It was a long day, as expected. Got up at 4:30 AM to run, then Kathy took us to the airport at 7:00 AM. The first flight, to L.A., left at 9 AM. Then we left from L.A. at 12:45 PM Pacific Time (3:45 PM EST) to arrive in Honolulu at 4:16PM Hawaii time (9:16 PM EST). The final flight from Honolulu to Hilo was delayed, so we didn’t get to our room until 10:00 PM Hawaii time (3:00 AM, EST). Looks like we almost made it to 24 hours total. Luckily for me, I got 7 or 8 cat naps on the various flights. Debbie only got one, so she was fairly tuckered out by the time we hit the sack.
Sunday, December 02, 2001
Hilo is on the wet side of the Big Island, as opposed to Kailua-Kona, which is on the dry side. What with all the rain and not-so-great beaches, the Hilo area is not visited as often by tourists as the other areas. So it appears to be a bit behind the times. But there are some neat things to see and do in the area, not the least of which is the volcanoes. So we decided to spend a few days here before heading to the other side, where I was able to get us into a very nice joint with my frequent hotel points. Here in Hilo, though, we wouldn’t exactly be in the lap of luxury. Debbie got us into the Hilo Seaside Hotel for $49 a night. And even though the place is friendly and clean, it’s worth about $49 a night. Did I mention that it rains here a lot? It does. We visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park for most of the day, and we got quite wet. We still enjoyed ourselves – we got to see a whole lot including a fairly long hike through the rainforest, and a walk through the big lava tube.
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After heading back to the hotel, resting a bit, and eating dinner, we came back in search of flowing lava. It was supposed to be much more spectacular at night. Based on advice from a couple park rangers, we approached from outside the park, along a rough coastal road that had been closed after being covered with several lava flows, driving as far as possible, and then walking over extremely difficult terrain. There we were in the pitch darkness, walking for miles over old lava flows, Wal-Mart flashlights in hand.
Would it be worth it? That’s what we kept asking ourselves. Especially when it started raining again as we were halfway into our walk. We did meet some other flashlight-carrying pilgrims who did say it was. I was mostly worried about the rain though. The footing was bad enough – how much worse would it get from the rain? The only lights anywhere were the occasional flashlights and a dull orange glow in the distance.
When we got close enough to that dull orange glow so that it wasn’t dull anymore, we could see that it definitely was worth it. We were able to get within about a quarter mile of where the bright orange molten lava was flowing into the sea, creating new land, making the Big Island bigger. Waves were hitting the pouring lava, creating billowing orange steam. What a sight! I took some pictures that could not possibly do it justice.
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The trip back was much better. The rain had stopped, and the full moon had come out to help light the way. This was good, since our batteries were dying anyway.
Monday. December 3, 2001
Enough with the liquid sunshine already. Since it rained all night and morning, we decided to keep the sightseeing indoors with a look at the Lyman Museum. It was a typical museum, with your typical combination of natural history, cattle ranching, and 1900’s Hawaiian missionary information.
The rain did stop a bit in the afternoon, and the sun actually came out a bit. After a lunch of macadamia nuts and grapes sitting in the car at Liliokulani Park – it was still too wet to sit outside for our picnic – we drove over to the Hawaiian Botanical Park. This turned out to be yet another highlight of the trip. That’s two in two days, in case you’re keeping track. We’ve been to dozens of botanical gardens, but this one most certainly beats them all. Lots of plants from all over the world that we never knew existed. Beautiful waterfalls and seascapes too.
We spent a goodly amount of time driving around Hilo, which isn’t that big, looking for a homeless shelter. No, the hotel wasn’t kicking us out, we just had a pizza to unload. Pizza Hut had given us one free for ordering one that we ate, and we wouldn’t be able to store it for the next day, so we asked around about the shelter. After various sets of directions, depending on which local we asked, we finally found it and donated our pizza. Hilo seems to have never made it out of the fifties. All the rain makes it seem even more drab. But, as always, we’re making the best of the situation and enjoying ourselves. After all, it’s still Hawaii.
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
In driving the 140 or so miles around the south part of the island and up the western shore, we drove into another world. One that is dryer (the liquid sunshine suddenly became the real thing), and filled with flowers. The south Kona coast seems to be nothing but flowers. Further north from the Kona area is the Kohala area where our hotel is. For a description of the scenery, see the note about my long run, just below.
