Magic Mountain, Baby! Magic Mountain, Baby!

Sorry for these lengthy descriptions, I am quite the fan of thrill rides.

My friends and I used to get season passes to Six Flags every summer. I often dreamed of a road trip across the country to use that season pass at Wally World (now Six Flags Magic Mountain.) just like the Griswolds. Well I finally made it to the park this past Thursday, and I can say without a doubt that the park is "Hauber approved."

We rode the Viper, similar to the Shockwave in Chicago, it's the largest looping coaster in the world and boasts the world's tallest vertical loop (140 feet). That was our warm up ride.

My favorite ride of the day was probably the Superman, it was the first roller coaster to break the speed of 100 mph. It's 415 feet tall and it goes 0 to 100 in 7 seconds flat. It's almost as good as the Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH.

Equally as exciting was Deja Vu. I've been on so many roller coasters few surprise me. On this ride your feet dangle, and the coaster is pulled straight up a 196 foot incline- facing forward you are actually staring right at the ground. Then the ride plummets towards the earth, then through a series of loops and turns so fast it's hard to tell which way is up. When you reach the end of the ride you are pulled up another hill, then dropped again to go back through the labyrinth of twists and turns backwards. What a treat!

Tatsu was fun because the cars tilt so the riders are "laying down" with nothing underneath, which gives the sensation that you're flying. I appreciate new ideas in coasters, but the 162 mph, 170 foot high ride was more relaxing or exhilarating than thrilling.

Scream was an enjoyable and smooth 65 mph steel coaster with "floorless" cars. It was kind of a scaled down version of the Raging Bull in Chicago, and both coasters were made by the same company.

Riddler's Revenge, the world's tallest and fastest stand-up roller coaster was definitely the best stand-up I have ridden.

Goliath was a 255 foot high, 85 mph, 3 minute long ride that was defiantly worth taking.

And another pleasant journey took place on Revolution, the first ever looping coaster. It was a smooth ride winding through a forest. More fun than I expected and it was built in May of '76- the month I was born. It was a 55 mph nostalgic history lesson.

Disappointed that X was closed!!!! (guess I'll have to go back)

I enjoyed our day at Magic Mountain. I still prefer Cedar Point, but the Mountain would be worth driving across the country to get to. Even if you have to suffer like the Griswolds.

The Yard House

Jim and I went to Long Beach Saturday to have a look at the Queen Mary. We never got there. A block before the harbor was a location right next door to heaven- the Yard House. It would have taken a forklift to pick our jaws up off the floor, but we had to close our jaws to swallow the beer. 250 of them. All on tap. Fresh cold ales and lagers, stouts and porters, pilsners and IPS from around the globe. We swapped beer stories with the bartender and sampled IPAs to compare them to the award winning Castaway IPA served at our local pub. Jim found his favorite beer that he drank in Europe, Leffe from Belgium. My favorite was actually a microbrew from California called Arrogant Bastard. I hate the name, but met a guy in Kona who told me the story behind it, and Kona's best bartender recommended it to me before. The Kronenbourg 1664 was pretty good, too. Now I have two more reasons to be excited for my Arizona trip next month- Yard House Phoenix and Yard House Scottsdale.

Hasta la bye-bye

I am borrowing that ridiculous expression from Dino. Jim Young and I are headling to California Wednesday, so don't expect any more posts until next week. Thursday we'll be at Magic Mountain, a place I have longed to go ever since I watched National Lampoon's Vacation. (Wally World is Magic Mountain) Then we've got Dave Matthews Band tickets for Chula Vista on Friday and San Diego on Saturday, and Sunday we'll be home in sunny Kona.

Honomalino Bay

After planting some trees at Sarah's new house we rode down to Milolii and hiked the 10 minute trail to Honomalino Bay. It's a beatuiful and uncrowded black and white sand mixture beach. The sand is really hot like Ho`okena. We hung out with a guy who has a house on the beach and enjoyed his stories, which were told in Pidgeon, about fishing, pig hunting and goat catching. The guys loves to catch goats, though I am not sure I understand what he does with them.

Hauoli Kamanao Church

I don't know anything about this church, I just thought it looked cool. It's in Milolii.

Sarah's new hale

Sarah just bought a house in Oceanview. I am so proud of her. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with a pretty nice view. We went down there Saturday to plant some trees and ground cover and Sarah made a sea shell mermaid sculpture in the cement.

