Will it Float?



Chris' boat actually looks nicer in this photo than it does in real life. We took it out spearfishing Saturday. This spearfishing stuff is harder than I imagined. Chris got two fish in about three hours. I got zero. I had one goatfish on the spear but it got away. The highlight was listening to Humpback Whales sing underwater and eating our catch the next day.

We went spearfishing a few weeks ago, also. On that trip, Chris woke up a shark that was sleeping under a ledge by shooting a fish as it passed by. If someone threw some steaks on the grill right outside my bedroom window, I'm sure I'd wake up, too.

Returning to the dock was pretty fun. A DLNR guy was inspecting boats and trailers. It seems most folks don't have their trailers safety inspected and what not. I'm sure the guy took one look at our boat and assumed he'd be writing some citations. He was a bit surprised when Chris produced the necessary papers, stickers and safety equiptment. The man next to us with a fancy, big boat, brand new trailer and a shiny, jacked up truck did get a ticket.

Chris later told me he paid more to get the boat registered than he paid for the boat. That, I believe.

Goin' fishin'- this way beats shopping:

A Little Toilet Humor

There's always a problem in the women's bathroom at work. This time it's a leaky pipe leading into one of the toilets. Instead of fixing the leak, management placed a cup under the pipe to catch the water. Over time, the leak accelerated, so now a large, deep vase is required. I couldn't resist. I took one look at that and ran out into the atrium to gather foliage for an arrangement. Turned out pretty nice, didn't it?

Pahala Pig Path

We recently took a group of folks for a hike up a pig hunter's trail through native forest mauka of Pahala. The highlights were meeting some new, interesting people and watching Ken make several attempts to drive his truck up the steep, dirt road. (no problem for my Jeep, of course) The disappointment of the hike was our failed sledding attempt. I carried a genuine saucer sled up the trail in hopes of sliding down a moss-covered stream bed. It didn't work.

My dad, Chris and I:

Surf Safari

A surf day turned into quite the adventure. We paddled out from the beach at Honokohau, and found a spot about a 1/3 mile out with some fun waves. We were getting some good rides and I was happy, but I think Chris was getting impatient waiting between sets. You know how the grass is always greener down the road...we paddled the entire length of the harbor beach scouting better spots, catching waves as we went. Then a few good sized sets rolled in and I got pounded a little, then spent some time fighting white water. We were now about a mile from our starting point and I wasn't about to paddle back. So we opted to walk back, but our ocean exit was less than graceful. Rough a`a lava lined the shoreline. It was just too shallow to paddle, and whitewater made it impossible to see where you were putting your feet. My ocean luck finally ran out, I stepped on my first wana (venomous sea urchin) Kicking my leg to get the needle-sharp spines out of my foot made me loose my balance on the board and the waves smashed it into the rocks. Then I had the challenge of balancing over razor sharp lava with wana foot while carrying a nine foot board.

Honu
The incident was worth it, though, because on the hike back we saw on the beach what was by far the biggest sea turtle we had ever seen. It was massive! Then we gazed up at the view of snow covered Mauna Loa. Lucky we live Hawaii.

Close call
We returned to Chris' house for lunch and for a surf board repair session. On our way back from the hardware store we observed a truck with a trailer that had lost its brakes coming down La`aloa. It had slammed through a rock wall on Ali`i Drive. It must have happened just minutes after Chris and I sat at that intersection on his motorcycle. Chris figures we escaped death by a minute or two. Weird.

Enough Already!
Having our fill of adventure for one day, we chose to end with a romantic, full moon stroll along Ali`i Drive and on Kailua Pier.

Yet More Caving

We're still scouring the island for caves. We have a map of Goat Skull cave and we've been looking for a way in. Chris found two leads on aerial photos so we went looking again. The first lead turned out to be a skylight, but it had about a 40 foot drop, so we had no way to get in. Steel rods pounded into nearby lava were evidence that someone else has rappelled into the cave. We hiked mauka for a ways and found a tiny entrance. We smashed some of the lava covering the hole so we could fit inside, and away we went! The cave went a good half mile and it was large enough to stand up in most of the time. The best news is, there's still more fun to be had. We found one more skylight on our hike back, and we still have the other lead from the aerial photo.

Our entry. We had to smash some of the lava out of the way to make the entrance big enough.

Ill-equipped. We'd need mountain climbing gear to get into this one.

Hau`oli Makahiki Hou

I know I'm a little late with the New Year's post. I've been busy as usual, and I refuse to forgo fun so I can update the blog.

Here's my New Year's in a nutshell. Chris sent these beautiful roses to me at work on New Year's Eve. That night, we attended a party where we ate homemade pig and sheep sausage and light off fireworks all night. One of my favorite firework inventions was stuffing an old wreath with fireworks, then lighting it on fire.