Hawaii 2012 Detail Blog - Part 1

I've needed to write about our trip to Hawaii for almost a year now, and I think it's a good time to reflect on the good/bad, etc. of our trip... mostly for us to recall for the future and partly for anyone who might be interested in taking a Hawaii trip in the future.  I have been asked by several people to detail the trip for information purposes - so this is not my average blog.  It will be largely informational.

First, a little bit about the timing of our trip - since so many have asked what a good time of year to visit Hawaii actually is.  We intentionally chose a time of year when many children would be heading back to school and out of typical "tourist season".  In the months prior to our trip I had heard horror stories of whole weeks of all-day rain and giant, man-eating mosquitoes, but I can honestly say that our entire trip was made of beautiful, 70-80 degree days, tropical breezes, light rains off and on throughout the days/nights, and plenty of rainbows.  I hear that this is truly typical Hawaiian weather.  The man at our luau teasingly told Mark, "Yeah, here in Hawaii we have four seasons too, you know,... football season, hockey season, basketball season, and baseball season."

We booked all of our flights/tickets by ourselves, because we wanted to split up the flights a little bit and see some family.  We left out of our local regional airport on Friday, August 24.  We stayed overnight with my sister and brother-in-law who were stationed (at the time) with The Navy in Southern California.  She picked us up late Friday night and took us to Jack-in-the-Box (a first for us) for a late supper.  The next morning we had a lovely breakfast with my sister, and she took us to the airport.  We knew we had a long flight ahead of us, and I was dreading it because of some back issues I had in July.  I had booked our flights with Alaska Air back in the Spring.  After my back injury, I called them back and asked about their in-flight policies on standing/walking (which are my favorite things to do these days).  She advised that the flight sometimes offers last-minute discounts on first-class fares and suggested snapping one up if given the opportunity at the gate.  We did just that, and it may have been one of our best decisions throughout the trip.  My physical therapist had also prescribed at TENS unit - which I used on all of our flights with no troubles at all.  I was a little worried that - with all the wires and buttons associated with the unit - it might cause a security issue, but it didn't.  We both agreed that this might be our only ever first class flight, and we intended to enjoy it.  It was heavenly - in just about every conceivable way.  The meals, drinks, entertainment, etc. were all exceptional and put us in the "Hawaii mood" - with flowers, native foods, etc.  Our experience with Alaska Air was overwhelmingly positive, and I would definitely fly with them again.

The rest of the trip description will consist largely of photos.

Our first view of the Hawaiian Islands from the plane

We arrived in Hawaii (after losing 5 hours total in flight) at 1:00 PM Hawaii time.  We stayed at the Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu Saturday night and Sunday night.

Ala Moana Hotel, Honolulu

This photo was taken on our way to our first hotel.

First of many Hawaiian rainbows (Aug 25)

We picked the Ala Moana Hotel, because it was relatively inexpensive, close to the beach, and close to Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial - which was the whole reason we decided to spend any time on that particular island at all.  We found it very beautiful and luxurious inside.  We didn't make use of the valet services or the bell hops, and that saved us a bit of money.  Our room had a refrigerator defrost leak, and they promptly sent up a man to fix it.  The room was nothing particularly special, but we were only there for sleeping.  So it suited us very well.

The first night, we were pretty tired from two days of traveling.  So we checked out the area around our hotel, did a little window shopping, and then we ate supper here:

Bubba Gump Shrimp, Honolulu

We kind of hated ourselves for picking Bubba Gump, because we had eaten at some other Bubba Gump restaurants around the continental U.S. in the past and wanted to experience some new things, but it was close, and I really wanted seafood.  Most everything is outdoors in Hawaii.  Even the restaurants are mostly open-air.  The waiting area was open air, and the restaurant itself had nice breezes blowing through it.  It was a delicious meal, and we were happy to have gone.

