Saturday, Dec 31
This morning started at a pub that offered 2 for 1 breakfast coupons. A couple of blocks from the hotel, away from the beach, we think it’s owned by a Canadian, based on the décor and menu options. Good omelet, pancakes (more coconut syrup) and banana muffins.
We then took advantage of the hotel’s complimentary stand-up paddle board lesson. They usually only get one person doing it, so they only have one board. Today, there were 4 of us, so we had to take turns, which made for a rather boring lesson. Waikiki beach is protected by an artificial reef, which makes it very flat. If you want to do any surfing or boogie boarding, you have to paddle way out. So we got in the car and headed out to the North Shore, where the swells were supposed to be small. We drove for over an hour, stopping at many beaches which all had either a lot of rocks, “no swimming” signs, or unpredictable looking waves. Eventually, we asked someone and after driving the full length of the North Shore, we turned around and found a beach just to the south with boogie boarding waves. But instead of sand, there was a big smooth slab of rock underneath. Rob did some rides, but I got right out again and waited for him.
After about 45 minutes at the beach, we went for lunch at a school bus converted to seafood shack. We both had some awesome white fish with garlic and herbs. Someone from our hotel was there with one of the Lotuses. Loti? Rob had asked the price at the hotel, but we ended up sticking with the Calibre with cheap tires that made a horrible noise on the highway. More drool from Rob at the site of the Elise.
After lunch, we shopped for North Shore souvenirs. I got a new rash shirt for sunburn free snorkelling.
Back at the hotel, we had a nap to prepare for a night of partay-ing. Eventually, we got dressed up to go find dinner, and found a lot of line-ups and over priced, reservation only prix fixe menus. Rob seemed to be drawn to sushi, but the sushi menus weren’t speaking to me. So we settled on a 50s style diner called the Rock Island Café. Meh. Nothing special. I had another hot dog, this time with kalua pork (Hawaiian luau style) on top. After dinner, I decided I wasn’t comfortable in a dress and heels, so we went back to the hotel to change. Cue another nap! At 11:30, we walked over to the beach to watch the midnight fireworks. We’re hardcore like that.
The fireworks were good, about 15 minutes long, with a few thousand well behaved people on the beach. After the fireworks, we came back to the hotel and used the 24h free internet in the business center to check in for our flight tomorrow night. 45 minutes after online check-in opened, we got the last seats on the plane. Aisle seats, across from each other. I am a window seat girl, and I won’t be able to sleep with nothing to lean on. Oh, well.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Flying Hilo
Friday, Dec 30
As planned, we started the day at Ken’s. Rob wasn’t feeling well, so he shared my shrimp omelet with a side of banana pancakes (with coconut and passion fruit syrups!). After breakfast, we went to the airport to check in for our helicopter flight over the volcano.
We arrived about 15 minutes early for check-in, which was required 45 minutes before the fight. Once everyone had checked in (36 people for 6 helicopters), we watched a 5 minute safety video and were assigned seats and pilots. Then we went and lined up on the tarmac for our flights to return from the previous tours. If everything went perfectly, we would have been sitting in the sun without hats (which were not allowed on the flight) for 30 minutes. When our pilot arrived, he shut down the propeller and called for a service vehicle. So we waited an extra 40 minutes for the issue to be resolved. At peak sun time. Eventually, we got on the helicopter, well sunburned, and took off. I was sitting behind the pilot while Rob was in the middle. They promised us that they would be giving everyone a copy of the DVD they make on each tour (which they usually sell for $25) to make up for the delay.
We flew past one of Barrack Obama’s planes, being held in Hilo as a backup while he was vacationing on Oahu. Then we flew over some Hilo neighbourhoods, a macadamia nut plantation and some lava fields. We got some good views of some gas plumes while we flew. We then got 2 passes over the opening of pu’u o’o, the source of the current flow to the ocean, one for each side of the ‘copter. We flew over on our side, so that we could look down right into the lava. Then, we started to follow the flow, which is mostly underground. Or possibly just cooled, it’s hard to tell how old black lava is from the air. But before we got very far, the generator light came on and the pilot turned around and took us back to the airport. He assured us repeatedly along the way that we weren’t in any danger, as we were flying on mechanical power and didn’t need electrical. And even when we needed electricity to land, we still had lots in the battery. So after waiting an hour and 10 minutes, we got about a 15 minute flight with a single glimpse (each side) of the red lava. The company will be refunding our payments and I talked them into free t-shirts. They gave us a generic DVD as they had turned off the recorders to save power when we lost the generator.
