Surf's Up

Brian may have lived in Chicago for almost 4 years now, but he was showing he can still ride a board. He and Dan went to Hanalei Bay for some surf shots. Renting surf boards is the way to go. I remember the days when the boys insisted on shipping their boards over here so they could surf. Of course paying the extra 100$ now for a surf board is a bit pricy.

Kayaking the Wailua River

2 1/2 miles kayaking up the river into the rain forest ~ 1 mile hike through the forest to the waterfall and lunch ~ repeat the process out. Basically a 7 mile adventure full of majestic scenery, legends and lore, and those ever so prevalent, mosquitoes!

Our guide took 10 of us up the river with the wind to our backs. It was stunning! I could not take pictures because that would mean paddling, balancing in the kayak AND keeping the new camera dry. Since Coordination is not my middle name, I just skipped it. I am pretty sure Brian took some in his kayak and hopefully he will send me some of those shots.

We saw amazing plant life and many smaller waterfalls as well as the big one. The hike was not bad, but rather muddy in spots, so between the mud and the exposed root systems everywhere, you had to watch your step. The biggest problem was the mosquitoes. Everyone was eaten alive. I was lucky and came home with 2 bites, but Heidi and Brian were demolished by bites. Thank goodness we took bug spray along or it would have been really ugly! Paddling out was a bit tougher because the wind was at our faces, so we had to work harder. Glad I worked those arm muscles at the Y before I came on this trip!

The Na Pali Coast

Remember the movie Titanic? Well, we had our own version ~ music playing and all ~ on our Blue Dolphin 5 1/2 hour Na Pali Catamaran Cruise. It was a beautiful sunny day, but not so hot that you couldn't stand to be on the upper deck of the two hulled catamaran.

Kauai is the Garden Island and known for the most rainfall in the world~ yes, more than the Amazon rain forest! However, on the west side of

the island it is dry and more desert- like even though there are waterfalls! It seems so out of place with the rest of the island. We sailed for a few hours then

once we turned around we jumped off for snorkeling. Well, they all did. As many of you know, I do not "do" water where there are fish. And boy could you see fish. They were right on the surface and so colorful. There were numerous caves as well. Several movies have been filmed along the Na Pali Coast.

We saw a few whales fluking and spouting even though it is past whale migrating time. We also had numerous

dolphins run alongside the boat. We saw two different types of dolphins~ one kind was the type that spin circles when they jump in the air. They were pretty neat to watch in the ocean instead of Sea World. On the boat they served a continental breakfast and then a light lunch of sandwiches near the end. It was a really fun day!

Farmer's Market

Today is Saturday and it's time for more fruit! There was a local farmer's market where we got pineapple,, papaya, avocado, lemons, limes, bananas, and some killer salsa. (Hint: When we got home and had a snack of chips and salsa we finished off the salsa in one sitting. Bummer. No more farmer's market for a week. It was SO good.

But while we were at the market, the boys were off renting surf boards. At the end of our shopping we found a stand that had fresh frozen bananas dipped in really thick dark chocolate. To die for folks!! We walked back to the rental place, groceries in tow, to find Dan had left with the boys. He apparently dropped them off at a surf spot. Not all was lost however because I went in and talked

with the gal at the rental shop and she told me the big secret..Monday when we go on the kayak trip up to the waterfall we can take the "Family Christmas Picture." Now this really ticked off the boys because for years I talk about getting a picture and they are most UNCOOPERATIVE. They told her to not tell me this should she see me again. Ha Ha Ha... she told! Maybe this year you will get a Christmas picture from Hawaii with all of us in it. Guess we will all need to wait until December to see if that really happens!

Annini State Beach

This was on Friday at Annini State Beach which I think is part of Hanelai Bay. Heidi is now with us so as they say, the gang is all here. We rented snorkel gear for a week and headed off for a reef that offered "training snorkeling". By that I mean, shallow (thus we got scraped up) and very deep sand bar. You would have to walk out a long way to get to waves. I guess it was so so, but the beach time was nice. After the water we sat around and dried off a bit. This was our first day to get any of that famous Hawaiian Tan or sunburn if you have Bertsch skin. Grandma Pat's Irish skin just leaves some of us crispy red no matter what we do! Dan, Heidi, and Patience will leave this island tan...I cannot say that will be true for the rest of the gang.

