Na Pohaku o Hauwahine Trail

Last week Evie and I enjoyed another hike with Hiking with Keiki. This time we went to the Kawai Nui Marsh and were given a guided tour of the Na Pohaku o Hauwahine Trail (don't ask me how to pronounce any of this!). The name of the trail translates to "The Rocks of the Hauwahine" and the area itself is 12-acres of volcanic rock formations that is currently being replanted with native Hawaiian plants. The tour was given by a member of the Ahahui Malamaika i ka Lokahi (Hawaiians for the Conservation of Native Ecosystems) and consisted of a couple trails, hills, marsh, and beautiful views of Kailua and the Maunawilli mountain ridge.

Trailhead

We met up at the trailhead, which is on a busy road off of a major highway. The only parking was gravel on the shoulder of this busy road, so it was a bit dangerous getting out and crossing with the children. Future projects for the group and site include putting in a parking area for tourists and hikers.

We met our guide at a small, shaded area, and after everyone in the group signed-in for the hike, we left. I had a hard time hearing everything he was saying because Evie wanted to get going on the trail, but I think I caught a lot of the interesting stuff. We started with a steep incline that I had to carry Evie for- guess she's not quite ready for steep hikes just yet. The sun was blazing overhead but luckily we stopped at a set of benches underneath a tree, and we had a few minutes to snack, hydrate, and rest. The guide pointed out Kawai Nui Marsh, which is at the base of the land we hiked. Right now, volunteers are excavating non-native plants from this marsh and planting native species. Progress is currently at a halt as the water levels are up to chin-level from the recent rains.

Next, we traveled downhill to great views of the marsh and the Maunawilli mountains to the south.

The peak to the left of center is actually what's left of a volcano that created the valley we were hiking in. The mountains behind that separate the windward side of the island from Pearl Harbor.

Next, we hiked around several rock formations that were significant to ancient Hawaiians (why, I don't know. Evie was not interested in this part, so I didn't get to listen). We were able to touch a carving stone, which was very smooth from where Hawaiians had used it to sharpen tools and weapons hundreds of years ago. Next to that was a "classroom", as the guide called it (pictured below). It was a series of rocks set into a hillside. The central rock was a basin that held water, and Hawaiians were able to teach and learn about astronomy through the night sky's reflection in the pool. The hillside had a perfect view east, and the sunrise was noted for every day of the year and rocks were placed accordingly on the hillside, so that the summer and winter solstice could be identified using the rocks and sunrise. This is the little I heard while chasing Evie, but it was very interesting.

We were nearing noon, which meant hungry  kids and incredibly hot temperatures. I had a chance to chat with the guide on our way back to the trailhead (as Evie was now leading the hike and we were following), and he said this is one of the hottest summers on the island that he can remember, and he's been here 45 years! He said it's lack of tradewinds due to global warming that has the temperatures so high with no relief. It certainly has been much hotter this summer versus last.

Evie and I had a good time on this quick, guided trail, and we look forward to our next hiking adventure!

Moanalua Gardens and Marinara Sauce

We have been keeping super busy this month, and I'm happy to say I've finally gotten a chance to hike with a group I joined a few months ago- Hiking with Keiki. They are a Facebook group that's for residents of Oahu and they have several hikes every week that you can join. Some are easy and are for pee-wees (ages 1-3), while others are hard and for kids 8+ or babywearing only. Every now and then they have adults-only hikes, which are usually longer in duration and harder trails.

I joined this group a while ago but at first I was too busy to join the hikes. Then I was too shy and was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up. But finally I saw some hikes for pee-wee walkers that seemed easy enough for me and Evie, so I signed up. Hikes are posted on Monday nights and you gotta be quick and sign-up, otherwise you are on the wait list, which can be quite long.

Cottage under renovation

Our first hike with the group was at Moanalua Gardens. It's a small, public park between Pearlridge and Honolulu, right next to H201. It was formerly the home of Prince Lot Kapuaiwa, who later became King Kamehameha V. The park has the King's cottage, which was built in the 1850s and is currently being renovated. Next to the cottage was a small koi pond, where the kids were able to feed koi, ducks, and birds.

