Deanna Moffitt

I know, I know, it’s been almost a full two weeks since I posted on my blog. These past two weeks have been a frustrating time for the internet and me. I thought for sure that maybe we’d broken up for good, that the internet didn’t want to have anything more to do with me, and my constant neediness was pushing it away. But today after a good ol’ knock-down-drag-out fight with me and the internet’s representative from AT&T, I think we got things settled. Though I still feel a little hurt from being rejected, I’m ready to put it all behind me and move on.

So what have I been doing all this time? Well, there was Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Rance, Piero, Mike and I rented a car in Kauai and drove all over the island. It was really the first time, I’d seen anything much past the port and boy is it a beautiful island. More than any other island the dirt in Kauai is that deep, rich colored red, which also makes the photos stunning.

I still contend this is a bad haircut, but a beautiful view

We finished off the day by meeting Richard and Steven the two guys who found my phone in Kauai around Christmas time. We met them up in their part of the island on the north side in a little town called Hanalei (you know where Puff the Magic Dragon lives). They were GREAT! Just so fun and laid back and we made tentative plans to have dinner at their house in the next few weeks and we’re going to put our heads together and hopefully pull of a benefit show for the theater scene here in Hawaii.

Our good friend Tamara Nolte also came aboard and stayed with Mikey for a week. It was so much fun to have her on board, even though her arrival was made difficult due to mechanical failure on her plane. She wasn’t able to get into Honolulu until after we left port, which meant she had to take another flight from Honolulu to Hilo the next morning. But being the super trooper that she is she got here and was ready to take it all in. Mike got her signed up with us on a crew excursion to Akaka Falls in Hilo and she immediately fit right in with the crew and had a blast.

Akaka Falls on Hilo

Tamara shows off her triathelete form on banyan tree roots.

The next day we took her to Black Rock on Ka’anapali in Maui for her first ever snorkeling adventure. We had another ship in port that day so it was a little more crowded than it would be normally for us but it was near perfect conditions. We even got to snorkel with a huge sea turtle…it was amazing. Tamara brought with her a huge bag of Garret’s Popcorn which I personally could not get enough of. It was the Chicago mix of cheese and caramel and it was delectable.

After snorkeling we took Tamara to the top of Heleakala for sunset. This time the cloud cover was a little lower and we got there a little earlier so we got to see the inside crater, which looked like some sort of mars landscape. From our vantage point you could see the hiking trails into the caldera but then after watching two tiny little specks making their way out we realized just how long and tiring that trail must be. It does not look to be for the faint of heart or unprepared.

Crater of Haleakala

Afterwards Mike and I took Tamara to our favorite pizza place on the island and devoured not one but two pizza’s between the three of us, and yet I still wonder why I can’t lose these 5 lbs.

The rest of the week, was pretty low-key for me. Tamara and Mike had a great adventure in Kauai on an open air helicopter ride. I wish I could have gone but I’m still recovering financially from my quick trip to Portland. But I hope to get it in before leaving this contract. I think Mike and Tamara sold us on the idea that it’s a worthwhile trip.

Yesterday, after saying good-bye to Tamara, a few of us hopped on a bus to Waikiki to check out the setup for the final season of “Lost” premier happening at sunset on the beach. I’m sure if I watched the show it would have been amazing, I left early but fortunately Piero stayed long enough to see most of the major stars of the show on the red carpet. He got some great photos and had a great experience. I’m still not dying to see the show, but maybe this week I’ll start. Maybe.

Tagged: Akaka Falls, AT&T, Hilo, Kauai, Waimea Canyon