Kevin's Paper

Now that I'm caught up on our Hawai'i trip I can share a couple of Kevin's most recent accomplishments.

Kevin was awarded the John Stauffer Memorial Fellowship for outstanding research in the chemistry department at Stanford University earlier this year. His 3rd paper entitled 'Light-Activated Reassembly of Split Green Fluorescent Protein' was also published in JACS (Journal of American Chemical Society) on February 25th, 2011.


I'm so proud of my wonderful husband and all that he has achieved here at Stanford!

Hawai'i: Part 6

Our last full day in Hawai'i was another busy day because we had to fit in anything that we had our hearts set on doing. First thing on the list was snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. We wanted to go the day before but they are closed on Tuesday's so we had to reschedule this particular outing.

We took the advice of our guidebook and got their before 9am. We had to watch a short conservation video before we were allowed to walk down to the Bay.

A view of the Bay on our way down to snorkel.
After getting in the water we immediately started seeing all kinds of different fish including Convict Tangs, Reef Triggerfish, Christmas Wrasse, and more that I can't remember. At one point we saw an eel. It apparently scared a couple of girls because they began pointing at the guy and started stomping on the reef (which according to the conservation video we just got done watching you should definitely NOT be doing). It was fairly entertaining to watch though and we had a mighty good laugh over it.

Our waterproof camera came in handy once again.
We tried to capture some of the fish (those are convict tang fish by the way).
Can you see the fish in this photo? Hint: He is in the sand.

We had been snorkeling for over an hour but I started to get really really cold. We decided that we had seen enough fish for the day and were ready to head back to shore. On the way we did spot an octopus hidden in between a couple of rocks. We watched it stick it's head out a little bit and got to see one of it's tentacles. I was glad we spotted it!

After getting back to our hotel we headed straight to Waikiki Beach to get in our surf lessons. We decided to splurge and have them get pictures of us surfing. What do you think?

We actually don't have any pictures of us surfing but I can tell you that we both managed to catch a few waves. They were fairly small waves but it was exhilarating either way. I did get yelled at by our surf instructor for not standing up on my first try. I was told that I 'wasted the wave' and that 'I can do everything for you but I can't stand up for you'. (What a jerk right?) Well I did stand after that and it was a blast. Our shoulders were super tired afterward though. Riding the wave itself wasn't as exhausting as getting back in position after riding a wave toward the shore.

For our last night in O'ahu we decided to go to a Luau. We read about one done by Paradise Cove and went for it. We got picked up in Waikiki and took a bus ride toward the northeastern part of the island. Before the dinner began there were all sorts of activities to take part in.

I got to make an orchid lei to wear on my wrist (smelled wonderful by the way).

Kevin took a shot at the spear throwing and managed to hit in the target after his second try. (Mine hit and bounced off)
We watched a guy climb a palm tree and scatter orchids down on the crowd and they did a presentation of how they used to fish with nets. Then it was time to present the royal court and take the pig out of the roasting pit.
There was a tasty buffet dinner with pork, mahi mahi, etc and we filled up while waiting for the polynesian show to begin. It was a pretty good show...much better than the one at the Hilton the week before.
The fire portion of the show was very entertaining as well.
We had a great time at the Luau except for this really really drunk obnoxious guy that we had the privilege of sitting next to on the bus and at dinner. He found out it was our anniversary and managed to talk our guide into getting Kevin called up on stage for something.

Keep in mind that is a very much sober Kevin.
He had to dance with a couple of hula dancers. One of the ladies kept telling Kevin..."Little circles with your hips...now big circles with your hips" He said all the circles felt the same. I was cracking up the entire time and I actually have a video of the dance so if you are lucky I will show it to you sometime. When Kevin went to put his shirt back on one of the hula dancers said to him "Don't hide your light under a basket".

Kevin did put his shirt back on though and we got one last picture before heading back to our bus.

The Luau was a lot of fun (would have been better without the drunk guy continuing to run his smelly mouth all the way back to Waikiki) but I was glad that we went.

The entire trip to O'ahu was incredible and Kevin and I had the most wonderful time. It is a trip that we will remember and cherish for years to come.

Hawai'i: Part 5

I actually began this post at the airport during my last trip to Kansas. I was able to get all of the pictures loaded for my last two posts on Hawai'i. During my layover in Denver I was going to do the text and be caught up. Unfortunately the wireless at Denver International was not cooperating (not on the way back either) so I am just now getting to this part. It will be good to be done so I can move on to new things!