Koa bench

After spending time feeding the wildlife, we kept walking around the park, stopping under the shade of the various monkeypod trees. Moanalua Gardens participates in Honolulu's Exceptional Tree Program, which protects trees from destruction. This park is home to the famous Hitachi monkeypod tree, which the Hitachi Corp uses as their symbol. While we were walking/hiking, a wedding was taking place under the Hitachi Tree, so we didn't get to spend time playing there.

We stopped for a snack break by a fountain at the far end of the park, and you could tell it was almost lunch. The kids were cranky for food and the adults were in need of shade. We slowly made our way back across the park to the parking lot. Evie and I were hot and hungry, so we snacked on the way home and I was barely able to keep her awake. The "hike" was more like playtime in the park, but Evie was introduced to following a group around and was given time to play with other children. She mostly kept to herself and liked to go off exploring; I'm sure the child who kept pushing her off the rocks didn't make her want to interact with the others (and I barely controlled the urge to discipline the kid myself!). But otherwise, it was a great first time with the group and I loved being able to see parts of Oahu I didn't know existed!

Off on her own

In addition to hiking this week, I made homemade marinara for the first time! The idea came to me for meatless Monday, and it turns out it's not that hard. The hardest part was taking the skin off the tomatoes, which I did by cutting an "X" in the bottom of each tomato, boiling them for 30 seconds, then dropping them in an ice bath. I found the tomatoes that were cut on the smoother side peeled better.

I combined the tomatoes with garlic, onions, fresh thyme and basil from my plants outside, fresh parsley, and oregano. It simmered for a few hours and I used a potato masher to "puree" the tomatoes (didn't even have to chop them), and when it was done it was so good! Sweet but with no added sugar. I'll definitely be making it again. It didn't get as dark as jarred tomato sauce, but that did not affect the taste.

Sauce over stuffed shells

Evie and I have another hike planned for this week, so stay tuned!

Maunawili Falls

This past Sunday, we met up with some friends early to do our second (their first) Hawaii hike. Our first hike was Waimea Falls last Labor Day, which is a paved road and a pretty easy hike. This time, we wanted to jump in and see some of what makes Hawaii's rainforest so beautiful, so we set of for Likeke Falls.

Upon arriving at the trailhead, we noticed a lot of traffic in the parking lot. I had read that the lot where you park is used for church parking on Sundays, and sure enough everyone was arriving for service just as we were arriving to hike. We considered parking in a far corner and hoped we would go unnoticed, but there were people patrolling in golf carts, asking hikers to not park in the lot. So we quickly Googled another hike, and nearby was a 3-mile hike called Maunawili Falls. People wrote that the hike was muddy, but we were game for a little adventure. We applied our sunscreen (of course), bug spray, and set out.

Trailhead

Most of Hawaii's waterfalls have the Leptospirosis warning and it's a "swim-at-your-own-risk" sort of thing. We didn't plan on swimming, just seeing nature's beauty. At first the trail was easy- some mud, some roots, a few downed limbs we had to duck under. Nothing we couldn't handle. But soon (and unfortunately, too late into our trek) we realized that the mud and exposed roots were only getting worse. It was about this time that Evie decided she did NOT like being in the hiking pack and started fussing.

When we weren't looking down to avoid falling face-first into mud, we saw some neat things like the tree above. There were lots of mangoes and bamboo, and fortunately not much wildlife. Many people had their dogs on the trail but we noticed only one other couple who was babywearing. After at least an hour of walking, we came to a hilltop that had a great view of Kailua and the Pacific. We stopped for some water and family pics.

It was SO HOT at the top of the mountain, and it became obvious that our decision to hike close to noon was a bad one. Evie was happy when the pack was on the ground, but once Jay put it back on her fussing began. Our friend's daughter was having a great time, even sleeping at one point! We plowed on and soon began a descent toward the falls. After a second stream crossing we arrived at our destination. People were cliff diving, some from as high as 30-feet! We enjoyed resting for a few minutes, getting some water and snacks. It was pretty crowded and difficult to find a shaded spot for the girls. We were all dreading the return trip, so we decided not to linger.

