Weekend Sailing around Oahu

To finish off the year we were invited for a three day sail with some friends of Mike's, Matt and Andrea. They own a beautiful Benneteau 473, which is a 47' sailing vessel. That's actually a prett big boat, but definitely still falls under "small craft". The plan was to sail to Pokai Bay on the west shores of Oahu, but a big northwestern swell caused us to shift our destination to beautiful Kaneohe Bay on the windward side.

We started the day early removing leftover Christmas lights and decor from the previous night's sailboat light parade in Waikiki. Then we headed out. It was a beautiful cruise out to Diamond Head. The waves became more choppy and confused. We had plenty of wind for a good sail with a reef in the main to keep our power in a safe range. We bounced along the beautiful south shores of the island, past Haunama Bay, Halona Blowhole and Makapu'u Lighthouse. Soon we were rounding to the windward side. The waves were bigger. Matt estimated 4-6 feet. At this point my brain decided it was done with the ride and I fell asleep.

I woke from my nap to Mike yelling about a whale and steering way off to a side. I jumped up and looked over the side in time to see the white side of a humpback whale slide under the boat. Apparently it surfaced right ahead of us and he almost hit it. That would have been a tragic and early end to our trip. I wasn't really feeling a swim. I know, pampered little princess right here.

Finally we were in the calm waters of Kaneohe Bay. A super battered reef keeps the waves out to sea. We anchored in front of Secret Beach. This is owned by Kualoa Ranch. So all day long tourists are shuttled in and out. It's a beautiful semi-private beach. It was lovely to have the place all to ourselves once the tours ended.

The second day was all for exploring the beautiful cove and enjoying the sunshine and water. We each took a spin on a standup paddleboard. It was super windy when I went and I had to come back on my knees. Mike took Schooner, the resident weenie dog, out for a ride. We all climbed into the dinghy and explored Chinaman's Hat. A lot of people swim or kayak to get there from the public beach. Andrea and I did a little snorkeling while Mike practiced his bushman skills on the island. We went back to the boat for lunch and naps afterward.

The sunrises were fabulous both days. I woke early and had the first sunrise all to myself. It was peaceful and wonderful. On Day 3, everyone was up for sunrise, though I still had the early dawn colors alone. It was gorgeous!


Oh, also important (my level of important, not like cancer important), some rain rolled in during breakfast and the rainbow was out of this world. It was a full arc. Pictures or it didn't happen, you say? Bam!

Our sail back was anything but relaxing. The earlier rough, confused seas were now larger. I steered the boat out the channel and through the "washing machine" past Kaneohe Marine Corps Base. Look Here's a picture of me driving. Annoyingly, the seas look flat in every picture. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Anyway, back to the tale. Suddenly, we caught a mahi. We reeled it in, filled its gills with cheap vodka (apparently that's a thing!?!??), and stuck it in the freezer to die slowly, because we're monsters like that. We continued our tack along the coast, flying along with 25 knot winds as we rolled all over the 8 foot seas. Waves crashed over the bow and we even took one over the stern. Unsurprisingly, we were the only boat on the water. Something minor about a small craft warning...

Soon we were nearing Makapu'u where we would hit a hopefully calmer swell. And, suddenly, we had another mahi! Two on the same trip just using hand lines and lures! I guess it pays to be the only boat. Once again, we doused him in vodka, but this one was not going down without a fight. He ultimately lost, but he definitely tried. He was delicious, btw.

As we finally rounded Diamondhead, the water calmed significantly. Once in Waikiki, it was calm and wonderful. There were boats everywhere. It was an adventure, and one I'm glad that I did (and survived).

Running the Honolulu Marathon

3.5 years ago I ran my first marathon. It was hard. I overtrained and ended up with weird issues and a banged up knee from running it. However, I ran it with my sister and had a fantastic time with her. I remember for the first 10 miles my feet were numb. I think we walked the entirety of mile 23. I was glad to have finished, but pretty sure I wouldn't do another marathon.

Earlier this year, I ran my first ultramarathon. It was gorgeous and an adventure as much as a run. I loved every minute of it! The scenery was unparalleled, the people around me were friendly and awesome. My knees were shot by the end, but I don't regret a minute of it.