We then walked over and checked into our flight to Honolulu. The Hawaiian Air check in desk at Hilo is actually smaller than the helicopter tour check-in desk. There are supposed to be direct flights from the mainland, but everything on the arrivals and departures screens was “Honolulu”. And there were flights about every half hour. But because I pre-booked we had to wait about an hour and a half for the flight that I booked. I had tried to book the helicopter tour a little later but wasn’t able to. I’m kind of glad given the delay.
We got to Honolulu after an uneventful flight (despite being seated between 2 babies, it was a short flight!) The car rental company gave us a Dodge Calibre, and made a hard sell to upgrade us to a Mustang convertible. It was raining at the time, and I decided that renting a convertible would guarantee that it lasted for the rest of the trip. So we took the Calibre and saved $70.
I drove to the Waikiki Parc hotel, with valet parking. It’s one building away from the beach, with modern, upscale décor. The also offer daily rentals of a Lotus Elise, which Rob drooled on everytime we walked past. I didn’t splurge for an ocean view this time, so we saw lots of Honolulu buildings.
After checking in, we went for a walk down the beach. Waikiki is quite a bit busier than Kona, which was busy enough. The beach is rather small for the number of hotel rooms nearby. We counted the number of balconies at the Sheraton in front of the hotel and figure that hotel alone has about 1500 rooms. Our hotel has about 250 rooms. Behind the hotels, there’s a strip of high end stores, with thousands of people walking around. It very reminds me of Vegas, without the casinos and freebies. Hawaii is a poplar destination for Japanese, and they seem to be stocking up on American brands here.
From the beach we went in search of dinner and ended up at the International Marketplace, which is a bunch of vendors selling cheap, made in China, “Hawaiian” souvenirs. We ate at Haute Dog, a hot dog vendor that’s been featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. We both had dogs with mango mustard and pineapple relish. I washed mine down with an awesome pineapple slush. After the hot dogs, we went to the icecream booth and got a brownie sundae to share. Yummy. Then back to the hotel (past all the Coach, Prada and Feragamo stores) for a quick swim in the hotel pool before bed. We caught the Hilton fireworks at 7:30 as an appetizer for tomorrow night.
As planned, we started the day at Ken’s. Rob wasn’t feeling well, so he shared my shrimp omelet with a side of banana pancakes (with coconut and passion fruit syrups!). After breakfast, we went to the airport to check in for our helicopter flight over the volcano.
We arrived about 15 minutes early for check-in, which was required 45 minutes before the fight. Once everyone had checked in (36 people for 6 helicopters), we watched a 5 minute safety video and were assigned seats and pilots. Then we went and lined up on the tarmac for our flights to return from the previous tours. If everything went perfectly, we would have been sitting in the sun without hats (which were not allowed on the flight) for 30 minutes. When our pilot arrived, he shut down the propeller and called for a service vehicle. So we waited an extra 40 minutes for the issue to be resolved. At peak sun time. Eventually, we got on the helicopter, well sunburned, and took off. I was sitting behind the pilot while Rob was in the middle. They promised us that they would be giving everyone a copy of the DVD they make on each tour (which they usually sell for $25) to make up for the delay.
We flew past one of Barrack Obama’s planes, being held in Hilo as a backup while he was vacationing on Oahu. Then we flew over some Hilo neighbourhoods, a macadamia nut plantation and some lava fields. We got some good views of some gas plumes while we flew. We then got 2 passes over the opening of pu’u o’o, the source of the current flow to the ocean, one for each side of the ‘copter. We flew over on our side, so that we could look down right into the lava. Then, we started to follow the flow, which is mostly underground. Or possibly just cooled, it’s hard to tell how old black lava is from the air. But before we got very far, the generator light came on and the pilot turned around and took us back to the airport. He assured us repeatedly along the way that we weren’t in any danger, as we were flying on mechanical power and didn’t need electrical. And even when we needed electricity to land, we still had lots in the battery. So after waiting an hour and 10 minutes, we got about a 15 minute flight with a single glimpse (each side) of the red lava. The company will be refunding our payments and I talked them into free t-shirts. They gave us a generic DVD as they had turned off the recorders to save power when we lost the generator.
