Pre-snowshoe when we were still warm
The sheer number of people on the trail and at the ski resort reminded me why I never take weekends off in the winter. But it was a worthwhile trip and I will be spending my REI dividend on snowshoes, an item of outdoor gear I somehow lack despite years of profligate spending.
Laughing as I tried to blaze a trail through 2 feet of snow.
And laughing even more after 2 more feet landed on my head.
I will always be a devotee of winter and cold weather. Perhaps my Nordic genes have not been completely eradicated. However, in the interest of a little mental spring cleaning and the desire for a relatively cheap, easy vacation, I headed to Hawaii in early March as I had never been. I must say, I was disappointed. Hawaii is one of those places that looks great in photos but I was not overwhelmed once I was there. I wouldn't go back but it was nice to get away and now I've been to see for myself. I stayed in a little town on the southwest coast of Kauai called Waimea. Part of the reason I picked Waimea was because it was very non-touristy and for the price of a hotel room in a hideous high rise resort, I could have this great little cabin all to myself.
Too bad no cook came with it.
The cabins are part of the Aston Waimea Plantation cottages. The plantation is an old sugar plantation right on the beach. The cottages are all the old, original cottages the plantation workers used to live in and they have all been refurbished, simply but very beautifully. They come complete with a fully stocked kitchen (should you know how to use one) as well as two bedrooms and a lovely sitting room, a garden and a BBQ (should you know how to use one). From Waimea and my cottage, which was home base, I immediately shunned sitting on the beach and went straight for the outdoor activities. Of course. Day one was a long 8 mile hike in Waimea Canyon National Park. The canyon is a lovely, lush mountainous region in the center of the island. There are miles of hiking trails and you can see why they call Kauai the Garden Island.
The canyon and all its vibrant colors.
The trail was made extremely treacherous by monsoon like rains which had come the week before I arrived. The clay like nature of the soil caused me to nearly kill myself several times as the trail meandered down "dry" waterfall spouts as well as along cliff edges such as this:
Less beautiful when you are teetering on the edge.
Kauai is also famous for its rainbows which are often seen due to frequent rains and ever present sun. My goal was to hike what was described to me as an extremely strenuous 8 mile trail from the center of the island to the north shore, the end point being a wooden deck that looked out over the bay on the north side. However, upon arrival, my view looked something like this:
Marco....?
The wood decking is literally the edge of the island on the north side. There is a very steep cliff beneath it which I was assured led straight to the ocean. Not that I would know. The fog was so thick on the north side that all I saw was white soup while being rained upon and freezing my ass off due to the change in weather. I did not linger but hiked back to the center of the island where the sun made a reappearance. Still beautiful nonetheless.
The following day, I took a 4 hour zodiac ride out into the ocean to the true west side to see the famous Na Pali coast line. Some snorkeling was thrown in for good measure. However, once we rounded the west edge of the island, 30 mph winds and 12 foot swells turned us around in a hurry. For those like me who need water wings at the mere sight of water, being in what amounted to an inflatable raft with no life vest in such conditions left me less than relaxed. We stopped briefly for some snorkeling in some horrible conditions and then headed in. However, I did see dolphins, humpback whales and a giant sea turtle who, if he would have fit in my duffel, I would have brought home for the Polar Bear!
A ubiquitous dolphin, always playful.
A humpback whale tail and the small one to the left of it is the baby.
A giant, ancient sea turtle.
It should be noted that I had to take approx. two thousand photos of the wild blue sea in order to capture the above three photos!
The following day I had made arrangements to take a zip line tour but due to events in Japan, namely the ensuing tsunami, I was unable to make it to the tour. I will spare you all the story of my ignoring the tsunami air raid siren right outside my door which went off for 5 hours, the personal and telephonic attempts to get me to evacuate which I also ignored and my subsequent attempts to disconnect the siren because it was preventing me from sleeping. I suspect one of you would nominate me for a Darwin Award. However, I am still alive so clearly something eventually went right!
On the 5th day, I went horseback riding on the coast at Poipu. Alas, the "riding" was walking in blistering heat. Evidently trotting was far too adventurous for us. I think I may have slept through most of it but what I did see was lovely.
The view from the trail looking inland.
And on the 6th day, I rested.
I did make it around to the north part of the island but although also very pretty, I was not overwhelmed with that side either. Here is the famous Kilauea Lighthouse, home to many albatross.
In other news, after a week of stressful events including my grandfather having to be taken by medics to the hospital for some serious medical issues, having to have surgery myself again on my pancreas and being notified by an eye specialist that the Polar Bear requires eye washings three times daily for his allergies FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE (for the love....so much for my hardy outdoor LGD), Dexter nearly committed suicide by finding an unknown caustic/poisonous substance which he tried to eat and caused him to burn off all the skin on his nose and lips and ulcerate his tongue. I came home from work to find my baby under my bed, face obscured by drool and blood, in obvious extreme pain and misery and I rushed him to the vet. There, we discovered he had a very high temperature on top of his burned face so he had blood and urine tests done to be sure there wasn't some other cause, he was given an antibiotic shot and I was given syringes of pain meds to be given every 8 hours, along with antibiotic tables and a dropper to feed him with. He recovered quite quickly once his tongue healed and he could eat and drink without pain. But his mother took more time to recover.
