Waimea Valley

Sometime last week I went up to the North Shore with my co-worker and his girlfriend to hang out at the beach, go surfing, and just cruise around.  We went up to Pupukea and there was hardly a single person there.  It's a vast stretch of really nice beach and big waves.  It's also right next to Shark's Cove, which has some great snorkeling.  Anyway, we hung out there for only a little while because about an hour or two into the morning, it started to rain.

Although it was raining a little, we decided to stay up at the North Shore and across from Waimea Beach, there is a conservatory called Waimea Valley - (59-864 Kamehameha Highway Haleiwa, HI 96712-8411).  Waimea Valley consists of 1,875 acres and has been a sacred place for more than 700 years of Native Hawaiian history.  Waimea, “The Valley of the Priests,” gained its title around 1090 when the ruler of O‘ahu awarded the land to the kähuna nui. Descendants of the high priests lived and cared for much of the Valley until 1886.  As part of a cooperative conservation land purchase, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs acquired the property in 2006.

Anyway, they have daily activities that visitors can watch like ancient sports games, traditional methods of making clothes, etc.  Visitors to the Valley are allowed to participate in several of the activities (with paid admission) including Lei Making, Kapa Demonstration, Hula Lessons, Hawaiian Games, and Crafts, Music & Story Telling with Kūpuna. It costs somewhere around $10 for admission and I'd say it's right on the cusp of being worth it.  78 sites of interest have been identified including religious sites and shrines, house sites, agricultural terraces and fishponds. There is a waterfall in the back of the valley that you can jump into and go swimming.  It's also a lot like a Botanical Garden in the sense that there are more than 5,000 kinds of tropical and subtropical plants including native and endangered Hawaiian plants.  You can actually pick fruit and eat it, too, which is pretty cool.

Overall, it's a pretty fun place to visit for an afternoon walk, especially if you're already on the North Shore and looking for something to do other than the beach or historical town of Haleiwa.  It's especially good for old people who like plants or kids who can't sit still for more than 5 minutes.

Koko Head Crater...and a word to the wise

When friends come to visit, it gives me the excuse to go out and explore places that I haven't been to yet.  I have a couple friends visiting this week and on Saturday morning we decided to hike up Koko Head Crater.  Only two words really encapsulate the Koko Head hike on the East side of O'ahu...holy crap!  Koko Crater is a cinder cone remaining from the last active volcano that occurred on O'ahu approximately 10,000 years ago. This crater is the tallest tuff ring in Hawaii, measuring 1,207 feet in height. The slopes of the crater drop steeply into the Molokai Channel, an area which lacks protection from any offshore reefs, causing very turbulent seas in this area.

View from the Bottom

If you're looking for a nice, easygoing hike then stay away from Koko Head.  The good news is that the entire trail is a staircase.  Originally Koko Head was used as a radar stand for the military during WWII.  In order to get supplies up to the mountain, they used a tram that ran on railroad tracks.  The tracks are still there and that's what you use to get up.  The bad news is that it is a straight vertical climb.  It looks really steep from the bottom, but I had no idea how difficult the hike would be until I got about 1/4 the way up.  It's REALLY steep!  I am in fairly good shape and yet my calves and my ass have been killing me for 2 days.

View from Halfway Up

In my defense, however, I did ride my bike for an hour a half (25 miles) that morning so I had already had a pretty good workout.  So the "word to the wise" is that you should not workout prior to hiking Koko Head.  The trail itself was not too crowded, but there were a good 50 people on the trail at any one time.  No one got in each other's way, though, and everyone was taking periodic breaks along the way.  We must have stopped 5 or 6 times ourselves just to catch our breath.

View from the top

Prior to going on the hike, I had heard from some people that the view from the top of Koko Head is nice, but not really worth the pain of climbing up.  I disagree.  Yes, Koko Head is a bitch to climb.  However, the view from the top is pretty amazing.  I could sit up there all day and just stare out onto Hawaii Kai and the ocean.  Being at the top, especially after working so hard to get there, makes the view all the more amazing.  So overall if you're looking for a challenging workout and you're willing to put up with the subsequent pain, then Koko Head is a really gorgeous hike that offers amazing views and good story.

A long way to get down...

I've Been Saying It All Along...

I'm not one to toot my own horn, but in this particular instance, it appears that a recent study has backed up what I have been saying for the last 7 months: Hawaii drivers are the worst in the country.

"Hawaii drivers are among the least knowledgeable about the rules of the road," according to a study by GMAC Insurance. According to the results of the GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test, Hawaii ranked 50th in the nation with an average score of 73 percent correct.

While I can present plenty of empirical and anecdotal evidence to support the study's conclusions, I will just sit here quietly.  Perhaps this will make me feel better every time I see some crazy Hawaiian driver not paying attention to where he or she is going or randomly stopping in the middle of the road when there is no traffic light or stop sign (yes, I have seen these things happen multiple times).  I now know I'm not crazy.  For the longest time I felt like no one else noticed it and I that I was taking crazy pills (video).  Instead, Hawaiian drivers are just stupid. Phew. I feel better.

