It's been real Hawaii

Aloha everyone! It’s been a pretty fun last few days out here in Kauai. I went scuba diving again, this time with some folks from work, and I confirmed that I am indeed addicted.  I also got to pick my first mango!  My friend Jackie has two mango trees in her yard with hundreds of mangos, and this was the only ripe one of the bunch.  She was kind enough to let me pick and eat it, and it sure was delicious.

Meal of the week:

As my final day in Kauai approaches and I reflect on the past six months, I feel extremely fortunate for the opportunity I was afforded.  The work was fast paced and exciting.  The people I worked with and met were awesome. The weekly games of tennis, basketball, and volleyball kept me active and in somewhat decent shape for all of the food I ate… And the food was truly phenomenal, especially all the fresh fish!  I really enjoyed the hiking, fishing, surfing, diving, zip lining, and countless other activities on this island and the rest. Hawaii is a beautiful, fun, and very unique place to live, and I made friends and memories here that will last a life time.

 

As always, a biiiiig Maholo to all who read. Writing this blog has been a truly gratifying and self enlightening experience, and it was a great way for me to document my time here.  My last words will be cheesy, and stolen from others, but true to my feelings at the moment…

 

“A ship is always safe at shore, but that is not what it is built for.” ― Albert Einstein

 

 “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ―Mahatma Gandhi

Maui in a Weekend

This weekend I hopped over to Maui to explore the Valley Isle.  Neat fact about Maui: if you drive around the whole thing (which I of course did) you can catch a glimpse of 4 of the other 7 main islands - Big Island, Lanai, Molokai, and Kahoolawe.

 

I spent Saturday driving the beautiful stretch of highway known as the Road to Hana, which is a windy road comprised of ~620 curves (no typo, that’s six hundred and twenty), 59 bridges (almost all one lane), and countless waterfalls, road side vendors, and coastal views.  It is a slow, serene drive, with no real one destination, but more of lots of little things to enjoy along the way, like ancient sea caves and black sand beaches.  As my guidebook put it, “fulfillment lies in the journey, not the destination.”

 

The first 58 miles from Kahalui to Hana was mostly through lush rainforest and took about 4 hours.  Lucky me, I arrived in Hana on the very day of the 22nd Annual Taro Festival!  Taro is a root vegetable that has forever been a staple in the Hawaii diet and culture.  The festival attracted thousands of people to this tiny town.  There were vendors selling everything from flower leis to wood carvings, huli huli chicken to taro burgers (yes, I tried one).  And the band was truly awesome.

 

I spent about an hour or so before heading back to my car to get back on the road, and in that short hour, a gigantic tree had fallen to block the only entrance/exit to the parking lot…  Luckily no one got hurt, and it was actually quite amusing to see the locals come out of the woodworks to start chain sawing and clearing the way.  Only in Hawaii to people operate a chainsaw with no shoes on.

 

The second stretch of the drive took me through Haleakala park, and the rain forest converted to cattle country.  For some reason, they let their cattle roam wherever they want, like right onto the road…

 

Maui has A LOT of beaches, so I spent Sunday checking them out.  My favorite was Slaughterhouse beach (sounds beautiful, doesn’t it?) which was tucked away at the bottom of a cliff, and provided some perfect waves for body surfing.  I also traveled to the Olivine Pools, several natural tide pools located on barren lava along the ocean’s edge on the back-side of West Maui.  The pools were much calmer than the ferocious waves crashing around it, which made for a unique and serene setting.  And of course when I saw someone jump from the ledge, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity.

I had some delectable food in Maui!  Here are a few of my favorites: Asian short rib tacos with pickled veggie toppings, taro burger (see the purple “meat”?), a banana-berry-lilikoi smoothie, coconut-lime banana bread from a road side vendor (with chunks of toasted coconut), fresh fish ceviche with chips to dip, and porkie sandwich (Hawaiian pork, mango salsa, and pepper jack on toasted on rye with sweet chili dipping sauce).  That last one was from a place called Cafe 808.  I went in at 9am for breakfast, but when I saw the sandwich menu...

