Biking Down the Volcano: February, 2001

On Sunday at 7:00 AM, Kendra, Kelsey, Jacque, Rollie, Jered, Jay and I left for our "Self-Guided Bike Tour, Option 2," which we had booked the previous evening. Amy cried to go, but she couldn't convince her mom that a fourth grader could ride a bike down 7,000 vertical feet with no problems. In retrospect, I'm sure she could have handled it, but as I recall, she was technically too young to join the tour in any case. In Haiku, the bikers were fitted for gear for the downhill bike ride from the top of Haleakala Volcano. The tour company provided wind-breaking pants and jackets, which proved to be all the extra warmth needed for me (in Hawaiian shirt and shorts), plus a helmet. It’s a beautiful downhill trip of about 38 miles, so take your time by stopping often to take in the views. The prize for being the first one down to Paia is that your excursion ends sooner.

After the ride, the bikers were playing shuffleboard and cards, or relaxing in other ways back at the hotel for a couple of hours before Amy, Julie and Cheryl returned from their adventure visiting the Pineapple Plantation and Twin Falls. Amy told us about having the most delicious smoothies, and they also found some great waterfalls, so they all enjoyed a wonderful day too.

We had fast food dinners, with Kid’s Meals from Pizza Hut or combos from the Taco Bell sharing the same building.

Finally drinking some of the rum we bought at Safeway on our first grocery trip to stock our condos when we first arrived, Rollie, Jacque, Julie and I enjoyed various cocktails, including rum and Diet Coke on the balcony of our room. About 8:00 PM, we strolled down to the beach and enjoyed the star-filled night. The five kids came down to join us, taking a break from their shuffleboard game. Amy, Kendra, Kelsey and Jacque went for a nighttime swim in the ocean. Amy, Kendra and Kelsey came prepared, wearing swimsuits and towels, but Jacque decided she’d rather go in wearing her clothes rather than losing the moment by returning to the room for a bathing suit.

When we eventually headed back to our room, we all watched “Johnny Bravo” (“All that and a bag of chips!”) on the Cartoon Network. Although I no longer remember what this means, one of the episodes was about a dolphin who entertained the crowd by saying, “Fish,” and it had us all in stitches. Afterwards, we had a few rousing games of “I Doubt It” (yes, that is the same game more popularly known by words initialed BS), and then we went to bed for a good night’s sleep.