Gossamer

That’s what Joe calls this scarf.  I immediately loved it when I saw it on Purl Bee and I got around to starting it about two months ago.  

I didn’t check the gauge, and my version was about 6 cm wider than the pattern!  Unfortunately, this also meant I had to knit it 6 cm longer since the finished product is square.  I love the result though!

This is modelled by my beautiful sister, Katy!  Thank you Katy!

And one last detail shot.  

I used one skein of Alchemy Haiku in green, and one of Habu silk mohair.  They have the exact same yardage and weight, so it worked out perfectly!

Hawaiian Honeymoon Part VIII

The shining light at the end of the leaving-Kauai tunnel was that we went back to Oahu and drove up to Turtle Bay Resort for our last two nights.  Our room was awesome, and we had a view of the pool and the ocean. 

They also gave us champagne to celebrate our honeymoon! 

This was the most relaxing part of the trip, because we didn’t leave the hotel grounds at all.  There is so much to do here!  We ate really good food, went for nice walks and hung out by the pool.  Joe actually chilled poolside!  For 20 minutes!  While we drank tropical drinks! 

Our favourite part of the time we were there was a walk we did down the beach.  We found this beautiful little cove on the beach, but a woman was in there gliding around and feeding the fish bread.  She looked so peaceful, so we decided to leave her alone.  On our way back she was getting out of the water, and then she randomly asked us if we wanted a photo.  Then she staged a mini photoshoot for us!  She was the nicest, chillest person ever, totally the vibe of Hawaii!  The cove was lovely, and it was really nice to wade around. 

Love!

Thank you nice maybe-Hawaiian girl!

Our time in Turtle Bay was way too short, and it was time to come back to Vancouver.  We have been a bit bummed out returning to real life to say the least, but it was also a really good reminder of the good things in life.  It’s inspired me to pursue some crafting dreams that I have, so I hope I can hold onto the feeling!

Hawaiian Honeymoon Part VII

Our next day was our water day, which also turned into a lobster day for poor Joe’s and my skin.  Sigh!  We started off with a surfing lesson.  Joe and I have both surfed before, but we figured it would be a good thing to get a lesson and feel comfortable.  We got to the “break” in Hanalei Bay and realized that we had been quite mistaken.  The waves were about a foot, and there were so many people!  We learned a bit, but there were so many kids in the water, and I really, really didn’t want to hurt anyone.  Joe and I actually left early because it was just no fun.  Do not recommend!

Our afternoon was better, because we rented some stand-up paddleboards and paddled down the river.  It was very relaxing, although there were huge crazy spiders all set up in the bushes lining the rivers.   I stayed away!  I think my favourite part was seeing this hilarious stoner lady eating lunch at this riverside café.  We had seen her every day driving in her white van or walking around in her nylons and shorts combo, always asking “You guys smoke?” with this hilarious grin.  We had even seen her that morning driving really slowly with a traffic cone stuck under her van!  When Joe saw her, he paddled over to her just to see if she would ask us if we smoked!  She didn’t, but it was so funny!  I think she thought Joe was a bit crazy actually.  Kettle, black! 

Nope, our titanium dioxide sunscreen didn’t protect us for the 8 hours we were outside.  Funny, that.

Sadly, it was our last night in Kauai.  Joe bought me a really nice ring made with Larimar, a stone that is only in Dominican Republic.  It’s the colour of the water in Hawaii, and I love it!  It was really hard to leave Kauai, it was so relaxing and magical.  The morning of our flight we went on a cheesy plantation tour train ride.  It was actually fun, and you can see how burnt we are!  The train stops halfway through to feed some “wild” pigs, which I’m pretty sure they must serve in the restaurant there.  There were a lot of pigs, and the males definitely got a bit randy!  At one point this little kid was taking photos, and she said “Mom, I got a photo of the pigs doing what they were doing!”.  The mom was like “No, no, no!”. 

As you can see, I had some decorum in my photography.

The thing about Kauai is that Joe and I could easily pictured ourselves living there, especially in Hanalei Bay.  I think a lot of people feel that way! We dreamed about becoming mango farmers, or surf instructors, or hotel managers.  Anything really, just so we could stay! 

Hawaiian Honeymoon, Part VI

We had heard a lot about the Na’Pali Coast hike on the Kalalau Trail, which is a 22 mile round trip hike near where we stayed.  We couldn’t really do that in a day (ha!), so we decided to do the first part of the hike and then head inland to see the waterfall on the Hanakapi’ai Trail.  It was a beautiful day and hadn’t rained in two days, so the trail was fairly dry, although everything is relative!  I couldn’t imagine walking on this trail in the rain, it was even kind of slick the day we went.  The first stop is at Hanakapi’ai Beach, which they warn you is a really dangerous place to swim!  The currents here are crazy, and in the winter the water crashes so much that the beach sweeps into the water!  It gets returned when the water calms down.  After some water and a little peanut butter sandwich, we started hiking inland to the falls.  A lot less people were on this part of the hike, and it was a LOT harder. We walked past the remnants of the plantation that was once here, where they grew coffee, mangoes, bamboo, papaya and jackfruit.  We crossed about four rivers, and I eventually gave up trying to keep my feet dry and just walked right through.  We also scrambled over a lot of wet rocks.  Approaching the falls was amazing- the spray was cold and there were impatiens growing wildly (and invasively!) along the path!  Unfortunately my camera batteries died about halfway to the falls, but here are some pics:

Serious hiking dude.

