Ryan's Journal

After a breakfast with swans, delicious coffee, and $17 pancakes at the Hyatt we finally found the dope spot for snorkeling later in the morning. Amidst myriad fish we hit the jackpot while watching an eel when Aaron pointed and exclaimed “dude, turtle”. We then spent fifteen minutes swimming next to a four foot long sea turtle who didn’t seem to care at all that two pinkish-red humans were floating along with him. The Skipper had disappeared during this episode (something about a grouper) while Sally didn’t join us for the snorkel, so the Holliday brothers were the only two who got to spend quality time with a marine reptile this morning.

The snorkel was followed by the world’s best fish tacos, some napping, and a second snorkel during which Aaron and I worked on our sunburns and Skip finally found some turtles and spent some quality alone time with them. Aaron is returning to the mainland tomorrow, so it’s the final day for any Holliday family adventures.

We somehow slept until 6:45 this morning – investigative panels will be launched – and got a late start to the day. Ma & Pa made their arrival yesterday, so our first order of business was to drop in on them unannounced at 8AM, find out their plans, leave some luggage, and then retreat hastily. They stood up well to this onslaught, and we headed off to Waimea Canyon leaving two confused & bemused parents in our wake. Waimea Canyon is an impressive site – they call it the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and with its vertical drops and deep colors it lives up to the billing. Our main focus, however, was the Awa’awapuhi trail, a trail that had been recommended by our large-eyed hotel guide Pearl. This trail led us through three miles of jungle to an impressive overlook of the Na Pali coast from 2000 feet above the waterline. The return trip involved 1500 feet of elevation gain and an unsuccessful search for mouse-rabbits that Aaron claimed to have seen, making for a good little adventure. Some snorkeling, ahi tuna, and drinks on the beach with Ma & Pa completed the day.

I’ve escaped from work to Kauai for our first family vacation since the days when Clinton was in office, “the Google” was still just “the Yahoo”, and Michael Jordan was finishing his second run with the Bulls. Aaron and I arrived yesterday, and we’ll be joining Ma & Pa tomorrow for a couple of days. I should then have two days on my own at the end of the trip, during which time I suspect the camera may see some usage.

To start the trip Aaron and I continued our long-running series of romantic getaways by booking two nights in a nice resort on Poipu Beach on the south side of Kauai. Upon arrival we found a lovely card addressed to “Mr. & Mrs. William Holliday”; Aaron was none too happy about having to be “Mrs.”, but he’ll survive. Still running on mainland time (three hours ahead) we went to bed at 8:30 last night and awoke at 5:30 this morning. A walk on the beach turned up a playful Hawaiian monk seal, one of only 1500 left in the world. He’s apparently a regular in these parts and there were “marine mammal protection” warnings lying further up the beach and waiting to be deployed, but I managed to keep Aaron off of seal-roping duty and he settled for just making boisterous announcements to the non-existent crowds to “step away from the seal”.

The chicken chasing started slightly after our seal visit. An anomaly of this island is that there are chickens everywhere – by the road, on the golf course, on the beach, and even in line at the car rental place. Following the morning’s seal encounter, and inspired by Rocky 2, I set off to chase one down; they are elusive, and a partial video of the debacle will probably be posted soon. Following that we hopped in the car, took a tour around the island, saw some impressive bird colonies, hiked along some impressive cliffs, and are now hopefully heading off to an impressive dinner. Vacation is a good thing, and I’m very glad to once again be on one.

For those not familiar with the great moment in cinematic history referenced above:

Mickey: Now here’s what I want you to do… I want you to chase this little chicken.
Rocky Balboa: Hey yo, Mick, what do I got to chase a chicken for?
Mickey: First, because I said so. And second, is because chicken-chasing is how we used to train back in the old days. If you can catch this thing, you can catch greased lighting.
Rocky Balboa: Well, I’ll do it if you say so, but it ain’t very mature.
Mickey: Yeah, well neither are you very mature!

Ma & Pa Holliday were in town for a few days, so Audrey and I met them for lunch and an evening out. My lack of enthusiasm for many things LA is well-documented, but this city has more than its share of memorable activities, and a visit from Ma & Pa was a good excuse to indulge in a couple of them. Lunch was at the bizarre and unique Encounter Restaurant located in the quadripod in the middle of LAX. Being in a science-fiction themed quadripod with airplanes all around is totally OK by me.

Following lunch, and after a long and losing battle with LA rush-hour traffic, we limped into Laguna Beach for the evening’s entertainment. Every summer Laguna Beach holds the Pageant of the Masters Festival, which is one of those you-really-need-to-see-it-to-understand type of events. The high-level description is that it’s a presentation of several dozen famous works of art, reproduced on stage with live actors as models, which sounds like complete yawnsville. However, being there in person with 2700 spectators while an orchestra plays, a narrator explains the artwork, and the curtain goes up on what appear to be huge, 2-D reproductions of famous works of art, all the while knowing that through some magic of lighting, make-up, and perspective it’s actually 3-D canvases with real people on them, is a pretty surreal experience. Even Pa, who can be notoriously stingy with his praise, admitted that it was “pretty cool”. Ma was more effusive, stating “I love it I love it I love it” on more than one occasion. From a slightly different perspective, the two old ladies in heavy costume jewelry that were sitting behind us frequently chimed in to let their neighbors know “that’s not people, it’s just a painting”; one might suggest they bring binoculars to next year’s performance so that they can see the “paintings” blink from time-to-time.