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| TRIP TO MAUI
Last Friday we took the 2PM ferry to Maui for the weekend. We went directly to Hertz for a rental car and Danielle and I somehow got upgraded to a humongous Lincoln Navigator. We went first on company business to pick up some T-shirts that had just been made for the rebranding of the hotel here on Lanai, and then went on to the resort in Wailea. The hotel was amazing, as most of the company's properties are.
Open Air Lobby:
Fountain
Room Interior
View from the Room
Balcony Views at Sunset
View from a hotel hallway
Friday night we had a nice dinner at the Italian restaurant overlooking the ocean. We had some great calamari and I had ravioli to carbo-load a bit for the 10K the next morning. The race started at 7AM, which is an hour I hadn't been used to seeing for a few weeks, so we were a bit late for the prerace festivities when we showed up at the staging area. We got to meet many of the hotel staff, drank some coffee, and halfheartedly went through the prerace stretching regimen with a local TV personality.
I was in no shape for the 6.2 miles, as I have only worked myself up to about 5 mile on a treadmill. I had a goal of running the race in 1 hour, and I failed by 3 minutes. The course was quite hilly, and at about the 5 mile mark, I couldn't make myself run or even jog up the inclines, and so I took to walking up and jogging down the slopes. I think I was averaging 9 to 9 1/2 minute miles over the first 4 1/2 to 5 miles, but the walking really killed my hope of finishing in under 1 hour. I did have enough energy to sprint the last 200 yards or so to the finish line though to make it look good. The post race party was quite nice, although it didn't include the beer that seemed to be present at the end of most races in Louisiana and Texas. I don't have any pictures from race day because we obviously didn't want to carry the camera out on the course.
After the race Danielle and I took the Lincoln Navigator out to buy some stuff we needed. We headed to Kahului which is near the airport because we'd been told there was a Sports Authority and Wal-Mart. We didn't see the Wal-Mart on our trip that day but went back on Sunday and got a few things. At Sports Authority we both got our snorkel gear (fins, mask, and snorkel), she bought a golf bag for her clubs which have finally arrived from Doha, and I bought a pair of nonmarking tennis shoes. A few things we still need to get are bikes, a tennis racket, some hiking boots for me, and a rolling cooler. Space was limited in the Navigator because of the 5 boxes of T-shirts, and the prospect of carrying even more stuff onto the ferry made us stop at what we had.
In the afternoon we went to the pool and had a few drinks, and enjoyed the sun. We had a celebrity sighting in the pool when Danielle and I nearly ran into the kids of a Hollywood power couple, but I'm not at liberty to discuss who it was at this point :) Here are some pictures from around the pool.
Pool as seen from the lobby
Fountain & Pool
Pool
Wailea Beach
Outrigger Canoes... Looking back at the resort from Wailea Beach
Saturday night we went to dinner with Danielle's boss and boyfriend at a local Mexican place called Fred's which was a short ride from the resort. The food was great and a nice change from the same fare we've been getting at the resort here in Lanai. This may sound like complaining as in "oh no not steak and crab cakes again tonight!" but some days you just want nice cheap simple food. This week we'll be getting a chance to do "trial feedings" at the second resort up in Lanai City as they are about to reopen after the rebranding and need to test their standards. At least that will be a nice change from the same menus we've been seeing down here at the beach resort. The photos below are from our Friday night trip to the Italian restaurant at the resort.
Predinner cocktails at the lobby lounge
On Sunday we made a quick stop for fast food breakfast at McDonald's, and then picked up a few things at Wal-Mart before checking out of the hotel. We briefly walked around the Shops at Wailea where Danielle bought a few outfits, and then we drove back to Lahaina. Danielle dropped me at the ferry dock with 5 boxes of T-shirts, our luggage, and all of the gear we bought while she returned the car to Hertz.
While waiting for Danielle's return from Hertz, I felt a little like my brother Mike, as a guy drinking a 40oz beer out of a brown paper bag struck up a conversation that amused me for the 20 to 30 minutes while I waited for her return. I guess a little explanation is needed. While Mike, Danielle and I were up in Chicago for Jenny & Scott's wedding a number of years ago, it seemed that every time we turned around Mike would be in a conversation with another random stranger, from the Vietnam vet who had been talking to himself at Freddy's to the retarded kid who was applying for a job at Burger King. The guy with the brown bag beer was just eager to talk to someone and I happened to be there. I must say I rather enjoyed our conversation though. He was on his way to Molokai to interview for a construction job of some kind, but he was using the trip to get in some fishing while he was there. Like many people he came here from the cold weather of a northern US state, in this case Colorado, many years ago and had decided not to go back. He regaled me with fishing stories of catching blue marlin and giant ahi tuna, and recounted watching his mom's house survive the earthquake of a few weeks ago near Kona where it struck on the Big Island, clearly proud of his construction efforts since he had helped build the house, "the house danced on it's pylons!" he excitedly proclaimed as he described running out of the house to witness the ground roll like a wave underneath it. He even had advice for how to handle a drunken local should I ever find myself confronting an inebriated Hawaiian with "island fever," advising me to just get out of there and let the joker sober up and you'll be best friends the next day.
