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Biking in Hawaii!

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Biking was hard for me pre-covid, so thinking about going for a ride with my lung issues was completely off the table for a long time. My friend Jess has been itching to get out on the bike and it’s pushed me to get my act together. So I finally got the courage to get the bike ready to go for a ride. With Brian and my friend Pat’s help, they filled the tires and lubed the chains and I was off. I decided to start with the 2.5 mile loop in my neighborhood complete with a bike lane. After doing that twice, I was getting bored and mustered the courage to leave Lanikai. I had scoped out the bike lanes through Kailua and set out to get to the first one! It didn’t take much road sharing before I was there. It was a great cruise through the middle of town, but what I mean by middle is it’s geographically middle however it’s residential, not a crazy busy business section. It was lovely! Then that meets up with a really pretty also residential road. I didn’t like that section as much, it was shorter and there was a long light. Lastly, I wanted to prove to myself I could bike to Jess’, so I did that, (mostly no bike lanes) and explored one more road with bike lanes.

I way underestimated my courage and didn’t put any sun tan lotion on my back thinking I wouldn’t be out long. Thankfully I wasn’t a complete lobster, but I was dangerously close to tomato. I am so glad I went out! I can see how this might get boring, but there is a little loop further out I’d like to try. It’s a great way to get my heart rate up that’s not running (my foot has been bothering me).

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Ka’ena Point from the South Side

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Time for the monthly KOSC hike! This time I had two people attending and Brian came as well. We started around 3pm and had a really pleasant hike. This one had it all… we saw a ton of Humpback whales, a Hawaiian Monk Seal, Hawaiian Albatross (Mōlī), huge wave swells (15+ ft), two sea arches, blow holes, restrooms, parking, and we timed it perfectly for sunset! It’s the sister hike to Ka’ena from the north side; both end at Ka’ena point but follow different sides of the coast. Very similar feeling to hiking the New England coast.

Can you spot the seal?

There was one very slightly sketchy part, but that’s it. It was straightforward, easy to navigate and walk. It is not shaded at all, but honestly if you go prepared (water, sun shirts, sun screen, sunglasses, hat) it’s not bad at all. It’s not like sweltering… it’s really hard to explain. You’ll have to come see for yourself!

You can still see rail ties from the train tracks that existed for the Ka’ena point train until a tsunami took them out.

It was great to get out and get some fresh air and experience nature in Hawaii. I had been sick with a head cold and stomach issues last week, so I had been a couch potato for a while. Brian really enjoyed seeing this trail, he really loved it actually.

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Sail to the Mokes Adventure take 2

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Brian and I decided to take an easy beach day on Sunday, so I messaged Pat and Jeanie to see if they were around to hang out (I like to be social and Brian will just fall asleep on me). They were, so we set up camp with them and Pat took us out sailing. Compared to when Jess and I went, the seas were a bit rougher because there was higher winds. This should mean faster travel… except… ended up hitting reef quite a bit because we were heavier and the tide was low. We tacked a bunch of times trying to get out there.

We also brought along Kike, a neurosurgeon. He was playing backseat driver quite a bit which made for an entertaining ride. Regardless we made it to the Mokes! And made our way back to Queen’s baths. We borrowed water booties for our feet to get back there and it was definitely rough walking. Highly recommend stiffer soles, but we made it work. Brian’s essentially fell completely apart by the end.

This following picture is the only picture I have of us from being actually at the Queen’s baths…

Because the wave swells were so high they knocked us from the littler bath into the big bath (you can see a better picture of what I’m talking about with Jess and I actually in the baths in my other post. The smaller bath is to the right in the picture of me and Jess in the bigger one) . The waves came right over the rock wall and hit us really hard! I knocked into the rock wall behind me after the first and then got out because I wasn’t going to tempt fate twice. Well, Brian and Pat stayed in for a second wave and they both got pushed back into the big pool. Brian lost his glasses temporarily, thankfully Kike dove and found them… and Brian is pretty banged up on his legs and one shoulder (pictured). I have some road rash on the back of my leg.

Anyway, lesson learned that you’re only one bad decision away from being one of those “stupid tourists” and that you can’t mess with mother nature! I’d like to go back, ideally, when things are calmer and sit and enjoy the spot for a bit… interestingly, after those two huge waves we didn’t see many big ones while we were looking for the glasses. I wasn’t interested in finding out if it was a “one off”.

Our adventure wasn’t over yet. We walked around the other side down a short path just to check it out.

Nothing too exciting. We decide it’s time to head back to shore. Before we do, Pat’s firefighter instinct decides to pick up two girls (no older than 13 yo) who decided to swim out to the mokes and looked like there was no way they were getting back. They were sprawled out on the beach. The whole way home, they talked about how strong of swimmers they are… Brian and I talked about how even at our fittest we wouldn’t attempt that swim. Anyway, here are the four adults on our way back (the two girls are in front)

We had quite the adventure, more than we bargained for, but that’s life sometimes.

