Saturday, February 28, 2009

Makapuu - my first clue!

I have the coolest story to share :) My sissy Tori was here in Hawaii a few weeks ago visiting a friend ~ and she did the coolest thing for me while she was here. If you know Tori, you know she's sporty and outdoorsy and adventurous, to name a few ;) So it was no surprise she climbed like every lookout here, and hiked up every trail just about. But what did surprise me was a "clue" she gave me when she got home. A what? And not only was it a puzzling "clue," but it was also written in a poem. Apparantly, she had left me clues all over the island, in VERY hard to reach places ~ sort of like my very own Amazing Race! How fun! She even built in rewards along the way. She knew this was just the motivation I needed to get out there and enjoy Hawaii, as well as get in shape and lose weight along the way. Here's my first poem she gave me while we were still at home:

Begin your journey,
and we'lll change who we are
you're going to have to try
and you'll have to go pretty far.

I've left you many prizes
and difficulties too
but know that I did this
because I love you.

Use your map and note
there are changes you will see
first go up Makapuu
your first journey there with me.

Go up towards the lighthouse
by the steps you'll see
a bush - 3 rocks behind it
reach between them, more rocks - 3

Find it, find it,
where will it lead?
See if you can't show the world
how beautiful are thee!


I'm tearing up just reading that again. My family is so wonderful, they believe in me! Anyways, so it took me a few weeks to get up there, with Bryan's crazy work schedule and all, but Thursday last week I said that's it, I'm going. I even dragged poor Bubby up this "mountain." Believe me when I say, when you're as out of shape as I am, it's a mountain. Some may call it a hill. Not this girl. :)

So here's Bubby and I before we started, safe and sound in the parking lot:
From Makapuu Lookout

Yup, that's the "hill" we have to climb.
From Makapuu Lookout

About oh, a hundred feet up I thought, now why can't we just cut through the valley and go to the beach? :)
From Makapuu Lookout

I was outta breath here and we're not even halfway up :(
From Makapuu Lookout

Still don't think it's high? Can you find our Trailblazer? Yep, all the way in the back. Looks small, huh?
From Makapuu Lookout

The views kept getting better and better...
From Makapuu Lookout

I would have liked to get closer for better pictures, but didn't dare with Bubby in tow...
From Makapuu Lookout

Nothin' like eating your goldfish on the side of a mountain, kicked back in your stroller! Don't worry, we look closer than we really were to the edge...I promise I wouldn't let Bubby fall!
From Makapuu Lookout

I didn't know cacti grew in Hawaii, did you?
From Makapuu Lookout

A cute lookout trail/hut ~ I thought the trail ended here. Oohhh baby was I wrong.
From Makapuu Lookout

Yay, Bubby and I are .... halfway?! Are you kidding? That's it?!
From Makapuu Lookout

A little island off in the distance
From Makapuu Lookout

Sorry for the dumb self portrait, but YAY!!! We made it!!! Look at that water...
From Makapuu Lookout

Sorry again for the silliness ~ I was so proud of myself!
From Makapuu Lookout

Now here's where it go tricky...."by the steps, you will see a bush, behind it 3 rocks, 3" remember? Yah well there were a lot of rocks and bushes :) So after a few moments, I got a hold of my sis (who knew that Sprint had service on top of that hill!) and she described them to me. And when I found my next clue, safe and snug in it's double baggie underneath 3 rocks, I was so ecstatic. Kind of like the Goonies :) It's like finding a hidden treasure! People around me probably thought I was nuts, digging in rocks and jumping up and down. So anyways, here's a very sweaty me with my second clue:
From Makapuu Lookout

So after a quick break to catch my breath, Bubby and I headed back down the path. We even saw a few whales out in the water! Sorry, no pictures. My blankety blank camera....anyways, we did see Molo'kai out in the distance. If you look closely, you can too. And a huge rain cloud, coming right at us. That was weird to see it out on the water...anyways, needless to say we hoofed it down faster that we went up! :)
From Makapuu Lookout


So that was the first leg of my Amazing Race. What did my second note say?

You've come so far
now look around.
Leave the old you
back on the ground.

Back to the main road
then right you go,
all the way to Waimanalo.

There's a big crooked tree
then a tiny sign
at the orchid place
That's what you must find.


She is so creative! Wanna know if I made it to the orchid place? Stay tuned! :)
Thanks again sissy ~ I love you! xo

5 comments:

  1. Jen! I'm crying! What a amazing journey you are on! I read your blog often and think of you guys! Hopefully I can actually respond to your last email from BEFORE you left for Hawaii. I know, I'm terrible! Anyways, I love reading all your posts and send my hugs to you all! Danielle H.

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  2. That is sooo awesome! Tell Tori she brought tears to my eyes too! You are so lucky to have someone so creative who loves you so much to do this for you! This makes me want to come visit even more so we can come experience it too! . . . and you've already done it once & have stroller experience, perfect! ;) Keep up the good work! Give hugs to my bubba & Noah for us! Love you all!♥ ~ "D"

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  3. Jen,
    I'm crying too, which isn't good since I'm at work and people probably wonder what's wrong...:-) Anyway, good for you! You completed your first challange and you did awesome! I can't wait to hear about the next one. The pictures are fantastic! You are so blessed to have an incredible sister!!! Thank you for including "us" in your journey. Hugs to all! Launa

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  4. Hi Jen,
    As always I Knew you could do it~ Yes Your sissy is quite the imagintive person. Give Scoot a big kiss and Hug from His Nana and Papa, we cant wait to have him here again on the farm. As always we will talk later. lots of hugs and kissis and WAy to Go, love you guys to the moon and back, Mom

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  5. Jenny,
    I'm so proud of you, pushing the stroller all the way up that hill. I'm sure the view was worth it, not to mention the feeling of accomplishment. We have always thought a lot of your sister, she just gave us one more reason to love her. Keep up the good work, Bryan won't be able to keep his hands off you.

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