Lewis & Clarking It

The plan was to dirt bike Mana Road but crummy weather forced up Mauna Loa instead. Barley above the clouds we explored every gravel road we could find, then we gave up on roads all together and took to riding cross country across pahoehoe lava. Quite a ways from any road we discovered the tallest lava tube we have ever seen. Chris threw rocks and could not hit the ceiling. Unfortunately, we were down to one flashlight and it was lunchtime, so this cave will remain unexplored until our next trip up the mountain. My favorite aspect to searching out lava tubes is feeling the satisfaction of discovery.

The cave is colossal. We can't wait to get back up there and see how far it goes.

When you run out of roads, "smooth"pahoehoe lava is the next best thing.

Sword Fight


Duane took us fishing overnight aboard his boat, Hoku Loa. I was excited to spend the night on the water to watch all sorts of small bizarre sea creatures swim past our underwater light, catch squid and hold out hopes that a big fish would bite. We only caught two squid to use as live bait and it felt like a pretty slow start until one of the rods got a bite around Midnight. Duane reeled it in without too much of a fight, and Chris stuck a gaff into the gill plate and through its head and helped bring it on deck. A baseball bat was required to subdue the swordfish - I guess I can't blame it for being mad. It was weighed in at 42.5 pounds, and it's the first broad bill swordfish caught in Kona's waters this year, so Duane's name will make the Big Fish List.

I am told this is pretty small for a swordfish. Duane used to hold some sort of swordfish record for a 200 something pounder until his own son beat him with a 500 something pound fish. Sorry my details on that are so sketchy. One thing I do know, that fish will taste delicious at Duane's 4th of July BBQ. Yeah!


Kona's first Broad Bill Swordfish.


Duane maintains control of the sword as he and Chris wrestle the fish.

76 Steps

Take a walk up the 76 steps from the bottom of the castle to the tower. Thanks to Ken for doing the video edits!

A Fascinating Fortress

We stayed about a 1.5 hour drive northwest of Barcelona in the tiny town of Selra at Castle d'Escales which is a real live castle built in 1032 with the purpose of protecting the area from French invaders. The building captured my imagination and I lay in bed wondering what dramas had played out in that very room. How many battles were fought by archers shooting arrows out those windows? Had a princess ever been locked inside? It's fun to think about, anyway, the whole family enjoyed exploring the castle and wondering about its past. It was unlike any vacation rental we have in Hawaii.


Castle Exterior - the top two tiny windows were in our bedroom.

Gordon takes advantage of the castle's Wi-fi hotspot.

La Familia

Spending time with the family was my favorite part of the trip to Spain. Hearing Paul's wise cracks on the walkie-talkie, learning about previous family trips that I missed because I wasn't yet a Jasper, and hanging around the castle drinking wine, laughing and playing silly games were all good times.

Dad's birthday celebration took place in this incredible dining room in the Castle d'Escales.

From Dust to Dust

An ancient cathedral could be found at the center of most of the towns we visited. They're just like the pictures in the art and history books and nothing like any church building I have every seen.

I wish I had a better understanding of the symbolism of the statues and artwork. I get the feeling that at the time they were created, every detail of the layout and design had meaning and significance that was lost on me, a believer who is used to worshiping in a church that doubles as a basketball court and only has two walls. To my knowledge, the oldest building on our island is Mokuaikaua Church, and it was constructed in 1820 by the first missionaries to Hawaii.

One of the cathedrals we visited had graves in the floor, and the cement emblems marking the burials were impossible to make out because they were worn down by the footsteps of a thousand years. It made me wonder if folks in Europe are more aware of their own mortality than we are. In American we live in the here and now, and when a building is 20 years old, we tear it down. The culture in Europe seems to be built on the generations that preceded it, and my guess is, it would be apparent to someone there that a human lifetime is very brief.


One of many old churches we saw.

Old Stuff

We visited many ancient and beautiful towns. I know I should have read up on the history so I could report fascinating details. Honestly, I don't even remember most of their names and I couldn't pinpoint them on a map. I can say I have never seen anything like it: narrow, cobblestone streets, ancient city walls, towering cathedreals. It's unlike anything we have in the U.S.

