Clear Waters & the Sweet Life

Yesterday was a beach day as most of the family drove down to the beach to enjoy the water. The water was warm and mostly clear compared to the beaches in San Diego. Some of us took goggles and snorkeled around the shore. We saw some fish swimming around, but I for the most part found rocks and coral. It also didn’t help that my goggles kept fogging up every 30 seconds. After we finished snorkeling, we decided to get out the boogie boards and catch some of the waves. The waves were inconsistent as we’d get a few big waves and then wait for ten minutes before another worthy wave formed. Eventually, we all rode some nice waves, but also had a few wipeouts too. I tried to jump over a wave and didn’t quite make it over the top. This caused the wave to push me back and spin me around underwater like a washing machine. My cousin Jon probably had the most memorable wipe out as he face planted and flipped over underwater (don’t worry, he was fine afterwards). We decided we’d had enough of the beach for the day and headed back to the villa for lunch.

The beach

Snorkeling

After a quick lunch, my mom, grandparents, and my brother Joe, and I went to the Sugar Museum my mom had previously seen a sign for earlier in the week. The museum was in the old supervisor’s house across the street from the actual sugar factory. The museum provided the history of the factory. The factory was formed by two gentlemen named Alexander and Baldwin, the latter which had an interesting story. In order grow sugar cane, proper irrigation was required to provide enough water for the crop. Baldwin and his workers were surveying a potential path for the irrigation route which happened to be 200 feet below them. Baldwin’s men were naturally hesitant to climb down the rope to the bottom, but Baldwin was fearless. He was first to climb down the rope with only one arm (he’d lost his other arm in a mill accident). His workers were so embarrassed, they immediately followed their boss down the rope. The museum also taught the evolution of how sugar was processed. I never realized there were so many steps to make the sugar we buy at the local grocery store. First you have to grow sugar cane, then harvest the sugar cane, then squeeze the juice out of the sugar cane, then boil the juice, then spin it in a centrifuge, then heat again with steam, then ship it to some other factory to be shot through a particle accelerator (or something like that). Knowing the complicated process of one our most important ingredients helps me appreciate it even more. After looking through the gift shop, we headed back to villa to prepare for the luau.

Sugar Museum

Different forms of sugar and its leftovers

The actual factory where the sugar is processed

The entire family attended a luau at a Sheraton hotel. There was kalua pork, salmon, and other traditional luau menu items. When they asked for volunteers to learn the hula, I went up before anyone at the table asked me. The first move they taught us was to spin our hips around and I couldn’t help being reminded of a scene from Spongebob (you can view the clip here). It was fun to learn a new dance even if I couldn’t remember all different hand motions. My cousin Alex was volunteered by the entire family to do the newlywed dance for his wife Cata. After a decent amount of peer pressure, he went up on stage and performed wonderfully. There was some entertainment that was similar to what we saw at the Polynesian Cultural Center. After the luau ended, we headed back to the villa and crashed for the night. Today, we are driving up to the Road to Hana which should offer some spectacular views of nature in Hawaii.

Playing traditional luau games

My grandparents seeking cover from the light drizzle

To read another perspective of yesterday’s events, you can read my mom’s blog here.

Banyan Tree & Blowholes

So I have to catch up on my blog because, according to my mom, I’m been way past the deadline for my last few posts. Apparently spending time with family and participating in different activities on vacation is no excuse for posting blog entries on time. I’m burning the midnight oil this quiet Thursday night to please all my followers.

