Kamehameha Class of ’94 Reunion

On Friday night, each Kamehameha class that was in town for reunion activities had a class party at a different location. Class of ’94 was celebrating at Gordon Biersch on the harbor at Aloha Towers. We were outside, on the water, a local band called Kapena was playing and Dallas was reconnecting with all his old friends. It was so great to see him back with a lot of people who meant so much to him growing up and still mean a lot now. I feel like we have a whole new set of very close friends. And everyone was so nice and welcoming to me. I didn’t feel much like an outsider at all. We had such an awesome time that the night just flew by and before we knew it the band stopped playing and Gordon Biersch was closing.

Here are my many photos from the Class of ’94 Kamehameha Schools reunion (for a good laugh, don’t overlook Dallas’s yearbook photo!):

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Alan

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Alan, Kekoa. Lisa, Brian, Kuai

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Alika, Sheri, Nalani

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BJ, Keoni, Brian, Dallas, Alika, Hoku

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Dallas, Aaron

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Dallas, Dave, Joe

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Dallas, Joe, Kilo

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Dallas, Nalani, Jacquie, Maile, Brandy, Kilo

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Yearbook!

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Dallas, Shane, Rachelle

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Hoku & Keoni dancing.

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Nalani & Sheri dancing.

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Dave, Dallas, Joe, BJ, Keoni, Hoku

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Donovan, Jay, Dallas

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Faye, Kamu

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Faye, Melissa, Keoni

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Hoku, Keoni, Alika

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Jay, Hoku, Kamu, Dallas, Joe, Chris

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Joe, Dallas

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Dave, Dallas, BJ, Sheri, Donna

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Joe, Dallas, BJ, Pam, Sheri, Donna

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Joe, Dallas, BJ, Sheri, Donna, Alyson

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Kavet, Kelaula, Alan, Shana, Shane, Kanani, Dallas, Peter

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Laura, Dallas, Keoni

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Laura, Dallas, Keoni, BJ

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Maile, Kirah, Jacquie, Roxanne, Brandy

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Monte

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Sheri

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Nalani & Donovan

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Pam & BJ

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Party

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Rachelle

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Rachelle & Dallas

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Rachelle & Monte

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Shane & Dallas

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Sheri & Nalani

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Sheri

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Sheri

Hiking the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast


Rob


Sarah


Rachelle


Rachelle, Sarah, Cousin


Rob, Cousin


Rob


Rob & Sarah


Cousin & Rachelle


Sarah & Rob


Sarah


Rob


Cousin & Rachelle


Cousin, Rachelle, Sarah


Rachelle & Cousin


Rob


Cousin


Sarah & Rob


Sarah


Muddy Shoes


Sarah


Sarah


Sarah


Sarah


Sarah

(Photos by Rachelle & Rob)

So after the long drive up the coast Sarah and I considered just chilling out at Ke’e Beach but I didn’t want to be intimidated by the 2-mile Kalalau Trail. I’ve hiked hard trails before and wanted to do it again. “What,” I asked Rob, “is in it for us if we do the hike?” Rob said Fabio was at the end of the trail waiting for Sarah and I and every time we got discouraged he reminded us .. Fabio! Finally, I was like “Rob, I don’t even like Fabio or find him attractive” and he said “Fabio is symbolic”. What actually was at the end was a secluded beach.

So on the hike was kind of hard. It had been raining earlier in the day and many parts of it were steep and muddy clay. I slipped and fell on my ass once and everyone laughed, including myself.. no big deal, yeh? So then there were a few streams running over the path. I was very careful .. stepping on stones, not into the water and then Sarah stopped me to take a photo standing on a rock in the stream in front of a waterfall. I lost my balance and stepped in the water.. no big deal.. now I have to hike with wet feet but whatever.

So then we were hiking down this slope and this chick walked by hiking the other way… and Rob looked at her in front of me.. and I looked at her.. and .. uh.. she didnt have a shirt on! What the hell!??!?! Nobody knew what to say and shortly after we all just bust out laughing and talking.. and Cousin kept making jokes.. Cousin is one funny mofo and let me tell you from experience.. belly laughs are no good on slippery, steep footing! So I slipped and instinctively grabbed this tree to avoid falling over the cliff… and from then on Cousin wasn’t allowed to talk or laugh.