Because the Honolulu Marathon is iconic and local. I chose to run it. It's the marathon portion of the original Ironman race. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Also, they have a killer locals rate and I'm a frugal girl. ANYWAY... I changed the way I trained for this race. I started training around two months beforehand rather than the four I had trained before. Instead of running a half marathon or more every weekend for two months like I did for Seattle, I worked my way up from 3 miles, adding two per weekend and planned a half marathon the month before. I never ran more than 15 miles and did not hit a wall. Oh, and before you ask, yes I took screen shots of the race photos so they still have watermarks. At $37 per photo, I'm cool with crappy Paint jpgs.

The Honolulu Marathon begins in front of Ala Moana Park at 5 AM. I can't even call that "bright and early". It was pitch black out. We woke up at 330 and walked the two miles to the start line. See? Local. Easy. I love easy logistics. We joined about 20,000 other runners standing and stretching in the middle of Ala Moana Boulevard. The countdown happened and the first runners were off! We were in the middle somewhere and it took another 8-9 minutes before we reached the start line. During that time, a fireworks display lit up the night, crashing overhead and making me excited for the run to come. I mean, I vaguely felt bad for the people living next to the park. I've been known to lose my mind over loud noises when I am trying to sleep. Sorry fancy condo people!

The fireworks were a great start to the race, but it didn't get boring after that. We ran through downtown Honolulu, dodging slower runners and walkers who had started with the early groups. My calves were tight and not into the early morning run. I started an audio book and lost myself in a story of champions. Soon, I found myself running through City Lights on King Street. There was a giant Santa, shirtless, hands up in shakas (or hangloose signs for all you haoles). Aloha to you too, sir! Palm trees wrapped in lights lined the streets. Pretty cool!


Soon I was climbing Diamond Head while the sun rose around me. It was absolutely beautiful! There were so many places I wanted to take pictures. Photo taking while running leads to blurry pictures of nothing though. So I only got a few. The lens may have been a little sweaty, my bad.

Before I knew it, I was at 10 miles. I settled into a run walk routine to keep my body focused. Run four minutes, walk a minute. Run four minutes, ooh the mile marker is just ahead, keep running until the mile marker, walk a minute. My book was captivating. All around me were runners of all ages, shapes and sizes, people dressed in costumes, and others with matching running atire. Among my favorites were two young men with grass skirts and coconut bras, A girl dressed as Sailor Moon (complete with bright yellow wig!), a middle-aged woman in a traditional Japanese dress running barefoot, and several Japanese couples in wedding attire.

Time seemed to melt away and I found muself in Hawaii Kai at the turnaround. I was on the home stretch. There were so many amazing spectators in Hawaii Kai with chopped up bananas, orange wedges, grapes, pretzels, candy, etc. that they were offering to tired runners. I was beyond impressed with the encouragement, generosity, and enthusiasm. It really does mean the world when someone is out there telling you that you're doing great. I ate a 2" banana section, one grape, and an orange slice. That was my nutrition for the whole race. I like to run fasted. So I hadn't eaten that morning. I guess I had a few small cups of Gatorade along the way.

My book ran out as I was beginning to tire around mile 21. My strategy the whole time was not to think "one mile down", but to think "only 25 miles left". So, at that point it was "just over five miles to go, no big deal. We can do this!" I switched to one of my super perky dance music playlists. I'd make sure I ran to songs with the perfect run cadence. I'd walk when my body wasn't feeling it. I didn't let myself drag though. I always found a point to walk to and started running again as soon as I reached it. In the meantime, here's Mike with his tongue out likely because he stepped on a small rock.

I crested Diamond Head on the way back and forced myself to run the entire downhill. I was exhausted at this point. I'd been running for about four and a half hours. I had some long blinks that indicated my body was over it. The photo below sums it up. Can't you just feel the aloha?

I dashed down the hill, walked a few moments, and ran again. On the final flat stretch, I forced my tired legs to get me to a particular telephone pole. I could then walk for three poles before running to that bus that was blocking the intersection two or three blocks ahead. When I got to the walk point, I realized that wasn't a bus! It was the finish! I picked up the pace and ran the rest of the way through.

This was the first race I've done where no one I knew was waiting for me at the finish line. Usually Mike either runs with me or meets me at the end. This time, he hurt his leg a week prior and ended up walk-jogging the whole marathon, barefoot because he's a crazy man. The marathon committee provided showers at the end, which was unbelievable! I picked up my finisher shirt, sat on the ground and stretched for a few minutes. Oh, and when I say "sat" I clearly mean sprawled on the ground grinning like a maniac.


