Hiking with Hawaiian Christmas trees

Jarrod and I recently hiked the Aiea Loop trail. While it wasn't my favorite hike on Oahu, it was very enjoyable and the view of H-3 (a highway that spans the Ko'olau mountain range and connects the east and west sides of the island) was stunning. There weren't a ton of flowers to look at on this hike, but we did see plenty of what we generally refer to as "those weird Hawaiian pine trees." They're actually called Norfolk pines (after their native land of Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean) and there's actually a farm on Oahu that sells them as Christmas trees!

Electric Beach

Jarrod and I went snorkeling at a new spot on Monday called Electric Beach. It's on the west side of Oahu and named such because it's right across the street from a power plant. The power plant was two huge pipes that spit hot air or water (not sure which) out into the ocean and the fishies love it. Getting out to the open ocean was a bit rough as we had to basically get clobbered in the face by huge, very salty waves first. And then it was about a quarter-mile swim out to the pipes. There weren't as many neat fish as Hanauma Bay, but we did see a few new ones. Spinner dolphins and sea turtles frequent this area, but unfortunately we didn't see either. We did encounter a school of neat little squid, though, which was a first for us. Next up for snorkeling: Shark's Cove on the North Shore and Chinaman's Hat on the east side.

Thai iced tea

One thing I absolutely adore about Hawaii life is the jaw-dropping abundance of Thai restaurants. Pretty much they're like Starbucks -- one on every corner. And this is fantastic for Jarrod and me because we both love Thai. Our favorite dish (yes, both of us -- we're boring) is pad Thai, but lately we've been trying to branch out more into Thai curries (which are intriguingly similar but different from the typical Indian curries). Anyway, Jarrod and I have sampled the fare at many Thai restaurants in our year and a half here, but none have been as good as our favorite, Champa Thai. We almost always order the same thing there -- the spring roll appetizer, pad Thai with chicken (medium spice level) and Thai iced teas to drink.

What's a thai iced tea? That, friends, is what this blog post is about. For months, Jarrod and I would stare curiously when waiters would deliver a tall orange drink to our neighbor tables. Finally, we realized this was the menu offering called a Thai iced tea and decided to sample one for ourselves. We fell in love and have not eaten at Champa (or any other Thai restaurant) since without ordering the Thai iced tea (which means a lot coming from me; I hate paying $3 for a beverage at a restaurant so I'm forever ordering water). At first sip, I thought the Thai iced tea tasted like a mixture of iced tea and coffee creamer. Turns out the sweetness actually comes from sweetened condensed milk. The cool, refreshing and slightly milky drink is a perfect foil for the spicy Thai food.

On a different note, I recently started a second blog about books and such. Check it out!

Geckos galore!

The picture above is of a mutant two-tailed gecko in our storage closet. There are a LOT geckos in Hawaii and many look just like that one, although the typical (non-mutant) gecko only owns one tail. They come in a variety of colors and sizes and make a strange clicking/knocking noise to communicate, especially at night. These friendly (if rather skittish) creatures supposedly eat bugs, so we always try to put them back outside (away from the stalking eyes of the cat!) if they make their way into the house. Unfortunately, they are also very attracted the bug zapper we put up out back in hopes of curtailing our mosquito problem. Instead of zapped mosquitoes, our zapper still holds the remnants of three zapped geckos. When I say that geckos are very prolific here, it's not an exaggeration. For example, after the tsunami hit last month, there was a news report on the effectiveness of the siren warning system. Most of the sirens went off without a problem, but a handful remained silent because they had been "shorted out by geckos"!

