Tag Archives: mud

Lanai: Trip 2 – Day 2

Posted on by
1

On our second day, we got up and had breakfast and coffee at the hotel and took full advantage of the big rocking chairs looking out over the front lawn. After breakfast, we packed up the Jeep for our adventures that day.

First stop was the Munro Trail. We didn’t do the whole thing, only the first couple of miles. We found a really cool swing and stopped at a lookout that had some lovely views of Maui and Molokai!

The view on the way to the Munro Trail. Just love those pine trees!
Stables at Koele. So beautiful.
We found a swing!
Just breathtaking!

The next stop was Garden of the Gods. The trail there was insanely muddy with tons of potholes due to the amount of rain Hawaii saw in the early Spring. It made for quite the adventure!

So muddy!

After taking in the view for a bit, we kept going down to Polihua Beach. The last time Josh and I were here, it was SO windy we couldn’t even enjoy it. Luckily, this time it was perfect. We sat for a long time and just enjoyed the empty beach and sunshine!

Heading towards the beach!
Beach pose!
I thought this was a really cool picture.
Jeep shot for Josh.

After plenty of sun, it was time to head back! It took us a little over an hour without any stops due to the rough terrain.

I made a friend.
The Lanai cat sanctuary needs to come find this guy!
Holding on for dear life!
Loved these flowers!

Once we got back, we wandered around Lanai City for a bit and relaxed before dinner at Lanai City Bar & Grille. Dinner was at our hotel, so quite convenient! We sat outside and listened to live music for a couple hours to end our night!

Hotel Lanai!
Delicious drinks!
Calamari
Roasted brussell sprouts
Crispy green beans
Amazing fish special
Caprese salad
Steak
The best thing ever…bananas foster deliciousness!

Sunflowers

Posted on by
Reply

We visited the sunflowers on the North Shore this past weekend. It turned into quite an adventure as it happened to be raining and was incredibly muddy. The flowers were beautiful, even in the rain and it was a pretty fun day! We spent some time in Haleiwa and ended the day hanging out in the rain in the hot tub soaking off all of the mud!

Paige Visits Hawaii!

Posted on by
4

This past week Paige came to visit! She was our first visitor since we moved back and we had a great time doing a ton of fun things on the island.

We spent her first whole day on the North Shore. Started with sky diving, enjoyed some shrimp and corn from the food trucks, saw some turtles, and had shave ice. After all of that, we were even able to muster enough energy to head into Waikiki for dinner.

There she is!
She made it!
This guy was huge.
So pretty..and delicious

Sunday, we went on one of our favorite hikes — Kuli’ou’ou Ridge. We’ve hiked this multiple times and this was the first time we ended up covered in mud.

Action shot.
Josh the monkey.
Found this guy on the trail.
Loved how the clouds were hanging over the mountain.
Paige and the stairs.
Made it to the top!

After our hike, we went to spitting caves to see what the waves were doing. They didn’t disappoint!

And now we’ll do a little jig.
Great waves!

During the week, Paige entertained herself with Pearl Harbor, visiting Kauai and some yoga. The next weekend we went on an ATV tour at Kualoa Ranch, which was a BLAST. This was our first time doing this and we can’t wait to do it again! The weather was beautiful and we had a great tour guide.

First stop Godzilla footprint to the right.
Cows enjoying life.
ATV Selfie!
Paige taking it all in.
Paige failing at the shaka.
Run for your life!
Bunker..half WWII museum, half movie museum.
Insanely nice weather.
Not ready.
Chinaman’s Hat.
Tantalus Lookout

Pu’u Ma’eli’eli Trail

Posted on by
1

Two weekends ago, we finally went on our first hike. It was less than 10 minutes from our house and super muddy. The view was amazing and well worth falling down (twice).

Before shot. Clean shoes.
About five minutes in.
One of my favorite shots.
Looking at our place!
Quite the view.
And after.

Tripler Ridge to Haiku Stairs

Posted on by
5

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.

Kauai: Trip 1 – Day 1

Posted on by
5

Josh and I landed on Kauai Friday evening for our third trip to the island for a quick weekend away from Oahu. We were only an hour late (which is pretty awesome on an inter-island Island Air flight), but since everything on Kauai shuts down at 9:00 p.m., we had few choices for dinner. We grabbed food at Duke’s in Lihue and then checked into our hotel (Kauai Beach Resort).

