Hawaiian Road Trip - 6th post

2/19/2009

The pace of the trip has really slowed down. No more running, just sticking close to the hotel and relaxing. Several members of our group did drive up to view the sunrise from Haleakala Crater, From what I was told the drive up the mountain reached 10,000 feet and the air was thinner than what they where used too but worth the effort. They said the sunrise was spectacular. I choose to stay at the hotel and get a message and then go snorkeling. WOW, it hurt so good. My back was so tight and tense that for the next 20 minutes I was in so much pain while the muscles where being worked out. The masseuse said I should have a message once every 2 weeks, that's really going to NOT happen. It was a lot cheaper in Hawaii than here at home. SIGH!! The facial was the best part of the whole experience. It smelled so good, I really could have one of those every 2 weeks.

Off to the beach for some fun in the sun.

This is the first time in a LOONGGG time I've gone snorkeling and it took a while and a couple of attempts to get used to swimming with the mask and hose. I have to say at first I didn't get it, but after several attempts, ditching the fins and finally relaxing I did get the hang of swimming with the fishes. It was so much fun, the currents where a little strong, but I didn't go out very far. I just hugged the coast and swam for about an hour. Several of us got together for dinner that evening and I realized I forgot a vital part of swimming or being in the sun... SUNBLOCK. I put some sunblock on before we got into the water, but I forgot my back and never reapplied after getting out. STUPID. I really paid the price because my back was fried. I didin't sleep well that night. Where's the aloe. Wait, I had Kakui nut lotion and tried that on my back and it really helped with the pain. I did go get some oil and that was even better.

2/20/2009

Up again, this time to travel into Lahaina to catch a boat to see one of the most magestic animals on this planet, the Humpback whale. Because I was at the back of the line to board the boat I wasn't able to get a good seat up top to photograph the whales so I went back below to the front, actually this happened to be the best place for taking pictures and I got some really good ones. There was a mother with her baby and an escort whale swimming in the area. The baby was so active, he was learning how to do tail flips, breching, and fin slaps. He was so cute. Where every he went mommie was always making sure he didn't get into too much trouble. At one point the escort, another male humpback, breched right next to a katermeran it was really awesome. I put the camera on continuas mode and took several shots a second, I'm glad I did because I got some good ones. After the whale watching tour we went to Bubba Gump's for lunch, it was a really good meal and I wish we had one here in the D.C. area.

In the Lahaina harbor there is a great bayan tree that is one of the oldest and largest in the islands. It was so cool the way the vines drop down to the ground and create new trunks is great.

Later this evening we went to a lua in Lahaina. It was o.k. The one I went to at Paradise Cove on Oahu last year was much better. All in all it was a fun evening and the dancers were good. Tomorrow is our departure day. It has been such a great trip. I've seen so much this past week. Some of it I've seen before, but it was enjoyable seeing it again. The best part was the new places I traveled to while in Hawaii. It's such a beautiful state and I love begin there. The worst part is the long flight from DC to Honolulu, but it's a lot easier going west than east.

2/21/2009

We're up early to check out of the hotel and carpool back to the airport. On the trip there we made a stop at a local scrapbook store and I picked up "island" themed paper and cutouts for my memories of this awesume trip. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time. The flight was overbooked as usual so I was not able to make an upgrade to 1st class. This stunck because it was a long flight from Kona to O'hara. Especially with screaming children. It was a very long flight. I really hate red-eyes. Once in Chicago we waited about an hour for our flight to BWI. Once I boarded the plane I pretty much went to sleep and don't remember much of anything except landing at BWI. I really needed that nap. Back to the hotel to pick up the car and I was finally home. Would I go again, absolutely. I would love to have a week in Maui to see the sights I didn't this time. It was the best of the 3 islands I visited. It's now on my to-do list to go again.

We arrived home to cold weather and a week later D.C. is having the biggest snowstorm of the season. YIPPY.

hawiian Road Trip - 5th Post

2/18/2009

WOW!!!!, the first day I could actually sleep in. I was up by 8:00 am, this was our last day in Oahu. We where catching a short flight to Maui. We all meet at noon for the bus ride back to Honolulu International Airport so this gave us several hours to finish our gift shopping. All packed up and ready to board the plan, due to security concerns at airports you know have to arrive about 2 hours before domestic flights so we had a couple of hours to kill in the airport before our flight. The flight was again uneventful, we all had a wedding to go to when we arrived at the hotel. Unfortunately some of us arrived late due to the hour our flight was scheduled to arrive in Maui and the 45 minute ride from the airport. I would have like to have been able to stop along the way to Lahaina, but we needed to keep moving so we could get to the hotel. We all rushed to get dressed once the clothes finally arrived to the room. The meal at the reception was good, but I did look forward to the next day because I was going to get a message and go snorkeling.

It's hard to believe our trip is winding down.

Hawaiian Road Trip - 4th Post

2/17/2009

OMG - I can't believe I actually got up at 3:30 am to board a bus for the airport for a flight to the big island. I really hate getting up early. Oh well the trip was worth it. We boarded our plane and left Oahu at 6:15 am. It was a smooth and uneventful flight. We meet our bus at Kona airport on the big island I was at once impressed by the different land scape on this island. It looks barren and desalate. Jagged rocks, blue skys and blue waters of the ocean. Breathtaking.

