When we moved into this house, there was a massive pool table waiting for us. It’s been fun playing eight-ball and nine-ball and even Skunk, but we find that we don’t really use it all that much. When little kids happen to be visiting, they enjoy slamming the pool balls around, and inevitably someone gets a finger crushed or a ball goes careening off the table and bounces across the room. So pool has sort of run its course for us.
When we were down in Arizona a few months ago, I had an opportunity to play some ping-pong with my brother-in-law and nephew. It was a blast, and I’d forgotten how much work it can be to lunge for a long shot, or the satisfaction of putting some great spin on the ball. I miss the table we had at Zing (well, technically it’s still there). I’m definitely rusty, but my old tricks came back pretty quickly.
So when we returned home, I started shopping around for a ping-pong table topper. We don’t have space for a full table, but we can definitely put the table surface atop the pool table. The best part is we can just lift it off and slide it under a bed, and pool’s back on the menu. I found a topper I liked, and put in the order. Now we’re in business.
I’m excited to brush up on my skills, and looking forward to some games against friends.
(Note to Thom: sorry I couldn’t get it in time for your visit. We’ll play next time.)
Tax season is upon us, and I’m working through all the exciting numbers. I wonder if having three 32″ screens and still needing more space for the various forms and documents is a bad sign…
My friend Brooke wrote something thought-provoking:
“You can count how many seeds are in an apple, but not how many apples are in a seed. We might never get to see the fruits of our labors or the impact we have on others, but they’re there.”
In light of recent comments by a well-known politician, combined with a growing desire by many politicians to use their office to exact “retribution” for perceived wrongs and slights, I found this quote by Leon Seltzer insightful.
“Revenge is predominantly emotional, while justice is primarily rational. Revenge is, by nature, personal, while justice is impersonal and impartial. Revenge is an act of vindictiveness, justice an act of vindication. Revenge is about cycles, justice about closure. And revenge is about retaliation, whereas justice is about restoring balance.”
It’s my hope we– as a people– can move away from revenge and retribution, and focus instead on justice, mercy, and understanding. Time will tell.
The last day in Hawai’i is always interesting, because all the fun stuff involves dirt, sand, or seawater. Without a place to shower afterward, we didn’t really want to get “too dirty” before boarding a plane for our six-hour flight back to the mainland. Eventually, though, we decided our day would be too boring if we just stayed clean and dry.
The western shore of Maui is highly commercialized, seemingly a continuous stretch of resorts and hotels and shops. We headed north for a stretch; we wanted to explore the Olivine Pools. They weren’t too exciting, although the views were nice.
We also stopped at the Nakalele Blowhole, one of Pepper’s favorite spots on the island. But the water was incredibly calm, and the hole wasn’t blowing. It was disappointing, but the drive along the shoreline had a number of breathtaking stops.
Near Lahaina is a pretty little cove where the sailboat tours gather to discharge snorkeling tourists.
We decided not to worry so much about smelling like seawater on the plane, and went for a swim.
Our flight wasn’t until late in the evening, so we wrapped up our time on the island by strolling along the boardwalk and stopping in shops. The sunset over the marina looked awesome.
Then it was time to head to the airport and leave the enchanted isles behind. Aloha, Hawai’i, until we meet again.
If you ask me, the Road to Hana is the crown jewel of Maui. Sure, there are several spots on the island that are amazing, but there’s something about this highway that traces the shoreline of nearly half of Maui. We actually ended up spending three days exploring the highway, because there are so many incredible places to stop.
It began with the bamboo forest. When we first explored this area, the bamboo forest wasn’t very well-known; we’d learned about it from a guidebook and had to look carefully to find the three parking spots alongside the road and the sketchy entrance to an unmarked trail. Six years later, it’s popular and even marked on Google Maps. There were several cars parked there (right beneath the No Parking signs), but we found a spot and headed down into the forest.
This area is fascinating because the bamboo is incredibly thick– basically impassible except on the trail.
The first big waterfall is awesome.
I took some shots of the ladies, but didn’t notice at the time that the mist from the falls was all over my lens. As a result, many of my photos are kind of blurry from water.
Continuing through the forest, we eventually came to the second waterfall. Glorious.
There’s a nice rope swing near the falls, so we took turns jumping into the water. It was cold.
Along the highway is a great stop at Ho’okipa Beach, and we were mesmerized by the crashing waves coming into shore.
The water just smashes into the rocks, exploding upward and coating everything with spray.
As the sun was setting, we watched surfers enjoying the waves.
Then someone shouted “whales!” and to our delight, we saw a pair of whales breaching in the distance. They were probably half a mile off the coast, and kept coming to the surface to spout water and occasionally slap their tails. It was pretty cool.
The next day we picked up where we left off, stopping at a number of points along the highway to hike to waterfalls.
And of course a few beaches. Along this stretch, the beaches are all rocky, not sandy, but it’s black volcanic rock which is interesting.
Down by Ke’anae we discovered an arboretum we didn’t know about, and saw some cool trees.
At Ke’anae Point, we were disappointed that the famous banana bread place was closed, but we weren’t disappointed with the water smashing into the sharp black rocks.
More driving, more waterfalls!
At last we came to Nahiku, the best swimming hole on earth.
The air was getting chilly, and the water was frigid, so Pepper opted to sit on the rocks and enjoy the waterfalls. Kyra and I went swimming (what else do you do at a swimming hole?) and rememberd the last time we were there, when it was considerably warmer. Still, it’s an amazing little spot.
