Short people got no reason to zip

Thursday, March 30 was going to be a morning for sleeping in.  That didn't work out as planned.  Kari and I were both up by 6 AM.  When I pulled the doors open this was/is the view from our room.

 

Now I know if my main man  SD had this view every morning he would be sleeping with his 7 iron and in  his golf shoes.  If I had his game I might feel the same but it inspired me to go for a run.

Kari and I hit the road for a quick run.  When I returned I stretched out near the beach.  It was a great run to the highway and back through the lava fields.  I almost felt like an Iron Man expect for the fact I didn't swim 2 miles and bike 140, I was only running 4 miles slowly.

 

The view from my back after the run.

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and walked the grounds of the resort.  Before I knew it, it was 11:30 and time for me to drive the crew an hour for our zip lining adventure.  Out and on the road heading north was definitely easier driving then heading south.  We arrived at Kohala zip line at 12:00 for our 12:30 PM zip.  Waivers were signed, reservations were confirmed it looked like we were good to go.  Then we had to weight in.  Yes. I was fine, well under the legal limit of 270.  I could go but my buddy CP, might have need a few jumping jacks in the parking lot.  Gracie however was not over the 70 lb minimum She's a lean 55#)and not even close enough for them to fudge a little so at the last second she was booted which meant Kari was booted as well.  You can't  leave a 9 year old running around the north shore of Hawaii unsupervised.

So the crew split up Ashley, Katie and I went zipping.  Kari and Gracie went walking about on the north shore of Hawaii.  You can judge who had the better time.

Zipping did not go off as planned.  Gracie doesn't make weight and the GoPro is dead.   Here are the highlights.

 

The ride up took 20 minutes in the people mover. The girls and I are up front by the driver.  A couple from CO are next to me.  Surprisingly the didn't smell like weed.  Next to the girls is a father and son from Portland. I don't know if you can tell or not but he is wearing skinny jeans.  Everybody was super nice and super fun on the zip.

The driver was full of info.  We drove through the edge of a Macadamia nut orchard.  Did you know it takes 300 psi to crack a Macadamia nut? Me neither but I do now.  

 

One last shot before we go.  Skinny jeans, I do not understand today's young people.

 

Katie getting ready to zip.

 

Ashly following the rules. 2 hands on the trolley!!!

 

Hey look at me my GoPro is dead.  I am a lame dad. 

 

On the suspension bridge.

 The suspension bridge of doom

View from one of the towers.

Tandem zip at the end you can still heat them arguing over who finished first if you listen to the trade wins. 

 

Katie getting ready to repel down

 

Ashley getting ready to repel down.

 

They say the camera adds 10 lbs. 😢

Overall, pretty good.  Views were nice. Zips were not particularly long or fast.  Set up was super professional and safe.  If you haven't ever zip lined, this would be a great place.  We all gave it a 7 out of 10.

Meanwhile on the north shore Kari and Grace wandered around.

 

Kari and Grace stopped to take some ukulele lessons and get a little high on some second hand smoke.  What happens on the north shore stays on the north shore.

 

After getting half baked they decided to get in touch with nature so they drove to the dead end of the highway and went for a hike.  Is Gracie happy, nervous or something else?

 

Down the trail she goes.

 

Gracie and Kari on the hike.

 

Grace near the end of the trail.

 

The beach, Kari and Grace never made it.  Someone who weighs less than 70 lbs didn't think it was safe to get any closer to the Pacific Ocean.

Once we met up we stopped for a photo with

 

The girls with King Kamehaneha I

 

King Kamehameha blesses this couple.  Wohoo!!!

Interesting facts.  The first statue of King Kamehameha was cased in France and was lost at sea near the Falkland Islands.  It was recovered and stands behind us.  The north shore of Hawaii, Kapa'au in Kohala the birthplace of King Kamehameha I.

 

Here is a colorful board with fun facts about Hawii an King Kamehameha I.  Enjoy.

After getting back to the resort we cleaned up and headed for dinner at a tropical destination know as Ruth Chris Steakhouse.  We stopped at the complex it was in so Katie and Grace could weave some coconut leaves.

 

Coconut weavers

We did get a family picture

This may be the best we do on this trip.

 

I knew we could do better 

While waiting for our table 2 things happened

 

 Native Hawaii dancing broke out.

 

The crew started running out of steam.  In this picture. Ashley and Kari are discussing the pros and cons of shopping.  Grace is running around professing the values of the squatting potty.  Katie is angry at me for the improper use of SnapChat.  At this point she informed me of this, " Dad if you don't stop what you are doing, I am gonna punch you in the Achilles."

This appears to be a sign that I complain too much about my Achilles.  It may also be a sign not to mess with Katie.

Dinner was great.  We laughed and enjoyed a good steak then it was off to bed.  Tomorrow is to be a day of leisure at the beach.

Aloha🌴🍺🌴🍺🌴🍺🌴🍺🌴🍺🌴🍺🍺

Scottie would go.

Wednesday, March 29th started early again.  We all ate a quick breakfast in the room courtesy of the local market.  Protein bars and little bowls of Captain Crunch got the crew moving.  

On the road again by 7:30 AM, we headed to Kahalu'u bay for some surf lessons.  The surf shop we used was Kahalu'u Bay Surf and Sea.  Once we found a place to park we wandered into a classic surf shop.  The long hair dude wearing a trucker cap that was too pointy asked us to fill out some waivers dudes.  After that it was a little dry land training with Ben, Bala and Matt.  We worked on the slide up style and a pop up style.  Everybody did fine and we moved to the water.  Katie was struggling with her cold.  Her ears hurt and she was tired but she was going to battle it out.  

Kahalu'u bay is on the reef and lava so no sand if you bite it the set up is smaller waves on the inside, bigger waves on the outside and then true blue surfing wave past the outer break.  Kari, Ashley, Katie and Grace stayed on the inside.  I went outside with Bala.  

Like every other day in the Pacific some of us laughed, some of us cried and some of us yelled at our mom or dad.  

I laughed.  This was the most fun, I have had surfing. The little bit bigger wave added extra power and speed which helped this old man gain some stability.  Ben and Bala gave me a couple of little tips which helped me actually navigate the board through the bay full of surfers.  The best moment was when I actually paddled into and caught my own wave.  It wasn't the Banzai pipeline but it was very cool.  There is something incredibly addictive about surfing and riding on the power of the ocean.

Kari, surfed on the inside with Gracie and Ben.  She is mostly there becasuse she is a good sport.  After getting up a few times and with her daughters permission she eventually bailed out and went to the beach to monitor our children.  I should have had her get out the camera and try to snap some photos.  

Ashley, paddles out and popped right up.  She appeared uncomfrotable with the power of the Pacific and after one wave was hanging on to the buoy.  I asked her if she wanted to come out with me and Bala and she said "No, dad stop trying to bully me.  I am surfing leave me alone.  I don't want to go out there."  My reply was "Fine, but don't you want to challenge yourself a little."   Ashley proceeded to roll her eyes so hard that she almost fell off her board.  I tried again after another wave and Ashley still was very content to hang out and look cool on her board.  Then Matt paddles up and was like "Ash, wanna go surf?  To which Ashley replies " Sure" and paddles of leaving me confused by the buoy.

Katie battled all morning she caught a few waves but by 9:30 she was lying facedown on her board.  I paddled up and asked her how she was.  She looked up said her head hurt, her ears hurt and it was worse when she wiped out.  She asked if she could be done.  She turned and paddled in.  Her suffering was at an end for now.

Gracie cried.  If ocean levels around the world are up, I don't think it is due to global warming. I am 99% sure it is due to Gracie's tears.  She paddled out and cried at the buoy.  Ben eventually talked her off the ledge and took her and Kari for a few waves.  When I checked back in she was hanging out by the buoy smiling.  A couple more waves later we met back at the buoy.  This time she is crying so hard she can hardly talk.  Like any good parent I left her there caught one final wave and the we all headed in as our  lesson was complete.

Photos were taken by some dude on the shore at www.konasurfphotos.com, however his asking price for a download is $36 dollars.  So you will get the bookleg screenshots here.  

 

Ashley hanging ten.

 

Mag this up and you may even see a smile.

 

 She might  felt terrible,but she looks like a natural.

 

I wished l looked a little more like Kelly Slater in this photo.

This might be the last family 5 pack of surfing we do.  Next time we go, I will be looking for the ripcurl.

The title of the blog is in reference to famous Hawaiian surfer, Eddie Aikau.  If you get bored, check out the 30 for 30 about him.  It is great, might even be on Netflix.  Text Ashley, she knows what is on Netflix.

After surfing we stopped at Waikoloa.  The girls had ice cream and Kari had a Starbucks.  So the mood was much better.   The girls got some gear at Quiksilver and we headed back to the resort.  

Ashley took a nap.  Kari took a nap by the pool.  Grace and Katie took ukulele lessons.

 

"Tiny bubbles" 

After that Katie, Grace and I hit the beach lagoon for a little paddle board time.

Grace is technically in the Pacific Oceon right now and not crying.  She is randomally yelling "Squatty Potty" and laughing uncontrollably. 

Lot of instruction here, but not much education.

After the beach, Grace and I played catch in the pool.  Kari and Ashley woke from their naps.  Katie, being Katie, met some famous blogger named, Alisha Marie.

Not sure what or how she is famous.  This is one thing I am too old for.

 

Katie and Alisha Marie

We had dinner by the beach and the sunset was beautiful!

Anseth girls at sunset. Beaten and battered but still smiling.

 

 Sunset in paradise.

As we laid our heads down to sleep I heard Gracie  mumble "Squatty Potty".

Aloha ahiahi🌴🌴

Everybody poops

Tuesday, March 28th was another early morning for the Anseth crew.  Up by 6:30, breakfast by 7 and out of the resorts by 7:20.  I have had more then my fair share of window time this vacation transporting the crew 40-49 miles to and from activities.  This wouldn't be bad, but everybody in Hawaii drives 35 to 40 mph.  This is not really compatable with my usual commuting style.  A few deep meditative breaths and I was back in the flow.  

We arrived at Iruka tours for our dolphin snorkel.  The idea is the boat takes you out and you snorkel with the Spinner dolphins in the Pacific.  The dolphins may hang out or you may have to chase them and jump in as they come past.  There are 2-4 other companies doing the same thing.

Kari and I were unsure how this would go.  Who was gonna cry, who was gonna complain or who was gonna get bit by a rapid dolphin.

The crew was cool and our guy Trevor was incredibly nice to the girls especially Gracie, who was wound tighter then a Timex.

 There is a smile under there, I know it

 

Cruising for the dolphins

 

Proof that I am on this vacation.  I use to look so much cooler with my hat on backwards.  Once you cross 40 a lot of things change

We gear up to chase the dolphins.  Katie was good to go.  Ashley appeared to be engaged and enthused.  Kari was  ready to go. I had the GoPro and a head full of dreams.  Grace started crying and sat in the boat.  She was worried about the carnivorus habits of the happy sea mammals.

Here are some photos from our dive.  I wish I could share the video.  Blogger won't let me do it yet.  Please email them your protest.

The waves had calmed from the night before.  The sun was blazing like a giant yellow fireball in the sky.  The water of the Pacific was a deep blue.  To call it sapphire blue is a disservice.  It is the type of dark blue that you can get lost in and never want to come back.

 

The water is roughly 40 ft deep and this dolphin is 15 ft below me.

 

A pod of dolphins swimming away from me fast.

 

These are 5 dolphins swimming in front of me fast.  I am kicking hard with my snorkel on trying to keep up. Notice the haze on the left.  

 

Now notice the haze has spread out and the dolphins are father away.  Dolphin attack come in Many shapes and sizes .  In this case the dolphin on the left pooped and left me to swim through the spreading mass.  There was no escaping it I was trapped.  Thank god the solution to pollution is dilution and I am in the Pacific.

 

 

I adapted and overcame and was able to get these pictures of the dolphins playing.

 

This spinner was curious as to why a large orange blob had been following him for the better part of the morning.

 

Theses sea creatures are far more dangerous than dolphins.  Apparently sisterly love kicks in when you are 600 meters off shore and in 40 ft of salt water.

 

Gracie bobbing at the surface.  If you cry in the Pacific will anyone hear you?  Yes, his name is Trevor and he will help.

 

A little shot from are snorkeling spot.  Reef was beautiful so where these fish.

 

The ride home.  These 2 appear to be happy.

 

The crew back in port.  Lookout Kona here we come.

After that we grabbed lunch at a little place I wanted to see.

 

A little liquid aloha seemed to be in order.

 

Kari in front of Kona.  "Am I going to have to drive us back to the resort, Scott?" 🤔

 

Lemongrass Luau

IBU 15 ABV 5%

Purple Grain

IBU 15 ABV 5.2%

Vanilla Thrilla stout

IBU 36  ABV 8.5%

Pineapple IPA 

IBU 37 ABV 7.2%

The Pineapple IPA is incredibly crushable.

Sample but not picture

Hula Hefe

Makani wheat ale

Pineapple IPA

Sail away Red 

To the best of my knowledge you can only get the Lemongrass in MSP from the ones I sampled.

We did make it back to the resort everybody but Gracie and I went down for a nap.  Grace and I were watching Shark Tank when this ad came on.  I have never heard her laugh so hard.

 

Please watch this video now or at the end.  It is worth the time.

After that Grace and I went exploring.

 

First we found green sea turtles sunning on the beach

 

That is a lot of turtle pictures

 

We shot some hoops.  The ball dont lie.

 

Things got a little weird by the waterfall.

When we returned, we discovered Katie was down and having trouble getting off the mat.

 

The girls went up to change I stayed and took a few arthouse sunset photos for my girls, EB, SB and AB

 

  

I may retire from medicine and just take pictures.

Dinner was uneventful and everyone was in bed because tomorrow was going to be another early day.

Aloha🌴