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Friendship gardens to Oneawa Hills

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I’ve been wanting to knock out this hike but haven’t been procrastinating because on AllTrails it’s only a half mile loop… in fact when I proposed it to Jess I said maybe we can do a couple loops of it.

Well, turns out this is another sleeper hike and there’s a whole extension to it with a pretty great climb! There also isn’t a lot of parking, but we found a couple spots. This is the entrance, and some of the plants have identification plaque along the way.

After about 200 ft of climbing (you drive up a pretty big hill to get there) there’s a really great view and a bench to sit (this is looking out toward MCBH).

This is looking out toward Kailua and my beloved Mokes, plus Waimanalo to the right.

Then, the path continues up and up… like scrambling up… (this next section pictured had ropes to help) and you get pretty much the same views but also a view back toward the H3. It actually wasn’t that bad of a section, it was pretty grippy, but I wouldn’t do it after much rain and sat on my butt a couple spots to get down.

You can barely see the H3 coming around the bend. I’d like to revisit in the morning when the sun is on those mountains, but this shot with the rays is pretty neat. Needless to say, it took about an hour with stoppage to enjoy, and we didn’t even go all the way (we stopped at the top, but it looks like it goes down the other side and dead ends). I think it was 500ft elevation all things considered. Not bad for a Friday afternoon jaunt.

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Haunama Bay Ridge Hike

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I want to start off by saying normally I’m scrambling to blog on Sundays but I am super proud of myself for blogging on Saturday!

This bay probably looks familiar, it’s Haunama Bay (The one Erin and I snorkeled a while back). There’s actually a hike that goes up and around the rim of it and down toward the right of this picture. It’s unlisted on the AllTrails app, which I find very curious, but most of it is technically on an access road that’s supposed to be off limits. We encountered a lot of other people enjoying the route and no one there to stop us so… on we went! In the next picture, you can see us walking on the access road and behind us is a great view of Koko crater and the neighborhood of Hawaii Kai. I will tell you we vastly underestimated this hike, this was the first of two steep ascents. Luckily it was cooler and we had some wind, but I did have to stop for more reasons than to take a picture or three.

Eventually we reached the “top”. You could keep going, but I think it ends up going to an out and back point, and we didn’t have a lot of time so we turned back to do a loop. Well, the next thing we know we’re walking down this near vertical pitch. Thankfully the rock was dry and super grippy aside from some loose gravel here and there. My knees were definitely feeling it by the time we finished descending! (this is looking back up from whence we came).

Then you walk along the coast and get to the right side of Haunama bay (looking outward)

What goes down must come up…It isn’t a very long time before you find yourself ascending another practically vertical pitch to get back up to the high ridge again. Here’s a girl descending what we just finished ascending. That brown patch is where we came from and where I took that above picture.

This was a sleeper hike… meaning I way underestimated the intensity. It ended up being 3.75 miles and 900ft elevation total! Idk what I was thinking, my friend sent me her route and stats and I must’ve glossed over them… I think because I thought we were just doing the rim and the loop was on the same elevation, but definitely not the case!

We did see a couple whale spouts while standing out there! I think if I did it again I’d take binoculars and dinner and sit and enjoy for a bit.

I told Brian he might need to find someone else to go with to do this hike, that’s how much I disliked it. But, I can be convinced of a lot… so who knows.

This is a really great shot of Koko Head. You can see a brown path going to the top… those are the Koko head stairs. I’m really nervous to do them because they are intense and really, really hot. My friend said that she’d go with me and we could take our time and just go as far as I’m comfortable. I will definitely try it sometime.

Hawaii views are just incredible.

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Whales

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I have a lot to say about this trip. My friend Jess coordinated it among a few of her girlfriends, I recommended the company. It’s Dolphin Excursions based out of Waianae. It’s an hour ride out there, so my friend Caitlyn, Brian and I carpooled out there. It was a happy circumstance Brian was home for this!

So it doesn’t take long at all before we see a whale… and it’s a beautiful coastline to see (of course).

We start by seeing a couple of adults, and we see AN ADULT BREACH. It was the coolest thing (next to lava) I’ve experienced. Man, getting all that body out of the water that high? Just incredible. Mind you, the boat is rocking, and we’re moving, and we’re a bit away… so no pictures of that. But I do get a couple humps and tail flips.

But, it’s still really hard to get these things in focus… I’m moving in the boat, the whale is moving, it’s really bright so it’s hard to see… you can see where I’m going with this (excuses for blurry pics).

Next thing we get to see is a mom and baby… and the baby breaches! Not only does the baby breach, it breaches at least 4 times!!