Oh, and of course there’s a huge waterfall just down the trail.
And more waves crashing on more rocks.
That night we stayed in Hana, which is pretty much the only way to really explore the road– otherwise you’re spending a lot of time driving back and forth. It was great to wake up to a cool glass of orange juice with a view of Waikaloa Bay.
That morning, we had an early start for our drive along the south shore of Maui. We went to Wai’anapanapa which has stunningly blue water.
Of course there’s a hike to be had, so we walked along the shoreline through the trees and across the black rock. The weather was glorious.
Then it was onward to the other half of Haleakala National Park, and the hikes in O’heo Gulch. The waterfalls are pretty, but sadly it’s still forbidden to swim in the pools.
We opted not to hike the jungle to see Waimoku Falls, and instead got back on the highway to enjoy the radically different landscape along the southern coast.
The green gradually gives way to a dull gold, and eventually miles of black volcanic rock. We continued around the island, because our destination for the night was Lahaina– far to the northwest. Even in the arid, deserted southern regions, the Hana Highway is beautiful.
After our time in Kauai, it was time to hop over to Maui. It’s interesting how different the two islands are. Of course there are similarities, but there’s a different “vibe”. Maui feels a little more civilized; Kauai seems more wild. Maui has some places that I find completely irresistable. I was excited to be back for the third time.
We drove up Haleakala, the massive volcanic mountain in the middle of the island. While most of Maui is green and wet, the top of the mountain is like another planet. It’s cold and desolate. Oh, and it’s windy. The temperature was about 40 degrees, and the wind was blowing at a steady 60mph. What’s funny is you can’t even tell in this photo of Kyra:
Pepper didn’t even want to get out of the car, because it was so cold and windy. No one was hiking the trails near the caldera. I braved the elements to snap some pictures of the crater, but even I was dissuaded from hiking along the rim trail as I’d originally planned.
Because there simply wasn’t much to do at the top, given the weather, we headed back down and watched as clouds literally rolled over the landscape below. Here’s a picture of a cloud bank creeping across the lowlands below the road:
The last time we’d been on the mountain– back in 2017— it was cold and raining (in fact snowing at the top). It was a little disappointing that once again, the weather kept us from enjoying the mountain. But it was still cool to be so high that we could see the rest of Maui spread out around us, and even see Hawai’i itself on the distant ocean horizon.
When we arrived back at sea level, it was warm and sunny, so we took advantage of a beach with some wild surf. Kyra and I enjoyed the waves while Pepper enjoyed the sand.
Afterward we went to a food truck (there are a ton of food trucks in Maui!) for some sushi dinner.
The day didn’t quite go to plan, but that doesn’t mean it was a bad day. Does Maui have bad days?…
Thus far, our Kauai experience centered on a lot of hiking and biking. Kyra insisted we spend a day being lazy on a beach, so that’s exactly what we did.
It was only in the 70’s, but the sun beat down hard and we all had our pale winter skin, so we had to lather on the sunscreen to avoid being burned to a crisp.
Kyra loved it. She had a sweet sun bonnet she’d picked up for a few bucks at a thrift store, and it was a perfect accessory to her outfit.
After baking for a few hours, we cruised in the convertible for a bit.
I admit, at the end of the day we all had to apply some aloe. The sun can be a harsh mistress.
You can’t go to Kauai without seeing Waimea Canyon. It may not be as stunning as the Na Pali Coast, but it’s a close second. On the road up the canyon, we were treated to some breathtaking views of a vast green landscape.
I took a few panoramic shots, because even my wide-angle lens couldn’t capture the breadth of what we could see.
As we continued the climb up the canyon road, we were treated to a great view of Waipo’o Falls, a towering 800-foot waterfall.
We passed a few of the crowded viewpoints because we wanted to hit the top: the Pu’u O Kila Lookout. We noticed Kyra had fallen asleep in the back seat. Again?
Up at Pu’u O Kila, we started up the Pihea Trail. We’d been here before, many years ago, and were disappointed by the view. Here’s the photo from 2019, where we looked down into the Kalalau Valley but saw nothing but fog:
And here’s the view this time from almost the same spot:
Some research taught me that there are often clouds in this valley because the moist sea air sweeps in and moves up the cliffs, turning into vast cloud banks. Even though it was sunny in the east, the west was nothing but fog. It was disappointing, but we pressed on.
And then the clouds parted!
It was astounding.
Words really can’t describe the view along this valley to the distant ocean. It was fascinating to watch the clouds move in and out… the view changed literally in minutes, shrouding the scene in fog again…
… and then clearing out to reveal the green and brown and blue far below.
It’s worth noting the shoreline at the far end of the valley is Kalalau Beach, the terminus of the Kalalau Trail and its eleven-mile hike along the Na Pali Coast. It was interesting to see it from such a different perspective.
After some effort, we reached the top of the trail. It’s not obvious from this photo, but two steps behind Kyra and Pepper, there’s a sheer cliff that drops a thousand feet straight down. It’s a little unnerving to peek out over the edge.
We stayed for a while, marveling at the view and chatting with a family from Kauai who’d hiked the trail behind us. Eventually we bid farewell to the valley and headed back to the canyon. We did a few short hikes, basking in each new vista.
Arizona’s Grand Canyon is incredible, but I think I like Waimea even better.
It’s like the Grand Canyon has been sprinkled with waterfalls and greenery!
It was another great day exploring a place unlike any other.
