Leis, Trick Candles and Craters

Here is what SHOULD have been posted on Tuesday, July 13th (if we'd had internet in Maui).

To Ashley, my Maid O' Honour and BFF.

Ashley: 26 years old.

Today you turn 26. When we met all those years ago in... Well, you know where we met... No need for everyone else to find out! Anyway, when we met all those years ago, I had no idea that we'd end up being life-long friends. I guess since we haven't lived a lifetime yet, we have no way of knowing if we'll actually be life-long friends. But really, I'll hunt you down. There's nowhere you can hide from me. So just give in. You're stuck with me. It's inevitable. Heh heh heh...

Times are a-changing, but you've continued to be a reliable rock in my life-- whether it's laughing with me, at me, or telling me I'm being utterly ridiculous. Thanks for putting up with the lunchtime crankies. Thanks for not minding when I'm totally anti-social. Thanks for laughing when I alphabetized your DVD collection, and when I ate too much candy and got a tummy ache. I know you're thinking, "Which TIME that I laughed at you for your getting candy tummy ache?" My reply is: ALL the times you laughed at me for my candy tummy ache. Thanks for not yelling, "WILL YOU NEVER LEARN!!!???"

Here are some things I wish for you the coming year:

1) More opportunities to travel.

2) More shoes for your closet!

3) Fewer balloon encounters.

4) Less kitten mischief.

5) Real amnesia, regarding the interpretive dance incident.

6) Another Sugar Ray "comeback" CD.

7) More good times!

Hope you have a fantastic day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010.

Here's how we spent Ashley's birthday...

Before we booked our flights, everyone agreed: You can't go to Hawaii without going to a Luau. So a Luau is what we did. And what better day to go than on Ashley's birthday!?

We opted for the Old Lahaina Luau, because it focused more on traditional Hawaiian hula, culture and food, and less on "audience" interaction. I'm not sure about everyone else, but this was a key selling point for me. I loath "audience participation." It's awkward, it's unpleasant... It's my worst nightmare. There was no "audience participation" at the Old Lahaina Luau, and I couldn't have been happier.

Anyway, I digress.

After a day of oggling bright coloured fish at the aquarium, gorging on cheeseburgers and poking through stores on the Lahaina boardwalk, we made our way to the Luau.

Aquarium fish.

We were greeted at the entrance by enthusiastic locals, colourful leis of purple orchids, and a selection of boozy tropical drinks. A manager had to oust some people from our table (the hosts seated them in the wrong spot), but we settled in quickly. First, we took a bunch of photos!

Tom and I in our Luau glory.

Then we watched the pig being removed from the smoking pit!

Unearthing the pig!

Then we took creepy stalker picture of Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks.

Patrick Marleau.

Then we ate!

Me consuming coconut Jello/pudding.

Then we watched the sun set.

Sunset in Lahaina.

Then, with the aid of our awesome server, Kyle, and his trick candle, we wished Ashley a happy birthday.

Kyle and his "trick candle," aka lighter.

Finally, we watched the show! Hula dancers are pretty interesting to watch. Sadly, there wasn't any fire juggling... I guess that's not actually traditional in Hawaii.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010.

Bright and early on Wednesday morning, Shauna, Billy, Jeff, Tom and I piled into the Rubicon, and drove to the summit of Haleakala (Hal-ee-ack-ah-la), the dormant volcanic crater on Maui. The drive up the volcano is the greatest increase in elevation (10000 ft) over the shortest distance (37 miles) in the world. The best part was that the road wound back and forth, eventually breaking through the cloud line. At the summit of the volcano (10023 ft) we were above the clouds.

Shauna and I at 10023 ft.

Looking into the crater.

This bizarre looking plant is called a Silversword plant. Apparently at one time they used to be an endangered species. The roots of the plant are only about 1-2cm below the surface, so tourists would stand beside the plants and kill them by crushing their roots. There were a lot of educational signs around these plants warning tourists to stay away from them. We saw a lot of them on the volcano, so they seem to be flourishing with the extra protection.

Silversword plant.

We took a short hike (about 4 miles, or 6.4km) into the crater, going down to one of the cinder cones. Going down into the crater was not bad at all (aside from being in the direct sun the entire time). Coming out was a new challenge entirely! The altitude really got to me! Sometimes my heart was pounding so hard in my chest, I could feel it in my ears! Not the most pleasant sensation.

