Molokai: Trip 2

Posted on August 25, 2013 by sandersnm

On Saturday, Josh and I went back to Molokai to do some things that got rained out on our first trip (we also got rained out two weeks ago when we tried to go back). We landed around 6:30 a.m. and headed to the Kualapu’u Cookhouse, which is where we had breakfast when we landed last year. We split the best breakfast sandwich we’ve ever had and some french toast (it reminded me of my mom’s). A great way to start our day/trip.

Delicious french toast!

After breakfast, we headed towards Halawa Valley for our hike (the main reason we came back). We FINALLY had amazing weather. It was bright and sunny and we could not have asked for better weather. We took our tour with Molokai Flowers. I feel like they have become my best friends over the past year…I’ve ordered multiple boxes of flowers from them and have emailed back and forth trying to set up this tour. They are absolutely WONDERFUL! Kalani’s son gave us the tour and we had the trail and the waterfall completely to ourselves. It was so serene and peaceful…a very special place! After we hiked back, we had two different types of smoothies that Kalani made us from fruit on his farm. They were incredible! He even gave us some lilikoi to take back to make our own smoothies. They also gave us some beautiful pink torch gingers to take home. Some of the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen!

The start of the hike.

Loved this pretty flower.

Huge snail!

This tree felt like a sponge…and it wasn’t rotting..it was alive!

Old Hawaiian oven.

Shampoo gingers

All of the old walls from the ancient Hawaiian settlements were still intact. Pretty incredible.

Tons of fruit. There were HUGE avocados littering the ground.

The waterfalls!

We got to boulder hop!

A tree growing out of the rocks in the river.

Mountain apples.

We made it! So serene.

There were some caves across the pond.

Josh checking out the writing/pictures on the rocks.

Old writing on the rocks.

SO beautiful!

The valley.

The biggest banana flower ever!

Smoothie time!

Some of Kalani’s flowers.

The beautiful pink torch gingers that Kalani and his wife gave us!

After filling up on smoothies, we started to head back to grab a late lunch. The drive is so incredibly beautiful (even better not in the pouring down rain). It also makes the road to Hana on Maui look super easy. The road is mostly one lane…but there’s not much traffic. We stopped at Mana’e Goods and Grindz for some chicken katsu. We had this on our last trip and it is the best chicken katsu I’ve had. After filling up on smoothies, we decided to split lunch.

They valley.

The waterfall we hiked to.

Panoramic of Halawa bay.

An example of the many hairpin turns!

Maui in the distance.

Delicious chicken katsu!

After filling up, we headed towards the Kalaupapa Lookout and the Phallic Rock. With the weather being so gross the last time we were there, we didn’t get a chance to see either of these. The view from the lookout was incredible and the rock was…well phallic shaped. Women would come here and make offerings and pray for fertility. It was set in a beautiful forest and was a nice, quick walk.

I don’t know why, but I liked this sign.

Kalaupapa National Park below.

The sheer cliffs…we rode a mule down them!

I have no idea what he’s doing…but I found this picture hilarious.

The lighthouse.

The settlement.

Josh.

Phallic Rock.

After we finished, we headed to check in at Hotel Molokai. It was interesting. I think in the winter when it wasn’t so hot it would be fine…however, there wasn’t much of a breeze and it was pretty hot out..no AC and only a fan meant we wouldn’t be sleeping very well. We dropped off our stuff and headed to grab a quick bite to eat before we got HOT BREAD! We couldn’t wait to get bread…it was actually the reason we decided to stay the night and not just make it a day trip. The stuff is so good…last time we got strawberry jam and cream cheese. This time we got the works: cream cheese, strawberry jam, blueberry jam, cinnamon and butter. It sounds iffy but it’s incredible. We took most of it back with us (and have been eating it periodically throughout the day). After that, we headed back to the hotel. We were supposed to leave around 8:45 in the morning, but decided to stand by and leave around 7:00 a.m. since we knew we wouldn’t be sleeping anyways. Excellent decision. There were only nine people on our flight! Our trip was a complete success and it feels great to cross off another island!

