Hawaii 2019: Flumin' Kohala

We celebrated my stepdaughter Zoe’s birthday in Hawaii with a Flumin’ Kohala excursion. Flumin’ Kohala offers the unique experience of guided kayak tours through the historic Kohala Ditch, which was built over a century ago to bring water to the sugar cane fields.

The mid-morning excursion started with a quick safety video.

Flumin Kohala is not an intense adventure. There are no rapids and only a few small dips for a short thrill. It does not require much physical effort, although you should be able to handle a small hike, climb in and out of the kayak, and help with a bit of paddling. Everyone is provided with a floatation device that ties around the waist, although the water is only knee-deep and no swimming skills are required. This is truly an adventure that most people in good health can enjoy, the only issue might be with those who have an extreme fear of the dark or claustrophobia. The tour goes into pitch-black tunnels ( a few headlamps providing the only light) and through tight spaces- if you reach out you will touch the wall and in a few spots, ducking is necessary.

We piled into vans for a short ride to the flumes.

Our guide ( the guy sitting backwards in the van) entertained us with local history, corny jokes, and a few songs. Unfortunately, I can’t remember his name, but he was very nice and ended up being the guide for our kayak, which was just big enough for him and our family. I do remember that he was a college student, home for the summer, but going to school in California.

We arrived at our location, a lush, mountainous area with waterfalls. We had a very short, easy hike to the flumes.

What to wear? We decided to put on our bathing suits under shorts/cover-ups. This worked out well. It’s not like we got soaked, but we did get wet. Our guide playfully used his oar to splash us with water and we walked around the flumes a bit, about knee high. The weather was warm, but the water was icy.

Close-toed shoes are required. We didn’t want to get our sneakers wet, so we went to the mall and splurged on Crocs for the whole family. I was very reluctant. It’s not that I was worried about Crocs being a fashion faux pas ( which they are) but that I have a painful association with Crocs. When my mom was having her cancer treatments, all of the doctors in the oncology units wore Crocs. I associate them with the worst time of my life.

I swore that I’d never wear them. However, pushed with needing shoes for the excursion, I caved and picked out a pair with flamingos. If you know me or have been reading for awhile, you’ll know that I loathe flamingoes. It seems appropriate.

Long story short, Crocs are the right kind of footwear for this activity. That said, I won’t be wearing them again. Luckily, they are a size too small and gave me blisters, so I have a easy excuse to throw them up on Poshmark!

A picture of our guide. He even played the Ukulele while guiding us through the flumes- Multi-tasking and multi-talented!

We climbed in the kayak with our guide in the front. He did a majority of the paddling. Felix second, Zoe third, me fourth and Dan in the back. Dan had an additional oar to assist with paddling and he got to wear a headlamp.

Dan and I had a problem. We were so physically sore from the Captain Zodiac excursion, that we couldn’t sit comfortably in the kayak. Normally, we would have been fine, but since this was only two days after the zodiac, we were stiff and in pain. We needed to sit with our legs crossed and my legs kept cramping. It was ninety minutes of discomfort.

That said, we still had a blast. Flumin Kohala is a unique tour that blends history and adventure with stunning scenery.

The ride ended near a patch of wild pineapples!

The current prices ( as of March 2021) are 135/adults and 75/children 5-11, this doesn’t include tax or tips. Our entire family enjoyed our experience at Flumin Kohala and the staff is first-rate.

After our excursion, we drove to a nearby town for lunch at a local cafe called Minnie’s. Minnie’s is a friendly burger/sandwich place, where we all went for grilled cheese. The owner overheard us mention Zoe’s birthday and she kindly surprised Zoe with a chocolate sundae. Minnie’s has great food and even better people. It’s the type of local restaurant that you should make sure to visit when in the area.

Obligatory 2021 New Year's Resolutions Post

Obviously 2020 has been a difficult and unusual year. Despite this, I feel like I’ve achieved many goals, even if they might not have been the ones that I set for myself at the beginning of the year. Let’s see how I did…