The Wonders of Waipio

A few things on this island really scare me. Huge waves, cars that won't stay on their side of Saddle Road, our county government, and the shady characters who hang out in Kailua town. Until yesterday, the road to Waipio Valley was on that list.

The road drops about 1,000 feet in less than a mile and at times it's so steep it feels like your car will somersault down the rest of the hill. It's a narrow, one-lane road with a mountain on one side and drop-off on the other. I first traveled this road just after I moved here from Indiana, where our biggest hill was a sand dune at Lake Michigan. So Waipio Road was quite an experience. But I drove my Jeep down Waipio yesterday and it was really no big deal. Kind of fun, actually. And I finally get to use my 4-wheel drive low.


We went to the valley to hike to the 1,600-foot Hi`ilawi Falls.



It took about an hour to get to the falls by hiking up a rough trail through thick vegetation, and up the rocky stream. It was slow going, but fun! And worth it! This is what we saw:


After the hike we drove around in the valley and went though some streams. On of the roads down there IS a stream. (Can you imagine living in a valley with no running water, electricity, phone or cell service? When you give friends directions to your house you say, "drive 1/2 mile up the stream, my house is the second on the left) Then we hung out on the beach watching the surf, wishing we had brought the boards.

Product Review

The news today is Code Orange. Some terrorists got busted and George Bush's ridiculous terror threat has been raised to high. Now people can't even bring chap stick on an airplane.

But that's nothing. Today I opened the fridge and realized we were at CODE RED right here at home- we were out of beer! I ran down to Long's and decided to try something new, Waimea Brewing Company's Waimea Bay Pale Ale. I knew I was taking a risk because I haven't been impressed with other Hawaiian microbrews like Mehana and Brew Moon. (Kona Brewing Company, on the other hand, makes some of the best beer in the world)

Well, I don't recommend Waimea Brewing Company. There was a bit of hop taste, which I liked, but not enough. The beer lacked flavor and body and I just wasn't happy with it. I checked out their website and remembered that I was at their brewery a few years ago and wasn't impressed then, either. The beer was so/so and the people working behind the bar were downright rude. I don't think they liked tourists at their bar.

But tonight I was not unhappy. Mediocre beer is better than none, and after putting up with plenty of junk at work this week practically any beer can lift my spirits. All was right with the world as I sipped my ice cold brew and sat down to watch a few Thundercat episodes (see Wiley-Cat on TV in the photo?)

The countdown is on

I signed up for a week-long Grand Canyon backpack trip through Sierra Club seven months ago- it seemed like the time would never come! Suddenly I am looking at the calendar realizing the adventure begins next month. Hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon is something I have wanted to do my whole life, ever since I was in grade school. When I was a kid my dad put all of his change into the center counsel of our 1978 GMC conversion van. That was our Grand Canyon fund. He promised to take me to the canyon by 1989. That was before he won a trip to Hawaii through Carquest Auto Parts, fell in love with the island, and lost interest in dragging his daughter half way across America to look at a hole in the ground.

I booked my flight today- $428 round trip from Kona to Phoenix on Hawaiian Airlines. After the hike I'll head to Scottsdale to visit Jen, a life-long friend who grew up in Indiana right next door to me. And I might have a couple of spare days in there, does anyone want to meet me in Vegas sometime between Oct 7th- and October 14th?

The road to the sea...


...continues for 6 bumpy miles through ohia forests and barren piles of rock. I went with the neighbors who also live in California. They drive the Rubicon every year and their Big Island ride is a huge Surburban, lifted with big fat tires on it. This truck will run over virtually anything. The road leading from the highway is just washboard and bumpy, but then you head north toward the beach and that's when things get rough. There is no way my Liberty would have made it. But riding on the road is what made the day so entertaining.

Once we got there, we had a large black and green sand beach all to ourselves. We played in the shorebreak, snorkled, and I climbed up a cinder cone in my slippers and scraped up my toe. That's a typical weekend day for me.

Cruisin' Kawaihae

I've been lazy all week and I haven't updated the blog. Maybe I am still feeling relaxed after Tuesday's sunset sail aboard the Alala, the Ocean Sports catamaran. Jack's Diving Locker is celebrating its 25th anniversary so they took their employees (and guests) on the dinner cruise. They served a paniolo style menu with BBQ ribs, pinneapple, baked beans and corn on the cob. Drinks were even included! Did you know they make Corona in a can?