When Danielle returned, we loaded all of the stuff onto the ferry for the 45 minute ride back to Lanai, with my new beer drinking friend even helping us carry the T-shirt boxes. If we had had time I'd have bought him another 40.
Mandatory Sunset Photos:
 
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| THE LAST FEW WEEKS: Here's an overview of the last few weeks for us here on Lanai. The blogging software hasn't been cooperative, or I'd have posted more in that time.
EARTHQUAKE It seems so long ago that Danielle and I bolted straight up in bed on a Sunday morning awoken by the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck near Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, but which was felt throughout the Hawaiian islands. Our hotel room here in Lanai is on the 5th floor, but since the resort is terraced into the hillside, it is really only the 2nd floor. The rumbling went on for what seemed like 30 or 40 seconds. We didn't really take any action except to get up out of bed. It really wasn't all that frightening once we knew what it was. We continued to have aftershocks for the next 5 or 6 days, with a particularly strong one about an hour or so after the first quake. The hotel lost power for only 4 hours, and the hotel staff really did a good job of keeping guests informed with an updated bulletin board in the hotel lobby. They also provided the breakfast buffet free of charge to everyone that morning.
STEVE'S VISIT My brother Steve flew to Lanai to stay for 5 nights, but unfortunately the weather was rainy during his stay and so we weren't able to show him any of the remote parts of the island due to roads being too wet for four wheel drives to make it through. We had hoped to rent a Jeep for a day or two and show him Polihua or Shipwreck beach. We did manage to snorkel out in Manele Bay one day, but the waves were rather big which made for poorer visibility in the water and a more stomach churning snorkel. It didn't help that we had eaten the hotel breakfast buffet that morning either. We did see plenty of fish on the coral reef which we now know is on the left side of the bay. I don't think I've seen the water as crystal clear as the second day that Danielle and I got here.
HALLOWEEN PARTY
Here are a few photos from the annual Halloween Party which was held at the director of golf's place. I still don't know why this was held so early, October 20th. My costume was nothing more than a cheap smoking jacket and a pipe, so it wasn't too hard for Danielle to convince me to dress up.  
GOLF COURSE AT MANELE: THE CHALLENGE
Steve, Danielle & I went and had lunch at the Manele golf course one afternoon. Here are some photos that I took when I hiked up to the course myself several weeks earlier. I'd have to say that the view from the restaurant patio at the clubhouse is one of the best at the whole resort (the last picture below, which doesn't even do justice to the view): There are some multi-million dollar homes around the golf course. Here is one that has an interesting security gate: 
A few views of the golf course. This course is currently under repair, so I think only 9 holes are in use at the moment.
View looking back at the resort from near the golf course: in center and right of the photo you can see Sweetheart rock in the distance
View from the restaurant patio at the clubhouse: 
GOLF COURSE AT KOELE: THE EXPERIENCE
The day before Steve left he and I took the shuttle up to The Lodge in Lanai City to have lunch at the golf clubhouse, which I was told has excellent food. It did not disappoint as the burger and philly cheesesteak sandwich were as good as any food we've had at the Manele resort. The hotel, The Lodge, is not yet open, but should be reopening in mid November. The golf course has remained open throughout the rebranding process. Steve and I opted to walk back to the shuttle pickup at Hotel Lanai and here are a few photos from that walk. The Lodge:  Views of The Experience at Koele Golf Course:
 
Stables:
Hole on the free public golf course: Tough shot to a small green nestled among the trees
SHIPWRECK BEACH CLEANUP
My car should be arriving this week, but due to the moving company screwup in not picking up my car from Houston until two weeks after the scheduled pickup, they agreed to provide us with a vehicle from the Dollar Rental Car on the island for the last week before my car gets here. We probably should have complained earlier, because we might have gotten a rental for two weeks. Dollar only had Jeeps left in inventory, and so we are getting the added benefit of having a four wheel drive vehicle for the last week. We picked up the car on Saturday morning and immediately put it to use by driving out to Shipwreck beach for the hotel's annual beach cleanup. Here are a few photos: Shipwreck Beach:
Caravan of vehicles at Shipwreck beach for trash cleanup:
Picking up garbage off the shoreline:
Danielle and me at Shipwreck Beach:
After the cleanup everyone enjoyed burgers and beer. You can see a makeshift camp in the background, complete with picnic tables and cooking area. This dog seemed to be living out at the beach and was quite friendly.
This sea turtle was accidentally hooked on a fishing line and released back into the water. The dog was quite curious.
 I still haven't seen the petroglyphs, so we'll have to return to try to find them.
POLIHUA & AVILUA
After the beach cleanup, Danielle and I drove back out to Polihua beach to catch the sunset and make full use of the 4WD vehicle over the weekend. Photos: The paved road down to Shipwreck Beach provides some incredible views of Molokai and Maui:
 Back through the red clay of the garden of the gods out to Polihua
 Polihua Beach
Kiawe trees at Polihua
 Polihua rock throne
Silhouettes Sunset at Polihua
On Sunday we once again headed out to the remote western beaches driving off-road to Avilua beach for a change of scenery, unfortunately we forgot the camera. The drive down to Avilua at first seemed that it would be easier than the Polihua drive, but the road quickly deteriorated as we approached the coast which made for quite a bumpy ride. The beach at Avilua is better for finding shells than any of the other beaches we'd been to. We had gotten a picnic lunch from the hotel and had a quick lunch before relaxing a bit at the beach. I tried to start a fire to ward off the wasps, bees, and other flying insects, but was unsuccessful. It didn't really matter though because we weren't planning a long stay. Danielle and I explored the beach coast by walking maybe a mile along to see what there was to see. Perhaps someday I'll attempt to walk the beach all the way from Avilua to Polihua. Avilua also has an intentionally sunk boat just off the coast.
DINNER PARTY AT MATT & CECILIA'S
We left the beach early to get back to the resort in time to clean up for a dinner party at the Director of Purchasing's house. Here are some photos of the house up in Lanai City. Somehow I didn't get a picture of Matt & Cecilia's place, but I'd be quite happy if we can get something similar. A few of the neighboring houses also look nice.
Rental Jeep
Some houses across the street:
Colorful Houses
Nice sized porch wraps around the house:
You can see the water reservoir in the distance:
More Colorful Houses
We'll be heading to Maui this weekend to participate in the Maui Day of Hope, http://www.dayofhopemaui.com/ 10K run and 5K walk. I'm really in no shape to run 6 miles, but I've signed up for it anyway. We should get a chance to see a little more of Maui and get some of the gear we'll need on Lanai. We'll be staying at the hotel in Wailea which should be a great experience in itself. I'll be sure to post an update once we get back next week.
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| WHITESTONE BEACH, GARDEN OF THE GODS, & POLIHUA BEACH Last Sunday, one of Danielle's coworkers, Denise, agreed to show us some of the more remote beaches on the island. We took the shuttle from the front drive at the resort at Manele Bay up to Hotel Lanai to be picked up. Map of Lana'i to give a better idea of where we traveled on the island: 
Looking out at the front drive of the resort at Manele Bay from the shuttle bus 
Stone marking Dole Park which takes up a number of blocks in Lanai City and is used for city festivals 
One of the two banks on the island, Bank of Hawaii 
Pele's Other Garden... one of the local eateries 
Dis 'N Dat... the closest thing you'll find to a touristy type store, although I'm told the place for Lanai souvenirs is the one gas station, a fact I confirmed later when we went to resupply before heading out to Polihua Beach: 
Whitestone Beach, which I believe is on the northeast side of the island near Keomuku Village on the map above. We drove there in the white Jeep, and we definitely needed the 4WD as it was off the beaten path. 
View of Molokai from Whitestone Beach... the waters here were shallow for a long way out. We didn't get in the water because we'd gone snorkeling at Manele Bay the day before, and so we just hung out. Our tourguide Denise and the guys in the other vehicles had camped out the night before and gone fishing. We didn't stay long, but drove back into the city to resupply for our trip out to Polihua Beach. 
On the way to Polihua is the Garden of the Gods (GOTG), which is a stretch of red clay and rocks, some of which are in odd arrangements, whether through deliberate placement or natural causes, I'm unsure. 
Red clay and rocks.... Polihua road which runs through the GOTG was where one really needs a 4WD. Surprisingly I didn't get motion sickness despite the incredibly bumpy ride. It took us about 45 minutes to drive the 8 to 10 miles to Polihua Beach. The red clay has a way of getting on everything. Any visitors should bring a pair of beach shoes that they don't mind getting mucked up. 
Aloha Doha: Danielle at Polihua Beach shortly before sunset, sporting her Doha tanktop. 
