Final impressions from Hawaii

A few final thoughts on our trip... when we visited Honolulu and Maui in 2005, we had no idea we'd be returning to the Aloha state again so soon. Well, late last year when we began discussing taking an anniversary trip, we talked about the possibility of a return visit, since we had enjoyed our previous trip so much. K's friends had just moved to Kane'ohe, and my friend Bill was still in Honolulu. We figured we could visit them for a couple days and spend the rest of our time doing something else. Since we hadn't gotten to see the Big Island (especially the volcano) during our 2005 visit, that's what we decided on. We had really liked Maui in 2005, and we'd go back there in a heartbeat. We enjoyed the Big Island as well, but it was definitely different from Maui. In some aspects, it met -- and even exceeded -- our expectations. We might make a return trip sometime with the kids; we found lots of things to see and do that they would have enjoyed. The black sand beach at Pololu would have been a great place to spend a half-day or so, maybe with a picnic lunch ...

Visiting Honolulu for the second time in less than two years was kind of neat; we stayed right up the street from where we had stayed the last time, and everything felt really familiar. I've now been to Honolulu -- twice -- more recently than I've been to Ruidoso, New Mexico, which has always been a frequent vacation destination for the Whiskey family. But we might finally be heading back to Ruidoso this fall.

Oh, by the way... you've seen how long it has taken me to post the Hawaii blog entries, and how many photos I've posted... that's precisely why I never got around to posting a trip report or photos from our 2005 trip!

Lasting impressions

One thing that really made an impression on me on both trips is Hawaii's climate; the coastal locations are just so pleasant to be around. It never gets too hot, and there's always a nice breeze. I really enjoyed the open-air environment at many of the places we went -- hotel lobbies, restaurants, even some of the airport terminals! Although the birds can be a bit of a problem at the outdoor restaurants, we saw very few insects anywhere we went.

K at the all-outdoor airport in Kona.

We had never seen anything like it!

I'm pretty sure I could handle life on the islands, if it weren't for the sky-high real-estate prices! Houses and property are damned expensive there. We're used to getting a lot of value for our housing dollar here in north Texas. In Hawaii, we'd be lucky to get a QUARTER of our Texas home's square footage for the same price! It's probably safe to say that we won't be moving out there anytime soon. But if we should ever happen to win the lottery...

Uniquely Hawaiian

I enjoy travel because I enjoy seeing new and different places. Things that are unique and different from what I'm used to at home always make an impression on me. Here are a few such things I took note of during our 2007 Hawaii trip.

Check out these Hawaiian-attired "restroom people" in the Honolulu Airport! Someone better tell that dude he forgot his pants...

The airplanes look different, too.

It's not every day you see road signs encrusted in lava...

With only 12 letters to work with in the Hawaiian alphabet, you end up with some interesting place names -- and lots of apostrophes!

The gardens around our hotel were home to lots of these critters...

Japanese "lucky cats" (maneki neko) were seen at several restaurants and businesses.

Back to Texas, back to reality

Beginning with my next entry, we'll be back on the scene in Whiskey country (north Texas and surrounding areas). I've accumulated a small backlog of material during the time it has taken me to post all the Hawaii stuff, so there'll be no shortage of stuff to talk about. Until next time...

WSC

np: Waylon Jennings - cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't think twice"

Hawaii trip - day 7

Saturday, April 14

All vacations must end eventually; on Saturday, it was time for us to check out of the hotel and fly back to Texas. But first...

During our drive on Friday, I had taken special note of the scenery around Waimea... as we drove head east, uphill away from the ocean, the landscape looked a lot like west Texas -- mountainsides covered with yellow prairie grass and very few trees. But as we approached Waimea, the climate became cooler and more humid and there was an increase in vegetation. The town itself was very picturesque, with a number of scenic hillsides. I noticed quite a few locations that would have made for some good photos, but we were pressed for time, so I didn't really have a chance to shoot anything. On Saturday after breakfast, I had a couple hours to go back and take a few pics...

Hawaii or west Texas?

picturesque landscape near Waimea

Mauna Kea as seen from the hills above Waimea

After checking out of the hotel, we grabbed some lunch and did some shopping at the King's Shops near Waikoloa Beach. I tried to interest K in a t-shirt that we saw...

I couldn't convince K to purchase this one...

Next, we headed to the Kona airport to catch our Hawaiian Airlines flight back to Honolulu.

boarding our plane at Kona Airport

We had a 2-hour layover at Honolulu while we waited for our flight to D-FW...

Honolulu International Airport


Who knew the rap group NWA had their own airline? ;-)


a round of farewell drinks at Honolulu

Our flight back to D-FW was pretty uneventful. We left Honolulu around 8 pm and arrived at D-FW around 8 or 9 am, local time. It was dark when we left Honolulu; by the time the sun came up, we were just north of Portales and Clovis, NM. We were following approximately the same flight path we had taken home from Phoenix last month (see March 21 post) . It was chilly in Dallas (low 40's -- brrrr!) I had to dig out a jacket and pair of socks from our suitcase after we picked up our luggage. We went home and went to bed... I slept a solid 6 hours before waking up around 4 pm. Those flights will really take the energy out of you...

Well, that's pretty much it. What an awesome trip; we got to see and do lots of neat stuff. Big thanks to Mom for offering to keep the kids so K and I could share a special anniversary trip.

Stay tuned for one more Hawaii post, a few follow-up comments and a final selection of photos. Until then...

WSC

np: Old & in the Way - "Panama Red" on KHYI 95.3 FM

Hawaii trip - day 3

Tuesday, April 10 - Aloha, Honolulu; Aloha, Big Island...

On Tuesday morning, it was time for us to leave Waikiki. We packed up and checked out of our hotel and met Susan & Greg and their family for breakfast at Sam Choy's - Breakfast Lunch & Crab. Unfortunately, the only crab I saw offered on their breakfast menu was some kind of crab salad omelet. Their menu did feature several variations of the Hawaiian loco-moko platters -- usually some kind of combination of rice and meat topped with a fried egg -- but in the end I went with what I viewed to be the "safest" choice -- fried eggs with toast, sausage, and Spam. I wasn't disappointed.

K and Susan at Sam Choy's

After breakfast, we had plenty of time to get to the airport to return our rental car and catch our flight. It didn't even occur to me that we probably could have snuck in a visit to the Hawaiian Railway Society's museum over near Ewa. Oh well, maybe next time. Meanwhile, I got my transportation jollies by photographing this Matson container passing Sam Choy's on its way to the Honolulu port complex...

This Matson truck helped me get my transportation "fix"...

A Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 717 taxis toward the runway, about to leave Honolulu

The business of moving people between the various islands is an interesting one. Most of the islands are too far apart from one another for surface transportation (i.e. passenger and autmotive ferries) to be very feasible, although I've heard that some sort of "super ferry" might be starting up soon. Basically, if you want to get to another island, you're stuck flying the friendly skies (unless you own your own boat!) Three different airlines -- Aloha, Go!, and Hawaiian -- offer several daily flights between the islands. Think of them as Hawaiian equivalents to Southwest, serving a smaller and more captive market. The flights are all quite short... I remember two years ago, our flight from Honolulu to Maui was just over 30 minutes. On this trip, our flights between Honolulu and Kona Airport on the Big Island were just over 45 minutes. Amazingly, the flight attendants still have time to roll the beverage cart down the aisle, serving passengers soft drinks and juice. You have about 5 minutes to finish your drink before they have to come back through the cabin to collect the empties!

Just after takeoff - an aerial view of Honolulu

Above Kaho'olawe, the small uninhabited island just off the south coast of Maui.

We arrived in Kona as scheduled, picked up our baggage and rental car, and headed north 20 miles or so to our hotel. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing at our hotel, enjoying some time on the beach, and having dinner.

Stay tuned for more...

WSC

nr: Ruby El Hult - Northwest Disaster

np: John Prine - "Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian", a song that I meant to install on K's Ipod before we left, but I never got around to it...

Hawaii trip - day 2, part 1

Monday, April 9 - Honolulu scenes

We had the whole day to spend on the island of Oahu. K had plans to go shopping and go to a spa with Susan; I was planning on meeting up with Bill for a drive along the north shore. First, I took a couple shots from our hotel balcony...