We finally see a "dog that runs in rough water"

One of my goals in life is to see various wildlife in its natural habitat in person, (things like bears, toucans and puffins), and in Hawaii specifically I wanted to see sea turtles, whales and monk seals. I've been lucky enough to have several sea turtle encounters in Hawaii, and we took an amazing whale-watching cruise in February, but I had never seen a monk seal until last weekend. We hiked Ka'ena Point on Saturday and were thrilled to see two of the creatures. I think there's some rule about how close you're allowed to get to them, but being blissfully without crowds of onlookers we were able to get about 10 feet away without the seals even twitching a whisker in our direction. They're one of Hawaii's two native mammals (the other being the hoary bat) and, sadly, they're endangered. Jarrod and I felt it was a great treat to observe these two seals. In Hawaiian, the monk seals are known as 'ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua or "dog that runs in rough water." I'm glad we're not the only ones who think the seals resemble our boxer, Conan! The other seal we saw was basking in the sun with its head under the water. Here's a look at the scenery... the hike takes you to the northwestern tip of Oahu and can be accessed on both the west and north sides. We took the west (Waianae) side and it was spectacular. At the end of the trail is a bird sanctuary of sorts with tons of albatross nests. We saw several adult birds and two babies.

Kona Brewing Company

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to become a beer drinker. It seems like every place we go has different and unique regional beers and I want to be able to partake in the beer-sampling fun with Jarrod! Hawaii boasts a couple brewing companies, the most famous of which is Kona Brewing Company. The brewery and main pub are located in Kona on the Big Island, but there's also a KBC restaurant on Oahu featuring delicious food and the whole variety of brews. Longboard Lager is the most popular choice; it can be found in some stores on the Mainland and was featured in a recent episode of "Hawaii 5-0." While the various beers are still growing on me, I absolutely love the beautiful Hawaiian-themed artwork on all the bottles and packages of KBC's "liquid aloha."

"Murder on Moloka'i"

A friend and fellow fiction fan from work loaned me "Murder on Moloka'i," the first in the "Surfing Detective" series by local author Chip Hughes. The book features Kai Cooke, a PI whose other passion in life is surfing. The book is a murder-mystery about an environmental activist who dies while on Moloka'i's mule tour to the leper colony at Kalaupapa. Her mule trips and falls, pitching her off a cliff, and her (estranged) sister doesn't think it was an accident.

The writing and plot were decent, not the best or most original murder-mystery I've ever read but still an enjoyable book. I really liked the Hawaiian element, though. I watch "Hawaii 5-0" (not quite the best show on TV right now) occasionally for the same reason -- it's neat to read about and see places we've been or want to go. This book includes scenes on several Hawaiian islands. Incidentally, my friend gave me the book at the exact time I had been researching a quick getaway to Moloka'i. The island sounds like the antithesis to bustling, over-populated Oahu. It's uncrowded, has pristine and unspoiled beaches, and doesn't even have a stoplight. The scenery appears to be stunning, and I have no doubt that the atmosphere would be relaxing. Other than lounging on the beach, we'd like to take the mule ride to Kalaupapa and visit the leper colony there. "Murder on Moloka'i" includes some history on Saint Damien and the colony, which I'll be glad to know going into the tour. Conditions at Kalaupapa were horrible for the exiled lepers, until Saint Damien began caring for patients there in 1873 and made it his mission to drastically improve their quality of life. After years of dedication to the quarantined patients, he succumbed to the disease himself and died in 1889.

Aside from giving readers a history lesson, Hughes does a great job depicting Hawaiian culture and the atmosphere of the islands. I enjoyed his usage of Pidgen and Hawaiian words, although readers unfamiliar with the language might need to look up a few terms. Hughes does italicize most Hawaiian words, and they can often be figured out in context. Here are some common Hawaiian words used in the novel:
-akamai: smart
-moke: big, local Polynesian guy (as in physically huge)
-ono: delicious, as in food (i.e. ono grinds); hot/sexy, as in physical attractiveness (ono wahine)
-wahine: woman
-kane: man
-mahu: homosexual
-haole: white/Caucasian person
-pali: cliffs
-paniolo: Hawaiian cowboy
-ohana: family
-aina: land
-mahalo: thank you

I'm planning to soon read the next two books in the series, "Wipeout" and "Kula." The latter book deals with a surfing dog, and since dogs are a topic close to my heart I'm looking forward to this book in particular. I'd definitely recommend reading Chip Hughes' series for a taste of the islands!