We went on a short walk at the Ala Moana Beach Park across the street from our hotel and decided to head back to the hotel and snuggle in early, because between jet lag and an early morning tour at U.S.S. Arizona memorial scheduled for Sunday morning, we knew we needed some rest.

We arrived at Pearl Harbor memorial sites a few minutes late for our scheduled tour, but they let us aboard anyway.  We decided to tour The Arizona Memorial, the U.S.S. Bowfin submarine, and the Battleship Missouri.  All of these attractions were exceptional.  I would suggest that, if you're pressed for time, The Arizona Memorial and The Missouri are "must see" attractions.  We did the self-guided audio tours of all of the attractions, and we loved them.  They are all very well done.

U.S.S. Bowfin

A cute, little, old Hawaiian lady asked us if she could take our picture in several locations on the Bowfin.
Here is one of the photo outcomes - with us Geeking out in our headsets.

Our favorite part of the day's tours - The Battleship Missouri

Captain's Chair Me

We got back to the hotel around evening and ate supper at Ruby Tuesday near our hotel.  That night we spent more time at the Ala Moana Beach Park.  Maybe it was because it was a Sunday night, but it wasn't very busy at all.  There were a few couples here and there and a family of locals.  Best of all, there were some paddle-boarders just offshore.  The beach was quiet, the sun was setting in breathtaking fashion, and although I would say that Honolulu was my least favorite part of our trip (because it was city-like and congested), that Sunday evening was one of the most romantic of a very romantic trip.

my hunka man at Ala Moana Beach Park Sunday evening

me at same

Lovers/Friends

first toes in the Hawaiian water

paddle boarders on the horizon
made it seem like centuries gone by

After the sun set, we walked over to a shopping center that had a movie theater and a Cold Stone Creamery.  I had printed out several Internet coupons for Cold Stone Hawaii locations.  So we ate "meals" there a couple of times.  We sat in the beautiful, breezy outdoors and ate ice cream.  Then we walked back to the hotel and packed for the "puddle-jumper"to Maui the following day.  

We awoke Monday, August 27 to Facetime with the kids back home - which we loved, of course.  It took a bit of effort to keep track of what times they would be asleep, etc. because of the time difference.  So calling first thing when we woke up was always a good thing.  We checked out of the Ala Moana in the morning, and we set off to find a place for breakfast.  Apps like Yelp and Trip Advisor came in very handy on this trip.  We were able to get immediate reviews on local places and directions to same.  That morning, however, we were unable to locate any of the places we had mapped, and it was late morning.  Our flight was scheduled to leave Honolulu airport at 1:30 PM.  So we decided to go to the Hololulu airport early, return our rental car, and find a place to eat there - as it was flush with restaurants and shops.  Enter Go! Airlines.  It is an inter-island airline (and I use the term  "airline" very loosely).  I won't waste time making a full review of Go!, but it was an overwhelmingly negative experience.  The flight was late.  There were no attendants advising of flight status (or even one around to ask).  Their planes are old, and the baggage compartments are very small.  Therefore, traditional carry-on sizes wouldn't fit in luggage compartments and had to be checked at exorbitant fees.  The worst part was that the terminal was dislocated from the main Honolulu Airport terminal.  It was located in a very dated, broken-down building that housed another inter-island airline.  There was no restaurant, but there were $10 stale sandwiches (and I mean the kind you make yourself for lunch with regular bread) and $5 bags of chips at a stand at the end of the airport.  So that was our breakfast.   There is more to the story - no AC on the plane, interesting baggage handling practices, etc., but I don't want to do a full review here.  Suffice it to say I wouldn't suggest using Go! Airlines.  It is cheaper, but you get what you pay for when it comes to Go!. 

first view of Maui

Maui's Kahului airport

We flew into Kahului Airport in Maui, and it was another "open air" airport - dated but very pleasant.

