Trick or Treat 2016

Lilian and Brandon went old school with their pumpkin carving. I guess you can't even call what I did carving a pumpkin at all. I was missing my older girls and painted, rather than carved, some pumpkins in their honor: a British Union Jack for Rebekah on her mission, and the UVU symbol for Julianne at college. I quite enjoyed the painting...enough that I think I may try it again next year!

Lilian chose to be a vampire (vampiress? vampress? hmm). Drama queen that she is, I got some shots of her in full character as well as costume.

And then after a quick pizza dinner with the neighbors, Lilian, Noah and Garrett took off with a big group of friends for some serious trick-or-treating.

Heather came over un-costumed. Well, we couldn't have that now could we? How were we supposed to take our traditional Halloween BFF photo? We quickly decided that she could wear my Doctor Who attire...seemed especially appropriate as her boyfriend is a big Doctor Who fan.

Brandon took over candy duties since Bryan was out of town. But rather than jump up to answer the door every few seconds, he got all comfortable on the front porch with a love sac, blanket, headphones and an iPad...and that big bucket of candy. Perfect.

Spiral Jetty

I don't remember when it was that I first heard about the Spiral Jetty. But since that time, it's been on my bucket list. It's a bit of a drive to get there...in terms of time spent and rocky back roads. And it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Tips for visiting include making sure you have plenty of gas and water and whatever snacks you might want or need, because there are no facilities anywhere around.

This piece of land art is located on the northeast shore of the Great Salt Lake. Straight shot up the freeway just past Brigham City, then west to the Promontory Point (Golden Spike National site). This is where the pavement ends. Then you are off roading it, winding around admittedly very pretty scenery, on gravel trails continuing west until you finally (FINALLY) make it to the lake.

A little history: the Spiral Jetty was created in 1970 by Robert Smithson with 6,000 tons of black basalt rock. in 1972, only two years later, the Great Salt Lake rose and the whole was submerged by water for the next 30 years. In 2002 after a few years of drought, the lake receded and the Spiral Jetty has been visible ever since. Depending on the year or season, sometimes the Jetty is covered thinly with water, other times the Jetty is dry as can be and the shore of the lake is quite a ways out.

This last scenario is what we found when we decided to make the drive out over fall break. It was amazing to be able to walk out on the Jetty and around it. It was almost otherworldly. And yet, I'd love to go out again some day when the water line is closer, or actually covering slightly. The salt in the water colors the rocks and the earth interestingly, from what I've seen in pictures. Maybe some day I'll head out in spring after a wet winter and see how the two experiences differ.

We found an abandoned chair out in the lake bed, to the side of the Jetty. Seemed like as good of time as any for a photo op?

Koko Head...Stairs of Doom

It is not uncommon on business trips for Bryan to ask his students about local interests and restaurants that he should check out during the week in a new city. So it was after his first day of class that Bryan came back to the hotel and informed me we needed to hike Koko Head....aka the Stairs of Doom. Another volcano hike, rather than a trail it's 1,050 stairs up. But the stairs are made from railroad ties and they aren't shaped evenly which make these steps almost double the width of a normal stair. (During WWII the military built some bunkers at the top of the volcano and and railway to get supplies up, hence the railroad tie steps.)

All week long Bryan tried to figure which day would be best to take this hike. He'd been told it was best to go around 5:00am so as to be on top of the volcano when the sun rose. Going that early meant we could potentially hike up and back before he needed to be at work. I convinced him that we should wait till Saturday morning so as to not feel rushed, and despite his concerns that waiting till our last day might mean it wouldn't actually happen (especially as he could see that he was more enthused about the hike than I was), he agreed.

And it's true, I had looked it up and had plenty of reservations as I read how difficult it was. The views were to die for (I was worried the dying part might be literal) and the bragging rights would be pretty awesome. I even found pictures of President Obama hiking Koko Head on one of his many trips to the islands. However, warnings abounded about being prepared for what you were getting yourself into...it wasn't for the faint of heart. But it was the one activity Bryan was most excited about. And seeing that I got to spend the week vacationing it up aloha style while he was working, I figured I needed to give him this. It was stairs. A lot of them, yes. But I could take them slow and rest along the way, right?

We did not get up at 5:00am. We got up early, but the sun was good and risen by the time we got to the trail head. The first couple hundred steps didn't seem so bad. The incline was more gentle at that point. It was about 1/3 of the way up that things went from gentle to steep. And at halfway they went from steep to straight up. It was indeed hard! The stairs were so wide I felt like I was doing lunges with each step and had to stop and stand to the side to catch my breath regularly.  But by that point I was darn determined to make it to the top.

 That's me in the pink trying not to die....

Halfway! Notice my cherry red face? It was super hot and humid.


We made it to the top breathing heavily. We (maybe just I) had to sit for a bit before really being able to take in the truly magnificent views.

And holy wow, magnificent they were indeed! Completely worth the major climb. After spending some leisure time up there taking in the views and patting ourselves on the back for achieving such a feat, we decided it was time to tackle the hike back down. In some ways going down was even worse. Easier on your heart rate, but much more difficult on your legs and knees. In some ways also much more dangerous as it's easier to slip or trip on the way down. At one point I did stumble and Bryan and a few others nearby grabbed me as I went down to my knees, certain I was going head over heels the rest of the way down. It would've made the descent much faster certainly, but also more deadly so not something I really wanted to do.

