Up-chuck in the Pacific

I set the alarm for 5:30, but we both woke up just before it went off & started getting ready for our trip. A quick little breakie, some coffee & off we go to Kaunakakai Town & the Coral Queen. We get there ok and wait on some others & it ends up being 14 people. We all get gear, half wetsuits & some instruction..not quite like the Pacific Whale Foundation, but Capt Tim is an ok dude. About a 15 minute boat ride to our first spot where there are lots of turtles (Honu's). KK's ok so far. A nice spot and a few Honu's too, but the reef fish are really good! An hour here and we're pretty cold when we get out. Now another ride to the 2nd spot & KK starts to get a little "ill" & puking in the ocean! I missed it but maybe the fish ate well. Anyway, this spot was FAB! Lots of great coral, thousands of fish & even more Honu's! It was pretty deep on the outside, maybe down to 30' & some neat sand trails where the turtles rested. Even a few Humu's! Somw people got stung by some very small jelly fish...not bad but left some spots. Steve's hands went numb from just cold water & the exercise, but most of us were shivering when we got out. We had cold drinks but no hot chocolate or coffee. We're at the pier by 10:15 & KK is not well, so back to the condo & get her back in shape. The rest of us crash with a strong power nap, a shower & prepare to go to town to get supper & check out a hiking location for Wednesday. I finally go down & check in at the office, so we're official now. Into town & The Moloka'i Outdoors shop & she gives us a number for the "flower Guy" in the Halawa Valley so we can do the hike..Thanks! Over to the Paddlers Inn to order supper..Texas BBQ! Some more shopping & then up to our condo on the west end. KK is better, but skips supper. Our BBQ is really good, with ribs & pulled pork sliders, cole slaw & fries. Also, cold Longboards & another FAB sunset! OK, now it's bedtime, or almost, so I'll fix breakie tomorrow, but first, let's sleep in!

Divine Brew-ha-ha

Aloha from "The Most Hawaiian Island"-Mokola'i. A pretty good sleep last eve, but still woke up at my usual time of 8:15, but of course, it's 4:15 am here in Paradise. A little rain during the night & our wild turkeys visiting the back yard & even some peacocks! A little breakie on the lanai..coffee, cookies, cheerios, the staples of life.Watch out for falling coconuts! I'll call Steve & Marlene & we'll go for a walk and kind of explore the grounds. We walk the old golf course, which closed in '08, so it's massive weeds, but right on the beach & big surf at Kepuhi Beach. A few surfers are catching the big waves & some picnickers on the beach..watch out for big waves! Back to the condo & a little lunch before hopping in our van to do some island exploring. I get to drive as we're sharing the rental & up to Maunaloa Town to check it out. A cute little kite store & some conversation with the owners, but the general store is closed already-1:00. So now it's way down to Kaunakakai Town & some serious shopping a setting up a snorkeling trip. Great! A 7:00 am trip for two hours of snorkeling, leaving from the wharf here in town on the Coral Queen. Now back on the road to look for more spots of interest. Down highway450 to MM 20and a nice beach, with calm waters, but it needs to be high tide. Back towards town, and the speed limit is 30-35, and the road is pretty good, so it takes a while to get anywhere. A quick stop at a store for ice cream, pop something for supper. A quick right turn up to the Molokai Coffee house for some live Hawaiian music & our friends from the Kite store who also have a store here- The Blue Monkey. Nice local flavor! And we are told about the lookout just up the road, so away we go..up, up ,up to the Pala'au State Park & a great overlook of the Kalaupapa Pensiula, where Father Daimon helped the lepers--what a view! Also the sight of the sea cliffs were awesome!( The world's tallest!) A little chilly & windy out on this point. We also hiked up to the ancient Hawaiian phallic stone & avoided any wild hogs. On back to the condo for a FAB subset & some cold brews. Dinner at the Wallis's as Marlene stirred up some tofu, our first adventure at this dish, and it was good! and spicy! Steve grilled some veggies & of course a little vino. A great day here in paradise & our new spot & a very laid-back island. See you at the wharf!

Hawaii-2012

ALOHA!!! It was a long day, up at 4:14 am & off to the airport for a 7:00 flight to San Francisco, to Honolulu & finally to "The Most Hawaiian Island" Moloka'i. The OKC flight was not real good as they couldn't get the temp right & we either froze or cooked, but we did arrive in Frisco. A quick lunch/breakfast & board our big 777 to Hawaii. I read, slept & watched a movie.."Moneyball".. and only missed the 1/2 way contest by 3 minutes, by a quick estimate. We left San Fran 35 minutes late, but arrived into HLN on time at 1:55 pm ,local time. Grab a burger & head to the Inter-Island Terminal for our 4:10 hopper over to Moloka'i. It was on a turbo-prop (no leather helmets issued!) and only 25 minutes, and all of our bags arrived with us!! Amazing! We were meeting some friends from Victorville, CA, Steve & Marlene & they had arrived earlier & got a rental car..now they're out of cars! Down to the "big" town for shopping-groceries-before going to our condo at the Ke Nani Kai. It turns out to be a lovely place, but pretty isolated, so we have dinner at Steve & Marlene's..pasta, wine & salad. A nice end to the day & just what time is it really? The PC says it's 2:11 am..maybe some bed time.