The entire purpose of this trip was to take a helicopter tour of the island. In February of 2012, Josh and I hiked the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali coast of Kauai. It was an ridiculous trip (for many reasons) and during those 22 miles there and back, we kept hearing all of the helicopters above us. We decided that we were coming back to Kauai and viewing our amazing hike from up above. We went back to Kauai in September of 2012 to do just that, but got rained out for our tour (shocking). However, I am happy to report that this trip was a COMPLETE success! We had the most amazing helicopter tour with Jack Harter Helicopters. We flew in a helicopter with doors off for a whole hour around the island. We had great weather and the views were incredible! It was by far the highlight of our trip :).

Taking off!
The Marriott Resort in Lihue.
Waterfall from Jurassic Park (also known as Manawaiopuna Falls).
Five waterfalls that pour into Manawaiopuna Falls.
Rainbow!
Waimea Canyon.
The Nā Pali Coast. Incredible.
The Kalalau Trail.
Kalalau Beach…the beach we hiked to.
The trail from above.
Hanalei Bay.
Weeping wall.
Looking back through the valley we just flew through.
Wailua Falls.
After the tour!

 

After our helicopter tour, we headed to Wailua River to go kayaking. We kayaked two miles upriver to Secret Falls (120 ft water fall). We hiked (much further than we thought) in extremely muddy conditions to the waterfall. I had flip flops on (horrible idea) and we were covered in mud by the time we left.

Along the hike to Secret Falls.
Rooster in the woods.
Covered in mud!
So peaceful.
Kayaking in action.
Action shot of Josh.
This cracks me up.
Almost done!

 

After kayaking, we went to view ‘Opaeka’a Falls. It was late in the day, so we didn’t get that great of a shot. But it was huge!

'Opaeka'a FallsAfter quickly stopping there, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner at Hukilau Lanai. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed some amazing food after a terrific day!

Focaccia Bread
Poke Nachos.
Lobster Curry Bisque.
Caesar Salad.
Opah fish with risotto and vegetables.
Macadamia nut tart and cinnamon ice cream.

 

The Hawaii Nature Center

Posted on by
Reply

Today for work we went to the Hawaii Nature Center to explore the trails there. We spent over two hours fishing in the stream, observing the plants in the area and searching for “decomposers” (bugs such as millipedes, beetles, roaches and worms that decompose the leaves and make soil). It was really cool to learn all about the different types of wildlife in the stream. We caught tons of freshwater shrimp…they are incredibly small..and see-through!

The stream at the beginning of our hike.
The trail.
Canopy of trees.
Allspice tree..the leaves smelled like gingerbread cookies.
There was a huge beehive in this tree.
Tons of heliconias.
Bridge over the stream.
Freshwater shrimp and snails.
Skeleton leaf.
Banyan tree
With all the rain and wind this past winter, this huge tree came tumbling down. This is the root structure of the tree. Pretty neat.
Fungus of sorts growing on the tree.

Mom’s Visit: Part Two

Posted on by
2

On Monday after I got off work, we went and hiked Manoa Falls so my mom could see a waterfall. I have done this hike a few times and it is usually muddy..but NOTHING compared to what it was this time. People were going barefoot because it was easier. The mud was pulling my shoes off my feet and it was very easy to fall! However, the hiking through the mud was definitely worth it…the waterfall at the end was amazing. It’s normally just a light trickle of water…but it was flowing beautifully when we got there! After that, we headed home to take a shower and went to have drinks and dinner. We ate pizza at JJ Dolan’s, drank well-earned drinks and had dessert at Du Vin.

Mom and the giant Banyan tree at the beginning of Manoa Falls.
Looking up through the trees.
Standing under the tree arch in the mud.
SO MUDDY!
My mom in the bamboo forest.
Manoa Falls. So beautiful!
Drinks at JJ’s.
Chocolate Soufflé for dessert.

 

Today after work, we ventured out around downtown and wandered through some of the stores. We also stopped at a crêpe place for lunch. For dinner, we had Cuban food (probably my favorite restaurant here) and tried a few new things that Josh and I hadn’t had yet. Everything was wonderful!

