Maui

 

Boy, do I have the post-holiday blues bad.  I came back yesterday from a week in Maui to rain.  I wish I was staring at palm trees and the ocean instead of the gloom outside my window.  I had such a great time in Maui but it is so hard right now to write about it because I feel 180 degrees opposite of what I felt there.  Although I think Maui is a bit overrated when it comes to sights, there's definitely something awesome about sitting on the beach or by the pool and enjoying the sun.  Our first and last days were pretty much relaxing, but here's how rest of the trip went:

Day 2: Drive to Hana

The drive to Hana was touted in the guidebook as being very beautiful so I was quite eager to do this, but was slightly disappointed.  It was beautiful, to be sure, but I'd say a drive around Alaska is prettier.  Probably the drive would be nicer on a less hot/hazy day and when the waterfalls are more fuller.  What I enjoyed most about the drive though were the flowers - all sorts you don't see on mainland or in Alaska.  We did a stop at the Garden of Eden, played with Macaws, drank coconut water, and walked around a bit.  The drive to Hana has a lot of turns so it's pretty slow going.  By the time we got there it was early afternoon.  Instead of driving back the way we came, we decided to drive around the South side of the island, even though we knew there'd be some bad roads there.  Once past Hana, we did a quick stop at Hamoa Beach and Oheo Gulch.  Although we wanted to stop in other places, like Red Sand beach, we didn't know what the drive ahead was like so we kept on.  The Southern route was less windy, which I liked, but there were sections of unpaved road (~7 miles), and another 18 miles or so of poorly maintained road.  The scenery on this side of the island was quite different.  Brad said it looked a lot like English countryside.  Eventually we ended up on a nicely paved road, but if you get stuck behind a slow poke, it is very difficult to pass.

Day 3: Canoe Excursion, Tropical Fruit Plantation, and Lao Valley

The hotel we stayed at, The Fairmont Kea Lani, was pretty awesome.  They didn't nickel and dime us for anything as a lot of things were free - parking, internet, beach umbrellas, pineapple bites, and even sun block.  The food at their restaurants and services were excellent, and the only gripe I had the whole time was in-room dining.  They offer variety of activities in the morning and evening entertainment in the lobby.  One of the activities I signed up for was an hour long canoe excursion.  They gave us a bit of overview of the Hawaiian language, and took us to a place where we could see sea turtles.  Our guide also picked up a sea urchin for us to get a closer look.

In the afternoon we went to the Tropical Fruit Plantation and Lao Valley.   We saw all sorts of fruits growing in the plantation.  At Lao Valley, we saw the Lao Valley Needle, and walked all the trails, which aren't very long.  It's a beautiful area, but you won't need to spend more than an hour there.

Day 4: Sunrise from atop Haleakala Volcano



This day we had to get up at the ungodly hour of 2am for a 3am departure to the summit of Haleakala to catch the sunrise.  The parking at the summit fills up fast, but we were one of the early ones lucky enough to grab a spot.  This is probably my third sunrise I've seen above the clouds (once on top of Mt. Fuji, and once on top of Mt. Warning) so it wasn't as awesome this time around, but it was still quite nice.  My mom especially enjoyed it.  Since we had an early start, we were back by 10am at the hotel.  We relaxed rest of the day, and enjoyed a superb dinner at the hotel's Ko Restaurant.

Day 5:  Snorkeling at Molokini Crater

Mom left early on this day so Brad & I joined a half-day snorkeling tour with Kai Kanani to Molokini Crater.  It was supposed to be one of the best snorkeling spots in Maui, but I wasn't impressed.  Still, if you have the time and money to spend, it's a nice way of spending four hours.  They also did another stop for turtles, but we didn't see any except the one that looked dead at the bottom of the ocean floor.  The boat was nice, staff friendly, food & drinks good.  Probably as good as a snorkeling trip can get on this island.

Vacationing in Hawaii is quite nice.  If you want to do a sight-seeing type trip though, I would say go somewhere else.  I am also not sure I could live here.  Sitting by the beach or doing water activities is nice, but I hate doing anything else in the heat.  It also helps when you stay in a nice resort or hotel to set the ambiance.  If you can catch a deal, the extra cost is definitely worth it.  I might have to do these luxury vacations more often.  Now only if I didn't have to deal with the post-holiday blues....

