Hike 4: Koko Head Crater

Koko Head. Not quite the Haiku Stairs (aka: Stairway to Heaven), but I guess if you were to do that one, then Koko Head would definitely be a good warm-up or precursor to it. I had seen a few sites about it and have heard that it a fun-challenging-kick-butt kind of hike. More of a workout than a hike. So, when the OSC gals picked this for the September hike, I was totally for it. I think I may be a bit of a sadomasochist:


There were 6 ladies in our group, so we kind of split off into 2 groups going up: some that were super, uber athletes that probably could have run up the blessed steps and the rest of us that, well, weren't quite as athletically endowed or gifted (read slow as molasses and afraid they'd have to be carried back down). Obviously, I don't have athletic prowess, so I chose to bring up the rear (read take my sweet ass time and stop a lot).

When you first start, you don't really think to much about it. After all, my house has stairs. I go up and down them multiple times a day. However, my stairs are maybe 6 inches apart and are carpeted with a railing. These are old, decrepit, rotting out rail tracks that are at least a foot or more apart. The view the entire time is pretty well worth it though (this one is about 1/3 up the hill):


About halfway up the hill, there is a little bridge that has a drop off underneath it. There is a dirt path that goes to the right side that you can take if you don't want to go over it. I decided that I'd be brave and go over it on the way up, but would be smarter to go on the trail on the way down. Now, I have to make a side note here: there is a firing range just down the road from here. The sounds of the gunfire ricochet off the hill sides, so it sounds like someone is firing a gun at you. Let's just say that with the adrenaline running through you and the noises from the firing range, you feel a bit like someone in an Indiana Jones movie. After I crossed the bridge, I took a peek down:


We kept plugging up the steps and about 1028 steps later, with a 1,035 ft. elevation gain in 1/2 mile, we made it to the top:


It was so pretty! You could see the ridge that we had climbed in a previous hike. The day was clear enough to see the outlines of Molokai and Lanai in the distance:


There was a little path that went up a little further, to the tippy top of the hill, where the bunkers used to be. We stood on the top of the roof of the old bunkers and could see an amazing view of Hawaii Kai, the back of Diamond Head and the eastern part of Honolulu.


Amazing views definitely made this hike worth it. It's not a long hike, by any stretch of the imagination--just over a mile for up and back. But it is quite a workout. We saw a lot of people actually running up and down the steps. One woman was on her second trip up that morning as a part of her workout regimine. That's either crazy dedication or just plain crazy. What goes up, must go down. I think that going down is almost harder than going up--especially if you have knees that aren't in tip top shape. Unfortunately, my knees aren't in the best of shape, so it was pretty hard on the knees. It was a good reminder for me to start hitting the weights before doing any serious training for races.

I'm sure I'll probably do this one again sometime...just not within the next few weeks. But, I'm proud to have conquered this bad boy and check it off the list!

Hike 3: Makapu'u Lighthouse - September 2, 2011

We have definitely been bit by the hiking bug. The Friday before Labor Day, Mark had the day off, thanks to the "Rope Yarn Days" that the Navy tends to give over the long weekends. Definitely a perk for him being an Air Force guy in a mainly Navy office on a Marine installation. Since the kids still had to go to school, we decided to go exploring. There are a lot of hiking spots and trails over in the Hawaii Kai area of the island (East Oahu). We mapped out the day: Makapu'u Lighthouse trail, Whole Foods for lunch and then a little bit of shopping if the day allowed. We headed down the highway and stopped at some of the scenic spots. There was a scenic area that was completely empty, so we pulled over and broke out the camera.



When we drove into the parking lot, we noticed quite a few cars parked there already. A lot of groups were starting there way down the trail, as the sun was blazing over head. The only bummer about hiking these trails during the day is that the sun is usually pretty toasty. There is often very little shade unless you do one of the loop trails or if you do a ridge trail. Thank goodness for the sunscreen. We started up the trail and noticed the view. That's Koko Head Crater in the background:


After much huffing and puffing in the sun, we made it to the top of the trail and there were a lot of interesting markers at the top:


What's funny about this trail is that the lighthouse isn't actually at the top of the trail. There's a side trail that you can take, but you can't actually reach the lighthouse. It is federal property and as such, the feds decided to close public access to it. The trail looks to be in slight disrepair leading to it and there is a locked gate with barbed wire fencing around it. I'm sure that there is a way around, but viewing it from a far was good enough for us:


This was a relatively easy trail. It is paved the entire way, which is great for families that have wee ones in strollers. It's not a very long trail either, so good for beginners for sure.

Hike 2: Diamond Head - August 28, 2011

After doing the first hike, the kids asked me what hiking was. I told them that it was basically like taking a long walk outside. Sometimes you get to walk through the forest, along the beach and sometimes you can climb to the top of hills and mountains. Both of them told me that they wanted to try it sometime. Mark and I looked at each other and said, "Okay!" Diamond Head it was!

