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| The Hawaii Paragliding Association at Makapu'u Overlook - group photo for the magazine |
After just completing a long trip down to southern CA, we had no intention of going anywhere until the BOD meeting in Colorado Springs in March. But C.J., staff writer for Hang Gliding and Paragliding Magazine, had been tasked with a series of articles about the USHPA chapters around the country. She had already done one on an East Coast chapter, the Tennessee Tree Toppers, and was thinking that the next one should be the winner of the USHPA Chapter of the Year award for 2011, the Hawaii Paragliding Association. When she contacted them with the usual set of interview questions, Alex, the president, and others encouraged her to get the answers in person. Pretty soon local Oahu pilots were offering to meet us at the airport, provide a place to stay, and, even, a car to use! C.J. didn’t put up much resistance and within a couple of days we had tickets for the next week.
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| Thom surprised us with a lei greeting |
29 Feb, Wed – John took us up to Tamura’s, a supermarket in
a small strip mall in Hau’ula so we could buy fruit and oatmeal. Back home John
made some bread to go with breakfast (from the same Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book that C.J. uses). Later
Alex Colby came over [He lives only a few minutes away] and took us down to
Pete “Reaper” Michelmore’s house in Haneohe where we picked up Alex’s old
“cream puff” Honda Civic which we were being loaned. [On the way we saw a small
crowd gathering on the beach. When we stopped we saw that a Hawaiian Monk Seal
had decided to crawl up onto the sand. We made another stop at Kahana Bay to walk out on the large beach LZ. Down the road a few more miles we pulled into another state park to talk to some paragliders who were kiting. We also stopped to check out a
restaurant on a pier which we later found featured in the April Sunset
magazine.] After filling up with gas (not THAT much more than Pac NW prices at
$4.25/gal) we drove to the H3 and over/through the hills to Pearl Harbor. It
was a bit late (1400) but there was no line and we had no trouble getting our
free tickets for the last shuttle at 1500. We also rented an audiotour which
they nicely fixed up with two headsets so we could share the one player. There
were several buildings and exhibits to tour before the time set to meet for the
interpretive movie before the boat shuttle to the USS Arizona Memorial. We grabbed a
quick lunch from the snack bar first.
The boat ride out along “Battleship Row” with Ford Island on our right
did not take long and we had about 20-30 minutes on the Memorial, long
enough to see what remained of the sunken ship and to reflect on the thousands
that died and are still entombed within it. Back at the Valor in the Pacific
National Monument we had about an hour to visit exhibits we had missed and
complete the audio tour before they booted us out. We returned on the H3 to the
windward, and cloudy, side of the island getting back to John and Ginger’s
around 1800. John made a pizza crust for us so we ran up to the store and got
some cheese, sauce and some salad makings. Good pizza! After dinner we hung
around and chatted with J&G.
1 Mar, Thu – We hung out until noon when Thom and Alex came
over and we all went out to lunch at Surfin’ Tacos near Tamura’s. C.J. and I
had some of our meals left so we took them in case we needed a snack later
during our trip to the North Shore. Since it wasn’t going to be a flying day we
took our snorkel gear, including the fins borrowed from John, and headed out
through La’ie passing the Mormon Temple, BYU, Hukilau Beach and the Mormon-run
Polynesian Cultural Center. We skipped La’ie Point and drove through Kahuku
with its aquaculture and shrimp trucks. A mile or so past Turtle Bay Resort, we
pulled into the unpaved parking area for Waiale’e Beach and walked down to the
SW end where the offshore wind was blocked by a grove of trees. The water
looked kind of shallow and the waves were rolling in but there were some small
islets only a short swim offshore. The water seemed warm enough so when three
Australian women told us this spot had been recommended as having lots of fish,
we got our gear out and changed into swim suits. C.J. went right in and
snorkeled out to the island but it took me the usual long time to decide to get
all-over wet. Eventually we paddled around the bay together spotting a few
tropical fish, some coral, and a couple of gray sea cucumbers – sparse enough
that the Australians had left after only a few minutes. From that beach we
continued southwest past Sunset Beach, and many surfing breaks including the Banzai
Pipeline down almost to Waimea where we stopped at Three Tables Beach for
another go at snorkeling. This time we used our fins and I pulled on my shorty
wetsuit (it was after 1600 and starting to cool off). There were lots more fish
but the waves and shore break were much stronger. We stuck close together this
time. There were other, a few, snorkelers and some stand-up paddleboarders in
the water but it certainly wasn’t crowded. The big scuba-type fins were awkward
for snorkeling on the surface. When we got out and dried off we drove southwest
out of Waimea as far as Turtle Beach where we stopped to check out the beach.
We didn’t see any turtles and it was getting kind of chilly in our wet clothes. Suddenly C.J. spotted whales offshore spouting and breaching; so it was
worthwhile having gone so far before turning back. We stopped at a fruit stand
near Turtle Bay for a pineapple and a mango (overpriced, but delicious) and at
Foodland in La’ie for crackers and some chocolate covered macadamia nuts for
our hosts (and us…). We got back to the Mallard’s around 1900 and had our
leftover lunch for dinner. Later John showed us some videos about another of
his hobbies, tree climbing.