 

As always, Mahalo for reading! Only 10 days left on this Hawaiian escapade, so be sure to tune in next week for my final post, as I’m sure I will be offering my corny fortune cookie style thoughts about being adventurous and living life to the fullest… (I know what you’re thinking, you can’t wait!)

Kalalau Trail

The Kalalau Trail is an 11 mile trek along the Napali Coast of Kauai, and is widely considered one of the most beautiful and most difficult hikes in the world.  The trail is full of extreme elevation changes, rocky terrain, countless stream crossings, and beautiful views, ending at a secluded beach / campsite.  It is an adventure that has been on my “Hawaii Bucket List” since I arrived last fall, and this past weekend I finally checked it off.  Our team of three consisted of me, Zack, and Michelle - two friends from the Navy who are stationed on base.  We rented most of our camping gear from the “Adventure” building on base, bought some from Walmart, and borrowed the rest from friends at work (most important item = water purifier).  I’ve never really done a long hike / camping trip with a big pack, so I wasn’t quite prepared for the weight.

Knowing it would be a long day, we hit the trailhead early, around 6:30am.  The trail starts on the north shore of the island, where the road ends at Keʻe Beach. The first 2 miles of the trail were moderately strenuous - 1 mile uphill and 1 mile downhill.  It is a stretch that I have hiked four times before on previous trips to Hanakapia Falls with friends and family.  From Hanakapia Beach, access is controlled by permits, which are sold on a limited basis and often sell out. We had secured ours a few weeks prior, avoiding the possibility of a citation that requires a court appearance and a fine of up to $500… The trail continued from Hanakapia Beach for approximately 4 miles to Hanakoa Valley.  During a 1 ¼ mile stretch, the trail quickly climbed to 800 ft above sea level.  Approaching every corner I kept telling myself “This has to be the top…”

After 6 miles and roughly 4 hours, we reached Hanakoa Valley, a perfect stopping point for lunch.  This is where we started to see our first glimpse of the infamous “Kalalau squatters” – people that live off grid for weeks, months, and even years… Coming out of the Hanakoa Valley, the trail turned more toward the dry side of the island.  We started to see more wildlife, including mountain goats fearlessly scaling the cliffs, and beautiful female pheasants which Zack recognized well from his hunting trips.  There are 5 goats in this picture, see if you can spot them all!

At mile marker 7, we finally reached the infamous “crawler’s ledge,” the most narrow stretch of the hike.  The trail tapered down to a few inches wide, with a vertical wall going up on one side, and a straight drop down to the rocks and ocean below on the other.  We swallowed our fears, and made it passed.

Although I was feeling confident about making it through the steepest elevations changes, the infamous ledge, and well over half of the hike, my body quickly started to feel the effects of the difficult terrain.  The last 3 miles felt like 30.  But we pushed on, motivated by the breath taking views around every corner, and the thought of the beach at the end of trail.  We finally reached Kalalau Valley, a large, flat-bottomed valley almost a mile across. After hiking ½ mile down “Red Hill” and crossing Kalalau Stream, we found ourselves in a field of colorful flowers, leading us straight to the Kalalau Beach.  We made the 11 mile hike in about 8 hours.

The beach was amazing, with large cliffs offering a beautiful backdrop, a field of flowers on one side, sea caves on the other, and a small waterfall for showering, drinking, etc.  There were about 20 people at Kalalau, all extremely friendly.  Many had been there for days or weeks, seemingly embracing the off grid and somewhat hippie lifestyle. We explored the caves, chilled on the beach, met some new friends, cooked dinner, and enjoyed the sunset – an awesome cap to an awesome day.

The hike back was very difficult, as our bodies were sore, and our packs seemed to somehow be heavier. But as we reached the trailhead to complete the 22 mile trek, we felt an overwhelming amount of joy and accomplishment.

Fishing, Fishing, and a really good hot dog

Aloha and Happy Easter from Kauai! Since last post, I had the opportunity to go on a few fishing trips with some friends from work.