I love the colour of the water in Hawaii!

One of many stream crossings

Figures all over the beach

Serenity

It was really muddy.  But mud be-damned!

Huge bamboo!

Joe and jackfruit sitting in a tree…

The falls are about 400 feet, and you can feel the energy coming off them!  Joe and I had to get in and swim under them.  The water was freezing, and it was very, very hard to actually get to the waterfall because of the crazy winds and waves it produced!  It  was so fun though, something I’ll never forget.  The hike back was really nice and felt much quicker than on the way there.  The only problem was that Joe and I didn’t pack enough water or nearly enough food, so I did have some faint feelings along the way!  In total we finished the whole trip in about 4.5 hours, which is really fast.  I was thinking about all of the fabulous water waiting for me at the end!  

Hawaiian Honeymoon, Part V

Kauai was so, so amazing.  It is really paradise on earth.  The population on Kauai is much smaller, and it was a lot more chill than Oahu.  Two separate people joked that we came to Kauai to go on vacation from Oahu!  We stayed at Hanalei Colony Resort, which we found on a deal through Expedia.  The place was amazing, and huge!  It was bigger than our apartment!  We were really lucky to stay here.  We had a full kitchen (like in Kailua), which was great because we don’t like eating out too much.  Our first night we made homemade pizza from scratch, which was so easy and cheap!  It felt weird buying flour on vacation, but wow how amazing things rise in the tropics! 

Living room

Bedroom

Mmm, pizza on our lanai

On our first day we decided to walk a few beaches over to Tunnels, a popular snorkeling spot.  We met a really sour lady on our way there who told us it was way to far to walk, and she made Joe so mad!  Heehee.   It was totally fine, and Tunnels was great.  There were some people there, but the reef was so big it didn’t really matter.  My favourite fish was a little blue guy with bright purple shiny spots.  For some reason I was getting really freaked out about sharks, and I was kind of on edge.  Poor Joe, he thought I went a bit crazy. 

 

Tunnels Beach

Bird on the beach!

That afternoon we decided to go for a little hike.  We read online about this short hike that went to a small waterfall, but the site also warned that where you start the hike, the locals blocked the road pretending it was private property, and that they could be aggressive.  No big deal we thought, and off we went.  But yes, the locals were there, and they were very aggressive!  We walked up and some scary looking dude immediately came down to tell us it was private property and the hike had been closed for four years.  Right.  I think it was much more likely that he had been cooking meth in his garage for the past four years, and he also didn’t want us to discover his marijuana patch.  Boo!  But we found another really nice hike just down the road that went up and gave us a great view of all of Hanalei Bay.  Joe even saw the butt of a wild pig!  

On our way

This one’s for my mom- Tic Tacs!

Hanalei Bay

Hawaiian Honeymoon, Part IV

My Mom and Stepdad Peter came that evening which was great!  And now the photos begin!  We only really had one full day with them, and it was packed.  We did a driving tour of the north of Oahu, which is where my mom, sister and I stayed last year.  We started off at the very cheesy and fun Dole Plantation where they grow pineapples.

A baby pineapple

It takes two years for the plant to start producing pineapples, and one plant will only produce about 2 fruits!  We went into the giftshop to use the washroom, and they had this promotion where you get a key and open this “treasure chest” to see what coupon you get.  I’m pretty sure they give one key shape to men and one to women, because my mom and my keys both opened the chest and Joe and Pete’s didn’t.  We won half-price ($7) on a pearl that they shuck right out of the oyster for you!  How can you say no?!  My mom’s pearl was white and mine was pink.  Then they drill a hole into the pearl and try to sell you a whole necklace set, but we skipped that part of the racket!

Here is my pearl revealed!

Our pearl-shucker was named Leslie, which is also my mom’s name.

From there we drove through Haleiwa, an historic surf town that’s the setting for major surf competitions during the winter like Pipeline and Sunset.  We stopped at one beach that always has sea turtles close to shore feeding on algae.  So cute!  Then we continued on to Romy’s shrimp shack, recommended to us by a fruit seller on the side of the road.  They farm the shrimp behind the truck, and they are really fresh.  We had to wait half an hour, and we supposedly beat the rush!  It was worth it though, the food was so yummy.  I debated about getting shrimp or prawns, and I’m so glad I chose shrimp (with garlic and butter).  The prawns were crazy!  My stepdad brought his container over, and the prawns’ antennae and legs were sticking out the sides! 

 

Prawns!

Mmm, sooooo good!