Loose scree streaming into the crater.

At the end of a long day, we headed back to Kihei. Here we enjoyed one of the greatest meals of the trips-- RIBS! Lots and lots of ribs. Ashley went all out and made five flavours of pork ribs. We had this with spicy green beans and potato salad.

Later that night, we dropped Tom off at the airport.

Phewf! Six days down, only one more to go!

Jeff has all the good snorkeling photos, so I'll post them as soon as I get my hands on them.

Over and out!

Faces

I'm going to interrupt my account of the last few days of the trip with a short post!

On Sunday I went through all my trip photos (and Steve's and Jeff's) and uploaded some to the photolab on Superstore.ca so I could get prints.

I noticed that Steve did a wonderful job capturing candid moments on the trip. And he got some fantastic portraits out of them. I admit, at the time, it seemed invasive! You'd be talking away to someone, and then, BAM! You'd look up, and Steve would have a camera right in your face! Or, you'd be enjoying a moment of solitude and... HELLO! Steve's zooming in on you! But, as you will see, the images he turned out speak for themselves.

Steve said that if I used any of his pictures, I should use his "watermark" on them. He doesn't actually have a watermark-- but to emphasize Steve's creative genius let me reiterate: THESE ARE STEVE'S PICTURES!

Subject: Tom

If you know Tom... Then you know he loves to ruin photos. He looks away at the last second, strikes a ridiculous GQ pose, waves his limbs around... He'll do pretty much anything to ruin a classy photo. Except... In Tom's mind, he's not ruining them. He's making them more interesting! So, good on Steve for catching Tom in an unguarded moment. Look at the results!

Subject: Shauna

Here's Shauna at the Luau. I'm not sure if this photo would have had the same affect if it had been taken in colour. Something about the shadows makes this photo! Or maybe it's because Shauna has such a big smile! She sure is puuurdy!

Subject: Billy

Okay... This photo doesn't have the same feel as the last two. And Billy is clearly striking a stoic pose (and doing a very good job at it, I might add), but I love it regardless. No... Billy didn't have a murse. He was just being such a good sport about holding my purse. Anyway, I think this is an excellent comical shot.

Subject: Me!

Okay, remember how I said Steve's techniques at times felt a little... Invasive? Do you SEE? For every fantastic photo, there's multiples like the one above. My expression says it all! "We're doing this again? Get that out of my face!"

But here's a better one! Steve says I have a "knowing" look in this one. I know there is a camera pointed at me? Maybe?

Subject: Jeff

Is... Is Jeff seducing the camera? Does anyone else see that look about him? "Come to me... Yes, you... Come to me..." Or, is it more of a threatening look? "I'm going to MESS. YOU. UP." Perhaps a look of warning? But that's the beauty of it! It's mysterious...

Subject: Ashley

I've saved the best for last! This is definitely my favorite "person" photo from the trip. You know how people talk about someone "lighting up" when they are happy? Well, I think that pretty much sums up this shot. I've never seen a photo of Ashley with so much light in her before. It's beaming out of her! She looks lovely! *Envious Sigh*

If anyone is a new reader to this blog, you might be wondering... Who IS this Steve character? And how did he get so good with his camera?

I give you... In all his aloof and dispassionate glory... STEVE!

Tom managed to snap this one!

Thanks, Steve! You sure captured some great moments.

Anyway, I'll post some pictures from the Luau, snorkeling and the volcano on the weekend. Promise!

Pictures Worth a Thousand Words

It was my intentions to blog continuously while we were in Maui. Unfortunately we didn't have a stable WiFi source for the laptop! Our sneaky WiFi stealing from the neighbour only worked for a couple of days. After that, it crapped out on us, and we were internet-less.

Our week in Hawaii was very picturesque. As a result, I'm going to rely heavily on photos for the next few posts. I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Sunday, July 11, 2010.

Our holiday started for "real" on Sunday after Jeff, Shauna and Billy joined Tom, Ashley, Steve and I at the house the previous night. After a good night of rest, we began the day with some early morning snorkeling.

Shauna, Jeff, Ashley, Steve and Billy gear up for our first snorkel.