But first I gotta comment on this here hotel. Five nights at The Orchid at Mauna Lani is a freebie for all of my stays at Sheraton Hotels. Otherwise, the price would’ve been $320.00 or more per night. Plus a $12.50 “activities” fee. Well, we still had to pay the activities fee, but we’re not complaining too much. Posh living in the lap of luxury. That’s us. Actually, it even seemed a bit intimidating to us at first. Until we got used to things. The resort sprawls over a huge area. And it’s all beautifully landscaped, in stark contrast to the surrounding lava flows. In spite of all this, we’ve enjoyed other places even more. Since the resort is a destination in itself, we ain’t gonna leave it for a while..jpg)
And now, here’s a description of my Wednesday run:
Big Time Run on the Big Island
Sweeping Vistas. Other-Worldly. Magical. Surreal. None of those terms can adequately describe my 20 miler here on the South Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, but maybe all of them can. Throw in incredible and awesome and you may start to get the picture.
I hadn’t done a 20 miler since the Towpath Marathon, nearly two months ago. So I knew it would be a chore. And I’ve actually run part of this route before, when we stayed at a nearby hotel six years ago. From that experience, I remember that it surely wasn’t the easiest of routes either.
It all began at 4:50 AM, as I left our hotel, The Orchid at Mauna Lani, and headed up and off into the darkness. My destination was the village of Waikoloa, about 10 miles up towards the mountain of Mauna Kea. And back.
Even at this early hour, with the help of the moon and stars, I could make out the silhouettes of several of the mountains, along with the lights of various villages and resorts. For the vast majority of the entire run, I would be able to see for dozens (or more) of miles in all directions. 2+ miles got me out onto the main highway, then it was another mile and a half to the road that goes up to Waikoloa.
As I made the turn, the gravity of the situation hit me. Gravity as in my own. Gravity as in lifting my (considerable) body weight up, up, up the mountain. It’s not a very steep grade, but it is constant. The road winds left and right through the old lava flows. I also had a very stiff (maybe 30-40 mph) headwind to contend with. This all added up to 10+ minutes per mile for the 6 miles up to the village. This hardly even qualifies for running in my log. I start calling them “junk miles” at 9 and a half minutes per mile. A minute slower than that is hard to even acknowledge. But the miles were marked, so I wasn’t able to fool myself into thinking I was doing better than I was.
All the way up, though, the views were taking my breath away. As if I had any. It was beginning to get a bit lighter as I approached the village. I got a bit of water and turned back. Now I could more clearly make out four of five major volcanoes that make up the Big Island: Kohala to the north, 13,796-foot Mauna Kea to the east, Mauna Loa to the southeast and Hualalai to the south. The fifth, Kilauea, was obscured by Mauna Loa. I was also able to see the sea better now, and beyond that, rising above the clouds, 10,023 foot Mount Haleakala on the island of Maui. I’m not sure how far that is, or for that matter, the elevation of Waikoloa, which would tell me my total elevation gain, since I had started at sea level. I’ll probably look these things up one of these days... All of this beautiful sweeping scenery was in stark contrast to the immediate surroundings for the entire way up: chunky black and dark brown lava, in piles and small hills. There’s almost no vegetation – only some scrubby grass. That’s the Big Island for you. It lends new meaning to the word, contrast.
Now running downhill and with the wind, I had no illusions about any really fast running. My legs were too beat up from the first half of the run. But I did manage a few miles that were just under 8 minutes. It took me about 95 plus minutes to get up the mountain, and 84 to get back down. The effort was about equal, but as I approached the resort again, the ole’ legs were pretty wobbly. I had been thinking that it would be my slowest long run ever, but as I finished in just under three hours, I can log it as merely one of my slower long runs. Certainly not my easiest. The Honolulu Marathon is in a few days, and even though I’m here in Hawaii, I’ll miss it due to logistical problems, as well as being horribly out of shape. But at least I got this long one under my belt. Scenery-wise, it will be one that I’ll never forget.
Wednesday, December 5 to Saturday, December 8, 2001
Although we did a bit of sightseeing (Kohala area – Hawi and Waimea, and Kailua-Kona), we mostly just hung out at the resort. We both had very bad colds, probably originating from the long flights over here. Never again will we leave home without the only true cure for colds: Zicam. It wasn’t available here. Otherwise, if you’re going to be sick, Hawaii is a pretty durn good place for that to happen. One notable experience during this time was The Attack of The Two-Inch Cockroach While I Was in The Bathtub.