We had to go to several resorts on the big island to pick up other passengers and then we where off. We began driving toward Wiamia and onto the Parker Ranch. This ranch is one of the biggest in the United States and has been owned by the same family since the early 1800s. As we where driving toward the northeast I noticed the snow on the mountains, here we where in the middle of paridise and warm temperatures and there on the top of the mountain was snow. It was so pretty.

We made one stop for a quick breakfast at a local rest area for some of the best donunts I've had, hot malasadas yummy. It reminded me more of a beignet than a donut. What ever you call it, it was really good. Continuing across the ranch we made our way to the northeast part of the island toward Hilo. We stopped at one of the many falls here on the island of Hawaii, the easiest to reach was called Rainbow falls because of the rainbow at the base of the island. Here we stopped at Big Island Candies and I had some of the best chocolate covered coffee beans. I wish I had picked up a bag while I was there. It was really good. We then went to an orchid shop and I got some great picutres of the various beautiful flowers growing in the store.

Back on the bus so we can continue on to Volanoes National Park. This was so cool, walking on an active volcano was really amazing. The smell of sulfar was noticable and I can hear in my head Shreek talking about brimestone and gases...

We had lunch at the Valcono House, with all the buses on sight we didn't have enough time to have a sit down lunch and still walk around the house, so I opted for a quick meal so I could get out and take more pictures.

After lunch we drove past some active steam vents and then made our way to a volcano tube. Here you had to walk down a steep winding path to the bottom of the cliff and then we walked through the tube. Luckily it wasn't raining that day so we didn't have to wade through a river of water, just a couple of puddles. The climb up to the bus was realitively easy and it was all at a gradual slop so I had no problems with the walking. It was really something to behold. I'm so glad I made this journey. This was probably my only chance of getting to the big island.

After the volcano park we continued around the eastern side of the island and worked our way back to Kona Airport. Another cool spot for a quick stop was on one of the many black sand beaches on the big island. It was amazing to be able to walk along the beach with my walking boots on and not having a problem. These beaches are known for having sea turtles sunning themselves. We where fortuneate to see one of these turtles on the beach Back on the bus and by this time I was ready to depart. We spent the entire day on the island and arrived back at the hotel in Oahu around 8:30 that evening. I stopped for a drink with some of our other travellers then it was up to bed because I was so tired. Tomorrow it's off to Maui.

Hawaiian Road Trip - 3rd Post

2/16/2009

Up way too early, again. We had to get an early start because the tickets for groups are handed out early and fast. We boarded 2 mini buses from Roberts Tours and our bus driver was a social studies teacher and really put passion into his telling of the events of December 7, 1941. He showed us where the airplanes come from that calm December morning. Without going into a history lesson which is not my purpose with this blog, I'm just going to say Pearl Harbor is a place EVERYONE should visit when coming to Hawaii. It's a place of remembrance, a memorial to the sacrifice of young men who died while just doing their job. The Park Service and US Navy is doing a wonderful job is maintaining the memorial and preserving the feel of the past so visitors get a full understanding of the life and times of the people living and working in Honolulu during the 1930s and 1940s. Before visitors can go out the Arizona Memorial everyone views a 20 minute movie explaining the events that happened on the 7th. This moving was extremely movie and the first time I saw this moving I cried like a baby, it's still hard to view, but I'm not as weepy when leaving the movie. On to boarding the Navy launch to the memorial, the best places to sit for the short ride out it either on the dock side of the launch or the the back next to the water. These seat give you excellent vantage points for photographs. On the memorial itself people are thoughtful and respectful of the memory of the men of the Arizona and other sailors who lost their life during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Each group is given about 20 - 45 minutes on the memorial to pay their respect, several of us brought the lai's we received when we arrived in Honolulu and dropped the petals into the waters of the harbor. To me this was the best way to show my respect to these sailors. My grandfather was serving in the US Navy during the raid on Pearl and I'm just so thankful his ship was not one of the ships in the harbor that morning. We served in every major battle in the Pacific and servived the war to be a major influence in my love of American History. We spent about 3 hours at Pearl Harbor then boarded the mini buses again for a tour of downtown Honolulu.

This tour took us to the oldest Chinatown in the United States and to the palace of the former Kings and Queens of Hawaii. The architecture was stunning, we also saw the capital building and the governors mansion. The Punch Bowl, a National Veterans Cemetary, at the top of the city is a beautiful oasis on Oahu. The views at the top of this mountain out over the city are spectacular. The other fascinating part of this tour is we saw the place where our 44th president Barrack Obama lived during his youth. The school he attended, the basketball courts where he played pickup ball, and the Baskin Robins where he had his first job. He's diffenately come a long way and is a symbol our what one can do in this country when they put their mind to it.

We where back at the hotel by 12 noon and went across the street to have lunch on the beach, calm winds, We did a little shopping at the International Market Place and other local stores the group got ready for a sunset cruise around Wiakiki. This was really beautiful. Going to to sea and watching the sun set from the ocean was a rare treat. I've got several pictures of the sun setting over the ocean from the beach, but I have to say that the best was on our cruise. We had a pretty good meal and the entertainment was so much fun. I called it early this night because I had to be up at 3:30 to get ready to leave the hotel at 4:30 am. I had an early morning flight to the Big Island for a Grand Circle tour.