We all swallowed a lot of salt water (the water was a little choppy). Unlike when we were in Australia, Jeff did not swallow enough to make himself sick. We saw a huge variety of fish, and some of the group also saw a turtle! No one drowned (i.e. I didn't drown), and neither Ashley or Shauna (formerly YMCA lifeguards) had to perform a heroic rescue or CPR.

By noon we were baked by the sun. Literally. Shauna and Jeff followed Tom in their pursuit of becoming full-on human lobsters. SPF 30 was no match for the intensity of the Hawaiian sun.

Our next stop were the lava fields near Kihei. The lava field formed millions of years ago when the island of Maui was still forming over the "hot spot" which is currently beneath the Big Island. The eruption caused lava to ooze down the slopes of Haleakala (the volcano) towards the ocean.

The sprawling lava field.

Lava field meets ocean.

Billy, Jeff and I documenting our experiences.

The obligatory group photo. After Tom ruined take #1 and #2, Billy was pissed for take #3.

On our way home from the lava field we stopped to check out Big Beach. This particular beach is known more for it's extensive length, and body surfing waves. None of us were properly equipped to enjoy the waves, but the sand was soft and fine.

Ashley and Shauna chase Tom's footprints.

From our seats in the sand, we watched tiny crabs pop up from their holes. They didn't like us much (we kept scaring them), but Jeff managed to catch one little guy in the act!

A crab emerges from his hiding-hole.

By the end of the day (and basically every day in Hawaii) we were exhausted from the heat and activity. We headed to bed early in preparation for our next day.

Monday, July 12, 2010.

Travelling convoy style, we spent Monday tackling the Road to Hana. The Road to Hana is a winding stretch of highway that accesses the east side of the island through narrow lanes, and approximately 45 one-lane bridges. The east side of the island offers a variety of scenery, which Billy declared to be "wicked awesome," including lush rainforest, blacksand beaches and waterfall after waterfall.

Jeff tails us in the Rubicon.

"Wicked awesome" views.

Along the way, we also stopped to take a tour through some underground lava tubes.

Daylight streaming into the underground lava tube.

Black sand beach in Wai'anapanapa State Park.

Three Bears (Waikani) Falls.

The day was not complete until we stuffed our faces with delicious (famous) banana bread sold at roadside stands along the road to Hana. Jeff and Shauna camped overnight in the state park, so Billy, Steve and Tom crammed into the backseat of the tiny Ford Focus. Why wasn't *I* in the backseat, you ask? Well, I was drugged up on Dramamine (motion sickness medication), so I got the coveted front passenger seat while Ashley drove us home.

Yet another day came to an exhausting close.

Stayed tuned for more photos!

Destination: Maui

A few years ago, Ashley's parents bought some property in the city of Kihei on Maui. Lucky for us, they had no problem with us staying in the house for a week.

This is where we're staying!

On Thursday, Ashley headed out to Kihei. On Friday, Tom, Steve and I followed. Today, Shauna, Billy and Jeff are on their way as well!

Tom, Steve and I caught our first flight at 1:15pm. The flight to San Francisco was short and uneventful. Since Tom and I booked our flights at different times, we didn't have seats together. But the guy that I was supposed to sit next to volunteered to switch seats with Tom, so that worked out well for us.

Our lay over went smoothly, and our next flight left on time. We arrived in the Kahului airport a little travel weary, and a bit confused by the time change. I didn't realize that Maui is 4 hours behind Calgary during daylight savings. Even though the clock was telling us it was only 7pm, we were still on Calgary time. So it felt like 11pm! We went to bed at a lame 8:30pm (12:30am Calgary time!)

Of course, this meant we ended up waking up at 6:00am. Ashley gave us a tour of the back yard. There are lime trees full of limes, and a papaya tree too!

Limes in the backyard.

Papayas in the backyard.

We were at the beach by 8:30am and stayed until after 11am. The sand is soft and fine, and the water is surprisingly warm. The air is humid, the sky has been clear. We can see the volcano from the backyard, although it is generally surrounded by clouds. We can also see the windmills on the side of the volcano.

Today we're waiting for Jeff, Shauna and Billy to arrive. But the next few days will be packed with a road trip the the volcano, driving the Road to Hana, and a luau! Of course, we'll get some more beach time in the there, and some BBQing as well. We anticipate spending a lot of time in the backyard enjoying our meals.

The backyard patio.