2020 Resolutions

Blog: Commit to two blog posts a week and catch-up on old book/travel reviews. = I’ve mostly achieved this. I posted two blog posts a week without missing a deadline and I’ve caught up on a majority of my older posts.
Attend a Writing Conference = Fail, primarily due to Covid
Read a Minimum of 50 books.= Fail. Although it would seem that this would have been an easy accomplishment during quarantine, my mind was elsewhere. I completed 24 books. I’m not happy with this one.
Start my Youtube Idea: Keeping quiet for now, but I have a business idea for YouTube, which ties into my tutoring job. = I actually started this and posted a few videos. It was time consuming, but I will restart this idea in 2021.
Start my Podcast =. I have the equipment, I have a name, and I have a solid plan. I hope to get this going in the the first quarter of 2020. = Fail. I simply didn’t do this, even though the everything is set up.
Maintain Going to the Gym =. Dan just bought us gym memberships and I’m hoping that we can get this to become a routine. We both need the exercise and to shed a few pounds. I’d also like to get better, build up to a longer, more intense cardio workout. I love strength training and pilates, but I currently avoid cardio. = Until Covid hit in mid-march, we were going consistently. I was even running on the treadmill. Our gym closed with covid and we really didn’t start exercising again until the summer, when we got bikes and went on walks. It’s turned too cold and icy now.
Maintain Food Log = Be aware of what we are eating and focus on eating more sensibly. This always works when I need to focus on my health. =. I kept this going until August and then we traveled, which derailed my efforts and I haven’t gotten back on track.
Achieve and Maintain good Blood Test Results = Earlier this week, my annual blood test came back with high triglycerides ( a problem I’ve had throughout my life) and prediabetes (a new and scary diagnosis.) I need to do my best to focus on healthy eating and exercise to change these issues. This is definitely the most urgent and vital resolution of 2020.= Partial success, see number seven.
Visit a new country, state, or major city.= I’m writing this on December 18th and on the 20th we will head out on a road trip which will include several new states before January 1st= Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee! I’m so excited!
Finish Scanning photos and documents - this should be easy to accomplish. It just feels great to know that precious photos are backed up on the computer.= Complete fail
Add several new recipes to our repertoire. We can throw a great dinner party meal, but we usually resort to the same tricks..I’m looking at you, English roast dinner! I’d love to expand and be more creative in the kitchen. =. Accomplished! We cooked a lot more during Covid. I made my first layer cake completely from scratch from Nigella Lawson’s recipe. I learned some Greek dishes and how to make delicious buffalo cauliflower. We also have two new oatmeal recipes and two incredible fish dishes.

Now the fun part…2021 Resolutions. Since we have the kids with us and are traveling until mid-January, I am officially starting my Resolutions on January 16th.

Read 50 books. I’m setting this same goal again, since I know it is possible.
Stick with my inked Voices Writing group and finish my novel before summer.
Submit a minimum of 25 pieces to literary journals.
Finish three courses at ACC.
Start an exercise routine when we get our new home gym ( likely in March) and build up to running a 5K.
Maintain a food journal and limit sugars/alcohol/fried food ( when not on vacation/special occasions) in efforts to lower blood sugar and triglyceride levels.
Blog twice a week- same as in 2020.
Try two new recipes a month from our cookbook library.
Finish scanning old photos/documents.
Organize family recipe cards/print outs.
Visit new Country/State/Major City
Continue with Duolingo Spanish tree and work through Spanish text book.
Creative write for an average of 300 hours a week. I actually kept to this goal for a majority of 2020, but crumbled in the fall.

I’m excited and hopeful for 2021. I think it is going to be a year where goals are completed and many areas of life are improved. Although I set goals throughout the year, I always love this reset in January.

2020 Wrap-Up

What can be said about 2020 that hasn’t already been said? It was a rough year, but we had it better than most. The biggest impact was we had to cancel two vacations with my step-kids: their summer trip and a fall trip to England. It was depressing, especially as we had not seen them since the summer of 2019 and they are still young. However, they are with us now for the winter holidays and we are extremely grateful. Vacation disappointment aside, we are most grateful that all of our family ( and friends as far as I’m aware) have stayed healthy. There has been job loss and hardship, but people are healthy.

We spent most of the year sheltering in our home, which we bought in November 2019. We are settled, but it still feels new. We have met many of our neighbors, who are wonderful and are new friends. It was even possible to have some socially distanced events with them in the summer. I’m constantly reminded about how lucky we are to have ended up in Sterling Ranch. I love it here.

We had our garden completed in the spring, including a gate to connect with our neighbor’s yard. I tried to plant flowers and I managed to kill half of them. I do not have a green thumb, but I like to try!

We took a few trips, two to Florida ( where we nearly bought a vacation property), a California/Nevada/New Mexico road trip, and several shorter vacations around Colorado. We visited Breckenridge, Vail, and Colorado Springs. In Colorado Springs we biked down Pike’s Peak, which was one of the most thrilling and perhaps dangerous things I have ever done.

At the end of this year, we will be taking a road trip to Florida. I’m still not sure of our route, but before the end of the year, I will see a few more new-to-me states. I believe I will see Texas and Louisiana! I want to eat in a real Texas road house.

Other than Covid, the presidential election was a big event. I was thrilled that Biden/Harris won and I feel hopeful that life will be better in 2021.

I was published in Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, which was a really big deal for me. I also joined a writer’s group where I feel a bit intimidated, but it is good for me.

I didn’t read as much as I wanted, but I improved my cooking skills. Before Covid, we were on a successful workout schedule, but when the gyms closed, we started on evening cocktails and cakes. We are getting a home gym in March, so I’m anticipating a return to healthy habits in 2021. In the meantime, I’m being forgiving of myself. I’m going to enjoy all of the chocolate!

There isn’t much more to add. It was a low-key year and one to feel thankful for all we have. I don’t take for granted our health or fortune in life. I hope that 2021 will bring us back to a sense of normalcy.