2 Mar, Fri – Sunshine in the morning had us up a little
earlier but wind forecasts were for high winds and SE so flying was “out”
again. Around 1130 we took the car and drove south with the goal of hiking up
Diamond Head. On the way we went by the Makapu’u LZ in a state park where we
stopped for a look around. We also stopped at the Makapu’u Lookout where we ran
into George Selvy, our Ameriprise financial advisor. We had no idea where the
Makapu’u launch(es) was or any other launch except Kahana so we drove right by
Koko Crater and its LZ at Sandy Beach without even noticing. The GPS, signs and
maps helped us find the Diamond Head State Historical Park where we parked in
the crater accessed through a tunnel. There were lots of other tourists/hikers
on the switchbacks and tunnel leading to steep stairs into the artillery
command/observation bunker at the summit. The trail was about 1.5 mi RT with a
600 ft elev gain and the views were worth the trip. Although it was getting
near rush hour (1530) (Should there be a rush hour in hang-loose Hawaii?) we
drove on in through Waikiki to Honolulu. We found a city-style Walmart with a
parking garage and a Sams Club on the third floor, and bought smaller, lighter,
and cheaper snorkeling fins and some cookies then got back on the road again.
Traffic continued heavy and we made very slow time until we were out of the
city. That put us in Hale’iwa around 1800, too late to stop and explore the
tourist-oriented town. The North Shore appeared to have gotten pounded by a
rain storm recently and we ran into rain before we reached Kahuku. We stopped
at Surfin’ Tacos again to buy fish tacos to bring home for dinner. Apparently
it had rained off and on in Hau’ula most of the afternoon (while we had been
hiking in bright sunshine at Diamond Head).
3 Mar, Sat – John offered
us a chance to try stand-up paddleboarding so we rode with him to Kahana where
Alex met us with his board, too. We put on wetsuits in case we fell into the
cold, brown river water. After a short intro, C.J. and I paddled up the river
until it narrowed and the current got stronger. We returned to the beach and
met Bonnie (Bonita Hobson) who went off paddling with John while we drove to Alex’s
house for a chicken quesadilla lunch prepared by his wife Dorothy. We met their
son Logan, and daughter Amelia who was home with a cold. After lunch (and by then John
and Ginger had joined us) we decided to go see if Koko Crater was flyable so we
all piled into Alex’s CRV and drove there over Makapu’u Lookout to Sandy Beach
Park where we could see people flying in front of the crater. We drove up
toward Koko Crater Botanical Garden where we left the car with Ginger and hiked
up a narrow trail to the lower launch. The report from Pete was 18-20mph with
lulls to 15 so C.J. did not bring her wing. The climb was not bad at all and the
sun was filtered so it wasn’t too hot. Winds were nowhere near as strong as
reported on launch and I took off after John; still, I got snatched into the
air before flying away to the right toward the SE wall of the crater. Lots of
pretty smooth ridge lift gave me confidence to move in a bit closer to the wall
and eventually get over the crater rim on the lower (SE) side. I got maybe
800-900 ft over launch and when I decided to go out to land after 30-40 min,
there was no problem penetrating to reach the grassy Sunset Beach park. The
kiteflyers mostly kept their kites out of the way of landing paragliders.
Ginger counted ten gliders in the air at one time and there seemed to be twice
that many people in the LZ visiting, eating and drinking. We left with everyone
else around 1900 just as it was getting dark and joined a dozen pilots (three
of them visiting Canadians) at Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant in Kaneohe. C.J.
had a combi plate of eggroll, garlic shrimp and short ribs and I ordered “rare
beef pho” which came with a big plate of fresh basil, bean sprouts and lemon
wedges. We left there around 2100; it had been a very successful day.
4 Mar, Sun – Word had been passed to the members of the
Hawaii Paragliding Association over the last several days to meet at 1030 for a
group photo at Makapu’u Lookout followed by flying (hopefully), a club meeting
and a picnic/barbecue/party at the LZ. Alex gave us a ride to the gathering
with a stop to get some beer and sausages at a grocery in Waimanalo. By 1000 we
were meeting up with around 50 members and family of the HPA at Makapu’u.
Weather in this one section of Oahu was partly sunny, unlike the rain over most
of the rest of the island. A couple of pilots had already flown from the launch
at the Lookout, “Manic”, or from just above the beach, “Crazy Man”. Later more
flew from “Juice” located above Sea Life Park (another launch, “Cactus”, is high
on the top of Makapu’u). After the photo we all went down to the park/LZ and
people set up shelters and gas grills, table and chairs. Alex held a meeting
and then we all grabbed potluck food including John’s pork chili that he had
started cooking at 0400. There was plenty of other meat, sausage, chips, and beer
(although, like most parks in the NW, alcohol is not allowed). C.J. and I
wandered through the park past the heiau (established, or some say, re-established
in the ‘70s) up to Juice to watch folks launch – a pretty tricky operation
especially with the power line so close behind and above the takeoff. Joey,
Mike “5-0” and the Canadians from Vanc. Is. Cornell and Charlie were flying,
among others. The party continued until around 1600 when we left with Alex.
