The Week in Review

Its June.  I guess we should know we’re having the time of our lives when a month just vanishes the way May did.  I won’t bother recapping the 400+ miles we rode, the 15+ sessions at the Yoga studio and the countless hours on the water or try to quantify the progress we made in those areas but the riding is faster and easier, the bodies are more limber and definite progress for both Eric and I on the windsurfers.  I will take a quick moment to point out that its clear after one month to both Eric and I that this time off is one of the greatest decisions we’ve ever made.  Having a large block of time with no job, no responsibilities and having that time in a playground where we can do all the things we love every day and try many new things gives new energy and new perspective.  It is truly fantastic.  We are now beginning the second phase of the trip as over the next six weeks we will have different groups of guests coming through, starting with my brother Mike who arrived here on Friday.  So the next several issues should have many new tales and who knows maybe even some nightlife.

Sunday’s ride and gorge included an extended ride, forty five miles all the way down through south Maui to Makena cove, and of course an extended gorge again at IHOP as the rule is you must overcompensate for the workout, calories in must exceed calories out.  The combination of the long ride and excessive eating drained most of our energy for the rest of the day so its probably not the worst thing that the wind was still light as we spent the afternoon getting issue IV of the J.E.W. out the door and playing a couple games of Scrabble.  I’m sure Rusty will have a field day with that one but you’ve all seen my spelling so you can imagine what the board looked like at the end, worth reporting.  About two hundred points were dolled out to either side for words that turn out not to exist.  I guess the brains really are on vacation.

MMonday after yoga we decided to do a hike that is off the Hana highway and came recommended by a windsurfing friend who has spent each of the last five summers in Maui.  The hike starts through a bamboo forest which is wild as bamboo trees are narrow and tall but very strong so you can actually scale up them like the rope in gym class which of course I had to try.  We then followed a path through the bamboo forest up to a river which we hiked up going from stone to stone up to a series of waterfalls.  There were other hikers out on the trail but many turned back after the first one or two falls.  Our friend had recommended continuing all the way up to the last waterfall to get past the crowds so we carried on.  To get past the second waterfall we had to climb a rock wall using a rope that someone had generously secured for other hikers.  It took us a little while to get up the rope as Eric, having recently had hand surgery, was having trouble getting a good grip and we nearly had to turn back.  He persevered however and we made it up and to the next set of waterfalls by continuing our balancing act up the river.  To get to the final waterfall you have to kick your shoes and shirt off and swim up the river to a pool that is below an incredible two hundred foot fall.  We are told that people actually climb up this fall and jump the two hundred feet into the pool but we opted out of this and jumped off some smaller falls on the way back.  We did make the swim with the camera in its waterproof case although unfortunately the pictures do not do justice the spectacle of these waterfalls and the bamboo forest.  We turned back around 5:30 PM leaving a couple hours to make it back to the car before dark.  As we got back to the bamboo forest we found there were a few different paths, all of course looking identical, and so we had to use our intuition to guess our way back the car.  This hike was incredible and we will be doing this one a few more times as the guests roll in this month.  Next time we will take better note of the path to avoid any chance of having someone find nothing but the videotapes and create the next Blair Witch Project. 

WWednesday the wind finally came back and it came back with a large north swell which is unusual for this time of year.  Normally winter is wave season in Maui and is when surfers come here to catch the large waves that roll in through March.  Many locals figured this would be the last swell of the summer so the wave sailors and surfers were out in abundance and with the return of the wind after a week off the water was in full playground form.  I’ve never seen waves like this up close and it had the adrenaline rushing to look up and see mast high waves on the reef.  I mostly stayed on the inside where the waves were still abnormally huge but more manageable but did see the locals launching off these waves and getting ridiculous air. Eric and I actually did some sailing together, he patiently waiting for me at times, and had a ball launching off the waves together.  I’m still not keeping speed out of all my jumps but with the waves as they were I was getting some big air -- although not compared to team Maui who were flying all around me.  The conditions stayed like this on Thursday and at the end of the day we were pretty beat so we packed up early and drove up the road to Hookipa where the waves were even more unruly and had hundreds of locals sailing and surfing right near the shore and putting on an incredible show.  We watched for about an hour in awe as these enormous waves came crashing down one after another and not only saw some incredible tricks but also many getting washed out under huge walls of white water.  Hookipa can be nasty as the waves break very close to the shore, making for great beach side viewing, but any mishap on the way out can send you crashing into a large bed of rocks.  We enjoyed the show from a safe vantage point in the parking lot with a telephoto lens. 