Hide-A-Way Beach @ Princeville

This place is amazing! If you hadn't been told about it by a local, you could not find it. It is well back off the main road and drops several hundred feet to the beach below. I would like to have taken pictures on the way down, but there was NO WAY I was letting go of the rope that was used to act as a "rail" to guide you down. The trail...not sure you should really call it that, was a red dirt path that wound around trees and rocks. Keep in mind it POURED yesterday and this morning so it was not a dirt path...it is a muddy slip and slide just called a path! I went with Jay and Brian and I was told that I could not even think about taking out my camera or putting anything in my hands as we hiked down. It really was scary-definitelly an E ticket ride! Near the bottom it leveled out some and the dense foliage kept the ground from turning into a mud slide, so I could get a few pictures. Yes, that is Jay already down to the beach. Brian got some great pictures and gave me a few tips. This place was amazing. Later that night and the next day my quads screamed in pain. Clearly not enough squats and step-ups at the Y prior to this trip!

After trekking out of the beach, we began the long walk back home and stopped to take some pictures along the roadside. Thankfully, Dan showed up in the now disgustingly dirty van, to take us back the rest of the way. Aloha

Shipwreck's Beach @ Poi Pu

On Thursday it was raining here in Princeville, so we piled in the new, white mini-van and headed south to the southern side of the island - Poi-Pu. Usually it is dryer there. We did have an hour or so of sun and took full advantage of heading for the beach outside of the Sheraton. The water was nice (not that I went in it or anything) and Jay and Brian practiced body surfing.

I stayed and watched the "stuff" along with the rest of the gang. It gave me a chance to practice with the new camera. See the kid jumping from the cliff? Stupid huh? He was definitely a regular to the beach as we saw him roaming back and forth from the beach to climb up the rocks.

After about an hour the rain poured on us and we ran for shelter at the outside bar. Good Lava Flows and other hard core drinks for the men. Had some food too. What an expensive "let's wait for the rain to stop" moment. Good fun though. Actually we started here, then the sun came out and we headed for the beach, then when it rained, we returned. I'd say we were contributing to the local tourist trade just fine on day 2 of the trip! Heidi arrives tomorrow, then we will all be here:)

Hawaii Here We Come

Not the first flight out...Hurray! We got to arrive at the airport by 7 with just enough time for a quick California Burrito Breakfast and a Jack and Coke or Bloody Mary. That would be Jay and Dan. Mother (me) had cranberry juice. Actually it is the first time I knew that Jay was a "nervous" flyer. He needed calming!

We are so excited to be leaving for 10 days to the islands :)

Aloha

OPENING DAY WITH THE PADRES

GO PADRES!

3:35 was game time and Dan and I went to Qualcom Stadium to watch the home opener for the 2010 season.

We played the Atlanta Braves and won 17 to 1. What a start. The game opened with Colbie Cailet singing the Star Spangled Banner. There were rocket flares, cannon blasts, and a formation of fighter jets flew overhead. It was awesome! They couldn't unfurl the giant field size flag because it was raining. The rain lasted only 10 or 15 minutes and the rest of the game was dry and sunny.

The Pads are a young~very young team and our expectations aren't real high, but if tonight's game was anything like what we might see the rest of the season, it is going to be a blast.

Our new seats are even with the pitching mound located between third and home. We are in row 16 and are over the visitor dug-out. Lots of balls are thrown our way. Lots of little kids go home happy. Lots of fly balls come our way too, so no texting...it is heads up ball!

We have a 1/2 season package so that is 40 games! That is plenty for this fan. I know you can't tell what is on my ball cap, but it says Padre Princess on it. Of course I would buy this hat!!

Auggie Needs a Rest

Auggie has such an active, stressful life at work! He's up early and off to the office just in time to get in some morning snoozing. He even moves his bed around! Very smart dog...

Notice the beam of light? He stretches out to catch some warmth in the morning sun. It appears he's a little too lazy to actually get all the way out of his bed, but then he is of retirement age. You won't find him launching out of a bike basket like his nemesis, Danny.

Danny Does it Again!

See the cute basket Danny is in? It has little paw prints on the liner. Just way cute! But then maybe that was the problem, "cute".

This was an Easter ride. Heidi took him for a spin on her new bike. But what does he do....he JUMPS OUT! He did the drop, roll, and run on. Gosh, you'd think he was in a fire.

Apparently no harm was done...he went on to have a great Easter.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!

