The last time we went on vacation was over a year and a half ago, when we took our month long roadtrip to figure out where we wanted to live. Well, here we are, one year into our new house and jobs in Bend, and we were ready for a vacation. Tickets were booked, lodging secured, and we were off, or so we thought. Just before boarding, we were informed that one of the engines in the plane would need to be replaced, and the flight was canceled.

With 15 hours to kill, we decided to head into Portland. It was actually pretty nice. We threw ourselves into metro mode and hit up Powell's, drank lots of coffee, saw some good friends, played some pool, went to Saburo's and then headed back to the airport for the long wait. The plane trip was blissfully quiet, and we arrived in Honolulu at about 3:30am. After a two hour layover, we caught our short flight to Kauai and picked up our rental car at about 6am.

We drove North to Kapa'a to get settled in to our unit, and then headed to the beach to start bronzing. It was raining on the east side of the island where we were staying (and would continue for the duration), so we drove around to the west side and found the sun.

Here's some photos (click pic to close)

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After a couple of days of recuperation and relaxing, Jen and I headed up the Waimea canyon road to do a hike that was one of the highlights of our last trip: the Nu 'alolo Trail to the Awa-awapuhi Trail, the Grand Loop. This trail descends from the rain soaked mountains to the tops of the misty Na Pali cliffs, above the Nu 'alolo valley. It's absolutely stunning.

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We ended up spending most of the week on the southwest side of the island as the rest of the island was quite wet and windy. We spent most of the time at the beach being entertained by tourists getting stuck in the dunes, locals getting stuck on the dunes, and even managed to check out the Waimea town celebration and rodeo. Poi balls are sooo good!

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We spent a lot of time at the beach on this trip due to the soggy conditions. After a few days of blissful lounging, Jen decided to brave a long run in the morning, and I thought it would be nice to go on a "hike". I found a good short trek near town that would be an easy drop off and pick up for Jen, and after agreeing on a pick up time three hours later, I set off on my 3 mile jaunt. The guide book we were using warned of primitive trail conditions and suggested that a whole day be set aside to make the round trip. 3 miles? How hard could it be? I figured an hour a mile was a reasonable estimate. The trail started by a large grafitti covered water tower at the end of a long country lane just outside of Kapa'a. A couple of junked cars and some cows made me wonder if I was in the right spot, but sure enough, after about 100yds, the road turned to single track and began to parallel a turbulant creek lined by thick bamboo groves 30 feet tall.

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The first stream crossing was barely 1/4 mile into it, and after realizing that it wasn't going to be easy to keep my feet dry, I gave in and waded in up to my knees. I lost the trail almost immediately, as it dead ended at a cliff at the bottom of a short run of rapids. Finding no other way to get around the cliff, I realized I was going to have to jump back into the creek. This time it was about waist deep, and after scrambling up and over some boulders, I regained the trail a little further on. From there the trail only got worse, although I must admit it was one of the most fun hikes I've done. The trees and plants were so thick it was like crawling through a giant spiderweb. At one point I lost the trail completely and ended up retracing my tracks over two waterfalls until I found the faint notches in a tree branch that marked the trail. It continued on like this for an hour and a half, with each step a battle, half on the ground and in the trees, and half in the creek bed. When I was approaching my turn around point, the trail disappeared completely and as I waded up the creek, waterfalls 2000' straight above me began to emerge from the mist. It started to rain harder, and I turned to leave in a lush grotto filled with wild orchids and great leafy ferns. The creek was starting to rise and I figured I'd better get rolling if I wanted to get back down without going swimming. Crossings that were waist deep the first time were close to armpit deep now, and it was all I could do to stay on my feet. I made it out in about 45 minutes with the added help of the stream, and after calling up my ride, I started walking back to Kapa'a.

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Well, it went by a little too fast as usual, but it was a wonderful trip. Our little snafu at the airport resulted in a nice credit from the airline, so we may be going back sooner than we'd hoped.

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