Beach Day

Twice we took the half-hour car ride to enjoy the Mediterranean. The coastline is comprised of steep, rocky cliffs that drop down into the water and the steep drop-off continues below the ocean's surface. Beautiful sand beaches were dispersed throughout the cliffs. We spent one day in L'Estartit where we took a boat ride and I went scuba diving off the Medes Islands. We saw two octopus, lots of fish that we don't have in Hawaii, and colorful plants. I wore a full 7-mil wetsuit, and an additional 7-mil "farmer john" wetsuit, and in the 60-degree water I still got cold after about 20 minutes! It was fun to experience diving somewhere besides Hawaii.

The Medes Islands where I dove near L'Estartit.

European Kine Grindz

Everyone asks about the food we ate. I am one of the pickiest eaters around, and yet, every meal was delicious. This paella pictured below was one of my favorites, and I ate it the last day in Barcelona. It was a rice dish seasoned with saffron and it had mussels and some type of crawdad things on top and bits of octopus mixed throughout. The veal was one of my less favorite dishes, but it was still pretty good- nice and tender, but I couldn't get over the texture being like beef but not quite like beef. The rabbit was an above average meal, it wasn't unlike squirrel, not too chewy and it was well seasoned.

Breakfast consisted of fruit and bread everyday. Their kiwi were the best I have ever had and the giant loaf of bread required a HUGE toaster about three times the legnth of an American toaster. I tried to like the sausage but it tasted raw, as if it was smoked or cured and not cooked. I just couldn't bring myself to eat it.

I was also frustrated in how long it took to get service and eat a meal. My life doesn't revolve around food, I am always on a schedule, and I tend to eat out of necessity. I can see dining out in Europe is about something else.


Becky and I share a deliscious paella in Barcelona.

After lots of hand gestures and smiling between our group and the man working the meatmarket in Selra, we purchased some sausage. I thought I liked it at first, then it grossed me out. The meatmarket would fit inside our bedroom, and they sold rabbit and had huge pig legs hanging unrefrigerated from the ceiling.

A Long Trip

Chris and I literally traveled half way around the world to meet up with his family in Spain. It was definitely worth it! Spending two nights in a row on an airplane is tiring to say the least, but I have to admit even the travel was fascinating because it gave me a new perspective on our world and made it seem quite small and enormously massive at the same time. Oceans and continents passed by my little airplane window like cow pastures and Walmarts do on a driving trip. First the Mediterranean, then Spain, then the Atlantic, the continental USA, the Pacific, then I was finally home.

This was my first trip out of the country (unless you count visiting the Canadian side of Niagara Falls as an international experience) Everyone said it would be a real eye opener to spend a week amongst a different culture but what struck me more than anything is how similar life on the other side of the world is to ours. Sure, people in Europe eat weird sausage, but in my limited experience I would have to say people from around the world have a lot more in common than we like to admit.

Dunk the Editor

West Hawaii Today's own editor, Reed Flickinger, and publisher, Rick Asbach, and other WHT staff, just agreed to be in the dunk tank 5:00 p.m. Friday in the Safeway parking lot to raise money for West Hawaii Special Olympics. It's a great cause...AND...I know a few community members who would enjoy this opportunity. See you there.

Trip Highlights

The following several posts describe some highlights from a recent two-week trip to Glenwood Springs, Colorado and Moab, Utah. So many good times!

Return to Winter

Going back to Glenwood Springs felt like a homecoming of sorts. I have had three previous visits and all are filled with fond memories. While moving from Indiana to Hawaii ten years ago we drove to Oakland, Calif. to put our cars on a Matson boat for shipping and a visit to Aunt Alice in Glenwood Springs was on the way. I still remember how close to God I felt as I hiked up the majestic mountains, being amazed that in the midst of all that splendor and beauty He cared about me and wanted to involve me in His plan of ministering to others. I thought about that a lot during my first trip to Glenwood for some reason, and I have since flown back twice to spend some time with my dad's super sweet older siste, Alice, and to get a taste of winter.


