Spring Break in Kauai, Part II

On Monday we had planned for an early start, but ended up sitting around the condo listening to the birds chirp. Our original plan was a big hike, but our unofficial island guide, Kimo, of Kimo's Snorkel Rentals, told us we wouldn't have time to finish the hike we wanted to do up on the north shore before dark. Instead, he suggested the Sleeping Giant hike in the Nounou mountains up towards the north shore.

On our way out, we drove by a large amount of traffic near a public ball field. Turns out it was a farmer's market, aka, tourist trap. As tourists, we decided to stop in and pick up some fresh produce for a salad in the evening. We came out with one mango. That cost a $1.50. Rip-off.

On the drive up to the hike, we stopped along the highway to take a look at the Opaekaa Falls. Just right there. Along the side of the road.

On the other side of the street was the Opaekaa River where we saw plenty of kayakers floating along.

Hiking up Sleeping Giant we walked through a forest of these trees.

Not sure what these trees are called and I'm too lazy to find out. But if you're really curious, I encourage you to do the necessary research.

The view the whole way was amazing. It seems there are no ugly parts in Kauai.

We got to the top, the Sleeping Giant's chest.


The bench had RESPECT etched into it for some reason. You may research that one too.

It was upon our return that I jumped into the ocean with my weatherproof camera case not completely sealed shut and killed my camera. Super lame.

But I was a good sport and took full responsibility for my negligence. Enough to enjoy a nice dinner at the restaurant across the street from our condo. It was totally affordable and delicious!

They had a live band playing (2 dudes with a guitar and ukelele) and it was all outdoors. The seafood was delicious and it was just nice to sit down for a good dinner.

For our last full day on Kauai, we took the long and windy drive up the east coast of the island early in the morning to do the hike to Hanakapai Falls near Hanalei Bay on the north shore. The drive took about an hour and half.

The hike started at Ke'e Beach. I have always said that Half Dome is my favorite hike, but this one is a strong contender. As I walked, I debated as to which hike was better. In the end, I decided that both are so different, they cannot be compared.


We hiked along the coast the majority of the time and were treated to some amazing views of the coastline.


We caught a lot of mist and moisture from the jungle but it was such a warm day and we were treated to a rainbow along the trail!

There were little gems all along the way.

To describe the trail: muddy.

And very jungley.


This is the river coming from the waterfall that flows right into the ocean.

At this point, the 2-mile mark, people can hang at the beach, they can camp for a night, or hikers can continue inland 2-miles to the 300-ft. Hanakapiai Falls or 9-miles to another 500-ft. waterfall further down along the coast.

Due to time, we chose the shorter hike.

This is the part where I started to get eaten by mosquitoes. I always get eaten by mosquitoes.


The hike was very rocky, muddy and wet. We found ourselves crossing several streams.

And despite trying to stay dry, we both ended up tromping through the water.

The waterfall in the background was the ultimate destination.

This was Kyle's attempt at helping me across the rocks before I eventually fell in and spent the rest of the hike in wet running shoes.


Another waterfall before THE waterfall.

And here we are at beautiful Hanakapiai Falls.



All in all, the hike was 8-miles round trip and it took us 6 hours and 20 minutes. We stopped a lot, took a ton of pictures and just enjoyed the natural beauty of that place. It was quite amazing!

For anyone who goes on this hike, here are my preparatory suggestions:
- Water shoes - The whole hike is very rocky so close toed shoes is highly recommended. But it is also very wet with several stream crossings. I would take shoes for both conditions.
- Swim suit - Hiking to a waterfall I should have known I would likely want to swim. We didn't have a towel or our swim suits, but we made it work. It would have been nice to have had a towel.
- Insect repellent - I was eaten alive. There and back. Mostly just through the bamboo areas. It really sucked.

We thought this would be a funny pic. I don't know of anywhere that I have seen more nearly new Chevy's, Ford's and Chrysler's. I know it's a tourist town, but I just couldn't get over it! Our Ford Taurus was quite nice, I must admit.

So that was our trip! I didn't want to leave this post on an ugly picture of four nicely lined up PT Cruisers. So, here is a pretty flower I saw. It's pretty.

The last day there, we just hung out at the beach and soaked up the last few bits of sun that we could get.

The trip was a success. I encourage everyone to get over there at some point. There's a ton to do, so much to see, and a great way to just chill.

Twins Mania!

Oh dude.

Ok. So nothing freaks me out more than finding out someone I have known for quite a while has a twin. It just trips me out. Not that it makes that huge of a difference, but, it's like, "Wow! You have a twin!" You get me, right?

So, check this out, celebrities who have twins! I don't know them, but I feel like I do. It's just a trip!

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/getback-celebrity-twins.html

Daddy Oh's new car

Upon returning from my island vacation, I came home to Seattle o find out my dad had crashed his car. On the day I left, he ran into a lady on an unfamiliar freeway and totaled his 1999 Mazda 626. Before I saw the car, I asked if he was hurt at all and how he felt. His simple response was, "Yes, I am fine. Nothing wrong."

For a car that was going to be considered totaled, I was shocked that he had not been hurt. We had to go to the collision center to retrieve the tires off the car and when I saw the car, I could not believe that he was perfectly fine.

Me: Dad, you didn't tell me the airbags depoloyed.
Dad: Oh yes. Ha ha! I was very surprised. All of sudden, in my face!
Me: The car looks horrible dad. Are you sure you're ok?
Dad: Ha, ha! Car is very damaged. I am ok. At that time, when I put the brakes very hard, I thought myself, oh zee (Daddy Oh equivalent to "Oh geez") this is big problem.
Me: Dad...

The side angle of the car shows the true damage and it is still amazing to me that he is perfectly fine. My dad...honestly.

So, for the rest of the weekend, I spent two days wheeling and dealing with car salesmen to buy my dad a new car. I will tell you, I hate the process. But thanks to Kyle's help and dad's sweet charm, we ended up getting an awesome deal on a Certified Used Honda Accord with low miles. It is such a pretty car...


While test driving one of the cars, my dad had been asking all kinds of questions, mostly along the lines of, "What this button does?" "Is their cooling system (A/C)?" After the test drive, we went in to the dealership and sat down across from the salesman. The guy was going through his files and looking for a certain document and just in his frustration, he said, "Looks like someone jacked my price sheet."

And my dad asked, "What is jack?"

It was really funny at the time.

Spring Break in Kauai, Part I

Kyle had a credit he needed to use on Hawaiian Airlines before summer, so we took advantage of the opportunity, so...for Spring Break, we went to Kauai.

The trip was a ton of fun and it was beyond beautiful. I have been to Oahu and Maui, but I must say, everything I have heard about Kauai is true. It is amazing and my favorite of the islands I have visited.

The weather was perfect. It drizzled a little bit and it was cloudy at times, but everyday was pretty much sunny and mid-70s. We tried to cram in as much as possible, but of course, in the end, seven days just wasn't enough. Here's a little glimpse at our vacation:

I got an AMAZING deal on a condo from a private owner at the Kiahuna Plantation. The grounds were beautiful and so inviting. They had bbqs and a choice location on the beach. I couldn't have asked for a better place.

Here's our beach. One of the best in Poipu.

Kyle just outside of our condo on our way to the beach.

We had heard about a great shrimp taco place in Waimea, just 20-minutes west of Kuhio. Though the shrimp tacos were HUGE and delicious, nothing beat the giant coconut shrimp. Yummy.

For some reason, seeing a lizard scamper around the condiment table wasn't disgusting in Kauai. More like cool. But looking at it now, kind of like disgusting.

We got yummy shave ice at Jo-Jo's in Waimea.

We hit the beach for some snorkeling in the late afternoon.

Saw some amazing fish, of many varieties.

And just chilled in the late afternoon sun.

The next day we took a tour with Captain Andy to the Na Pali Coast, an amazingly beautiful coastline on the west shore of Kauai.

As an added treat, we saw whales from a distance and several pods of dolphins along the way.

And a Mr. Turtle visited us up close and personal.

One of the views of Na Pali.

And another.

Thankfully the tide calmed down and we were able to get in some fun snorkeling.

Kind of cool underwater shots, yeah? Too bad these will be the last you see of them. Our next outing out, I was careless when I sealed my camera in its casing and, well, killed my camera. Big boo.



Kyle had a great time the whole boat trip.

I, on the other hand, on the boat trip back, the waves really picked up and I started to feel really barfy.

Best thing about the trip is that I was introduced to the yummiest saltine-like crackers ever. Locally made in Hawaii, I bought two boxes at Costco on my way back. Yum!

We came back home to a beautiful sunset, blocked by the Sheraton, but beautiful nonetheless.

This was our run one morning.

We golfed at a great course for a great deal.
Chickens and roosters were everywhere.

It was a beautiful day and setting for a nice round.



We spent Sunday driving around. This is a view of Waimea Canyon.

Where the rain starts and stops.

We went on a nice little hike for a better view of the canyon.

Kyle was being cute.

Then he was being funny.

End of Part I.

Earth Hour 2009

Where ever you are, on Saturday, March 28, 2009, turn out your lights.

Spare change, sir?

I am at home in Seattle for a couple of days before heading back to "he Eug" (my pet name for the city of Eugene meant to express only mild distaste for the fact that I live there...) for the start of spring quarter. Home in Seattle usually means work and a lot of that entails driving my parents around.

Today, in the midst of our flurry of errands, we stopped by Safeway to buy some fruit, because that's what Koreans do, we purchase and eat a lot of fruit. But this is all beside the point.

Coming out of the store, we walked by a dude who wasn't quite actively peddling for hand-outs because he didn't approach me for my spare change, but it seems that when he saw my dad, he piped up and asked, "Got any spare change?"

I kept walking, as I usually do, but, my dad seemed startled by the man, audibly gasped and stepped back at the request. I looked back to make sure he kept walking, only to see my dad frantically patting his empty pockets and searching for spare change as if he were being held at gunpoint. I just chuckled to myself and kept walking while my dad kept looking for something to give the man. Eventually, my dad made it to the car. I asked him how much he gave the guy and he said, "I had only very little spare change. I only gave him $0.22."

All I could say was, "That's good enough dad." That poor guy probably had his hopes up high, only to get $0.22 and a cute smile from daddy Oh.

Made me laugh.

The Riders on the Bus...

Since I ride the bus almost everyday to get to school, I notice that I spend my time with a vast variety of people that I normally would not spend time with, unless -- I was sitting on a bus with them. I will say, in the beginning, it was quite an enjoyable experience to sit in the back of the bus and observe the different types of people with whom I share a ride with between my apartment and campus. It was almost humorous and sometimes even put a smile on my face. But after five months as an avid "busser", much of that novelty has worn off. Here are a few of my keen observations, gripes and daily experiences:

1. Mr. Dry-Oatmeal-in-a-Large-Tupperware-Container in a Brown-Paper-Bag Man" disgusts me now.

2. Playing the "From Where, or Whom, Is That Smell Coming?" game has lost its luster and is no longer a game, but more like intuitive curiosity. Kind of like when someone says, "Who farted?" then everyone in the room sniffs real big to 1) confirm that someone farted by smelling the fart for themselves, then 2) saying, "I don't know, it wasn't me, but yeah, someone definiitely farted."

3. Just when I thought there was no other combination to add to 1) cigarette smoke, BO and onions, 2) cigarette smoke, BO and pastrami, and 3) cigarette smoke, BO and BO, just yesterday I discovered a new combo: cigarette smoke, BO and whiskey.

4. The riders who scream while on the bus annoy me the most. Luckily that has only happened a few times.

I do give Lane Transit Authority as an entity props though for having some of the nicest bus drivers around. I miss my old bus driver from fall quarter who would always yell from the front of the bus, "Have a nice day!" whenever anyone got off the bus, or "Study hard!" when he made his drop at campus. Most of the bus drivers say "Thank you" when people depart the bus and I have not yet once had a bus come late or depart behind schedule. They do a good job here.

I guess another positive observation are the mornings where I sit on the bus and try to imagine what kind of lives these people live or have lived. How did they get here? What kind of life experiences have they had? What talents do they have that I don't? There are many fellow riders who seem very interesting to me.

In particular, we pick up several mentally challenged regulars. Same time, same place. I look at them and I see how content and happy they are. They all have some kind of carrying case for their lunch. They get off at various stops around town and I wonder where they go. Work? School? I listened to one of the girls read a story about her cat to another passenger and though I thought the story was weird and lame and feared that one day I would revert to writing a story about my cat, I was enamored by her simple affections for her fuzzy friend and the pride she took in the story she wrote.

Observing the people on the bus has become a normal part of my day and when I am not totally disgusted by the smells and the crazy things people do to their hair, it is actually an entertaining and interesting experience.