Funniest Day of the Trip

Each day on this trip has been fun-filled, but I have to say the day we went to Waikiki was the funniest. Rachel took us to the lagoon. We found the last available palm tree that would offer us a little shade. I don't think we had all the blankets down before Riley was in the water and Hadley was eating sand. After Rachel came back from her 5 mile jaunt with lunch, I decided Kris and I should rent a paddle boat and get a little exercise in. I figure we both could paddle 30 minutes, no sweat. Of course they only had hourly rental. We'll take it. We don't get 10 feet and we both realize something is wrong with the steering mechanism. We can only move in a straight line by peddling backwards. Of course this send us into hysterics. For the first 15 minutes we have tried everything to correct the problem, except for trading our malfunctioning flotilla in. We have been going in circles and I just looked at Kris and said, "45 minutes of fun left". Both of us start laughing until we're crying. Now we back our way towards Riley who is standing on the edge of the water probably thinking, "Please don't come any closer, I don't want people to know were related". No such luck. Kris hops off the boat as gracefully as one can and goes to get Riley. The little angel puts up with our nonsense long enough to go to the waterfall and back. I don't blame her. Kris walks her safely back to shore and now the fun begins. Kris has to reboard with as much finesse as possible. I am only sorry that I don't have any photos of this maneuver. The lagoon is really not that large of a space. We have gotten very close to the beach in order to drop Riley off, backwards mind you, so we pretty much have the attention of the entire beach. Kris is now waste deep in water and must jump onto the paddle boat without capsizing me. She has to do all this with us both laughing so hard we can't catch our breath. Every time she tries we just crack up again. I kept telling her not to worry about everyone watching. The dolphins did it while we were watching, pretend your a dolphin. It was truly the most I laughed in a long time. Kris did it on her third try after she stopped laughing. I'm only sorry I didn't have a fish to give her......and now we have just enough time to return the boat.

Saddle Up

After the spiritual uplifting of the sunrise I am ready to roll. We head down the mountain about 1000 ft. in the van, something about too many accidents on National Park property to start at the very top. Great a few dead people have to ruin it for everyone else......anyway.

So what we are using for bikes are basic heavy steel framed bikes, no gears, just brakes. But when you are only going downhill, what more do you need? I am psyched, downhill is my friend. 38 miles of nothing but speed. NOT!!!! We had to stay behind the tour leader, who keep a nice pace, but a few in the group were not very experienced bikers. They braked the whole way down. I asked if I could just meet them at the bottom, but OH! NO!, I had to stay with the group. Ho Hum. It was still a blast, albeit a safe one. We stopped for breakfast and to peel off some of our layers. Because our group was so small we finished at 9:30am instead of the usual 1:00pm. I changed to an earlier flight back to Oahu. After 3 non-stop days of adventure I was looking forward to getting back on schedule with Rachel's girls. I missed my naps.

Sunrise

My 3rd and final adventure in Maui was a sunrise bike tour down the side of a volcano. The van was to pick me up at 3:00am for the 1.5 hour trek to the volcano. Our group was only 5 people, and once we were all accounted for we went back to the main office for bike instruction and breakfast. After about an hour we got on the road. The sunrise is self explanatory. I won't bore you with all my inner reflections, but every morning at the exact moment of the sunrise, one of the park rangers preforms a sun worshipping chant from an historic Polynesian people. It was hauntingly beautiful.

When my eyes started adjusting to the dark the volcanic rock began to take on a "Lost World" feel. The low lying clouds only added to the eeriness.
TA DA!

Top 10

After our first snorkeling stop the guides passed out gourmet lunches, and took us to one of the top 10 ranked beaches in the world. The beach really was beautiful. I loved that this one palm tree was smack dab in the middle of the beach all by it's lonesome. There were plenty of palms further back, but this little guy stood tall and proud for the whole world to notice. The sand was that fine grain that you find in hour glasses. After lunch and more snorkeling, I decided to explore the rocky coastline.

One of the things I enjoy about traveling solo is I can do my own thing. While most of the others in the group were sunning themselves or snorkling with a buddy, I hit the trail. The hike was not too strenuous, but the sun was at it's hottest. I wet down my shirt before I began and made sure my water was filled. The views, as always, filled me with awe.

After hiking for an hour I headed back for our 3:00 departure. That is "Princess Rock" behind me. "DON'T JUMP".