Sandbar Kaneohe

Kāneʻohe Bay is the largest sheltered body of water in the main Hawaiian Islands. This reef-dominated bay constitutes a significant scenic and recreational feature along the windward (northeast) coast of the Island of Oʻahu. The Bay is approximately 8 mi long and 2.7 mi broad, with a mouth opening of about 4.6 mi and maximum depth of 40 ft in the dredged channel. Features unique in the main Hawaiian Islands include one of only two barrier reefs (the other being the 27 mile barrier reef of Molokaʻi island) and extensive development of shoaling coral reefs within a large lagoon.

Prior to last weekend I had never actually been to the bay.  I've played golf over near Kaneohe and the Valley of the Temples is over there, but I had heard the bay is gorgeous.  Anyway, last week the group of people I met at the pro bowl decided to go sailing and invited me to tag along.  They have a 43-foot sailboat that they take out every once in a while and anchor it out at the sandbar in the middle of the bay.  The sandbar is also something I had heard about but had never seen.  

The Kaneohe Sandbar, also known as Ahu o Laka, is a popular picnicking spot among local Oahu residents, particularly among those who have a boat or access to a boat or kayak. It’s the only sandbar of this kind in Hawaii. During low tide, it emerges and forms a shallow and temporary land. During high tide, the water is about hip-deep and deeper towards the edges of the sandbar. People come here to picnic, swim, snorkel, dive, play ball games, or to just relax.  The water is calm and clear and the views are amazing. While you're out on the water you can see the entire Kaneohe Bay from an ocean vantage point, the Koolau Mountains and the small offshore islands of Chinaman’s Hat, Coconut Island and Kekepa (Turtleback Island).

So while we were out there, we had snacks and booze and sun.  What more could you possibly ask for?  We also threw the football and frisbee around just to entertain ourselves.  The real fun came at the end of the day, though.  I suppose everyone just got so caught up in the fun that no one actually seemed to notice the tide change.  Check the tide table before heading out to the sandbar so you know in advance if it’s high or low tide. The activities that you can do on the sandbar vary slightly during these different ocean conditions. You can take out your chairs and put them on the sandbar only during low tide, for example.  Well, your boat can also get stuck in the sand if the tide goes from high to low and you're not paying attention.  This happened to us.  To make a long story short, everyone had to get off the boat and push it out of the sand.  Initially that wasn't enough.  We had to put the sails up, start the motor, and THEN push.  It was all pretty hilarious.  It looked like a Chinese fire drill with about 8 people jumping on and off the boat to get this thing un-stuck.

Overall, it was a fun day.  We are actually going back this weekend!

Hiking to Secret Falls - Kaua'i

As I wrote about earlier, I went to Kaua'i recently for a short trip of hiking, coffee drinking, and kayaking.  It was the second time I had traveled to the northernmost Hawaiian island and it was also the best visit.  The highlight was by far kayaking the Wailua River followed by a hike to Secret Falls.

This 5 hour trip starts with a Kayak trip up the Wailua river, through tropical jungle. Several miles up the river you paddle in to shore, secure your Kayak then hike inland through a tropical rainforest to Secret Falls, a 100 foot waterfall that you can swim beneath. Along the trail you will pass other smaller, but even more beautiful falls at hidden places. While you can rent a Kayak and do this trip without a guide, it is probably easier to make this part of a guided hike/trip - that way you don't have to worry about the Kayak when you leave it tied up during the hike.

Our guide was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, which made it all the more entertaining.  He told us about all the different fauna along the way.  Of course I forget most of what he told us, and for all I know he could have lied about most of it anyway.  Nonetheless, it was interesting while we were there.  The hike itself was along a well-worn path through fairly thick rainforest.  At the end of the mile-long hiking trail, the path opens up to the waterfall.  We brought lunch, ate, and then went swimming underneath the waterfall.  Yes, I was worried about leptospirosis, but I quickly got over that when I jumped in and my testicles shriveled up to the size of raisins.  The water was unbelievably FREEZING.  It was still fun, though.  Definitely one of my favorite hiking trips I've done here.

Banyan Trees

I realize this is a little bit of a ridiculous and "slow news day" type of post, but everyone who has visited has asked me the same question.  What type of tree is that?  In Hawaii, these trees are all over the place and they look pretty cool.  I have never seen them anywhere else, but learned that they are the national tree of India and were planted in Hawaii in the late 1800s.

So there ya go.  Fun fact of the day.

outside my office

No Snow Days Here

It has been brought to my attention that the East Coast and Midwest are being absolutely pounded by winter storms.  Weather.com is reporting that 100 million people will be affected.  In Chicago "this may be the biggest snowstorm the city has ever seen." Forecasts call for more than 24 inches of snow, with snow totals possibly surpassing those of the 1967 and 1979 blizzards. A record 23 inches of snow fell during the 1967 blizzard.  An ice storm struck the Dallas metro area, closing schools and snarling traffic.  A foot of snow is expected in St. Louis.