Skagway & Whitehorse

View from Klondike Highway

I took advantage of a four day weekend over Labor Day to take a short trip up to Skagway and Whitehorse.  The trip started off with beautiful weather and a very nice 6.5 hour ride on the ferry to Skagway.  After arriving in Skagway, I headed straight for Whitehorse over the White Pass on the Klondike Highway.  I had heard it was a nice drive, but I didn't realize how beautiful the drive was!!  I've been to some really nice places, but this was probably one of the most beautiful drives ever - more than New Zealand, Switzerland, or the Canadian Rockies.  There were lakes and mountains everywhere.  I stopped at just about every pull over for a look and photo.  It was such a nice drive that I was really disappointed to arrive in Whitehorse earlier than expected.  Even with all the stops it only took about 2.5 hours to get there (versus the three I expected).  I wish I had spent more time  getting there since it was all kinda downhill from there with the weather turning for the worst. 

Miles Canyon

Day two of the trip was gloom and doom.  Well, just gloom.  I managed to check out Miles Canyon, fish ladder, and S.S. Klondike in the morning before the bad weather started setting in.  By mid day it was cloudy, windy, and cold so I wasn't really much in the mood for exploring despite there being few other touristy things to do.  I ended up spending rest of the day getting through A Clash of Kings and chatting with some of the other travellers at Beez Knees hostel.  I met a lot of Canadians, including a woman who stereotypically kept saying "eh", a guy from Montreal, and another two who had just hiked the Chilkoot Trail (I want to do this some day).  I also met a Japanese guy who has been travelling for five straight years!!  I wish I could do something like that, but I'm not sure I could sleep in a tent for weeks on out or bike to Prudhoe Bay like this guy did.  Plus, I'd get home sick after a few months.  Kudos to him though for being able live such a lifestyle.  His blog (in Japanese) is at http://shimoba.jugem.jp/.  Then there was this Canadian couple who is traveling around the world on their motorbike.  I think they're just a few months into the trip, but plans to travel for the next five to 40 years.  They plan to work along the way, as the Japanese guy did, to fund their travel.  Their website is http://theperfectworld2012.webnode.com/. 

Day three was the drive back to Skagway.  Weather cleared up a bit and I was enjoying the beginning of the drive very much, although for some reason I wasn't recognizing the scenery.  I didn't think much of it though until about 50 miles later when I saw a sign saying "East" and hundred and some kilometers to a town I didn't even recognize... not Skagway.  By now I figured I was going the wrong way and pulled over to look at the map.  Sure enough, I had missed the turnoff to Klondike highway.  I wasn't paying much attention because I thought it was a straightshot, but it wasn't.  As I drove back the way I came, I wondered if I have enough gas to make it to Skagway.  I thought it'd be close, so I ended up driving back to Whitehorse to fill up.  Moral of the story: 1) pay attention to where you're going, and 2) fill up on gas whenever you can... just in case you make a wrong turn.

As I finally turned onto the right highway I saw a hitchhiker with sign for "Skagway."  Picking up hitch-hikers is not something I do much but I did this time.  He was Martin, a man probably in his mid or late 20's from Dresden, Germany.  He was scruffy, unshaven, and smelly, but a very nice guy.  We stopped at some view points along the way and at Carcross Desert, the world's smallest desert.  Once back in Skagway, Martin went on his way to find a camp spot, and I checked into Alaskan Soujourn Hostel.  This hostel, as well as Beez Knees, were very clean with ultra friendly staff.  They are highly recommended as a place to stay.  The only thing I really don't like about hostels these days though, is you can get stuck in a room with someone who snores.  Then again, half of my friends and my husband snores, so I can't really get away from it :( 

I didn't do a whole lot in Skagway since I was mostly interested in finding out a bit more about the Chilkoot trail.  I got some info from the visitors center and watched a 20 minute video on it.  Since I had to be at the ferry terminal at 0500, I turned down an invite to go hang out at the Red Onion by some other travellers.  I am probably going to make another trip to Skagway at some point to spend some more time there. 

I love ferries, but having to check in so early is pretty brutal.  The weather on this day was crap, so I slept pretty much most of the way back. 

Eagle Crest Hike

Perhaps I was a bit premature with the last post since we got another day of summer today.  DeAnna and I went somewhere we haven't been yet - top of Eagle Crest.  Although you can't find this information in the trail guides, you can take the service road from the lodge to the top of Eagle Crest.  It is 1400' elevation gain, probably over about 2 miles, and takes about 1.5-2 hours to walk up it.  Once at the top of the lift, you can continue behind it on trails that lead to spectacular views of the channel, and even Admiralty Island.  I did not know this when I went up, so it was a very nice treat.  From the top, the trails are only about another 1/2 mile and few hundred feet gain.  This hike is a great one to do if you want the views but don't have all day to hike one of the other mountains from sea level. 