Looking south along Beachwalk St. in Waikiki. The constuction site in the foreground will be the location of a Donald Trump project, a high-rise tower housing hundreds of hotel suites and luxury codominiums. In the background is the Outrigger Reef, where we stayed during our 2005 visit. It's currently undergoing renovations and remodeling, but appeared to still be open.

early morning view of Waikiki

After breakfast, Bill and I met up to start our day. Before heading for the north shore, we took a hike up to the top of 760-ft Diamond Head peak for a great view of the city. The trail is usually crowded with school groups and other tourists, but it isn't too bad if you get an early enough start.

Looking west from Diamond Head toward Waikiki and Honolulu

looking south from Diamond Head


not for those seeking solitude... the trail up Diamond Head was crowded in both directions

After Diamond Head, we headed for Kane'ohe and drove west along the north shore. (I'll post those photos in a separate entry). Later in the afternoon, we had time for more sightseeing around downtown Honolulu before we met K and Bill's wife and Susan and Greg for dinner...

Honolulu's Iolani Palace, which once housed Hawaiian royalty

The Honolulu state capitol building is... well... "unique" to say the least...

After dinner at Keo's Thai Cuisine in Waikiki (highly recommended!) we walked along Lewers checking out some of the new shops. (Demolition crews were tearing down old apartment buildings here during our 2005 visit; it's amazing how fast they put all this new stuff up!) Then we got some dessert and called it a night. In the morning, K and I would head to the airport to catch our flight to Kona on the Big Island.

Stay tuned for more... the next entry will cover our driving tour of Oahu's north coast.

WSC

nr: Ruby El Hult - Northwest Disaster

np: 10,000 Maniacs - Hope Chest

Hawaii trip - day 1

Easter Sunday, April 8

Our plane left D-FW as scheduled, and actually arrived in Honolulu about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, that's when things started to go downhill. At first, our plane couldn't taxi to the gate due to "equipment" being left in the way. Then, when we got to the gate, the jet bridge wouldn't extend to the plane, so we had to sit while the airport sent someone to fix it. When we finally got off the plane, this is the sight that greeted us at baggage claim...

A Honolulu airport worker tries to get the baggage conveyors moving...

Yep, the baggage conveyors were jammed and some of the belts weren't working. After 45 minutes of attempts to re-start them, they finally re-routed our plane's luggage to another carousel. I'd say it's time for the Honolulu airport to modernize its facilities, or at least do a better job of maintaining them. While I waited for our bags, K went to pick up our rental car. Things weren't all smiles and laughs at the Hertz counter, either. Apparently, they'd had a power outage and were struggling to get their computers back on line. But K still made it back to baggage claim before I had our stuff... Finally, the baggage machine spit out our suitcases and we were on the move.

We made it! Heading east on H-1 toward Waikiki...

Waikiki Beach near our hotel - Diamond Head peak in background

One of the reasons we decided to take this trip was to visit with friends who lived on Oahu. Bill, one of my best friends from college, has lived in Honolulu for the past three years. We hadn't seen him since we last visited two years ago. After checking in at our hotel, we picked up Bill and his wife and headed to Kane'ohe, on the other side of the island, to have dinner with K's friends Susan and Greg, who just recently relocated to Hawaii from the "mainland".

driving north on the Pali Highway...

view of Kailua from the Pali Overlook

Modeling my most obnoxious Hawaiian shirt at the Pali Overlook...

Susan and Greg's house features what is arguably one of the best views available on the island of Oahu. Their balcony -- or lanai, to use the local terminology -- provides a view of the Ko'olau Mountains to the southwest, and Kane'ohe Bay to the east. Spectacular! They served us a really tasty Easter dinner, which compensated nicely for our earlier troubles at the airport. Susan's mom and grandmother were in town, as well.

the view from Greg & Susan's

Kane'ohe sunset

This was our first time to visit this side of the island, and we really enjoyed it. It's a lot more relaxed than the fast-paced, crowded city conditions found in Honolulu and Waikiki. After dinner, we headed back to our hotel, arriving around 10 pm (due to the time difference, it was now 3 a.m. to our tired bodies) -- a long day.

Stay tuned for more...

WSC

nr: The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger

np: Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy