Pearl Harbor today, then on to Maui. We got to Pearl Harbor around 8AM after having some difficulty in finding the right road (yes, I know, recurring theme) and even though we thought we had left early enough, we parked and saw a 150 yard long line waiting to get tickets. Luckily, the line was moving pretty well and we got our ticket for the 9:45AM viewing of the memorial. We got the audio tour and listened to that as we browsed around the exhibit and museum. The whole area is extremely moving and really makes you think about what all of the soldiers died for. The audio tour also had some of the survivors talking about the attack, it was just amazing. I would definitely recommend purchasing the audio tour. It explained the exhibits in depth and the personal stories were amazing.
Just before we were ready to go to our show and boat ride to the memorial, we realized that our camera battery was low and we had only brought the one camera. Before going out to the memorial, they show a movie about the attack and it really sets the tone for the visit. We took the boat ride out and wouldn't you know it, the camera completely died. So, unfortunately all of the pictures of the actual memorial are mental only. We did get some pictures from the shore, and some post cards of images from the memorial, but not quite the same.
We didn't really realize how much time we would spend in the sun at Pearl Harbor, so we weren't very diligent with sunscreen. Dan's nose ending up burned and blistered a bit. My arms and the back of my neck got a bit pink, but not terrible.
After we had finished, it was too late to really do anything before heading to the airport. So, we grabbed some lunch and returned the rental car before checking in and waiting for our flight.
Our 35 minute flight to Maui might have been the loudest ever because we were sitting right next to the engine and it was vibrating the entire seat. After a windy landing at Kahului Airport we picked up our rental car (Sebring Convertible) and headed to Kihei and our condo at the Kihei Akahi.
We had found the condo on VRBO (C310) and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the view of the ocean off the lanai was actually very nice. For the price we had expected a “partial” view of some part of the ocean. The condo was right off the main strip of Kihei so there was a bunch of restaurants and shops right down the road and the beach was 2 minutes away by foot. We grabbed some dinner at Maui Taco’s (excellent burrito, not great tacos) and then grabbed the beach chairs to witness our first Maui sunset. There is just something so relaxing about sitting on the beach, listening to the waves crash and watching the sunset. The only problem is that the island of Lanai gets in the way of the sunset, so that it actually sets behind the island and the inevitable clouds above the island.
Off to bed and ready for an easy day tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Day 3 - North Oahu
Today was the north half of the island, including the famed North Shore. We got a little earlier start today but things looked kind of dreary right off the bat. They had been talking about how the winds were bringing a haze to the other islands due to the eruptions on the Big Island and the ash that was being created. They called it Vog.
Our first stop was at Kualoa Beach to get some quick pictures of the Chinaman’s Hat. This is a small island off shore that looks like, you guessed it, a hat. The next beach was interesting because we found some more sea glass and there was a lot of interesting things washed on to the shore. We saw coral, rocks, algae, etc.
Next was Bathtub beach, just north of La’ie Beach Park. This was really cool because after a peaceful walk from the parking lot along the beach, there was a sea break that was knocking down all of the waves and left perfectly calm water to shore. Along the lava rock shore, we saw crabs and lots of little fish. We wished we had brought snorkel gear with us because it would have been interesting to continue following the shore further past the lava rocks. But since we both were in sandals, we couldn’t scramble across the rocks and further. La’ie Point and Goat Island were next and while interesting, they weren’t extraordinary.
We were going to stop along the Banzai Pipeline, the famed surfing area, but even though the south shore was getting some great waves, but nothing big was happening here. So, we continued on to Shark’s Cove and the tide pool. We decided to wade into the tide pool and I threw on a mask and snorkel to get a better view of things. It was super calm and we got to see some small fish. A couple of butterfly fish and a spotted puffer fish were the highlights.
Next was Papa’iloa Beach, which was used for some “LOST” filming but was our first opportunity to see sea turtles. They were playing in the surf near the water’s edge. They would come close to swimming out of the water and then would jet back into the waves. It really was like the movie “Finding Nemo” where the turtles are just chilling riding the waves. We got some attempted pictures (some turtles, some rocks mistaken for turtles) before we got tired of the other people on the beach.