We then walked over and checked into our flight to Honolulu. The Hawaiian Air check in desk at Hilo is actually smaller than the helicopter tour check-in desk. There are supposed to be direct flights from the mainland, but everything on the arrivals and departures screens was “Honolulu”. And there were flights about every half hour. But because I pre-booked we had to wait about an hour and a half for the flight that I booked. I had tried to book the helicopter tour a little later but wasn’t able to. I’m kind of glad given the delay.
We got to Honolulu after an uneventful flight (despite being seated between 2 babies, it was a short flight!) The car rental company gave us a Dodge Calibre, and made a hard sell to upgrade us to a Mustang convertible. It was raining at the time, and I decided that renting a convertible would guarantee that it lasted for the rest of the trip. So we took the Calibre and saved $70.
I drove to the Waikiki Parc hotel, with valet parking. It’s one building away from the beach, with modern, upscale décor. The also offer daily rentals of a Lotus Elise, which Rob drooled on everytime we walked past. I didn’t splurge for an ocean view this time, so we saw lots of Honolulu buildings.
After checking in, we went for a walk down the beach. Waikiki is quite a bit busier than Kona, which was busy enough. The beach is rather small for the number of hotel rooms nearby. We counted the number of balconies at the Sheraton in front of the hotel and figure that hotel alone has about 1500 rooms. Our hotel has about 250 rooms. Behind the hotels, there’s a strip of high end stores, with thousands of people walking around. It very reminds me of Vegas, without the casinos and freebies. Hawaii is a poplar destination for Japanese, and they seem to be stocking up on American brands here.
From the beach we went in search of dinner and ended up at the International Marketplace, which is a bunch of vendors selling cheap, made in China, “Hawaiian” souvenirs. We ate at Haute Dog, a hot dog vendor that’s been featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. We both had dogs with mango mustard and pineapple relish. I washed mine down with an awesome pineapple slush. After the hot dogs, we went to the icecream booth and got a brownie sundae to share. Yummy. Then back to the hotel (past all the Coach, Prada and Feragamo stores) for a quick swim in the hotel pool before bed. We caught the Hilton fireworks at 7:30 as an appetizer for tomorrow night.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Exploring the island
Thursday, Dec 29
This morning we checked out of the hotel in Kona and headed out on the north route to Hilo. Before leaving, I went into a coffee shop for their free wifi and tried another cup of Kona coffee. Nope, still not a fan. We stopped at the Waipio Valley lookout. Only 4WD vehicles can drive into the valley. From the lookout, you can see a gorgeous black sand beach at the bottom. The valley alone would probably be worth getting a jeep. The rest of the valley is all private property, so nothing else to see.
The town at the top of the valley is a cute little "small town America" type of place, with a nostalgic, yet busy, main street. We stopped at a place called Blane's Drive-In. It was a let down. Rob was feeling queasy since breakfast, so all he wanted was a milk shake. And he had his heart set on something tropical like pineapple or banana, but all they had was chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. I got a pork sandwich, and it was fatty pork, with loads of mayonaise and wilted lettuce on a flavourless white bun. Bleh. We then went into a local fudge and ice cream shop, but they didn't do milkshakes, so we just got a couple of pieces of macadamia caramels and peanut butter-chocolate fudge. Mmm.
The next stop was at Akaka Falls. But we were running out of time and they wanted $5 to park, or $2 each to walk in, so we got a quick photo from the parking lot and kept going. Near the entrance to the falls was a place called "Mr Ed's bakery and jams". We got some ginger cookies and coconut macaroons. We also got a cinnamon bun, but not the giant ones they had available, just a "small" one. We ate the cinnamon bun later and wished we'd gotten the one that was about 10" across instead of just the 5" one. Damn, it was good.
In Hilo, we checked into our hotel. There are a lot of shady looking places here. It was obviously a popular tourist destination in the 70s, but the years have not been good. I read before booking that the deal here is that the state owns the land and leases it to the resorts for a short period of time. The time is so short that the hotels don't want to invest in renovations, and couldn't get a loan to do it anyway. Local authorities have realized the problem and have started negotiating longer lease terms conditional on the hotel coming into the 21 century. The first hotel that has been done is the one I booked, the Naniloa Resort. Our room and the hallway have been redone, but that's about it. The exterior and main floor still need to be done. Oh well, it was cheap and we're only here one night.