Our next day in Hawai'i was busy much like our other days. We woke up early and headed over to Diamond Head Crater so we could make the trek up to watch sunrise.

We were running at first but it was pretty steep and rocky so we had to slow it down. When we got towards the top there were a ton of people.There was one spot where you took stairs to a little higher ground. We fought our way through a crowd of people to get there only to immediately turn around and fight our way back down. These terrible little gnats or something were literally everywhere! It was terrible and we couldn't stay up there at all. I was surprised at the the number of people who didn't seem to mind. Yuck!

The view from the stairs just below the highest point was bug free so we stayed there and enjoyed the view just as much (probably more). Behind us you can see the crater where there are buildings and the parking lot we started from.


Sunrise. We enjoyed the hike but I think we would stick to Makapu'u point if we did it again. The bugs and the massive number of people (likely due to it's proximity to Waikiki) would likely keep me away. Plus you had to pay to get in.
The tunnels carved into the side of the crater were pretty cool though. I liked the idea of being in part of a volcano.
Pretty view on the hike back down Diamond Head.
Our next stop was to the hard to find 'Spitting Cave of Portlock'. Once again we were grateful to our amazing guidebook. The public access walkway was hidden in between two houses in a residential area. We walked down and found these amazing layered cliffs as well as the spitting cave.

We stayed for a long time trying to catch the cave spitting since the water was fairly calm. Can you see Kevin at the top of the cliff? You can feel the trembling of the water when you stand above the cave and it is kind of a freaky sensation.
Kevin made his way down closer to the cave (I happily stayed where I was and opted for taking pictures.) There was nobody else on the cliffs until we were leaving and after the crowded crater it was a nice change.
A short drive from the cave was another blowhole that we thought we'd stop at. This is the view from a spot just south of where we were going.
From the parking lot to see Halona Blowhole.
Our guidebook assured us that the sign was for liability only and that it wasn't actually illegal to go down so we ignored the sign and made our way down to the beach and then the blowhole. I think everyone that saw us down there was jealous.

If you look closely you can see the mist coming from the blowhole. If the surf was higher water can shoot up really high but it was a calm day so we only saw small spurts and mist.
Kevin on the lava bed that is home of Halona Blowhole.
After our incredible morning we drove into Honolulu and had an an amazing seafood lunch. We ate at a restaurant called 'Sam Choy's' and we were very pleased. I ordered Mahi Mahi caught that morning and really enjoyed it! Our afternoon was more relaxed and I think I took a nap.

Found this little guy just outside of our hotel.
Our plan for the evening was to take a sunset cruise. We headed down to Waikiki Beach an hour and a half before sunset and boarded our boat.
The boat just drove around for a bit and we kept our eye out for whales and dolphins even though we didn't see any. This is a great view of Diamond Head where we were that morning.
Diamond Head Crater again.
Finally....Sunset! Gorgeous!
Our captain was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed the boat trip.

Hawai'i: Part 4

The next major item on our agenda was to rent a kayak and head out to Sunken Island. Sounds pretty cool right? Well...it was. We rented our kayak in Kailua Bay on the Windward side of the island, strapped it to our rental car and drove about 20 minutes north up to Kane'ohe Bay. We placed our kayak in the water at the park recommended by our guidebook and we were off.

From the dock at He'eia state park we only had to kayak about a mile north to reach the edge of the reef that makes up the sunken island. It was cool being in deep water and then all of a sudden you could stand. At one point we found it a little easier to just walk in the sand rather than try and avoid parts of the reef with our paddles.
If you go at low tide then a football sized beach can be seen rising from the sea. We went a little later so that we could kayak over it and stand or stop whenever we wanted. The island used to be part of O'ahu some 12,000 years ago and stood about 180 feet above sea level but vanished after the water levels rose. The summit can still be seen further out. We opted out of going to it although we easily could have.

The view was incredible. (The pictures were taken with a disposable waterproof camera so they are just okay)
We could actually see 'Chinaman's Hat' from where we were and it was cool seeing it from the other side. It was only a brief reminder of our inability to conquer it a few days earlier.

