Hawaii

For all the pictures click here (click me)

Disclaimer:  Due to extreme relaxation the timeline of events may not exactly match the post.  In the end we did all the things so lets not worry about the order.

Well I think I have been putting off posting about our trip to Hawaii because once I post about a trip then it is officially over.  I never wanted to come home from this trip.

This was my first trip to Hawaii and I have to say that I completely get why people are in love with the place.  We were in Kauai for 9 days.

We were invited to this amazing paradise by our friends Robyn and Phil.  The offer was presented to us an "engagemoon" which we could never pass up.  It was an amazing time to say the least.

Natalie and I flew in on Friday night and spent the first evening having dinner by the ocean and beginning the unwinding process.  We spent Saturday hanging out on the beach watching the surfers roll by.  We met Robyn and Phil at the airport around 3 and headed to their place in Poipu.  When we got to the timeshare I could not believe how beautiful it was.  We were 100 yards from the water.  We could hear the waves from our room.  Now that was living!!

The whole trip was a great mix of relaxing with friends and getting out to explore the island.  We spent the first few days settling in and then ramped up the adventure.  Natalie and I took an amazing zodiac (inflatable motorboat) ride up the Na Pali coast.  I have seen this area written up in backpacker many times and instantly start to drool.  Seeing this amazing area from the water was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.  You will have to check out the pictures because words cannot do this area justice.  Come to think of it photos cannot really do the area justice either.  This was a 5 hour boat tour with the last hour being a stopover for snorkeling.  At this point I did not think the trip could have gotten better but after throwing on fins and a mask I jumped into a new world.  With your head underwater you could hear the whales calling to each other.  After about 10 minutes in the water a turtle swam by and I had the amazing experience of diving down and swimming along with him about 5 feet away from my mask.  Wow!!

The night after the boat tour we all packed up and headed to a luau.  This turned out to be a bit touristy but was fun as well.  After fighting a bunch of tourists for a table we realized why we loved being on vacation with just 4 people.  The show was good though and we had a great time.

The next day the girls were getting massages so Phil and I picked up some snorkeling gear from the resort and set off to find a place to swim around and see some fish.  After doing a little driving we decided to go check out the area where we had signed up to dive later in the week.  We were not out long but it was great to be in the water checking out the fish and we knew we would be back in a few days.

We headed back to meet the girls and load up in the car for a little tour-de-island.  We drive up to the top of the island with our final destination being the town of Hanalei (where puff the magic dragon lived by the sea).  Along the way we stopped off for a hike/swim in the Queens bath.  This was a really cool tide pool right on the edge of the pacific where waves would keep the water moving as they splashed over the top but for the most part the water was very calm.  We swam and lounged around for a long time before we could bring ourselves to leave.  Near the end of the day we rolled into Hanalei which ended up being one of my favorite towns of the trip.  I am not quite sure why I loved this town but it had a great feel to it.  At this point of the island the mountains come almost directly down into the ocean.  A very very peaceful place to be.

The next day Robyn and Phil headed to do a little sight seeing while Natalie and I roamed the beaches near the room and did a little exploring.  We discovered a bar down the road that served the best fish tacos I have ever eaten.  The only thing planned for the day was a dive class in the pool where Phil and I would get briefed on how to use our equipment for the dive we had scheduled for Saturday.  Everyone had a great relaxing day and settled in even more.  That afternoon as Phil and I were getting our dive instruction in the pool the girls came down and had a few drinks.  After our class wrapped up we all sat in the sun sipping pineapple drinks until the sun started to dip.  Ahhhhh.....

Friday (so sad that it was Friday already) we explored a beach with Phil.  I wish I remembered the name of the beach because it was the most beautiful one we saw.  To get there we had to push the limits of the rental car a bit but after navigating the ruts and rocks we parked safely and walked the last 100 yards to a beach tucked away by limestone cliffs.  Again, you will have to look at the pictures since words cannot do this place justice.  We made it back to the room in time to walk up the hill and watch the sun set over the surf.

Saturday we got up to watch the sun rise (as we did most mornings we were there) and then Phil and I headed off to meet our dive guide at 8am.  We got a fish briefing of what we would see underwater and the signs our guide would use underwater as well as a quick safety refresher and we were off into the water.  The last time I went diving was in Australia and they motored us about a mile offshore before putting all our gear on us and letting us fall over the side of the boat.  In that little adventure I kind of freaked out but this time we just walked into the water and calmly slipped into a different world.  Within 10 minutes we were seeing turtles, moray eels, angel fish, and coral.  At one point a huge turtle swam up from underneath us and came within 2 feet of me.  It was so amazing to see such a huge animal effortlessly glide by.  We were under water for almost 50 minutes but it passed by like we just blinked.  I could have stayed out all day diving and swimming with all that sea life.

After turning in our dive gear we headed back to the room and took it easy.  It was very sad that we were already to Saturday.  We were looking forward to a great dinner to cap the trip off though.  We sat down to our nearly waterfront table 30 minutes before the sun began to set.  It was great being in a place like that with such good friends.  We snapped a few pictures as the sun settled into the ocean and waved goodbye to it for the last time.

Sunday was a very early wakeup to catch our plane.  I was physically pained to leave the place and cannot wait to go back one day.  I cannot thank Robyn and Phil enough for sharing that amazing place with us.

T minus 2 days

2 days until we land in Hawaii.......  Heading out Saturday and returning the following Sunday.

Mt Baker Cabin Weekend

This past weekend a group of us headed up to a rental cabin by Mount Baker.  Our neighbor Stephanie did all the work and found a great deal on a place that was 10 miles from the mountain.

Our friend Laura met us at our place Friday as I was getting in from work and we all quickly loaded the car and headed out to dinner.  After grabbing a mexican dinner and letting the traffic clear off of I5 we headed up to Baker.  It only took about 2 hours before we were walking in the door.  Ross and Stephanie had gotten out of work around 4 so they were already settled into the cabin.  We unpacked broke open a few drinks and took it easy the rest of the night.

Saturday morning the girls went for a little hike while Ross and I loaded up our snowboards and hit the mountain.  This was the first time I have been snowboarding at Mount Baker and it was a great time.  The sun was shining, there was not a cloud in the sky and life was great.  We rode for a few hours, had a beer and lunch on the deck at the base of the mountain and took in the view.  After relaxing in the sun for about an hour we hit the mountain for a bit longer and then headed back to the cabin.

Saturday night was spent listening to music, sitting in the hot tub, and enjoying the fact that not only did we not have any cell service but we could not pick up a single radio station.

Sunday we had a leisurely breakfast before hitting the road for Seattle.

Once we got back and were unpacked my neighbor Jake and I moved our newest 9310 Stone Brewery beer (a brown ale this time) into secondary fermentation.  It is going to be tasty.

Now I have just enough time to finish the book I am reading and maybe start on another one.

Only two weeks before Natalie and I head out to Hawaii for 9 days!!  What a rough life we lead.  :)

Sun poisoning in Seattle

For all pictures (Click Me)

I have been feeling a little antsy lately and knowing that it was about time to head up into the woods. I was supposed to go a few weekends ago but I had a really busy week at work and did not have a chance to pack during the week. Well this past week was really busy too but I made myself head down to the garage and pack up my gear Friday after I got home at 7:00pm. Luckily I have been pre planning trips lately so all I had to do was print out a map and load a little info into the GPS and I was ready to head out the door.

I had been thinking about getting out for quite a while and the original plan was to try the Alaska Lake trip that I bailed on last time when I was not feeling so well. So, all week I was thinking I was going to head out there and then Friday I pulled up the weather report and it said warm and bluebird skies all weekend. Hmmmm, I had Artist Point on my list of winter camping spots and the view was why it was there. So, after a quick change of plan I printed out a different map, reloaded the GPS with the new destination.

The trip was pretty easy. Getting there was a snap. You just head up to Mt Baker upper parking lot, tell them you are staying overnight and head up with no passes or parking fees required. I walked on the edge of the ski resort the first mile and then had around 2 miles up to my campsite. I was snowshoeing in a tshirt it was so warm. Ahhhhh, I sure did miss the sun!!

Words cannot describe the scenery up there. I have to say that the Mt Baker area is one of the top 5 prettiest places I have ever been. As you climb you have a view of Mt Shuksan off to the left, a few huge back country ski bowls off to the right and as you begin to crest the ridge Mt Baker comes into view. Even though the ski resort is close by I could not really tell and felt as though I should have had to work much harder to make it to this place.

I got to my campsite around 2pm and started digging in. After a few scoops of snow I was so warm the tshirt even had to come off!! So after I dug my campsite into the side of the hill and was satisfied that I had everything all leveled off I setup camp, dug out some snacks, pulled my sleeping pad out into the sun and read my book for a few hours.

Eventually I put the book away and decided I would head up to Artist Point (a few hundred feet up the hill from my campsite) and see the view from there.

I discovered a few other people camped out up on top of the point and was happy to have my campsite all to myself.

I spent the afternoon reading, watching snowshoers and skiers head down the distant peaks and came to the conclusion that I have to quit thinking about getting a back country setup and just do it. I cannot imagine a better weekend than heading in a few miles to camp out and then mixing in a few ski runs.

Sunday I woke up to a carbon copy of Saturday. Blue skies and mid 40s. I was planning to snowshoe a little and explore but decided to repeat Saturday by dragging my sleeping pad outside, building up a snow recliner to set my pad in, and read my book. I took it easy in the sun for 3-4 hours before packing up and heading home.

I felt a little woozy the whole drive home and all night which I think was minor sun poisoning. Or maybe my body just forgot what to do with vitamin D. Either way I have a little tan and feel like all of the stress has been burned out of me. I can't wait to get back up to the mount baker area with some ski gear next time.

Valentines Weekend

Last weekend instead of just having valentines day we decided to turn it into a weekend.


Friday we went to see Presidents of the USA.  It was a pretty sweet deal as the tickets were a Christmas gift from Palmer.  We got there a little early so rather than wait in line we headed over to a bar across the street I had been wanting to check out and had a relaxing drink. It was nice to unwind after the week so after our beer we headed over to the show. This is a band that I liked a long time ago so I figured it would be one of those "oh yea I remember that song" kind of bands. It was one of the most fun shows I have been to in a long time. The lead singer has at least as much energy as he did 10 years ago, and maybe more. We got out of the show around 11:30 or so and headed home for the night.

We slept in saturday and after running some errands (yay oil change!) we headed downtown to the aquarium. We took a cab down so we would not have to worry about parking or getting the car broken into (happened to the 4runner again last week). We walked through the market and got a snack, picked up some tea natalie wanted and headed to look at the aquarium. We got down there about 4 and spent two hours walking around. It is a really nice aquarium. Atlanta's (my hometown) is probably nicer just by being so new but this one was really fun. They put a lot of mini tanks down low to the floor so kids can walk right up. There is a huge touch tank section that was filled with kids. We wrapped up just as they announced they were closing which was perfect timing. We walked up to grab dinner and since we were early we walked over to the new 4 seasons and had a drink in the bar. After a little relaxing there we went to dinner right under the market at il bistro and had a long relaxing dinner. After dinner we were not quite ready to head home so we walked over to a little bar overlooking the sound that we had seen while we were walking up from the aquarium and had a final drink of the evening. Then we caught a cab home and passed out. Sunday was just a relaxing get things done day and we finished the weekend watching the opening ceremonies that we had recorded.

Such a relaxing weekend and I think valentines should be a weekend event from now on.

Mush!!

For all the pictures click HERE.

Saturday we headed out with Laura and Frank to an event that I don't think you can see in too many parts of the country. We went to watch the Cascade Quest dog sled race over by Levenworth.

This was a really cool event that went from Saturday to Sunday. The racers headed out 25 miles, camped, and then headed back in Sunday. Since we were there on Saturday we saw the teams leaving.

The whole event was very laid back so we got to meet the racers and all their dogs. We saw the 2pm start that was a purebred race. Since we were there at around 1:30 we saw them getting all of the dogs ready. As soon as the dogs saw their harnesses they got really excited and started howling. Even at the starting gate the dogs were so excited they started hopping up and down and jumping on top of each other.

It was a great day filled with lots of dog slobber.

Hiking in the jungle

Another great weekend out in the woods. Dan, Laura, Natalie and I headed up to the north cascades this past weekend. The plan was to head up into the snow so we all loaded up the packs with winter tents, snowshoes, and all the warm gear we could carry. Well we got to the trailhead and even after driving uphill for 30 minutes the snow line was still so far above us that we decided to leave the snowshoes in the car.

We headed out under skies that were pretty nice but had a hint of darkness to them. About 30 minutes into the trip things began to get interesting as we came across an unexpected river. It was not really cold (probably low 40s) but still to cold to just wade across a river of snowmelt. We searched around a little and Dan and I decided the best crossing was over a fallen tree that was covered in ice. What could go wrong right? Well everything went well and after a little sawing of branches and handing of packs we were all across. In the back of my head I was thinking, hmm I hope the water level does not come up overnight because I have no idea how we will make it back across.

After crossing the river we headed into what looked like the set of Jurrassic Park. The trees were huge and covered in moss. We spent a good portion of the hiking heading up a creek bed. There were quite a few blowdowns which resulted in the trail just disappearing. We would realize after about 15-20 feet that we were not on a trail any more (this was a lightly used trail anyway) and would have to fan out to locate the trail again. It was cool to have to do a little route finding. I felt like we were making good time but as it started getting later we were still nowhere near the treeline where we had planned to camp.

A little after 4 Dan said he thought we should call it and use the remaining light to find a campsite. I really wanted to make the treeline for the views and so while he went off to the side of the trail to find an area to camp in (we were on the side of a mountain so not many flat spots were to be had) I dropped my pack and jogged up the trail in the off chance that

a. there was an established flat campsite ahead
or
b. that by some miracle the treeline was closer than we thought

Turns out the the trail just got steeper up ahead and there were not any good campsites up there at all. I reluctantly turned around and started jogging back down the trail to see if Dan had found a campsite.

When I got back Dan had just re-emerged from the woods and thought he may have found a place. We all heaved our packs back onto our backs and headed off the trail and into Jurrassic Park. The campsites were not much to look at but after adjusting the tents a few times we decided they would work well.

After getting setup we all changed into our warmest clothes and headed to our dinner/bar area. Between all of us we had two bottles of port, one bottle of wine, and a bottle of bailey's to have with hot chocolate later. It started getting cold so we fired up the stoves, opened up the port and ended up having a great night just catching up and talking trash. The hanging of the food line was a memorable experience. Booze+waterbottle tied to a rope that needed to be thrown over a tree is always interesting but this was a classic. Classic bear bag setup....

It had gotten dark at 4:30pm so we had all turned in by nine with full stomachs and faces that hurt from laughing. Great times with great friends.

The hike out was uneventful and my worst nightmares about the river crossing on the way out turned out to be nothing more than paranoia.