Danielle and Denise at our layout near the beach. The kiawe tree (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiawe) provides good shade and is great for firewood. We had a bit of a campfire after eating dinner, which Denise had brought and prepared on her Coleman camping burner. I'm sure you'll note the many empty bottles of Moosehead and Hawaiian Longboard Lager in this pic. Denise showed us a great time and hopefully we'll be able to explore some of the other remote parts of the island in weekends to come. 
Sunset at Polihua Beach... cloud cover at the horizon didn't make this an ideal sunset photo, but I'm sure there will be other opportunities. 
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| A FEW PHOTOS FROM LANAI CITY, MORE TO COME SOON Danielle and a coworker had some work to do up at The Lodge at Koele yesterday, and so I caught a ride up to Lanai City to buy a few groceries and get a bit more familiar with the only city on the island. I believe that the city dates back to the 1920s, and it is much the same as it was then. There are two or three grocery stores, and maybe a half dozen restaurants, along with a one screen movie theater, one coffeeshop (not Starbucks), a post office, two banks, and lots of square two bedroom "plantation homes," so named because they were used by the workers on the Dole pineapple plantation which once used most of the island for growing the fruit. These are a far cry from the colossal plantation homes of Louisiana and Mississippi. They dropped me off at one of the small grocery stores, and I bought some beer & wine, since we are going to a BYOB gathering tonight at her boss' house to play games and eat pizza. We don't have much need for other stuff right now because living in the hotel provides us with most of the basic necessities. Despite that, I wandered the aisles to see just how expensive things will be when we eventually move up to Lanai City. I discovered that nothing seemed too overpriced at all. I think it could be that I'm desensitized to prices having lived in Qatar for the last two years where everything except gasoline seems more expensive. I kept hearing that we'd want to go to Maui and go to Costco to stock up on things, but aside from some things that we probably won't be able to find here, I doubt we'll be doing much of that. Heck a 6 pack of Bud Light was only $5.85! By the way, purchasing alcohol was sort of a rite of passage for me all over again as I was not able to buy it in Qatar for the last two years since Danielle, my sponsor, was the alcohol permit holder. The island of Lanai has around 3000 people, yet it has three times the number of retail outlets for alcohol sale as all of Qatar, a country with a population of around 600,000! I should have spent more time wandering the few streets of Lanai City, but since I was now on foot and carrying two bottles of wine and a six pack, I walked straight to the bus stop at Lanai Hotel for a ride back down to the resort at Manele Bay. I'm sure I'll have ample opportunity to get some more photos of the city later, but here are a few I took yesterday. Hotel Lanai... the only hotel on Lanai besides the two big resorts. However, there are also a few bed & breakfasts on the island. The pine trees are something to see, but of course that's coming from someone who's been living in the desert for two years. 
Hotel Lanai seems a bit rustic, but I'm told it isn't so bad. 
Rooftops... you can also see some new apartment construction going on at the bottom left. They really are trying to keep the size of the city and its character the same as it has been, and so they're building new houses slowly, and often on lots where previous houses stood. This is the reason why there is a housing shortage and why we are living in the resort. 
Plantation Homes: 
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| SWEETHEART ROCK I'm going to continue to spell them Lanai and Hawaii, even though the correct spellings are Lana'i and Hawai'i. And I still find myself pronouncing them LA NIGH and sometimes HA WHY EEE, instead of the correct pronunciation of LA NA EE and HA WAH EE, or even HA WAH EE EE. I'm not sure if those are correct phonetic representations, but it should give you the idea. I think Danielle has gotten into the swing of things and has started pronouncing it the correct way, LA NA EE, but it was kind of humorous when she used "Dubai" in normal conversation by pronouncing it DO BAH EE, instead of DO BIGH. Yesterday I took a walk up the beach to get some photos of Sweetheart Rock which is one of Lanai's landmark photo ops and just a short walk from the hotel at Manele Bay. Here is a link to the legend surrounding Sweetheart Rock: http://lanai.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii/ Here are two nice photos that I found online: 
A few photos of my own: 
Looking back at the resort from the ridge near Sweetheart Rock: 
Another shot of the red clay cliffs near Sweetheart Rock: 
Looking straight down the cliff face near Sweetheart Rock: 
Another shot of the resort lobby: 
You can more easily see the size of the resort from this picture: 
One of the 5 gardens on the resort grounds. This is the Hawaiian Garden: 
The Japanese Garden: 
A Koi Pond runs between these two gardens. I think they must be fed from where I was standing, because they all seemed to congregate when I looked over to take this picture: 
Tidal Pool near the Manele Bay Beach. You can see a young girl swimming at the left: 
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