At one point we headed over to a a group of people that had come out with their boats and asked them to take a picture for us. Locals head out there and sometimes spend the day. They bring their grills (the legs would only be slightly submerged if you are in the right area), their lawn chairs, volleyball nets, etc and hang out in the water with amazing scenery. One guy we talked to told us that not too many tourists make it out there...especially since there are no kayak rentals in Kane'ohe bay. He seemed impressed and we were once again grateful for our fantastic guidebook.

Since we were on the east side of the island we thought we had better stop at the only Macadamia Nut Farm left on O'ahu. (Most of them are located on the Big Island) We were able to try a variety of different flavors but we didn't feel the need to spend too much time there.

We headed back to Waikiki and were able to catch yet another gorgeous sunset.

We hung out for awhile at the barefoot bar on the beach but then decided to call it an early night. We'd had another active day and we were planning a sunrise hike in the morning so we needed to catch a few zzzz's.

Hawai'i: Part 3

A must on our list of things while on O'ahu was to head over to Pearl Harbor. While we were waiting for our turn to take the boat ride out to the USS Arizona Memorial we decided to go ahead and do a tour of the USS Missouri. A charter bus takes you over since it is an active military base and they are very strict about no pictures while on the bus.

They were taking souvenir photos before getting on the ship but we opted out and just took our own photo. I loved Kevin in the sailor hat.
It was sort of unreal being on the battleship. Our tour guide wasn't that great but the ship was still impressive.

The guide did show us the spot on the ship (while in Tokyo Bay) where the Japanese signed the instrument of surrender bringing an end to WWII.

The Instrument of Surrender.
Towards the back of the ship they had an area where they often hold ceremonies and special events. We found the Kansas flag and couldn't resist getting a photo with it.
After the official tour we were able to wander below deck for as long as we wanted. I was impressed with how much of the ship we were able to see.

Kevin checking out the snack shop.
Playing poker in the chiefs lounge area.
I really enjoyed seeing the models of the ship displaying the updates it underwent from when it was first commissioned in 1944 to its modernization in 1984.

From the USS Missouri you get a very nice view of the USS Arizona Memorial.
A view of the Memorial from the boat.
Being on the Memorial and being able to see the sunken ship underwater was a very strange feeling. Just knowing how much life was lost that day in the water below us was sort of unreal. One of the rangers out there was very knowledgeable and I really enjoyed listening to him tell us facts about the ship.

This is a part of the ship that is above water still. If you look in the water you can see the film of oil. Apparently two gallons a day leak out and there are still 500,00 gallons of oil remaining on the ship. Barnacles are eventually going to lead to the collapse of the ship in the water and at that point all of the oil will be released.
Seeing all of the names on the wall and knowing that they are below us was intense. Everyone was pretty quiet on that part of the memorial and for good reason.
This isn't my photo but I wanted to include it since it is such a fantastic aerial shot of the ship and Memorial.
A view of the USS Missouri from the Arizona Memorial. I love that they retired the ship at Pearl Harbor next to the memorials.
There is also an Aviation Museum and a submarine that you can tour when you visit Pearl Harbor. We may have to check that out someday.

After leaving Pearl Harbor we headed back towards the North Shore in hopes of finding turtle cove so I could get my fill of sea turtles. We successfully found the cove and there were already two sea turtles basking in the sun. While we were there we got to see two more make there way to the sand as well as several others swimming in the water.
I knew they would be big but I was still blown away by their size. Scientists aren't really sure why so many turtles consistently come to this exact part of the island. There are activists and volunteers there 24/7 protecting the turtles since they are endangered. They had ropes up so we couldn't get too close, but they put signs up letting us know the names and facts about each one.
After our fill of turtles we headed up a little further north and stopped by sharks cove. It is basically a giant tide pool and we had a good time exploring. (There were no sharks there so don't worry).
Watching the water rush over the rocks was amazing. We really wished at that moment that we had brought our water shoes with us to make getting around a little easier (we left them in the car).
By the time we left shark's cove we were pretty hungry and ready for some shrimp. There are a lot of shrimp trucks on the North Shore since it is a big shrimp farming area.

We split the shrimp scampi and it was delicious but I wish we hadn't been so full and had ordered the lemon shrimp as well.


I realize that these posts are somewhat long and I still have 3 days left from the trip to cover. We just did so much stuff that I want to share. Maybe these posts will make up for my lack of posting this year so far.