It smells like tropical fruit right now. Probably because there is a pineapple and some papaya sitting beside me. I understand if you are overwhelmed with jealousy, and never want to read this blog again!

Creeping Towards "Late 20's"

Jeff, aka JDiva. I copied this photo from Facebook!

Today marks the 10th birthday that I have celebrated with Jeff.

Can you believe it? TEN YEARS OF BIRTHDAYS! We were only 15 when we first met in Social Studies all those years ago. Remember how Mr. Heydanus made us colour in a map of the provinces of Canada? Talk about advanced placement!

What would have happened to us if we'd never bonded over the freezing temperatures in the classroom, bullying Gil, and erroneously (but hilariously) labelling Jesse as a transvestite? No chimney sweeping, no snow whore, no Sound of Music, no Dirty Harry Fest, no breaking Steve's wrist, no Australia or Giggle Twinz. Or perhaps the greatest tragedy of all... No Ho-Train! It sounds like life would have been pretty bleak for all of us.

Thankfully, this is not the case!

Jeff, you're 26 years old today. Next year you'll be entering your "late 20's," but for now, things are still looking good! You've got a great family, good friends, a smokin' hot girlfriend that you robbed from the cradle (this is what you get for being "the young one", Shauna), a career, an awesome apartment, a hilarious roommate, the coveted (?) title of "bridesman," and plenty of future opportunities.

Here's to another great year for you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Juan de Fuca Marine Trail (June 28-July 1)

A few months ago, Andrew and Ashley asked Tom and I if we would be interested in hiking the West Coast Trail. After our experiences in the Grand Canyon last fall, we were excited at the idea of doing some backpacking again. However, as I started to read about the West Coast Trail, I became apprehensive about the length (77km) and difficulty of the trail. None of us are particularly experienced hikers, and it seemed like a bad idea to start out on one of the most challenging trails in North America. So a little bit of research lead us to an alterate option, the 47km Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.

Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.

The Juan de Fuca trail is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It starts near the small town of Jordan River, and ends near Port Renfrew (which is also near the trailhead for the West Coast Trail). The majority of the trail is through temperate rainforest, with sections directly on the beach, parallel to the coast line. For four days, we hiked through trees, mud, never ending switchbacks, rain and sunshine.

June 28: China Beach to Bear Beach

Ashley, Andrew, Tom and I starting the hike.

After an early rising at Tom's aunt's house in Richmond, we caught the 9am ferry to Swartz Bay, and started the drive out to Jordan River. After the lengthy process of leaving one car at the end trailhead, and leaving one at the beginning trailhead, we started our hike at about 3pm. The sun was out, but it was still a cool 15 degrees. Perfect weather for hiking! The first portion of the trail was graded as "moderate" difficulty." It took us about 4 hours to make the first 9km of the trail to our campsite for the night.

Crossing our first suspension bridge.

Warped tree branches.

Walking planks.

Typical trail scenery.

The back country campsites had minimal infrastructure-- if you could even call it that. Basically, there were a couple of outhouses, and a couple of bear-proof lockers to store your food. The campsite was also quite crowded, so we were lucky to find some space to pitch our tents.

A little tight on space!

This was our first chance to try out some of the dehydrated/freeze-dried food that Ashley and Andrew had picked up at MEC. We tried a Pad Thai package and a Curry Chicken Rice. Much to our surprise, they were actually pretty tasty!

Across the board, our first night sleep was terrible. I think we all thought that the sound of the ocean would be soothing as we were falling asleep, but instead it was like a cyclic roaring. For a while it would ebb, and you would doze for a bit, but then the water would come roaring in, and you'd be awake. I'm not sure if I slept more than 10 continuous minutes that night. It felt like I was awake the whole time.

June 29: Bear Beach to Chin Beach

The next section was graded the "most difficult" portion of the trail. And believe me, it was the most difficult-- especially when you consider the lack of sleep from the night before! The trail was a back and forth pattern of steep switchbacks. For 12km, we went up and down, up and down, up and down. Blisters formed, feet ached, knees protested, and in my case, spirits were low! It was slow going, and for a while, I wondered why I ever thought backpacking was fun! It felt like the day was never going to end.

Before the day had taken it's toll on me!