After church we had Dan's family~Virginia, Bob, Ron, Carole and Allen, and then Jay and Heidi and the 2 dogs for a late meal. We enjoyed pork, potatoes and vegetable and during dessert were shocked by the 7.2 earthquake! It just rolled and rolled. Kinda scary. We all headed for the beams and doorways. It didn't jerk around, it just rolled. The bad thing was that it didn't stop after a few seconds. It lasted about 45 seconds which is a long time for an earthquake. Since it was centered in Baja Mexico it was fairly close to us, but no damage here. Pray for those in the Mexicali area. Our churches youth group just returned late Friday from a mission trip to Mexicali and I am sure they have new friends there.

Blessings to all of you!

Brave, Brilliant, or Batty?

Yes, the title refers to little Danny Boy. The question is, is he a brave dog, an absolutely brilliant dog, or just batty?

Jay and Heidi had a new dishwasher installed in their apartment. The installation is not complete and there is a small gap between the floor and the dishwasher. When it is finished, the gap will be covered and it will look great. BUT IN THE MEANTIME....

Sweet little Danny Boy was in the kitchen with the pen set up so he was confined. Heidi and Jay left for a short time and upon their return, they were surprised to see their little darling sitting on the sofa, wagging a happy greeting! So how did he do it? They could not figure it out as the fencing is 4 feet high and Danny isn't much of a climber (unlike Auggie).

They put him in back in the kitchen with the pen up and sat down to watch TV to what he would do. Now this is the question...is he brilliant because he could figure out how to escape, is he brave ~ enjoying exploring and trying new things like escaping, or has he gone batty? He actually showed them how he could slither between the gap and come out on the other side! Who said Dachshunds were quitters?

So, while Heidi was running errands today, Danny joined me. No escaping from "Grandma's House!"

A New Camera!

Happy Birthday to Me! Dan bought me a new camera since I am retired and don't need to use my little school point and shoot camera any longer. My Olympus was a fine, sturdy camera that was about 7 years old and VERY simplistic. You have been seeing the pictures that it takes. I am sure I can find a good home for it.

Well, now that I have all sorts of "free time" and can learn how to use a camera, I got the Canon PowerShot G11. A neighbor helped me select it as he knows cameras and I don't. Dan and I had researched this model along with several others, so off I went to Best Buy to do the touch and feel test. Too many choices!! I wish I was a millionaire~ you can buy some nice stuff! Not really. If I was a millionaire, I sure wouldn't spend $ on a camera.

Anyway, this is a cool camera that is bigger than the point and shoots that fit in your pocket, but not like those bigger digital ones. Dan and I want to do some traveling over the next few years and this should take some amazing pictures and will fit in a purse or fanny pack. As a matter of fact, Hawaii is in 2 1/2 weeks, so watch for posts from Kauai!

A Different Kind of "Card Party"

All elementary school teachers are familiar with end of the school year " card parties." But for those of you who are not, let me try to explain. Each child has his name and data recorded on a 3 x 5 card. The cards are sorted by grade level. At the end of the year, teachers and the administrator get together and sort the cards out, placing children in classes for the following school year. The cards get shuffled many times so that each class is balanced with second language learners, gifted, emerging readers, gender, ethnicity etc. It takes FOREVER to balance classes. Then there are the parent requests to deal with...Not a fun process.

Well, last night I got to go to another kind of "card party." This was way more fun! We dealt out the Padres season tickets amongst the 11 people who own a part of 6 seats during the Padre's Season. Now in the past we have had our own season tickets, but frankly..who can go to 80 games! (I believe I have an earlier post on the Padres as well).So, we let our tickets go and joined another group who had 40 games available. Gee 1/2 the cost and that works for Retired Teachers who have way less income!

So anyway, last night the group of "boys" and I met at some quaint little pub downtown and dealt the cards. Don't know where their wives were. Actually, it was all done on a spreadsheet so that each person had a fair number of games, series, etc. Mind boggling actually. Anyway, the names were called, the cards dealt and off we went with 40 games plus the opening day. Very exciting.

Here is the best part we are in section 108 which is right over the opposing team dugout and between home and third. We are in row 16...which means you see blades of grass, player's sweat, and can catch balls! They are awesome seats! Now, because I am not a Dodger or Giants fan, I will let Dan take a buddy. Actually, I like those teams and they are fun to watch, but their fans are obnoxious (in my humble opinion) and we sit over their dugout...thus more of their fans! UGH. Been to too many of those game as our seats were a few rows over and we still had the rowdy folks.

So, if you see us on TV, just wave and root for the Padres!