Our first stop after we picked up our rental car was to the grocery store.  We picked up food for the four days we would be in the condo - which was located between Hana and Kipahulu on Maui's eastern coast.  Then we started our 3 hour drive to Hana.  According to wikipedia, "although Hāna is only about 52 miles (84 km) from Kahului, it takes about 2.5 hours to drive when no stops are made as the highway is very winding and narrow and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one lane wide. There are approximately 620 curves along Route 360 from just east of Kahului to Hāna, virtually all of it through lush, tropical rainforest. Many of the concrete and steel bridges date back to 1910 and all but one are still in use."  My husband drove the whole time, and he found the northern part of the Hana Highway to be a challenging drive, but it was the southern part of the road (past Hana) that was truly more treacherous.  The south road was barely paved in many places and had many steep, cliff-like edges without guard rails.  The locals take both north and south roads at what we inexperienced Hana Highwayers would consider break-neck speeds, but the southern road is more treacherous by far and is consequently one of the areas not covered by rental car contracts.  Admittedly, we did drive the south road in the middle of the night to get to our sunrise bike tour, but that comes later.  

surfers on the Maui's north shore

We learned a little about Hawaiian politics.

This is from our first drive up The Road to Hana.

more surfers on the north shore

The side of the road opposite the coastal side was almost all ranch/farm land,
which we found very interesting in the middle of the tropical landscape.

Northeastern Shore of Maui

hidden gully

Notice the rain in the background of this photo.  We found this was typical of Maui weather - lots of sprinkles/misty rain that would last for a few minutes with the sun still visible in the sky.

I took this as the sun had finally set on our first trip to Hana.

We arrived at Ala'aina' Ocean Vista Bed and Breakfast after 10:00 PM on the 27th, and we settled in for the night.  As we were taking things from the car to our room, we kept hearing loud thuds - as things were hitting the ground around us, and we found out the next day that they had been ripe mangoes that were falling from centuries-old mango trees in the yard.  Fortunately, we made it to our room without being hit by flying fruit and started checking out the place in the dark.  I have to say I loved Ala'aina.  I could live there.  I could die there.  It was one of the most sincerely serene places I've ever been.  It was completely run on solar power, and the water system consisted of reclaimed rain water.  My husband wasn't a huge fan of that system - because the electricity was a little dim at night, the LP gas refrigerator was a little warmer than he would have liked, and water didn't get hot right away.  I thought these were small prices to pay for the blessing of relaxation.  There was no AC, but, honestly, even when we had the option of AC on the trip, we never used it.  We just opened windows, and we were more than comfortable - as if humanity was designed with a mild tropical climate in mind.    I wasn't able to use curling iron, blow dryers, or things like that, and that made it feel like vacation to me!  There are few places/times in my life when I've felt completely free to go all "hippie"... wear what I like, let my hair run wild, etc.  (If you know me at all, you will be thinking right about now, "Let her hair run wild?  I thought she always did that."  To that I can only say that I've become fairly certain that my hair is its own entity, and I do my best to tame it.)  Without beauty tools at my disposal, I felt free... and the birds quite possibly felt a sudden sense of security - as if nesting materials might temporarily be in more abundant supply.  

We spent the next morning exploring the property of Ala'aina Ocean Vista, and these are some of the breathtaking things we saw:

view to the south of the room

view to the east of the room

beautiful gardens at the bottom of the stairs off our deck

view inland (behind) the property
The tree to the far left is a century-old mango tree.  The tree in the middle foreground is an avocado tree.

