surprise treat imbibed the most excellent Rochefort "10" belgian ale, which until this point I did not think was available on the island. At 14 bucks per 11.3 oz. bottle, I don't think I'll enjoy it on a regular basis, but this was one of the first truly excellent tasting beers that I've bought and consumed here. Often, excellent beers arrive here in poor condition due to the long, hot transport over the Pacific. This one was perfect. See what RateBeer.com had to say about it http://ratebeer.com/beer/rochefort-trappistes-10/2360/3/1/

We also spent an evening at the Sheraton beach, drinking, grilling and watching some of the luau.

Like I said, he couldn't get enough by their final day.

Upon their departure to the airport and onward to Cincinnati, everybody was sad, but ready to resume their normal lives with kids who behave themselves when napping and eating at regular times. Their visit was thoroughly enjoyable, but it took a lot of work and patience to keep the little ones happy. I think Laura, Paul and Chuminga got a good taste of island life, but I don't think they'll be moving here anytime soon unless they can bring their air conditioner. Thanks for an awesome week, we look forward to seeing you 3...make that 4 in a few months or so!