The clouds while the sun was setting. So beautiful!

So good!

The bread with all the good stuff on the inside.

Halawa Valley

Image

After four attempts, we finally toured Halawa Valley!

Judd Trail

Posted on August 23, 2013 by sandersnm

This week, I went with my friend Nic on a quick hike in the morning before work. We ventured to Judd Trail, which was right off the Pali highway. It was a quick loop hike and a great thing to do if you just want to get outside but don’t have enough time for a long hike.

The start of the trail…one way.

The other way.

Hiking along the river.

The little pond at the end that you can swim in.

I thought this was a cool shot of the palm trees.

Love looking at the sky through these tall trees.

Hawaii Loa Ridge Trail

Posted on August 21, 2013 by sandersnm

On Sunday, Josh and I hiked Hawaii Loa Ridge trail. It was about four miles roundtrip and was a pretty good workout. The first portion was mostly flat and you dip back down into a valley area. Then the last section is super steep with stairs and a good workout for your legs. The view of the windward coast was beautiful (as always on these hikes) and we had great weather for the day. Great way to spend our Sunday :).

Diamond Head.

Koko Head in the distance.

Josh hiking along.

Pretty valley…the picture doesn’t do it justice.

A tree…growing in the air…

Hiking up the numerous stairs..

The beautiful windward coast.

Honolulu.

Hawaii Kai.

The sun shining off the trees…beautiful.

Cousin Fun

Posted on August 9, 2013 by sandersnm

Along with the adventures that I’ve already blogged about, Bailey, Kyle and I spent time hiking, going to the beach, eating tons of good food, enjoying the pool and touring Oahu in general. We had such a great time and I miss them already!! I’m so thankful they were able to come visit and I got to spend such quality time with them :).

Lani Kai beach the first day….first of many beach trips for them.

Pretty sun shining through the clouds.

First açai bowl!

Bailey and her giant smoothie from Lani Kai Juice.

Makapu-u Lighthouse…at the top of the trail.

Bailey and I at the top of Makapu’u Lighthouse trail.

Hiking to Manoa Falls.

Manoa Falls from a distance.

Bailey and Kyle at Manoa Falls.

Bailey in the bamboo forest.

Sushi! They were venturesome. Kyle tried sushi for the first time.

Bailey’s favorite açai bowl from Diamond Head Health Cove.

Our matching bracelets from the North Shore.

The Hula Pie from Duke’s. Incredible! Seriously ridiculously good.

Bailey and I having smoothies in Chinatown.

Tripler Ridge to Haiku Stairs

Posted on August 5, 2013 by sandersnm

On Saturday, we hiked Tripler Ridge to Haiku Stairs. This is a hike that Josh and I both wanted to do, but hadn’t done yet (we’ve both hiked the stairway at night/early a.m. but not hiked to it then down it during the day). Since Bailey and Kyle were here, we thought it would be a great time to go so they could join in on the fun. Josh’s friend Tony also volunteered to come and be our tour guide since he had just completed the hike a few weeks before. It turned out to be one of the BEST hikes on the island yet. It took us about six hours to complete from start to finish. We hiked from Tripler hospital up the mountain on the ridges and back down the Haiku stairs on the other side of the island to Josh’s car (which Tony and Josh had staged the night before). It was EXTREMELY muddy and we were covered by the time we were finished (Bailey and I maybe slipped and fell a few times…). The views were unbeatable from the top and the pictures can’t even begin to do them justice. With the views, came a few scary portions along the ridge. We definitely put Kyle’s fear of heights to the test, but he made it the whole way without any issues! It was such an awesome way to spend a Saturday and we could not have asked for better weather!

The beginning of the hike looking through the fence at Tripler.

Bailey hiking through the woods.

The start of seriously scratching our legs up. TONS of thorns!

Kyle…he didn’t even know what was ahead of him yet :).

Pretty picture of the valley.

Cool moss along the trail.

Cool tree along the trail.

Josh hiking under a tree.

Group shot!

I think this picture is hilarious. Josh and I are both making ridiculous faces.

Bailey and I tended to be a bit slower as we were trying not to fall…so we stopped and took a selfie :).

Love the shadows of the clouds on the mountains.

Kyle and Josh hiking.

Hiking into the clouds!

Kyle concentrating!

The trail looking back.

Kyle doing a celebratory dance at completing part of the hike. Little did he know what lied ahead.

Incredible views before the scary ridge hike to the top of Haiku stairs.

Bailey and I.

Bailey and Kyle.

Josh and I holding our blow pops that Bailey provided for all of us!

Love this picture. Waiting for Kyle to join us.

Cousins plus Josh!

Josh and Tony..holding hands…

The start of the tough stuff…my favorite part!

Heading towards that power line.

Kyle and Bailey hiking along the ridge.

Looking down!

Made it to a bit of a platform with some old radio tower or something.

This looks much less scary than it actually was. it was SUPER steep and even I started to freak myself out a bit. Josh said “pause right there”. Oh ok no big deal Josh.

Bailey climbing along.

We made it to the top of the stairs!

SUPER muddy. Somehow I think I was the worst out of all of us.

Josh making PB sandwiches at the top…it was difficult b/c it was SO windy.

LOVE this one!

Starting to head down the stairs.

Loving spending time with her!

Bailey heading down the stairs.

The H3 tunnels and highway.

Heading down.

First platform on the way down.

View of Josh’s base.

Tony leading us down.

Pretty flower along the stairs.

A piece of the wooden ladder. What the stairs used to be made of…that would be terrifying!

The bottom of the stairs looking back up!

Josh and Tony in the bamboo forest.

The bamboo forest…where I slipped multiple times the first time I hiked the stairway

The entrance to the stairway.

Maui: Trip 2 – Day 3

Posted on July 19, 2013 by sandersnm

Laura and Jim’s Wedding Day!!!

On Monday, we woke up and headed down to have breakfast at the resort. After that, Josh and I drove to La Perouse Bay to hike around and see what it was all about. It was beautiful, but very windy. Snorkeling is supposed to be great in the bay, but the ocean was pretty rough. On our walk, we saw several goats just hanging out on the beach and in the wooded area. It was kind of hilarious to see goats hanging out on the beach. I feel like that would happen only in Hawaii.

The bay.

Looking towards Haleakalā.

A little sea arch.

Tiny beach. I loved this little beach. It looked so small compared to all of the black lava rock around it.

Goats!

Goats like the beach too.

One day he will learn to like having his picture taken.

Looking at the storm clouds coming in.

After we got done with La Perouse Bay, we went back to the hotel to grab lunch at the pool bar and then got ready for the wedding! We went to the wedding around 4:00. It was in such a gorgeous location! Everyone looked so beautiful and it could not have been more perfect! I am so incredibly happy for both of them :). Towards the end of the night, Laura and I even got to dance to our song (Wouldn’t It Be Nice by the Beach Boys). The night could not have been more perfect for the two of them!

The backdrop for their wedding.

They did it!

Colleen and I.

Josh and I.

After the ceremony.

Rainbow!

First dance.

The food was amazing!

Me, Laura and Colleen. Boiler up!

Maui: Trip 2 – Day 1

Posted on July 17, 2013 by sandersnm

On Saturday, Josh and I arrived bright and early on Maui to celebrate my friend Laura’s wedding. Our plan was to meet them around 9:30 to do the Four Waterfalls hike on the Road to Hana. Since we landed a few hours before that, we decided to stop in Paia for breakfast and to kill some time. However, before we even made it out of the airport Josh’s bag decided to quit on him. In a matter of 30 seconds he had all three straps break. First, the carry strap, then he picked it up by the handles and one of them broke and then finally we started walking again and the last one broke. He had to carry it the rest of the way without any handles. This early in the morning, we found it absolutely hilarious as it just disintegrated in front of us.

Josh and his disintegrated bag in the Maui airport.

