the wonderous Na Pali...

It occurred to me while sitting on the breathable tarp that stretches across the front of the Catamaran I've boarded that this spot..the very spot my butt occupies is one of my favorite places to sit in the entire world that I know...or have experienced. To sit with my body facing into the wind and seeing each wave tumble toward the Cat is a feeling I love...the salt spray, the sun playng peek-a-boo through the clouds always brings out the adrenaline rush! HA!  you thought I was going to say something sweet.  Nope!  I'm a thrill junkey at ehart.  I know the closer we get to the magnificient Na pali cliffs, the waves will get bigger..the drops into the troughs will get deeper and the crashing over the Cat will be...SPECTACULAR!

We left shore at 8am for 5-1/2 hours on one of three Capt. Andy's Catamarans. This is my 6th trip with Andy's boats and I never get tired of it. Patti, Jav and kids are making their first voyage.

The Spinner Dolphins put on a dancing show:  They spun out of the water, chased the boat and played along side the pontoons. They thrilled Solea and Carica with their friendly and seemingly approachable antics.

We passed the pods of dolphins and the waves got bigger, the troughs deeper, the big cat slowed down and into the trough we fell.  The first wave caught Caricia and I a little off-guard. She, being only 100 pounds was pushed almost off the tarp to the galley wall!  I...being just a tad over 100 pounds stayed right where the wave found us! We dubbed ourselves "The Adventure Girls" and assumed the prone position hanging on to the tarp bindings with our heads level with the tarp.  Wave after wave came and we squealed with delight as the boat soared up and into the waves.

The "Adventure Girls" Aunt Pat and Caricia braving the Na Pali Coast waves!

this fish is gold...

About the only thing my husband really likes to do besides read on vacation, is to go deep sea fishing. Mexico, Hawaii...same - same - got ocean-got fish! this time, he had company. Jav went with him. The standard deep sea fishing rule is to share the bounty with the rest of the fisherpeople on the boat. That's cool..

Coming into Port Allen after a hard day fishing on the open sea!

 Javiar

John

Here's the fish..it's pure gold at 15 pounds divided into the cost of the trip that netted ONE fish for 3 fisherpeople...But, itt's not about the cost of the ONE fish....it's did the guys have fun? Do you see the3 grins on their faces?

so...who really caught the fish?  John!



Honu..the turtle

There are a few animals that, when I look at them, I know right away what they symbolize. There are three that speak to my heart for various reasons.  The reasons are very personal.  Oh, I'll share the reasons, 'cuz the telling doesn't diminish the emotion of the reason.  Hawaii is the turtle...Honu. NOTE TO SELF:  Read Hawaiian Folklore about turtles.

The first afternoon at the condo, we walked along the ocean wall and were happily greeted by two Green Sea turtles playing in the surf. I tried to capture photos, but was unsuccessful; so I took pictures of Solea and Caricia trying to get photos.  Simply beautiful young women interacting with the wonderous ocean and two playful hono...

 Patti Rodriguez- seawall sitting!

 Solea up close and personal with the turtles.

 Solea and Caricia

Patti, Jav and John: seawall sitting-watching the turtles on Poipu beach.

Tamales...Hawaiian style

So, there we were on the East shore of Kauai on the way to the Kileuea Lighthouse to see the Red Footed Booby Birds, the Lawyson Albatross and the mystical NeNe Goose (which we saw!!)  Along side the road..ocean side, is a sign that says, Tamales! A roar went up from the van and Patti Urban Rodriguez who was driving, pulls the big red van over to the Tamale stand. One of the great things about a blended/married to someone not of my cultural roots, is that we get to glimpse a part of their roots.  Patti's husband, Javiar, being Hispanic, speaks fluent Spanish and as he conversed with the roadside vendors we all got excited to eat freshly made authentic Tamales...in Hawaii!  A few feet away sat a deserted oceanside picnic table where we hungrily ate the Tamales which were critiqued by the Rodriguez family. Knowing nothing about Tamales...I took their critique as gospel as they have elevated Tamale making to a fine-family art. their consensus was there was too much masa in the wrapper. REMINDER TO PAT (Me)..bucket list: go to their house when they make them!!  And, while I'm at it...learn to speak Spanish!

 John, Jav and Patti choosing the Tamales.

 Caricia and Solea check out the view while Jav tells me and John about the Tamales.

Sunny Skies of Kauai

  

Aloha from Kauai!

Everytime I come to the islands I amazed at the ocean. The sheer power of it can make me swoon and go weak in the knees. Oh, the trees and flowers are fine, but I can see bigger trees and different flowers at home. Granted, these are tropical flowers with their broad red leaves.At home I can look out the window or walk into my backyard and see hanging moss, lichen and blackberry vines. Ok. OK! The flora is gorgeous, but no more beautiful than the NW offerings. It's the OCEAN. I can stand or sit for long periods of time just looking out into the horizon and watch the breakers follow the tides pull to shore. The ever-old pounding of the surf always holds me transfixed. Now, if I could only wiggle my nose and have all of the people vanish...but, I digress....

Right now, at this very moment, it's raining. It's not a NorthWet rain...thank you, God. It's a tropical shower that is coming down in buckets. It's dark on the lanai, but already I can see the clouds and rain are going to blow out to sea. It's early on Sunday morning July 23. I'm listening to the resident rooster signal the coming dawn.  The sun is up signaling the coming of a gorgeous day, my hubby just kissed me good morning as I look out onto MY OCEAN..my communing temple with God...I see surfers on the close in and far out breakers....sigh...memo to Pat....you are not alone in Kauai. Awrighty then...I will quit waxing poetic and get down to the serious stuff of what the heck am I doing in Kauai.

VACATION!

Normally, if there is such a thing, John and I would wait until late August or September in order to avoid a lot more people. So, why are we here amidst a sea of the multitides? FAMILY.

We are here with the Rodriguez family: Johns's sister, Patti, her husband Javiar (Jav), and two daughters, Solea 15, and Caricia 13. We hatched the idea on the phone one day and two days later, we had flights booked and our condo space locked in. ACTION WOMEN! This is their first time to the Hawaiian Islands and it is wonderful to see it for the first time through their eyes. Having them as family is only a bonus, as we are close friends. They are an example that you can't pick your family, but you can pick your friends amongst family. We are so greatful they are both! And as we gather and talk...we are reminded just how fragile relationships are. They take work and time to maintain. To me a valued friendship, be it in a family or not, is about sharing a history of events where there is give and take, mutual and shared opinions and a true and open line of honest communication....and ya just gotta like the person or persons enough to want to spend time and share with them. We have that kind of relationship with the Rodriguez family. We are blessed.

The Hood....and...slidin' into home....after the fact

Not quite the mudpuddle encountered on Mt. Hood...but the Creature From the Black Lagoon did try to reach out and grab John and his Wing!

It seems oddly funny now and I admit to laughing - well, at least having a giggle or two our last day on the road. Cold, wet, raining...narry a sunny beam along the way from Lakeview to Battleground.  Miserable and dreary. Welcome back to the Northwest...

We are, by this time, pretty road weary. As we approached the rest area at Government Camp Hwy 26 - up over Mt. Hood, the weather is rotten...well, it is a mountain, afterall and our spring weather has been abysmal. Why did I think it was going to be different - just because we are on our last leg of the trip? Silly girl.

The mudpuddle what ate the Wing came up out of nowhere. Well, it was there...John just didn't see it for what it was:  HUGE.  I can still see it in my eyeballs:  John sitting in a mudpuddle with the Wing balancing on the safety gadgets to keep it from damaging the engine. Was .....oddly funny. After getting help picking up the Wing and dusting off pride....we headed down the mountain toward our garage.

Re-entry was....interesting. After over 5,000 miles of riding in the worst possible weather - I turned the my Good and Faithful Sportster into my garage, caught my rain pants on the brake pedal and skidded the bike on it's side the last 6 feet into the garage.

 As I laid there 1/2 under the bike (did not go down all the way because I have engine guards), I said outloud, "Oh, this is funny!"  I felt a little like the old TV show, Laugh In where Arte Johnson's tricycle falls over.  I'm not sure training wheels would have helped.  John and Tyler came running to pull me out and all I could do was laugh!  No harm - No foul - bike is fine and so am I.

Happy to be home, the first dog to greet me was my Queen:  Jazzy. She took a very long time greeting me - almost 15 minutes of licks, wiggles, yelps and snuggles. The next two:  Ira and Marley were hysterical in their greetings which lasted another 10 minutes of ear-piercing barks, snuggles and licks.

Tyler had dinner for us, a clean house, laundry done and good hugs. Good to be home.

West Wendover to Lakeview, OR....after the fact....

OK...I admit it.  I just didn't feel like blogging while wearing Cranky Pants.  John and I are home safe and that is all that really matters about the homeward bound adventure.

We had, as of the last posting on May 23, two more days on the road. They were to prove memorable.

After leaving West Wendover we headed to Winnemucca, NV to visit John's friends from his Corps days. It was a thuroughly enjoyable visit-brief, but enjoyable.  Then; the fun began....again...same...same, but different.

Same - Same But Different is a game I played with Lizzi and Eli. Example:  one day, we had to figure out why there were so many different car types on the road.  A simple way to explain was to say they were all cars...but different - hence: Same Same But Different.  We still use it and it always makes us laugh.  I only wish the Same Same But Different last two days of our trip would have made me laugh...well, in a way ...it did.

We took a wrong turn leaving Winnemucca and had to back track almost 40 miles which added 80 miles to a day that would prove to be very, very long. Sigh.  The gem of the day was not the extra 80 miles, but was finding a perfect little eating spot along the SR 140 route called: Denino Junction.  Looked like the Bates Motel from the outside, but surprisingly was clean, full of local flavor and the food was really good. And, the owner had a huge Navy Seal flag hanging from the ceiling. Right on!  We told the owner to thank his brother for his service and went on our way toward Lakeview. OR.

Denino Tree that welcomed two weary travelers!

SR 140 was boring and beautiful all at the same time.  Oh, yeah; don't forget:  scary.  From the moment we left Denino Junction there were signs : Free Range cattle and donkeys. We saw them all - including one very brave Roadrunner who ran between John's Goldwing and my Sportster at 75MPH. Beep! Beep!

We meandered our way to the top of a very high mountain pass and then had to literally snake our way to the valley floor and into Lakeview, OR This was not...NOT...my comfort zone on a bike. I didn't realize how high the pass was until we saw our first 8% downgrade sign.  UGH....hugging the wall side of the steep canyon...we slowly and cautiously wound our way down on a two lane road without guard rails. After 4 separate drops of 8%, 7% 8% and 6% we reached the valley floor where it began to rain and night darkness came down on us in the pouring rain like a thick dark cloud. Road visibility down to zero.

The ride into Adele looked like it was a pretty road...followed a river; but who could tell?  By the time we got into Lakeview....I was so done being on my bike. The hotel looked horrible, but the owner was sweet and the room was very clean.