I love waterfalls!

Hi All,

We did the 10th Street hike also known as Palolo Valley hike once again. This makes it 3 times for me and Matt's 2nd time. Every time I've done this hike, it has been different. This time, the rains had been pouring down cool clean water into the bog at the top of the hike.

There was plenty of water as it continued to rain for the first hour of the hike. The initial rain was commonly known as "Hawaiian Sunshine" ... a fine mist that makes great rainbows. After another 20 minutes of hiking in this soft rain, the downpour came and we got soaked.

It looked like a little stream at this point. The hike before this had us up to our waists in this little stream.

Above, Matt crouches by the stream. Below, I'm getting splashed by the 1st of many waterfalls.


Below, I begin the ascent up the side of the mountain to the next waterfall.


This was the first of many cascading waterfalls.


Matt at another waterfall!


Below, I prepare for the next climb up the side of the flowing water over slippery rocks. We were careful, honest!


Working my way up the cascade.

Below, Matt is knee deep in the cascade hanging on some rope. Climbing with rope makes Matt happy!

Purple flowers bloomed at the edges of the cascades. (below)



On our way up!

We REALLY enjoyed this hike.


Getting closer to the top!


Below, Matt is making his way along one of the many waterfalls.

On the way up, we posed in front of waterfalls.

On the way down we got IN them!
We were in need of some cooling off, we no longer cared if we got wet. We no longer cared if our feet were wet. We marched through streams and then I lost it and got under this waterfall. I'm screaming at Matt to hurry up and take the picture! It was cold and cool if you know what I mean!

It didn't take much convincing to get Matt under the waterfall!

I think the video clip below best describes this hike and the fabulous waterfalls and cascades we went through ... and we used ROPES!

So, this was about 5 days ago and I'm still sore. It was not an overly long hike but there were hidden holes on the side of the mountain. Ironically, climbing the waterfalls and cascades was not a problem. Slippery rocks? No problem. However, on our way down we were tired and did some falling on the "easy part." The problem with the easy part is the sliding down among all the bushes. Matt missed a step and I thought he was going to disappear into the bushes as I slid down about 4 feet. Thankfully, he grabbed a nearby log (quick thinking and reaction!) and pulled himself up the mud and the bushes to the trail.

There are moments that I want to last forever but I know they can't because if I didn't have the downs, I wouldn't know what the ups were or how great they can be.

Merry Christmas!

A Quiet Evening At Home

We are a silly bunch! Somebody thought we should play a game, but what game should we play?

Monopoly it is! Somebody was quick with the board and before I could resist, the money was dealt!

I thought the banker cheated but then it was hard to tell. Suddenly the guy with the Patriots shirt was winning by landing in Free Parking more than one ought to.

Sometimes the math got difficult and the gods were consulted. Sometimes we laughed and tears filled our eyes.

The properties were no longer equally distributed. The guy in the Patriots shirt was winning easily. Will we be glad when he is gone? I know that we won't but should we play Monopoly again, we'll watch him more carefully.

"I'm not sayin', but I'm just sayin' y'know?" said one player as they exited the game.

The Smith Family Commeth!

The Cleary Family had the great pleasure of the Smith Family coming and joining us for a day. On Sunday, Kyle raced the Honolulu Marathon and the word is that he finished 37th! That's pretty amazing to me!

I took Monday off and picked them up at their hotel on Waikiki. Of course, that wasn't without adventure. First, I had forgotten to tell Tucker to take the RX8. So, I'm driving through our local mall trying to find the Ford Escape so that I can switch cars. After 20 minutes of hunting, I finally found it. I pulled it out of the stall and to the great disappointment of a drive waiting for that spot, I pulled the RX8 in! He drove on calmly enough.

We drove through the hilly area around Diamond Head and then onto H1. We made our way to East Oahu and took a picture at Maunalua Bay.

We had some great fun at Spitting Cave. There were some crazy snorkelers there and we wondered how they would climb the cliffs after they finished snorkeling.

Tyler used his new camera to capture shots of the waves crashing on the rocks.

We wound our way along the road and took a quick trip through a LAVA TUBE down to the ocean. The sound of the surf echoing on the sides of the cliffs told us we were in a special place.

A quick trip to Blow Hole which wasn't blowing gave us a good shot of Sandys Beach. The boys got an eyeful at Sandys as we drove through ... I don't have a picture of that ... I was driving ... really, I was!

Makapuu Lighthouse held its usual beauty as we climbed around on the rocks. Unfortunately, as we wound our way toward Kailua, the weather also turned grey making pictures difficult. We had a quick bite to eat at a Philly Cheese steak place but I don't think I'll eat there again.

To the Pali Highway we went as small drops splashed the windshield. At the Pali lookout, the weather held off. The grey clouds moved in and we decided it would be a good time to head to the house for a hike and dinner!

Matt, Kyle, Tyler, Bob and I hiked behind the house. I think Kyle was a bit tired from his marathon and Matt exhibited a slight slowdown from his hike up and down Koko earlier in the day. Even so, the 3 boys left Bob and I in the dust. I'm sure the boys thought they were kickin' the old guys' butts but there is a term ... wiley ... and in this case, it means that Bob and I held back and enjoyed each other's company for a while. Below is a picture of Kyle, Bob and Tyler at the top of the mountain behind our house. Behind them is Waimanalo.

Kathy, Krista, Tucker and Matt had set up a splendid meal. We had stuffed mushrooms and cheese tortellini pasta with either meatballs, marinara sauce, Alfredo sauce, or pesto sauce. The greatest item of the evening was the fantastic chocolate swirl cheesecake courtesy of Krista. It was fantastic.

Peace to all as we await the Christmas season!

Thanksgiving

Hello All,

It was a beautiful day in Hawaii Kai on Thanksgiving. The sun was shining and the winds were light and breezy. We invited our neighbor Kukui and he (a dog) brought his friend Cher. We had a lovely dinner.

I smoked a turkey on the grill and it came out excellent.

Mostly we just spent the day enjoying the weather and relaxing.

Love

John & Kathy