This week we also said good-bye to our friends Peter and Nicola, the English couple who had been our next-door neighbors for the last three weeks.  Nicola was a trooper sailing nearly every day despite being four months pregnant and ripping jibes and even launching off the occasional wave.  Peter left here having rotated his first forward loops something many people come here hoping to achieve but not all have Peter’s success.  These two were a riot with non-stop banter back and forth, to me a sign of a great relationship and very amusing for the bystander. We had planned on a Scrabble game with them but opted out figuring we would never agree on the spelling of bloke, colour, shagadelic or many of the new words that we’re told are part of the language we apparently share.  

Saturday we introduced Mike to Nadia’s yoga class so he could repair his body after his long day prior spent on the plane.  Mike then rented some windsurfing gear and drove down to Kanaha to get some time on the water.  Eric and I sailed down from Camp One and met him there to help him get back out after a few years of not windsurfing.  Mike did well and plans to keep working at it this week and will spend some time with Craig so by next week’s issue we should have some video of him nailing his water starts and ripping in the harness and footstraps.  Of course knowing Mike he will probably be throwing Vulcans by then leaving Eric and I in the dust.  Mike packed it in at about 5:30 and Eric and I began the long sail upwind back to Camp One.  We had to make some long runs way off shore to get that high upwind but made it in just under and hour.  I was completely exhausted after the journey but Eric found some energy to stay out and play in the waves back at Camp One. 
 
Other than completing our first full month and having our first of many guests arrive, the biggest accomplishment of the week actually goes to Rusty who seems to be gaining quite a fan club.  So rather than carry on the week in review, enjoy the feedback below from last week.  As always, much appreciated and keep em’ coming. 

Best of the week:

Andy, Erie, Pennsylvania

“Another can't-set-it-down-because-it's-so-engrossing edition of the J.E.W. Wow, how fascinating to know what the wind speed in Hawaii was on Monday.  I had 40 knots in my fantasy pool, so I missed out on the big bucks this week…also if I wanted to see pictures of food I would check out the menu at Dennys”  -- the e-mail went on and included references to the Brady Bunch, Magnum and Seinfeld, that’s TV trivia spanning three decades.  He did conclude by agreeing that living in Maui is slightly more desirable than living in Erie.

Lisa, Boston, MA

“I love the J.E.W. I would love to say it's the weekly recap/video's but the "best responses" have become my favorite.  As I am having to live vicariously through the two of you (which couldn't be any more tamer if it was a kindergarten trip), I have been getting unbelievable laughs from the best response section” – another proud member of the Rusty fan club.

Laurie, Hoboken, NJ (Yoga instructor and dedicated reader of the J.E.W.)

“Well if Jon's mom can get picky about spelling...in the interest of protecting your knees and facilitating deeper opening in your hips (which I assume would be good for windsurfing among other activities...) thought I'd offer the following: try to be mindful about your knee extending past your heel in any lunges or warrior 1 & 2…”

Laura, Newton, MA (after spending the weekend windsurfing on Cape Cod)

“Those forward loops don't look so tricky.  Tell Eric not to be such a lollipop.”

Tara, Boston, MA (Kris’ fiancé – Kris arrives on Maui on June 15 and has apparently been having some trouble focusing)

“Okay, I get it now.  This explains why Kris is so depressed today -- he received the latest issue of the J.E.W.  He has PMS -- Pre Maui Syndrome.  Poor thing.”