Griffin and Maggie fondly recalled their joint birthday party in 2016 and decided to merge their parties again this year. Because we all love having parties outside, the endless winter of 2018 stymied our attempts to schedule it between their birthdays. We settled on the final weekend of the month, but even then our first two choices of parks weren’t open yet. We eventually settled on the Como playground near the Como Town mini-amusement park.
After all the weather hassles, the day was gorgeous. Breezy and warm in the sun and cool in the shade—perfect weather for a few hours rampaging around a playground. Sarah made two batches of cupcakes: Griffin had red velvet with cream cheese frosting; Maggie had vanilla with blue frosting. Griffin and Maggie (and Oliver, too) were exhausted and happy at the end of the festivities.
We weren’t trying to photograph the event, but I captured a few shots on my phone:
It landed on a Saturday this year, so we got to do things up a bit more than usual. Highlights of the day included:
Sarah’s parents drove up for the day so that Sarah and I could go out without hiring a babysitter.
A date with Sarah at Can Can Wonderland, featuring miniature golf, hipster food, and a sense of relief that we didn’t have a herd of children to manage.
The Black Panther — my second viewing, but I really wanted Sarah to see it too, so that we could talk about it. It was just as good the second time.
Temperature rising above 60° for the first time since November.
Digging out the grill and firing it up for some delicious items Sarah picked out at the St. Paul Meat Shop.
We haven’t been photo-documenting things as assiduously as we sometimes do, but I did snap this shot of Sarah standing over the crack of doom at Can Can:
We’re sure getting tired of winter around here. Turns out the April 4 snowfall was nothing compared to what we received this weekend. The official Twin Cities total was 15.8 inches, the 12th largest snowstorm in Twin Cities history, and the largest on record for April.
Despite plenty of snow fatigue, I was struck once again on my walk to school this morning by how beautiful fresh fallen snow is. Everything was glittering and magical in the sunrise.
We were just stopped at the airport in Kauai because our shoes were too muddy. You can’t export soil from Hawaii to the mainland because it may contain pests. So we have to scrub our shoes and bring them back for inspection.
Fortunately, everyone has been friendly and we have tons of time before our flight.
Today we rose bright and early and drove to the end of the road to hike the Kalalau Trail. When we arrived at the trailhead, however, we discovered that it was closed due to the recent heavy rains. Not to be deterred, we hightailed it to the opposite side of the island, where there are numerous additional trail options. (Actually, the road is like a horseshoe with both ends in the northwest, separated by a few miles of the insanely rugged Nā Pali coast, so we ended up not far from where we started, but 4000 feet up.)
We hiked along the upper rim of Kalalau Valley (4000 feet above our original hike) and then went through the Alakaʻi Swamp, purportedly the highest altitude swamp in the world (I’ve read differing accounts). We ended up at the Kilohana lookout, where we could peer through rifts in the clouds across the Wainiha, Lumahaʻi, and Hanalei valleys. As the crow flies, it was hardly any distance to our rental far below, but the sheer cliffs and walls of tropical vegetation deterred us from any foolhardy bushwhacking.
A highlight of this hike was running into someone we knew! Three summers ago, we visited Nate and Christine in Falmouth and met Nate’s friends, Ben and Emory (see our July 2016 post with pictures of Emory). Emory lives on Kaua’i. We knew this ahead of time and had corresponded with him about our trip, but hadn’t made any firm plans to get together. Imagine our surprise as we clambered up a muddy trail and bumped into him! We love the serendipity of it all.
View along the drive to the trailhead.
Emory!
We made it through the swamp!
Shoes at the start.
The Fitbit approves.
Shoes at the end.
We were proud of those muddy shoes, but they caused us some unexpected hassles at the airport on our way out.
Note the massive spike early this morning (March 15).
We awoke this morning trapped at the northern tip of the island! It rained heavily overnight, causing the authorities to close the Hanalei bridge. This was awesome for two reasons. First, all the other vacationers on the island couldn’t swarm up to the north-end beaches and trails (as they usually do). Second, the atmosphere appeared to have finally run out of moisture. Sweet.
We spent the morning at Tunnels Beach, near our rental, swimming and wishing that we’d remembered to grab snorkeling gear. There were plenty of fish to be seen even without a mask. Eventually, we headed into Hanalei for lunch. Most restaurants were closed because employees live on the other side of the bridge, but we were able to find delicious BBQ at Chicken in a Barrel, followed by our first shave ice from Wishing Well. If you’ve never had one, where a snow cone is bland, crunchy, and gross, a shave ice is fresh, soft, and delicious. They’re made by literally shaving a block of ice with a sharp blade, producing a fine powder. Add fresh fruit and/or fruit syrups, other toppings (like coconut cream), and maybe a scoop of ice cream, and you end up with a divine treat on a warm day.
Later in the afternoon, the bridge opened, so we went south to check out the Kilauea Lighthouse. Alas, it closed just as we pulled up. Plenty of beauty nearby, regardless. We realized that we wanted to be on the beach again for sunset, so we headed back north, grabbed snorkeling supplies from our rental (love it that they have a bin to share), and returned to Tunnels Beach for a jaw-dropping end to a perfect day.
Morning view
Waterfall by the road
A modern ford: the road is built for the stream to cross over it.
Tunnels Beach
Beach panorama
Great snorkeling out among the rocks and coral.
First time with the top down!
Lunch lizard (a guest, not on the menu).
Shave ice after lunch
The Rainbow
The Tropical Something
Kilauea Lighthouse
Just an endangered monk seal relaxing on the beach.
Sunset beauty
Selfie time
Sunset panorama – east
Sunset
Sunset panorama – west
April 2018 Addendum:
Although we thought the flooding was severe while we were on Kaua’i, the island was devastated by dramatically more serious flooding in April. By comparison with the USGS flood gauge at the top of this post, see the chart below for both March and April. Our “flood” appears before the Mar 17 line. The real flood hit on April 14. See also these dramatic before and after pictures published in Town & Country.
Hanalei River water levels from March 1 to April 30.
