Trek to Halape Beach

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The Big Island differs greatly from Kauai. The Kalalau Trail in Kauai was vastly different than our march to Halape Beach. Starting at Hilina Pali overlook, we descended about 1400 feet through rocky terrain. Read more

Kīlauea Volcano…the big Kahuna

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My mom and sister decided to join our voyage of follies. The day’s escapades would be spent at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, with the first stop at the Nahuku Thurston Lava Tube. Lava can reform in such a way that creates a tunnel, this one about 50 yards long. This particular tube is estimated to be 500 years old. Read more

First day on the Big Island

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The first night in Kona on the Big Island threw us some curves. We reserved a cabin at Hapuna Beach campground, but didn’t realize that we needed a code in order to unlock the cabin. Damn details…they get ya every time! After business hours and in the dark of night, we set up camp outside of our locked cabin. Read more

Whales galore

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A big thank you to Kathryn at the Tax Trailer for pointing out the fact that Humpback whales were not to be missed while in Hawaii. I may have missed some spectacular views otherwise. So, with cameras ready, Read more

Into the wild blue yonder

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As the weeks approached to this Hawaiian excursion, I looked forward to a day of deep sea fishing. With a bit of fishing experience in Costa Rica and St. Thomas, the next challenge was Hawaii. All my experiences with deep sea fishing have entailed lots of waiting. Read more

Around Honolulu

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Honolulu is a large and active city. All sorts of little pockets to get lost in and plenty of little adventures. I was even lucky enough to bump into the Red Rocker himself, Sammy Hagar. Well, maybe I’m stretching the truth a bit. This was a Sammy impersonator that has us all fooled for quite some time. After our star sighting, we breathed in another picturesque sunset.

Wedding day celebration

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The big day arrived and to everyone’s surprise, Amy said yes! The big event in Oahu took place at the Kalama Beach Club. Everyone celebrated the joyful union of Brent and Amy in a perfectly Hawaiian atmosphere. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Big waves hit the North Shore

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After Karel and I returned from the trail, we chilled out for another day in Kauai, then island hopped to Oahu. The main reason for traveling to Hawaii was to attend the wedding of our friend, Brent, and his lovely fiancé, Amy. When we arrived in Honolulu, we met up with our buddy, Bubba, and settled into our condo.

After a couple of days of playing in the ocean, we had heard that the North Shore was to receive unusually large waves and the professional surfers would be tearing it up. Read more

Destination found: Kalalau Beach

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Karel and I were led to believe that the beach would be fairly uninhabited, maybe 6-8 people. However, we would guess closer to 25-35 people were there. We found a lot of hikers—such as ourselves—who planned to stay one day, then pack out. However, there were a lot of “residents” of the beach too. We spoke with a man from Oregon who had been at the beach for the past three months. Another had been there for a full 10 months. Read more

Kalalau Trail: Day 2

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Our evening at Hanakoa was a wet one. It rained throughout the night and the area in Hanakoa Valley was surprisingly humid. If you should ever make plans for this hike, my recommendation would be to stay about half-mile to one mile further. There is a single spot that is much more open and dryer, but could be occupied because it is a small area. Read more