Kalalau Magic

Anyone who knows me realizes that I get overly excited about trips.  I over-research for weeks/months, I over-plan our itinerary, and I over-worry that something will go wrong and it will fall to pieces.  When Heidi and Nic suggested we do a kid swap, I was so excited, I jumped up and squealed.  Yes, I over did it.

One week before our trip, a government helicopter crashed, closing down the trail "inevitably."  We heard from many people that "inevitably" usually means weeks, so we scrambled for other possibilities that could partially satisfy the hike bug I needed to work out of my system.  Thankfully, the trail opened up a few days later, but Kate got sick.  Until Tuesday night, we really were not sure if she would be recovered, and so we packed with anxiety.  By Wed, she was good and we were completely ready for our getaway.

Hilary and Derek came with us.  They moved here straight out of medical school a couple years ago.  Having travel buddies--especially ones with as much enthusiasm as we feel--is a perfect addition to an adventure.

Turquoise water:

Hilary strained her back the week before, and until we hit Hanakapai Beach, she was not sure if she could hack a backpacking trip.  Her back loosened up, though, and we were golden.

It had dumped rain all week.  We thought the trail would be a mud hole and the skies would be gray, but neither prediction was accurate.

Looking out over "the ledge":

 A chilling drop:

 When I hike on this trail, I always think that I'm so glad to be here instead of there:

 We initially thought this was Hanakoa Falls, the waterfall at mile 6.  I haven't tracked down the name of it, but as far as I know, you can't hike back to it (at least on established trails).

Love the tropical plants.  Sorry, Brady, you are not in many pictures.

I had a few goals for this trip:  1) Swim in Hanakoa Falls, 2) Sleep all night under the stars, 3)  Make it over to Honopu Beach, 4) Slide down the waterfall in Kalalau, 5) Eat guavas and oranges off the trail, and 6) Swim hippie-style at Kalalau.

Finally!  We reached Hanakoa Falls.  I say finally not because we were tired, but because it has taken well over 5 1/2 years for me to swim in this waterfall.  We tried with Matt and Megan before Zachary was born, but were unsuccessful, and hiked around in Hanakoa Valley for ages getting eaten alive (150 mosquito bites on my legs that outing!).  The anticipation hiking the whopping 0.5 mile off the trail to the falls was killing me--my heart raced and I was weak in the knees!  There she is:

 I've read accounts where people claim Hanakapai Falls is better than Hanakoa, and vise versa.  My observation is we had Hanakoa all to ourselves, and so the experience was more exclusive--which equates to better in my book.

Shortly after the falls, we hit the section of trail that landed this adventure in an article about "America's 10 Most Dangerous Hikes" by backpacker.com.  I am not sure if I was more prepared for it this time or less edgy, but mile 7 was not intimidating on this trip.  (I still refuse to take younger children, though.  It  is a narrow ledge on top of a 300' cliff with nothing to stop you from falling all the way into the jagged surf.)

Here are a couple pictures of that section on the way back:

 We reached Kalalau Valley with plenty of time to get camp set up, filter water, and catch the sunset.  I remember feeling so much more tired and achy the first time we did this about 4 1/2 years ago.  I'm not sure if I am in better shape (not likely), or if it was because my pack was so much lighter, but I felt refreshed more than exhausted.

 On the way in, we saw a (gnarly-looking) pit bull with his owner.  The dog hunted down his first goat.  Unfortunately, in the chase, the dog fell off the cliff.  He somehow survived, and swam into one of the beaches, where the owner tended to him and nursed him back to health for nine days.  This isn't the goat that led to the dog's "adventure," but reminded me of that hilarious encounter.

 Sunset #1:

We slept under the stars on the beach all night long.  We woke up the next morning with a companion named Piko.  He hung with us the rest of the trip.

This dog never barked, stayed loyal to us (despite every hippy in Kalalau knowing him and offering him food), and was a total gentleman.  He waited until you climbed down a rock before making his way down the same terrain--every time.  On the morning of our departure, Derek wanted to bring him home, but he disappeared just before we left.

Rock stacks in the Kalalau caves:

In the morning, we threw on suits and swam to Honopu Beach.  This is Brady's favorite beach in the world, and he was able to track down a dry bag and bring his camera along for the first time.  (You can't dock a boat or even a kayak here, so it is one of the most exclusive beaches on the island.)

Honopu Beach is said to be "the valley of the last tribe," in reference to the last of the mythical Menehune peoples living here.