Winter Is Coming....

Next weekend will mark the end of the summer, and I'm actually looking forward to the upcoming winter.  Don't get me wrong, it can be miserable here with the rain and the darkness.  I don't enjoy driving in snow or shoveling it either.  However, there's something peaceful about the winter here.  Maybe because all the tourists and fair weather residents are gone.  Also, this summer was quite disappointing with the frequent rains.  I made it out on a few hikes, but only to one new trail.  I didn't even make it out fishing like I had planned to.  Oh well.  At least I have a few trips coming up this fall - starting with a trip to Skagway (or Whitehorse) over Labor Day weekend, Maui in October, and home for Thanksgiving.  I always like change in seasons.  Too bad there are only two here as far as I'm concerned.

Peterson Lake Trail

I've been a bit of a slacker lately, getting way too engrossed in Skryim.  This past Sunday though, I finally got off my butt for a decent hike up Peterson Lake Trail with Matt.  The trail, which starts at mile 24 on Egan, is 4.3 miles each way with a 700 feet elevation gain, so it's not too easy and not too strenuous.  However, the trail is not that well maintained so navigating around muddy spots and walking over protruding roots made it much more difficult than it should've been.  The fact that it was a bit of a rainy day didn't help.  Sometime I wonder why I put myself through a hike like that.  I could've been home on the comfy couch in my dry warm home getting many hours of game time in.  Actually, I was really glad to get out and get some fresh air even if I was wet and muddy by the time I was done. 

At the end of Peterson Lake Trail is (tah dah) Peterson Lake.  There is also a newly renovated US Forest Service cabin that can be rented out for $35 a night. 

Seattle

With the July 4th holiday being smack in the middle of the week, I managed to make a five day weekend for a much needed get away. I flew to Seattle since I had couple of friends there (Sue & Jaime) I wanted to see, and it turned out to be a great few days. I did some sightseeing around Seattle, but also got introduced to Season 1 DVD of Game of Thrones. Can't wait for the Season 2 DVD to come out. Sue's husband, Mike, was also into Skyrim, and I got a few pointers on him that I've been trying out since getting back.  Sue also took me to lots of great restaurants.  To top it all off, it was sunny everyday and a pleasant 70 degrees :)

As for the sightseeing, here's what I did:

Mt. Rainier National Park

Sue had to work & was preggo but Mike and I drove down for the day to Mt. Rainier.  We initially planned to do some hikes around Paradise, but seems the snow is lingering longer this year so they were all snow covered.  So much for seeing wildflowers :S  We did a short walk around the area, and then moved onto Box Canyon, which was a very short walk to a cool overlook of a canyon.  Much recommended spot.  We kept on and did another walk to Silver falls, and then onto White River campground.  Here we hoped to do another walk but ran out of time before having to get back to Seattle for dinner. 


Japanese Garden

I've been missing Japan a lot lately, so I decided to get my fix at the Japanese Garden in the Washington Park Arboretum.  We got there first thing when it openned, so it was a nice peaceful stroll through the gardens.  Few other people were there, and couple kids feeding the koi and turtles.  More people were visiting by the time we left.  It was a short visit, but it will have to do until I get an opportunity to visit Japan again.

Harbor Tour

After the Japanese Garden I met up with an old Coastie friend, Jaime, for lunch and afternoon.  It was such a gorgeous day I thought it would be great to spend some time on the water, so we hopped on an hour long harbor cruise.  It was a bit more like a tour, since the narrator gave a nice history and overview of Seattle.  We also saw the two Coast Guard icebreakers Polar Star and Healy.

Aquarium

If you don't have time to take advantage of the City Pass, the Aquarium and Harbor cruise combo pack for $35 is a good deal.  Turns out my friend's Microsoft Passport card got me a better deal though.  Both, the harbor tour departure and aquarium are near the new ferris wheel in downtown. 

Even though it was a Friday, everyone was in town and the aquarium was a little packed.  It was still nice seeing all the fishies and other marine animals.  I especially enjoyed watching the otters, who just happenned to be feeding when we got there. 

Where the Hell is Matt? 2012 Video

I first came across Matt's original video six years ago and thought it was cool. He made another video few years after that, but I think I like his 2012 version a bit better: