Aloha from Kauai

Kalalau Valley from Koke'e

Kauai is one of those magical places that exist on our earth that seem more like a dream than reality. You have to pinch yourself to make sure you're really here, seeing the impossible beauty that surrounds you. It really is stunning and we saw firsthand as we stood atop the Kalalau Valley Lookout of the Napali Coast during our first day here. The razor sharp ridges are green with foliage and the soil that was once lava has again become red as it erodes and oxidizes. There are waterfalls cascading into pristine pools, colorful flowers, and it just happens to be the perfect temperature on top of all of that (plus no creepy bugs!)
CCC Camps in Koke'e

We are beginning our visit here by working for the Koke'e Resource Conservation Project whose mission it is to save the native forests of Kauai. This is a program I volunteered for right out of college for 3 months in 2000. As many if you may know, Hawaii evolved in isolation without much competition between species, so many plants have lost their competitive advantages; for example there is a local raspberry that doesn't have thorns. Unfortunately, with the arrival of people comes invasive species that can easily outcompete the local plants. So, our job this week is to try and target certain invasive plants and kill them (a fancy way of saying that we are weeding), in hopes of saving the native forests that exist in some spots on Kauai. In order to do this work, we use machetes and crawl through thick vegetation seeking out the weeds, then we cut them and spray them with herbicide. I enjoy it because I am relearning the plants of Hawaii, (plus, how often do you get to use a machete?) but the work is pretty tiring. Today as we began our work we started with a Hawaiian chant that was sung by a staff member in Hawaiian, asking permission of the forest to enter and keep us safe. It was quite touching, and the first line translated to "Humbled, as travellers, we seek the light of Heaven as our guide."

Weimea Canyon

Over the weekend, we backpacked into Weimea Canyon also known as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" and it's gorgeous. We hiked from the rim, down into the hot valley within. We had spectacular views along the way, and after 6 miles found ourselves at a spot called Lonamea. Here our campsite was adjacent to a river that has to be one of the most breathtaking places I've been to. Waterfalls cascade into perfect swimming holes, surrounded by the red cliffs of the canyon, banana trees, and flat rocks perfect for laying on. You can even take a ride into the pools on what the locals call "slide rock" which is like a natural waterslide. Drew kept saying "You couldn't design a place this great!" and its true, only nature could be this amazing!

Kauai is a place close to my heart, and there is something wonderful about coming back here, like a homecoming. There are few places I know that have all the right ingredients of paradise; natural beauty, varied landscape, golden beaches, 80 degree temps, and happy people. We're having a great time!

Erin

Final Thoughts and Images from Maho Bay, St. John

My boss at Maho on the left. No joke. Tom was described variously as a ZZ Top band member or a cross between a biker and a hippie. He's a little more clean-cut and straight-laced than my last two bosses at Kelty - Sheahan and Ballard - but a good one nonetheless. "Make a tree look like a tree."

One of my "big" projects and lasting gifts to Maho, a bird feeder. Felt like my first shop project. I was dubiously called a "master craftsman" by the more experienced folks in the maintenance crew. I'm a rookie but learned alot.

With the two biggest characters at Maho - Eric and the G Man. Both legends in their own time that I had the daily pleasure of working with. Eric was another volunteer from MA. G Man's a local legend.

Others in the maintenance crew - Mr Joe, "Zandor", and "Cata".

Favorite plant on St. John - the broom or fan palm.

Some artistic shots of the island

Shark! (Never mind that it's tiny - about 2 feet long - and generally scared of humans.) This is a baby blacktip reef shark, of which we saw a few. The more common shark in the shallow waters just off the coast of SJ, of which we saw quite a few, are nurse sharks. They're actually bottom-dwelling vegetarians so not too scary when you understand what they are. But the steely glare of any shark will give you a moment of pause no matter what the type. In general, the waters are pretty safe for swimmers.

St John History

- Original natives were Taino indians who were wiped out soon after others arrived.

- Other group that inhabited the island early were Caribs, a strong warring nation of people who conquered their way up the island chain from South America.

- St John was a colony of Denmark in the 17 and 1800's. The island was filled with sugar cane plantations which were owned by rich plantation owners and worked by slaves.

- The US eventually bought the island for $25 million in 1917 and that's how it became part of the U.S.

- A wealthy Rockefeller donated much of the land to the US government in the mid-1900's to form Virgin islands National Park. Today about 60% of the island is national park.

- Tourism didn't really take off until later in the 1900's. Now real estate is super-expensive.

Slavery on St. John

The slave trade was very active on St. John in the colonial times. Slaves were brought over from Africa to work on the sugar plantations. In an interesting twist, the slaves on St John were actually former slaveowners and slave brokers themselves when in Africa. Back in the day, the various tribes in Africa vied for power against one another and would actually capture, transport, and sell other black people as slaves. The slaves on St. John came from a once-powerful tribe of slave traders that had fallen in power and were then put into the bonds of slavery themselves. It's an interesting and sad tale but was a revelation to me that slavery was not simply white people getting over on black people but rather powerful people getting over on weaker people. It reminded me of the movie Amistad. If you haven't seen that movie, check it out.

Cost of Rum

You can actually buy a glass bottle of rum for less than a plastic bottle of water on St John, on an equal volume basis.