It probably took me an hour on my wobbly legs to make the 2.2 miles home. I sat down a bunch of times and finally made it to a Biki (bike share) station to rent a bike for the remaining 1.5 miles home. I had time to shower and relax for a minute before heading back to the finish line to cheer Mike. It was fun to watch the finishers. There were a handful of elderly runners, a man in a hand-pedaled recumbant bike, and a bunch of high school boys supporting an injured comerade across the finish line. So inspiring!!

Of course, I looked down at the tracker right as he ran past, so I only took a picture of his back. I ran to catch up, which actually felt less bad than I would've thought. I ran the race in 4:42:32 which was about 35 minutes faster than my previous race. I'm not injured. All in all, I feel really successful and proud of myself. Mike finished in 7:41 on a hurt leg without shoes. He's pretty cool.

Ohana Trip #3: Big Island Wanders

For the third year in a row our Hawaiian ohana flew to another island to explore for a long weekend. The first year was Lanai, last year was Kauai, and this year we visited Hawaii. Since we had access, we chose to spend a few days at the Kiluea Military Camp in Volcano, HI (inside the national park).

KMC is a government facility that's a little dated but way cool (and way cheap!) resort style hotel. There are a bunch of cabins arrayed around a central social area. The social area has all sorts of things: a cafe, bar, game room, mini theater, tennis courts, and even a bowling alley. The best part is its proximity to Volcanoes National Park.

Unfortunately for the first day we arrived right as the sky opened up and downpoured for the next several hours. We hung out at the cabin we rented, made a bunch of food and played games. It was nice. Once it was time for Iris to go to bed, Mike, Thomas, Camille and I wandered over to the game room and played a couple of rounds of pool. As it turns out, we're all really bad, but we had a great time anyway.

The next morning was bright and beautiful. We drove the couple of miles to hike the Kiluea Iki Trail. I've done this one a few times before, but it's so cool that I'm sure I'll do it a few more. The trail is a 4 mile loop that circles the top of the crater for a half mile before dropping in. Then, hikers walk across the crater, back up the other side, and around another top section. The whole hike is STUNNING! Brad, Rachel and Iris came down to the crater but didn't finish the loop. Iris is only 18 months after all.

Thomas has a geology degree and was absolutely fascinated by the lava formations and steam vents. Camille and I spent a good amount of time checking out beautifully iridescent bits of lava rock. Mike was, as always, perfectly content to wander all over the place and climb on things. Overall, I think it took us about an hour to wander across the crater.


Afterward, we walked around the steam vents and checked out the overlook into the main Kiluea crater. This is the one that caused all of the fuss last year when it erupted. It's changed so drastically in the past year and a half. Check out this video for timelapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2BFFK_r5NU. Way freaking cool!

Later that day, we all piled into Brad and Rachel's 7 seater car and drove a couple of miles to Volcano Winery. We honestly could've walked it, but the skies decided to open up again. Less rain, but being wet in a winery just didn't sound fab. Weird how that works. The winery is a way cool little tasting room. They import almost all of their grapes, blend them and ferment them locally. I believe they have some grapes they grow there, but they're more expensive. Instead we paid $8 each for 8 tastes. It was pretty fun! We loved the first white wine they served, which was super strange because Mike doesn't like white wines.

We decided that it was a perfect night to check out the bowling alley. It was actually pretty decent. Brad and Rachel stayed for a game, which Brad won (Brad wins everything). Thomas, Camille, Mike and I played round 2. Everyone did better the second game except for me . It was fun anyway. I hadn't bowled in years.

The last morning of the trip, we were awakened by a 4.9 magnitude earthquake that happened near Mauna Kea, one of the larger volcanoes. It made the whole place jiggle for a minute. Way freaking cool! I made a ton of pancakes and we had a brunch feast. Then we parted ways. Brad really wanted to visit the botanical garden. The rest of us really wanted to visit the newly formed black sand beach at Pohiki.

We stopped at the Volcanoes National Park visitor center. I wanted to stamp my journal since I just realized in Joshua Tree that this is a thing. Seriously, I've been to six national parks this year and only managed to figure this out on numbers 5 and 6. We ended up watching a video on the collapse of the crater. It was similar to the one linked above, but longer and more extensive.