We met Skip and Lindsey on the trail, and asked if they wanted to come along.  They are visiting on their 10 year anniversary trip from Indianapolis.  Another fun couple to share the experience with.

Brady captured images of the untouched sand--much like untouched snow after a storm.  It is so pretty to look at and you hesitate walking on it, but once you start, it is so fun to wreck.

 Beautiful shot:

 Dork moments jumping off the sand dunes:

 The famous Honopu arch--90' tall (the tallest in Hawaii):

Another waterfall:

This is my favorite picture from the trip.  It captures exactly how I felt:

We swam back, ate lunch, and headed back into Kalalau Valley.  Skip climbed high up a tree and shook these babies down for us (combined with the limitless guavas on the trail, check on goal #5).  These warm fruits were a flavorful mix between lemons and grocery store orange.

Swim hole:

Boys and tricks:

Brady shows us the proper way to go down Kalalau's water slide:

I was terrified of this thing.  I've been here two other times, but never ventured the whole slide, worried I would get injured on the mossy mess.

After my fearful first slide, I decided I had to try again and enjoy it.  Of course, this time I did get hurt.  I jammed my toe/foot.  It immediately swelled up and discolored, and it still hurts bad enough a week later that I can't walk without limping.

No hands:

We took a walk (hobble) through the hippie gardens...

...and came off the trail to the most spectacular view of the valley I've ever seen:

I got a little emotional turning the corner and gazing at the beach.  This trip was so satisfying and refreshing.

Night #2, I wanted to be in the water during the sunset.  Unfortunately, we were out of fresh water, and I was so slow with my foot.  Brady ran to the falls to filter and promised to make it back in time for the sunset.  Apparently, I miscommunicated where I'd be, and I thought we'd miss the moment, but he came running up the sand just in time to see the sky light up and get our last dip in the ocean.

We had our last night at camp in the hammocks, since it was raining a bit.  I was disappointed to realize that hammocks are more comfortable than sleeping under the stars.

The next morning, Hilary and I hit the natural showers, and we packed up and left.  The hike back was tough on my foot, but manageable.  With 1.5 miles to go, we came on a woman who hurt her ankle and could not walk.  Brady and Derek scored hero points and carried her down the muddy trail.  We finished the day with sushi and headed back to get our kids.

Magical.

Hanalei with Hadleys

The weekend after Ritchies left, we headed to the north shore for the Sand Castle competition.  No, we did not compete.  We are more in favor of water sports than sand castles, but we did decide that the minute Zachary shows interest, we will do one with him in their keiki (children's) competition.  Instead, we went to Pine Trees--about a mile and a half down from the pier--where there happened to be (small) waves.  The pic above is me on Zachary's 5'8" board.  I am not proud of wave size or anything, but I am excited to get up and feel more comfortable on a short board.  Someday, I will be legit.

We met up with the Hadleys.  Most of our friends were there, too, but competing in the competition.  We figured we would head over after an hour or two, but the day was so perfect in the water, and the kids were having a great time.  It also rained on and off all day, making us less motivated to move all our things and our umbrella.  Also, parking was a nightmare that day.  Kauai is beautifully undeveloped for the most part, but sometimes I really wish for a parking garage or some other landscape-wrecking parking solution on the north shore.

Garrett had the best faces of the day.  Face #1:

Me again

Yes, overkill on the pictures, but I want to remember these moments when I am very hopefully pregnant and unable to participate in a few months.

Todd, my surfing mentor:

Face #2:

Zac started riding his boogie board like a surf board to be like Tanner and Garrett.

Zachary:

Face #3:  Todd pushing Garrett into a wave.

Derek and Hilary brought their family over as well.  Here's their daughter, who is about 18 months older than Zac, riding a longboard:

Face #4 (the best one):

Tanner and Damon:

Brady and I were bummed that Zachary didn't want anything to do with surfing this day, when his friends were out there riding wave after wave.  Zac is capable but still nervous in areas he can't touch.  The water was cold, and he had a wave topple him at the beginning.  We decided to back off and let him do what he wanted.  Next time!

Jack, Kate's bestie:

Sand-disaster Katers:

The big part of our day was before the beach: we bought ourselves a paddle board!  We've wanted one for years, but only now pulled the trigger.  I sold my longboard, and that went a long way towards paying for this thing.  Since the purchase, we've taken it out about 5 times, so it seems like a worthwhile entertainment investment.  Here I am, out with Hilary and Megan:

Todd, riding our board.