We stopped for shave ice at Aoki’s in Hale’iwa. Pretty tasty tropical flavors and not too bad a price. The lady asked if we wanted ice cream in our shave ice. I think must have looked at her like she had two heads... personally, ice cream does NOT belong in shave ice. The final beach on our trek was to Kealia Beach (sort of). Just past Mokule'ia Beach Park , this beach is where the crash site was located from Season 1. We used the “Oahu Revealed” guidebook and got to this beach used for “LOST” filming and it was beautiful. We were the only ones there and it looked exactly like LOST. We even got to see a couple of turtles, but they never got out of the water.
On our way back home we stopped at the Dole Plantation for the explicit purpose of getting pineapple knifes for the family. It turns out that they didn’t have any, but that we could order them online. If we wanted to order them online, we wouldn’t have stopped at the store. But, we did get a turtle Christmas ornament from a local artist and then some pineapple soft serve, so it wasn’t a complete loss. I ordered the knives online, out of stock there too....still waiting!
Dinner at Tiki’s in Waikiki. Not bad, but not great. We felt that everything was kind of heavy and fried. I had mahi mahi and Shawnna had beef tenderloin medallions. Home and bed, ready for an early morning at Pearl Harbor tomorrow.
Our first stop was at Kualoa Beach to get some quick pictures of the Chinaman’s Hat. This is a small island off shore that looks like, you guessed it, a hat. The next beach was interesting because we found some more sea glass and there was a lot of interesting things washed on to the shore. We saw coral, rocks, algae, etc.
Next was Bathtub beach, just north of La’ie Beach Park. This was really cool because after a peaceful walk from the parking lot along the beach, there was a sea break that was knocking down all of the waves and left perfectly calm water to shore. Along the lava rock shore, we saw crabs and lots of little fish. We wished we had brought snorkel gear with us because it would have been interesting to continue following the shore further past the lava rocks. But since we both were in sandals, we couldn’t scramble across the rocks and further. La’ie Point and Goat Island were next and while interesting, they weren’t extraordinary.
We were going to stop along the Banzai Pipeline, the famed surfing area, but even though the south shore was getting some great waves, but nothing big was happening here. So, we continued on to Shark’s Cove and the tide pool. We decided to wade into the tide pool and I threw on a mask and snorkel to get a better view of things. It was super calm and we got to see some small fish. A couple of butterfly fish and a spotted puffer fish were the highlights.
Next was Papa’iloa Beach, which was used for some “LOST” filming but was our first opportunity to see sea turtles. They were playing in the surf near the water’s edge. They would come close to swimming out of the water and then would jet back into the waves. It really was like the movie “Finding Nemo” where the turtles are just chilling riding the waves. We got some attempted pictures (some turtles, some rocks mistaken for turtles) before we got tired of the other people on the beach.
We stopped for shave ice at Aoki’s in Hale’iwa. Pretty tasty tropical flavors and not too bad a price. The lady asked if we wanted ice cream in our shave ice. I think must have looked at her like she had two heads... personally, ice cream does NOT belong in shave ice. The final beach on our trek was to Kealia Beach (sort of). Just past Mokule'ia Beach Park , this beach is where the crash site was located from Season 1. We used the “Oahu Revealed” guidebook and got to this beach used for “LOST” filming and it was beautiful. We were the only ones there and it looked exactly like LOST. We even got to see a couple of turtles, but they never got out of the water.
On our way back home we stopped at the Dole Plantation for the explicit purpose of getting pineapple knifes for the family. It turns out that they didn’t have any, but that we could order them online. If we wanted to order them online, we wouldn’t have stopped at the store. But, we did get a turtle Christmas ornament from a local artist and then some pineapple soft serve, so it wasn’t a complete loss. I ordered the knives online, out of stock there too....still waiting!
