Day 2 - Bucket List

Sorry I am posting a day late. Yesterday we took the Road to Hana. Well there is a reason people brag "I survived the Road to Hana". I however did NOT survive the Road to Hana. I got sick. Very embarrasing haveing to have John pull to the side of the road so I can empty my gut. Then I still had to get back down since there is only one way there and one way back...aughhhh. When we got back I just crashed. I didn't even get to look at pictures till this morning.

Anyway...it was, believe it or not, worth every turn. Here is where the Bucket List comes in. If you have a Bucket List or a list like it I would like to suggest you add another item to it. I never really thought anything about this until I did it and I feel blessed to have experienced it. Here it is...walk through a bamboo forest barefoot. Sounds simple I know, but so truely amazing! It was not just beautiful but serene and exciting all the same. It was our first stop on the Road to Hana. We were driving along with the ocean on one side and a bamboo forest on the other and then all of a sudden there were several cars just parked along the side of the road. So we pulled over too. You just walk right in....no signs, you just go. Inside the forest are multiple paths and you just start walking. We crossed a couple of streams, climbed several rock formations and just kept going. I was not prepared since I was wearing flip flops which were fine until I got them wet. Then they were slick and I had to jump a small stream. The girls coming the other way were barefoot so I took off my shoes and had a whole lot better traction. I decided to just keep them off where I could. It was the most interesting feeling. Kindof like walking on moist moss, squishy like the Bronco turf, and cool like grass first thing in the morning. After walking for a while we came upon a small water fall. Hans climbed around to it so I could get a picture. I stayed where it was dry since I had the camera, extra lens, wallet and phones. Anyway, I left the forest thinking that I had just experienced the time of my life....until...

After driving on a little further we pull off at "twin falls". It was pretty impressive from the road. Two falls on top of eachother, each with it's own pool. Hans, John, and I walked up to the top of the first fall which was pretty cool. Then before we know it John is gone. Hans and I start looking around and find him well on his way to the next fall. Let me remind you I am in flip flops! So, up we go. Again my flops get wet and I have to hike it on bare feet. To be honest, I had more grip than those with tennies....plus no matter what shoes you wear, once they are wet those rocks are SLICK! It was fun to try and find the rock paths to take up to the high fall and before I knew it we were there. It was AMAZING!!! Just beautiful. In no time at all Hans and I stripped down to our suits and off we went. That water was cold, and the air not much warmer on that side of the island. We got to the base of the fall and Hans asked me if I wanted to go under it. Heck yeah! I am not going to come this far and not stand under the waterfall. It was so unreal. The first thing that suprised me was how much wind comes off the fall. It is powerful. The next thing was just how hard that water was falling. You can't stay there too long before it starts to hurt. Even the mist of it hurts after a while. Anyway, we stayed there and played in the water for a while before hiking back down. At that point the whole trip to Hawaii became complete. I remember swimming back thanking God for giving me the courage to get on that dumb plane. This is not something I would have missed for the world.

After that I started to get hungry....no food to be found...then I got sick...the rest is history. So that was day two. My friends add those two things to your Bucket Lists....you will not be sorry!

Maui or Bust

Well we made it. We are here in the beautiful state of Hawaii. It really feels like another country in some ways.

However, first I would like to address the issue of my fear of flying. For those who committed themselves to pray for me, thank you. God is good. On Saturday afternoon we took off to Seattle. It was a pretty uneventful flight. The weather was beautiful and there was very little turbulence. We spent the night there and at 8:00 we left Seattle for Hawaii. It would be a six hour flight. Half an hour before we left I took two sleeping pills. I was already pretty tired from several sleepless nights so I thought for sure it would work great. When we got to the airport the best seats we could get were two window seats one behind the other. We took those thinking that we could trade. However, both rows had couples in them. So, we asked if they would sit at the windows and we took the two isles. We were sitting with two sisters and their husbands. They were very nice people and before I knew it we were in the air and on our way. An hour later, I was still wide awake. Hans told me to relax and wait and see. I took a short nap but not a very good one. So, I took another pill, this time I slept for two hours on and off. The crazy thing was, I was totally relaxed. Not loopy, not tired, just chilled. The flight was great. We had a little turbulence but the pilot got permission to go to the west of it and then it was smooth until we came in on approach. So, thank you thank you thank you for your prayers.

When we arrived, Uncle John was waiting in baggage for us with beautiful leis. The plan was to stop for lunch and then explore the airport side of the island. However, the car had other ideas and we were slightly delayed. I am attaching a picture of Hans waiting at the car for John to get some water for the radiator. Anyway, once we were up and running we went straight to Johns. He took us to the beach and we spent the rest of the evening visiting.

This morning Hans and I were up at 6 Hawaii time. We decided to head for the beach and have a nice morning walk. It was beautiful. After breakfast we decided that surfing was out of the question due to the choppy water. So we started to pull together our snorkeling gear. That took a while. After trying on numerous sets of snorkels, masks, and fins we were on our way.

It has been a long while since I have been in the deeps of the ocean. Pretty intimidating in itself. Then, as I am coming up to blow out my snorkel I spot something half out of the water, big, and gray. Yes, I freaked out a little. Shark was my first thought. Still I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I got Hans attention and showed him. Then just as he looked, the creature popped her head up. It was a massive seal. A sigh of relief until I realized that the surf was pushing us into her. While I know she wasn't interested in me, she is still a wild animal and I didn't want to get too close. Hans thought I was freaking out because I was afraid of her. To set the record straight, she was a very large seal and I didn't think that seals roamed alone. I didn't know if she had a baby with her which could have made her very dangerous. Also when I first saw her...she was within arms length to me and frankly I was looking for fish...not a full grown seal! Anyway, Hans got a picture of her but it looks like she is a lot further away than she was.

Then because of all that excitement I started to have a little bit of panic when I realized we were further out than we had planned. We had a very narrow passage through the reef and we were way north of it. So, we started back. Getting over the reef was difficult. I forgot how much endurance and strength it takes to snorkel in open water. Fighting against the current, going shallow over some nasty sharp reef and trying to keep ill fitting fins on (Hans). Several times we had to stop because Hans' fins kept coming off. Not easy to stop on 2 foot deep reef. Hans did get a bit scraped up. Anyway, once we got to the shallows Hans and John spotted a shark (they think). I went on land and settled into a nice tanning session.

Next stop for the day will be going into town for groceries. Then we wait for the heat of the day to pass. Thanks for keeping us in prayer. We appreciate it.