Well the three days Chris and I spent in Glenwood Springs did not disappoint. Alice is doing great, I finally met her son, Patrick, and we even visited with two Hawaii friends who moved to Colorado a year ago. Chris loved my favorite ski spot, Ski Sunlight, where a day of good snowboarding costs half of what it does down the street in Aspen. This is the kind of place where lift tickets are sold out of a single window by a friendly woman eager to answer questions, and locals are not ashamed to duct tape their jacket if it gets a tear. Our kinda spot! And on the second day it snowed constantly so we had about a foot of fresh powder on the ground. Chris amazed me with his skills- after not having skied for 15 years he was hitting moguls after his second run and he even pulled off a perfect helicopter in the terrain park. I felt so proud!

Too cool for school: Chis poses at the top of Sunlight Mountain with Mt. Sopris in the background. I married an amazing skier, and he even puts up with my silly snowboarding habit.

Hanging Lake: One of the most tranquil and beautiful spots I have been yet.

On the hike to Hanging Lake. The bridges in Hawaii never get this much snow!

Knuckle Head

We drove out to an amazing overlook on our first day in the desert near Moab, and on our last night we ended the trip by camping in the bottom of the canyon viewed from the overlook. It was a peaceful ending to our fun in the desert. We also explored some mines in the bottom of the canyon. The letters AU were spray painted on the wall of the mine so we are guessing it was a gold mine.
Click on this video to see why a panoramic view of a beautiful canyon has been titled Knuckle Head.

Road on a Ledge

Our first night of camping may have been my favorite. Chris sure knows how to find neat roads and spots. Narrow switch backs descended into a canyon where we had dinner and camped near the river. The road was super fun with commanding views of steep cliffs and the Green River below. We chilled two local brews in a plastic rotisserie chicken box with some snow we had picked up earlier. Camping is all about improvising. Dinner, a quiet stroll, then it was time for a campfire as we watched the moon rise and light up the canyon walls surrounding us. This is what vacations are all about.

Our red car blends in with the rocks on the switchback into the canyon:
In the bottom of the canyon, we had dinner and set up camp among the cottonwoods.

Dinner in the Desert

After driving around the desert looking for a way to drive to the backside of Arches National Park, and exploring what we were conviced were old Uranium mines, the time got late. So we pulled off a dirt road and set up camp next to this pond. These still waters beautifully reflected the majestic hills surrounding them. Strangely, it may have been the muddiest water I have ever seen. (and Chris bravely used it to wash our dishes) We took a peaceful, evening hike and hit the sack.

Exploring Arches

Chris poses near Landscape Arch at Arches National Park. We did a couple pretty neat hikes in the park. Not long after this picture was taken, it started snowing.

Taking a Break on the Slick Rock Trail

We rented mountain bikes and rode Moab's famous slick rock trail. I think Chris really bonded with the sport. He likes exercise, challenge, working the controls, going fast, and the thrill of always being on the verge of crashing. I used to mountain bike a lot in Indiana and had high hopes but the trail was just too darn hard for me. The downs were so steep I was afraid to ride down them, the ups so steep I could hardly push the bike up them. The wind howled consistently and it always seemed to be a headwind. Whoever designed the trail chose absolutely the most difficult route navigating through miles of petrified sand dunes, so it seemed. Even the practice loop kicked my butt.

The scenery was beautiful and it was amazing to see how well bike tires gripped slick rock. I can see why the trail is world famous- it's kind of like a roller coaster on a bicycle. Skill, nerves, and muscles necessary. Later in the week we found a trail that better suited me. Weeeeee!

Brrrr.

Temperatures dipped below freezing a few nights during our stay in Utah. After two nights, I purchased a new sleeping bag: the North Face Goliath model, which is rated to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Look at all the junk inside our car! Even with the new bag purchase, we were able to pack all this up into two suitcases for the plane ride home. United charged us $20 per bag each way so we were careful what to pack, which was a bummer because I really could have used more, warm clothes!

Mess:

Frost on the car:

Stuck!

