Hawaii - 2010

To celebrate finishing our master's degrees and our five year anniversary, Jace and I decided to go to Hawaii. We had some friends that lived there and we had a wedding to attend, so it was an easy destination to choose. We were there for almost three weeks, far too many adventures to write about, so instead I'll just choose some of my favorite pictures and give a little commentary on them.

Oahu
Due to the time change, we were up and ready to start our day by 6am on Waikiki. It was neat being out there so early to beat all the people. There were the locals who took their morning surf before work and other mainlanders who were also dealing with the time change.

                                                             6 a.m.

                                              Early bird catches the worm

                                              Starting to get crowded

After the morning in Waikiki, we took a bus to Kailua, a fun little town towards the east where we rented a room in a very nice home. It was a great town and we could walk everywhere.

                     We rented kayaks and went to a couple neighboring beaches.

                                                   Amazing sunsets

                                     Our breakfast every morning - YUM!

                  Kailua is famous for its windsurfing and kiteboarding

                  because it's on the windy side of Oahu.

Then our awesome friend Tracey picked us up to take us back to her humble abode where we'd be staying with her and her husband Bill. They rock!



Our own private tour of Oahu by Bill and Tracey. Man, they charge an arm and a leg.

Nice beach on the north shore.  Hard to believe that in the winter this place has world class waves!

                                                   My friend Tracey.

                The number one thing I wanted to see in Hawaii were sea turtles.

             Turned out that we saw so many that I eventually got a little bored with them.

Hike up Diamond Head overlooking Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. We left early in the morning so we could be up at the top during sunrise, but we left the house a little too late so we saw the sunrise in the car on the way there.

This is what we look like after a full day in the sun and snorkling at Hanauma Bay.

Break down adventure with the Vanagan.  Only when Jace and Amy come to town.

                        Swimming with a strange man (not Jace) at the waterfall.

                                     The best church in Wahiawa, Hawaii!

Polynesian Culture Center


Pearl Harbor

Hawaii (aka the big island)

After about a week and a half on Oahu we flew to the island of Hawaii for our friends' Jeff and Jean's wedding.  Hawaii is very different from Oahu. On the eastern side in Hilo where the wedding was, it was very rainy and lush. It rained every day and every night we were there, even during the wedding! But it was so beautiful!

                                             Sunbathing beauties, Hilo, HI

                            Some bamboo was probably close to 70 feet tall.

Best man duties.

                               The only picture of us from Jeff and Jean's wedding.

After the wedding, we drove to Kona on the western side of the island. Soon after Volcano National Park the vegetation turns from wet and tropical to dry and volcanic.

                            Old lava flow into the ocean at Volcano National Park.

                                                          Love him.

Private tour of a coffee plantation. (It was private only because no one else was there.)

Back to Oahu

We then flew back to Oahu for one more day before we headed home.

                                                   Last night in Waikiki.

                                               Nice way to end your day.

                                                 I will miss you, Hawaii.

There is something magical about Hawaii that I didn't understand until I went there. Maybe it's because of the rich culture. Maybe it's because of the gorgeous weather. Maybe it's because it's a tropical island and you can drink water from the tap. Whatever the reason, Hawaii captures you and I think anyone who goes comes back a little different...

Redwoods Forest - 2009

A cheeseburger, fries, and a coke. That's how this trip started. Jace and I were craving In and Out. "Where's the nearest one?" he asked. "Redding, California. Wanna go?" And so we set off, heading south to Redding, tent, sleeping bags, and hiking shoes in tow.

Well, it was just right past Roseburg when our rear tire blew out. I guess that's what that whole car full of people were trying to tell us as they frantically pointed to the back of our car as they passed us. Oops. So we pulled over, were rescued by a good samaritan man who helped change our tire since we had the wrong tools. Oops. Then we drove back to Roseburg, found a Sears where they only had one more tire left! So after a 4 hour delay, we were on the road again.

              "Thanks!!" we said. "No problem. What goes around comes around," he said.


We made it to Shasta Lake where we found a pretty cool swimming hole right by the dam. It was a long hot drive and the cool water felt great!

The next day we went for a really good hike around the lake. It was really hot and we were really hungry so we were ready for lunch!

                                  It was everything we ever wanted and more...

After lunch we headed west to the Redwoods. I hadn't been there since I was little and it was Jace's first time.  We got our campsite (the last one!) and decided to go for a hike. It really cool - waterfalls, deep in the woods, and foggy. When we decided to head back to the campsite, we walked out of the trail and there was an eerie silence and stillness. There were no birds or any other wildlife, whereas when we entered the trail, there had been a lot of birds and squirrels and other little critters. We thought it was kinda strange so we hurried to the car. Soon as we were in the car, right out of the bushes next to the trail came a black bear! Oops. We think all the other wildlife had known there was a bear and had taken off. Luckily we were in our car so we got to watch it for awhile.

The Redwoods are an incredible part of creation. They are HUGE!!!!!!!!! If you have never been there, think of the biggest tree you've ever seen, then magnify it by 50. Many of the trees reach hundreds of feet in the air and some of the old growths are said to be more than 2,000 years old. They are so incredible to see in person. We went on some great hikes and found what was once the biggest tree in the forest. Unfortunately, it had been chopped down in the first part of the 1900's so the flat stump could be used for a dance floor for a really rich local guy's parties!

                                                     Do you see me?

Later, we drove off the main highway about 15 miles (so thankful our tire didn't pop on this gravel road) to a remote spot where we walked into Fern Canyon. It is exactly as the name says - it's a canyon full of ferns. That might sound a little boring, but it was actually really cool and there were a lot of little water falls and creeks. Apparently, there was a scene in Jurassic Park that was filmed in this canyon but I didn't see any T-Rex's so I'm not sure about that.  It was a really neat hike but we were on the only trail behind a family that kept fighting and bratty kids so that kind of ruined the mood, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

It was a short trip - camped for three days and two nights. If I were to do it again, I'd add another day because it was a lot of driving, but definitly well worth it. And a must see for any Pacific Northwester!