The Maho Experience

For someone looking to spend a month on St John for a little work and little cost, the Maho work exchange program is a great option. But prepare yourself for a lesson in psychology and social dynamics. Since it is a self-contained place, you live, work, eat, sleep, shower, swim, and socialize all with the same group of people. It makes for an interesting scene. I heard it described in many ways, all of which are accurate in one aspect or another - hippie commune; a cross between Survivor and Melrose; living in a tree house; Swiss Family Robinson. The most accurate description that I heard was that Maho is like the book The Beach by Alex Garland. The book's about a traveler who finds his way to a secret commune on a small, idyllic island paradise in Thailand. It's a perfect place in many ways - but at the same time it is faced with all the same problems and human imperfections that are impossible to escape. I found Maho to be similar. My first week or two there I thought it was incredible, almost perfect. But as time wore on, I witnessed and came to understand other sides of it - nothing major but just that it was kind of like everywhere else in some ways. In the end, it is still an incredible and awesome place. It just needs to be understood in its entirety and from all sides. If you think you might be interested, check it out.

The Future of Maho Bay

The land on which Maho Bay Camps operates is actually leased and not owned by the man who owns the Maho Bay business. It is owned by another family that entered a long-term lease with him. When the lease ends, it is not clear what will become of the land. It is clear that the family wants to sell the land for big bucks. The 14 acres of land on which the camp sits is currently listed by Sotheby's real estate for roughly $30 million. The first of two most likely outcomes is that it will be sold to a private developer or buyer who will develop the land into a large resort or subdivide it into monster estates like those on Peter Bay down the road (where the infamous Kenny Chesney house resides). The other likely scenario is that The Trust for Public Land or another conservation-oriented organization will purchase the land and turn it over to the national park. For the sake of the beauty and preservation of the land, I can only hope that the latter is the case. Maho is a special place.

Drew

Transitions

Currently, we're in Seattle for a week spending time with Erin's family and friends and taking care of some last-minute details. Thought I'd share some photos of friends and family we've spent some time with before heading out.

First stop for me on the world tour was Yinzerville, USA, that's right Pittsburgh, PA. I met up with some old friends on my drive across country to catch an Allman Brothers Band concert in the 'burgh.


Left to right is Pete, Ziti, Stork, me, J9,and Bobby.

Then on to Williamsburg, VA to spend some quality time with the Saunders clan. Big news in my family these days is the recent arrival of my nephew Braeden aka Mr. B and niece Bridget aka Miss B. Here's the Saunders crew in full effect.
Left to right - Drew, Erin, my brother's wife Liz, my brother Jim, niece Bridget, Dad (excuse the Sox shirt), sister Kelly, nephew Braeden, Mom, and sister's husband Kurt.


Here's a shot of our new family stars in action. Erin's an old pro with little kids, but for me it's a new, eye-opening, and awesome experience. B&B will be so different when we see them next. We'll miss them much.

Before the trip to VA, Erin had some extended time off and came out to Seattle to see her fam and friends. One big highlight of her visit was a sea kayaking trip in the San Juan islands with all "her people."

The crew below is (L to R) Erin, Skyler, Christine, sister Mari, Mike, Matt, Michelle, Lynnelle, Kelly.















We don't have any other pic's of the rest of Erin's family handy at the moment, but she promises to get some up soon.

Thanks to all our friends and family all over the country who've put us up with room and board and otherwise helped us out over the past few months. It's been great to spend time with folks from all walks of our lives. With all this time off and preparation and anticipation, I'm itching to get going on the real trip. We take off next Wednesday for Kauai. Giddyup!

Back Home

Hey there. We are back in the continental US for the next two weeks, with a few days in VA with Jim, Liz, and sweet little Bridget. Then we are off to New Jersey for a visit with Drew's parents and Kelly, Kurt, and Braeden. Then over to Seattle to visit with my family and see my sister's new house! It feels good to be back, and we certainly appreciate hot showers and the comfort of knowing nothing creepy will crawl into bed with you. It's all about the little things in life!

We can finally add pictures, so take a moment to look through our blog if you want to see some of the sights of St. John. Here are some of our cabin, so that you can picture what our living space was like. It's basically a raised wooden structure covered with vinyl and screens. We were in cabin E-11 (for Stephanie) and it was 311 stairs up from the beach...








Our time in St. John was really everything we could have hoped for and more. There's something really special about being on an island, even if for as short as a month. We explored as much as we could and we both feel satisfied by our experiences there. It was fun to get to know people, and when you are living in such close quarters, you get to know them quickly. There are a few people who I feel I know pretty well- their passions, their dreams, and their insecurities, just because you are with them every day. It's pretty amazing really. There is a similarity in the people who are attracted to a place like Maho- people that are taking a break from everyday life or are in between careers or school, and just need a change of pace. Our story wasn't too far off from the people we were surrounded by there, because many of them were taking time off (even years) to travel and experience a different point of view. The differences were mostly in the ages of people that were deciding to do this with their lives- some were right out of college, and some were in their 50's. It opened my eyes to the fact that you really can do what you want at any point along the journey of life.


We had a blast at our farewell party, which a few of us put together for the people leaving after their month stay. We celebrated on Big Maho, which is the bigger of the two beaches and further away from the cabins (so we could be louder, later). We had a big jug of rum punch and about 30 people showed up. Imagine a big soft beach, 80 degree temp, reggae playing, and late night swimming... and that's what it is like. The next morning, the whole place was hurting from how much fun we had the night before. Here's some photos of some of our friends from our farewell party at Big Maho.










So, with that, we conclude the first chapter of our year away. Time is going quickly, but we are doing our best to savor each and every moment. It means a lot to hear from all of you- our friends and family, so keep in touch!

Erin