Against our better judgement, we headed out into the dessert on what was considered an easy off road trail to find a remote camping spot for the night. Around 11:00 a.m. I struck a patch of wet, green clay that was the slickest, stickiest mud I have ever seen. The road was on a ledge heading down into a canyon and the road was sloped the wrong way. I knew if we did make it down the hill without going over the edge, there was no way we'd ever make it back up. Too scared to try, I asked Chris to try backing up. Precise driving was required because I had just driven around a large rock lying in the road with only inches to spare between the rock, our car, and the edge. It was immediately apparent that backing up was not an option - we had absolutely no steering in the mud, and any attempt to go down caused our car to slide closer to the edge of a slippery slope slanted the wrong way. We did rent a 4X4 this time, but the grocery-getter tires and lack of a limited slip differential dampened our fun several times during the trip.

Being the start of the Jeep Jamboree week in Moab, we decided to wait for a Jeeper with a winch to come by and un-stick us. So we read books and waited. And waited. When the rain stopped, we got out and scraped half of Utah's desert off our tires and made a cobblestone path in the mud to direct our tires in the right direction, and off we went. The mud dried faster than my soil scientist husband expected and we were able to make it down and back up the hill with aid of our homemade rocky road. Total stuck time: about five hours.

Crawlin', Crawlin', Crawlin'

Chris found this awesome place for serious offroaders just outside of Moab. Area BFE is someone's private land where folks are allowed to check out gnarly trails and they hold events and concerts and such. We drove out there hoping to spectate, and man, did we hit it on the right day. A group of people from Colorado were out there putting their rock crawling buggies to the test! They could drive straight up cliffs and over rocks that are bigger than my whole Jeep. After a while, Mike offered us a ride in his buggy (pictured above) What a thrill! This vehicle absolutely defied gravity. I crossed my arms near my chest to be sure they didn't come outside the car. I have no idea why the vehicle didn't roll over.

Jasper Enterprises

Chris has been working on setting up a small coffee business. He buys locally grown coffee wholesale and takes orders from individuals through a website. The orders are shipped out to the mainland through UPS or the Post Office. It is a pretty simple concept but he has been working on the business for a while. It has taken him a lot of effort to make the logos and labels and buy the boxes, bags, stickers, labels and get a website created. I guess the hard work of being a business owner is all part of that American dream they talk about. His favorite part of setting up the American coffee business was making a machine to help put the labels onto the coffee bags. The machine works really well even though it was made mostly of parts from a broken computer printer. Chris projects the coffee business to be a part-time thing he will do on the side.

Evacuees

Dozens of cars, people, pets and boats retreated from the coastline to our neighborhood to wait out the potential tsunami. We don't have an ocean view from our house, so we packed up a shade tent, lunch and binoculars and headed up the hill to join the crowds to watch for waves. Our house is just a stone's throw above the tsunami evacuation zone.


Alii Drive during the evacuation- normally it has constant traffic. I bet once they sound the all clear and let people return to their houses and hotels, it's going to be a giant parade down there.

Small Kine Tsunami


Chris and I set up our shade tent on an empty lot with a view of Kahalu`u Beach to watch for tsunami action. Just a little while after the tsunami was projected to hit (around 11:00 a.m.) we could see swells filling up the bay, then water receded. This happened several times over about a two-hour time span. It took about five minutes to fill the bay once it had been emptied. Watching the water recede was pretty fascinating- lots of rocks were protruding that I have never seen exposed and are usually under several feet of water. The tsunami occurred during a very low tide, I speculate this may have prevented water from rising too high and causing damage. It was interesting to watch. I think many of the people in our crowd on the hill wanted to see more action, but were happy, overall, that nothing got broke and no one got hurt. A tsunami generated from a 1960 Chile earthquake killed 67 (I think) people in 1960.

After 1:00 p.m. we decided it was safe to head to the coast so we blew past the civil defense guy who was supposed to be blocking the road to the ocean and we took a ride along Ali`i Drive. We took some close up pictures of Kahalu`u but the ebb and flow wasn't nearly as dramatic as it had been earlier. Ali`i Drive, which winds along the coast at sea level, was desolate. No cars, very few people, empty beaches, parking lots were void of cars and hotels were closed and gated. Quite a contrast to the practically bumper-to-bumper traffic I sit in on Ali`i Drive daily. I never knew a tsunami could be so peaceful.

Water drained from Kahalu`u Bay, leaving rocks exposed that are normally a few feet underwater. Second photo shows the bay filling back up. (click photo to enlarge)



After the biggest swells had struck, Chris and I took a ride to Kahalu`u (same bay as pictured above) and noticed there was still some ebb and flow. The two following pictures were taken just a couple of minutes apart:

Chile

Our prayers are with the people of Chile today. I can't even imagine what an 8.8 magnitude earthquake feels like and I know we're going to be hearing a lot of bad news from that area in the days to come.

We're under a tsunami warning here in Hawaii. The sirens sounded at 6 a.m. this morning and it may be the first time I have heard them in the past ten years other than the monthly tests. Our house, and my parent's house, are above the tsunami zone and we aren't expecting excitement here on the west side of the island. The Hilo side (east side) has had significant damage from tsunamis generated in Chile before, so we'll see what happens. We're just hanging around the house now and maybe we'll find a place with a view so we can watch if any waves hit.

The tsunami sirens been sounding every hour since 6 a.m. today.

Relief From the Torturous Office Chair

Chris and I both felt particularly stale after sitting through another work week so we hiked a couple of miles above the highway in search of lava tubes. We're about ready to give up on the Kiholo flow because its lava tubes have too many cave-ins, making the caves too short. The hike helped get the blood flowing through our legs again, but crawling around in caves was a bit uncomfortable for my sore, stiff, office neck. Does anyone else's body object to sitting in a chair for 8+ hours per day? I made my very first visit to a chiropractor today because my neck has been stiff for the past two weeks and I said, "nuff, aready." Our bodies just weren't made to sit at a desk- and that mainly explains why I haven't been updating the blog as often as I would like. Don't worry, I haven't gotten sucked into social networking sites or reality TV.

I don't want to sound like a complainer because I like my job and I am still finding fun in life pretty much anywhere I look. On a recent Saturday I saw four endangered species- a Hawaiian Monk Seal sleeping on the beach, several Humpback Whales breaching and spouting, a Green Sea Turtle swimming and a pod of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins gliding right by me. Wouldn't you know it, I left my camera at home that day! Didn't they teach me anything in journalism school?

One of many caves we explored on our last caving day. Notice Puu Waa Waa in the background.

Show Time!

Sixty-five musicians played a full house at Kahilu Theatre this weekend during Kamuela Philharmonic's second concert of the season. I was incredibly fortunate to be part of the group. We rehearsed all day Saturday, then did a dress rehersal and one concert today. It was both thrilling and exhausting, and mostly, I'm just honored to get to play with these guys. Here is a snippet of Rossini's William Tell Overature filmed on Sarah's phone.

Thoughts About Paul's Yacht

The road leading to my office was finally paved Tuesday after more than two weeks of construction to install a private propane line for Microsoft Co-founder, Paul Allen. Paul has been in town all week, as evidenced by his yacht in Kailua Bay. Many of my co-workers saw his helicopter buzzing around and we think he has been flying the chopper from his house behind our office out to his yacht which has been parked in the bay less than a 1/2 mile from his house. It sure beats taking a dingy out to his yacht and having to drive a block in Kona traffic to get to the boat ramp.

Last week I went on a Christmas caravan with the Realtors to look at houses on the market. One of our stops was a $9.4 million mansion at Kukio. (Yes, you read that correctly. Nine point four million dollars) Homes at Kukio are commonly purchased as second or third homes so the filthy rich have a place to call their own when they want to visit Hawaii. The home we saw was typical for the style- granite counters, pocket doors that open up to an ocean view and infinity pool, tropical hardwoods, pod style construction, giant, glass showers and Jacuzzi tubs in every bathroom. To be quite honest, it's really not that impressive. There's nothing in that house I need, and although it's professionally designed and decorated, the house was lacking in personality. It didn't feel like a home.

It made me reflect on my own home (which is rented) and I honestly didn't desire the Kukio mansion or any of the other 1+ million dollar estates I saw that day. OK, they were pretty nice, but my point is, I'm content with what I've got. Maybe the people who own them are quite happy, but so am I. There's love in our home. I am greeted by a happy husband every evening when I return from work. We grill a steak and enjoy each other's company and there's joy and I feel at home. I hope Paul Allen and the buyer of the $9.4 million home have that happiness, too.