Then we drove about an hour to the coast, past the infamous Leilani Estates where big fissures opened in the earth and cars and homes were swallowed by lava. I drove through wide sections of road that had been newly constructed through recent lava fields. There were dead trees uprooted and baked stark white against the black stone.

When we arrived at the park, we were amazed to find that there was a wall of rock that blocked roads, covered sidewalks, and crumpling picnic benches. Below is a screenshot from Google Maps that hasn't yet been updated. You can see a park on the right side that is scribbled out. That no longer exists and is covered by a hugs field of lava (as shown in the pic above). Along the beach, the area between the black lines is full of black sand. There's a little dock and boat lauched there that used to go to the sea and now have only a little pond to service. CRAZY! The world's newest beach, and we got to visit it.


We walked down the beach, doing a bit of exploring and just taking in the amazingness of the whole thing. The waves were breaking pretty hard on the shore, but wanting to get my feet wet, I walked to the edge of the waves. The next wave ended up being the biggest one we'd seen. It crashed toward us and Thomas was the only one to escape. Camille, Mike and I were soaked to our waists, laughing and shrieking as we ran up the beach. (Ok, Mike wasn't shrieking.)


Brad, Rachel, and baby girl met us at the airport. I asked how the botanicals were. It turns out Iris was sick and they didn't end up going. They just puttered around Kona and got ice cream. I love both of those things, so it doesn't sound like a total loss to me. Poor baby though. It took about a week for her to heal. We boarded our plane as the sunset at the awesome tiny Kona airport. Another fabulous ohana trip!

Exploring the Halekala Wilderness

My dad and my step-mom Lorrie came to visit for a few weeks. Since they've both been to Oahu a couple of times, I decided we should visit the lush island paradise that is Maui. It's a nice change from the crowded business of Honolulu. We sent them over a day early so they could do a bit of island exploring before the bigger adventure I had planned: Haleakala. Yes, I know anyone can go to the top of Haleakala. However, there's a wonderful and unique backpacking trip through the crater that was my real aim.

Technically the Haleakala crater isn't a crater because it's not bounded on all sides. It's an erosionary depression with new cinder cones growing up and up. I'm going to just call it a crater because it's easier. I found an article on this hike shortly after moving to Hawaii. The logistics were such that I put it off until Dad was looking for a little adventure. None of us had been backpacking in a while, and Lorrie was brand new to the sport. (Spoiler: she did great!) I stressed myself out reading everything I could find on the hike. It was actaully fairly hard to find info if you're not staying in the cabins. So, I included it here in case anyone other than my mom reads this post. (Hi Mom!)

Permits are required to camp and are given out at the visitor center on a first come first served basis. You can pick them up day before or day of your hike. They are free with your park entry fee or annual pass. There are a limit to the number they give out, but it's rare for them to sell out. There are three cabins with pretty much anything you could want for camping, but they book up fast and cost $75 per night. Each cabin is rented to one group only and can hold up to 12 people. We didn't stay in cabins, though. We stayed in tents. Camping is available near two of the cabins, Paliku (9.8 miles from the Sliding Sands trailhead) and Holua (3.9 miles from the Halemau'u trailhead).

Some people choose to do this hike the hard way and start at Holua. We chose the downhill route. This meant Mike dropped us off at the Sliding Sands trailhead with all of our packs. He drove the car down to the Halemau'u trailhead and hitchhiked back up. This was one of the logistical pieces I was worried about. Turns out, it was no big deal. In no time, Mike came cruising up in the back seat of a bright red convertible Mustang looking for all the world like he expected such a stylish ride. It was the first car that passed that picked him up. Since it's a dead end road to the top, I think people are more likely to give hikers a lift. You definitely want to do this at the beginning of the trip. No one will want to pick you up after three days of hiking and no baths.

As soon as Mike arrived, we set off along Sliding Sands trail down into the Mars-like landscape. The trail has panoramic high desert views the entire way to the base of the crater. The sand is finely crushed volcanic rock of varying colors based on age: black, gray, orange, and red. Beautiful little succulent-like plants called silverswords break up the landscape here and there. Silverswords are unique to Haleakala and only grow around 8000 feet in elevation. They're actually in the sunflower family. So, they're not succulents. I'm just full of useful trivia today.