Alright. So we pass all of the warning signs about not going into the rough tide at the secluded beach.. our last obsticle is a river with rapids. Sarah takes her shoes off runs across and is out of sight. Rob does the same but hangs out on the other side of the river to wait for Cousin and me. I give Cousin my camera to put in his ziplock back in his backpack, just in case, so it doesn’t get wet. Then I sit on a rock and take off my already wet socks and shoes. I take one step into the river and slip on a rock and dunk my shoes.. why did I even bother to take them off?!?! Rob is watching me and so is Cousin.. I’m trying to regain my balance and plan my next move. … I slip, fall, and drop everything, including one of my sneakers into the rapids. First thought: “I know how that girl lost her shirt!” Second thought: A vision of myself hiking 2 miles back up the trail with only one shoe on. Rob was the only one who sprung into action.. He chased my shoe down the rapids and managed to get it where it briefly was stuck on a rock. Thank god! With his help, I crossed the river and sat by the beach for a bit. My toes were all stubbed and my left knee was swollen pretty badly. Oh, and I had skinned the front of my leg at Queen’s Bath earlier in the day. And did I mention that a couple days previous I’d fallen in the shower and got a huge bruise on my inner right thigh? Lets just say that the 2-mile walk back up the trail wasn’t very fun and that the dip in the ocean I took afterward was the most refreshing swim I’ve ever taken in my life. That night I soaked in the hot tub with Gordon Biersch. We grilled out in the condo’s BBQ area and played dice afterwards.

I’m going to make a separate post that documents these injuries and the ones I accumulated in the following days.

Airports, Chicago – Kaua’i


Chicago El at OHare


OHare, Chicago


OHare, Chicago


OHare, Chicago


OHare, Chicago


OHare, Chicago


Somewhere between Chicago & Los Angeles


Somewhere between Chicago & Los Angeles


LAX


See’s at LAX


See’s at LAX


LAX


Somewhere between Los Angeles and Honolulu


Somewhere between Los Angeles and Honolulu


Somewhere between Los Angeles and Honolulu


Sarah & Rachelle, Poipu, Kaua’i


Women’s Bathroom, Honolulu


Trash Can, Honolulu

I’m back from Hawaii and feeling depressed. Im so not ready to deal with everyday, normal things like mail and work. I just want to be back in the pool with everyone sipping fruity drinks. Kristin and I keep calling each other just bitching about how much it sucks to be back.

The travel time on this trip was killer, but worth it once I was there. My first leg of the trip was from Chicago to Los Angeles. I was really stressed out from work and just wanted to sit back on the flight and relax. Instead I got to sit back on the flight and be pushed to the verge of tears as a little kid behind me kicked my seat every 5 seconds for 3 hours. Finally, I couldn’t take it any more so I switched seats. I was moved next to the loudest snorer on earth, but at least I could throw my iPod on and forget he existed.

My first glimpse of California since I moved away from it in 2001 was through the dirty windows of LAX. Seeing the names of the California cities on the departure/arrival screens and seeing branches of local Southern California restaurants in the airport made me so homesick for it. I bought a big box of See’s lollipops. The next leg of my trip was from Los Angeles to Honolulu. In the Honolulu airport there was a beautiful little garden that again made me homesick for California because there were many Birds of Paridise planted and I used to clip them from my San Diego apartment courtyard and have them in a vase in my house. It was strange at first how things in Hawaii were making me homesick for California. All of the lush flowers and trees, the Gordon Biersch beer, the Jeep Wrangler we rented.

The last leg of the trip was from Honolulu to Lihue, Kaua’i, where Kristin, Dallas, Rob & Cousin picked me up. Later on Sarah flew in. First thing to do when you get to Hawaii – get lei’d.

Mahalo to Tien for manning the fort while I was away.