Winter time!

Chris and I always talked about snowboarding on our honeymoon. When we decided to get married in June we figured that was out of the question. But freak weather dumped fresh snow on Mount Hood during our first night in Oregon and we had powder ski conditions. Chris had never ridden a snowboard before but he picked it up pretty quickly and we both and a fabulous time. It snowed the entire first day we were on the mountain and they were even requiring chains to drive down the road. Finally, we made it back to our hotel room to soak in the hot tub and sip porter beside the fireplace. The next day the clouds lifted, revealing a magnificant view of Mt. Hood's summit.

A lovely day for a honeymoon:

Mt. Hood Summit:

Rain turned to snow as we climbed the mountian road:

A Few More Wedding Pics

Our parents:

Chris shows off his new ring:

Our first dance as husband and wife:


More pics available on my Facebook page.

The Big Day

We couldn't have asked for a better wedding. The rain held out and the surf was beautiful. Family and friends arrived. The fragrance of flowers and salty sea air drifted through the garden. The orchestra added a touch of class.

But weddings are so much more than pretty dresses bouquets. Rather, they are occasions where two promise their lives to each other and God joins them and makes them one. It took weeks of planning for the half-hour event and that's all fine and dandy, but I can see the real signficance is in the lasting marriage and in what God is doing in our lives.

And it's clear to Chris and I that God is blessing us. We're so thankful.

The wedding party cracking up:

Chris proudly walks his mom down the aisle:

My dad:

(Thanks to Baron and Phil for the photos!)

Juneuary

The locals are calling it Juneuary. Chris and I are in Oregon on our honeymoon and we spent the last two days snowboarding Mount Hood in powder conditions. Chris and I even made the Portland news. They were doing a story about the storm that delivered 6" of fresh snow- I guess they thought a couple vacationing from Hawaii snowboarding in June was newsworthy.

Today we're heading south to see the giant redwoods. I've always wanted to do that.

Ohana

This just blows my mind. I have a brand new, extra large family. Chris has five siblings who have many children and they are all coming for the wedding. Many of them are already here. How many? I'm actually not sure, I can't keep track of them all.

We met them at the airport Friday and they all showed up in matching shirts with the wedding dates of all the family members. Each family's shirts were color coded to help me sort out the mass of kids and spouses. Chris and I got pink because Chris has been telling some tall tales to his family that I carry a foo-foo dog and wear pink shoes. When they started reading this blog I think they found out otherwise.


My new father-in-law, David, likes to paint. Here he is with his painting from Pu`u Honua O Honaunau Nat'l Park.


Here's a group shot on the front steps of their rental house. I think a few folks are missing from the picture.

Rec Day

Last weekend was spent cleaning and packing, preparing to move and preparing for the wedding. But Memorial Day was a free bonus day the Chris and I took advantage of. We took the dirt bikes up Mana Road but got rained out about 20 miles into the ride. So we drove up to Hawi and did a little dirt biking there and hiked into Pololu Valley.

Chris and I on the trail into Pololu Valley:



Chris jumps his dirt bike near Hawi with Maui in the background:

Dinner Time

We went to Chris' favorite dive spot yesterday. We did OK, but didn't bring home enough food to feed the Jasper clan, and that was our goal.

Chris hold up the floats with our catch:

My best fish was this Palani, and Chris's was this nenue:

Buku Bananas

The local term would be "choke" or "shoots, brah, get plenny." We recently picked a 55 lb. hand of bananas that's been growing in the back yard.

Hau`oli la hanau

Happy birthday to me. It's not really my birthday for a couple more weeks but we started celebrating today. I wanted to go dirt biking and Chris didn't think he could contain the secret until May 15, anyway. So he produced my new dirt bike! I still can't believe he bought me a dirt bike. This Chris guy is going to make a pretty darn good husband. We took the bike out for a test spin and it was a blast. It would have been even more fun to ride around out there with Chris, but after 5 minutes he broke the frame of his dirt bike in half, so he was reduced to spectator for the rest of the afternoon. When the fun was finished we came back to my place where my mom had made - no joke- a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I guess she got the memo that my birthday starts early this year.

Our first wedding gift


Dan and Jill gave us a new 10.1 mega pixel Sony Cybershot camera. It's pretty sweet. And it's just in time, my old camera has been acting funky lately. It's been through a lot.


Chris and I took the new camera cave exploring Saturday. We didn't find any caves but we found an old rock wall that was probably used by Hawaiians for herding goats during the cowboy era. We cooled off with a dip in the queen's bath at Kiholo then we took a stroll along the beach.

