New Blog!

I decided to go ahead with (mostly) Jesse's and my idea for a food blog! check it out!

http://collaborativekitchen.blogspot.com/

Gifts

So I received a (slightly) random text while I was on the west coast a couple of weeks ago...

"I think I found the perfect present for you..."

I could only *hope* to guess what this meant, or imagine what was in store for me... Needless to say, I consulted with all of those people whom I thought would know what could POSSIBLY be the perfect present for me..

we decided on food. emergency food in general. something which could be accessible in a moments notice, ready on demand, satisfying but not overwhelming....

and I received...

bacon chocolate. kalamata olive white chocolate. goji chocolate with himalayan salt. hickory almond with grey sea salt chocolate.

Honestly, there really isn't much more I could ask for in terms of salty and sweet. It's funny and it's true.

I finally went gliding

So I finally relented and went to the north shore to hang with dave. He's been bugging me to have a ride in the glider since he first started going, but I was always in class on the days they went. Well, we were finally both on island last thursday (the 31st) and I was able to get up there.

It was awesome. I'm sure there have been better days and worse days, but I'm very happy with what I got.

I met Dave up at his new apartment next door to Billy and we went snorkeling at 3 Tables for about an hour before heading back to the airfield to meet up with Steve who was just returning from Maui.

Off we went! Steve was taking me on a "lesson" which meant that I got to fly for a bit, but as we got close to Turtle Bay, I got nervous as we were crossing the Ko'olau and relinquished control. Steve shut off the engine (WEEEEE! That's right kids... motor-GLIDER) and soon we were circling over Sacred Falls (these could be much cooler pics - I'm sure you could find some on Dave's blog)...

It was tricky to catch, but awfully pretty! Steve and I chatted about how it's a wonderful thing that some places are just too difficult for most (if not all) people to get to..

It was so much fun when the wind would pick up as we got close to the underside of the clouds! It was like we were getting sucked up into the clouds since we were so close to the pali even though Steve was pointing the nose down, and we'd have to put on the air brakes a bit - which was good and fun too! The brakes make me have to pop my ears for some reason. Steve was explaining to me that it's only turbulent under the clouds.. that was news to me.

Coconut!

It's not moving!! I LOVED the fact that I could look out the front window at a propeller that was sitting still. I have to admit that I definitely felt some nervousness when Steve went to shut it off.. but of course, the glider stayed in the air just fine! I was really expecting the ride to be much bumpier. I was reliving all the gas runs and such I'd made as a little kid with my uncle Philip in many 2 and 4 seater planes, but we were usually flying in the summer (in my memory anyway) over lots of parking lots and lakes - my introduction to physics...
I still got exciting enough ups and downs during my glider ride to make me squeal a bit though. I'd have been disappointed if I didn't, and hopefully they make Steve chuckle.

It was fun chatting while we were flying. He's been doing this for 50 years (in Hawaii for 12) and he says he never gets tired of looking at the Pali.. I can't imagine getting bored with them either - from the air or the ground!

We glided all the way down to Makapu'u (I think we were mostly staying at 2,400 - 2,600') - I didn't take too many pictures because it was just too amazing. I knew that my camera and my sub-par (with the guys I hang with) picture taking skills just weren't going to even come close to capturing it... and like New Zealand, I'd rather have the memories through my eyes instead of missing it all through the lens. I think my favorite part was when we were hugging the Pali and Kualoa was just to my left... I can't believe how big and beautiful that valley is. I kept looking at the ridges and the tops of the mountains, trying to imagine what it would be like to be walking up there. We could see some trails, but it's difficult to say who, if anyone, has used them in the last 10, 20, or even 50 years - maybe even longer. Steve seemed to think that it was possible that no one had used some of those trails since the native Hawaiians.

Speaking of trails, here's one I've been on a couple of times... end of the Kuli'ou'ou trail. It was much higher than I was expecting! After I took this shot, it occurred to me (much like it did on the train) that maybe the best way to capture this experience was a movie... I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before! I only took two - this is the more interesting but shorter of the two. Keep in mind that I am NOT zoomed in AT ALL!!

After this, Steve tried to let me fly the glider again, but as soon as I took the stick a wild gust came and tilted the plane too far over for my taste and while he muttered something about, "... of course it was going nice and smooth for the whole time right until I handed it over..." ahhh... funny! I did fly a good ways back towards Haleiwa once we were past La'ie though!

Overall it was a great day. After Steve and I landed (total trip time = 90 mins!), Dave did some touch and go's while my stomach settled - I didn't feel like it was exactly motion sickness, but it reminded me completely of the feeling I used to get when I was a little kid on our sailboat and our parents made me and Steve sit in the cabin during storms which I associated with stagnant air and engine fumes. The air inside the glider was moving, but it was mixed with exhaust while the engine was on - which was only for the time it took to get from Dillingham -Turtle Bay and reverse.
By the time Dave was finished I was so hungry it took all my self control to be patient enough to get to Banzai Sushi (that's right! they have a no fish no nori veggie roll and I love it!) for dinner. We spent the rest of the evening catching up on all the adventures and enlightening moments I've been having, as well as all of Dave's travels and conferences.

Hopefully I can get another ride or two after Dave gets his license (and some more practice)!