If that weren't enough, reading news reports you'd think it was the end of the world as we know it. According to weather reports, "the system will increasingly target the Midwest through tonight and the Northeast Wednesday bringing more of the same: blizzard conditions, heavy snow, damaging ice and some rain. In the South, blizzard conditions linger in Oklahoma while severe thunderstorms race eastward from the lower Mississippi Valley to Alabama and western Florida today."

CNN.com, the new tabloid of mainstream media, is also claiming armageddon-like conditions: "wind-whipped snow twisted like a frozen dust devil across a vast swath of the nation on Tuesday, blinding motorists, closing airports and even complicating the travel plans of football fans headed to this weekend's Super Bowl."

Not in Hawaii.  We may have earthquakes and oozing volcanoes, but damn it, we don't get blizzards.  However, I am starting to buy into the end of the world theory.  We have gotten some ridiculous weather here, too.  A cold front moved in last night and it's supposed to dip into the low 70s this week!  Last night, I actually had to sleep under my sheets! It was freezing! Close to 64 degrees.  Now, I was explaining this to a law school friend who used to live in Hawaii.  He is currently a public defender in Boston where, I'm told, they have already received 60+ inches of snow this winter.  He sent me this youtube video that pretty much perfectly sums up Hawaiian weather and everyone's feelings about it.  It's pretty hilarious.

Criminal Justice in Hawaii

The Judiciary's annual report - entitled Justice in Jeopardy - details the current state of the Hawaiian Judiciary and discusses the impact that furloughs and budget cuts have had on the operation of the court system.  The report itself is 14 pages long and is a very easy read if you're interested.  However, since I know most people 1) don't care, 2) don't like to read boring things, and 3) like interesting bullet points, here is something I think people might want to know - the criminal stuff.

Before I get to the facts and figures, I have to explain why I decided to highlight this.  Every time I get asked what kind of law I practice, I calmly (and quickly) explain that I work for a judge.  Then I get asked, "so do you do prosecution or defense?"  See, I have two theories as to why this is the case:  1) the person did not read my blog post on how the judiciary works, and 2) most people get their information about the legal system from Law & Order.  So no one really understands anything beyond criminal law.  Even if they've been to civil court before, people think the "plaintiff" is the "prosecution." Besides all that, the sexy stuff of the law is found in who's going to jail.

Here is a quote from an attorney in private practice about the current criminal justice system in Hawaii: “[A]s a practicing litigator, I can share with you the impact that the budget cuts on the Judiciary have caused.  Among my case load, I have a case that is about four years old that has been ready to go to trial since late last year.  It has been delayed because of the backlog of criminal trials and was recently reset to [redacted], 2011 - a year away.  Many of my colleagues are reporting similar occurrences. The Judiciary allows economic, political and social life to function properly and it must be spared any further budget cuts.”

So here you go:  In FY2010, the Hawai'i Judiciary was involved with:


◆ 68,041 criminal traffic cases including:
          • 13,593 DWI/DUI cases
          • 1,264 reckless driving cases

◆ 94,479 District Court criminal cases including:
          • 9,413 larceny/theft cases
          • 6,154 assault cases
          • 2,169 vandalism cases
          • 1,349 prostitution cases
          • 4,096 narcotics cases
          • 1,232 sex offense cases

◆ 17,220 Circuit Court criminal cases including:
          • 178 murder & manslaughter cases
          • 97 forcible rape cases
          • 1,602 aggravated assault cases
          • 1,235 burglary cases
          • 2,686 larceny/theft cases
          • 3,633 narcotics cases

American Judicature Society's Special Committee on the Effects of the Economy on the Judiciary

As I have written about numerous times HERE and HERE, the State of Hawai'i is having budget issues (to put it mildly).  The annual budget meeting was a few weeks ago and my judge was in charge of reporting what the judiciary was feeling with respect to budget cuts and furlough days.  When I say it was my judge's job, I think we all know what that means.

My judge drafted a survey that consisted of only four questions...presumably because most lawyers are too self-important to be bothered by such non-sense as answering a few survey questions.  Anyway, I found the responses pretty interesting if simplistically obvious.  The four questions, which were sent out to the 82 judges sitting on the Family Courts, Circuit Courts, Intermediate Court of Appeals, and Hawaii Supreme Court (all state court judges) were:

1. Has your decision-making been impaired by judiciary budget cuts? If so, please explain.

2. Are you able to perform your duties so that your conduct and performance are not subject to undue pressures or criticism? If not, please explain.

3. Do you believe that budget cuts have impinged on the courts' effectiveness? If so, please explain.

4. Have the cutbacks impacted judicial independence? If so, please explain.

21 judges responded to the survey (25% response rate) and then we summarized their answers so my judge could present the findings to the American Judicature Society.  The results of the survey were used to help the Judiciary develop it's annual report on the State of the Judiciary.  In fact, today Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald delivered his first State of the Judiciary Address using a lot of the facts and figures found in the survey and report.

