4-12-2012: A new reflection on Life

Boy did this blog gather some dust over the months!  I apologize for the long absence, but lately I have transitioned from a hiker to a flyer.  Literally.  I usually try to keep my blog focused on hiking adventures although I may include an occasional adventure outside of it as well.  "But why the long absence?  Aren't you supposed to be on an adventure every so often?" you are probably asking.  Actually I have been.  Remember the Breezy Experimental Aircraft I have mentioned before on previous entries?  Well, it has become my new addiction.  In fact, I love it so much that I am making plans to become an aviator myself!  Even before hiking, flying has always been my number one passion and I've always dreamed of becoming a pilot since I was a kid.  The pilot of the "Red Angry Bird" Breezy RLU-1, brought me one step closer to making that dream a reality.  With the motivation candle re-lit, hiking was put on the back burner ever since.  Flying with Brian and his Breezy became a routine weekend thing.  A couple of my friends joked with me that I should rename this blog to "DGC's Hawai`i Flying Tales" to accommodate my flight experiences.  Indeed HI Life was good on the Breezy RLU-1.  But far on the horizon, things were about to take a turn for the worst...

It was a beautiful Sunday morning on March 18, 2012.  Just like the previous weekend days, I flew up with him on his Breezy and we were rounding Ka`ena Point, enroute to Kalaeloa Airfield after a lunch at Dillingham Airfield when I received news that a hiker fell while climbing Bear Claw Ridge.  For those who aren't familiar, Bear Claw Ridge is the windward face of Pu'u O Kona, overlooking Waimanalo.  A few minutes passed and received more word that the hiker who fell was one of my best friends, Leslie Charles Merrell.  Even worse was when I found out to my horror that he died of his injuries sustained during the fall.  In total shock, I told the pilot of the news and he did what every good pilot would do and wasted no time getting back to Kalaeloa as quickly as safely possible.  The time was around 3pm.

Upon landing and checking my laptop which I oddly enough brought with me to the hanger, which also has wifi, it was confirmed with the rest of the hiking community that Leslie was no longer with us, falling 150ft after he grabbed a boulder while making a climb up a section just prior to the final climb to the summit....

The island of O`ahu would mourn soon after that.  And with me being really close to Leslie, him departing this world so suddenly has hit me extremely hard.  It's one of those feelings where my mind keeps telling me that he's only on a long trip and that he will be back soon.  We were joking around on Facebook and on the phone just a few days ago and now I'm supposed to accept that he's gone forever?  Everyone truly needs to be thankful that the sun rises every morning and that you are still there to witness that first sunlight that hits your curtains everyday, days that we otherwise take for granted in our lives.  Take time to love your loved ones because you may never know when your time is up.

Leslie has changed me forever upon meeting him on the trails.  He was one of the few original friends I've befriended when I started hiking the O`ahu trails back in 2008 and 2009.  He was the pillar in which will support me for the rest of my hiking days and truly a legacy in which I will continue to take with me everyday, everywhere.  And not just me, but he had great influence on the entire O`ahu hiking community and we will all miss him dearly.  

Les, I will never forget the many miles we have trekked together since the beginning.  I will never forget your distinct "Woo's" when we climbed up steep hills.  I will never forget how you would point out those tasty thimbleberries you would always gobble up as we hiked along.  I will never forget our awesome day hike we did on Nu'alolo Cliffs Trail in Kaua`i.  I will never forget that you would always be determined to finish what you've started, especially on the trails.  You truly never ceased to amaze me, my brother.

Today, I will continue where you have left off.  You have dropped the baton for your awesome meetup group, "O`ahu Hikers & Adventurers" and I have picked it up, vowing to continue your legacy with the group.  Your name will never fade away with OHA.

You have given me a new reason to return to the trails and I will swear upon that, Les.  You have always believed in a higher way of living after death and I'm sure you're up there having a ball, exploring your new eternal home.  Hike a trail up there for me, will ya?

Will always live on forever.

I've always wanted to complete the Ko`olau summit in it's entirely from Pupukea to Makapu`u by segment hiking the summit ridge/trail.  With a new desire to return to the mountains slowly but surely coming back to life within my heart, coupled by the recent intrepid 8 day trek on the Ko`olau summit (Pupukea - Makapu`u in one setting) by Chase W. Norton on April 1, 2012, I'm sure I'll be back on the O`ahu mountains we call home.

In Loving Memory of Leslie Charles Merrell

1-19-2012: Bahamas Cruise via the Carnival Sensation

Well, I can say I have survived my very first cruise ever in my life.  Not only did I not hurl chunks, I had one of the greatest vacations yet.  The weather conditions couldn't be any better for such a voyage on the open seas.  The cruise itself was short, 3 days and 3 nights.  If anyone is curious about trying their first cruise, I highly recommend a 3 night cruise.  I recently joined a community called cruisecritics.com forum that is popular for rating cruises and wrote a review of the Carnival Sensation, the ship we embarked on this cruise to the Bahamas.  I will post this review here as well for you guys.  Let's get cruisin'!