Once back on dry dock, I headed for the bus stop and realized, once again, I have been in a wet bathing suit all day. If you've ever been on a bus in Maui, you know I fit right in.

I got back to the hotel, showered and had a quick bite, then went to bed. I've got a 2:30am wake up call. The good news, "No Bathing Suit Required".

Bucket List

One of the things on my bucket list is to swim with dolphins. Instead of doing it in guaranteed waters such as Sea World, I opted for this "sure bet"cruise. On the way out to the spot the guide was telling us that there have been no dolphin spotting that morning. One of the passengers on board had been on that cruise 4 times before, and had seen the playful mammals on each trip. My hopes are still high. On our first stop we snorkeled for 45 minutes, it was amazing, but no dolphins. The waters were so clear, and the fish plentiful, my only regret was not having an underwater camera. Now I have snorkeled before in Key West, Costa Rica and Panama, but never with the confidence that I felt on this trip. Normally I jump in and something like a barracuda, or Portuguese Man-o-war the size of a basketball scare me right back out. This time I stayed in the entire 45minutes. Okay, so the guide was cute and maybe I was showing off a bit, but I was truly enjoying myself. So much so, that not seeing any dolphins didn't spoil my day in the least. The photo above was taken at Water Wonderland (or something like that)in Oahu. It's just more fun to read with pictures.

Legends of The Fall

We all board the boat, which is really nothing more than a pimped out, blow up, Zodiac. The ride to the dolphin spot is about 45 minutes away. Everyone (15 of us, including the 2 guides) gets acquainted on the ride out. One of my favorite things about traveling to new destinations is the folk lore attached to the location. As we get close to our drop, we pass a mammoth boulder in the middle of the Pacific. This is called "Princess Rock". As the legend goes a native girl, the chief's daughter, was waiting for her lover, a lowly tribe member, at the rock. While waiting, she was drowned in one of the caves surrounding it by the incoming tide. When her paramour arrived and saw his princess dead in the cave, he carried her to the top of the massive rock and buried her, marking the spot with a white cross (if you look real close you can see it in the photo). He then proceeded to swan dive to his death, thus becoming legend. I am just grateful there is no such rock in the Chesapeake (haha).

Cab or Bus?

This morning I am heading out to Lanai for a day of snorkeling, hiking and beaching it. For this trip I had to find my way to Lahaina, a seaport where my boat was docked. Lahaina was exactly 22 miles from my hotel. When my cab driver dropped me off from the airport, I asked about a trip on Wednesday to Lahaina, he told me the cost is $80.00, I said,"round trip"?, he said, "no, one way". That would have been $160.00 round trip, that was more than I paid for the days adventure. After talking to the desk clerk, she suggested the bus. The bus stop was 2 blocks away, and cost $1.00. Yes that's right from $160.00 to $2.00, and I saw parts of the island the cab would have totally by passed.

How Much Further?

When I go anywhere new, I love getting a lay of the land by touring the area first. Now when you're are in Key West, you have the "Conch Train", in Boston you have the "Duck Tours". Both of these tours run 3 hours tops.

We are going on hour 7 when we stop at the "RedSand" beach.

. Our tour guide lets us know that most tours only make 9 stops, we will be making 18. The elastic in my suit is not happy about this revelation. We have gone through some of the greenest, lushest section of Maui, now we are headed to the other side which is dry and arid. It's was like going from the forest to the desert. Oh!! did I mention we are now on an unpaved road, and of course my bladder is full? Heaven forbid I dehydrate. We all know that after turning the tired corner I am usually good for nothing, except for maybe whining. We are on hour 11 and all I kept thinking was, "when is this going to be over". I know now that I should never book a tour over 4 hours in any type of vehicle. The gods were smiling on me, because I was the first drop off. I could not get my suit off quick enough, jumped in the shower and went to bed to ready myself for my next adventure.

Flora Extraordnaire

With everyone back in the van we head to a nursery. Unfortunately, I must have missed the memo on bringing an extra set of clothing, so you would not have the pleasure of being in a wet suit for the next 6 hours. Who cares? I'm in a wet suit in Maui.

The incredible flora in Maui will take your breathe away, why we had to stop at a nursery when the beauty is all around you was beyond me. Of course once the shopkeeper started to try to sell us 80.00 bouquet to mail home, it became clear. I am all for helping out the local economy, but a bouquet was not what I was in the maket for. Bring on the pearls.

These are just a few of the flowers that Maui had to offer. I must have taken hundreds of flower photos.