The report - entitled Justice in Jeopardy (pdf copy of the report) - echoes a lot of what I've written about here before - furloughs suck.  The Judiciary report sums it up a little more eloquently, though by saying "these reductions have had substantial negative effects throughout the judicial system, by reducing, delaying and in some cases eliminating important services. Notably, Hawaii’s families and most vulnerable citizens have been significantly impacted."  The report went on to discuss budget cuts by saying, "Adequately funding the state court system is an investment in justice, and an investment in our democracy that should not be compromised even during tough economic times."

Operating Budget

Today, the Governor released his proposed operating budget for the next two years.  I have some thoughts on this, and I will share them eventually, but for now enjoy the chart (click to enlarge):

Pineapple Express

No, this post is not about the movie celebrating stoners.  Instead, it turns out that there is a weather phenomenon known as the Pineapple Express.  Pineapple Express is a non-technical term for a meteorological phenomenon characterized by a strong and persistent flow of atmospheric moisture and associated heavy rainfall from the waters adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands and extending to any location along the Pacific coast of North America. Have you watched the news at all in the last couple days?  Surely you've seen that California is getting pounded with rain, snow, and mudslides.  Just yesterday I wrote about Hawai'i having issues with rain.  It seems as though this is something someone invented to explain the unexplainable a legit phenomenon.  


According to Wikipedia, "a Pineapple Express is driven by a strong, southern branch of the Polar jetstream and is usually marked by the presence of a surface frontal boundary which is typically either slow or stationary, with waves of low pressure traveling along its axis. Each of these low pressure systems brings enhanced rainfall."  Go figure. I only found this to be cool because it has been raining non-stop here the last couple days and the name of the cause is very closely associated with my blog.  I am pretty sure, in fact, that someone came up with the name only after reading my blog.  They saw my post yesterday, saw the name Pineapple Project, and invented "Pineapple Express."  See, who said blogging was a waste of time?  I am changing names of weather patterns.  Maybe one day I'll even get my own hurricane!  


Okay, not really.  It seems the Pineapple Express has been a thing since the 50s.  In 2006, The Puget Sound region from Olympia, Washington to Vancouver, BC received several inches of rain per day in November 2006 from a series of successive Pineapple Express storms that caused massive flooding in all major regional rivers and mudslides which closed the mountain passes. During the second week of January, 1952, a series of "Hawaiian" storms swept into Northern California, causing widespread flooding around the Bay Area.

How The Courts Work

Law school and the legal profession are unique beasts.  If you're not engaged in it, you really don't understand it.  My mom, even after hearing me talk about it for the last several years still doesn't fully understand what the hell I'm talking about.  I'll throw out random acronyms (i.e. OCI, which means "on campus interviews") or I'll discuss how clerking works or I'll point out that lawyers have been some of the hardest hit by the current recession. It just doesn't sink in.  I never fully grasped that most people don't have any exposure to the legal profession outside of Law & Order.  Sure, maybe you've paid a traffic ticket.  Or maybe you've seen "And Justice For All" or watched "The Paper Chase," but unless you've been in the thick of it, whether by dating a law student/lawyer or being the parent or best friend of one, you have no idea.  Here's the problem: if you're the law student/lawyer, you forget that people have no idea.  You assume everyone knows what "Skadden" is.  You assume everyone knows why clerks don't need to be licensed in the state where they're clerking.  You assume everyone reads "Above the Law" and knows what T-14 means.  I assume most law students/lawyers assume these things because we're narcissistic.  The reality is, though, that normal people don't have a clue and don't really care.

Since moving to Hawaii, I have encountered the most non-law affiliated people I've known since college.  When people find out I'm a lawyer, they inevitably ask what kind of law I practice.  Fair question.  When I respond, "appellate law" or "I'm a clerk" or "I work for the Judiciary" I get a courtesy "oh cool" but a clearly blank expression explains it all.  It seems like unless you are a prosecutor or defense attorney or "corporate lawyer" no one has any idea what the hell a lawyer does.  Last week I had a conversation with someone who didn't really understand how the U.S. court system worked.  It occurred to me that maybe, as law students and lawyers, we take for granted that people had basic civics in elementary school didn't go to law school.  I don't think you need a law degree to know the basics, but alas, I am increasingly being proven wrong as I regularly encounter confusion from people who don't know how the U.S. court system is set up.

So here is my effort at explaining it.  The U.S. judicial system is composed of a federal system and state system.  The federal court system is divided into numerous geographic units and various levels of hierarchy. Similarly, each state has its own court system with various local "trial" courts and heirarchical "appellate" courts.  Under this dual federal/state court structure, the federal courts decide federal law or issues that arise under the federal constitution.  The highest court of each state, (usually) the State Supreme Court, has the ultimate authority to interpret State law.  For example, if you get arrested for a crime (generally) or you want to sue someone who lives in the same state as you for money (generally), you'd be in state court.  If you get arrested for being part of a multi-state gang conspiracy or you sue someone who lives in a different state from you for more than $75,000, you'll (generally) be in federal court.