We got up early on a Sunday and decided to head on over. It was kind of a mixed morning--misty and sunny. When we got to the parking lot, this is what awaited us:




The trail was a little busy, but we were grateful that we got there early. After we hit the gravel part of the trail, Gavin took a quick look up:



Because we had the kids, we decided to make it fun and to take our time. We didn't want to push them too hard and make it not fun. If we saw something interesting, we'd stop and take a quick breather.





We made it up the switch backs and it started to sprinkle on us. Luckily, the kids have become very much accustomed to the rainshowers here. Basically, if it rains, you just wait about 5 minutes and it'll be over. I've been told that during the winter that's not always the case, but since we're in the summer/fall, that's pretty much it. We made it up the "Stairs of Evil" (as my son so eloquently called them) and through the bunker tunnel. Lauren was wearing her Sketcher Twinkle Toes shoes, which happen to light up. It was pretty funny...every time she took a step, she twinkled. We climbed through the bunker and up the last small set of stairs and then we made it to the top!



We took our time going back down the hill and stopped and snapped a few more pictures. The kids had a great time and have told me that they most definitely want to do it again.



Diamond Head + Kiddos = Hiking WIN!

Hike 1: Kuli'ou'ou Ridge

So one of my brilliant friends told me that I should start blogging my hikes. I decided to join the Outdoor Adventure/Hiking group with the Hickam OSC (Officers' Spouses' Club). I hadn't gone on a hike in many moons, but hey, when in Rome, right?? Hawaii has a lot of trails and a lot of things to do outside, so it's time for me to try something new and stay outside.

The first hike that we went on was back in August and we went to the Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail. We met at the O'Club on base and there were 5 of us that went on the hike. We all piled into one car and off we went. Since I wasn't quite familiar with area, I tried to pay attention to where we were going. We drove on H-1 until it ended. We kept on going into the Hawaii Kai area and turned into a neighborhood. That's one of the funny things about the ridge trails--a lot of them start in the backs of neighborhoods. We saw the trailhead and started.

It was a good incline to start off. Long switchbacks going up. The path was pretty well worn, so it was easy to follow. There were a lot of rocks and at times the cliff below was a little intimidating. We reached a clearing about 1/2 way up and took a quick breather. You could see the views of the ocean and how beautiful it was.



Aimee, our guide, assured us that it was even better at the top. We traversed up the trail some more and it was definitely a lot more rugged. No switchbacks, but more climbing over roots and rocks. Right before the we reached the top, there was about a 1/4 mile of steep stairs that went to the top. The stairs were uneven and a little slippery. At times you had to almost jump to try and get to the platform of the step. The trail narrowed down and the wind picked up. Then we reached the top.



We stayed up at the top and took some pictures, had a snack and rehydrated. Then we realized that we needed to go back down the same way we came up. The clouds had moved over the ridge at this time, so it made the trail more slippery. We came up the saying that unless your butt hits the ground, you didn't actually fall. We could hear each other's feet sliding every now and then and would check in to make sure that everyone was okay. We made it down the trail a lot faster than going up. It was a beautiful trail. I don't think I'd take the kids on it, as it gets a little steep at times. I would love to take Mark on this one on a day off that the kids are in school. This hike definitely rekindled my love of hiking and nature. :)

Move

Well, we did it. Unless you live under a rock, you probably know that we've made the move from our home in Louisiana to our new home in Hawaii. We arrived on island in July (and for this I apologize in the delay of writing this update) and have been busy with school, vehicle registration, finding housing, moving into housing, unpacking and just trying to get adjusted to our new home. Here are a few things that have taken getting used to:

1) Navigation. I get seriously mixed up with my north, south, east and west. I have no idea why. I know that I live on the south centralish area of the island. For the life of me, whenever we're in downtown or in Waikiki, I always get discombobulated. I know I'll get there eventually...and hey, we're on an island! I'll get home eventually.

2) Food. All the Asian food a girl could ask for. There is never a shortage of bok choy here. There is a Chinatown in Honolulu and man, is it awesome!

3) Groceries. $6 for a gallon of 1% milk. I wish I could say that it was purchased at Safeway or something, but alas it was purchased at the Commissary. Yowsa.

4) Time difference. For the last the 10 years, we have always been at least 2 hours ahead (in Okinawa, we were almost 14 hours ahead) of friends and family. Not anymore. We are currently 3 hours behind our West coast peeps. It will change when daylight savings time ends, as they don't do daylight savings time here.

All in all, there really aren't too many complaints. There are deeper issues to delve into, but I'll save that for later and for a different post. We are all getting adjusted and enjoying what the island has to offer: lots of beach time and lots of hiking. Just know that the door is always open here!

