Reverberations

It was Thanksgiving Day and we knew all the shops will be closed, so we forgo our breakfast and instead had some breakfast bars that we got along. It was also time for our Air Tour.

We were picked up at our resort and taken to the Air Kauai’s Front Office, given our instructions and some kind of belt. It was absolutely amazing, we took off quietly. As we flew over the island, we recognized the places that we went to and recalled their names. It was really good to get an aerial view of the island. We were taken to waterfalls where they shot Jurassic Park and locations were King Kong was filmed. And the best was yet to come. Last on the agenda for the Air Tour was flying over Napali Coast. It was absolutely stunning. The ridges, the thick forests and the multi-hued shades of pristine blue coast were a real sight to watch.
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Day 4 was when we had to do the ATV Tour, since we booked for the first tour of the day; we had to show up early. After registration and quick briefing, we drove to the actual site of the tour. Keoki and Dan were our guides; they gave us instructions and some general insights on the tour. After a quick change of really loose clothing, we got into the mudbug.

It was real fun to go deep into the forest and venture into the unknown. We stopped first at a small waterfall, took some pictures, cleaned up a bit before getting messier even more. We drove all through and stopped at a bigger waterfalls for lunch, while Ramesh and others decided to take a plunge in the cold water, I opted to just watch them even though others insisted that its fun. After lunch, we were heading back to the shed and we stopped at an area where several films were shot and most important of them all was “The Jurassic Park”. Our guide had a toy dinosaur and made us all pose as though we were chased by a huge Dino and we enjoyed teasing others on their pose and of course we had our turn too. The guide and the group with whom we drove along was real fun. Never been covered up with so much mud and dirt ever in my life. After a really long shower, we decided to head out and visit Kilaeu Lighthouse.
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Day 3 was really long for us. We woke up pretty early and decided to go for walk along the miles and miles of beach at our resort. We asked a hotel employee on where locals prefer to have breakfast and he suggested “Eggberts” which was very close to where we stayed. After a hearty breakfast, we got ready for our Helicopter Tour. While waiting at the lobby, Air Tour personnel said owing to some repair they canceled the tour for the day and managed to accommodate us on a later date.

Now with Air Tour plan cancelled, we started looking to do other activities in our 100 Fun things to do in Kauai. So cycling it was. With my poor balancing skills and several bruises that I acquired while learning to ride cycle; I managed to talk Ramesh into getting 2 seat tandem bicycle. It was real fun as we drove along the Coconut Coast enjoying the pleasant breeze and of course plenty of sunshine. We were done soon leaving us to wonder what to do next, so we decided to roam around aimlessly with no clear agenda and decided to stop where ever we wanted and exploring the island more. We drove North, stopped at Princeville for some hot coffee for me (Yeh I know I am weird - hot coffee in hot weather) while Ramesh ate ice cream at Lappert’s.
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We woke up to a pleasant morning with Sun playing peek-a-boo with the Clouds and roaring sound of the waves only to be disturbed with occasional crowing of the roosters spread across the Resort. We quickly decided to go to Waimea Canyon and visiting anything that lies along our path.

We took the Train Ride at the supposedly famous Kilohana Plantation. Ramesh, the avid agriculturist, wanted to see the farm and info collected from various websites left him with high expectations. We went through areas which were neatly planted with tropical fruits that gave a feeling of drive around rural India. The star event of the ride was to feed animals - pigs and sheep’s to be exact. I am not very fond of animals so decided to stay put in my seat. After a good 45mins, the tour ended much to my relief.
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Vacations are always good, especially when you are going to a place that is warmer, has pristine beaches and has a laid back feel. So Kauai it was, for us. We were planning to go on a vacation for quite sometime and never actually did anything towards it and on the spur of the moment we booked everything which we thought was a good deal, at least we would like to believe so. Since we booked our trip a month and half in advance, we did quite a lot of browsing on what to do on our vacation. Jotted down many things and made a mental plan on what to do when. As with every plan, things can never go the perfect way as desired.

Soon the initial excitement fazed down and when we came closer to catching our flight, reality struck and we accepted the fact that we haven’t booked for any activity. Being the procrastinators that we are, we left to deal with it later. And soon we boarded our flight. We packed everything as noted down but left a pile of mess along. Our flight had a 5hr lay over at Honolulu, we assumed it to be fine but little did we realize that the airport was a virtual desert and we spent the hardest 5hrs ever. Atlast we made it to Kauai (hurray). It looked beautiful from the airplane and the weather appeared a bit gloomy (darn). We left to pick our luggage and it was no where to be seen and there ended the prospect of a happy vacation. Filed a formal complaint with the lady at the counter and she promised that she will call us and have the luggage delivered to our resort the moment our luggage comes in. Luckily, we packed some clothes at least for a day or two in our hand luggage (reading about others experience helps)

We were surprised that Kauai looked a lot like Kerala albeit a bit cleaner and noticed that there were so many hens and chicks (Baby hen - not the other kind) running about happily - thinking deeply if the airport ran a poultry farm. We upgraded to a convertible (what the heck it’s a vacation after all) and went on our way to the Resort.

