My Daddy

This is the reason why I am home now...

to help celebrate my dad's 80th birthday. It's a miracle indeed that he has lived to see 80. Being on dialysis for the last 5 years takes its toll on the body. It makes you more fragile on so many levels. But, he has his eyesight, all limbs, he can walk on his own accord, drive himself to his dialysis appointments, do light chores, work in the yard in small spurts. Yep, he's a lucky man.

Dad and his papaya trees. Pretty cool, huh?

Papohaku Beach

This is not too far from the condo that I am staying at on the west end of Molokai. It took me about a half an hour to walk over the the northeastern edge of this long stretch of white, sandy beach. Totally unswimmable this time of year as the currents are vicious and go in every direction.

Tomorrow, I hike down to the Kalaupapa peninsula, solo. It's straight vertical drop down a cliff the is a mile high as the crow flies. A trail with 27 switchbacks and 3.8 miles each way. I am in for it. I am opting to take my Nikon point and shoot with me instead of the D200 DSLR just because I don't think my back can lug everything all day like that. I know I will be sad to not have the big guns with me, but my gosh, if I were to fly down and back up (a five minute flight), Pacific Wings charges $500.00. They are the only game in town for the flight and they jacked the price up when the canonization of Damien drew near. They've never dropped the prices back down. Needless to say, this makes it impossible for those who live here to make the trip down if they are not able to hike it or ride a mule. I'd just as soon not ride the mules, so I know I will be hurting for a few days!!