The first outing was a Bass Fishing trip on a large reservoir/lake, which was formerly used for the once booming sugar industry on the island, and now exists as the largest body of fresh water in all of Hawaii and a great spot for Bass Fishing.  I went out with my co-worker and friend Charlie, who owns his own boat at his home in Maine and is an avid bass fisherman.  I myself have never really been bass fishing, and I didn’t really realize how different it was from the salt water fishing I’m used to.  I must have casted a couple hundred times, learning a few different techniques with a couple different kinds of lures.  It was a gorgeous and sunny day on the lake, and very tranquil, probably because we were the only boat on the lake.  This is because the reservoir is privately owned, and only one company has the license to fish it.  One of the major attractions to fishing on this reservoir is the chance to catch peacock bass, which are beautiful fish that actuallyhave a spot on their tail fin that resembles the eyes on a peacock's tail feathers.  Needless to say, Charlie was quite excited when he hauled on in, giving it a nice juicy kiss on the lips.

The second outing was a Deep Sea Fishing trip with three other coworkers – Ed, Don, and John.  We went out with Captain Andy and First Mate Jeff, on a small outrigger that allowed us to troll with seven lines at once.  Deep Sea Fishing in Hawaii offers the opportunity to catch all sorts of fish, including Mahi Mahi, Ahi Tuna, and Marlin to name a few.   We happened to be getting lucky with the Mahi Mahi, and were able to haul in three, with a fourth jumping off the hook at the last possible moment.  These fish definitely required a lot more work to reel in than the flounder and sea bass that I’m used to.  After taking a few pictures back at the dock, the Captain filleted one whole Mahi Mahi for us, which we enjoyed the next day for a nice Easter supper.  Ed’s wife, Ling, cooked the fish just right.  Eating at Ed and Ling’s reminded me of eating at my Grandma’s, in the sense that even though fish was the main dish, there were or eight or so other dishes to go with it…

Besides the fresh Mahi Mahi, I had a few other memorable meals over the past few weeks.  The first was at a Tapas bar called Josselin’s, where our Program Manager Rich took the whole team to celebrate the “end” of our Test Program a few weeks ago.  From spinach raviolis, to lamb meatballs, to pork belly, every dish throughout the family style dinner was delicious, and well complimented by their sangria.  But the meal of the week is going to the hotdog from a little food cart called Porky’s: 100% beef hotdog, served up on a toasted French roll, topped with diced onions, sweet pineapple relish, KALUA PORK, and famous Porky’s spicy sauce.

Only a few weeks left in Hawaii, as I’ll be back in NJ on May 15.  But I have a few more exciting adventures planned over the next few weekends, so stay tuned! And as always, Mahalo for reading!

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!

Guest post by Kristina - Part 2

We needed a rest Friday, so when we realized it was pouring rain in the southwest, where we were, we decided to just get in the car and drive away from the rain. We drove up the entire coast to the very northern tip of the island, and there was no rain! We watched surfers on the biggest waves I have ever seen, which was pretty awesome to see. They make it look effortless. We ate Bubba burgers and then headed back down the coast, where we got some fish tacos, and then headed to Poipu beach (where most of the hotels are located). We got some Puka dogs and then decided to head back. Then we hit up happy hour outside and snacked on shrimp. This weekend just happened to be the annual Waimea town festival, which we all wanted to check out. It was like a Hawaiian carnival, and we got to try some specialties.  We tried corndogs, fried poi (which was weird), flying sauced hamburger pies, and pork lau lau.  A fat kids dream!  There was local bands and a beer garden, and it was a really fun thing to experience.