We stayed long enough to drop off our luggage and headed up to Volcano National Park. We should have researched the park a little better. It's at an elevation of 4000 and when we got there shortly after 4pm, it was about 15C and very windy. By sunset, it dropped to 12C. My raincoat was in the car, and was wearing denim capris and my hiking shoes with socks, so I was okay. Poor Rob was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and barefoot with sandals. We managed to get through the Thurston lava tube, a few minutes at the steam vents and sunset at the Jaggar museum which overlooks a smoldering crater. We sat in the car until it got dark enough to see the glow from the crater. We then took a couple of photos and jumped back in the car.
For dinner, we drove back to Hilo and looked for a place we'd seen in Kona called "L&L Hawaiian BBQ". We found one in Hilo and went in to check out the menu. Based on the pictures and lack of customers, we figured it was frozen food heated up in the microwave, so we left. We had seen a place called "Ken's House of Pancakes" near the hotel, so we went there to check it out. When we arrived, there was a line up out the door, and no parking. That looked promising. I went in while Rob parked, and while they were busy, they were able to get us a table right away. It's a 24h places with at least 100 items on the menu. I had calamari and a "Hawaiian" turkey sandwich. Rob had a cajun chicken sandwich. The sandwiches were good. But the calamari was the best $6 calamari I have ever had. Not as good as the place in Kalk Bay, but decent and an awesome price. We're going back tomorrow for coconut banana pancakes.
This morning we checked out of the hotel in Kona and headed out on the north route to Hilo. Before leaving, I went into a coffee shop for their free wifi and tried another cup of Kona coffee. Nope, still not a fan. We stopped at the Waipio Valley lookout. Only 4WD vehicles can drive into the valley. From the lookout, you can see a gorgeous black sand beach at the bottom. The valley alone would probably be worth getting a jeep. The rest of the valley is all private property, so nothing else to see.
The town at the top of the valley is a cute little "small town America" type of place, with a nostalgic, yet busy, main street. We stopped at a place called Blane's Drive-In. It was a let down. Rob was feeling queasy since breakfast, so all he wanted was a milk shake. And he had his heart set on something tropical like pineapple or banana, but all they had was chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. I got a pork sandwich, and it was fatty pork, with loads of mayonaise and wilted lettuce on a flavourless white bun. Bleh. We then went into a local fudge and ice cream shop, but they didn't do milkshakes, so we just got a couple of pieces of macadamia caramels and peanut butter-chocolate fudge. Mmm.
The next stop was at Akaka Falls. But we were running out of time and they wanted $5 to park, or $2 each to walk in, so we got a quick photo from the parking lot and kept going. Near the entrance to the falls was a place called "Mr Ed's bakery and jams". We got some ginger cookies and coconut macaroons. We also got a cinnamon bun, but not the giant ones they had available, just a "small" one. We ate the cinnamon bun later and wished we'd gotten the one that was about 10" across instead of just the 5" one. Damn, it was good.
In Hilo, we checked into our hotel. There are a lot of shady looking places here. It was obviously a popular tourist destination in the 70s, but the years have not been good. I read before booking that the deal here is that the state owns the land and leases it to the resorts for a short period of time. The time is so short that the hotels don't want to invest in renovations, and couldn't get a loan to do it anyway. Local authorities have realized the problem and have started negotiating longer lease terms conditional on the hotel coming into the 21 century. The first hotel that has been done is the one I booked, the Naniloa Resort. Our room and the hallway have been redone, but that's about it. The exterior and main floor still need to be done. Oh well, it was cheap and we're only here one night.
We stayed long enough to drop off our luggage and headed up to Volcano National Park. We should have researched the park a little better. It's at an elevation of 4000 and when we got there shortly after 4pm, it was about 15C and very windy. By sunset, it dropped to 12C. My raincoat was in the car, and was wearing denim capris and my hiking shoes with socks, so I was okay. Poor Rob was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and barefoot with sandals. We managed to get through the Thurston lava tube, a few minutes at the steam vents and sunset at the Jaggar museum which overlooks a smoldering crater. We sat in the car until it got dark enough to see the glow from the crater. We then took a couple of photos and jumped back in the car.