Dinner at Tiki’s in Waikiki. Not bad, but not great. We felt that everything was kind of heavy and fried. I had mahi mahi and Shawnna had beef tenderloin medallions. Home and bed, ready for an early morning at Pearl Harbor tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Day 2 - South End of Oahu
The plan for today was to hit the south portion of the island, Hanauma Bay, Diamond Head, Punchbowl Cemetery and whatever else that we could see on our way.
We hit the road at around 7AM and headed south around the southern tip of the island. After I realized that I didn't bring hiking attire and had to go back to the condo : ) Thankfully we weren't too far away. We also stopped at SafeWay to grab a quick breakfast, but there wasn't much to choose from. I thought it was really odd. No donuts, bagels or anything, just a few things left from the day before. Due to our late arrival we weren’t as quite up for a sunrise as we thought that we would be due to the time change. Our first spectacular view was from a lookout at Makapu’u Point. Surf, mountain, and beach, absolutely gorgeous.
As we continued to Hanauma Bay, we saw that the Halona Blowhole was blowing and decided to stop on our way back home later today. From my previous trip, I had remembered that Hanauma Bay was very calm and was hoping that it would be an easy start for snorkeling. Waves were a bit higher than I think I would have preferred, and definitely higher than Shawnna would have liked. But we did get a little bit of snorkeling done. We saw some fish, but all in all, it wasn’t that spectacular.
It was really neat to see fish so close to the shore, but because the water was so choppy I didn't feel comfortable at all.
Next we went to Punchbowl Cemetery because it was almost noon and we didn’t think it was a good idea to hike Diamond Head at that hour. Punchbowl was very impressive and it was interesting to go back to these things that I had done previously but didn’t always remember fully. We only managed to get lost a couple of times on our way to Punchbowl and down to Waikiki for lunch. We realized that the maps in the guidebooks and travel brochures are not quite enough unless you know exactly where you are going. So, we broke down and bought a map and proceeded to continue getting lost but at least we knew where were lost. Waikiki for lunch, just Subway, but we got a little taste of Waikiki, which is definitely different than where we were staying on the east side of the island.
Diamond Head Crater was gorgeous. The hike to the top is only 0.8 miles, but 600 ft of elevation change make it seem a little bit longer. The views from the top are very pretty, especially of downtown, Waikiki and down the coast. After that it was almost 5:30PM and time to get headed home if we wanted to get dinner. We stopped at a Japanese Fishing Shrine near Halona blowhole and ended up getting a great view of the blowhole.
We then continued past it and stopped at Sandy Beach. Shawnna was getting the requisite picture of feet in the surf, when all a sudden a “rogue” wave came in and soaked her about half way up her shorts. The best part is that I was ready to take a picture at the same time and actually got a picture of the wave and her reaction. Priceless.
On our walk back to the car, Shawnna found her first piece of “sea glass” which was something she had been looking forward to since she had seen it online. It is a piece of glass that had been roughed and smoothed by the ocean so that it has a smooth frosted look. By this time it was getting late and we hadn't gone grocery shopping yet. Finally back home after grabbing some quick groceries and some sushi for dinner. This is the beach where Dan gave me my anniversary gift : )
We hit the road at around 7AM and headed south around the southern tip of the island. After I realized that I didn't bring hiking attire and had to go back to the condo : ) Thankfully we weren't too far away. We also stopped at SafeWay to grab a quick breakfast, but there wasn't much to choose from. I thought it was really odd. No donuts, bagels or anything, just a few things left from the day before. Due to our late arrival we weren’t as quite up for a sunrise as we thought that we would be due to the time change. Our first spectacular view was from a lookout at Makapu’u Point. Surf, mountain, and beach, absolutely gorgeous.
As we continued to Hanauma Bay, we saw that the Halona Blowhole was blowing and decided to stop on our way back home later today. From my previous trip, I had remembered that Hanauma Bay was very calm and was hoping that it would be an easy start for snorkeling. Waves were a bit higher than I think I would have preferred, and definitely higher than Shawnna would have liked. But we did get a little bit of snorkeling done. We saw some fish, but all in all, it wasn’t that spectacular.
