Grandma and the John Hakons at the Hukilau!

We left SLC for HNL on Thursday, June 7th. We spent 3 days on Oahu before starting our cruise, including one day at the Polynesian Cultural Center, learning about the various island groups, watching their dances and making a few crafts. The Samoan fire knife dance was a special treat. On Sunday afternoon, we boarded our ship, NCL’s Pride of Aloha. I won’t bother with the ship’s specs because I don’t know them, but suffice it to say it’s slightly bigger than the boats we water ski behind in Utah.

We sailed from Honolulu on Sunday night and arrived in Nawiliwili, Kauai, on Monday. We spent most of Monday swimming and snorkeling at one of the beaches we discovered when we were here 6 years ago to pick up Katie. In the pictures, this is where Grandma took a brief dip in the ocean.

After leaving Nawiliwili Tuesday afternoon, we sailed past the Na Pali Coast of Kauai (think South Pacific) and then set off for the Big Island. We had one day in port at Hilo, where we visited Volcanoes National Park and a few other sites, then a day in Kona where the new temple is located – you can just see the Angel Moroni statue peeking up from above the palm trees of the city. More snorkeling and time at the beach – the key sightings here were several Humuhumu-nukunuku-apua’a (Hawaii’s state fish – bonus points if you know the English translation – see * below) and a half dozen or so sea turtles.

After the Big Island, we spent Friday and Saturday on Maui, where the boys (even John!) took a surfing lesson and we all spent more time playing at the beach. We also took several hours to travel about half of the famous Road to Hana, which puts the S-curve in Big Cottonwood Canyon or Colorado’s Million Dollar Highway to shame. The posted speed limit is either 15 for the curves or 10 for the bridges, many of which were one lane. When things straightened out a bit, the speed limit was raised to a breezy 25! It takes about 3 hours to travel less than 50 miles, and that’s without stopping at any of the waterfalls, beaches, or other pullouts along the way.

We sailed from Maui on Saturday through the night back to Honolulu, and spent the day on Waikiki and a farewell dinner at one of Marilyn’s friend’s house up on the hill. Then off to the airport for the delightful red-eye back to SLC, followed by long naps on Monday afternoon.

Mom was a great sport the whole trip, although she declined our invitation for surfing lessons. And Katie and the other Phillips grand kids loved having rides on the back of the scooter. Everyone got a good suntan, had a great time playing in or on the water, and we all made it back in one piece. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

* trigger fish with a snout like a pig

Take a look at the pictures below:

See you in New Hampshire

As our family gets ready to leave for New Hampshire, we wish you all happy and safe travels. We will see you all at the wedding.

Nagel News at Keuka Lake

Greetings from the Nagels at Keuka Lake (pronounced like cucumber -
cuka) in upstate New York. We've had a wonderful few days with our
family - swimming, canoeing, paddleboating, noodle hockeying, and lots
of relaxing and visiting. It has been a great place to be with all
these little children - plenty to do without getting in the car to go
anywhere. Enjoy the pictures. Be glad we didn't send you all 567 that Jeff and Sara have taken.

We look forward to seeing some of you in New Hampshire next weekend.
XXXOOO from all the Nagels.

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Where's Waldo...

Dear Family:

Can you pick Robbie out of the crowd in the attached picture? His barber must have had fun!

We talked to Sister Sterneckert Friday, just after she and her husband met with Robbie and the other LDS basic trainees (there are 16 in his group). She said they're full of fear and apprehension this first week and that it takes about three weeks before they start to gain some confidence in what they're doing. He gets two hours for church on Sunday. Also on Sunday he gets to make a call home with his drill instructor listening in to make sure he stays to the script (name, rank, serial number, address, etc.) and to make sure the call doesn't last more than a minute or two.

Thanks for remembering him in your prayers. A note or a card to Robbie at the address below would be greatly appreciated by him and us.

