One door closes, another opens

Today Alexis and I went on one of the hardest hikes we have tackled to date. It had nothing to do with the length, more so the height and the 1100 plus stair case we had to climb. The hike is located in Hawaii Kai, we had driven by it a hundred times from the road you could see the railroad track path up the side of the crater. You can even see little people moving slowly up it.


So today, we got psyched up (with a little prodding) and hiked Koko Crater. It took us a little over an hour to climb to the top. The first portion of the hike was ok.. but once we got the bridge over the ravine we slowed down... the entire hike up was on an old railroad track.


Once to the top there was a variety of old military buildings and equipment. The views were amazing... 360 degrees. We could see to Waikiki and all the way over to Makapuu.


On the way down my legs were shaking, it was an intense adventure. I would recommend the hike to anyone that is moderately in shape and can handle stairs. The views were totally worth it and every person we encountered on the trail were very happy and encouraging.

Well it was my first Christmas away from family and it was a bit sad. But I woke up to a phone call from Mom & Bob at 8:15am and then proceeded to open presents in the hotel room. Alexis and I had a whole bunch of things to open... lots of fun little things like make-up, calendars, underwear, and candy and also a lot of gift cards.

We were invited over to Lynn's house for Christmas dinner. Her mum and dad are here from Scotland/Norway and they cooked us steaks and ham plus an assortment of lovely side dishes. With a bit of wine the night turned very amusing... we played a board game and even a few drinking games with her dad. It was a really good time... plus Alexis and I got a guitar and a wine glass set from Lynn and Amanda.

It was a different kind of Christmas... hopefully next year I will be back in Wisconsin for the holidays.

This morning we woke up early for a hike. We had previously been on a hike that divided into a valley trail and a ridge trail, at that time we did the valley. Today we took the more daring route of the Kuliouou Ridge Trail. It was 5 miles round trip and we finished it in just under two hours. It was as beginners trail for the first half or so, then it turned into an experienced hikers trail. We pushed our way through the layers of different forests until we made it to the top. It was amazing. We could see all the way down to the ocean and in the far distance we could even see Diamond Head. It was a great way to start our day.

Shortly we will be heading to Waikiki to stay in a hotel tonight. We also have dinner reservations at the Kuhio Beach Grill for a Christmas Eve Buffet. It won't be like home but at least it should be memorable.

Christmas in Hawaii just doesn't seem like Christmas. I miss everyone back home...

We had our last holiday party at our apartment last night and boy was it a memorable one. We had the largest turn out ever... some of our friends that had never been here before came, and even a few new friends. There were 12 guests present for the wine party. A large number to fit into the traditional sofa picture. Especially interesting was the ratio of females to males... it was half and half...

The guests included....

Heidi, Linda, Lynn, Amanda, Uncle Joe,
Mimmi, Rob, Jordan, Josh, Joe, Ben, Scott

The party was a lot of fun, our $5 gift exchange was exciting. I ended up with a nice robe and slipper set (a bit over the $5 limit I would guess). After the wine party, about half of us headed downtown to Mercury and Otooles. A very interesting evening.... a great way to end our holiday parties here in Hawaii.

What have I done this week....

Tuesday we went to the gym then cleaned the house so the owner & his realtor could do a walk through as they prepare to sell our unit. They were very friendly, in and out in a flash and seemed to be very pleased and willing to work around the holiday and when mom & Bob are staying here in January.

Tuesday afternoon we went to see the new Will Smith movie, I am Legend. It wasn't what I was expecting but overall it was good. After that we went to Heidi's birthday party.

Wednesday I slept in and ran some errands in the afternoon. That evening we went to dinner at Gordon Biersch and then we went out in Waikiki for Tamika's going away party and it just so happened that Nashville was having their Christmas party, perfect timing.

Today, we slept in and then hiked LaniKai Hills where we had lunch at the top. We then tried to go to the beach but it was cold so home we went. Alexis' co-workers (Darlene & Denise) invited us to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. It was a very nice dinner with great food.

Well today was my last day at HPU. It was bitter sweet. Dr. Wee, Jeannie and I went to lunch for Dim Sum at a wonderful little place in Chinatown. Then from 2-3:30pm was my party. Jeannie invited a bunch of people from other departments for snacks (catered in) and cake. About 20 or so people filtered through to wish me luck. In the end, I had seven lei's a bunch of cards and a few gifts. Jeannie gave me a set of things to remember Hawaii which included pot holders, decorative pillow covers and a blanket. The ladies from Career Services brought me a cool wall hanging for my new office. Plus I received multiple floral arrangements.

