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na pali coast

Monday in Numbers

May 21, 2012 by Kristy 13 Comments

10:  the hours of sleep I got last night.  We took a red eye flight home from Kauai and the dude next to me was very lax in minding his personal space (I was sitting in the middle).  I normally sleep fine on a plane but every time I nodded off I felt a strange arm or leg mosey over into my limited personal space.  Eww.  I was practically in Matt’s lap by the time we landed.

236:  number of unread emails when I returned to work today.  I was pleasantly surprised!

0:  number of miles ran this morning.  It was raining when I woke up.  Normally I run in the rain but it gets tricky when it’s an “in the office” day (M, W, Th).  If my hair is soaking wet, I’ll need to wash it which adds a significant amount of time to my morning routine.  Silly?  Yes…but I get up in just the right amount of time to run, shower, and throw my hair into a ponytail.

14:  number of miles hiked in Kauai.  I already wrote about our 6-mile hike along the Kalalau Trail and on Friday we did an 8-mile hike along the Pihea Trail to the Alaka’i Swamp Trail.  It was muddy and steep at parts but more than half the trail had a boardwalk to make things easier.

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At the turnaround point (mile 4) you are supposed to be treated to a wonderful view of Kilohana Lookout for your efforts…weather pending.  Key words right there.  This is what we were supposed to see:

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Beautiful, huh? (via)

Instead a cloud rolled in exactly when we got there and we saw this:

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Not kidding.  We were literally stuck in a cloud.

Oh well, you win some you lose some.  We knew there was a possibility of a cloud rolling in and blocking the view; it was a great hike otherwise.  We did meet a very friendly rat who begged for food!

Kauai Running: North Shore vs. South Shore

May 17, 2012 by Kristy 13 Comments

I love to run on vacation.  No expectations, no pressure…just run to offset dessert calories.  Or, in my case, beer calories.  It’s a great way to explore a city or a town.  I’ve managed easy 3-milers in the very early AM (before it gets ungodly hot) for the past 3 days.

We split our time in Kauai between the North Shore and South Shore.  We stayed in Princeville (at the Westin – highly recommend it) for the NS and at Poipu Beach (Sheraton – also very nice) for the SS.

The NS is definitely more scenic with views of the ocean and Na Pali Coast.  The Na Pali Coast is like the Golden Gate Bridge to me – I will never get sick of staring at it.

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The SS is nice too but no mountain views.  However, it is significantly cooler with a nice ocean breeze.

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The best thing about running in a beach town is you can step right outside your hotel and follow the other runners – no need to do any research.  For cities, I definitely do my homework.  I don’t want to end up in a shady area (suggestions for running in Paris/London are welcome!).

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Do you run on vacation?  I love the change of scenery.  My favorite place to run is still San Fran.  I haven’t found any place that can beat it. 

Na Pali Hike

May 14, 2012 by Kristy 12 Comments

Greetings from Kauai!

This will be short and sweet as I have some Miller Lite drinking to do poolside!

Today Matt and I hiked some of the Na’Pali Coast.  I say some since it’s a 11-mile hike one way along some pretty narrow cliffs with great, big drops.  I’m terrified (repeat, terrified) of heights and did my research ahead of time – these cliffs were no joke.  Our plan was to go out maybe 3 miles (so we wouldn’t reach the cliffs; they come in around mile 6) and turnaround and get in a decent 6-mile hike.

That’s exactly what we did and it was spectacular, gorgeous, and amazing.

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Warning signs at the very beginning…

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One mile down…

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Lunch near a waterfall…

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The hike was tough coming back since we had to go mostly uphill.  My feet hurt from all the uneven footing, although I must brag I didn’t fall once.  I’m a total klutz when running and have scars to prove it.  It was so worth it.  The camera can’t even begin to capture how beautiful the views were.

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