I am back from Hawaii and I had no idea how much I needed to rest for a while. I was in a complete healing place while I was there. I would sleep in, maybe leave my rental at noon, do an activity (see a botanical garden, hit the farmers market, hike a heritage area, etc) then hit the beach about 4 pm for a swim and to watch the glorious orange sunset. Even with the mellow schedule, I yearned for a nap in the afternoons.
The botanical gardens were amazing. I visited two of them. One had only native plants and one contained every plant species that can grow on Hawaii. It would be so amazing to garden on one of the islands...the things you can grow are so different from what I know and I would have to learn all over again. The textures of the plants blew my mind
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| A close up of a tree trunk |
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| The Valley on Maui that we hiked up. The weather changes with elevation are remarkable. |
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| a waterfall in the bamboo forest |
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| I had no idea that bamboo could get so tall! |
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| Eucalyptus tree trunk |
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| I found this skeleton on the hospital grounds in Kula that I went to visit. They are looking for nurses to hire...just saying! |
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Later in the day, at the botanical gardens, I found a live specimen. He is an exotic critter called the Jackson Chameleon that was a pet and escaped. Now his kind live wild on the island...and eat native fauna. You can read more about them on Hawaii Reptiles. Scroll down a bit to find the Jackson Chameleon. |
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| The textures were amazing! |
I got a hand rash while I was there. I get this rash from time to time. It is like getting poison ivy with a diabolical itching and burning. This time my entire hand puffed up...I have never had that happen before. I have tried a million things to ease the discomfort and the only thing that helps is to soak my hands in ice water. What in the world am I going to do if this erupts on me in the California desert?
We had geckos in our room and all over the place. I found this baby one on our clothes that were hanging on the clothesline.
The adults were way too clever to be caught and held by me.
This baby pineapple was smaller than my fist. They take 2 years to mature and they grow right on the ground. Surprisingly, I ate very little pineapple while I was there. I ate a ton of coconuts, tiny apple bananas and papayas.
These cute toads were all over the lawn at night.
We drove up to the volcano to backpack but it started to really cloud up, so we bailed on the trip and drove to town to hear a violin concert instead. It did not matter what we did, it was all wonderful.
We spent our last day at a native heritage site. I think this was my favorite hike of all. At the end of the walk was a burial site and there were dunes full of ancient bones... and some newer headstones. It was a wild beautiful place.
We would lounge around our lodgings until noon eating coconuts and bananas and just enjoying life. Then we would do some sightseeing and hit the beach in the afternoon for a swim and to watch the sunset. It was a delightful routine! I got to swim with a giant sea turtle for the first time in my life. I will definately be going back to Hawaii again.
I flew home to get some chores done and James stayed to island hop and visit friends. This is how excited I was when the pilot got on the intercom to tell us that the strong tailwinds would shorten our trip by one hour. Thank goodness I got the benefit of the strong winds on the way home since they made by trip over several hours longer.
On to some chores and stuff. I am getting a retainer fitted since my lower teeth are beginning to sift about. Apparently this is common "as we get older". Fun!
I made a sign on some Tyvek paper for my trip to assist with hitchhiking. The other side says "TOWN". I figure this sign will last my entire trip and it folds down to nothing.
I found a silk skirt in Hawaii that will be my hiking skirt. The bright things on my feet are gators to keep the stones and debris out of my shoes. I think I will be comfortable but I am not going to win any fashion prizes! My mom bought me my new down coat. It has a hood and I love it! Thanks mom!
On Friday the 11th, I drove to Seattle to pick up James from the airport and get another injection in my toe. It seems to be working and I can just hope that the relief holds for the six months of my hike. My last injection is the day before I fly to San Diego. Dr. Heit is a really nice guy and he works on the feet of professional athletes (like the Seattle Sounders) so I feel that my feet are in good hands. No pun intended!!