We headed to Charley’s in Paia because we were starving and it had great reviews for breakfast. I ordered the breakfast burrito and Josh had an omelet. We had planned on sharing (thank goodness) because mine was HUGE. I ate about 1/4 of it and made Josh eat the rest. All of it was delicious and I would highly recommend it to anyone. To top it all off, it is Willie Nelson’s favorite place for breakfast and we are 98% sure he walked in as we were finishing and hung out at the bar.

Delicious Orange Juice.

My giant breakfast burrito.

Josh’s Omelet

After breakfast, we changed and headed towards Hana to where we would start our hike. The hike would take us to four waterfalls. Two of which you could see staying dry. If you wanted to see the third and fourth waterfalls, you had to swim. We came prepared with our dry bag so we could take our camera to take pictures. We met up with everyone (SO HAPPY to see some of my best friends) and then started the hike. There were about 20 people total of friends and family that had come for the wedding. We hiked to the first and stopped for a bit to take pictures, then continued to the second to take more pictures. After that, we hiked up a ladder (with the help from a few ropes) then boulder hopped to the stream where we had to jump in to swim to the third waterfall. It was a BLAST!!! We all jumped in and swam up to the third waterfall. After that, we had to climb the falls and boulder hop again upstream to get to the final and biggest of the falls. It was beautiful! But I will say, the journey is what made it so fun. It was a great hike to do with a big group of people. See the pictures below!

The first waterfall with everyone hiking over boulders.

The view downstream from the first waterfall.

The second waterfall.

Brent and Colleen at the second waterfall.

Laura, Colleen and I at the second waterfall.

The beginning of the boulder hopping.

People starting to boulder hop after climbing up the ladder.

The fourth waterfall.

Swimming at the fourth waterfall.

We were a large group!

Fourth waterfall.

The beginning of the hike was almost all bamboo forrest. It was beautiful.

Loved this picture looking at the sky.

A little bridge we had to cross over to get to the first falls.

After returning from the hike, we changed and drove back through Paia for lunch. We stopped and ate at the Paia Fish Market. It was delicious! Josh had a sandwich and I had blackened cajun fish. We then wandered around the town and headed to our hotel in Makena to check in and take much needed showers.

My blackened cajun chicken. Delicious!

Josh’s fish sandwich.

We checked in and then headed over to Big Beach to hang out with everyone for the rest of the day. It was beautiful and the sun was setting. After that, we headed back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We all met at the bar in the hotel to just hangout and eat. I had one of the best cocktails ever (Dancing Koi). I don’t even know what was in it but it was fantastic. After hanging out and dinner, we all called it a night and headed to bed. It was a long day!

Big Beach

Laura and Jim hanging out on Big Beach.

Hau`ula Loop Trail

Posted on July 10, 2013 by sandersnm

On Monday, we hiked the Hau`ula Loop trail with the kids. It is a 2.6 mile loop and was a great workout. We had nice weather with the exception of the major humidity. We were all soaked by the time we were done!

We all started out together, but definitely ended separately.

The riverbed was almost completely dry. Easy to cross.

It was super shaded on most of the trail.

Pretty flowers lining the trail in places.

Loved the shots of the sky and ocean through the trees.

Loved this.

First view of the valley. Gorgeous.

More of the valley.

Random palm tree in the middle of the woods.

First Peak of Olomana

Posted on July 9, 2013 by sandersnm

On Saturday, Josh and I hiked the first peak of the Olomana Trail. It has three peaks, but the first peak has the best views and is the highest. The other two peaks require you to be a much more advanced rock climber and since the best views are of the first peak, we didn’t see a need to hike past it (plus Josh has already done this hike a few times..including all three peaks). We could not have picked a better day to hike it. What can be a very muddy trail was dry and in perfect condition for hiking. It was a VERY humid day, but it made it quite the workout. We had a pretty steep incline the whole way there and towards the end, you had to start using ropes to hike up the rocks. I LOVED the rock climbing portion! Once we got to the top, the views were absolutely breathtaking. We could see Molokai, Maui and Lanai all at the same time. I didn’t even know that was possible! We had a beautiful 360 degree view of Kaneohe, Kailua and the Ko’olau mountain range behind us. One of the BEST hikes I have done on Oahu yet. Pictures below!