For dinner, we drove back to Hilo and looked for a place we'd seen in Kona called "L&L Hawaiian BBQ". We found one in Hilo and went in to check out the menu. Based on the pictures and lack of customers, we figured it was frozen food heated up in the microwave, so we left. We had seen a place called "Ken's House of Pancakes" near the hotel, so we went there to check it out. When we arrived, there was a line up out the door, and no parking. That looked promising. I went in while Rob parked, and while they were busy, they were able to get us a table right away. It's a 24h places with at least 100 items on the menu. I had calamari and a "Hawaiian" turkey sandwich. Rob had a cajun chicken sandwich. The sandwiches were good. But the calamari was the best $6 calamari I have ever had. Not as good as the place in Kalk Bay, but decent and an awesome price. We're going back tomorrow for coconut banana pancakes.
Turtles
Wednesday, Dec 28
Today was the best day so far, the kind of day you dream about when you book a trip to Hawaii.
We started the day with another hotel breakfast, which we are getting realy sick of and starting to think about skipping and heading to Denny's. But we're too cheap to go to Denny's. Then we went to a snorkel place which is supposed to be a close second to Kealakekua (where we went on Sunday). We got lost on the way, since the directions clearly say "go past the entry gate for Pu'uhonua O Honaunau State Park, then take the one way road on your right." (Also known as "Place of Refuge") What they should have said was "go through the first gate to the state park, and take the one way road on the right before the second gate to the state park." About 5 miles down a deserted road, we decided the instructions would have mentioned a distance if it was more than a few feet.
I now figure that the directions are vague in order to keep the place a secret. Definitely better snorkelling than at the Captain Cook monument. We parked about 30 meters from the spot where we get into the water. A second name for the spot is "two step" because you climb down 2 steps and you're in the water. It's deep enough to not have to worry about running into coral, too. There is a lot more variety of coral and fish there. Probably not as many fish as Captain Cook, but a lot more variety of fish. We also saw a few eel, an octupus (which are almost impossible to see because they camoflage so well), and a turtle! I spotted the turtle first (well, maybe at the same time as the 2 scuba divers, but definitely the first of the surface dwellers) so we had a good 5 minutes of following the turtle by ourselves before someone from the snorkel tour spotted him and shouted to everyone else. Once the others got in, it was a lot of bumping and fins in faces. Eventually, he came to the surface for air, and a couple of the snorkellers moved in and started grabbing him. I yelled at them and they backed off, otherwise it might have gotten ugly.
After well over an hour, I decided to get out of the water. Rob was already waiting on shore. Getting out is much harder than getting in, since you don't realize the rocks you are sitting on are filled with sea urchins until you are looking into the water through a snorkel mask. They hide in holes and are harmless as long as you keep your appendages out of the holes. But that's easier to do when you are standing on the rocks than when you are putting your hands on the rocks and pulling yourself up. But we both escaped unscathed.
Next to the snorkelling area, there's a small, muddy beach and boat launch (much easier than the one at Kealakekua Bay) and a sea turtle was resting over there while I was snorkelling. But he was hard to see with sand on his back.
Oh, and because it’s been a few days without abuse of the rental car, we used the center console as a cooler. We filled the hotel room ice bag with ice and put it in the console, then placed a couple drinks on top to drink after snorkelling. It turns out the bag was not water proof. Hopefully the console dries out before we return the car.
Next we headed for a beach so Rob could do some boogie boarding. We stopped on the way at a bakery/cafe and had some banana bread with macadamia nuts and banana bread with coconut. Not as good as mine. I also finally tried some Kona coffee. Not as good as Costa Rican. I found it a bit strong and bitter. I prefer lighter, sweeter brews.
The beach we were looking for is called "White Sands", and also "Disappearing Sands", as the surf sometimes pulls the sand out to sea and then brings it back later. When there's sand, it's supposed to have good waves for boogie boarding. When we found it, there was sand, but it was a small and very crowded beach. And the surf was minimal. But given that the next possible option was Hapuna Beach, about 40 miles north (since Kua Bay is closed to cars on Wednesdays) Rob decided to give it a try.