The federal judiciary and the individual state judicial systems are each constructed like a pyramid. Entry-level courts at both the state and federal levels are trial courts, in which witnesses are called, other evidence is presented and the fact-finder (a jury or sometimes a judge) is called upon to decide issues of fact based on the law (i.e. were you really drunk? was the light really red?  did you have a contract?).  At the top of each pyramid structure is the court of last resort (at the federal level, the U.S. Supreme Court; at the state level, the state supreme court) which has the authority to interpret the law of that jurisdiction. In most states and in the federal system there is also a mid-level court of appeals.  When you lose in the lower courts, you can "appeal" to the higher court and ask the higher court to say that the lower court got it wrong.  Any court has the power to declare a law or government action to be unconstitutional, subject to review by a higher-level court.

Below is a graph of the FEDERAL SYSTEM:

Here is a a graph of the HAWAI'I SYSTEM (NOTE: this is a couple years old.  The Intermediate Court of Appeals has 6 judges, the Supreme Court currently has 4 sitting justices and one vacant spot waiting to be filled):

Update:  Here is a less detailed chart that makes the court hierarchy a little more clear (click to enlarge):

There is so much more I could try to explain, but hopefully this gives some idea.

Heavy Rain

Thursday night through Friday afternoon saw a major thunderstorm for the first time since I've been in Hawaii.  It made for a very wet furlough Friday.  Thunderstorms are pretty typical in the midwest so I wasn't all that surprised when I saw lightning and heard thunder.  However, in Hawaii those things are apparently rare.  The winter is Hawaii's rainy season, and it has rained a few times in the last month or two, but nothing unusual in my opinion.  The last two days, though, have been pretty crazy.  There has been a constant, heavy rain.  So much so, in fact, that the Department of Heath actually issued an advisory to Kaua'i, O'ahu, Maui and Moloka'i to stay out of any water that is brown.

The Department warning says, "The public is advised to stay out of flood waters and storm water runoff due to possible overflowing cesspools, pesticides, animal fecal matter, dead animals, chemicals, and associated flood debris. The health department warning says boaters, swimmers and surfers should stay out of coastal waters if they are turbid and brown."

I previously wrote about Leptosperosis and its prevalence in Hawaii.  I was fortunate that I did not contract it when I went cliff jumping at Maunawili Falls, but I think this advisory is enough to convince me that I won't be going back in the near future.

You're Welcome, America

I grew up in Delaware. This has proven to be great fodder for comedy among my friends in college and law school.  The most common phrase I hear when I meet new people is, "wow, I've never met anyone from Delaware."  I attribute that to the fact that there really aren't that many people from the country's second smallest State.  Delaware has two things it clings to, though.  First, we are the home of tax free shopping.  That's right, no sales tax on ANYTHING.  When you go to a restaurant and the price says $12.99, that's all you pay.  None of this $13.47 garbage you see everywhere else.  Second, and the theme of this post, is that Delaware is the First State. December 7 may be a date which will live in infamy, but it is also a date which should be more well known for something awesome.  Delaware was the first State to ratify the Constitution...you guessed it...on December 7, 1787.  Although the U.S. Constitution did not go into effect until March 4, 1789, Delaware still led the way. You're welcome.

State Flag of Delaware

Consequently, I can now boast that I have lived in the First State and the Last State (Hawaii joined the Union August 21, 1959).  So there's your fun fact of the day. If you're so inclined, I recommend taking a trip to the nation's First State. Here is our travel website (which I didn't even know existed) full of great tourist information.

Hawai'i's 7th Governor

It's easy to forget sometimes just how young Hawaii is as a State (1959).  Today, I remembered when I found out that Neil Abercrombie was sworn in as Hawaii's 7th Governor.  To put that in perspective, Delaware, the First State, is on its 73rd governor.  The inauguration took place at 'Iolani Palace and there were about 5,000 people there.  I didn't walk across the street to watch because I couldn't imagine anything worse than trying to brave the inevitable crowd of confused people walking into each other.  I'm told he spoke for about 9 minutes and focused his speech on meaningless rhetoric improving the economy and promising to bring a "new day" to Hawaii.  You can read his inaugural message if you want, but one of the highlights is that he said, "our first job is to accelerate the economic recovery, restoration of good jobs, create good jobs, capitalize on new opportunities, work smarter, work in partnerships to optimize our jobs."  Are you scratching your head, too?  Yes, that grammatical and rhetorical train wreck is the work of a man who now runs an entire State.  I mean, nevermind the fact that the guy looks like a creepy pedophile.
  

Hawaii's New Governor

The governor didn't talk at all about how he would sustain government services while also fulfilling campaign promises to end government worker furloughs while dealing with rising Medicaid and state laborer health care costs.  I've written about furloughs before and how they suck for my wallet but give me two Fridays off per month.  I even have a label section dedicated to Furlough Fridays on the right side of the blog.  The furloughs that the governor talked about ending, though, don't apply to me.  The judiciary is controlled by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  As a result, the governor doesn't decide whether we keep our furloughs or not.

