Final Days of 2014

We've spent the last couple of days of 2014 exploring the Big Island's westside, both north and south. Click here for some photos.

Pat and Drew met up with a pair of manta rays yesterday while diving at Mahukona, the site of an abandoned sugar mill. The rest of us snorkeled, so weren't deep or far enough out to see the mantas, however we did see several whales spouting and breaching in the distance. We ended the day at Mauna Kea, a lovely white sand beach. 

Today, we hiked down (2 miles and 1,500 feet down) to Captain Cook Monument to snorkel, then headed to Hapuna Beach, the boys' favorite boogie boarding spot, before catching the last sunset of 2014 at the beach at Hawaii's Natural Energy Lab. 

Underwater video, along with photos from our Captain Cook hike and the fireworks we hope to see in a few hours in the Kailua-Kona Harbor coming soon. Happy New Year!

Beach Bums

It seemed like everyone was lounging on the beach this past weekend - sea turtles, monk seals, and teenagers who got up really early to dive/snorkel/swim. Click here for photos. 

Drew and Pat made their first dive together at Puako; the art of cracking coconuts is on the verge of being perfected; weird wildlife sightings continue; and we finally saw a green-flash sunset.

Cheers!

Volcanoes National Park

We spent Boxing Day at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Along the way, we also explored the south end of the Big Island, including Na'alehu, the southernmost point in the United States.

Click here for photos. We knew it was going to be an interesting day when we passed by a zebra (not to mention a donkey, buffalo and a couple of watusi) in a guy's front yard as we headed south.

Merry Christmas

Mele Kalikimaka! We hope all our friends and family had a lovely Christmas holiday. Here are a few photos from our tropical Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Underwater video coming soon. 

Coffee, Laulau, and Captain Cook

It was down-right Oregon-like in Hawaii today... cool and overcast, and a great day for learning where Kona coffee comes from at Greenwell Farm in Captain Cook, while Drew finished up his scuba certification course. He's officially a licensed diver now. 

Click here for a few photos from our coffee farm tour and visit to Place of Refuge National Historic Park, more formally known as Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau. 

After a week of waiting, Emily finally got to enjoy the Hawaiian plate lunch she's been looking forward to... at Ka'aLoa Super J.  The pork laulau was delicious. We've included a YouTube link that will tell you all about it. 

Mele Kalikimaka!

Above & Below

While Drew explored the Big Island from below sea level today as part of his scuba diving certification course, the rest of us took the Saddle Road across the island to check out the greener side of Hawaii. On the way back to Kona, we drove up to the summit of Mauna Kea. At an elevation of 14,000 feet, it was quite a climate change. Click here for photos from our time in Hilo and Mauna Key, and here for a video of Drew's first dives. 

Saltwater-Sand-Sun

In addition to a few new photos, below are links to a couple of videos Jake created from Go-Pro footage taken both above and below the water on our first few days in Hawaii. 

• Photos
• Two-Step Video
• Hapuna Video

Aloha Hawaii

Click here for photos from our first couple of days on the Big Island. With Kailua-Kona on the central west coast of the island as our base, our time so far has been spent at points just north and south of Kona:

• Kekahakai State Park for snorkeling, turtles and black sand
• Hapuna Beach for boogie boarding, white sand and an especially beautiful sunset
• End of the World, a view point south of Kona where cliff jumping was contemplated and wild goats were sighted
• Honaunau Bay, also known as Two-Step, for more snorkeling

The Big Island apparently is big enough to hold all the other Hawaiian Islands twice, so we have lots to explore, in any direction - makai (toward the sea) or mauka (toward the mountain). 

Gluewein Party

Click here for photos from the Gluewein Party our friends Peter, Teresa, Ben and Nicky host each December.  So glad it took place before our winter break trip, so we could join the fun. 

Sailing Holiday Party

Kicking off the weekend with Drew's high school sailing team holiday party. Click here for photos.

Holiday Wishes

In addition to clicking on the card above, click here for a few photos from Portland's annual Christmas parade and our trip to the tree farm. This is the first time in years we got a tree that actually fit through the bailer! 

Happy Thanksgiving

Our annual neighborhood Turkey Bowl made for a great start to Thanksgiving Day. Click here for photos.  

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Lincoln City

It was warmer on the Oregon Coast this weekend than it was in Portland. We were in Lincoln City for Pat's last Oregon Bar board of governors' meeting. Click here for photos, including some distant glimpses of a whale swimming just off shore.  

Drew stayed behind to attend a memorial service for his youth sailing instructor, friend and fellow coach, Steve Williams, who passed away unexpectedly last week. 

Halloween

It's the last regatta of the Fall sailing season. Click here for a few photos of the sailors (some in costume) getting ready to start their races, and here for a few more once sailing was underway. There are also a couple of photos from last night's trick-or-treating adventures, and one of "The Drews" headed off to the Willamette Sailing Club's Annual Awards Dinner.  