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I started from home with Shankar and Satish. They dropped me in the airport almost on time. The self check-in machine wanted to read my passport in vain. The poor old Indian passport was devoid of the magnetic stripe. I had to wait for a representative to get my stuff checked in. Flight was as usual, wait time in O’Hare was painful. Thanks to the wi-fi. I hopped on the network and did some chatting :-), read some blogs, caught up on the news…usual stuff… “expedition to discover the end of the internet”…that how I term non-subjective web surfing.

The new and comfy Air Canada flight landed in Toronto on time. The airport was pretty good too. I was reading the signs in French and was acquainting myself with common words on the way to immigration. Once I got my immigration cleared, I headed towards the rental car location. Guess what, the customer service representative was Mr.Kugan talking to me in Tamil. That just made me very happy. (more…)

Being a big fan of speed and heart thumping sounds, I went to MCAS Miramar to watch the Blue Angels. No matter how many times you see, that’s something that’ll bring your hands together any day. Well, there were other good ones too, the alpha angle flight of FA-18(Hornet) and the low altitude flyby of the F-16, the minimum radius turn of the F-16, vertical landing and take off of some navy fighter jet (forgot the name) and acrobatics of one of the great show pilots, Sean Tucker, in his custom built challenger aircraft (This year his flight was called Oracle challenger ‘cos Oracle had sponsored that event). Trust me nothing beats the Blue Angels. The professionalism, the speed, the precision, it just beats them all. It was a cloudy day and it was going to be a low-show and here’s how the show was.

The DangerZone music from TopGun stars and the entire crowd is on the feet. The stalls get empty and the rails are packed. The smoke is on and all the extra long telescopic lenses in various hands start focusing. 5 angels go towards right and the last (#6) goes to the left. Four of them (1,2,3,4) form the classic diamond formation with 18 inch separation between them. The first sight of the Blue Diamond formation, all the heads make a quick turn from right to left in a second or two and all the hands go up and togehter enjoying the rumble with excitement.

After some amazing heroics from blue angels, loads of others perform but still that just stays in your mind…and it  did stay in my mind until now. Now I have a blue engels deskpiece on my table for inspiration. (If you claim to be a slow pilot on fighter jets, you’ve to be a blue angel. Any less is one in a million)

If you think you can’t fly, try skydiving. It shows the limits of liberty one can get up in the sky. I had wanted to skydive for a year but somehow it didn’t happen until I heard a lady reminisce her first jump. I definitely needed that adrenaline rush and I registered for the very next day.

On my first jump day, my brother-in-law accompanied me. He also decided to take his first jump the same day. Both of us did the huge paperwork that had release of liability clauses in almost every single page and it required at least 25 signatures. Just the paperwork is enough to scare a person who’s ready for a first dive.

After registration comes the classroom session where a jump master (skydive instructor) describes postures and explains safety measures and stuff like that. Unfortunately, we had to wait a long time after the session and that is the worst part of all. I was scared to bones while waiting for our turn. After almost 2 hours, our names were called and we went inside to get ready for the jump.

First is the gear-up part. A jump master assits in getting geared and the harness fit is verified by another jump master. In a few minutes, we were all geared and everyone was assigned a dive-master and a cameraman. The twin engine double otter aircraft was approaching us. Donned in skydiving gear, I was standing worried and excited. Mixture of those two feelings is an exclusive experience you get only in your first jump:-). The aircraft was pretty big; it could seat at least 20 divers. All the members of the diving crew boarded. I was seated in between 2 professional skydivers and straight opposite to my cameraman.

The jump masters were asking me questions about my feelings. I could say nothing other than “I am pretty excited” with a big artificial smile. Actually, I was extremely worried too, but I didn’t say that (I could see fear inadvertently pouring through my eyes when I watched the video later). The aircraft was now at 12,000 feet and we were getting ready for the jump. I got hooked up with one jump master. Another jump master double checked the harness and the hook.

It was almost 15,000 feet and we started walking towards the door of the aircraft. At that point, I almost felt my heartbeat…Two more steps and I was at the edge. My cameraman jumped first and in the next 2-3 seconds, all I heard was 1…2….3 and we go….I was out of the aircraft and was flying like a bird at 15,000 feet. That AFF (accelerated free fall) is the most amazing experience I’ve ever had in any sport. I felt as though I am bird flying up in the sky. It feels as though I was in the air defying gravity. I could not even feel that I am approaching the ground at ~120mph. The air resistance gives the feeling of flight. In a few seconds, I was looking around and enjoying the lush green Oregon. I could see all the way from Mounthood to Portland. Oh! Boy, Oregon is really green and is extremely beautiful. (Not the east though, it is all desert. I happened to see those deserts while rafting in Deschutes river)

Before I could realize the altitude we had covered, we were at ~5000 ft and it was time to open the parachute. (It didn’t give any problems:-)).My jump master asked me if I enjoy rollercoaster rides. I said, I love’em and then the fun started. My jump master was maneuvering the parachute and we were going around the place for a few minutes. Finally it was time to land, but I didn’t feel like….

We landed nicely and the very moment I got unhooked from my jump master I was jumping in excitement……It was an incredible experience and I would say anybody who loves the feel of adrenaline rushing through the spine should try that once.