Well, by this time Evie had had enough. She wailed pretty much the entire way up and then back down the mountain. Going back was much faster since we were more familiar with the trail and were dying to get out of there. We stopped a few times for water because we were all so hot, and poor Jay had a throbbing headache from Evie's screaming. When we found the trailhead, I don't know who was happier- the parents for having survived or the girls for being able to get out and walk. We got back to the car, cleaned up as best we could, and headed into Kailua for some brunch.

View from our car

We ate at a cute diner called Moke's Bread and Breakfast. They didn't have booze but they did allow BYOB and told us of a store a few blocks down that sold wine and champagne. We decided we had worked off so many calories on our crazy hike that we should treat ourselves to some mimosas. I had POG for the first time- pineapple (or passion fruit, I forget), orange, and guava juice. It was delicious with the Prosecco we picked up! I also had lilikoi sauce on my pancakes- passion fruit sauce, which looks creamy but is actually very light and delicious.

All in all, it was a lousy, muddy situation that we made the best of and now have a fun tale to tell. Everything I've read says Maunawili Falls is considered a moderate to hard trail, so hiking can only get better from here. Right?

Summer vacation in Maryland

Once again, we're back! We returned last week from six wonderful weeks in MD. We had a lot of fun seeing family and friends, and just relaxing at Grandma's house.

The classic baby drinking from a hose in diaper shot

We spent lots of time in the pool and in the big backyard running around. As you can see, Evie discovered the hose and all the fun you can have with it. Ever since then, it's almost impossible to go a day without some sort of water activity in the backyard!

We went to the Catoctin Zoo with Grandma and fed deer. Grandma was brave and fed goats and llamas, but those things were aggressive so Evie and I hung back. Evie took her first tractor (aka lawn mower) ride with Grandma and loved it. We often went to Nanny and Pappy's house for dinner, where Evie was able to play with her Aunt Lauri and cousin Landon. We discovered she loves basketball!

Jay was able to join us July 4th weekend, and Evie went to the Battlefield for her first concert and fireworks. We were a little apprehensive that she would get antsy or cry during the show, but she did very well and even sat quietly watching the fireworks. I also got to use my Tula for the first time and made it up the big hill on Starke Road with Evie strapped to my back- talk about a workout! And since it was a fun night, Evie was allowed to have treats. She tried her first Twizzlers and Oreos- many, many Oreos.

Later the next week, we went to Dutch Wonderland with Nanny, Pappy, and a couple of Evie's cousins. She had a great time and was exhausted by the time we left! She had her first carousel ride, which went well until daddy tried to take some video. I took her on the hot air balloon ride because she insisted, but when the ride started and we started spinning, I'm not sure which one of us wanted off more! We ended the day with some fun time at the splash park. Dutch Wonderland is a really cute theme park for smaller children and I definitely recommend it for kids three and older.

We ended our trip home with crabs and pool time with family. Evie wasn't too thrilled with crab but she loved Aunt Becky's strawberry pie. We left MD very early on a Monday morning and were back in Hawaii by 2pm HST that same day- talk about exhausting! By the time we got our luggage, found the car, and drove through rush hour traffic, it was dinner time. We ate and soon after everyone was in bed. Doing that trip in one day felt like insanity, but it helped us adjust to the time change much easier.

Now that we're back and settling in, Jay and I want to really spruce up our back yard and start a garden. Jay spent last weekend building a raised garden bed while I am trying to NOT kill my hearty basil plant and a new, beautiful Hibiscus flower. So far, so good. We put organic soil in, which smells awful (sorry, neighbors!). We just received seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange, which has many organic seeds to choose from and all seeds are certified non-GMO. Today, we planted purple bell peppers, yellow heirloom tomatoes, and eggplant (had to throw some yellow in- couldn't have all of that purple growing during football season!). So now we wait and see what grows! I've been known to have the touch-of-death when it comes to plants, so wish me luck. I'm trying really hard!