During the 7 hours on the trail, we saw and did a few interesting thing. First thing in the morning, we picked our way along the beach. Now, I'm sure in your mind you are picturing a lovely beach with soft, smooth sand. The beaches on the trail were nothing like that. Most of the time the beaches were comprised of large boulders and loose rocks. You were lucky if you saw a bit of sand. Walking on rocks is tough going. They have no give, and they suck out all your energy as you walk. This explains why Tom was walking on some of the exposed tide pool Unfortunately, he slipped, and soaked his shoes and most of his left side. An unpleasant way to spend the rest of the day.

Rocky beach.

In addition, there was a snake that surprised Ashley (who was in the lead), and some sort of muskrat-like animal as we were crossing a bridge. We also had to use ropes to get ourselves up steep inclines, and clamber down a small ladder. We had a mini celebration each time we saw a kilometre marker on the trail.

Can you see the snake?

Tom pumps water for lunch.

By the time we reached camp that night, we were tired and hungry-- and some of us still a little wet. This time we had whole wheat macaroni with pesto sauce and pine nuts for dinner. We went to bed early. Sleep was better than the night before, but not great!

Drying off socks and shoes at the end of the day.

Sunset on Chin Beach.

June 30: Chin Beach to Little Kuitshe Creek

Tom and I on the trail.

When we got up in the morning, we were faced with another 12km day on "difficult" and "moderate" graded trail. We ate lunch on Sombrio Beach, which, in retrospect, would have been a beautiful place to spend the night. We passed a secluded bay with a picturesque waterfall, and ate lunch on the beach. An ACTUAL beach! With sand instead of loose rocks! There were a lot of families and dogs in this area because it was connected to a parking lot and trailhead. We also passed another group of backpackers who had lost two of their group. The people we met had been hiking ahead, and had accidentally followed a logging road instead of the trail. By the time they realized their mistake, they were too far away to turn back, so they hiked along the highway, and re-entered the trail from the parking lot at the Sombrio Beach Trailhead. Unfortunately, they didn't know where the other two of their group had gone.

Sombrio Beach.

Varying levels of enthusiasm.

Trail boardwalk.

Our campsite that night was the first that was not on the beach. Under the canopy of the forest, it as dark early in the evening. There was swarms of mosquitoes all over the campsite-- but they were the least aggressive mosquitos I had ever encountered. They would hover around your face, and some would even land. But they made little effort to bite. Maybe we smelled THAT bad? I only had three mosquito bites from the trip (one unfortunately in the middle of my forehead), but I'm pretty sure I got them the following day. Not at the Little Kuitshe Creek campsite.

July 1: Little Kuitshe Creek to Botanical Bay

Our final day on the trail was the longest stretch of hiking, 14km. Thankfully for us, the stretch of trail was graded "moderate," and it took us about 6 hours to make our way to the final trailhead.

The day started out with rain, so we were damp and dirty. A couple of hours later, the sun re-emerged and roasted us all a little pink. While moving through another campsite, we passed some hikers who had seen a mama black bear and her two cubs on a beach. They gave us a heads-up, and told us to talk loudly through the next section of the trail so we didn't surprise them. In the end, we didn't end up seeing any bears. I'm a little disappointed, but also a little relieved too.

Some of the numerous (and steep) stairs.

We all get mild sunburns, but it was totally worth it!

We ate our last meal on the trail, chicken salad wraps made from tinned chicken, mayo packets, and some pine nuts and dried cranberries.

When we reached the trailhead at Botanical Beach, Ashley and I had a few minutes to sit back and relax. Andrew and Tom had to run 2.5km along the road to Port Renfrew so that they could pick up our car. Then we loaded ourselves into the car, and headed back into Victoria.

47km later... Finally done!

Upon arrival, we checked into the Fairmont Empress for a much needed shower-- and the best sleep in four days.

Ah... But this is not quite the end of our story.

During our stay at the Empress, we left all of our clothing and equipment in the back of our cars. If you can imagine... The cumulative smell of four days worth of sweat, camp fire and dampness enclosed in a small space was overwhelmingly noxious the following morning. The smell was TERRIBLE. From then on, we drove everywhere with the car windows rolled down!

So this leads me to the last set of pictures.

The importance of airing out your equipment!

The airing-out of sleeping bags.

Ashley and Andrew survey the equipment explosion.

Us taking over the McLaren's back yard.

Another adventure under our belts.

Until next time!