Abercrombie is your stereotypical career politician. He first ran for political office in 1970, challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Hiram Fong.  He also graduated from the University of Hawaii with a master's degree in sociology in 1964 and a doctorate in American studies in 1974 (he lost the Senate election in 1970).  His career also includes stints in the state House from 1975-1979, state Senate from 1979-1986 and Honolulu City Council from 1988 to 1990.  After serving a term on the Honolulu City Council, he ran for the U.S. House of Reps from Hawaii's 1st Congressional District.  He held that seat for 20 years before resigning in February to run for governor.

Kaua'i Coffee Company

History Lesson

When we went to Kaua'i last week, I wrote about how we went to the Waimea Brewing Comany and sampled their beer.  After a few beers, though, we needed some coffee to sober up.  Fortunately for us, right now the street from the brewery was the largest coffee producer in the United States.  The Kaua'i Coffee Company is also located right off the main road in Kaua'i and is a short distance from the brewery.  The Kauai Coffee Company is does all the work - from growing the beans to packaging them - right there on the premises.  There are over 4 million coffee trees grown on 3,100 acres, which makes the company responsible for HALF of all coffee produced in the U.S.

Who Doesn't Like Free Samples?

This was a really cool place to visit, and I wholeheartedly recommend stopping by if you're ever on Kaua'i.  First of all, when you walk in, there is someone there to greet you with a really friendly attitude.  This person will tell you all about the variety of samples they have on the back deck and will point you in the direction of the walking tour, coffee bar, or ice cream shop.  When you walk in, you're in the middle of the gift shop, but if you walk through that, you end up on a covered patio out back.  There, you will find 3 tables with about 8 different coffee-filled thermoses.  That's right, there are 24 FREE samples of coffee.  They actually encourage you to try all of them.  I don't know about you, but whenever I go to, say, an ice cream store and they offer free samples, I always feel guilty (and a little judged) if I asked for multiple samples.  Not here.  No one is there monitoring anything and they encourage you to try everything, so there is no guilt with trying every sample they have.  The tables are broken down by type of roast.  They have espresso roast, dark roast, and flavored.  I was really impressed.  Everything I tried was really good.  So good, in fact, that I purchased a few bags (more on that below).

Little Museum Inside

As you sip your coffee, there is a running video that you can sit and watch that details the way coffee is produced.  Various plantation workers talk about how coffee beans are grown, pulped, and processed.  You can also get ice cream, but ready for this? NO COFFEE FLAVOR!  They just had basic flavors.  Wtf!?  That doesn't even make sense!  Oh well.  They also have a coffee bar where you can get a big cup of coffee if you don't want to mooch and just try the samples.  There are plenty of tables, benches, and chairs on the patio for you to sit and relax outside.  You can also walk into the coffee fields where they have tables and chairs and umbrellas set up to sit outside if you want.

Once you're finished sipping samples and milling around, take the walking tour.  I never knew how coffee was produced (not that I ever really cared to think about it...).  This tour was really informative, but perfectly short.  They had about 8 or 9 stations set up with brief plaques explaining the different steps in the process of producing coffee beans.

Coffee Fields

After you go through the garden walking tour, you can go into the gift shop and purchase bags of coffee beans if you want.  They have other stuff, too, but I actually thought the coffee was really good.  So I bought a couple bags.  But what if I don't have a coffee grinder?  Well, they will happily grind it for you, for free!  And you'll also get a 10% discount if you have a Kama'aina (resident) Discount.

So how do they produce and process the coffee? Did you really think I wouldn't explain it?

Blossoming:

Coffee starts like many other fruits - it grows on a tree as a fragrant and delicate flower blossom. These blossoms eventually develop into the coffee cherry.  The seeds of the cherry (usually two to a cherry) are what become the coffee bean familiar to most of us.

See the Cherries?

Harvesting:

On Kauai, the blossoming begins in February or March, and by May, the cherry begins to form.  The fruit ripens around late September, and harvesting begins.  They employ harvesting technology very similar to many wine grape harvesters in regions like California's Napa Valley.  The Kauai Coffee Company’s harvesting period runs from mid-October through early December.  They harvest 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, using 3 shifts.  Due to the size of the estate, and the existence of varying island climates, daily scouting reports are used to select the fields with maximum ripeness.  Twelve mechanical harvesters that were originally designed for blueberries perform the harvesting.  On the tour they tell you that it would take literally every man, woman, and child on Kaua’i to harvest by hand.  I guess that means they don’t have an influx of Mexican immigrants here.

Wet Processing:

After the coffee cherries are harvested, trucks deliver them from the fields to the “wet processing plant.”  At the plant, the cherries are separated into three stages of maturity - ripe, natural and immature coffee.  They put the cherries in water and the overripe float to the top and the under-ripe cherries sink to the bottom. by using inherent differences in density and hardness.

Pulping:

They take the ripe cherries and remove the skin and fleshy part of the fruit until just the seed (i.e. bean) is left.

