Aiea Loop and a Plane Wreck

I've now run 'Aiea Loop Trail three times. It's somewhere between four and five miles long if you don't get lost (more on that later). The loop is in the foothills above Pearl Harbor. The trail goes up for about two miles with little peekaboo views of the ocean and Pearl Harbor from time to time. There are lots of nasty little roots to trip over. It makes for a great little adventure run, which may be slow, but is so more up my alley than road running. Bleh.

So the first time I ran the trail, Mike joined me. We completed the loop in about an hour. The second time, Joe joined me. We decided to check out a different overlook (worth it!) and ended up taking a back trail down to Camp Smith. There we did a few pullups at a cool park and used Google Maps to sort of get us back on course. Really this dumped us out at Smith Airfield which is a very cool open field with a really nice road, signs from ages past, and no people. From there we cut through the woods back to the trail and completed our loop. This ended up being closer to six and a half miles according to the running watch. 

I found out there was an old airplane wreck there. So Mike, Joe and I went back to explore it. As expected, the wreck is visible right off the side of the trail. We had gone right past it twice and not seen it. There was a big branch hanging into the trail with an arrow and the word airplane written on it. We walked down the side of ravine following a path of destruction. Here was part of a wing; there was the fuel bladder. Further down the landing gear was jammed under a fallen tree. Near the bottom we found the motor. Most of the pieces of the old plane had been scavenged, but it was fun to find what we did.

The hike back out was a weird scramble up the side of the ravine since we figured we had gone too far to turn around. We were all scratched, bug bitten, and covered in little bits of leaves, dirt, mud, whatever. It was a really fun adventure. Since Mike had missed the last run, Joe wanted to take him to Camp Smith and the airfield, so we completed the longer loop again.

Mokulua Plane Wreck

I love having visitors. My mom came to Oahu for the Labor Day weekend. We had a wonderful time hiking, kayaking, and just spending time together. Our kayaking adventure was something I have had on my list of Hawaii gems for six months. We rented a double and a single kayak. Mike took the single. We loaded our boats with fins, masks, and snorkels. I love the picture below. Mom is working hard and I'm hanging out. Good job, Mom!

We used GPS coordinates found on this blog and used Mike's triathlon watch to get us there. Mike found the wreck with far less trouble than I would have thought. Basically we looked for the dark reef and the landing strip at Bellows Air base. He jumped in and swam around until the watch told him we were there. Voila! While he was splashing around, Mom and I looked for sea turtles. She saw three. I only saw too. They poked their cute curious little heads out of the water to watch us, but swam away when we unloaded our fins.

The plane is a cool old P-47 thunderbolt that's been hanging out down there for the past 70 years. The engine of the plane failed right after takeoff from Bellows. The plane went down, pilot lived. Apparently in Hawaii, if you wreck your plane, you just leave it. We've been to three plane wrecks on Oahu now. I'll post on the other one soon. It seems the wreck was still visible above the water until the 70s when a storm pushed it out to see. Now it's wedged between sections of reef about 12 feet down. The tail is ripped off and lays to one side while the engine and propeller are further beyond it. The whole plane is in remarkably good condition for 70 years of harsh ocean water. We jumped in and did a whole bunch of swimming around. Mom even leaned over the edge to check it out. I paddled her over to the engine too.

After 20ish mins, we'd seen what there was to see and jumped back in. We took off toward the Mokes, a pair of beautiful islets off the coast of Lanikai. We landed on the bigger of the two (with about 50 other people...ewwww) and did a little walking around. The islands are bird sanctuaries and smell about how you'd expect. It's about two miles to paddle from Moku Nui, the larger of the Twin Islands, back to Kailua Beach Park. We totaled 4 miles round trip paddling. Go us! Our arms were noodles.

Playing Tourist in Boston

Two of my favorite people moved to Boston this summer for a yearlong escape from Utah. So, of course, I had to pay them a visit. My sister's birthday fell on a Friday and Mike and I always go somewhere for our anniversary (Belize then Iceland/Ireland the past two years). This year we flew 6000 miles to the gorgeous city of Boston.

After an overnight flight, breakfast and a nap, we rented kayaks and paddled the Charles River, then rode on Hubway bikes just for the freedom and novelty to Boston Commons. Next, we had fancy cocktails on the top floor of the Prudential. We walked back to Em's place and "got all gussied up" as Mike says. Then we had an amazing dinner at a jazz bar and restaurant called The Beehive. It was fabulous!

