A Typical Weekend

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- Robert Frost-

Wa'ahila Trail

It's the weekends that I have really grown to enjoy here in Hawaii. Actually, that can be said for everybody in my house. It usually starts with some sort of festivities at someones house on Friday night. Most go to town (Honolulu), yet we chose to stay at home. We invited our newly married couple Nicole and Doug Dye, friends of ours who did a fantastic job of introducing us to the island, over last night and we all enjoyed some "talk-story" (conversation in pigin), a few drinks, and Guitar Hero. Our friend Nicole was in a trance as she rocked out Go-Go's "We Got the Beat" about twelve times. After they left Baum, Kristine and myself duked it out in Rummy 500 till 3am (Congrats Baum!). The weekend had unofficially begun.

Our Favorite Farmer's Market

The weekend doesn't officially start until we go to the Farmer's Market near Diamond Head. Truthfully, the weekend does not feel the same if we don't make it to the market. With $20 bucks in hand and 30 minutes to go (The market goes from 8am-11am and I never get there early enough) I'm in my element! I run around trying to get enough food for the week and snag the best deals. With fresh mangoes, pineapples, hibiscus ginger juice, tropical flowers, deep fried green tomatoes, oh how the list goes on. I think you get the point. Anyways, the market is just the start. After working all week we need to go release the stored up tension and there is no other better way than to go hiking.

Kristine enjoying the wind and view up at St. Louis Heights

Not far from the market you can find one of the best hikes on the island. I have only been on a few but it's hard to imagine many are better than the Wa'ahila Ridge Trail in St. Louis Heights. Bernice, Kristine and I ventured two hours up and one hour down this amazing trail. I had done it once with the previously mentioned Dye's, but it still takes my breath away as I am sure it did Bernice's and Kristine's.

The trail starts off dry then turns to muddy brush the rest of the way up. The two girls marched right up the mountain leaving me in the dust to take pictures behind them. The vegetation, a mix between indigenous and invasive species, keeps you on you toes blocking the view until the most beautiful vistas.


A lone, native flower. It makes you think, "Can I stand out, be different, and survive when everyone around me are fighting for the same thing as me?"

The first time I did this hike with the Dye's we came across the lone hiker that we saw on our way up. At one of the look-outs we chatted with him, a local, about some of the vegetation along the trail on our way up. "Most of the plants are invasive species along the edge of the trail." he began with a sly grin on his face. "They kind of take over and squeeze out the other plants. No Respect." he said as he pointed with a limp wrist at the plants at our knees. He continued, "You can tell which plants are natives. They are kind of on their own. They only take the space needed for them to grow and they respect all the other plants around them unlike the invasive species." To some his description of the plants may seem straight forward, but to those who live here it's the ever present issue of the U.S. occupation in this remote area. It's always present, even on a hike, that you are an outsider.


Let's play: Where's Justin!? Answer: Far from Home

The hike pushed my limits slightly today. The girls kept the pace up as we ran down the mountain. It makes me think, "When am I going to start training again?" Only time will tell.