Drying:

The leftover beans are then washed to remove the sticky mucous and crap that coats them before the beans are sent to pre-dryers - a fluidized bed of air that is the start of the drying process. After this, the beans are puy in heated drying elevators for 18 to 36 hours.

Milling:

The coffee rests in parchment for a while, and is then milled to remove more skin.  Throughout the process, the producers still have quality control tests that monitor bean temperatures and preserve each bean's flavor and quality. Sizing screens and density tables further sort out the best beans.

Sorting:

The final sorting step in the dry mill is the color sorter, where an electronic eye scans each bean for color, selecting the finest colored beans and rejecting those that don't pass with a blast of air.

Grading:

After the beans are sorted, each batch of coffee is then inspected by the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture, which gives each batch a different graded designation. The DOA inspector officially certifies each batch of coffee by grade quality and origin.  Finally, they roast it and ship it.

The Ground Should Not Move

Earthquakes on the Big Island 1962-1985

Growing up in the mid-Atlantic region and going to college in Washington, DC, I am not accustomed to the ground suddenly deciding to move.  Hawai'i, however, has earthquakes.  Last night, there were 2.  My California friends will probably tell me to pipe down since the earthquakes, which struck off the coast of Maui, were only magnitudes 4.7 and 3.3.  I recognize these are small, but when I was sitting in my bed at 6:31pm last night, I thought my roommate was home having sex and shaking the wall.  Turns out, she wasn't.  There was a small earthquake.  The bed only shook for a second and was only enough to confuse me.  But I did notice.  I did a little research and it seems I will have to get used to this craziness.  Hawaii has a lot of small earthquakes.

One of the best things about an earthquake though is it gives me something to write on an otherwise boring day.  Pretty soon I am going to have to talk about my job, which will surely get my 2 readers to stop reading.  I also get to give fun facts!  Earthquakes in Hawai'i are closely linked to volcanoes. They are an important part of the island-building processes that have shaped the Hawaiian Islands. Thousands of earthquakes occur every year beneath the Big Island alone.

Crustal Plates

Hawai'i is geologically a unique place because it is caused by a "hot spot." Most islands are found at tectonic plate boundaries.  There are few "hot spots," though and the one under Hawaii is right in the middle of one of the largest crustal plates on Earth - the Pacific Plate. A geologic "hot spot" is an area in the middle of a crustal plate where volcanoes form (see picture at very bottom of blog) when molten magma breaks through the crustal plate. A hot spot is why Yellowstone National Park has geysers.  Eruptions and magma movement within the presently active volcanoes (Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Lo`ihi) are usually accompanied by numerous small earthquakes.  Many other earthquakes, including the largest ones, occur in areas of structural weakness at the base of Hawai`i's volcanoes or deep within the Earth's crust beneath the island.

Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon, on Kauai's West Side, is described as "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific." Although not as big or as old as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, there isn't anything like this geological wonder in Hawaii. Stretching 14 miles long, 1 mile wide and more than 3,400 feet deep, the Waimea Canyon Lookout provides panoramic views of crested buttes, rugged mountain peaks, and deep valley gorges.  The grand inland vistas go on for miles. 

The canyon was carved thousands of years ago by rivers and floods that flowed from Mount Waialeale's summit.  The lines in the canyon walls depict different volcanic eruptions and lava flows that have occurred over the centuries.  The canyon is protected by the Koke'e State Park which encompasses 4,345 acres of land and has 45 miles of trails that run through the canyon and the nearby Alakai Swamp.  Kokee State Park is covered in forest, wild flowers and hiking trails making it an excellent spot to see native plants and colorful Hawaiian forest birds.  As we were driving along Waimea Canyon Road, we saw several 4x4 trucks parked on cliffs and in the forest where it was clear people were hiking.  Some of the park's hiking trails lead to views of Waimea Canyon, others wind through wet forests with sweeping views of valleys opening up to the North Shore.  We didn't do any of that as we were still exhausted from the Na Pali Coast craziness.  If you're a big time hiker, though, I imagine you might argue that it would be fun to trudge through uncut forest risking life and limb climbing up and down 3,400 ft of canyon walls into pure nothing-ness.  Send me an email and let me know how that works out for you.

Getting there is simple, as with pretty much everything on Kaua'i. You take the major road (Kuhio Hwy) west.  Turn right on Waimea Canyon Rd.  Drive 40 miles.  There are no gas stations along the 40-mile road, though, so be sure to fill up before starting this trip.

Na Pali Coast and Hanakapi'ai Falls

The Na Pali Coast, which is officially a State Park, may be one of the most breathtaking things I have ever seen.  It's hard to describe in words and even in pictures don't really do it justice.  The entire coast is inaccessible to cars so you have to drive to the end of Kauai's only main road (Kuhio), park at the beach at the end of the road, and hike the coast.  This 15-mile stretch of rugged coastline is on the northwest shore of Kauai.  It literally means "the cliffs" (remember, Pali means cliffs).  The coast is inaccessible because of its sheer cliffs that drop straight down thousands of feet into the ocean.