My absolute favorite feature of this property, the outdoor shower and tub were located just outside our living quarters in the middle of the garden overlooking the ocean.  Although the room had an indoor glass block shower, we enjoyed these facilities so much more!  It was a first for me to bathe outdoors, but it was a perfectly lovely, one-of-a-kind experience I'll never match.  If I ever had the chance myself, I'd definitely make one of these tubs a part of my garden.  The tub drained out into the garden area and fed the plants.

a snail friend we found in one of the gardens

the main house of Ala 'aina' Ocean Vista

The Hana Highway - south road... This was the more treacherous part of the drive - although extremely beautiful and secluded.  This was on our way to an out-of-the-way waterfall that Samahdi (the B and B owner) told us we could hike to and swim in alone.

some fresh avocado from one of the trees at Ala'aina'

We had gone down to the waterfall that Samahdi had told us we would find to be romantic and deserted - both of which were true.  It hadn't rained much in the few days prior to our going there.  Consequently, there was only a trickle of water flowing over the rocks into the pool below.  The pool was shallow at the edges and deep in the middle and very chilly.  The air temperature in the sun in Hawaii is a tropical 78-85 degrees on average.  In the shade of this rocky area, the air temp was probably around 72.  The water was frigid.  However, I decided that swimming in this pool was a must.  I knew I might never have the opportunity again.  So I went in up to my waist.  After MUCH convincing, Mark came out with me, and we swam awhile.  When I went to get out, my feet were very tender in response to the rocks on the pool bottom.  Mark teased and teased me the whole way out of the pool - saying I looked like a monkey.

Me in the waterfall pool - notice the small trickle of water over the rocks...

This next series of photos is of one of my favorite moments in Hawaii... definitely one of my favorite moments in our married life.  This was a visual representation of how our marriage most often works.  We are laughers.  We tease one another.  We can laugh at ourselves and each other without fear of hurt feelings or insecurity.  It is so nice to be that kind of vulnerable with another person.  It's not uncommon for us to laugh until we can't breathe, but this is the only time to date that marital phenomenon has been captured photographically.

When Mark saw this, I asked him if he'd be embarrassed if I posted it on Facebook, and he said, "There was a time when I wouldn't have liked that, but I'm fine with it.  It's funny."  One of his friends from work gave me a hard time, saying he wouldn't appreciate the posting, but happily I was able to respond that I had asked him,and he was fine with it.  Totally secure in who he is, he is more attractive to me every day.

These are some interesting trees we saw on the hike to the falls.

After spending Monday exploring the private falls, we headed back to spend the afternoon/evening making dinner and enjoying a quiet evening at Ala'aina'.

View from our deck

the dining area - outdoors like most everything else was

the view from the deck into part of our bedroom/bathroom

The outdoor kitchen was one of my other favorite parts about this property.  We cooked many delicious meals out here on the burner.  The refrigerator was LP-powered and whisper quiet.  The area was perfectly adequate for cooking.

our unmade bed - happy to say I didn't make a single bed the whole vacation 

the big, beautiful glass block shower (didn't get much use because of the outdoor option)

The second night we stayed in Kipahulu (August 28) we traveled the south Hana road to a bike company that did sunrise bike tours from the top of the Haleakala volcano crater to the base of the mountain.  We were really looking forward to this part of our vacation.  We went to bed early the night before the tour, and we woke up at 12:30am to get to the bike company on the other side of the island by 3:00am.  We saw some wild pigs and some mongoose on the way there.  We really enjoyed the tour.  It was very educational and just, plain fun.  The top of the mountain was a little chilly and rainy during the sunrise time, but there were hot drinks and snuggling in the visitor's station at the top of the mountain, and we got in on that and made the best of a rainy morning.  We stopped for breakfast on the way down the mountainside at a restaurant that overlooked the rest of the island and ocean.  It was fantastic.

at the top of Haleakala bike tour staging area

On the way back up to Ala 'aina' we got to see more of the Hana Highway in the daylight hours.  We stopped for some fresh pineapple and shave ice.  We stopped at some roadside markets and got some souvenirs.  Mark bought me a flower shell necklace.  We got home toward evening and cooked dinner in the outdoor kitchen and turned in early.

some of the falls on the Hana Highway

This concludes part one of the blog about the Hawaii 2012 trip.  There is a lot more to come, but I have to pace myself time-wise.  It has taken me a week to get this one done.  I hope it was informative.  If you have any questions, leave them in the comment area, and I'll try to get back to you.