Big Wave Day in La Jolla

Couple weeks ago SoCal had all these big storms. Big storms resulted in big waves, so I tagged along on a trip out to the beach to look at the big waves. Unfortunately didn’t bring my real camera, so all I had was the cell phone, but it was kind of cool out there, especially with the big waves, birds, and out-hanging seals. Not navy seals, just regular ones.

La Jolla Cove with waves and palm tree shadow.

My brother chooses not to look while his wife and kids decide whether or not they want to jump off the cliff.

It's your legal right to use this beach regardless of the presence of seals, no matter what the seal rights people's signs tell you..

There were also birds like this there.

And when they fly, they look like this.

Would’ve been better with my real camera. I was sort of just getting sick that day also, which — well, it’s a nice, all-encompassing fall-back excuse.

bkd

Maui: Welcome to Compromise Island

I suppose the headline is unfair-ish. Just that:

• If you want adventure, Kauai is way better.
• If you want shopping and restaurants in a tropical setting, Waikiki/O’ahu is way better.
• If you want volcanoes, the Big Island is better (I’m assuming).

But if you want B-versions of the above all in one place, well, that’s Maui I think. IMHO of course. At which point I release a big photo dump and hope for the best.

The church in Kahakuloa.

This is the place where they tell you to respect the a'ina, although they don't really explain how you do that exactly.

Some sailboat as seen from the trail that takes you to the blowhole that does not blow (when I'm there).

Olivine Pools -- you swim in 'em!

Rental car's a-comin'!

This is what my parents look like.

Waymarker on a beach near the La Perouse light station.

End of Kings Highway

Waianapanapa Beach, which has black sand.

Venus Pool, which ended up being too shallow to reasonably access from the trail that day.

The beach at the bottom of the "Sacred Pools" (that didn't seem all that sacred without much water in them).

Just FYI, if there hasn't been much rain on Maui, most of the waterfalls kind of suck. This was as good as there was anywhere on the Hana side.

The Hana Highway if you take it past Hana (note: it's not a dirt road).

The dragon's teeth. Which dragon? Difficult to say.

The Lahaina Prison -- they named a road after it (in Lahaina; it's called "Prison Road").

Worthwhile photo captions seem so last-vacation.

Also went on the Pipiwai Trail up to the big ol’ waterfalls, which were barely trickling. I’m guessing that 90-percent of the time, this hike is by far the best one on Maui. It has variation in foliage (including a bamboo forest), is relatively short, has several highlights along the way (waterfalls and pools unless there’s no water) and has a massive waterfall at the end (unless there’s no water). Anyway.

I’m tired and don’t remember much from this vacation. A shame, yes.

bkd

Way Northern California Coast

It’s been a couple weeks, but I don’t know that the photo album idea is really going to take off and even if it did, it’s not really a great forum for expressing the deepest, inner-most feelings of my heart regarding, you know, topographical features, coast lines and tall trees and such.

Been a couple weeks.

Decided that when going up to see my parents for the holidays that I wanted to drive. I missed driving during the three weeks I was in SoCal after the trip officially ended. I miss driving now that I’ve been up in Seattle a couple weeks. Not sure how this driving-lust ends. Perhaps with a CDL. Mal sehen was wird. Wonder if I can work on my CDL the same time I do my PhD.

Headed up from SD, stopped in OC to pick some stuff up out of storage, went up to NB (CM?) for lunch with the DLF, then kept going. LA traffic sucked. Stayed the night in Stockton, then headed up the 5 through Sac-town, then turned left at Willits and headed west on Highway 20.

…Which cuts through the coastal hills down to the coast.

Camp 20, a CCC camp (I think).

The area is like a well-written eulogy: beautiful but somber.

Similes are cheap.

Here are some photos of the coast. (Which are also cheap.)

Russian Gulch State Park (between Fort Bragg and Mendocino).

On a nice day, there's probably a good photo in here.

Highway 1 (north of Fort Bragg somewhere).

Westport Union Landing State Beach: view from my campsite (looking south).

Morning has broken.

Trees in the mist -- where Highway 1 winds back up into the hills to re-join the 101.

Y’know, most places I’d resent the mist, but for this drive I think it adds to the experience. Or maybe I’m just trying to convince myself of that so I don’t have to go back there. Not that I wouldn’t want to. Although it’s a harder part of the country to get to than most.

I’ll do a separate post on the Redwoods, I guess.

Excelsior,

bkd

Day 1: Nu’alolo Trail, Nu‘alolo Cliffs, A-something Trail

I’m not really kidding anyone, myself included. Very good odds that Day 2 never gets posted, even better that Day 3 never does, and so forth. Regardless:

I’m starting with the payoff. Or one of the payoffs. Of the trail. That I went on. Where I nearly died of dehydration. Again. But, for you, payoff with no work. Inasmuch as this photo constitutes “payoff”. Now I wait with baited breath to find out whether DDF feels this is a photo that anyone could have taken. I can never tell myself. I think these are mostly Na Pali cliffs, though, fwiw. Taken from the trail heading out to the Nu’alolo Lookout. I like the colors. Think it sort of looks like something the happy trees guy would’ve painted. Wish he were still around. And that I remembered his name. Rather than just his hair.

 This photo looks better on my laptop screen at full-size. It’s the trail that goes out to the lookout. At this stage in the ordeal, I was not yet aware that it was to be an ordeal. That came later. I may or may not talk about it further down in the post. Mal sehen, nizh wahr?

 Sometimes I think I’m clever for taking “pattern” pictures. Anyone could’ve taken this photo. Looks way better at larger resolution. Sorry.

Signs at the trailhead and later on the trail indicate that the trail is watched out and potentially lethal. The washed-out lethal parts weren’t that washed out or lethal, although there were probably three steps that I took that seemed like they could’ve resulted in immediate and unrevocable death. But it hardly seemed dangerous. FWIW.

Seriously, the payoff here was fantastic. Unfortunately the lighting was way beyond anything I knew how to deal with. Plus all the shots I got look so darn pedestrian. And I’d never sweated so much in my life:

 Ah, sweet onset of dehydration!

On the plus side, once I got to the other trailhead (too lazy to go look at the name of the trail I took back to Koke’e Road — something with an A at the beginning), I figured I was good as dead if I didn’t get a ride for the 1.5 miles back to my car at the lodge. So: first time ever hitchhiked (in the United States). And successfully. Nice adverb.

When I’m on vacation, I’m constantly worried that I’m doing it wrong. And it doesn’t help when everyone assumes there are two in my party. Bah.

bkd