Kaena Point

The kids have been on school break Oct 7th through Oct 15. The first week was pretty chill since Aidan was in Taekwondo camp every morning.

Tuesday was the last day of fall break so I decided to take them hiking along the coast. We grabbed another family and headed for the Northwest tip of the island.

Kaena Point State Wayside can be found at the end of farrington highway in both Waianae and Wailua. We started in Waialua. This rough and rugged coastline is home to Hawaiian Monk Seals, Albatross and many other species. It’s an important habitat for these endemic species so please be respectful if you chose to swim and do not approach the seals and do not touch and turtles you may see. Despite the fact that these seals appear cute and cuddly they can be quite defensive and could really hurt someone. It’s estimated currently that there are only about 1100 Hawaiian Monk Seals left in the wild with the numbers declining each year. Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles are also considered a threatened species and are also protected. Though the number of Sea Turtles has increased in recent years the species has a long way to go to get back to a healthy population.

We arrived at the “end of the road” where the pavement turns to a jeep trail and a weekend playground for island off road enthusiasts. We’ve done this in John’s Jeep but never on foot.  The first 2.5 miles of coastline has many tide pools, hidden beaches and snorkeling spots. Some of these tide pools are quite deep. We, however, were not dressed for swimming and the surf was too big. The waves were great to watch, though, even if we couldn’t swim. Beyond the gate is the bird sanctuary and the northwest tip of the island. Entry into the sanctuary is limited to hikers and bikers and they ask that you stay on the marked path so as not to disturb any nests for the Albatross or other birds. This hike is completely exposed and there is no shade. Bring plenty of water and comfortable walking shoes.

Hidden Beach

The benefits to doing it on foot are, being able to stay closer to the coast, swim in the tide pools and hike into the bird sanctuary. The trek is a long one, about 6 miles but totally worth it. I have to give my kids major props for being a couple little troupers. I thought it was about 5 miles but I didn’t really plan very well. I planned for a half day trek not the entire day it turned out to be. We had plenty of water but could definitely have used some more food.

We enjoyed ourselves, splashing in puddles, being silly and expending massive amounts of child energy.  Mission Accomplished!  I hope you enjoy the pictures

North side Waianae Mountains

Big surf

The gate entering the sanctuary

Similar to an Air Lock, you are asked to close one side before opening the other in order to avoid bringing any invasive species in with you

approaching the point

Some cool art work at the point

Hawaiian Monk Seal

The West side of the Waianae Mountains

Getting a Piggy back to help him on his way.

Skating my way to a better me

I went out Saturday and purchased a pair of roller skates.  I never got the hand of roller blades so I decided go to get a pair of quad skates.  I was able to try them out on Sunday evening.  I thought that I would just get back on skates and I would immediately start skating like I did 20 years ago.  It’s just like riding a bike right?  Wrong!

The first thing I did was wipe out.  The neigbor’s son came down as I was putting on my skates and was saying in cute toddler talk “chelle got skates”.  I stood up and took about 3 steps and hit the pavement.  I thought “ok so this won’t be as easy as I thought it would be”.  But I saw no reason to give up.

From the time I was 5 or 6 years old I loved to skate.  My friend Anne, who visited me with her sisters this weekend, and I used to spend hours skating around my basement or out on the street near her house.  I had birthday parties at the roller rink and I was always bothering my mother to take me.  All my memories surrounding skating are good ones.

I’m trying to rekindle my romance with physical activity.  I’m not sure when I became so inactive but I’m working on changing that.  I’ve always been more active than some with my scuba diving, hiking and etc.   But I am working on finding more activities that I enjoy because I know that I won’t stay active unless I find things that make me want to be active.  Along with that I need to find people who like being active with me.  My 7 year old is showing an interest in skating so it might be a fun activity for us to do together.

I’ve been practicing and I’m glad to say that I am starting to get the hang of it again.  My biggest obstacles now is those little rocks that make me stumble, the cracks in the concrete sidewalk, and my own hesitancy to go fast.  If I remember correctly the first two will be overcome once I get to the third.  I should have bought a set of pads in the beginning but didn’t so I think that will be my next investment.

Other activities I am enjoying these days include, body boarding, yoga, and taking the dog for brisk walks.  I am looking forward to getting back to diving in a couple weeks after the kids go back to school.  I have been carving out my work out time in the evening either when the kids are at taekwondo, or more often after dinner time.

I’m also enjoying trying out new recipes from all sorts of sources.  Eating healthy and being active both feel good and I hope that over time I will break old habits and establish new healthier ones.  An unexpected bonus is that because I am spending more time being active I feel better about myself even if my body hasn’t changed too much yet.  It feels good to know that you have exercised your body and given it good fuel to burn.  And of course to know that I am setting the example for my kids that I want to set.

OWSI…the journey continues

If you had asked me a year ago what I thought I would be doing for work here in Hawaii I would have said working in a hospital as a nurse.  But, someone had other plans for me.  Instead I caught the diving bug and I have been diving as often as I can ever since.

I’ve debated for a few months now on doing the instructor course.  I finally decided that I want to move forward with it.  So, beginning in January I will be entering the IDC (instructor developement course).  I’ve been spending a few hours each day studying my materials and preparing for a pre-exam of sorts.  It’s pretty surreal to think that at the end of the IDC I will be expected to teach this stuff to other people.  There is some work to do but I know I will be able to overcome the obstacles.

The last week has really put things into perspective for me even more than ever before.  After the tragedy at Sandy Hook School (my alma mater) I am assured that I have made the right choice.  I have to live in the moment, here and now.  I have been given a gift in diving.  I have been given an outlet, a happy place and a passion.  As an instructor I will have to opportunity to share that passion with others.  I’m excited to get started and I’ll do my best to chronicle my experiences here when I can find the time.

Let the fun begin!

As of Friday I will official be a Dive Master Candidate!  I just finished dives 40 and 41 yesterday and will be doing my orientation friday morning.  I am looking forward to the challenge and expanding my knowledge. 

I also found out yesterday that a friend of mine will be my instructor.  On one hand I am glad that it will be someone I know and am comfortable with.  I look forward to picking his brain about everything dive related.  He’s a PADI course director and has been doing this for many years.  So that will benefit me greatly.  On the other I’m a little afraid.  I know other people that have done DM with him and they said he was hard on them.  So I know he’s not going to make this easy.  I’m not looking to get off easy so I’m focusing on the positives. 

As a DMC I will be in the water a lot, to say the least.  I will chronical my training on this blog.  But, I won’t be taking pictures while I’m acting as a DMC because it’s not appropriate for me to be taking pictures in that role. 

I will learn more on Friday about what exactly will be expected of me and the timeline for completing it.  I have a good idea of what I need to do but I don’t know how long it will take or what the course structure is.  I am planning to work diligently in the next 2-3 weeks since my kids are out of school at the end of the month.  Mason’s last day is May 18th and Aidan’s last day is May 25th.  I know it’s not realistic to have it completely finished but I’m trying to minimize daycare cost. 

After the course is finished, I am hoping that I will be able to work at the dive shop.  I’m hoping that my existing connection with the shop owner and the staff will be enough to land me some work.  I haven’t recieved any promised though and my guess is that I’ll only be making around $10 an hour.  So I’m on the hunt for a sitter that will work for less than that, and that won’t be easy to find.  The big thing I plan to use as leverage is that there are no diapers to change since my kids are a bit older. 

My decision to take the DM course was not easily made but it’s looking better and better.  I have yet to recieve any offers to work in the nursing field and the long it is before I get a CNA job the less likely it will be that I will get an RN position before we leave the island.  We have been here about 16 months which means we will only really be here about another 18 months or so.  So, if it takes me a year to get into a nursing job, after the 12 week training, I would only hold the job 6 months.  The employers are not blind to this.  In fact, I’m starting to suspect that it’s already in the front of their minds.

A little pat on the back

Yesterday I noticed something.  I’m actually in really great shape.  I found that I was rarely winded and that I felt strong.  Yeah the kids were with us and they move slow but I felt like I had really good stamina.  Six months ago 5 miles would have totally kicked my ass.  There was no doubt that yesterday’s trail was a good workout but I didn’t feel like I was going to die.  I even found myself running a little along the trail without a problem. 

So I guess all that diving and hiking is paying off after all.  The great part is that I am enjoying all of it.  Another great perk is that the more I do the more I am up for.  I can do more miles in one day than I ever could before.  So maybe some of those 6-10 milers are not out of reach now. 

I think the best perk is the opportunity to bond with my kids.  It gets us out there and doing something together.  At first there was a lot of belly aching and now not so much.  The geocaching helps a lot. 

By doing outdoor activities I am teaching them a lot too.  I am leading by example as they say and it’s great.  I hope that they are learning to be responsible citizens also.  They need to know how to take care of the earth that sustains us.  We can’t continue to exploit our resources and think there won’t be consequences.  Maybe we won’t see them but our children will.  When the water is too polluted to drink and the soil is too tainted with chemicals to plant then we’re all out of luck.  Too many people go to the store and buy food without thinking of the resources needed to sustain a supply of food.  When you really get down to basics and think about it we even take the air we breathe for granted.  If we cut down all the trees that help keep our air supply clean then what will we be breathing in 50 or 100 years.  These are all examples of things that my kids need to learn.  They are too young for a lot of the scientific stuff but teaching them the basics now will help them be more responsible later.  When they say things like “eww someone left their trash” its simple things like telling them “that’s not nice let’s pick it up” that can really help them. 

Ok I’ll step off my soapbox now.  I’m not hard-core activist but my parents taught me that I don’t have to be.  Little things that I can do every day can make a difference in my community.