Now, if you have ever tried capturing a whale breaching, you’ll know that A: You have NO IDEA where they’re going to breach B: You have no idea WHEN they are going to breach and C: You yourself are not stable. I cannot tell you how unbelievably hard this is for photography.

I took a lot of pictures and all of them are blurry. Disappointed in myself is an understatement. I knew I wasn’t nailing them… and so I kept trying and trying. Usually, I try to balance taking pictures and enjoying whatever activity I’m doing. Well, I definitely did not this time. It was all about the pictures…

I wish I had spent more time embracing the moment, especially after realizing just how hard it was. I guess I was kinda thinking we’d have one more good viewing opportunity, but we didn’t…

I would love love love to go again. I also got some camera setting tips from a facebook group I’m apart of (faster shutter speed… I already had it really high, but these guys go unbelievably fast)

I’m kicking myself for not getting a “perfect” picture… I’m kicking myself for not enjoying my time fully… it was an amazing experience, but I wish I handled it differently.

Fun facts: the baby’s dorsal fin is white, and they gain 1lb every 15mins.

Regardless, we had a great day out on the water. We did see a set of spinner dolphins, but obviously less of a highlight.

I really, really really want to go again. Who’s coming with me??

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Lulumahu Falls

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This hike was definitely challenging to navigate. A lot of reviews said that, but based on the map it looked pretty straight… the problem is it crosses the stream a couple (? Few?) times. There weren’t great markers and LOTS of stray paths. Some of the markers were the same colors and plant leaves… which left you questioning leaf or trail marker? There was one point we were hiking up a cliff face and my gut said it didn’t feel right because reviews had said their 8 year olds could handle it. I was right, and we backed down and found an alternative, much easier path.

Anyway, this was another nice walk through the jungle essentially… a really beautiful bamboo forest to start.

Eventually you get to the stream and trace it all the way up. This hike is NOT recommended during rain and I can see why… you can easily get trapped.

I ended up using my spikes toward the top, and I would highly suggest boots… we were crossing the stream a lot.

We made it there around 4pm on a Friday and there was hardly anyone there. We parked at this pull off off the highway… they were doing filming in the area so the parking was limited which could’ve kept it quieter. Also, you need to buy a pass for this hike… it’s limited to 100 a day or something. It was a whopping $2.50 and no one checked us for it, but I rather go with the integrity route.

It was a great hike, it took an hour and 15 minutes ish, 1.7 miles round trip, only 300 ft elevation. There were four other people there and they were swimming… I’ve heard bad things about the bacteria in these ponds, so I haven’t done it yet.

After this we made a stop at the Honolulu Museum of Art to pick up some pallet straps to reuse for this project. Stay tuned!

Finally, we stopped at La Casita restaurant to try to find some good pupusas. The pupusas were just OK, but the horchata was delicious and the empanada was as well. We would like to try their other food. This all started after a discussion about trying to find Arepa’s in Hawaii, which it turns out there aren’t any… so now we are pursuing (and succeeding!) at making them at home. I first tried arepa’s in Venezuela. They are delicious.

Sidebar conversation related to this afternoon… Leading up to this, I was very reluctant to drive. Growing up, my mom was very fearful of driving, and even to this day my parents are very particular about parking and where they drive. So sometimes that creeps up on me… we were going to three spots I had never driven before, one I had to take a left and then another left on a busy throughway, one was in the city… and I was going to ask my friend to drive. But I know, if I keep doing that, I will scare myself into never driving anywhere. Well, long story short, I told my friend this before we left, and she encouraged me to drive, and I did and of course everything went fine… in fact incredibly smoothly. Both lefts, navigating this tiny parking lot, and driving the H1 through Honolulu. It was a great confidence/anti fear builder! Funny anecdote about the tiny parking lot in the art museum- I parked in the museum director’s spot (at 5pm on a Friday, mind you) and the parking attendant got SO UPSET. So I had to move immediately. Meanwhile, this parking lot is 5 spots big and there were 8 cars trying to park in it… We all agreed afterward that he had definitely been chewed out for not leaving that space open previously and couldn’t let it happen again. How about next time pick a bigger parking lot to execute this in? Or get permission? Strange… Hawaii is strange.

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Elysha and Dan Visit!

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Elysha and Dan were married in August, when I made a “quick” trip home for their wedding. They finally made it out here for their honeymoon. We started with takeout breakfast from our favorite place, Over Easy. Then we went and did the Pillbox Hike. I will say that I am way more comfortable, maybe even confident? With this hike now.

The LOVED this hike. Short and sweet, great rewarding views, a little bit of history.

They were happy to hit the beach for a bit after this. We went for a dip and just relaxed and talked in our chairs and on the towel with a couple beers. We saw turtles! Elysha loves them so I’m glad we did. They are off to Maui to finish their honeymoon today, but it was so nice to see them.