Black Sand Beaches

After 4 hours in the van we stopped for our lunch stop at a black sand beach. We had an hour and one half to enjoy this scenic stop. I think a more appropriate name would have been black jagged rock beach. I could not be stopped from going into the brilliant blue water, but the lava

rocks made it a very slow and painful process.

The rocks did not stop at the waters edge, it continued for as far out as I could still stand. Needless to say, I dove in head first as soon as I could to relieve my hurtin' pups. The water was amazing, so clean and pure. After my 20 minute swim I did a little cave exploring in the same area. I'm not normally a cave person, they are too dark and I usually end up slipping on something slimy. Luckily the light at the end of cave was very close to the entrance, so darkness was not a problem, squeezing through was.

Road To Hana

When I first knew I was going to see Rachel with Kris, I planned a 4 day excursion to Maui. I talked to all my friend who had been there and got the scoop on what not to miss. I booked 3 tours ahead of time, so as not to be left out on any of these breathtaking wonders. My 1st tour was called, "The Road to Hana".The tour van picked me up at my hotel at 6:30am, and I probably wouldn't be returning until 7:00pm. It's gonna be a long day. This was basically a tour of the entire Island, but there is one section, 68 miles long, that consists of 620 curves, 59 bridges, 49 of them are one lane. This portion of the road alone takes around 3 hours to complete.Believe me when I tell you this would be a cyclist's hell. We were in a 20 seat van, so the turns were either too close to the side of the mountain or inches from the on coming traffic. May I just say, "thank the Baby Jesus I was not at the wheel". Our guide said most tourist that start the drive end up turning around. Where they find enough space to turn around was another question all together.

We did find some space to pull over, never mind taking your life in your hands to walk to whatever the view was offering, but the outcome was always well worth it. Rainbow trees, Jaws Beach, where the largest waves on the North Shore have been riden by extreme surfers, and sections of the lushiest rain forest on the entire island

Quick Update

For those of you who have been wondering where I've been.....

Back on September 5th, I headed to Florida to help my friend Donna move into her new digs.

Donna got behind the wheel of this 24' Penske with all of her worldly belongings, well at least half of all her worldly belongings. I packed up Harper, one of my bikes and a few summer things and followed closely behind her for the next 2 days and 1036.2 miles. ....but before we get into that whole adventure I've got to take you to Maui.

North Beach and Cholo's

For this posting please go to www.livinglifeprewittstyle.blogspot.com

Thanks Rachel, I could not have said it better myself.

Pearl Harbor

I don't think anyone can come to this memorial and not be touched in some way. I started with a 25 minute short film that was shown before our tour began, it brought tears to my eyes. Kris opted to sit it out and help Rachel with the girls, because it had the exact same effect on her last time she saw it. We loaded a boat to head out to the Arizona Memorial.

Normally on the ride over to the memorial the soldiers on the shuttle boat give you a brief description on what you are about to see, I guess this trip they were a bit tired, because no info was given. That's okay... I actually enjoyed the silence. It is such a somber sight. For those of you who have not been there, This memorial was built over a portion of the actual remains of the USS Arizona and the 1177 men who went down with it. On the far wall of the structure is the shrine room where the names of those killed on the Arizona are engraved....and they thought was just going to be another day of duty. It is amazing to believe that just one day before December 7, 1941 "Battleship Row" held 21 fully functional ships.

Bellows Beach

After our invigorating hike we decided it was time for lunch. We had planned to go to the Subway because it was next to the beach Rachel had picked out for us that afternoon, The Bellows. Unfortunately due to a water break, Subway was closed, so we went to The Bellows Snack Shack. After lunch we hit the beach. Now I have been to alot of beaches in my day, and I have to say Hawaiian Beaches are among my favorite. Aqua-marine waters, Carolina blue skies, puffy white clouds, a lush mountain range as a back drop to it all, it was my paradise.

Kris took care of Riley's entertainment, while Rachel had Hadley in tow. Rachel had the light duty because after about 30 minutes Hadley was ready for a nap. Of course the nap was not before Rachel got stung, for the 2nd time in 3 weeks by a Portuguese man-o-war. There had to be 10 kids in and out of the water bogey boarding for the 3 hours we were there, not one of them got stung. Rachel is in the water not even up to her knees for 3 minutes and gets stung. What are the odds?

After being doused by the lifeguard with some sort of de-sting spray, Rachel just kept on keeping on. I love these mommy-baby shots.