Barksdale

We came to Barksdale in September 2007. It seems like it was a lifetime ago and in a way it was. Definitely a different kind of lifetime any way. When we came here, we were fresh off of a 9-month separation. Mark had been on deployment, gone to school and finished up everything in Japan. I had done an early return of dependents and had spent the past 9 months living with my mom and dad. Gavin was my sweet 4.5 year old little boy and Lauren was my curious little 18 month old with a big ol' baby fro on her head. I remember telling Gavin that this wasn't our forever house...we would be moving again when he turned 8.5 and when Lauren was 5.5. At the time, it seemed like 4 years would take a long time to get through. This would be our longest assignment...4 years. Some of our friends equated it to almost a prison sentence. What had we done or who had we pissed off in order to get sent to "Barkatraz"? It's funny--we never thought of it that way...we were happy to be assigned here and 4 years later, I can honestly say that I fell in love here.

It's amazing to see how much we have evolved here. Gavin is growing into a tall, lively almost 9 year old that loves soccer and anything Mario. Lauren is a fiesty and imaginative 5 year old that loves Harry Potter and casting spells. We gained a family member: Abby Dog joined us in 2008. I think she was destined to be a part of our family. She's just as quirky as the rest of us. Our family quickly gelled into an awesomely cohesive unit. We discovered how to make things work as a family and how to confront challenges head on, while keeping things together. Mark and I both decided to change our lives here. We got tired of being just okay and doing just enough to get by. We decided to challenge ourselves and to shake up our routine. We started eating better and we started running. Between the two of us, I think we've run the amount of distance it would take to get from here to California and almost back again. Mark has completed 2 marathons (California Internation Marathon and the USAF Marathon), a 10-mile trail run and several 5Ks. I've completed 2 half marathons (Rock N' Roll San Antonio x 2), 2 full marathons (Mardi Gras Marathon and Rock N' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon) and several 5Ks as well. Life is happier and healthier.

Barksdale taught me many things. It taught me that it's okay to let my guard down. I met so many amazing and incredible people here that I may not have ever met otherwise. It's okay to be involved...okay, I probably overdid it on this one toward the end. But again, I did so many things and met so many great people that I may never have originally. Barksdale taught me patience and forgiveness in many different ways--some ways that I wish I could forget, but never will.

To all of the fabulous people that I have met here at Barksdale and in the Bossier/Shreveport area, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being my friend and for being a part of my life. Thank you for the fun playdates with kids, Bunco nights, BOSC functions and fundraisers, girls nights out, BBQs, coffee dates and for just being there. Every single one of you has impacted my life and I am forever grateful to have you as a friend. Thank you for welcoming and hosting the Roman Family with such gusto and flair for the past 4 years. It is difficult for me to consider any other area beside California home, but you have managed to make me feel as though this is home.

Thankfully, with the advent of email and Facebook (and let's face it--we all know that I am on there WAAAAAY too much), we don't have to say goodbye. Honestly, I don't think my heart could handle goodbyes. Instead, I will leave it at, "Thank you and I'll see you again soon." If you're ever on island, look us up. You're more than welcome at Casa de Roman. Mahalo and laissez les bons temps rouler! :)

Anxiety.

Anxiety sucks. Plain and simple. Normally, I like to consider myself a pretty easy going chick. I like to be on time, I like to have things done in a certain way, but for the most part, I can roll with the punches. Except when it comes to moving.

I like moving. It's one of the perks that my non-military friends think would be one of the most annoying. For me, it's one of my favorites. My mom used to call me her nomadic gypsy. I think it is a title that definitely suits me. We get move itchy usually halfway through an assignment. We start to wonder where the next adventure will be and when we'll get to close a chapter and start a new one. This upcoming move has been a testament to my lack of patience and has strained my anxiety level. Everything has been done very last minute. The folks here have been doing things last minute and the folks at Hawaii have been sitting on things until the last minute. Had this move been a "drive-to-the-next-state-over" kind of move, then I probaby wouldn't care. However, this isn't one of those kind of moves (We haven't done a "simple" move in 10 years). We have 3 different packers/shipments for our house. We have 2 car shipments, a dog in quarantine and not a clue as to what awaits us as far as housing goes. It gets very convoluted and very complicated.

To put the cherry on top, we are down to one car (which Mark needs most days) and the kids are on summer break. The daytime temps have been in the 100s, thus creating no way to play outside without suffering heatstroke by just stepping outside. We have 10 days left in our house before we move over to the Temporary Lodging Facility (TLF) for another 10 days. Yes, it's awesome that we get to move to Hawaii...but the process to get there is really crap.

Everything eventually will fall into place. We won't be homeless, our stuff will go where it needs to go and the dog is coming with us. I know that it will all work out. I just need to remind myself to "Goosefraba" every now and again and to try and take things with a grain of salt.