As a result of the stress these animals have put me under, I took advantage of the beautiful weather today to bathe them all. I should have peace and quiet for at least a day as they have all retreated to their various corners and are glaring malevolently at me.
In other news, I am going to begin playing ice hockey. Starting Monday night. No, I cannot skate nor do I even know the rules but that apparently did not put off the woman I contacted about learning how to play! What better sport for me than one that has entire sections of Wikipedia devoted to injuries, fighting and penalties? I can't wait!
I will leave you with a few literary pieces. People often ask me how I can read The Economist every week. I agree, it sounds dry and tedious but I assure you, the sarcasm, humor and wit in its pages are the highlight of my reading week. This article is a perfect example. You can fill in your big shot of choice.
Finally, a friend loaned me this book:
I began it, was initially impressed with Docx's description of cities and continued because I was curious as to where he was going with it all. By the time I realized I didn't care, I was so far into it, I figured I may as well finish it. It was long listed for the Booker Prize and I can see why. I can also see why it didn't win. Docx certainly has talent but the sheer effort he puts into trying to find a unique turn of phrase and trying to make his characters so insightful is excruciating by the end. I was crying out for simplicity. However, I will watch for future writings from him as there is potential here - but I will get his future offerings from the library.
Last but not least, to my delight, Adele is coming to Seattle on June 1st and I will be at the Paramount to see her! This latest release from her 21 album reminds me of Etta James though Adele defies categorization.
It should be noted that I had to take approx. two thousand photos of the wild blue sea in order to capture the above three photos!
The following day I had made arrangements to take a zip line tour but due to events in Japan, namely the ensuing tsunami, I was unable to make it to the tour. I will spare you all the story of my ignoring the tsunami air raid siren right outside my door which went off for 5 hours, the personal and telephonic attempts to get me to evacuate which I also ignored and my subsequent attempts to disconnect the siren because it was preventing me from sleeping. I suspect one of you would nominate me for a Darwin Award. However, I am still alive so clearly something eventually went right!
On the 5th day, I went horseback riding on the coast at Poipu. Alas, the "riding" was walking in blistering heat. Evidently trotting was far too adventurous for us. I think I may have slept through most of it but what I did see was lovely.
My uninspiring horse, Dinero.
The view from the trail looking inland.
And on the 6th day, I rested.
My home every evening.
I did make it around to the north part of the island but although also very pretty, I was not overwhelmed with that side either. Here is the famous Kilauea Lighthouse, home to many albatross.
In other news, after a week of stressful events including my grandfather having to be taken by medics to the hospital for some serious medical issues, having to have surgery myself again on my pancreas and being notified by an eye specialist that the Polar Bear requires eye washings three times daily for his allergies FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE (for the love....so much for my hardy outdoor LGD), Dexter nearly committed suicide by finding an unknown caustic/poisonous substance which he tried to eat and caused him to burn off all the skin on his nose and lips and ulcerate his tongue. I came home from work to find my baby under my bed, face obscured by drool and blood, in obvious extreme pain and misery and I rushed him to the vet. There, we discovered he had a very high temperature on top of his burned face so he had blood and urine tests done to be sure there wasn't some other cause, he was given an antibiotic shot and I was given syringes of pain meds to be given every 8 hours, along with antibiotic tables and a dropper to feed him with. He recovered quite quickly once his tongue healed and he could eat and drink without pain. But his mother took more time to recover.
As a result of the stress these animals have put me under, I took advantage of the beautiful weather today to bathe them all. I should have peace and quiet for at least a day as they have all retreated to their various corners and are glaring malevolently at me.
In other news, I am going to begin playing ice hockey. Starting Monday night. No, I cannot skate nor do I even know the rules but that apparently did not put off the woman I contacted about learning how to play! What better sport for me than one that has entire sections of Wikipedia devoted to injuries, fighting and penalties? I can't wait!
I will leave you with a few literary pieces. People often ask me how I can read The Economist every week. I agree, it sounds dry and tedious but I assure you, the sarcasm, humor and wit in its pages are the highlight of my reading week. This article is a perfect example. You can fill in your big shot of choice.
Finally, a friend loaned me this book:
I began it, was initially impressed with Docx's description of cities and continued because I was curious as to where he was going with it all. By the time I realized I didn't care, I was so far into it, I figured I may as well finish it. It was long listed for the Booker Prize and I can see why. I can also see why it didn't win. Docx certainly has talent but the sheer effort he puts into trying to find a unique turn of phrase and trying to make his characters so insightful is excruciating by the end. I was crying out for simplicity. However, I will watch for future writings from him as there is potential here - but I will get his future offerings from the library.
Last but not least, to my delight, Adele is coming to Seattle on June 1st and I will be at the Paramount to see her! This latest release from her 21 album reminds me of Etta James though Adele defies categorization.
1 comment:
A giant sea turtle - how cool is that!
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