Driggs!!

Spring Break!

CD was so ready to take a major break from teaching and spring break finally came. He planned out this trip because I have been living out of a suitcase non-stop for the last 3 months (at least that's how I feel) and can't seem to get my home rhythm just yet. I've even considered renaming this blog to "My life out of a suitcase".

One of the things CD misses most since we've moved here (2+ years ago) has been the proximity of the ski resorts that we had in Seattle. The nearest snowboarding area for him would be Mount Shasta which means that you have to drive over the mountains just to get there (~4hrs), which incidentally are usually closed if the snow is good. Sort of a catch-22. In short, he's missed the slopes and we've felt the isolation of the redwood curtain.

Lucky for us, our friends Erica and Jay just completed building a new home in Driggs, Idaho.

The closest airport for Eastern Idaho is actually Jackson, Wyoming. Upon arriving, we headed to the National Elk Refuge to observe the wildlife. It was sunny and not too cold; and the blue skies against the contrasting snow on the ground was beautiful.

Elk grazing with the Tetons in the background (from the Eastern side):

That first evening, we helped them celebrate getting their certificate of occupancy before their friends Jen and Randy. Here are E and CD enjoying themselves at War Birds:

I said that they just finished building a home, but not everything is quite done. We were glad to lend a hand in staining and hanging dry wall. For home improvement action, check out E's blog pictures.

Rewarded for our hard work and glad to meet their friends, we headed to the Wolf.

Where is Rusty? here are CD, Anna, Jay and Erica:

CD enjoyed a few days of snowboarding and even though I only got out one day to do some snowshoeing, which was more of a snow-walk, I enjoyed myselft thoroughly.

Here are the snowbunnies:

The tetons viewed from the Idaho (western) side:

One of the funnest things to do while there was playing with Lefty, their cat. He loves to chase things and we even watched him kill his first mouse! It was Wild Kingdom in the backyard!

Of course all the kitty love has led us to consider getting our own pet... did someone say commitment? With our busy schedules, we've shied away from keeping an animal that we haven't the time for, but we're open to the possibility...

CD with Lefty on his lap:

Latest knitted project: Wristwarmers!

CD helped me pick out this wool yarn at the store. I love them and have enough leftover to make another pair for one lucky cold wrister!

The phenomenon: let's get married in Hawaii!!

I observed this repeatedly on the Waikiki beaches and I was only there for a short, short time! Apparently this goes on every day, all day. Amazing and beautiful!




This last one was by far my favorite!

Hawaii: a ferry ride to Maui with Lulu, Becca time and great Japanese food.

Liz, whom I endearingly call Lulu, came into Honolulu a couple of days earlier than expected, so we decided to take the Superferry to Maui. In hindsight, we should have stayed more than one night to make it worthwhile because we didn't get very lucky with the weather. We toured around for one day, had a fun early evening out in Lahaina, then headed back to Honolulu the next day.

We had a great lunch at Mama's House up on the Hana coast:

the delicious and tantalizing lunch:


the beautiful view from our table:


Once we got on those windy roads, we encountered the beauty of Maui...

...and the nasty weather:

On our way back on the superferry, we saw the impressive cliffs of Moloka'i:


Back in Honolulu, I enjoyed more sunsets and time with Lindsey and Becca:

My friend Becca and I had a great time hanging out and exchanging lots of music. We both love some of the same bands and it was fun to listen to new things and expose her to things she hadn't heard before too.

Oh, did I forget to mention that she can be quite a monkey?
In fact, she is very athletic. Here she is, with her roommate Pat, 'hanging out':


In addition to seeing all these wonderful friends and making new ones, I really enjoyed the Japanese cuisine. The islands have such a strong Asian influence; it's great for those of us who love a lot of eastern cuisines!

Lindsey took me to Shokudo for some killer sushi and the lychee sake-tinis were dangerously smooth and delicious!

On my last night, Becca and Lindsey took me to the best Japanese restaurant in Honolulu or outside of Japan (for all I know). It was awesome and I loved every morsel that I tried.

Tokkuri Tei:

Hawaii: a great visit with old and new friends!

A while back I planned a trip out to visit Lindsey who is now attending the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. Little did I know that I would miss school (I hadn't the slightest clue that I would start attending classes again). The good things about my timing: in November I met Becca who is also attending UH, so I got to visit with her; my old friend Liz, who was working on the Oscar E. Sette, was scheduled to come into port around the same time and the whole crew of the Knorr was also arriving. Basically this trip got me caught up with a whole bunch of sailing friends and cohorts plus it gave me a chance to visit Honolulu for the first time!

Lindsey at La Mariana, the last tiki bar in Honolulu:


the Knorr crew: Wayne, Mike, Kyle, Rodney and Kent

Lindsey had exams and a very busy schedule while I was there, but she was kind enough to lend me her wheels and I went exploring. I hiked up to the top of Diamond head and explored further east on southern side of the island.

thistles:


Honolulu in the background:

Koko head from the east side

Rabbit Island:

On her day off, we headed to the north shore. While there we did a brief tour of the Lost (the only show I really watch) filming sights, ate at a shrimp cart (yumm!), watched the surfers and endured the wind!

This is THE beach where a lot of the Lost action happens (or so I was told):

Water seemed too rough, even to the seasoned surfers:

Macky's is the best!

Blown away

Our Lost tour would not have been complete without meeting a cast member. It was really just a coincidence, but 'Sawyer' just happened to be at the same dive bar that we went to listen to some bluesy music! I felt so lucky! I didn't have to go stalk 'Hurley'!