While mommy and baby were getting stung and sprayed. Kiki was playing with Riley, and I do mean non-stop. Running in and out of the water to fill buckets for sand castles, digging in the sand, I'm telling you I was exhausted just watching them. This is not a 15 minute play session, this is the entire time we are at the beach. Now you have to understand the whole time Kiki is playing, she is bent at the waist, so she can be closer to Riley. So not only am I exhausted, now my back hurts. Of course my back was nothing, during all this play time Kiki forgot her sunblock. Aloe is now her best friend.

What a View!!

With the better part of the trail behind us, we continue up and up. It seems like the end of the trail has gotten a few degrees steeper, some sick engineer's idea of a joke. We get to the end of one incline, turn the corner and see it is

still going up. Kris has relieved Rachel on stroller duty. I am saving myself for the return trip. As we reach the top of the hill, the view is stunning, and we all agree the hike was well worth it.

Full Day of Sun

Watching Rachel with her 2 girls is amazing. She is such a loving mother, her girls both adore her. It is really nice to watch their interactions. Rachel has the morning routine with the girls down to a science. I am in awe just watching how smoothly the drill runs. Once they have been taken care of Kiki takes over, and Rachel can jump in the shower herself. What does she do when she is by herself? Today we are heading to Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail. This is a breathtaking (literally) hike up the side of a hill with the Pacific Ocean surrounding the trail. It is the first real exercise I have done since the boot has been taken off, and I feel great. It is just so nice to be out in the open and doing something physical, of course being in Hawaii while I'm doing it certainly doesn't hurt. Now I am walking up this hill with the sun in my face and all is right with my world. Riley decides she will walk with the big girls. I am thrilled with this because I can use Miss Riley as my excuse to go slowly. When Kris and Riley fall a little behind they both come charging up the hill to catch up.

Rachel, who after this trip will always be "Wonder Woman" in my eyes, not only gets herself up the trail, but does it while pushing both girls. That is an extra 52 pounds. I, of course, offered to push it on the way down.

Jet Lag

Once we got to Oahu, Kris put in a call to Rachel, we grabbed our bags (first on the carousel), and waited at the big C for our ride to appear. 2 minutes later Kris, who will now be referred to as Kiki, was smack dab in the center of her 2 favorite "Hawaiian" grand daughters. Knowing we would probably be exhausted, Rachel planned a very low key day. Kiki was energized by the girls and totally switched into grandma mod. When I say grandma mod, that is by no means to be confused with slowing down at all. She actually reved up. Watching her running around with Riley was like watching the energizer bunny after chugging a full can of Hershey's chocolate syrup. I don't know how she did it, watching her was exhausting. I hit the sack around 5:00, that's 11:00pm east coast time, not to be seen or heard from until the next day. I know ho-hum.

First Class All The Way

I was awaken this morning by Kris singing "We're going to Hawaii, we're going to Hawaii". That was all I needed to jump up, throw a dress on and head out the door. Kevin drew the short straw and had the pleasure of taking us to the airport. The first thing we saw leaving the house was the full moon, what better way to start a trip.

Once we got to the airport we headed to my old stomping grounds, "Continental". We did the self check-in, got our bags tagged "Priority" and headed to our gate. That's right "Priority". For Kris's birthday I upgraded our seats to First Class. If we were headed to Boston it would have not have been a big deal, but when you fly 12 hours, even to Hawaii, First Class makes all the difference in the world.

Kris and I watched "Sex In The City 2" each on our private screen, then we watched "Please Give". Kris continued movies with "Back Up Plan", and I finished reading Janet Evanovich's "Finger Lickin' Fifteen". This of course was all being done while being served breakfast, a 3 course lunch, ice cream with assorted toppings, fresh baked choclate cookies, free flowing wine and anything else our little hearts desired. I am loving this trip so far......

All Set To Go

I'm staying over night at Kris and Kevin's tonight, we thought it best for our 3:30am wake up call. The sacrifices I make to go to Hawaii, I am surely destined for Sainthood.

So I find myself in Rachel's old bedroom, looking around at some of the remnants of her childhood. Her old white dresser and desk are still here, but her matching bed frame has been replaced by a wooden futon, courtesy of Justin. I remember when Kris and I went shopping for Rachel's bedroom set. She couldn't have been more than 5 years old....and now we are heading to Oahu in time to celebrate her 29th birthday...she now has 2 little girls of her own.