Backtracking a bit…On Thursday when they arrived I went to the airport to surprise them with a Lei greeting. I had enough information to track down which flight they were (airline and layover and date). But I wasn’t 100% sure… so I went to the airport and sat at the baggage claim I thought they’d be going to. I contemplated looking for their luggage and tried… but a lot of the bag tags were not easily read and I thought it might look sketchy. So I waited… and waited… and waited… and they weren’t coming… so I texted her a vague “are you here yet?” message and she replied she was waiting in the line to verify they didn’t have to quarantine… I didn’t even think they’d be in it! So they were pretty late getting their bag. Since the busy-ness of the baggage claim died down, I decided I’d try to find the luggage again. I found Elysha’s and held it hostage until they came. I think the stewardess thought I was trying to steal luggage. When they eventually came out they were so surprised! I also gave them a couple Hawaii brewed beers and chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Elysha tried to keep the lei until the next day, but the refrigerator was so cold it froze it on accident, oops!

The next day we went to dinner at 604 (not my favorite… it was an hour and fifteen minute wait, and I didn’t think the food or drinks were great). After that we went and they got a tour of the sub from Brian, at 8:00pm once he was done all his work. The timing ended up working out ok. So I was able to see them almost every day they were here! It was really awesome and made me feel a little homesick (although they live in Virginia now, so it’s not like I’d see them much anyway). It was just nice to see an old friend. They are off to Maui to finish up!

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Ulupa’u Crater Hike

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There is a crater on the Marine Corps base called Ulupa’u crater. It faces out toward the ocean, and inside is a setup for various training exercises. To use the hike there are a few logistics involved, including getting a key and radio and signing waivers. I tasked my friend Jess to coordinate this because I thought there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to. She did great!

We did it for sunrise. We set off in the dark.

We thought it might be tough to get everyone up in time, but we did! There was a bit of scrambling and a few steep parts. But you can see all of base and over to Lanikai.

There’s the golf course we played with my parents, and pyramid rock beach and North Beach.

We got to take our husbands.

You can kinda tell how steep it is here. There are ropes the whole way.

I would not want to do this when it was slippery! Thankfully we had perfect weather for it and it’s been dry.

It was certainly challenging and Brian and I were the last to get up, but we did! I unfortunately don’t have a selfie of just us, but he was there and I was thankful he went slowly with me. There were a TON of gnats through some of the higher elevation wooded parts… the noise was deafening trying to walk through them. We covered our mouths with shirts and ducked low, it helped…

I don’t know if I’d do this again. We’ll see. I’m glad to have gone at least once!

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Sailing to the Mokes

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Backstory- Jess and I have been picking up trash on Lanikai about once a week. One week we encountered a family there who started a conversation with us and has a whole sifter to use to sift out microplastics, so we bonded over the beach cleanup. Anyway, turns out they have a sailboat and have offered to take us out on it. (Also turns out, Pat is a retired firefighter).

The mokes have been sitting there tempting me every morning… so many people will kayak or stand up paddle board out there, but it’s a little far beyond my risk tolerance. Let me tell you… the sailboat method was the best.

The day we went there was little to no wind, and it was the most leisurely, relaxing sail I’ve ever had. It was beautiful to see Lanikai from the ocean, and we were sailing next to turtles. I didn’t know what to expect, so these are only phone photos (I didn’t risk my big camera). I actually wasn’t even sure I was going to go, because I was nervous about the whole thing, but I took a risk and Pat was really kind and assuring.

The waves actually come in around both sides of the island to crash together in front of a beach. It looks a little daunting, but the boat was so stable and we did fine. We did spend a good 5 minutes watching all the kayaking tourists tip over, and I definitively decided I will not take a kayak out there.

Then we hiked around the back side and got to what is called the queens bath. It’s about 6ft deep. We jumped in! And just beyond is a smaller pool. You have to be careful where you put your hands, there are a lot of sea urchins in all the crevices!

Apparently the thing to do is relax and watch the waves break, sometimes they’ll break over the queens bath wall.

We didn’t spend too long here, but we could’ve. We made our way back through the washing machine waves (which ended up pouring down on us because they crashed!)

Jess attempted to learn some of the sailing things but I had no interest so I just sat along for the ride. This couple is very nice. He worked in LA as a firefighter and they are renting a small place out here and property managing for a house right on the beach. It’s great when great people meet great people! Afterward we hung at the beach with more of their friends, who turned out to be Air Force. They really want a tour of a sub… so in turn we get a tour of their… plane? Ha. But they fly the really huge ones. So that’s cool! Brian had to work all day. It seems par for the course… I wish I could go more into details but I can’t. Maybe one day.

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