I was hanging out on the beach under my shiny new beach umbrella when Rob came up and told me that a sea turtle was sharing his waves while I was sitting there looking clueless. I ran out to where he had last seen the turtle, and within a few minutes, he was back. He was calmly swimming from person to person, sneaking up and scaring the crap out of unsuspecting children and women with small nudges. He was bumping into Rob several times, but it wasn't as frightening to him. At one point, I was standing with my back to the waves, about 3 feet away from the turtle when a wave knocked me forward and almost right on top of the turtle. He managed to escape. But he wasn't alone. At one point, I could see 3 of them while Rob could see a fourth. Fortunately, the people on the beach were much more respectful, nobody went out of their way to touch them. I finally decided I had enough of trying not to step on turtles when jumping in the waves, and headed back to the protection of my umbrella. After I left, Rob was trying to catch a wave and got tripped by a turtle. He ended up ass over tea-kettle in the wave and came up with a lung full of sea water Those suckers are pretty daring with those big shells! A few people mentioned that these turtles visit the beach every day.
After a few hours at the beach, we came back to the hotel and had a late lunch of leftover poke and crab salad. Rob then had a nap, and I did some reading on our balcony with a cold drink. We then made the obligatory trip to Hilo Hattie's, the original tacky Hawaiian souvenir shop. At the store, they had a pearl jewellery counter where you could buy oysters for $15 and keep whatever you find in it. A woman was trying her hand, she tried 2 oysters and got 2 matching pairs of pearls, which she made into earrings. I then tried, since Rob's mom's birthday is coming up and she asked for pearls, and I got 2 singles, one pink and one black. I didn't like any of the settings for single pearls, so I now have to get them mounted some other way.
After shopping, we went for a late dinner at a place called Splashers. The place was very popular, so we had to wait at the bar for a table. We ended up sitting next to the same woman who was buying pearls and her friend. We chatted with them for a while, and we now have new friends in Portland and San Francisco. The food was excellent. Rob had seared Ahi tuna, I had macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi with a pineapple sauce. And they had mango cheesecake for dessert (which is something I fell in love with in Australia, and have to get as much as possible.)
Rob is now doing laundry in the hotel laundromat. We are heading out the volcano tomorrow, and on to another island after that.
Today was the best day so far, the kind of day you dream about when you book a trip to Hawaii.
We started the day with another hotel breakfast, which we are getting realy sick of and starting to think about skipping and heading to Denny's. But we're too cheap to go to Denny's. Then we went to a snorkel place which is supposed to be a close second to Kealakekua (where we went on Sunday). We got lost on the way, since the directions clearly say "go past the entry gate for Pu'uhonua O Honaunau State Park, then take the one way road on your right." (Also known as "Place of Refuge") What they should have said was "go through the first gate to the state park, and take the one way road on the right before the second gate to the state park." About 5 miles down a deserted road, we decided the instructions would have mentioned a distance if it was more than a few feet.
I now figure that the directions are vague in order to keep the place a secret. Definitely better snorkelling than at the Captain Cook monument. We parked about 30 meters from the spot where we get into the water. A second name for the spot is "two step" because you climb down 2 steps and you're in the water. It's deep enough to not have to worry about running into coral, too. There is a lot more variety of coral and fish there. Probably not as many fish as Captain Cook, but a lot more variety of fish. We also saw a few eel, an octupus (which are almost impossible to see because they camoflage so well), and a turtle! I spotted the turtle first (well, maybe at the same time as the 2 scuba divers, but definitely the first of the surface dwellers) so we had a good 5 minutes of following the turtle by ourselves before someone from the snorkel tour spotted him and shouted to everyone else. Once the others got in, it was a lot of bumping and fins in faces. Eventually, he came to the surface for air, and a couple of the snorkellers moved in and started grabbing him. I yelled at them and they backed off, otherwise it might have gotten ugly.
After well over an hour, I decided to get out of the water. Rob was already waiting on shore. Getting out is much harder than getting in, since you don't realize the rocks you are sitting on are filled with sea urchins until you are looking into the water through a snorkel mask. They hide in holes and are harmless as long as you keep your appendages out of the holes. But that's easier to do when you are standing on the rocks than when you are putting your hands on the rocks and pulling yourself up. But we both escaped unscathed.