The first cabin is Kapaloa. It sits in a grassy meadow under the rim of the mountain. It has water and an outhouse, which are both kind of nice to have after 5.6 miles of dusty walking. Remember, water needs to be filtered. The taps are outside of the cabins (another of the answers I struggled to find). We sat at the picnic table out front, had some snacks and watched a nene (Hawaii's endemic goose) and some chukar birds wandering around looking for crumbs. This was the first view of actual life inside the crater.

The next part of the trail was a field of dark gray a'a (rough lava formed by splatter rather than flow) that was starting to grow in with plants. The contrasting colors with the vivid blue sky made this a favorite section of the trail for me.

Eventually the landscape turned to grasses and actual trees as we neared the campsite. The Paliku cabin is at the base of one of the crater walls. The wall itself has trees growing all over it. It's pretty impressive. At this point we're above the clouds. We chose two campsites and set up our tents in the grasses. Everyone was pretty tired. We made simple dinners of pouched chicken and instant mashed potatoes with the jet boil. The minute the sun went down the temperature plummeted and we retreated to our sleeping bags for warmth. We woke later to a sky full of stars. There was some sort of haze in the air that made it almost look like static.

The next morning we woke up to frosted tents. We packed our stuff, topped off our water and walked the 6.5 miles to Holua Camp. The trail takes the opposite side of the a'a field and across the Ko'olau Gap. The a'a field on this side has far less flora. At the end of the field the earth turns to dark gray sand. Against the crater rim, big jagged rocks split the hillside looking for all the world like a laying down dinosaur with stegosaurus plates ,amiright? No? Like the big boulder is the head, and the tail trails off up the hill on the left side? Ok, fine. I'm an adult child, I get it.

Shortly after that section I took a step and nearly squished a big wolf spider. On closer inspection she was carrying tons of babies on her back. Way cool! The spider, with legs included, was about the length of my pointer finger. I'm super glad that wasn't in my house/bed/sleeping bag, but was cool to see along the trail.  We were back to the gray and red sands when we found this gorgeous painted section.

The trail took us through the Ko'olau Gap's dark sands with little bits of lava strewn here and there to a little side trail called the Silversword loop. It lived up to its name and was totally worth the extra .1 mile it added to the trip.

Walking into Holua camp was similar to the other side, but with more lava rock. The plants started coming up and the views were, of course, spectacular. The cabin came into view a short distance later. There's a little cave above the cabin big enough for an emergency holdout for a couple of people. The campground is actually not next to the cabin. It's up a hill further than you'd actually think to walk. Our site was surrounded by a little fairy ring of black a'a and backed by the giant wall of the crater. There's an outhouse up there and a stable for the horse tours that operate occasionally. We're still mostly above the clouds here, but the winds brought in airy clouds and mists that occasionally socked us in completely.

We arrived early enough to enjoy the area for a bit. Mike and I played with the drone for a bit. A few large groups of day hikers came and went. We set up camp, had an early dinner, talked over tea. The sunset didn't bring on the cold like the previous night. It was pleasant, but once the sun goes down, there's no real reason to be awake since campfires aren't allowed. Mike woke me up around 3 AM to check out a clear sky full of incredible stars. Whatever haze had blocked the view the previous night was gone. The stars were clear, bright, focused. We could see the Milkyway arcing across the horizon. Between the new moon and the low cloud cover, no light dulled our view. It's crazy to realize how much there is to see when you fully escape human influence. Being in the middle of the ocean has its advantages.

The following morning took us along a ton of switchbacks up Halemau'u trail back to the car. It was a beautiful and remarkably comfortable hike for its elevation gain. Every switchback brought fantastic views across the crater. The car was right where Mike left it, undisturbed. The trip went super smoothly.

We grabbed lunch (real food!) at Grandma's in Kuya. Then we checked out a nearby lavender farm, which was beautiful and fragrent. Finally, we took a dip in the ocean to clean some of the dirt off. It felt amazing!

Things to note: Hawaiian doesn't allow trekking poles as a carry-on. It also doesn't allow camp stoves or fuel. Mokulele, on the otherhand, let us take both. The ride is far more awesome too. Support the little guy! We picked up jetboil fuel at Maui Adventure Sports in Kahului. We flew in the night before and stayed the night. The other option is to fly in morning of the hike. There's plenty of time. The sun is super intense, so I strongly suggest hat, glasses, hood, long sleeves and sunscreen. Our lips were totally chapped for a few days after. Sunscreen them and use chapstick. Oh, and don't forget to charge your phone or camera. I took over 500 photos in three days.