Youth Regatta

Today was the Willamette Sailing Club's Fall Youth Regatta for 420, Laser & Opti sailors ranging in age from 6-18. Click here for photos. Drew is in boat #5. The wind was light compared to the previous day, when all the high school sailors were out, but it was mild, sunny and a nice day to be on the water.

Apple Pressing Party

We made apple cider on Saturday at an apple pressing party hosted by our friends Mike, Elizabeth, Joe and Zanna. Click here for photos. It was a busy day with 1,600 pounds of Honeycrisps to process, but there was no shortage of helping hands. 

Drew had a sailing regatta, perfectly time with a passing front that brought 30+ knot winds and lots of power outages to Portland.  Wish we could have been two places at once to take photos of all the big wind sailing he got to enjoy. There were several capsizes, one snapped rudder, and many happy sailors. 

Spirit Week

It was Spirit Week at LHS this past week, leading up to Friday's Homecoming events. Click here for photos from tacky tourist day, color wars, a Halloween-themed Homecoming dance and more. 

Sauvie Island Beach

It was such a nice day, we stopped by the beach on Sauvie Island on our way to get pumpkins.  Click here for a few photos from our beach walk and trip to the pumpkin patch. 

  
Also, congrats to our good friend Sarah who was crowned TU Homecoming queen today! 

Speech & Debate

Jake had a first place finish in his first tournament as a novice member of the LHS Speech and Debate team last weekend.. go Cards!

Roller Derby

Thank you Goodwill for conveniently having gently-used roller blades in everyone's sizes.  Click here for a few photos from tonight's skate around Bridlemile. How is it already dark at 7:10 pm!?

October Eclipse

Click here for a few photos of last night's lunar eclipse. We were so busy looking up that Emily was the first to notice the raccoon in our viewing party. Her scream scared him off before we could snap a photo.

Senior Photos

Thank you Robin Damore for taking such wonderful senior photos of Drew, and some great family photos as well. Click here to see a few of our favorites.  

Super Moon

There's another super moon, so we went up to Council Crest this evening to take some photos. We didn't get many moon-shots, but Drew had a lot of fun playing around with the exposure settings on the camera. Click here for photos. 

First Day of School

This is the last time Drew, Jake and Emily will share a first day of school at the same school. Here's to great senior and sophomore years! 

Falls Creek Falls

As if the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge isn't gorgeous enough, today we did some hiking on the Washington side and checked out two incredible waterfalls - Panther Creek and Falls Creek Falls. Click here for photos. 

Jake drove us to the Gorge, and along the way, we took time to hike to the top of Beacon Rock, an old favorite we hadn't visited since the kids were small. The photo below is from our last trip up Beacon Rock. The boys still enjoyed all the switchbacks, but the climb was much quicker this time around.

Farm Tunes

Click here for a few photos from last night's Ashleigh Flynn concert at Kruger Farm on Sauvie Island, as well as Drew's last week of coaching at the sailing club for the summer. School starts next Tuesday.

What Goes Up Must Come Down...

While Drew was parachuting out of a plane with his friends Amanda and Jonathan this afternoon at SkyDive Oregon, the rest of us made another trip to Naked Falls on Washington's Washougal River with our friends Eli, Francesca and Kiana. 

Click here for swimming hole photos. Unfortunately, the use of a camera or GoPro isn't allowed for first time skydivers. Although Drew wasn't able to document his experience with pictures, he promises us it was amazing!

Here are a couple of videos from Naked Falls, created by Jake. Video One is from a previous visit with his friend Teis; Video Two (coming soon) is from today's trip.

Liger Evolution - now with video

Click here for photos of Carl and Miles, of Liger Evolution, performing live earlier this evening, with guest appearances by Dave and Charles, as well as post-concert karaoke and fireworks. Their concert was a great kick-off to our final week of summer vacation.  Click here for video clips.

Family Sailing & Multnomah Days Parade

Click here for a few photos from the most recent Family Friday at the sailing club. Drew was working, while the rest of us enjoyed an evening sail. There also are pictures from the annual Multnomah Days parade.. you just never know who or what you might see there!

Water Sports

Fun afternoon on the Willamette tubing, knee-boarding and paddle boarding with our friends Eli and Francesca, while Emily enjoys a beach weekend with some girlfriends (thank you Nichole and Shelly). Click here for photos.

The boys were filming with 2 Go-Pros... video clips coming soon.  

Beautiful super moon to top off the day. 

Naked Falls Swimming Hole

We spent the afternoon at Naked Falls on the Washougal River on the Washington State side of the Columbia Gorge. Click here for photos. To complement the lovely falls and crystal clear water, there were lots of ledges and a bridge to jump from. Click here for video, filmed/created by Jake with the GoPro.

Photo Album: 2013-2014 Reprise

Click here to see our most recent Shutterfly photo book with a collection of photos from 2013 and 2014.