Next to the snorkelling area, there's a small, muddy beach and boat launch (much easier than the one at Kealakekua Bay) and a sea turtle was resting over there while I was snorkelling. But he was hard to see with sand on his back.
Oh, and because it’s been a few days without abuse of the rental car, we used the center console as a cooler. We filled the hotel room ice bag with ice and put it in the console, then placed a couple drinks on top to drink after snorkelling. It turns out the bag was not water proof. Hopefully the console dries out before we return the car.
Next we headed for a beach so Rob could do some boogie boarding. We stopped on the way at a bakery/cafe and had some banana bread with macadamia nuts and banana bread with coconut. Not as good as mine. I also finally tried some Kona coffee. Not as good as Costa Rican. I found it a bit strong and bitter. I prefer lighter, sweeter brews.
The beach we were looking for is called "White Sands", and also "Disappearing Sands", as the surf sometimes pulls the sand out to sea and then brings it back later. When there's sand, it's supposed to have good waves for boogie boarding. When we found it, there was sand, but it was a small and very crowded beach. And the surf was minimal. But given that the next possible option was Hapuna Beach, about 40 miles north (since Kua Bay is closed to cars on Wednesdays) Rob decided to give it a try.
I was hanging out on the beach under my shiny new beach umbrella when Rob came up and told me that a sea turtle was sharing his waves while I was sitting there looking clueless. I ran out to where he had last seen the turtle, and within a few minutes, he was back. He was calmly swimming from person to person, sneaking up and scaring the crap out of unsuspecting children and women with small nudges. He was bumping into Rob several times, but it wasn't as frightening to him. At one point, I was standing with my back to the waves, about 3 feet away from the turtle when a wave knocked me forward and almost right on top of the turtle. He managed to escape. But he wasn't alone. At one point, I could see 3 of them while Rob could see a fourth. Fortunately, the people on the beach were much more respectful, nobody went out of their way to touch them. I finally decided I had enough of trying not to step on turtles when jumping in the waves, and headed back to the protection of my umbrella. After I left, Rob was trying to catch a wave and got tripped by a turtle. He ended up ass over tea-kettle in the wave and came up with a lung full of sea water Those suckers are pretty daring with those big shells! A few people mentioned that these turtles visit the beach every day.
After a few hours at the beach, we came back to the hotel and had a late lunch of leftover poke and crab salad. Rob then had a nap, and I did some reading on our balcony with a cold drink. We then made the obligatory trip to Hilo Hattie's, the original tacky Hawaiian souvenir shop. At the store, they had a pearl jewellery counter where you could buy oysters for $15 and keep whatever you find in it. A woman was trying her hand, she tried 2 oysters and got 2 matching pairs of pearls, which she made into earrings. I then tried, since Rob's mom's birthday is coming up and she asked for pearls, and I got 2 singles, one pink and one black. I didn't like any of the settings for single pearls, so I now have to get them mounted some other way.
After shopping, we went for a late dinner at a place called Splashers. The place was very popular, so we had to wait at the bar for a table. We ended up sitting next to the same woman who was buying pearls and her friend. We chatted with them for a while, and we now have new friends in Portland and San Francisco. The food was excellent. Rob had seared Ahi tuna, I had macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi with a pineapple sauce. And they had mango cheesecake for dessert (which is something I fell in love with in Australia, and have to get as much as possible.)
Rob is now doing laundry in the hotel laundromat. We are heading out the volcano tomorrow, and on to another island after that.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
More Beach
Tuesday, Dec 27
This morning we decided to hit Kua Bay early, while it was still possible to get a parking spot. The parking lot opens at 9am, and when we arrived at 9:20, we got the last spot before people had to park on the road. The waves weren't as big as yesterday, but still enough for Rob to use the rental boogie board. I also discovered some good snorkeling on the edges of the bay, so I looked at fish while Rob rode waves.
After a few hours we came back to the hotel, changed into dry clothes and went in search of local food at a place called Da Poke Shack. Poke (pokay? pokee?) is essentially Hawaiian sushi. Cubed pieces of raw yellow fin tuna with various oils and spices. Rob got the shack special poke with sides of spicy crab salad and brown rice. I got lau lau, a Hawaiin dish of pork and fish wrapped in some sort of leaf, with a side of salmon ceviche. We then got more special poke and crab salad to go.