Saturday, we woke up at 4:45 am so we could drive up to the northern tip of the island and do the 8 mile hike to Hanakapia’a Falls.  We got there at 7am for sunrise and were the first ones on the trail. The views during the first 2 miles were breathtaking. We were walking along the northern coast of Kauai and the water was pure blue and the waves were amazing, and huge. After 2 miles, we made it to a rocky beach for a break. After this, the hike got more challenging and skinny at times. We had to cross several running streams and climb slippery rocks, but he payoff was worth it. We made it to the 300 foot waterfall (first ones of the day) and it was unbelievable! Nate and Dave swam under the fall, while I snapped some pictures. I was in awe of the size of the waterfall. It was by far the largest and most amazing I have ever seen. And we had it all to ourselves. On the hike back, we started to see people, and the trail was muddier and more slippery. The last mile was hard for me, due to my tiredness and the crowded, slippery trail. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment for completing the hike in 5 and a half hours and keeping up with the boys :) We were all famished, so we decided to head back home and stop for tacos on our way. We stopped at Dave’s favorite place, Verde, and absolutely gorged ourselves on chips, margaritas, and pork/fish tacos. It really hit the spot! Then we headed to Poipu beach, and Nate and Dave fell asleep on the beach, hard. I went for a swim and relaxed. We decided to just get Poke from the local market and make some rice and enjoy a dinner at home. Delicious ending to a tiring day!

Sunday, we slept in and decided on a beach day. We went to Polihale beach, which is only accessible by a 4 mile dirt, pot hole filled, muddy road! Crazy ride, but the beach was huge and gorgeous. The view was beach on one side and staggering cliffs on the other. It was windy, and the waves were really rough. Swimming was a challenge, but fun! Nate tried to surf, and then we all realized we were rocked from the sun! Successful beach day. We had a reservation for a fancy shmancy dinner at the Beach House in Poipu on the water. We left early to catch the sunset and had an amazing fish dinner on the water. It was definitely the way to end an amazing island vacation!

Dave was the best host! Thanks for having us :)

Guest post by Kristina - Part 1...

Hey Everyone! This is Kristina, Dave’s sister, and I am doing a guest post of our recent visit to Kauai to see Dave. Kauai is amazingly beautiful and such a fun island to explore. Since the island is pretty small, we got to see the entire island during our stay, which was pretty fantastic.

We started Day 1 with a 5 mile hike of the Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It spans about 10 miles and they take about 45 minutes of windy switchbacks to get to the view at the top. The day started out a little foggy, but once we got hiking, the views were amazing! The trail was super muddy and slippery because of all the rain the week before, but that made it fun. We were done by 2 and decided to head to Salt Pond Beach, which is an inlet with calm waters and picnic tables. Dinner was at a nearby cafe, and we had some fresh fish tacos and ribs, yum! We ended the evening in awe with the stars. If you are city folks like us, you know you can’t always see stars, even on a clear night. The stars in Kauai were unbelievable! Most I have ever seen.

Day 2, we didn’t have a set plan, so we decided to sign up for a last minute excursion. It was a 5 mile kayak down the Wialua river, and 2 mile hike to Secret falls. The kayaks were doubles and the river was surrounded by forest and mountains. Nate and I were in the lead and having a blast. When we got to the hike, we were warned about “waist deep mud”, again due to all the rain.  It was the most mud I have ever seen, and we trudged through it up to our knees. So much fun to experience a mud hike.  \We ended up at the waterfall for a swim and a rest, which was really nice. The waterfall was raging, but the water was cool. The day was a blast and I definitely recommend this tour for some outdoorsy fun!  We sat outside with live music for dinner, and it was a great end to the day.

Day 3 was probably the most fun. We woke up early and headed out on a catamaran snorkel tour of the Napali Coast. First off, catamarans are awesome! You can sit up on the front and see dolphins and get some sun. They served breakfast and then we got to snorkel. The water was a bit cloudy, but Nate and I got to see and a pretty large sea turtle, which made it all worth it.They are amazing to see up close. We cruised the Napali coast and on the way we saw tons of dolphins and whales jumping fully out of the water.  I’ve seen plenty of dolphins before, but seeing the whales play and jump was unreal. They are so large and great to see up so close. The Napali Coast is spectacular!  An absolute must see in Kauai. The staggering cliffs, waterfalls, and caves were amazing. We cruised back pretty fast and I sat up front and got sprayed with water; it was a blast! I highly recommend this or the sunset tour of the coast. Dinner was one of the favorites, The Port Allen brewery.  We finally tried Poke, and the ahi tuna was delicious!