But most of all it was nice that people came to see me off, even though I will see a lot of them at graduation. It was as very nice way to end my time at HPU and I was very lucky that Alexis came for the party to help me carry all my stuff from the office...

On Thursday (Alexis' birthday) we flew to Kauai for a long weekend. Courtney, Grace, Alexis and I arrived early Thursday for our first adventure, zip lining through the rain forest. It was amazing. There was a series of seven lines down into the valley. They varied in height (tallest being over 200 feet above the ground) and length (longest being 900 feet). Everyone had a blast, even Coutrney who got stuck in the middle of one line. She didn't have enough speed to reach the other side and one of our guides, Grant, had to go out and assist her. After the adventure, we cleaned up and headed to Dukes for a later dinner, where Grant from the tour met us. Later that night Amanda and Lynn flew in to join us.

As I had been sick for a few days, I cancelled my reservation on the zodiac boat tour Friday morning. Everyone else went on the boat and I relaxed at the hotel. Friday evening Courtney and Grace started their trip back to Kentucky.

Saturday we went to the North Shore and then ended up going on a boat tour to the Fern Grotto. And we wrapped up the weekend by driving to Waimea Canyon for a quick picture break.We were home by 6pm... we were able to get out mail from Libby. The mail was full of fun. Dad sent a box of Omaha Steaks... plus there were a bunch of Christmas cards and a package from Aunt Peggy & Uncle Dan....

Christmas is almost here..... I'm excited!!

Tonight was my last exam...ever! It was a political communication final which I did not study for until about an hour before. Kelly came to my office and read her flash cards to me. Surprisingly, I feel really good about the final... much easier then I thought it was going to be.

Overall Ed Case did a good job with the class, he liked to talk alot, but I think I learned some new things also. However, Ed doesn't think he will be teaching again anytime soon, he had a good time but said it was a lot of work.

After class he gave us our grade to that point ( I'm sitting at a B+) and then he took us to the bar and bought the class a round of drinks. We then proceeded to do a round of shots, Ed had his first red headed slut (a shot with jaeger and cranberry juice). It was a fitting way to end my last class at HPU, the tradition of Mercury.

After watching the Packers beat the Raiders we got ready for our shopping and Luau adventure. We headed to the outlet mall for a round of shopping and then out to Ko Olina to the Paradise Cove Luau.

The Luau was amazing. The drinks and food were great and the view was even better. The fire dancer was the highlight of our night. I was even pulled up on stage by one of the male dancers for a hula lesson. Great time had by all :-)

We woke up early this morning to go horseback riding at Turtle Bay. It was a beautiful ride full of laughter thanks to the eating habits of our horses. I rode Koa, the Alpha male, who liked to nip at the other horses and give them the evil eye. Alexis rode Jerry, the eater, every time I turned around she was trying to pull him back on to the trail, and if he wasn't eating, he was as close to Koa's butt as possible. Grace rode Casper, fairly mellow through most of the ride however he did like to snack as the ride was ending. Then there was Courtney riding Coconut. Coconut was a bit slow, and there were several times we had to stop and wait for them.

The ride was about 45 minutes long through the forest and along the beach. We saw a bunker that was built after the 1941 Japanese attack, we saw the tower that first saw the radar blips of the Japanese planes on December 7, 1941 and we also saw a huge tree that was used in the filming of Lost.

After the ride Alexis and Grace got us kicked out of the hotel pool. Grace apparently isn't a good liar when they asked if we were hotel guests, so we went to the beach for a bit then headed on to Fumi's shrimp truck for lunch.

A nap and now we are ready for a night out in Waikiki.

Blizzard Warning
Flash Flood Watch
High Surf Warning
High Wind Advisory

I just finished watching the 6pm news and those were only 4 of the 6 watches/warnings currently in effect throughout the islands. It is such a diverse place... but anyway we look at it, we are having some extreme weather currently. Winds reached 100mph on Haleakala (Maui) and the rain keeps coming in waves here on Oahu.

As for school, Dr. Barnum started looking at my paper today, hopefully by tomorrow he will finish so we can discuss if I will be defending next week or if I should wait until January. Either way will be fine, I'm just at the point that I want to know.

The first winter storm has been lingering around the islands since yesterday and will stay through the rest of the week. Yesterday, the North Shore was hit with 30 foot waves. On Maui, two beaches were hit with nearly 50 foot waves that lifted up lifeguard vehicles and made a mess.

Tonight we are waiting on 60 mph winds that main cause power outages and broken tree limbs. The rest of the week looks like it will continue to be rainy and poor weather.

Tomorrow is Alexis' last day at work and also the day that her two best friends from home arrive. It will be my first time meeting them and I'm excited.