Our final night was spent on top of Mauna Kea. Well, almost on top. We took off during the afternoon and bought sweatshirts along the way to go underneath our jackets. After driving through several layers of clouds, we arrived at our destination above the clouds, just at sunset. That destination was the visitor center for the Mauna Kea astronomical observatories. It’s at 9,300 feet; the big telescopes (the biggest and best on the planet) are at the summit. Having driven all the way up last time we were here, (with a four-wheel drive, during daylight hours) we didn’t feel the need this time.
This time, the University of Hawaii Astronomical Club had several smaller telescopes at the visitor center. They focused on various objects and then let folks look at them. We saw: Mars, Saturn, a blue-gold double star, the ring nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy, other galaxies, star clusters, and a comet. It was all very cool. Both figuratively and literally.
Sunday, December 9, 2001
Getting between islands was always a bit of a hassle, but now it’s a much bigger hassle. They’ve really gotten into the security spirit here in Hawaii – we had to wait in several long lines, and had our bags and our persons searched at several times.
We finally made it to our destination, the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort on Maui. Another freebie, this place isn’t quite as ostentatious as the last. But it’s still quite nice. I think we probably like it better. The Wailea area of Maui is great; it’s almost like Kaanapali. Unfortunately, just to the north is Kihei, which is busy and built-up, almost like Waikiki.
Monday, December 10, 2001
With our colds almost gone, we took it easy most of the day. I did some snorkeling and saw two octopi, one of whom insisted on playing peek-a-boo with me. I even got Debbie, who claims to be not semi-aquatic, into “their world” (the ocean). Later in the afternoon, we tried to get on a whale-watching boat, but it was canceled.
Tuesday, December 11, 2001
After doing a bit of research on hiking trails, we found one that sounded interesting. We drove south through Makena, as far as the road would go. Then we started walking along the shore on a trail. After a mile or so of old lava flows, forests, rocks, and sand, we walked by some free-spirited folks sunbathing and swimming in the nude. Debbie was a little afraid to walk by, but I said that they should be the self-conscious ones, not us!
After our little hike, we got onto a whale watching boat that actually left the port. This outfit, a different one from yesterday’s no-show, was non-profit, but actually guaranteed that we’d see whales. The wind was hard to believe. Of course that made the waves rough too. And wouldn’t you know it? No whales! Wind-beaten, we staggered off the boat and received our vouchers for another trip.
Here’s another running tale about my Wednesday run:
Another Interesting Run in Hawaii - This Time Almost Killed a Guy
We’re now staying in Wailea, on Maui. The day before yesterday, I did my now weekly 20-miler, running north through Kihei and back. I didn’t enjoy this run nearly as much as my running on the Big Island because of all the development and traffic.
So this time I decided to head south. It’s much less developed that way. Debbie and I had driven south through and beyond Makena yesterday in order to hike on a trail at the end of the road. In the process of driving, I measured up to 6 miles for today’s 12-mile run. During our hike, we experienced some free-spirited naked people frolicking on the beach. But that’s a different story. Almost.
I started out at about 4:40 AM. There was hardly any traffic, and after a while, almost none. After getting through Makena, the road narrowed, and there were no more lights. In fact, with no development, it was pitch dark. There may have been a few black cats eating lickerish, but I didn’t see them. I did see the stars. Lots of them. And meteors. At least 6 or 7. At times the road was close to the ocean, so I could also look out to sea in those areas too.
But I was trying to be mindful of safety as well. The road seemed to get narrower and more winding as I went on. The last southbound mile was the toughest. Although the road had been smooth, it suddenly became very rough and uneven. I had to pick my feet up high for fear of tripping and falling. I also had to keep stopping to make sure I was still on the road, with the total darkness and all.
After turning around at the six-mile mark, I still ran slowly and carefully past the uneven pavement, and onto the smoother surface again. At that point, I resumed running almost normally again. That’s when Something hit me. Hard! I didn’t know what it was, but I felt a tremendous impact against the right side of my body, mostly on my arm. I staggered quite a bit but managed to keep my feet. I looked behind me to see what it was and I found a guy and his bicycle on the ground.
I ran over to him. He wasn’t moving – I became terrified that I’d killed the poor guy. I yelled are you OK several times before he started groaning and moved around a bit. Worried that perhaps he shouldn’t be moved, I asked if he was able to move everything and he said yes. He insisted on getting up, so I helped him. Then he fell again and got up a second time. I kept asking if he would wait while I ran to get help, but he seemed more worried about getting his bike up off the road and continuing on. I advised that he walk his bike for a while, and this he did. I followed for a while, but then decided that he was apparently all right, and turned around to go back the way I was headed.
What a strange encounter. Afterward, I kept examining my own possible guilt in the matter. I had on my reflective vest, but not my blinking bicycle lights. I wear them at home for my early morning runs, but don’t take them when I’m on the road; I certainly will from now on. I had been on the left side of the road, facing the non-existent traffic, but I wasn’t all the way over to the side. I was simply too afraid of running off the dark road. By the looks of his clothes and hair, the guy was a free-spirit type. He didn’t really say much to me, other than mumbling a few words. I hate to make judgments based on appearance, but it’s possible there was some substance abuse involved. Of course, his grogginess was most likely simply the result of hitting the ground so hard. In any case, he had apparently been coming down a hill very, very fast when we collided. He had no lights of any kind on the bike.
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Would it be worth it? That’s what we kept asking ourselves. Especially when it started raining again as we were halfway into our walk. We did meet some other flashlight-carrying pilgrims who did say it was. I was mostly worried about the rain though. The footing was bad enough – how much worse would it get from the rain? The only lights anywhere were the occasional flashlights and a dull orange glow in the distance.
When we got close enough to that dull orange glow so that it wasn’t dull anymore, we could see that it definitely was worth it. We were able to get within about a quarter mile of where the bright orange molten lava was flowing into the sea, creating new land, making the Big Island bigger. Waves were hitting the pouring lava, creating billowing orange steam. What a sight! I took some pictures that could not possibly do it justice.
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The trip back was much better. The rain had stopped, and the full moon had come out to help light the way. This was good, since our batteries were dying anyway.
Monday. December 3, 2001
Enough with the liquid sunshine already. Since it rained all night and morning, we decided to keep the sightseeing indoors with a look at the Lyman Museum. It was a typical museum, with your typical combination of natural history, cattle ranching, and 1900’s Hawaiian missionary information.
The rain did stop a bit in the afternoon, and the sun actually came out a bit. After a lunch of macadamia nuts and grapes sitting in the car at Liliokulani Park – it was still too wet to sit outside for our picnic – we drove over to the Hawaiian Botanical Park. This turned out to be yet another highlight of the trip. That’s two in two days, in case you’re keeping track. We’ve been to dozens of botanical gardens, but this one most certainly beats them all. Lots of plants from all over the world that we never knew existed. Beautiful waterfalls and seascapes too.
We spent a goodly amount of time driving around Hilo, which isn’t that big, looking for a homeless shelter. No, the hotel wasn’t kicking us out, we just had a pizza to unload. Pizza Hut had given us one free for ordering one that we ate, and we wouldn’t be able to store it for the next day, so we asked around about the shelter. After various sets of directions, depending on which local we asked, we finally found it and donated our pizza. Hilo seems to have never made it out of the fifties. All the rain makes it seem even more drab. But, as always, we’re making the best of the situation and enjoying ourselves. After all, it’s still Hawaii.
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
In driving the 140 or so miles around the south part of the island and up the western shore, we drove into another world. One that is dryer (the liquid sunshine suddenly became the real thing), and filled with flowers. The south Kona coast seems to be nothing but flowers. Further north from the Kona area is the Kohala area where our hotel is. For a description of the scenery, see the note about my long run, just below.
But first I gotta comment on this here hotel. Five nights at The Orchid at Mauna Lani is a freebie for all of my stays at Sheraton Hotels. Otherwise, the price would’ve been $320.00 or more per night. Plus a $12.50 “activities” fee. Well, we still had to pay the activities fee, but we’re not complaining too much. Posh living in the lap of luxury. That’s us. Actually, it even seemed a bit intimidating to us at first. Until we got used to things. The resort sprawls over a huge area. And it’s all beautifully landscaped, in stark contrast to the surrounding lava flows. In spite of all this, we’ve enjoyed other places even more. Since the resort is a destination in itself, we ain’t gonna leave it for a while.
.jpg)
And now, here’s a description of my Wednesday run:
Big Time Run on the Big Island
Sweeping Vistas. Other-Worldly. Magical. Surreal. None of those terms can adequately describe my 20 miler here on the South Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, but maybe all of them can. Throw in incredible and awesome and you may start to get the picture.
I hadn’t done a 20 miler since the Towpath Marathon, nearly two months ago. So I knew it would be a chore. And I’ve actually run part of this route before, when we stayed at a nearby hotel six years ago. From that experience, I remember that it surely wasn’t the easiest of routes either.
It all began at 4:50 AM, as I left our hotel, The Orchid at Mauna Lani, and headed up and off into the darkness. My destination was the village of Waikoloa, about 10 miles up towards the mountain of Mauna Kea. And back.
Even at this early hour, with the help of the moon and stars, I could make out the silhouettes of several of the mountains, along with the lights of various villages and resorts. For the vast majority of the entire run, I would be able to see for dozens (or more) of miles in all directions. 2+ miles got me out onto the main highway, then it was another mile and a half to the road that goes up to Waikoloa.
As I made the turn, the gravity of the situation hit me. Gravity as in my own. Gravity as in lifting my (considerable) body weight up, up, up the mountain. It’s not a very steep grade, but it is constant. The road winds left and right through the old lava flows. I also had a very stiff (maybe 30-40 mph) headwind to contend with. This all added up to 10+ minutes per mile for the 6 miles up to the village. This hardly even qualifies for running in my log. I start calling them “junk miles” at 9 and a half minutes per mile. A minute slower than that is hard to even acknowledge. But the miles were marked, so I wasn’t able to fool myself into thinking I was doing better than I was.
All the way up, though, the views were taking my breath away. As if I had any. It was beginning to get a bit lighter as I approached the village. I got a bit of water and turned back. Now I could more clearly make out four of five major volcanoes that make up the Big Island: Kohala to the north, 13,796-foot Mauna Kea to the east, Mauna Loa to the southeast and Hualalai to the south. The fifth, Kilauea, was obscured by Mauna Loa. I was also able to see the sea better now, and beyond that, rising above the clouds, 10,023 foot Mount Haleakala on the island of Maui. I’m not sure how far that is, or for that matter, the elevation of Waikoloa, which would tell me my total elevation gain, since I had started at sea level. I’ll probably look these things up one of these days... All of this beautiful sweeping scenery was in stark contrast to the immediate surroundings for the entire way up: chunky black and dark brown lava, in piles and small hills. There’s almost no vegetation – only some scrubby grass. That’s the Big Island for you. It lends new meaning to the word, contrast.
Now running downhill and with the wind, I had no illusions about any really fast running. My legs were too beat up from the first half of the run. But I did manage a few miles that were just under 8 minutes. It took me about 95 plus minutes to get up the mountain, and 84 to get back down. The effort was about equal, but as I approached the resort again, the ole’ legs were pretty wobbly. I had been thinking that it would be my slowest long run ever, but as I finished in just under three hours, I can log it as merely one of my slower long runs. Certainly not my easiest. The Honolulu Marathon is in a few days, and even though I’m here in Hawaii, I’ll miss it due to logistical problems, as well as being horribly out of shape. But at least I got this long one under my belt. Scenery-wise, it will be one that I’ll never forget.
Wednesday, December 5 to Saturday, December 8, 2001
Although we did a bit of sightseeing (Kohala area – Hawi and Waimea, and Kailua-Kona), we mostly just hung out at the resort. We both had very bad colds, probably originating from the long flights over here. Never again will we leave home without the only true cure for colds: Zicam. It wasn’t available here. Otherwise, if you’re going to be sick, Hawaii is a pretty durn good place for that to happen. One notable experience during this time was The Attack of The Two-Inch Cockroach While I Was in The Bathtub.
Our final night was spent on top of Mauna Kea. Well, almost on top. We took off during the afternoon and bought sweatshirts along the way to go underneath our jackets. After driving through several layers of clouds, we arrived at our destination above the clouds, just at sunset. That destination was the visitor center for the Mauna Kea astronomical observatories. It’s at 9,300 feet; the big telescopes (the biggest and best on the planet) are at the summit. Having driven all the way up last time we were here, (with a four-wheel drive, during daylight hours) we didn’t feel the need this time.
This time, the University of Hawaii Astronomical Club had several smaller telescopes at the visitor center. They focused on various objects and then let folks look at them. We saw: Mars, Saturn, a blue-gold double star, the ring nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy, other galaxies, star clusters, and a comet. It was all very cool. Both figuratively and literally.
Sunday, December 9, 2001
Getting between islands was always a bit of a hassle, but now it’s a much bigger hassle. They’ve really gotten into the security spirit here in Hawaii – we had to wait in several long lines, and had our bags and our persons searched at several times.
We finally made it to our destination, the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort on Maui. Another freebie, this place isn’t quite as ostentatious as the last. But it’s still quite nice. I think we probably like it better. The Wailea area of Maui is great; it’s almost like Kaanapali. Unfortunately, just to the north is Kihei, which is busy and built-up, almost like Waikiki.
Monday, December 10, 2001
With our colds almost gone, we took it easy most of the day. I did some snorkeling and saw two octopi, one of whom insisted on playing peek-a-boo with me. I even got Debbie, who claims to be not semi-aquatic, into “their world” (the ocean). Later in the afternoon, we tried to get on a whale-watching boat, but it was canceled.
Tuesday, December 11, 2001
After doing a bit of research on hiking trails, we found one that sounded interesting. We drove south through Makena, as far as the road would go. Then we started walking along the shore on a trail. After a mile or so of old lava flows, forests, rocks, and sand, we walked by some free-spirited folks sunbathing and swimming in the nude. Debbie was a little afraid to walk by, but I said that they should be the self-conscious ones, not us!
After our little hike, we got onto a whale watching boat that actually left the port. This outfit, a different one from yesterday’s no-show, was non-profit, but actually guaranteed that we’d see whales. The wind was hard to believe. Of course that made the waves rough too. And wouldn’t you know it? No whales! Wind-beaten, we staggered off the boat and received our vouchers for another trip.
Here’s another running tale about my Wednesday run:
Another Interesting Run in Hawaii - This Time Almost Killed a Guy
We’re now staying in Wailea, on Maui. The day before yesterday, I did my now weekly 20-miler, running north through Kihei and back. I didn’t enjoy this run nearly as much as my running on the Big Island because of all the development and traffic.
So this time I decided to head south. It’s much less developed that way. Debbie and I had driven south through and beyond Makena yesterday in order to hike on a trail at the end of the road. In the process of driving, I measured up to 6 miles for today’s 12-mile run. During our hike, we experienced some free-spirited naked people frolicking on the beach. But that’s a different story. Almost.
I started out at about 4:40 AM. There was hardly any traffic, and after a while, almost none. After getting through Makena, the road narrowed, and there were no more lights. In fact, with no development, it was pitch dark. There may have been a few black cats eating lickerish, but I didn’t see them. I did see the stars. Lots of them. And meteors. At least 6 or 7. At times the road was close to the ocean, so I could also look out to sea in those areas too.
But I was trying to be mindful of safety as well. The road seemed to get narrower and more winding as I went on. The last southbound mile was the toughest. Although the road had been smooth, it suddenly became very rough and uneven. I had to pick my feet up high for fear of tripping and falling. I also had to keep stopping to make sure I was still on the road, with the total darkness and all.
After turning around at the six-mile mark, I still ran slowly and carefully past the uneven pavement, and onto the smoother surface again. At that point, I resumed running almost normally again. That’s when Something hit me. Hard! I didn’t know what it was, but I felt a tremendous impact against the right side of my body, mostly on my arm. I staggered quite a bit but managed to keep my feet. I looked behind me to see what it was and I found a guy and his bicycle on the ground.
I ran over to him. He wasn’t moving – I became terrified that I’d killed the poor guy. I yelled are you OK several times before he started groaning and moved around a bit. Worried that perhaps he shouldn’t be moved, I asked if he was able to move everything and he said yes. He insisted on getting up, so I helped him. Then he fell again and got up a second time. I kept asking if he would wait while I ran to get help, but he seemed more worried about getting his bike up off the road and continuing on. I advised that he walk his bike for a while, and this he did. I followed for a while, but then decided that he was apparently all right, and turned around to go back the way I was headed.
What a strange encounter. Afterward, I kept examining my own possible guilt in the matter. I had on my reflective vest, but not my blinking bicycle lights. I wear them at home for my early morning runs, but don’t take them when I’m on the road; I certainly will from now on. I had been on the left side of the road, facing the non-existent traffic, but I wasn’t all the way over to the side. I was simply too afraid of running off the dark road. By the looks of his clothes and hair, the guy was a free-spirit type. He didn’t really say much to me, other than mumbling a few words. I hate to make judgments based on appearance, but it’s possible there was some substance abuse involved. Of course, his grogginess was most likely simply the result of hitting the ground so hard. In any case, he had apparently been coming down a hill very, very fast when we collided. He had no lights of any kind on the bike.