There had been an occasional spit of rain but as soon as we headed north we ran
into rain and then heavy rain. The street leading to the Mallard’s was
underwater in places. During the evening John helped C.J. load a newer
Photoshop and a newer iPhoto to her computer. We had some improved Kraft mac
and cheese for dinner.
5 Mar, Mon – The power was out around the neighborhood (from
0430-1100) but John got his MSR Dragonfly stove out to make coffee. Later I
used his Teflon GSI backpacking pot to make oatmeal. [The milk hardly stuck to
the pan at all and I ended up buying one for us from Campmor when we got home]. Alex came over with Amelia bringing our wings which we had left
in his car because it was raining so hard when we got home last night. Some
local guys had cleared the storm drains at the end of the street and the
flooding had receded. C.J. and I took off at 1400 to visit Hale’iwa on the
North Coast and to drive out as far past Dillingham airfield toward Ka’ena
Point as the pavement went. Along the way we stopped at a couple of beaches to
watch the big waves crashing way out in the ocean as well as into the nearby
shore rocks. In Hale’iwa (the ‘w’ is pronounced with a “vee” sound) we got a
shave ice at Aoki’s – “local mix” flavor which is a big scoop of shave ice over a scoop of
vanilla ice cream with adzuki beans in a plastic coneholder, all covered with
pineapple, mango and Li Hing syrups. We sat outside the shop to share our shave
ice and barely missed having a young girl spill hers on us. Afterward we walked
through the town checking out the surf shops, galleries and Hawaiiana
boutiques. From there we drove out as far as we could toward Ka’ena Point until
turning back around 1700 when we reached the road end. We wondered where the PG
launch might be but did not spot it. Heading back to Hau’ula along the North
coast, we stopped at Foodland to buy a Huli Huli (rotisseried) chicken, a
pineapple and a baguette to share with John and Ginger for supper. Weather on
the North Coast had been mostly cloudy with some sprinkles but as we got back
to the corner at Kahuku/La’ie it started raining again. Later in the evening
there was thunder (rare on Oahu) and more heavy rain.
6 Mar, Tues – The sun was out when we got up but this may
have been true only on our part of the island according to the HPA Windlines’
Chatterbox. I walked down to the beach and toward Hau’ula a ways. On the return
trip it started raining and that was it for the rest of the day weatherwise.
John had gone to work at 0900 and we just kind of hung around [Well, C.J. was
working on the HPA article, of course] until 1500 when we went out to get some
postcards, stamps, milk (and beer for Pete). We drove down to Kahana to see how
the beach LZ looked. Even though someone had dug a trench, most of the water
was flowing from the sand berm on the beach back to the river (which has its
usual outlet to the south but can washout the beach in a storm). John was home by the time we got back and we had
another delicious homemade pizza for a snack. Later Ginger served a really good
soup made from the Huli Huli chicken bones, kale and sausage. We sat around
drinking wine and talking with John and Ginger for most of the evening.
7 Mar, Wed – It was cloudy with rain showers again. C.J.
continued refining her article about the HPA, and experimenting with her new iPhoto and Photoshop. I finished reading The
Hunger Game on my Nook Color. At 1630 we loaded our luggage into John’s
truck and drove to Kaneohe for drinks and dinner at Hale’iwa Joe’s, definitely
more upscale than the Saigon pho restaurant. There were a dozen HPA folks there
so we had a big table and the food and Mai Tais were good. C.J. and I went for
a walk with Bonnie and Amelia around the garden and pond below the open-air restaurant.
C.J. almost lost a shoe and Bonnie’s back got splattered by mud. The party
broke up around 1930 when Thom and his wife Donna drove us to airport. We were
there early enough for our 2130 departure (although there were a few glitches
like the security sticker falling off one of our checked bags after it had gone
through the scanner). The plane was completely full and pretty warm while we
were waiting at the gate. After reading and doing a crossword for a while, we
both tried to sleep the rest of the way back to SEA. It was cold (below
freezing) when we arrived around 0530 but our car was running with the heater
on when we got off the shuttle at Extra Car. We got home around 0630 and slept
until 0900 in a very cold (50 deg) house. Despite the rain, the trip to Hawaii had been a very pleasant break in
our northwest winter.
The Hawaii Paragliding Association members
were as good as their reputation for welcoming visiting pilots. We certainly
got the royal VIP treatment and enjoyed the feeling of ohana, or family, in our week with John and
Ginger, Alex, Thom, Pete, Bonnie and all the rest of the members and their
spouses, children and friends. C.J. got her article finished, found a couple of
great photographers and managed to convince Nick, the editor, that the whole
magazine should be the Hawaii issue.