It was really neat to see fish so close to the shore, but because the water was so choppy I didn't feel comfortable at all.
Next we went to Punchbowl Cemetery because it was almost noon and we didn’t think it was a good idea to hike Diamond Head at that hour. Punchbowl was very impressive and it was interesting to go back to these things that I had done previously but didn’t always remember fully. We only managed to get lost a couple of times on our way to Punchbowl and down to Waikiki for lunch. We realized that the maps in the guidebooks and travel brochures are not quite enough unless you know exactly where you are going. So, we broke down and bought a map and proceeded to continue getting lost but at least we knew where were lost. Waikiki for lunch, just Subway, but we got a little taste of Waikiki, which is definitely different than where we were staying on the east side of the island.
Diamond Head Crater was gorgeous. The hike to the top is only 0.8 miles, but 600 ft of elevation change make it seem a little bit longer. The views from the top are very pretty, especially of downtown, Waikiki and down the coast. After that it was almost 5:30PM and time to get headed home if we wanted to get dinner. We stopped at a Japanese Fishing Shrine near Halona blowhole and ended up getting a great view of the blowhole.
We then continued past it and stopped at Sandy Beach. Shawnna was getting the requisite picture of feet in the surf, when all a sudden a “rogue” wave came in and soaked her about half way up her shorts. The best part is that I was ready to take a picture at the same time and actually got a picture of the wave and her reaction. Priceless.
On our walk back to the car, Shawnna found her first piece of “sea glass” which was something she had been looking forward to since she had seen it online. It is a piece of glass that had been roughed and smoothed by the ocean so that it has a smooth frosted look. By this time it was getting late and we hadn't gone grocery shopping yet. Finally back home after grabbing some quick groceries and some sushi for dinner. This is the beach where Dan gave me my anniversary gift : )
Monday, May 19, 2008
Day 1 – Travel Day
Travel Day. We had driven up from Indianapolis yesterday afternoon so that the “kids” could stay at my parent’s house while we were gone.
We woke up today around 2:30 AM CDT so that we could get to the airport in time for our 5:30AM flight. Unfortunately, we discovered that Milwaukee’s airport is not open 24 hours a day and that there was no one at the ticket counter until about 4:15AM so we sat around for 25 minutes waiting for them to show up. No problems with our flight from MKE to ORD (O’Hare, Chicago). Our next flight was scheduled for 8:00AM from ORD to PDX (Portland). From this point on it is easier to try to look at times.
8:00AM CDT – Board plane in Chicago
9:30AM CDT – Get off the plane due to engine problems after sitting on the tarmac for an hour and the gate for 30 minutes.
10:00AM CDT – Board second plane in Chicago
11:00AM CDT – Finally actually leave Chicago for Portland, realizing that there is no way that we are going to make our flight in Portland for Honolulu.
1:30PM PDT (-2 hrs CDT) – Arrive in Portland, are handed new tickets to San Francisco then on to Honolulu.
1:31PM PDT – Board plane to San Francisco.
4:00PM PDT – Flight from San Francisco to Honolulu leaves on time.
7:00PM HST (-5 hrs CDT) – Arrive in Honolulu
9:00PM HST – Arrive at condo on east side of Oahu.
Final Tally – 5 airplanes, 5 airports, 4 flights, 25 hrs awake, 2 times seeing about every hour of the day, but we still made it and we actually only lost about 3 hours of time.
The house that we stayed at is on the windward (east) side of island and it was directly under the Ko’olau Mountain Range. There was a wonderful stream that you could hear from the room and it was absolutely pitch black.
Although we were supposed to change airlines in Portland, United took care of getting us through to Honolulu. Yes, it was their fault that we weren't going to make our flight, but I was really impressed with thier service that day.