 

The next morning I woke up feeling like a superhero, weird since I drink so rarely. I talked Mike into running a loop around the Charles over a few bridges. It was gorgeous! We took off feeling pretty good. A mile in we joined a huge group of people doing a walk for heart disease. Two miles in, I realized I was not doing quite as well as I had though. Three miles in we did some walking and took some pictures. After five miles, we were back at the apartment. 

Em and James took us to the Boston Public Library. Its a super beautiful marble historic building with the coolest place to study. It also leads into the new library which is also amazing, but more modern. After that, I was finally ready to eat something. We went to a salad place called Sweet Green. Oh my gosh! So freaking good. I need one of these next door to my office, or maybe my house.

James was called into work on Sunday, boo! Emily, Mike and I went on a Duck tour. Our guide was a pirate with great jokes and a good attitude. Unfortunately, 3/4 of our boat was non-native English speaking. So most of his jokes went WAY over their heads. We were the three giggling in the back corner. Anyway, it was a great tour with a ton of history.

Next, we picked up a Zip Car and Emily drove us to Nashoba Valley Winery for apple picking and wine tasting. It was delightful! There were tons of people there with kids and dogs and picnic baskets. Everyone was just hanging out enjoying the beauty. The trees were just barely beginning to show signs of fall. We picked a peck of Gravenstein and Macintosh apples, sampled a bunch of red wines, and took silly pictures in the apple orchard.

On our way back we stopped at Trader Joe's (I miss this store so much! Pleeeeeese come to Hawaii!!!) and picked up meats and veggies. The rooftop at Emily's apartment building has grills, tables and chairs and even a big TV with cable. We watched a lovely sunset and had a feast. I made an apple pie for dessert. I think it turned out ok, but should have baked longer.

Monday we went whale watching. We sailed way out of the harbor until Boston was just a blip on the horizon. We stopped to watch a mola mola fish sunning itself in the water. These are the strangest looking creatures. They are gray and flat with long gray fins on top and bottom. They move by waving those fins. They don't have the tail and side fins most fish do. Super odd. I'd never actually seen one in person before. We ventured further and started seeing spouts. We found five or six fin whales which are freakin gigantic. We looked them up after the trip and realized we were only seeing maybe five percent of the whole. Then we found a single young humpback. It was a calf from last year and had NO fear of the boat. She swam right underneath us a few times. Seriously the coolest!

On recommendation, we had to try Tiger Mama. It's an Asian Fusian place with clever pairings. We ordered a bunch of plates and split them four ways. They have an extensive gluten free menu and are very conscious of it. The food was amazing! I can't decide whether their papaya salad or their seared scallops were better.

For our anniversary, Mike and I went to the aquarium. You'd think with as much diving as we do the aquarium would be nothing more than amusing. Not so. We spent a full 45 minutes in the shark exhibit. They had rays and sharks you can TOUCH!!! It was amazing! The place in itself is so dang cool. It has four levels with a huge cylindrical tank in the middle. A concrete ramp spirals up around the tank which is full of fish, rays, bonnethead sharks (!!!!) and even a huge old turtle. The first level has three penguin exhibits. They're super stinky but also super cute! Each has a colored band around one wing which lets you identify it on an ipad nearby. There are all kinds of fish on each level including a big octopus. Additionally there were poison dart frogs and anacondas. Yikes. Finally, they have some super cute seals, which are hilarious animals if you just sit and watch them for a bit.

 

We went to Legal Seafoods for lunch. I'd heard they had a GF lobster roll (at $30! yikes). The one we went to did not. Also the service was poor at best. However, we had really good lite clam chowder, a salad and seafood casserole. Very tasty, but we were stuffed for the rest of the day. So much for anniversary dinner. Haha!

Afterward we went back to the aquarium and watched a 3D IMAX film on great white sharks. So cool! I find sharks fascinating. Most people are terrified of them and think they should all die. Those people don't understand how important they are. Sharks are vital the the health of the oceans. They clean up dead and dying animals. They should always be treated with respect and awareness, but they're not mindless killers. I hope people realize that before it is too late.

We stayed at a cute AirBnb in East Boston just blocks from great dining, an amazing view of the skyline, and the airport. Easy peasy. Thanks to Emily and James for a fast and furious weekend in an amazing city!