My Hibiscus

Lots of basil!

Finished garden

On a side note, we've been in Hawaii a year and in this house exactly one year today. It's crazy how time flies! It's not always easy to be here and I miss the Easy Coast like crazy, but I want to make the most of our time here because when else am I going to have the opportunity to see and explore Hawaii without spending lots of money to get here? So stay tuned, some fun things are coming...

Disaster on Lana'i: An Island Hopping Adventure

For President's Day/Valentine's Day weekend, Jay and I decided to go on our first island-hopping adventure. We chose the small island of Lana'i because it's not one that most people go to (or have heard of) and we want to get to all islands, if possible, while we live here.

Also known as Pineapple Island, Lana'i is the sixth largest Hawaiian island and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island. It has no traffic lights and one city where most of the 3,100 inhabitants live: Lana'i City. It was brought to prominence in the 1920s as it was turned into a pineapple plantation by the Dole Pineapple Company. And although agriculture is no longer the main driver of it's economy, Lana'i is beginning to thrive on increasing tourism thanks in part to the two Four Season's resorts located at Manele Bay and the Lodge at Ko'ele.

We started out our trip by getting up early Friday morning to make our 10am flight. A front was coming through the islands around lunch time Friday, bringing high winds with it, so I was glad our flight would get us to Lana'i before then. Unfortunately, the weather on Lana'i was cloudy and windy, causing poor visibility and the cancelling of our flight at 11am. The airline was able to re-book us on the 3:30pm flight, but with 4.5 hours to kill and Evie's car seat checked, what were we going to do? Luckily, the airline was very accommodating and retrieved her car seat from the plane. We put her in the car and drove around Waikiki for an hour to let her nap.

Our afternoon flight was on-time and pleasantly without turbulence, and we were on Lana'i by 4pm. Our rental car was a Land Rover, as a four-wheel drive vehicle is necessary to access most parts of the island. We get the car and find it has a thin layer of reddish dirt all through it, which we slowly realized is normal for this rural island. We loaded up and drove the 6 miles to Lana'i City to find our rental home. We had considered staying at the Four Seasons, one of the only hotels on the island, but with rates starting at $699/night, it was hardly affordable (though I later learned they have "kamaaina", or local, rates that were cheaper). The "city" is less than 7 square miles, but we still struggled finding our rental house. We ended up on a dirt-covered street with homes that looked overcome with either foliage or junk. We eventually located our rental home, and realized that the huge wall and dense plants around it obscured it from view on our drive-bys.

Once inside, we found ourselves in a quaint plantation-style home that had new furnishings and decor. It was small but perfectly suited our needs. We headed down the street to the only market  on the island to pick up food for dinner. I thought the prices were pretty good ($5.41/pound ground beef) but maybe I've been living on an island too long. Once back in the house, our cute plantation home quickly turned into a nightmare. The bathroom consisted of a small room for the toilet with a curtain door and bugs crawling around (although they were not numerous and were likely due to the high humidity of this part of the island). The shower was also occluded only by a curtain and was a cement stall with no lights and a mirrored ceiling. It looked like something out of a Jason movie and coincidentally it was Friday the 13th (a bad omen?). We also had no bathtub, so we had to give Evie baths in the sink.

As I'm preparing dinner, I realize I have to cook with a gas stove. A gas stove that has had all the markings wiped off of it so we don't know which knob controls which burner nor how to turn anything on. We placed a call to the owner (who lives right up the street) and he came to the house to help. We discovered that only one burner works and the oven did not work at all. I made do with one burner to make spaghetti sauce and noodles, but Jay had to grill the garlic bread outside. There was no high chair, so we were stuck holding Evie on our laps to feed her.