We woke up today around 2:30 AM CDT so that we could get to the airport in time for our 5:30AM flight. Unfortunately, we discovered that Milwaukee’s airport is not open 24 hours a day and that there was no one at the ticket counter until about 4:15AM so we sat around for 25 minutes waiting for them to show up. No problems with our flight from MKE to ORD (O’Hare, Chicago). Our next flight was scheduled for 8:00AM from ORD to PDX (Portland). From this point on it is easier to try to look at times.
8:00AM CDT – Board plane in Chicago
9:30AM CDT – Get off the plane due to engine problems after sitting on the tarmac for an hour and the gate for 30 minutes.
10:00AM CDT – Board second plane in Chicago
11:00AM CDT – Finally actually leave Chicago for Portland, realizing that there is no way that we are going to make our flight in Portland for Honolulu.
1:30PM PDT (-2 hrs CDT) – Arrive in Portland, are handed new tickets to San Francisco then on to Honolulu.
1:31PM PDT – Board plane to San Francisco.
4:00PM PDT – Flight from San Francisco to Honolulu leaves on time.
7:00PM HST (-5 hrs CDT) – Arrive in Honolulu
9:00PM HST – Arrive at condo on east side of Oahu.
Final Tally – 5 airplanes, 5 airports, 4 flights, 25 hrs awake, 2 times seeing about every hour of the day, but we still made it and we actually only lost about 3 hours of time.
The house that we stayed at is on the windward (east) side of island and it was directly under the Ko’olau Mountain Range. There was a wonderful stream that you could hear from the room and it was absolutely pitch black.
Although we were supposed to change airlines in Portland, United took care of getting us through to Honolulu. Yes, it was their fault that we weren't going to make our flight, but I was really impressed with thier service that day.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Trip Report in the Works
While Dan finishes typing up the play-by-play, I thought I'd give you all the answers to my 'tidbits to ponder'
- 7 different airports (Milwaukee, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, Honolulu, Kahului, Minneapolis)
-I got car sick on the drive up to Haleakala. We found out last week it was more of a gastrointestinal issue due to some fish. Walu . Check it out. So thankful we shared the dish!!
-Dan got the rash burn....those boogie boards are deadly I tell you! Only joking, I actually did it on our last day and LOVED IT!
-I had to visit the ER. I had a severe inner ear infection. Soooooo painful. Thank God for Percoset and great insurance!!
-Dan's nose got so sunburned on Day 3 that it blistered and peeled while we were there.
-I pee'ed on a "famous" beach. It was the beach were the first season of LOST was taped. We actually saw quite a few areas where scenes were taped.
-And yes, we both had the best vacation E-V-E-R.
I can honestly say this was the only vacation I've ever been on in which I was not ready to come home. You know how by the end of a vacation you're usually ready to get back home, back to your comforts, back to your own pillow and your own bed. I'm with ya, I feel ya...except this time.
-
- 7 different airports (Milwaukee, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, Honolulu, Kahului, Minneapolis)
-I got car sick on the drive up to Haleakala. We found out last week it was more of a gastrointestinal issue due to some fish. Walu . Check it out. So thankful we shared the dish!!
-Dan got the rash burn....those boogie boards are deadly I tell you! Only joking, I actually did it on our last day and LOVED IT!
-I had to visit the ER. I had a severe inner ear infection. Soooooo painful. Thank God for Percoset and great insurance!!
-Dan's nose got so sunburned on Day 3 that it blistered and peeled while we were there.
-I pee'ed on a "famous" beach. It was the beach were the first season of LOST was taped. We actually saw quite a few areas where scenes were taped.
-And yes, we both had the best vacation E-V-E-R.
I can honestly say this was the only vacation I've ever been on in which I was not ready to come home. You know how by the end of a vacation you're usually ready to get back home, back to your comforts, back to your own pillow and your own bed. I'm with ya, I feel ya...except this time.
-
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Hawaii Pictures
Hawaii Pictures are posted here. Details to follow once we quit missing it quite so much.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)