Love,

Bruce

AB Haglund, Robert F.
320 TRS/FLT 459, Dorm A-9
PSC #3
1320 Truemper Street, Unit # 369535
Lackland AFB, TX 78236-5570

Wilderness Adventure

Dear Family

Last Wednesday (May 23rd), Robbie and I hooked up with Marv Curtis and Vern Dellapiana at Grandma’s house to start a weekend wilderness escape prior to Robbie’s induction into the Air Force and embarkation for boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio starting on June 3rd. We didn’t leave SLC until 10:30 PM, so we stopped for the night in Pocatello. The next morning we drove to West Yellowstone. After getting all our fishing gear in order we drove to a stretch of the Madison River between the Hebgen Lake dam and Earthquake Lake, formed formed on the night of August 17,1959 as a result of an earthquake that measured 7.5 on the Richter scale and caused a massive landslide that blocked the Madison River. Many of us remember that night because we were staying at the Homer’s in Idaho Falls, and the earthquake caused the water in their pool to slosh back and forth, nearly emptying the pool.

Thursday afternoon’s weather was wet and wild, with snow and sleet moderating into steady rain. The river was swift enough that to cross it safely in thigh-high water required us to form a four-man chain and inch across the mossy river rocks. That day’s fishing was Robbie’s and Vern’s first try at fly fishing and maybe my sixth or seventh. Marv is way past avid and proved it by catching at least 30 fish in four hours compared to one for Robbie, one for me, and none for Vern. Nonetheless, the scenery was beautiful, the air crisp and clean, and every cast an adventure for the three novices.

That night we drive into Yellowstone to observe the wildlife, the rebirth of the forest after the fire in 1988, and the geyser pools. Calving season just ended for the bison, and the meadows were full of calves, yearling, and mature bison. It’s amazing that such adorable calves can come from such mangy cows. We saw several herds numbering between 50 and 100. We also saw lots of elk, sans antlers and looking the worse for wear after a long winter. We arrived at Old Faithful Inn just before sunset, but decided dinner was more important that waiting for the geyser. Robbie and I tasted the bison at the buffet, but he elected (and loved) the elk medallions and the rest of us went mainstream with rib eye steak. The drive back was under a clear, moonlit sky as beautiful as the drive in.

We started early the next day, reporting at the outfitters at 8:00 AM to meet our guides for a float trip down the Madison past Quake Lake. It was snowing as we changed into our gear, but the weather cleared into a gorgeous but cold spring day. We floated from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with Robbie and I in one boat and Vern and Marv in the other. With expert instruction, Robbie and I increased our catch to between 15 and 20 landed fish, with numerous strikes that we weren’t quick enough to land. This stretch of the Madison is world famous for fly fishing and portions of it were in the movie “A River Runs Through It.” It has been a catch-and-release river for over 40 years and has never been stocked with non-native fish. The fish we were catching were consistently 14-15 inches. Marv probably caught a hundred and landed a 20 inch rainbow.

Saturday we helped Marv open their family cabin on Hebgen Lake, took a side trip to Mesa Falls on the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River, and drove home in time to catch the Jazz game on TV.

It was a great weekend for some male bonding before Robbie leaves for major league male bonding in the USAF. After six weeks of boot camp at Lackland, he’ll have his first posting at the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey where he’ll train as a cryptologic linguist in either Chinese, Korean, Arabic or Farsi for 18 months. He won’t know what language he’ll be studying until he arrives in Monterey, but his aptitude tests qualified him for their hardest languages. After he fulfills his four-year commitment to the Air Force he’ll decide whether to pursue a career in the military or return to civilian life. We’ll keep you posted on his progress and will appreciate your faith and prayers for him while he serves.

Love to all,

Bruce

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New Cabin Blog

We now have a new page that will let you reserve the cabin online! You can now email the dates you would like to visit the cabin and Betsy will add your reservation to the calendar. As always, you can always call Betsy to reserve it. You can also see when the cabin is available on the calendar. Thank you Betsy for keeping up the new cabin website.

To visit the new website, click HERE.

There will also be current cabin news and an online wish list.

Question of the year...

What does this equation mean? If you know the answer post it in a comment below.