That night, we ate at the pier with lots of friends and checked out the sand castles.  They were spectacular, but we did not end up with photos due to the rain.  It's Hanalei.  It rains a lot.  We love Hanalei, despite the long drive and the often uncooperative weather.  We wish there had been waves when the Ritchies visited.

Bounce Houses, "Just Kalipaki," and Kate's Song

Last Saturday, we headed up to Anini Beach for Brady's company party.  Anini is a place we don't really understand--it is a park area where people love to camp, but the beach is very shallow, has plenty of rocks, and is not even very scenic.  It's also on the north shore, so it rains a lot.  However, we had a lovely time for the picnic, and spent almost the entire time watching kids race up and down the bounce house.  

Zachary was in heaven.  We calculated that he went up and down this slide at least 75 times and more likely 100.  There were treats galore and tortillas for lunch (and even JUICE!), but he couldn't care less.  It was all business for this fellow and that made me think we are very alike.

Kate went down maybe 5 times, but absolutely did not love it.  When she got to the bottom of one of our runs, she said, "Mom, I not brave."

Love this take-off:

 This weekend, we had our ward luau in the evening and some things to set up in the morning.  The night before, we discussed options for our Saturday, and when Brady suggested we paddle board in Kalipaki, I shot him down flat.  In the end, we decided that really was our best option with the time we had, so we took turns running the golf course, paddle boarded the afternoon away, and played in the sand and the water with our kids.

It was a perfect day.  Sunny, gorgeous, and a lovely amount of play for all of us.  I love that building sand creations is still one of Zachary's favorite things to do.  I love that Kate is getting in on the sand fun and wants to build holes.  I love that Kate wants to be in the water and wants to actually swim.  I love that Zachary will practice skim boarding 80 times--and has an audience on the beach cheering him on.  I love that even though it is "Just Kalipaki," it turned out to be one of our best family days in a long time.

Katers decided she was brave enough to go out paddle boarding, too.  When she got off, she told me "I brave!"

 They went out pretty far--probably 75 yards.

Zac's snowman and tunnel creation:

 The bay was super calm so we hugged the edges of the cliffs in the distance.

 Zachary's skim boarding (at some point, we will get him a real skim board):

 Love this fall:

 We do not have a picture of Zac on the paddle board.  He is still spooked about being deep in the water.  He can self sacrifice dozens of times on his boogie board, but that is close to shore and in his mind, much safer.  To his credit, he got on the paddle board with Brady for about 10 minutes, but it was while we picked up lunch, so no pictures.

 Brady's paddle session:

 Jillian commented that Kate is getting so tall recently.  It's true: the girl has grown out of so many of her clothes lately, and everyone that sees her thinks she is 3.  She is loving our twice a week "Tutu and Me" preschool days (Mommy and Me style), and she is pretty sure she can do anything she sees Zachary do.

Tonight, we went out and played baseball with the kids after dinner.  With school starting, it seems like there have been a lot of irritating moments--tired children, whining, ears turned off, obnoxious dinners, etc.  This weekend was the perfect reminder of why we deal with those moments.  Running around with the kids, hearing them giggle so hard they can't breathe, working together in the sand, and watching them roll around hugging bring the best feelings in the world.

I need to get video of the song, but for now, here are the lyrics to Brady's latest song.  I told him when he bought his fancy guitar that he could get it as long as he wrote songs for our kids, and he's kept to that.  It melts my heart to hear him sing to the kids at night.

This song includes her favorite bedtime song, "Twinkle, Twinkle," but with a different tune.  At the beauty spin part, she jumps up out of bed and twirls like she is wearing her dress.  More magical moments that drown out the shrill screams and food on the floor.

"Kate's Song"
 G Am C D.  Chorus C D F Em

Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky

Lay down and close those eyes
Mama sings a lullaby
Dream of flowers and butterflies
Your Daddy's here until the sunrise

Chorus:
Hold on and let me catch up babe.
Before you know it you'll be sitting in the first grade.

Slow down the sound of little feet, girl
Show me to the place where life stands still.

Ooo, just stay my baby girl.

Home from work had a crazy day,
You come running up the driveway.
Your little laugh and shrill scream too,
Beggin me to play with you

Hello Kitty and little pink shoes
Kitchen sets and jewelry too
Your beauty spin in your Sunday dress
It's never better than this.

Maybe some day, you'll remember
This day, life seemed to rhyme
One of these days, I'll need to let you
Go--it's just a matter of time

So...(chorus)

End of the song includes a chorus and "Ooo, just stay Daddy's girl."