The Kalalau Trail from the end of Kuhio Highway (the only major road on the entire island) provides the only land access.  This trail is a strenuous 11-mile hike and crosses five major valleys (and many smaller ones) before reaching Kalalau Beach at the base of Kalalau Valley.  If you hike the 11 mile trail, you have to set up camp and then hike back the next day (camping requires a permit).  We didn't have that kind of time (or a permit).  The trail is no joke.  I have written before about hikes I've done that kids and old people can do.  This trail got a 9 out of 10 from the Sierra Club in degrees of difficulty.  In fact, you can't even hike the trail if it has rained within 24 hours because it is so dangerous and becomes one slippery mountain of mud.  It takes an entire day to do the 11 miles.  Of course, here I am saying how tough it is and there were plenty of kids and locals hiking barefoot or in flip flops (most were not, though). Another great way to see the Na Pali Coast is by boat.  We didn't do this, but we said at the end of the day it would have been amazing.  By boat you can see the entire coast and you don't have to deal with the strenuous hike.

Fortunately, the trail can be experienced in pieces.  The most popular section is from Ke'e Beach (at the end of Kuhio Hwy) to Hanakapi'ai Falls.  This section of the trail winds through a tropical rainforest and ends in a lush river valley. The falls are 4 miles from where you park your car (8 miles roundtrip, it's not a loop).  If you aren't up for the whole hike to the falls, though, about 2 miles in is the Hanakapi'ai Beach.  This isn't the most beautiful beach in the world, but it's a great place to rest before taking on the next 2 miles of the trail to the falls.  The river flows into the ocean here and when we went, a lot of people were playing in the river.  Apparently, the tide and currents are so strong that no one goes in the ocean.  In fact, before we left, someone specifically said not to go in the ocean because "it's not worth your life, guys."  There is a sign along the trail that literally tallies the number of people who have drowned.  We weren't dressed for swimming anyway.  Since a lot of people kayak the Na Pali coast, there were a few kayakers resting on the beach as well.

I can't emphasize enough how intense, but gorgeous, this hike was.  We're talking 3,000 foot climbs over unstable and slippery rocks, rivers and streams to cross, trees to climbs over, and valleys with smaller waterfalls.  We had to watch every step we took.  The first 1/2 mile took 40 minutes.  The entire 4-mile hike to the falls takes about 3 hours...and we were going quickly.  It can take longer.  The views were incredible, though.  There are various points along the trail where the trees open up and the entire coast is visible.  You're literally standing on a mountain (covered in mud) looking out over shimmering blue water, 4,000-ft cliffs, and lush tropical rainforests.  After 2 miles (and about an hour and a half), we made it to the beach where we stopped to have lunch.  Apparently, we were lucky and didn't even know it.  During the winter months this beach is often washed away.  When we went, though, there was a huge sand beach full of people.
  

After we ate, we hiked the rest of the way.  The second half consists of more streams (high probability of getting wet - we fell in up to our knees when we slipped off a rock - so bring waterproof hiking boots or water shoes), more jungle, and more climbing.  At the end of the trail, though, is a gorgeous 300-ft waterfall with a swimming pool at the base.  Since you just hiked 4 miles in 3-4 hours (and you still have to turn around), take a dip, cool off, and forget about Leptospirosis.  Also, since nothing on this blog comes without a fun history lesson, I thought you'd want to know that the falls are named after a Menehune princess descended from the first human settlers to canoe here from the Marquesas Islands (part of modern day French Polynesia).  Here is a video of the falls:

Kaua'i

This weekend I went to Kaua'i (it's easy to go for a weekend when you have Furlough Fridays off).  Kauai is Hawaii’s fourth largest island and is sometimes called the “Garden Isle,” which is an entirely accurate description. It is the oldest and northernmost island in the Hawaiian chain and is littered with valleys, sharp mountain spires and jagged cliffs that are pretty draw dropping. Centuries of growth have also formed tropical rainforests, forking rivers and cascading waterfalls.

If you've never been to Kaua'i, you may nevertheless be familiar with its scenery.  The mountains and coast were backdrops for movies such as Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Six Days Seven Nights, and South Pacific. It was also the setting for the TV show Gilligan's Island.  Kaua'i is nothing like O'ahu.  It is as secluded and untouched by development as you can get and has none of O'ahu's city-like feel.  There is only one major road that follows the coast and only a few minor roads that go to the center of the island.  In fact, vast parts of the island can only be seen or accessed by boat or helicopter.

Kaua'i is circular in shape with lush, mountainous regions in its center and beaches covering almost half its shoreline. Kauai's age makes it one of the most scenic islands in Hawaii from the 3,000-foot elevations of Waimea Canyon to the waterfalls and deep gorges of 5,148-foot Mount Waialeale in the uninhabited center of Kauai, which you can only view by air.  We didn't have much of a plan when we arrived, but had a pretty packed weekend of activities.  Someone recommended we hike the Na Pali coast, so we did that when we got off the plane.  We also went to Waimea Canyon, the Waimea Brewing company (more beer reviews to come!), the Kauai coffee company, and a beach.