March Madness

Hi friends and family!  I hope everyone is well and excited for spring time.  I’d like to apologize to all my readers (yes, all 5 of you) for letting a month pass between posts.  It was a busy March, as I had my very good friend Otis and his wonderful girlfriend Marina visit, then snuck in a quick weekend trip to Lake Tahoe, and then had another good friend Rachael visit.  The month was filled with fun adventures and great food, but to keep the blog fresh, I am going to try and write about the “first times” only.

 

When Otis and Marina visited, we went on a hike that I had not been on before, and we enjoyed it so much that I had to take Rachael on it when she visited a few weeks later.  The Canyon Trail starts at one of the lookout points for the Waimea Canyon.  It is a mostly wooded trail, which provides nice cover from the sun, which can get pretty hot midday in Kauai.  The elevation drops and rises dramatically throughout the hike, making the slicker parts of the trail a bit treacherous.  There are also a number of little challenges along the way, like fallen trees to climb over, boulder mazes to weave through, and water crossings (the kind you tight rope across and pray you don’t fall).  The hike only takes about an hour one way, and puts you right out in the middle of the canyon.  The landscape is wide open with steep drop-offs at the edges, which makes for breathtaking views and pictures.  Around the corner from the wide open view point, there is a short hike down to the top of a waterfall, which makes for an awesome spot to stop for a snack, with the legs hanging over the edge, the sound of rushing water a few feet away, and a view of the canyon that never gets old.

 

 

 

One of the only down sides to taking this assignment was missing out on snowboarding this winter.  A few months back, I got invited by 2 different friends of mine to come to Lake Tahoe for a week, and I regretfully had to decline both invitations.  However, I found out very last minute (a few days before) that I was going to have off from work on the Thursday and Friday of the week that my friend Alex had invited me.  Needless to say, I booked my travel that night, and Dad hooked me up by FedEx’ing my gear to the hotel for me.  The trip took 3 overnight flights and a bus, but it was definitely worth it.  Lake Tahoe is absolutely magnificent.  It’s a really breathtaking view from the top of Heavenly Mountain, where you can see the lake, the snow-capped mountains, and a vast dessert all at once.  I got in 3 days on the mountain, and had a blast with some awesome friends that I haven’t seen in a very long time.

 

 

 

 

One thing I have wanted to do for a long time is to go scuba diving, and when I found out Rachael was also interested, it was settled. The day started at the dive shop, where we filled out a few forms (you know the really long ones that you don’t really read, but just sign your name 20 times…)  After that, a van brought us over to a beach where one of our instructors gave us a short lesson on diving.  This included everything from how our bodies react to pressure, how the equipment works, and what hand signals to use.  Next, we suited up into our gear, and had a little training session in a few feet of water.  We quickly realized that diving isn’t quite as easy as it sometimes looks.  Breathing underwater is unnatural at first, so I found myself rushing to do things and becoming a bit unsettled.  But after a short while, I became more comfortable, and was able to remember the things I learned just a half hour earlier on the beach.

 

 

After stopping back at the dive shop to get our wet suits, we finally arrived at the boat.  There was a 5 person crew and about 20 divers.  Our group ended up just being Rachael, myself, a father and his daughter, and of course our instructor Greg.  The boat ride out was a short 15 minutes, and we were treated to a nice little show from a few whales not too far off.  Once in the water, I felt the excitement and adrenaline running through me.  We slowly descended, stopping every few feet to equalize, and making sure everyone was doing alright.  Once at the bottom, we were treated to a quite a spectacle.  Between the two 30 minute dives, we saw sea turtles, a spotted ray, eels, and countless other marine life.  Our instructor was great at stopping to point out some of the more rare species, like the frog fish.  And the best part was, while uncertified divers are only allowed to a depth of 36 feet, our instructor took is as deep as 50 feet, as well as through some small sea caves.  It was definitely an exhilarating experience, and one of the coolest things I’ve done since being in Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

As for the food, more visitors meant more trips to my favorite restaurants, and delectable meals of which I’ve shared on previous trips.  But there was one new restaurant I tried this month that stood out from the rest.  I have heard people talk about the food at Merimam’s since living here, but had never made it there until this past weekend, and man was I glad we did.  (1) Truffle Fries, with truffle oil, fresh herbs, parmesan cheese, and sea salt (2) Ahi Pizza, with ahi tuna, avocado, sweet onion, cilantro, and wasabi aioli (3) BKE Burger, grass fed beef patty, topped with kalua pork, a fried egg , and house made kimchee, served on a house made bun.

 

 

 

Less than 8 weeks to go in Kauai, but a few fun adventures still planned - bass fishing, deep sea fishing, trip to Mauai… So stay tuned, and as always, mahalo for reading!