Aloha Kaua'i

Kaua'i by far is my favorite island of all that I've been to, but unfortunately, the weather there wasn't ideal. We spent an hour of the first day, listening to a time share sales pitch for the Starwood properties which left both of us a little bewildered as to why we decided to do that in the first place. To summarize, you pay $$ to own a very small porition of a condo that you can use 1 or 2 weeks (every year or every other year) based on what "plan" you choose. You have to pay additional $$ per year to maintain it. AND, to get the "deal", you needed to commit money the same day. Crazy. Who makes a decision to spend 47K on the fly?

Drew and I played a couple of soggy rounds of golf at the Princeville Golf course (The Prince Course), but regardless of the less than ideal weather, that too was a breathtaking course tucked into a lush rainforest. It was probably the hardest course that either one of us have ever played, but it was a wonderful experience. The Prince course is also another one of my favorite courses of all time. We took a catamaran trip to the Na Pali coast as this is the only part of the island that's not accessible via automobile. I got sea sick on the way out, which isn't much of a surprise since the first time I took the same catamaran trip I was sick on the way back. Unfortunately, the current was too strong for us to be able to do any snorkeling,but we were able to see turtles, spinner dolphins and whales on the way there and back. The Na Pali coast is one of the most beautiful sites I've seen and I highly recommend going if you ever have the chance. One day I would love to backpack and camp out there. It'll most likely be in the summer time when the weather is a little better on the North Shore. After the catamaran trip, on the way back to the hotel, we took a detour to Kipu Falls where Drew and I both jumped off from the top of the falls and again off the rope swing. I landed on my bottom the first time, and then did a reverse belly flop on my back the second time. Needless to say it was a little painful, but it was a good time nonetheless. We spent the rest of the time exploring the small island, and I was able to see a few things that I didn't see my first time there (2002) and show Drew some of my favorite places. Unfortunately we didn't take many pictures while we were there because the weather wasn't the greatest, but there are a few pictures of Bali Hai and Hanalei Bay mixed into the pictures from my earlier post.

Aloha to my first blog posting!

I'm hoping that this is going to be a great way to keep my friends and family updated on the things that are going on here south of the border, and share the happenings, some pictures, compliments, commentary and opinions as I start my 2nd year year here in the city of San Jose.

Here are some pictures of Drew and my trip to hawaii trip to Hawaii this last month. We left a few days after Christmas and were there a little less than 3 weeks. All in all it was a wonderfully relaxing (and much needed) vacation for the both of us. We spent the first few days on the Big Island. We even made sure to schedule time to watch Oregon State beat Missouri in the Sun Bowl. Go Beavs! Thanks to a wonderful find by Drew http://hawaiigolfdeals.com We played 18 holes at Hapuna Prince Golf Course and 27 holes at Mauna Kea. I have to say that Mauna Kea was a spectacular golf course, and definitely one of my favorites. We were also able to visit Kilauea on New Years Eve Day, and unfortunately it was covered in a cloud that day. We forgot our jackets, and decided not to venture out to the lava viewing area as the visitor center told us they were keeping everyone at a 3 mile viewing distance and all we would be able to see was steam. We'll know better next time, but i was really looking forward to walking on the lava like everyone told me about. We spent NYE with a few of my friends from Oregon. Thanks to the Malensky's, Jeff, Jamie, Devin and Jia for ringing in 2007 with us. The next few days were spent on the island of Kaua'i. More on that in my next post. When we returned from Kaua'i we were definitely ready for better weather since it was pouring rain most of the days were were in Kaua'i. We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Villiage, which was for a lack of a better description, much like Disneyland. The room was great, but required either a 10 minute walk one way or take a tram or boat to get there from the main lobby. I can't complain too much since we were staying there on points, but the hotel was massive. We explored a different part of the island, this time going to the Hapuna and Mauna Kea beaches. Drew taught me how to dive under waves and body surf which was fun and frustrating for me all at the same time. I spent the rest of the week, evening out my horrible golf tan from the 2 weeks prior. We visited the town of Waimea on one of the rainer days on Kona. Nothing much to see there. We were also able to go horseback riding in Waipi'o Valley on the North Kohala coast. It was my first time riding a horse, and I loved it! Little Jack was my horse, and was getting slightly grumpy with the other horses. It was fun nonetheless. The rest of the time was spent lounging at the pool and get our full share of sunsets. The next trip we'll most likely look into villas or condos vs. resorts. We learned that resorts tend to the make the trip a little more stressful and expensive than desired, regardless we still a great trip overall. Stay tuned for post #2.