After that we drove to Turtle Bay Resort, where I stayed last year with my mom and sister, and where Joe and I stayed at the end of our vacation.  My mom wanted to show it to my stepdad, plus we wanted to go for a really nice walk that goes by a WWII bunker and a huge Banyan tree.  The walk was totally worth it- there were lots of sea turtles, beautiful trees, and humpback whales!  My stepdad spotted them first.  They were pretty far offshore, but they were breeching and fin slapping, it was great. 

 

That night we went out for our last dinner in Kailua.  We went to this popular restaurant on the river and they have huge Mai Tai’s.  They also had huge portion sizes- I think my stepdad got an entire rack of ribs!  He even had to give some away, and when my stepdad gives food away, you know there’s a problem.  It was a really nice way to end our time in Kailua.  The next morning my mom and stepdad went to the Big Island, and Joe and I went to Kauai, the Garden Island.

Hawaiian Honeymoon, Part III

Our next day was spent getting up early to visit Hauanuma Bay a protected reef that is a great snorkeling spot.  They make you watch a really cheesy video before you get in the water about how to protect the reef, and then we were free to go!  Joe was SO excited, and when we got in and started seeing fish he was hooting underwater!  So sweet.  I bought a waterproof film (!) camera and snapped all of the photos, and I think they turned out really cool.  There were tons of reef fish and so much movement and colour.  The water is also really warm and shallow, so it was really relaxing.  We swam to the outer reef where we were all alone, and that was the best part.  Tons of people started showing up at around 10, so it was good we came early. 

I know it’s hard to see, but the little flash of purple and yellow is the coolest fish!  I studied his cousin in Australia.  He’s the cleaner wrasse, and he lives on the reef, eating the parasites off other fish. He sets up a little station, and fish come by and wait to be cleaned.  I saw one once in Australia swimming through the gills of this gigantic fish.  So cool!  

Hawaiian Honeymoon Part II

Our first full day we attended the commitment ceremony of our friends Danika and Adam.  Danika set us up on a blind date, so we really owe her a lot!  It was a really nice day with great music and nice speeches.  Adam’s dad is from Newfoundland with the best accent and singing voice.  Here’s a little video of him doing his thing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qTKKvTK2Mg

Our next day was spent first 1. Driving to Pearl Harbour to get tickets for the 2 pm tour; 2. Driving to the University of Honolulu so Joe could meet with a prof in his field; 3. Driving to Ala Moana shopping centre, which is huge and crazy, so I could go to J. Crew; 4. Getting stuck in traffic on the way to Pearl Harbour and arriving at 1:55 for our 2 pm tour; 5. Finding an amazing parking spot, running to our tour and making it just in time!   It is a nice monument to a terrible tragedy, so if you’re into history it’s worth a visit.  It was raining when we went out to the monument that was built over the sunken Arizona battleship, and people were freaking out about getting wet.  The best part is that these old ladies with hilarious perms didn’t want to walk over the monument, and a guard said to them “Ladies, I’m sure it rains where you come from and you don’t melt there, so you won’t here either.  Get out there!”.  It was the best!  I don’t know if they understood him, but they were pissed off!  Heehee!  Ladies, you’re at a war memorial standing overtop of hundreds of dead young men, stop freaking out about your hair getting wet. 

 J. Crew was of course very nice, but I felt bad about making Joe go shopping.  Why doesn’t this store exist in Canada?!  That day was way too much driving, but we got a lot done. I got a skirt, white t-shirt, fluorescent shirt and my first pair of blue jeans in about 5 years.  

Hawaiian Honeymoon Part I

My husband (!) and I were married December 31^st, 2010.  I should really write about the ceremony, planning and knitting my wedding sweater, but that can wait for another time.  In short, it was beautiful, exhausting, and as one well-wisher wrote in a card to us, “one of life’s great rituals”.

 These past few months have involved coming down from the wedding, getting over no longer planning a wedding, regretting all of the details of the wedding (very common it turns out!), feeling peaceful and happy about all of the details of the wedding, being really happy that I married such a wonderful man, feeling thankful for all of our wonderful friends and family, and planning our honeymoon!  Thanks to my mom and stepdad, we were able to book tickets to paradise- Hawaii!  

We had a few set plans for our trip, but besides those we pretty much organized the whole thing while we were there.  We first stayed in Kailua on Oahu, and it was lovely!  Of course I didn’t take any photos the first three days of our vacation, so you’ll just have to imagine it. 

We rented cottage #26 from Pat’s Kailua Beach Rentals, and I would highly recommend it.  We were three houses from the beach and right next to a gigantic banyan tree that hosted what seemed like a million birds.  It especially seemed like a million at 5 am when they all got up and started chatting about their upcoming day!  The beach there is so nice.  It has white, soft sand, and water that is the best shade of turquoise blue.  We jumped in and played our first evening and laughed at how lucky we were.  

Handsome husband and hat

I recently made a hat for a coworker who agreed to give me salmon in exchange.  A perfect transaction I think!  I really like how it turned out, especially when my husband models it!

Love those baby-blues!