What once was lost now is found

Several month ago I lost the key to the church. I tore my room and car apart before deciding it must be buried in the sand at Pine Trees. Finally, I fessed up to the lost item and mourned the loss of the key chain... a sturdy, stainless steel bottle opener imprinted with the logo of my Alma mater. It seems fitting, doesn't it? A church key on a church key key chain. Today I uncovered the elusive key from under the floor mat while vacuuming the Jeep. What better way to celebrate than with a cold brewski?

Smile

Sarah took our picture so we'd finally have one with both of us in it.

Fish for the dinner table

I borrowed Sarah's speargun Saturday and I finally got a couple kills. I shot a tiape (blue finned snapper) and a rainbow wrasse. Chris got five fish, including an uhu, some nenue and the table boss pictured below. I'm anticipating more fishing trips so I can polish my skills and fill the table with fresh fish.

Tiape, my fist kill:

Shark night

Duane took Chris and I fishing last Friday night. It was my first experience deep sea fishing, and let me tell you, it is not the same as fishing for bluegill in Lake Griffey. The lures we used while trolling were as big as the fish I'm used to catching in Indiana. After dark we set out a parachute in the water (it's too deep for an anchor) and we baited the lines and let them down 200 feet below the surface. And we waited....

...Finally we heard the reel click, click, clicking and wrrrrrrr the line was flying out of the reel. A few minutes of cranking revealed an 8-foot shark, so we cut the line and let it go free. A couple hours later, another hit! Click, click, click, wrrrrrr. This time, I got to the reel first, and this fish was fighting. It kept swimming straight down and the reel spun until it was hot to the touch. I knew this fish was strong because the tension on the line was set so tight I could barely pull it with both hands, yet this fish had the reel spinning like crazy. Then it stopped. It had broken loose. It took several minutes just to reel all the line back up to the boat. Duane determined by nicks on the line we had hooked a 12-foot thrasher shark. I guess they can be pretty dangerous so we were relieved the line broke and the shark never surfaced.


We didn't bag any eatin' fish, but it was still a pretty exciting time. We saw dolphins, a flying fish, creepy swimming creatures, and who can beat spending the night out on a boat with such good company?

Sunrise over Hualalai:

Duane preparing the lines for trolling:

Voggy Mountain

A plume of sulfur dioxide and ash pouring from Halemaumau Crater at the Summit of Kilauea forced the closure of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Tuesday and Wednesday. The park has reported elevated levels of sulfur dioxide in the air since mid-February, and in mid-March an explosion/ eruption at Halemaumau damaged the nearby museum. We've been seeing a lot more vog in the air ever since. Tradewinds tend to blow the volcanic gasses toward Kona and people are complaining about itchy eyes and phlegm in their throats. When the winds shifted earlier this week, even Oahu was blanketed in haze. I'm starting to miss the pretty, blue sky!


A view of Kona from Kailua Pier:

A view of Kona, vog included:

Winner! Winner! Winner!


I am now $60 richer and I am enjoying all of the glory, honors and benefits entitled to me as the 2008 West Hawaii Today NCAA bracket contest winner. Here are the final results:

The Big News

A few years ago I sent out an email informing everyone that I was getting married. News spread fast, my inbox was flooded with mail and I received phone calls from as far as Germany. Most people who read my message failed to realize it was sent on April Fool's Day.

But this time it's for real. Chris and I are engaged. He proposed to me a couple of Sundays ago at a special spot on the beach at Kukio. We've already been working on wedding plans and the big day is set for June 7.

Blog readers already know my history with Chris includes hiking, caving, and learning how to spearfish and dirt bike. We met at church and got to know each other during pastor Bruce's well-known Theology 301 class. We're still amazed at how much we have in common and how much fun we always have together. My mom says I couldn't have done better and I think she's right. It's a pretty cool deal...I guess I never thought this would happen to me. And I have to admit it's still a little shocking when I catch a glimpse of the diamond ring on my finger!

It's that time again...

...time to post this important document. So far I am in 4th place out of 8 people in our annual work contest. What does it say about the competence of our newspaper staff that I am ahead of both our sports editor and one of our former sports writers?

The Day that Lives in Infamy

I've always wanted to visit the sunken USS Arizona and see the memorial for those who lost their lives on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Jen and I got the chance Thursday during a day-trip to Oahu. We also toured the USS Missouri. Japan officially surrendered on her deck in 1945 when she was docked in Tokyo Bay.