Standing Between the Skylights

Here's a photo from another recent caving trip. We still haven't found the mile-long, stand-up cave we're looking for but we found one cave that went back about 100 feet and saw lots of interesting lava formations.

White Christmas

Like most of the nation, north and west facing shores of the Big Island enjoyed a white Christmas yesterday- our coastline is being slammed by waves and our island is bordered by white water as far as you can see. A pretty good size swell is predicted to continue through today. Chris took this picture of me watching the splashes at NELHA Christmas morning.

Got Gas?

Apparently, Microsoft's co-founder, Paul Allen, does not have gas but he desperately wants some. Mr. Allen owns a home behind my workplace and he is having a private pipeline installed that reaches about 1/2 mile from the local propane dealer down to his property. So for two weeks we get to listen to bulldozers tearing up the street and deal with driving through an intersection full of machinery and workers.

I can't help but think it's hilarious, and it appears that Mr. Allen has put about a dozen guys to work for two weeks, which is great in this economy. But I can't help wonder why a propane line is so important to him. Besides running a BBQ and lighting tiki torches, what could he need lots of propane for? If the line is simply for aesthetics (perhaps he doesn't want an ugly tank on his land) Chris suggested that it may be cheaper for him to purchase the house next door and hide the tank there. Listings in the adjacent subdivision start at $1.2 million, which is probably cheaper than paying to tear up the road.

On the Hunt

We took a trip up Mauna Kea Saturday to do some bird hunting. I was happy to pull the 4WD "fun lever" and away we went, up the mountain to where frost remained on the ground until after dawn. The air was crisp, the breeze bone-chilling, and anticipation high. Larry was especially excited after a successful hunt a few weeks ago. He turned out to be the sharpshooter this weekend, too. He brought home a turkey, a chucker and a quail. I am not sure I react quick enough to be a bird hunter. One quail flushed from a tree right where I was standing and before I figured out that I was supposed to aim and pull the trigger the bird was already gone. It was the only decent chance I got all day and birds didn't cross Chris' path at all. Slow hunting, but the view was fabulous.


Hunting on Mauna Kea with cinder cones in the foreground, Kohala Mountains in the background, and Haleakala on Maui towering into the sky.

Could I Have Some Fish with those Bones?

Thanksgiving morning was already off to a good start. In addition to waking up next to my sweetheart (which I get to do everyday) I had a relaxing day with family to look forward to, a fresh cup of Kona Coffee, I was swimming in newspaper which showed our staff's success at warding off the recession by selling oodles of Thanksgiving Day ads, and I also had a fried flounder on my plate. The meat was tender and yummy and it tasted exactly like a freshwater fish. However, I have never seen so many bones in a fish in my entire life. Bones ran ever which way and they were long and stringy like hair. Chris gave up on his portion of the fish, but after about 45 minutes of effort I managed to lick most of the meat out of the bone pile. The spectacle reminded me of my uncle, Wayne, who I know could have done a supurb job of eating that fish.

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to remember family. It frustrates me that life gets so busy and distracts me from things most important. Spending a calm day hiking with my two favorite men (husband and dad) eating a fabulous meal prepared by mom and browsing Christmas decorations and old photos was a great time to reflect on things I highly value. The day was well spent; it felt right.

Trials Riding on Hualalai's 1801 Flow

Chris likes to ride his trials bike on the lava near the airport but only when it's cool out. This kind of riding is slow and strenuous so cooler weather is a must. Trials riding is a specialized kind of dirt biking where the object is to make it through the obstacles without touching your feet to the ground. The lava is perfect terrain with lots of "obstacles" to traverse. The photo is of Chris doing a "nose wheelie" also called a "stoppie" if performed on a street bike. You do a nose wheelie by applying lots of front brake but not too much. Once the back tire is in the air you can set it down wherever you want, which allows the rider to make a zero radius turn. A handy manuver while riding on rough lava where deep cracks leave little room for turning.