After dinner, I noticed that my feet were exceptionally dirty. We got out the Swiffer (the only mop we could find) and had to clean the entire house because the floors were so dirt-covered. There was a sign posted on the fridge stating that any dirt brought into the house was grounds for an extra cleaning fee, so we figured either the house hadn't been occupied in a while or the cleaning lady was not very good. The hot water I used to clean dishes was initially yellow, but cleared-up by the time bedtime came around (whew!). Bedtime was a disaster as Evie had to bathe in the sink and then sleep in a pack and play in an unfamiliar room. She threw up from crying and about an hour into bedtime, had to be bathed again and the sheets changed. This is when we noticed that the stuffed nose she had on the plane was turning into full-blown congestion. Great. We had to clean the barfy sheets, which is how we discovered that the washer was broken. We had to manually advance each cycle, and if we missed advancing the rinse cycle, water pooled on the floor (thank God for the drain in the room!). We finally got Evie to sleep and soon after put ourselves to bed as it was an exhausting first day.

Saturday we woke up to overcast skies, high winds, and a sick baby. The forecast called for 100% rain and 60 MPH wind gusts later that day, so we wanted to get out and see the island while we could. We decided to head to the Four Seasons at Manele Bay, as it was one of the places my book said to see. The hotel was beautiful and had great views of Manele Bay despite the poor weather.

Manele Bay

Lobby of Four Seasons

We looked around the hotel for a while and decided to head down to the beach. What is usually a serene, picturesque beach was windy with rough waters. The sand was stinging our legs, so we only walked around for a little while. By this point, we were getting hungry so we headed back into town for lunch. We stopped at the local diner, The Blue Ginger Cafe, and ordered some Loco Moco and shrimp stir fry. By the time the food came, Evie was throwing a tantrum so bad we had to pack up and head home for nap time. A nap which did not come easily and only lasted 45 minutes. By the time she woke up, the rains had started.

The rain quickly turned into torrential downpours with wind gusts that knocked out the cable and cell phone service. Evie woke up extremely congested, and with the rain and wind not letting up, we knew our Valentine's dinner plans would have to be cancelled. Our weekend got even better when we discovered two leaks in the house's roof, one in the bathroom and one in the living room. This was our breaking point and we decided between the bad weather, sick baby, and bad rental, we needed to head home early and salvage our weekend. After several poorly connected calls, we got through to the airline and changed our reservation to Sun afternoon. Evie woke up three times that night due to her cold as well as the cold temperatures. The rain brought with it cooler temps, and at an elevation of 1,600 feet with no heat, the house was quite cold that night.

Sunday morning we woke up in somewhat better spirits, knowing the torture was ending that day. It's too bad the weekend wasn't like Sunday, because we had a great day!

We checked out with the owner's of the house and car, who we kind enough to refund our money for the day. We drove around the mountains of the island while Evie took her morning nap. I read that the golf course at the Four Season's lodge was a world-class course where Bill Gates got married and that the views were amazing (which I later realized I confused this course with the one at Manele Bay). We had to get back-road directions to the course because it was closed and we soon found ourselves driving along the golf cart path and looking at a long-closed golf course that was overgrown with weeds. It would have been beautiful if it was up-kept, with views of the ocean and mountain valleys, but as of now the course is closed with rumors of it reopening in 2016/2017. We found ourselves on a back road that led down the mountain on the windward side. It was a hazy day due to vog, but you could make out Molokai to the right and Maui to the left (with the peak of Haleakale sticking out above the clouds). It was a beautiful site. We ended up turning around and heading back to the Four Season's Lodge and Lana'i City since driving around the island this way would have taken a long time.

We drove to Manele Bay and had lunch at the Four Season's oceanfront restaurant. The day was clear and calm with an unbeatable view and delicious food. It salvaged our weekend and helped us realize why people love coming to Lana'i.

Much better weather on Sunday!

Pepper look-a-like

After lunch, we had one more stop before going home: the famous Lana'i cat sanctuary! We knew this would be a hit with Evie as she loves cats. They foster 300-400 cats at a time, and we were surprised by how well-behaved and friendly they were! One in particular, Kelsey, would jump in my or Jay's lap every time we crouched down to pet her, and she let Jay hold her like a baby. So sweet! Evie couldn't get enough of the cats and although we left covered in dirty paw prints, it was probably the best part of our weekend.

After our fun Sunday in Lana'i, we labeled this trip a small success. We learned that Lana'i is a little too rural for us, that Evie has difficulty traveling right now, but that a small get-away is good for everyone. And: there's no place like home! We had a much better night once we were home (only one wake-up) and Evie's cold has been more manageable. Time to get back into our routine.

Product Review: Califia Farm's Iced Coffee

One of my favorite things to do is shop at natural grocery stores (i.e. Whole Foods, Trader Joe's) and try new products. They always have the most interesting flavor combinations and on the whole, the foods sold at these stores are healthier. Plus, shopping at the smaller stores allows you to support small businesses and, often, the local economy, win-win!

I recently visited Down to Earth in Pearlridge while I was out shopping. I have passed this store several times and I finally decided to go in and see what they had to offer. They had a cooler near checkout full of various drinks, and my eyes fell upon Califia Farm's Iced Coffee.

The packaging reminds me a lot of Starbucks, which I'm not sure is good for distinguishing yourself in the marketplace. But maybe it's good to get people to try your product.

I chose the cocoa noir with almond milk, which was soy and dairy free. The coffee was cold-pressed and was definitely the dominant flavor of the drink. Once swallowed, you tasted a hint of the bitter dark-chocolate before creamy almond milk rounded out the flavor. It was not quite as creamy as regular creamer, but just as tasty. At only 120 calories for the bottle, it was a tasty treat that also gave me some pep to get through the afternoon. For those used to the high-sugar content of most coffee drinks (like Frappuccinos), this will definitely be less-sweet, which is why I enjoyed it so much! Those sugar-filled drinks are usually too much for me, and I liked how this drink was basic enough that you only tasted what was meant to be tasted: coffee, dark chocolate, almond milk.

I bought a few other things during this trip, so stay tuned!

Getting settled again

After a very long holiday in MD, we are back in HI and getting settled in. It was so nice to spend the fall in MD, watching the leaves change, feeling the crisp air, being home with family and friends for the holidays. But it's also nice to be back at our home with the sun and warm weather (especially since MD is now cold and snowy!).

Our first weekend back, we took an afternoon and went to Hale'iwa on the North Shore. We got some original shaved ice from Matsumoto's, which Evie was not a fan of. This dietitian mommy was secretly thrilled inside, but don't tell Jay! Then we took a walk on the beach where we had spent the afternoon for Evie's birthday in September.

Hale'iwa Beach Park, Sep vs Jan

What a difference from summer to winter! What was a calm beach was now rough surf and chilly wind. We took a walk and found a calmer area that we decided we would come back to another day. Little did we know, that the baby who loved the beach in September would have a fit and refuse to touch the sand in January! Oh well.

The next weekend we went to the Honolulu Zoo. It's not the nicest zoo I've ever been to, but Evie seemed to enjoy the animals. We had lunch as soon as we arrived, where they let birds and peacocks walk around. Obviously people are not obeying the "do not feed the birds" signs, because these things were aggressive! A peacock actually bit Jay when he was inadvertently holding out a french fry. Needless to say, I was a bit worried about Evie. We quickly ate and left that area.

Spam musubi

 The fox was Evie's favorite animal for this visit, probably because she was able to see it from where she stood. She was less impressed with the zebras and giraffes, and I think Jay and I were more excited about the swinging orangutans than she was.

It's very hot in Honolulu and Evie hadn't napped all morning, so our trip didn't last very long. But I definitely think she'll enjoy it even more the next time we go.

Since Evie had to nap and it was early afternoon, we decided to take a drive around part of the island we hadn't seen yet. Here are some pics.

These pictures don't even do justice to how beautiful this island is. We made it to the Eastern side of the island that has tall mountain ranges that the clouds just hang on. I can't even describe how amazing they look, and I would have taken pictures but they were too tall to get in the frame! We can't wait to explore that part of the island more.