Lana'i Recap

The T-shirt agenda


This pretty much sums up everything there is to do on the island :)




Garden of the Gods - check!


Munro trail is on the hillside behind the gazebo - this is behind The Lodge (4 seasons) - we didn't hike it because it was too muddy


Shipwreck Beach - check!


If you walk inland from shipwreck beach you can see some cool old hieroglyphs



For two days it rained, creating mud where there once were roads

While we didn't get stuck, we got close on our way to Keomoku Village - so, after covering the jeep in red mud and skidding and sliding we decided to nix the remaining 4 items on the t-shirt checklist

On the day we went to Valley of the Gods, we went all the way down to the northern shore of the island where we had a pristine beach pretty much to ourselves


The sun's rays had a cool effect


Our own personal Jeep ad


Other stuff
Lana'i is like stepping back into a different world; the island was once owned entirely by Dole as a gigantic pineapple plantation (and now 98% of it is owned by David Murdock). Even today there are only two paved roads, and small Lana'i City is based around Dole Park. We signed up to take the Four Seasons shuttle for the week ($35 or so) and were then able to get from Manele Bay to the city, or from the city to The Lodge. There are not many places to stay on the island but we lucked out with Dreams Come True Bed and Breakfast with an awesome host who made us breakfast every morning...Lana'i is definitely one of the most relaxing places I have ever been


Approaching Manele - looking at the south eastern coast of the island



Birds of paradise in front of the Hotel Lana'i


Other Lana'i activities
-seeing Humpback Whales in the strait between Maui and Lana'i
-swimming with the dolphins (in the bay, for free)
-ghetto snorkeling (where you just hold your breath and go under with goggles)
-feeling like you're going to die in the back of a jeep that is speeding along a dirt road
-watching the rain from the front porch of the B&B
-getting a drink at each of the resorts (the Lana'i crawl is all of 3 hotels and 2 places in town)
-being in bed around 10pm every night
-fresh mangoes
-fresh passionfruit juice drink
-being the only people on a beach
-taking a plane so small the captain is your crew and you don't have to go through security

Inter-Island Travel

Monday brought an early morning as LJ and I headed to Lanai by using the most different modes of transportation possible within the isles of Hawaii...we started off in the rental car, returning it in time to catch our 5:20am flight to Maui.

The sky grew more pink as we headed from the Big Island in our little Cessna (pilot was captain AND crew...we didn't even have to deal with TSA out in the commuter terminal) - this is probably the closest I will ever come to having a chartered flight. We flew past Haleakala and over the western coast as we rounded to the middle of the island and the airport.

From there we jumped on the Maui Bus (one transfer point, very easily negotiated so early in the morning) which brought us to Lahaina by about 8:30am...so we had a few hours to explore the town before we took the ferry at 12:45. I really like Lahaina, and Maui reminded the most of Cuba of anywhere I have been (other than Cuba)...I think some day I will need to return and give the island its fair share of exploration.

In downtown Lahaina...original ABC store??


This sign embodies Hawaii to me


The banyon tree in the park


along the sea wall

On the ferry we had the unexpected musical soundtrack of two gentlemen who had their ukuleles on board - between the music and the whales (we kept having to slightly alter our course so as to stay the mandated distance from them) what was a mere mode of transportation became an unreal experience all on its own.

Looking back at Maui

When we got to Lanai, we stayed on the beach for a while, meeting up with DS and KLW before taking the island shuttle up to our B&B in Lanai City.

Looking back, this was probably the best Monday I've had in quite a long time!

Big Island and Lavaman

Mauna Kea
Since everyone else was training and learning race basics from the committee, LJ and I decided to go to the top of Mauna Kea - the highest point in Hawaii, AND the tallest mountain in the world (it starts at the bottom of the ocean and reaches a height of 13,796 feet)

At the visitor information center (and just above cloud line)


Mauna Kea Silversword - endemic to Hawaii


Climbing to the top - yes, that's snow in Hawaii


Officially at the summit

artsy self-portrait on the way down

Lavaman
The next day was the big race and the reason we were there! LJ and I had 5 people to cheer for so we were quite busy moving around the course so we could cheer for everyone after swimming, biking, running, and then finishing...and they were all timed so we could do it! Thanks guys for coordinating like that ;)







This is what it looked like when you got to the finish...except by the time the racers got there, the sides behind the white fences were lined with people cheering

For quite a while the water was a flurry of arms and caps


Men returning in yellow on the left, women swimming out in red on the right


After swimming, then biking you get to run! This is why I cheered :)


Post-race relaxation


even for me (thanks KMJ for the photo)


Then at the post party we got to dance! (thanks again to KMJ for this photo)

Greetings from Honolulu!

Hello!
I am writing to you from a friend's place in Honolulu! Lucky friend huh? I got in yesterday after many hours on planes (flew Delta so that meant SEA to SLC, then to HNL) - due to the time change it was only 3pm here, so plenty of hours remaining to enjoy the sunshine :)

My original plan was to go surfing this morning, but due to my wanting to sleep, and wanting to get everything in order for the rest of the trip, I am instead acting a my own travel agent and spending some time online figuring out car rentals, bus schedules, etc. I'd rather put in some relaxed time now than be scrambling at the last minute (that's the theory anyway)

I'm also a bit paranoid about getting around on time using The Bus so I'm going to leave ample time to get back to the airport. I can sit in the sun there anyway :)

This afternoon I am headed to Kona on the Big Island to stay for the weekend and cheer on my friends KLW, KMJ and DS in the Lavaman triathlon on Sunday morning.

Hopefully I'll be able to update my whereabouts but that is, of course, dependent upon internet access and electricity. Isn't it funny how that's become so standard? Yet another way in which modern technology has made the world that much smaller. - Although is it really that much more enjoyable?? ...if I didn't have the option to be overly cautious, I would be surfing right now...
:)

this is how I schlepped my stuff around...

Greetings from Opening Day at Safeco Field!

All photo credits go to KLW

it was so cold, it was SNOWING...you can (kinda) see it coming in through the stadium opening...

NC Recap

Some memorable moments:



how grad students tailgate


NCAA basketball :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)



When you go to the games, you can't watch as many as you can on tv...however everyone was updating their brackets with the use of modern technology (there are at least 4 people checking theirs in this photo)

In the Raleigh-Durham airport they have an ACC Store (Seriously. Awesome.) - I, of course, had to go in and check out the merchandise.

Now, let's see what the voting public (aka consumers) have to say through their purchases:

This is the UVa section...pay special attention to the number of hats


People seem to really enjoy that VT merchandise! GO HOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!