No regrets though - the day before didn't have much in the way of sleep but did have a lot of travel, hiking, rain, mud and sweat. A good night's sleep was in order.
We started late, but we started strong, with some epic crepes from Crepes Na Ka 'Oi in Kailua. We had some stout savory crepes filled with meats and cheeses and that kind of thing, but split an awesome guava jelly crepe for desert.
Thus armed, we adventured down the coast. The plan if we had time was to hike Diamond Head and then head over to Ala Wai in Honolulu for some ultimate, but we had gotten off to a slow start and had to deal with a long wait for a table at breakfast also.
I opted not to rush down to Diamond Head though and pulled over early and often for fun diversions. The first of those was Waimanalo Bay, home of the famous Kaimana and Hopu ultimate tournaments. Melch and I have attended both over the years, but Drayas never had so it was cool showing him where all the fun went down. Naturally, we had to spend some time throwing a disc around, swimming, and throwing a disc around while swimming!
From there we continued down past the Oceanic Institute to Makapu'u point where we didn't quite have time for the hike to the lighthouse but at least got out of the car for the scenic view and some photos.
Next stop was Hanauma Bay, Oahu's most famed snorkel spot. We were going to wait for Val before going in, but still took the time to scope the spot out from above.
With only a little time left before the scheduled ultimate game, we opted to carb-load at the Kona Brewery location in Hawaii Kai. After a tasting flight and a quick call home to wish my nephew and his caretakers a happy birthday, we were off to Ala Wai.
How did ultimate go? Well, we played 3 hours, savage, in the rain, with little water to drink. We were exhausted, but victorious. Melch and I won all four games that we played. Drayas won his fourth after he joined us... Santa Barbara represented extremely well, with me throwing Melch the final point - on an upwind - in the dark - with a full-on layout dive for the disc. (Not that my throw was SO bad that it needed the dive, but it was so dark that she didn't see it until late!)
The ultimate crew gave us some recommendations - both for games later in the week and for evening eats. We had more pressing business before dinner: we were soaked from sweat and rain, and we were beyond thirsty. After changing into dry clothes, we headed to 7-11 where each of us purchased two big bottles of gatorade. My first was nearly gone by the time I got back to the car. It seems crazy that one can get that thirsty in the rain, but it can definitely happen. As ultimate players, hikers and otherwise adventurous folk, we are no strangers to the demands of hydration, but had allowed things to lapse on this day due to not having enough water bottles in the first place. We'd started the day all full but ran out quickly in the Hawaiian heat. No matter - we now have six brand-spanking new gatorade bottles to fill with water and put in the freezer at the vacation rental. Won't make that mistake twice!
Properly clothed and hydrated, we moved on to the next order of business - the highly-recommended ramen restaurant near the Don Quixote asian market in Honolulu. The food was as good as we had heard, but the warmth of the soup let us know that our bedtime was fast approaching. After a quick drive through Waikiki to show Drayas what the tourist center is all about, we hopped on the Pali Highway and made for Kailua. The 25th ended as the 24th did - with folks sleeping as soon as their heads hit their pillows.
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