My arm is bruised and has developed a lump, but it’s not broken. I’m sure the biker’s pains are much worse. I still feel pretty bad about the whole thing. I sure hope he’s ok.
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
I went snorkeling again, and this time I saw a friendly eel. At least it looked friendly; we didn’t get close enough to shake hands.
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Debbie and I agree that, although the sunsets on all the islands are great, Maui’s are best. We try not to miss any of them, but I gave up on keeping the camera handy. Every time we go to Hawaii I have to stop myself from taking hundreds of sunset pictures. We’ve already got enough to fill several albums. Now we just enjoy them, sans camera.
Thursday, December 13, 2001
Early Alzheimer’s Alert: I keep losing stuff! So far I lost the binoculars, a suitcase lock, a hat (later found), and my camera battery and charger (which we had to go back - through terrible traffic - to the hotel to retrieve). At least so far, I haven’t lost this here laptop.
There was another try at whale watching, but rain and high winds canceled the trip.
Our next (and last) free hotel is the Hyatt Regency Maui, in Kaanapali. Debbie got us a free night for taking a class at work. Too bad it’s only one. This place is the swankiest of them all.
Here at the hotel is the Palm Court, “one of the ten most romantic restaurants in the world”. Our meal, however, wasn’t as romantic as it was adventurous. Gale-force (actually 60 MPH) winds had knocked out the power as we walked to the restaurant, but we were assured that the chef would still be able to produce most of what was on the menu. The only lights were from candles. And the food was outstanding, as we would’ve expected. But what we didn’t expect was that those winds would wreak havoc with the 3 story glass door/windows that had been closed for protection. After several attempts to secure them failed – they kept opening and crashing into the set tables. The windows themselves didn’t break, but lots of other table settings did.
Friday, December 14, 2001
This was the day that we had to leave, but not before one last try for the whales. And we did see some! There were three humpbacks, two big ones and a young un, and it sure was exciting to watch them. We could see and hear their spouts of exhaled air and then we’d watch them gather air for a while before diving again. No big breaches, but for some dives, we would get a glimpse of their tails. The environmental-friendly crew was only slightly amused when I asked that they pass the harpoon.
And that was it. As always, we were surprised at how much there was to see and do that hadn’t yet been done. Yes, we’ll be back.
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
I went snorkeling again, and this time I saw a friendly eel. At least it looked friendly; we didn’t get close enough to shake hands.
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Debbie and I agree that, although the sunsets on all the islands are great, Maui’s are best. We try not to miss any of them, but I gave up on keeping the camera handy. Every time we go to Hawaii I have to stop myself from taking hundreds of sunset pictures. We’ve already got enough to fill several albums. Now we just enjoy them, sans camera.
Thursday, December 13, 2001
Early Alzheimer’s Alert: I keep losing stuff! So far I lost the binoculars, a suitcase lock, a hat (later found), and my camera battery and charger (which we had to go back - through terrible traffic - to the hotel to retrieve). At least so far, I haven’t lost this here laptop.
There was another try at whale watching, but rain and high winds canceled the trip.
Our next (and last) free hotel is the Hyatt Regency Maui, in Kaanapali. Debbie got us a free night for taking a class at work. Too bad it’s only one. This place is the swankiest of them all.
Here at the hotel is the Palm Court, “one of the ten most romantic restaurants in the world”. Our meal, however, wasn’t as romantic as it was adventurous. Gale-force (actually 60 MPH) winds had knocked out the power as we walked to the restaurant, but we were assured that the chef would still be able to produce most of what was on the menu. The only lights were from candles. And the food was outstanding, as we would’ve expected. But what we didn’t expect was that those winds would wreak havoc with the 3 story glass door/windows that had been closed for protection. After several attempts to secure them failed – they kept opening and crashing into the set tables. The windows themselves didn’t break, but lots of other table settings did.
Friday, December 14, 2001
This was the day that we had to leave, but not before one last try for the whales. And we did see some! There were three humpbacks, two big ones and a young un, and it sure was exciting to watch them. We could see and hear their spouts of exhaled air and then we’d watch them gather air for a while before diving again. No big breaches, but for some dives, we would get a glimpse of their tails. The environmental-friendly crew was only slightly amused when I asked that they pass the harpoon.
And that was it. As always, we were surprised at how much there was to see and do that hadn’t yet been done. Yes, we’ll be back.
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