Banana, strawberry, nutella crêpe.
Mojitos.
Cuban appetizer sampler: croquetas de jaiba, papa rellena and platanos.
Josh’s dinner: pargo a la cubana
My mom’s dinner: ropa vieja
My dinner: fricase de pollo

Old Pali Road to Likeke Falls Hike

Posted on by
Reply

This past Saturday, Josh and I hiked the old Pali road to the Likeke waterfall. We started at the Pali Lookout and headed down the old Pali road (the Pali is now a major highway that takes you from Honolulu to Kaneohe). The hike was a little over three miles roundtrip…it was incredibly windy at the Pali lookout, so we jogged the first part down the road. We then came to a point in the trail where you can continue on to the Maunawili Trail or go left and climb under the current Pali Highway. To get to the waterfall we climbed down and under the highway and continued on through the woods. It was a super fun trail and a great workout as the entire way back up is uphill. The waterfall, while one of the smaller ones I have seen, was beautiful. There were also some great views along the way and at the falls. Great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

A sign warning us of bees during high winds. It was incredibly windy…no bees though.
The view looking back towards the lookout.
A slightly different view than the Pali lookout.
Looking back up the road after we came down from the lookout.
Beware of falling rocks.
Start of the trail after the road closed sign
Where we had to crawl under the current highway.
Graffiti under the highway. Pretty cool.
Under the highway.
More graffiti.
Panoramic of under the highway.
Walking down the path on the other side fo the highway. Pretty flowers.
Steps..the start to the next part of the trail to the falls.
Pretty view looking out towards Kaneohe from the falls.
Waterfall.
Once again me forcing Josh to take his picture.
A teeny, tiny frog was hanging out in the pond below the falls.
Me under the road.
Coming back up the old road.
It was my turn to be forced into a picture.

The Big Island: Trip 1 – Day 4

Posted on by
1

Monday morning we woke up early to head to Isaac Hale Beach Park to catch our boat for the lava tour. Well not surprisingly this also got rained out due to the weather and roughness of the ocean. So instead we headed to Kalapana Cafe for breakfast and to regroup and figure out what we wanted to do on our last day.

 

After breakfast we headed to check out the Kapoho Tide-pools and Wai`opae Ponds. Rumor has it that they are wonderful for snorkeling, but with the current state of the weather we only visited them from above ground.

 

After our brief stop at the tide-pools, we headed north for a few miles to check out a natural lava swimming pool. The drive there was along one of the prettiest roads I have ever been on. It was also ridiculous how instantly our surroundings changed to a jungle. The surf here was outrageous. So much so, that we took a video because pictures just couldn’t capture the magnificent waves.

This road was beautiful.
View from the car.
The path was SO muddy!
Interesting moss on the trees.
Seriously creepy van.
What we came to when we walk off the super muddy path. Pretty cool.
Ridiculous waves.
Josh standing on higher ground to see if we should go further. We determined no.
The start of the path on the way back. I thought this was a neat picture.

 

After hiking back through the mud to our car, we headed back to the paved road to Highway 137 to visit Ahalanui. Ahalanui is a spring- and ocean-fed pool containing a man-made wall that separates it from the ocean. The pool is heated to about 90 degrees…but we opted not to get in as it looked pretty disgusting. Even though fresh water replenishes the pool daily, I’m still not sure it was the cleanest thing to swim in. However, it was still pretty neat to look at. It also amazes me that there are pools that are heated by the earth to such high temperatures.

View of the pool facing the ocean.
The inlet and manmade wall letting the ocean water in.
The pool facing inland.

 

Our next stop down Highway 137 was back to Isaac Hale Beach Park. This time to visit Poihiki pool, which is also a warm water pool, but completely natural. We walked along a short path to the pool…and while it looked much cleaner, there were already a lot of people in it. However, we did sit for a bit and watch all of the surfing action at the park.

Surfers at Isaac Hale Beach Park.

 

Once we got sick of watching the surfers, we made one last stop at Mackenzie State Recreation Area. We weren’t sure what to expect, but the owner of our B&B told us to make a stop here because the scenery was beautiful. We definitely were blown away. We thought the waves were ridiculous at the lava pool, but they were nothing compared to the waves here. They were so large and powerful that there were little crabs on the top of the cliffs that had been tossed up by the water. They would start to then make their way back down the rocks. Rough life for the little crabs. We also took a video at this location because the pictures could not begin to do what we saw in person justice.

We parked so close to the edge that this was our view.
Hazardous Cliffs
Cliffs
Beautiful rocks.
Looking down off the edge.
This is where we saw the crabs scurrying back down the rocks.
Ocean spray..it was SO high!
Amazing.

 

After that amazing experience, it was time for us to head back to Hilo to the airport. Lucky for us, this time we were on Hawaiian Airlines which meant we had a big plane that would have no problems taking off in the rain…unlike our Molokai experience from a couple months ago :). Adios Big Island..til we meet again!