Roi Roundup

The Hilo dive club put on a spearfishing tournament Saturday morning in Kawaihae. Chris and I camped with the group Friday night, then dove the tournament. The goal was to hunt as many Roi as possible because they are an invasive species. The University of Hawaii was supposed to keep our fish to study what they eat, but they didn't show up to to pick up the fish. Because Roi have high levels of cigeterra they are dangerous to eat, so the fish went to waste, but it's probably beneficial for the reef to get rid of them anyway. Chris shot seven and I shot four (the winner shot 11) We also saw manta rays, a huge eel, conch shells and a shark. It's always fun getting in the water and we met lots of divers from Hilo side. Time well spent!

Pizza, Anyone?

Another Ironman has come and gone. Each year, about 1,800 athletes along with their families and fans converge on our town, wear their Speedos on our streets, and sweat all over our grocery carts. Actually, I really like Ironman because it brings excitement and money to Kona each October. I always look forward to the event. And every year I am amazed again that anyone can swim 2.4 miles in open ocean, bike 112 miles in high winds and ridiculous heat, then run a marathon. As my mom likes to say, "I can't even drive that far!"

The more I see of the race the less inspired I am, however. Two seconds after the thrill of crossing the finish line, many runners can be found puking, falling down, shivering, etc. Why do they do it? The race creates an entire city of need in a 17-hour period. Huge circus tents become make shift hospitals with rows of IV's tapped into dehydrated athletes. Mobs of massage therapists, physical therapists, nurses and doctors scurry around like busy ants. It is in this light that I present a photo from this year's Ironman. Not the classic shot of a champion clad in a flag and orchid lei, but one of the empty pizza boxes piling up on the other side of the finish line, consumed by hungry athletes who just burned up an entire month's calories in eight hours.

Coasting

Joe told Chris about a fun bike ride he and a friend did, and it's been on our to-do list ever since. We finally borrowed my dad's bike and went for it. We coasted several miles down an abandoned road to a second car we had parked at the bottom so we wouldn't have to ride up hill. The only work was lifting the bikes over a couple of cattle gates. We had a nice view of the coastline, some cinder cones, and we saw some bizarre lava formations near the source of Hualalai's famous 1801 lava flow, shown in the background of this picture.

Mountain Ride

Chris and I planned to dirt bike Mana Road, but by the time we arrived, clouds had socked in a good part of the mountain. So we choose to ride the hunting road instead. The first 20 miles were cold and wet but we finally got above the clouds. We were forced to take a nap in the warm cinders above 11,000 foot elevation where the sun was shining. We had great views and fun the rest of the day, and before we headed down the mountain the clouds had cleared.

We stopped to check out some beautiful siverswords. These rare plants are considered threatened and they are endemic to Hawaii. They only grow in very specific mountain areas on the Big Island and on Maui.

A Little Mountain Exploration

It's still hot down here so Chris and I headed up Mauna Kea for a Labor Day hike. We were met by clear skies, cool mountian air and unbelievable views. We stumbled around at 12,000 feet for a while looking for an ancient adze quarry. Hawaiians discovered this patch of lava that had no bubbles in it, which made it the best substance they had for constructing tools. However, we did not find it before lunch time, so we retreated to 9,000 feet so we could catch our breath and eat under a shade tree.

The next hike was a favorite of mine- to a red rock canyon Chris found during his days as a soil scientist. We did this hike when we first started dating and it has always been a memorable one for me.

Chris and I pose with the Red Rock Canyon behind us.

Checking out an incredible view of Mauna Loa.

Hiking above the clouds at 12,000 feet. Note the volcanic cinder cone in the background.

Hitched

Ron and Jen's wedding was a joyous occasion. I have been friends with Ron for the past nine years, and I've always enjoyed his humor and friendliness. We've had many nights of drinking with the old gang at Durty Jakes and hanging at his house has become my Superbowl tradition. Several years later, Jennifer started working at West Hawaii Today and her 'can do' attitude and positive approach to life really impressed me. It was pretty fun befriending each individually, then watching them grow together and decide to marry. They're a great fit, the wedding was beautiful and I am so happy for both of them.