Today, a group of my family went to the Lahaina shopping district to browse stores and eat lunch. The Lahaina reminded me a lot of Seaport Village in San Diego and it had plenty of tourist type stores. We walked down the street looking in the windows of a few stores until we reached the famous Banyan tree. I’ve personally never knew a tree could be famous, but I’ll go out on a limb and say there aren’t many other celebrity trees. The Banyan tree was planted in the late 19^th century and has grown considerably taking up almost half a block with its extensive branches and roots. After taking a few pictures we met my Uncle Marc and Aunt Jackie, my Uncle Mike my cousin Alex, his wife Cata, my cousin Jon, and his girlfriend Kelsey at Kimo’s for lunch. After finishing our entrees, we ordered a slice of Kimo’s original hula pie which I’d wager was at least a quarter of the full pie. It had macadamia ice cream with an Oreo cookie crust and was about six inches high. It was delicious and each of us took turns eating away at it.

Lahaina

Banyan Tree

Inside the Banyan Tree

After lunch, we drove to Nakalele Point to see the blowhole. After driving on narrow and windy roads, we made it to the turn off where some of us hiked down to the actual site of the blowhole. I hiked down the rocky and steep path to a section just above the blowhole to take some pictures. The blowhole kind of looked like a mini Old Faithful geyser as it shot water into the air when the waves crashed on the shore under it. As I hiked down, I noticed a sign which warned readers, the blowhole was not a waterpark and people had died because of coming too close to the blowhole or its surrounding area. So naturally, my adventurous Uncle Marc and cousins decided it’d be fun to make a circle around the blowhole and wait for it to shoot off its water at them. I have to admit it did look like a lot of fun, though it made my Aunt Jackie a bit tense. After, we hiked back up, we drove back to the villa for dinner.

Hiking down the rocky path

There she blows

Dinner was made by my Uncle Martin, Aunt Traci, and grandparents. My Uncle Martin slowed cooked seasoned pork for five and a half hours and it was served with beans, coleslaw, and roasted carrots. It was all yummy and ice cream sandwiches were for dessert. After dinner, I taught some of the family to play a game called Coup that I’d played with my floor mates at Biola University. After a few rounds of Coup, we all watched an old 50^th anniversary video for my grandparents (I guess the last ten years don’t matter) and it was interesting to see all the changes and adventures over the years my grandparents have experienced in their life together. After playing some more games, we called it quits and went to bed (well except for me who’s finishing this blog post).

Tomorrow, we will visit a beach (apparently Hawaii has them) to go snorkeling and then attend a luau in the evening. Good night everyone.

For a different perspective of today’s events, you can read my mom’s blog here.

The Icy Depths of Hawaii

Yesterday was a day to relax and catch up with family. We woke up at different times and had conversations with various uncles, aunts, and cousins. I went with mom, dad, and my Uncle Mike to Costco to pick up food for the week. On the way, dad pointed out a sign for the Sugar Museum and we now have a new place to visit this week (sweet…). Maui is just as green and beautiful as Oahu, though a bit windier. We returned to the Villa to eat lunch with family. My cousin Jon and his girlfriend Kelsey found a hike to a river about 30 minutes away and a bunch of us decided to go.

The Villa

We drove the park and discovered the hike was more of a simple walk around. The views were still incredible and walking around reminded me of the movie Jurassic Park. We walked down to the river and after a little hesitation, I decided to jump in the water. It was probably the coldest water I’ve ever swam in and I was slightly concerned I may get hypothermia. After a while my body got used to the water (or maybe it just went numb, I’m not really sure) and it was fun to swim around the river. It was the only time I’ve gone swimming and come out of the water and felt warmer. We left the park and headed back to the villa for dinner.

Iao Valley State Monument

The valley

Who wouldn't want to swim in 50 degree water?

Before dinner was ready, I played badminton with my brother Zach, Kelsey, and grandma. It was harder than it looked, but eventually Zach and I started a good rally with grandma and Kelsey. Dinner was carne asada and it was delicious with good company to eat it with. Later, I played some board games with cousins and brothers. We played a game called Weasel my cousin Alex created and Loaded Questions. I love playing games with my family because we always come up with hilarious and creative answers. It was getting late so we said good night and went to bed.

For a different perspective of the day’s events, you can read my mom’s blog (maybe) here.