Tuesday Night Update

I finally seem to be falling into a groove here, and hope that will include more frequent updates. The big news today is that I've finally uploaded my photos since arriving at Kalani. The new albums are listed below, or you can always check in at http://picasaweb.google.com/JimmyTheCook

Miscellaneous photos in and around Kalani
Volcanoes National Park
Mauna Kea
Miscellaneous photos of Kalani people
"Blue Lagoon"
Green Lake
Leo and Lili's Luau (dinner theatre show)

Merry Christmas

It's a tough life in Hawaii, but I think I've gotten the hang of it.

Overdue Update

Sorry for the lack of input lately. Computer access at Kalani is less than ideal. I haven't yet gotten to upload photos, but will figure that out soon.

Everything here is great. The people are super-friendly, the food is awesome, and there's plenty of activities to keep me busy if I need to be so. It's like summer camp for lost adults.

Went to Volcanoes National Park on Friday, and Mauna Kea yesterday (Sunday). Unfortunately it was totally overcast on Kea, but I ran a lap around one of the observatories in a t-shirt and barefoot. Apparently this means I'm crazy because everybody else was freezing. We did stop to spy some flowing lava on the way back, but it was pretty far off.

I set up my voicemail to route through Google Voice, so if you call me I'll be able to get your message in my email. Haven't yet figured out how to make calls on my phone over wifi (no Verizon signal here), so I may end up having to buy a calling card. Email is reliable though, and only limited by my motivation to check it.

I hope all is well out there in the real world.

Made it to Kalani!

Arrived at the retreat last night. It's beautiful here, and the people are amazing. Looks like I don't start working until Monday. All that's been asked of me until then is to relax. I can handle that.

Pali Lookout

Kana and I tried to do a hike to the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout, but we couldn't find the right trailhead so we actually ended up hiking into a dead end through a bamboo forest. There were hordes of mosquitoes, which was the only bad part of the adventure. After negotiating traffic on the Pali highway we made it to the lookout point, which was pretty stinking cool. And we fed Triscuits to a chicken. Tonight we will eat a long-awaited chocolate cake.

More photos here.

Marathon and USS Arizona

Well yesterday was the marathon. Though my finish time was nothing special (around 5:30, same as last year), I honestly felt better afterwards than last year. I suppose that's a good thing, but more importantly I no longer care to improve on that time by running another one. To do better would require more diligent training, which just isn't worth the effort when you have no compelling reason to do so. Thus I have decided that half marathons will be more than adequate for future distance events. Anything more is just silly to me. I'm glad I gave it a couple of tries though. I've said for years that people should be willing to try anything twice. Sometimes the first shot just doesn't get the point across.

Jillian (Kana's friend), Me and Kana pre-race

More photos, mostly post-race, here.

Today I lounged around most of the morning and then took a bus to the USS Arizona Memorial site in Pearl Harbor (now part of World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument). It was quite the humbling experience.

More photos here.

Aiea Loop Trail

Nice hike today along the Aiea Loop Trail. Only got a little bit lost. There's a downed B-24 bomber somewhere on the mountain, but we couldn't find it. Marathon is tomorrow (Sunday the 12th)!!! Yikes.

More photos here.

Diamond Head

Hiked Diamond Head crater today, partly in the rain. We also went downtown and got our marathon race day packets. Pictures here.

Hawaii Summary 12/4 to 12/9

Click a day/date to see photos from that day.

Saturday 12/4/10: Arrived in Honolulu around 9pm.

Sunday 12/5/10: We drove a good stretch of the North Shore and went for a swim at Sunset Beach, then cut through the mountains to the southern shore to check out the Halona Blowhole before sunset.

Monday 12/6/10: Kana and I hiked Koko Head via an abandoned (and very steep) railroad bed. We met a friendly local named Brien. We then intended to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, but ended up just eating a late lunch on the beach due to the late timing of our arrival.

Tuesday 12/7/10: Kana and I hiked a good portion of the ridge at Wa'Ahila Ridge State Recreation Area. Sunset at Waikiiki Beach.

Wednesday 12/8/10: Pipe Masters surfing competition at Bonzai Pipeline. Awesome.

Thursday 12/9/10: Kind of an off day. We got a late start and ended up trying to improvise a hike in Nanakuli. We ended up just wandering around a bit and then heading home. Then we met Brien and Kana's friend Jillian for dinner at La Mariana, where I had the best Ahi on the face of the earth. The plan for Friday is to hike Diamond Head in the morning, weather permitting (there's an uncooperative storm system hovering overhead), and then head back to Pipeline for more surf competition with another friend of Kana's.