Review as posted on cruisecritics.com (the text below is a copy from the review):

If you've never cruised before in your life, this is the perfect cruise for you.  I was initially worried about the negative reviews of the Carnival Sensation but I beg to differ.  I'll divide the review by days.  Our cruise was 3 nights with Nassau our single Port of Call.

Embarkation:  We were on the ship faster than we could say Sensation.  Carnival has been known for it's lightning fast embarkation and this was exactly the case.  Being a first time cruiser, we were slightly intimidated by the layout of the ship, but navigation soon became a breeze and we found our stateroom on the Riviera Deck with no problems.  Our room was R-34, which was an interior with no window (a curtain is there to visualize but was redundant).  This did not bother us as we would not be in our room much.  We met our room steward who was just finishing cleaning our room and greeted us.  Since we boarded the ship so quickly, we were not surprised that he was on the finishing touches of perfecting our room so we went up to have lunch on the Lido Deck where the buffets are at.  The food was quite delicious!  After lunch, we went back to our room and it was ready to go.  Away our luggages went.

Day 1 (Departure from Pt. Canaveral en route to Nassau): We were delayed by 4 hours but unlike an airline, this didn't matter and we still made it to Nassau on time.  Departing Port Canaveral late was actually a treat as we cast off shortly after sunset.  Our first night was casual dinner (6pm) and the food and service were excellent.  After the main course was delivered, the waiters and waitresses did a quick "dance performance" as we continued to dine.  I thought that was pretty neat.  Our waiter made the effort to get to know us on our first night and he was quite the character.  We would even run into him the next day during our lunch on the Lido Deck buffets and he greeted us and proceeded to have a short conversation before returning to his duties.

After dinner, we caught the 8pm show time on the Fantasy Lounge.  The comedians were a blast and did not disappoint!  We returned to our state room and called it a night.  The beds were very comfortable and we were out like a light.

Day 2 (Nassau, Bahamas):  We arrived at 12:30pm, right on time and we participated in the "Discover Nassau by Jeep" excursion.  It's essentially a drive (guided convoying) around New Providence Island, using the roads shared by the local populace.  Initially I thought this was going to be an excursion on a private road that is separated from the rest of the populace, but this was not the case.  Since I was the driver, I was stoked to discover that people drive on the left side of the road so I can personally say I've driven on such road.  =)

The excursion probably took us about 2 hours and we were done just in time to return to the ship for our 6pm formal dinner.  We stopped by the nearby markets to check out the local products.  The prices can fluctuate via bargaining with the vendors.  The 2nd night for dinner was better than our 1st night with the Lobster Tail!  Yummy!  For those curious about formal attire, it is recommended but not mandatory.  We forgot to bring formal attire and wore what we would wear for casual, although we had designer clothing and jeans.  We asked our waiter the first time and he said that they would not deny us.  Speaking of our waiter, he remembered my drink of choice since I've purchased the "Bottomless bubbles" and my drink arrived before I could even have a chance to order it.  After dinner, it was more comedian shows and it was just as good as the first night.

Day 3 ("Fun Day at Sea"): I woke up and caught the sun rise as the ship began to leave port, bound for Pt. Canaveral to conclude the cruise.  Today was the day to have fun.  Since we were to be on the ocean the whole day, we really made sure to explore the Sensation in just about it's entirely and utilize the amenities on board.  The water slide was fun but felt rather outdated.  I remember the Disney Dream, which was moored alongside of our ship in Nassau, sporting a revolutionary "Aqua Coaster", the world's first water coaster, similar to what they have at Kalahari Resorts.

The swimming pool, located about mid ship on the Lido Deck was crowded.  The Sensation could really benefit the use of a second pool on deck.  The Carnival "Water Works" (where the slide is at), does not have any pool and this ship seriously suffers from the lack of a second pool to fully accommodate some 2,000 people.  The hot tubs seem to be plentiful as there are 2 mid ship and 2 more on the aft deck, although these are limited to adults only (Serenity Deck).

Dinner was casual once more and it was a virtually a repeat of the 2 other nights in qualities of food and service.  We bid our farewell to our amazing waiter and attended our final show, this one being the best of the three nights.  It was an 80s theme, complete with spectacular effects to put it on par with some of the shows in Vegas.  Well, maybe not, but it's close and we were fully entertained!

Day 4 (Debarkation): It was quick and we immediately thought, "We need a longer cruise next time!"


Summary: Our first cruise was memorable and we still talk about it even 2 weeks later!  It was so memorable, that I even made a personal video using my photos and video clips on YouTube (search for "dgcpinoy Carnival Sensation" on YouTube).  The crew were very joyful to interact with, the food was amazing (I especially enjoyed the Chocolate Melting Cake!), the fun factor was above our expectations, and the Carnival Sensation was well....  Sensational!  Sure no cruise is completely perfect, but all of these were very minor and were lost in the sea of stimulating fun!  We'll definitely be back on another Carnival Cruise!

Thank You, Carnival!

Video:

Bahamas Cruise - Carnival Sensation