Andi on the deck of the USS Missouri:

The base of a gun turret on the USS Arizona protrudes the water in Pear Harbor:

Dare Devil Kids


My sister, Jen, is here visiting with her daughters, Lydia and Camille. We spent the day on the Fairwind's snorkel cruise to Kealakekua Bay. The kids are pretty good swimmers, and at age 6, Lydia is already an expert snorkeler. But the ship's slide was the big hit of the day. The other passengers got a kick out of watching the little girls fly down the slide squealing with delight, much to the chagrin of some teenage boys who were at first afraid to try the slide. The kids love a good thrill, it's no wonder we're related!

Camille makes a splash:

Lydia's turn:

Great snorkeling:

Family photo:

Priorities

More play time this weekend. Chris and I took the Jeep down the "awful" 4WD road to Keawaiki and hiked to a Queen's Bath. Sunday was church, cooking on the grill, my second dirt bike lesson, and yesterday was surfing, building pine wood derby cars and yet more grilling. You're probably wondering when I do chores and such. In life, you have to have priorities.

Holoholo to Halape

Wow, I'm behind on the blog again. I was feeling pretty burned out and in need of a break, so I went with Sierra Club on a three-day backpack trip in Volcanoes National Park. It was just what I needed!

The plan was to hike seven miles down the pali to Keauhou, but the vog (smog from the volcano) was thicker than I have ever seen. As soon as we got out of the car we started choking. So we decided to take the coastal trail in. Wind along the ocean blew away the vog, but this trail was three miles longer than the other. Just when I had enough of the scorching sun and trekking over heat-soaked lava rock, we arrived in paradise.

Keauhou was an unexpected oasis along the rocky coast. We camped beside a calm bay with fresh water springs and black sand bottom tide pools.

The next day we took a side trip to Halape before hiking to Apua Point for the night. Sunday morning we sat on the beach sipping Howard's homegrown Kona coffee while watching the sun rise.

Looking to escape the crowds? Hike eleven miles from the end of Chain of Craters Road and Halape is yours to enjoy.

Peaceful Paradise- A fresh water spring and sandy tide pools refreshed us after a day of hiking.

Sunrise over Apua Point.

Whale Video

Dave caught last weekend's breaching whale on video. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayX8b5Te2z8

Breakfast and a "Movie"

We couldn't have chosen a better weekend for hiking South Point. It's normally windy with huge surf, but this weekend was calm and peaceful. Whales put on a constant show while we hiked six miles of coastline over rolling, green hills. At least three whales spent their morning in the mouth of Ka`alu`alu Bay, not more than 200 yards offshore from our campsite. Just as I sat down to eat breakfast, one breached three times. This is definately better than Saturday morning cartoons!

Howard and Diane approach the Greens Sands beach:

Amazing Discovery

The nozles at the Dixson 76 station on Kuakini now have the flippy do-dads in the handles so you don't have to stand there while you fuel up. It's the first time I've found this feature in Hawaii. Does anyone know why they don't have that here?

It's almost sad how little it takes to make me happy. I took great pleasure in washing my windshield while the gas pumped away. It was just like being back home again in Indiana where folks would go inside to escape the cold and to buy instant win lotto tickets while their tanks filled.

Felt like I was sittin' on top of the world

I wait all year for a day like Sunday. A storm has been dumping snow on the mountain all week, and Sunday morning the summit road was open. The air is pretty thin at 13,796 feet, so my stragegy is to exert myself as little as possible, and get as many runs in as I can before I am lightheaded and dizzy. My dad was the perfect ski lift, he'd drop me off at the top of my run and pick me up at the bottom. I got a record 10 runs in! Two from the UH telescope and eight from the Keck, where the snow was less icy.

Besides the thrill of boarding, it's just amazing being up there. It's pretty fun to get in the car in the tropics, drive a bit, and step out into a pile of snow. The stark contrast of the deep blue sky, blinding white snow and black volcanic cinder cones is breath taking. I may have skipped church to go snowboarding, but I truly felt like I was communing with God on that mountain. Our God never ceases to amaze me!

A view of snow covered Mauna Loa from the Mauna Kea summit:

The best looking ski lift I have evern seen, my dad!

A Hui Hou, here I go!

Hard to believe this is Hawaii:

Excellent Explorations

Chris and I still have not exhausted our caving spot. The lower portion of Goat Skull cave kept us busy last weekend. Most of it was tall enough to stand up in, but there were a few tight squeezes, including our exit hole. Who could guess by looking at that tiny hole there'd be a 1/2 mile cave under the ground?

Tight squeezes in lava tubes can be painful because the rock is so darn rough and sharp. We almost didn't attempt this one, but the caving adventure that followed made the effort worth while:

Our exit hole with a Maglight to show scale:

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.