We joked later that on the climb up I felt like I was going to die, on the way down I tripped and thought I was about to, and when the sore muscles set in it felt like I had. But seriously, it was one of the coolest things (and hardest, probably) that I have ever done. I'm so glad Bryan insisted we do it. And believe it or not, I would do it again.

Then, because apparently we were still high on adrenaline and endorphins we decided to hike the trail to the Makapuu Lighthouse. It was nearby, so why not? It was a paved trail and nowhere near as hard. In fact, on the way down it felt almost easier to just run in spots, so we did. Who even are we...this fit and active couple? I'm not sure I even recognize us!

We went back to our hotel to shower and pack. It was still rather early in the day and our flight was a red-eye that night. What to do with ourselves? Any sane person probably would've headed to the beach after all that hiking. In looking back I'm not sure why we didn't go with that option. Maybe because we had to check out of our hotel and wouldn't have had a place to shower off before the long flight home? We decided to drive up to the north shore one last time and end explore Waimea Valley instead. And it was a perfect way to end our Oahu trip.

We weren't wearing our swimsuits so we didn't get into the water to swim to the waterfall. Next time, I suppose. Because there will be a next time. I need to come back to this island again someday. So different from Kauai where we took the kids in 2014. Kauai was more rugged and less touristy and commercial, and I absolutely loved it. One of our very best vacations. But Oahu was every bit as beautiful in its own way and had so much fascinating history and culture. I'm so glad I was able to tag along on Bryan's business trip.

Hawaiian history and culture...and lots of beach time

Visiting Pearl Harbor has been on my bucket list for a long time. Despite being something most people do when on Oahu, my interest went beyond for a few different reasons. I have been a massive history buff since high school. Earlier, if I really think about it...if memory serves, I was rather obsessed with reading a series of biographies at the elementary school library when I was a youngster. But it was when I found myself reading countless books about the Titanic (continually assuring my mother that no, I wasn't reading these books because I had a paper to write upon the topic...she was so baffled) that I started realizing how much I enjoyed history. I went on to major in and then earn a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Utah. So yes, Pearl Harbor is going to appeal to me just from a historical standpoint. But if I delve a little further...I also tend to be most interested in World Wars and shipwrecks. (Bryan claims I am a little morbid.) And then lastly, my grandfather James Dalton, served in the navy during WWII aboard the USS Savo Island, an aircraft carrier fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. Can you understand why visiting Pearl Harbor would hold such an appeal for me?

I dropped Bryan off at work Wednesday morning and made my way to Pearl Harbor. I parked the car,  walked inside and immediately got the chills. I cannot count how many times this happened throughout the day...realizing I was covered in chills. I was downright giddy. I spent the entire day there and visited everything I could to really savor the whole experience. It was so fascinating and I couldn't stop smiling. And yet, the experience was also incredibly sobering to the point that many times I found myself wiping away tears. 

I toured the USS Bowfin, a submarine fighting in the Pacific from 1943-1945. I've read a lot of books about submarines and have decided that while fascinating, I'm not sure my claustrophobia would allow me to travel aboard one for very long. Even taking the tour made me shudder a bit thinking about what it would be like to live in such close quarters under the sea for long stretches at a time. 

At the appointed time on my ticket, I boarded the ferry that would take me out to the USS Arizona, the sunken battleship which is the most visited of all the sites at Pearl Harbor. Once there they asked us to be respectful seeing as this is obviously the final resting place of over 1000 sailors. We were asked to silence our phones and not text...pictures were fine but to remember why we were there. And people were doing exactly that. Talking quietly, taking loads of pictures, but generally doing so with reverence. And then I saw two guys with their hats off and in their hands, holding them in such a way that it was clear they had done so because of where we were. We had not been asked to remove our hats, and there were certainly a lot of them seeing as it was a very hot and sunny day. But these two guys had decided on their own to go one step beyond what was asked. For some reason it made me quite emotional. I was just so touched at their level of respect. This small moment was a highlight of the day for me.

After a quick lunch from one of the little deli shops, I took a bus over to Ford Island to tour the USS Missouri. Exploring that enormous ship was night and day different from climbing around in the USS Bowfin submarine that morning. The USS Missouri is probably most famous for being the site where the Japanese surrender was signed effectively ending the war.

After spending as much time as I could there, even meandering through the gift shops and picking up a WWII version of Monopoly (I'm such a geek), it was time to pick up Bryan from work. I felt a little bad that while he was spending his days in a stuffy classroom, I was adventuring all over the island. But it was certainly nice that each evening we were able to have dinner together and often we would then walk over to Waikiki beach outside our hotel. Swimming in the ocean while the sun sets is a whole other level of awesome.

On Thursday I debated checking out the Polynesian Cultural Center. I knew there was no way I'd be able to see it all as I'd have to leave to pick up Bryan from work and would therefore miss all the evening shows and luaus. I had scored a free ticket to get in, however, so I decided maybe it was worth it even if I could only stay for a few hours seeing as I wasn't paying the full (expensive) price of admission. And I'm so glad I did! What I did see and experience was nothing short of amazing. Someday I'll have to go back and spend the whole day.

Bryan finished teaching his class Friday afternoon and expressed interest in a beach that had some stronger waves than the gentle ones we were getting at Waikiki. I suggested Pounders Beach up near the temple in La'ie. Although I'd driven up that way multiple times, it would be his first time seeing the more relaxed north shore. We had dinner at a hamburger joint that had been recommended and was frequented by BYU-Hawaii students and then had a great time chasing the waves.

Up next: our last day...boy was it one to remember! Teaser: Stairs of Doom