More Hawaii

Alas, I only went paddle boarding once, but I did manage to make a trip out to the beach for some swimming. Most of the time, I was busy seeing the reflection of my goggles and thinking I saw a flash of shark or when my hand passed next to my body that I might be reaching a nude colored jellyfish. Needless to say, my swim workout was pretty pathetic, but that's normal. I'm still proud of myself for attempting a workout in the ocean. Unfortunately, my only normal advantage to open water swimming is the extra hydration I get from the unplanned gulps of water and sea water saps even that sad leg up on other swimmers. I tried to make up for it with a Tabata Something Else in the surf. It didn't make up for being a bad swimmer, but any workout on the beach in Hawaii just before sunset is a good one.
Speaking of sunsets, Friday ended early enough to catch one last glimpse late afternoon and evening. I drove up to the North Shore. Now, an important thing to know about Hawaii is that driving is utterly miserable. Since I spent a few years driving Northern Virginia rush hours and now ride sometimes stylishly and sometimes on a bus through hideous Korean traffic, I now consider myself an expert at judging traffic. Please note that I refer to Hawaiian traffic as miserable - not terribly dangerous. The speed limits are slow to begin with and the Aloha culture means that no one is in a hurry so why not drive 10 miles under the speed limit and hang out in more than one lane. Then at rush hour(s) which run from about three and a half hours in the morning and again in the afternoon, Honolulu comes to a standstill. I braved the beginning of the madness and started on my trek out to the North side of the island. On the way up, I stopped briefly at the Dole Plantation.  I was disappointed to find my suspicions were correct - it was a major tourist trap with lots of sloppy dressed people checking off "authentic Hawaiian experiences" like eating pineapple ice cream off their bucket lists. I plowed on, by now I'd left traffic behind and made my way to the beaches of the North Shore. I stopped for a while to feel the tide roll in at Banzai pipeline. A few surfers were enjoying the last hour of sunlight (prime shark munching time) and made me nervous by coming too near large rocks in the surf. Rain began to fall - again- so I meandered a little further up to Sunset Beach and almost to Turtle Bay. Then I enjoyed the true sunset from several different beaches as I started back in search of dinner. Truly, sunset on the North Shore was magnificent. The sun was a bright neon orange, slipping behind foggy clouds only to slip out for one last frame before slipping below the horizon. Meanwhile, the sky held a full palette of pastels to even out the shock of the sunset. The whole time I was driving or stopping to watch the sunset, I noticed locals and more relaxed (real) tourists alike wandering toward the beach, some with lawn chairs, some with wine, settling in to enjoy an incredible show - what a treat to have guaranteed Primetime every evening outside your doorstep instead of on the TV!
And I've stayed up past my bedtime, so photos and news of Australia and possibly Korean driving will come sooner rather than later!

re-committing

Friends, friends, friends!
I thought my first post was really late and lazy, but that was about 5 months ago so I'm definitely miserable at this. I'm going to give it another shot because I have a lot more to add. Life is incredibly busy since I took on a new job working for a general. I joke that Aide-de-camp means "carrier of things" in French, but really I think that my job is mostly problem solving. I'm getting to travel a lot more than being an exec would have allowed and learning a lot by observing the bird's eye perspective for the first (and only) point in my career!
I got back a few hours ago from Hawaii. It was a really beautiful but very busy week. When I managed to find a few free hours, I took myself hiking, learned stand-up paddle boarding, and watched the sunset up on the North Shore! Of course, I also took myself to the local Whole Foods as well.
Whenever I go somewhere new, I like to see the area on foot as much as possible. Especially in places as beautiful as Hawaii, skipping the scenery would be really unfortunate. However, I don't usually like to go to the very tourist-heavy hiking trails. For one, I prefer not to enjoy nature with lots of busy, loud tourists. Also, I find that hikes which appeal to the masses aren't very challenging and don't get too deep into nature. I made my way out to the Mt. Olympus trailhead and started hiking up. I went over and down a few different hills, walking along the ridge. On the way back, rain started falling and just as I was lamenting the rare change in Hawaii sunshine, a huge rainbow spread across the valley in front of me. The rain quickly let up until it was just about a mist that was falling instead of hanging in the air. The next day, I made it out to the beach in time for a paddle board lesson. An important fact is that I'm not a huge fan of open water, particularly when I can't see the bottom. I'm also less than fond of sharks and jellyfish and believe there are lots of both lurking in the ocean. So, I started out with my guide Kuahai, mohawked and Hawaii-tan, ending every sentence with "yo?" For example: "so you're in the department of defense, yo?" He showed me the basics (stand in the middle and row just like every other paddling sport - front to back with the paddle straight down). We paddled around the bay, went through some baby waves on the way back, it was fun and easy. I asked all about living in Hawaii, all the water sports, wildlife, etc. He pointed out a turtle (which I reacted too slowly to see) which lead to a discussion about sharks. Yes, there are sharks, but Kuahai prefers not to think about them, there's a big tiger shark that sometimes hangs out further into the surf outside the reef, and finally "Just don't fall off!" That last comment made me a little more nervous.
Alas, now it's time to get some rest so I'll have to finish later - but not 5 months later...Cheers!