Back at the hotel, I prepared to spend happy hour by the pool, but found that the lobby lounge chairs facing the ocean were more comfortable and just as close to the tiki bar. Just as well, as someone broke some glass in the pool, causing it to be closed for several hours. Rob went exploring the touristy part of Kona.
We then went shopping for jeans at Macy's and my special waterproof sunblock. Macy's was a bust, the saleswoman checked stock, and none of the Hawaiian stores carry my jeans. She explained that jeans don't sell well here due to the heat. Then we looked at Kmart, Walmart, Safeway and Target for my sunblock. The stuff is called Bullfrog, and it lasts all day, and doesn't wash off. That's good for my clear redheaded skin, and for the reefs I snorkel at. It's the best stuff I have ever used. It's not sold in Canada, and I didn't bring enough to last both Rob and I for a 10 day vacation. Target carried it, but is sold out. The other places don't carry it. There's a local pharmacy that had it, but they were really expensive. So we searched the GPS for a Walgreens or CVS. No Walgreens on the big island, but 2 CVS listed. The first one turned out to be the previously mentioned local store. So we tried the next "CVS" 5 miles away. Another branch of the same local drug store, who was also out of stock of my sunscreen. With all the gas used driving around, I think it would have made more sense to just buy it at the expensive drug store.
Tomorrow the plan is to check out another snorkel spot and more doing nothing.
This morning we decided to hit Kua Bay early, while it was still possible to get a parking spot. The parking lot opens at 9am, and when we arrived at 9:20, we got the last spot before people had to park on the road. The waves weren't as big as yesterday, but still enough for Rob to use the rental boogie board. I also discovered some good snorkeling on the edges of the bay, so I looked at fish while Rob rode waves.
After a few hours we came back to the hotel, changed into dry clothes and went in search of local food at a place called Da Poke Shack. Poke (pokay? pokee?) is essentially Hawaiian sushi. Cubed pieces of raw yellow fin tuna with various oils and spices. Rob got the shack special poke with sides of spicy crab salad and brown rice. I got lau lau, a Hawaiin dish of pork and fish wrapped in some sort of leaf, with a side of salmon ceviche. We then got more special poke and crab salad to go.
Back at the hotel, I prepared to spend happy hour by the pool, but found that the lobby lounge chairs facing the ocean were more comfortable and just as close to the tiki bar. Just as well, as someone broke some glass in the pool, causing it to be closed for several hours. Rob went exploring the touristy part of Kona.
We then went shopping for jeans at Macy's and my special waterproof sunblock. Macy's was a bust, the saleswoman checked stock, and none of the Hawaiian stores carry my jeans. She explained that jeans don't sell well here due to the heat. Then we looked at Kmart, Walmart, Safeway and Target for my sunblock. The stuff is called Bullfrog, and it lasts all day, and doesn't wash off. That's good for my clear redheaded skin, and for the reefs I snorkel at. It's the best stuff I have ever used. It's not sold in Canada, and I didn't bring enough to last both Rob and I for a 10 day vacation. Target carried it, but is sold out. The other places don't carry it. There's a local pharmacy that had it, but they were really expensive. So we searched the GPS for a Walgreens or CVS. No Walgreens on the big island, but 2 CVS listed. The first one turned out to be the previously mentioned local store. So we tried the next "CVS" 5 miles away. Another branch of the same local drug store, who was also out of stock of my sunscreen. With all the gas used driving around, I think it would have made more sense to just buy it at the expensive drug store.
Tomorrow the plan is to check out another snorkel spot and more doing nothing.
Monday, December 26, 2011
To the beach...
Monday, Dec 26
We slept in this morning, getting to breakfast a little after 9am. After breakfast, we went back to the room to laze around a little more and discuss what we should do for the day. There has been a barge of some sort parked in the bay, and we finally took binoculars down at breakfast to satisfy our curiosity. Upon learning that it's a jet-ski rental establishment, Rob expressed an interest in renting jet-skis. The other options for the day were to drive north to find a sandy beach, or drive south to another snorkelling spot. Eventually I made the executive decision to go to the beach. So we suited up, lathered up and hit the road.
I seem to have lost my funky black hat from MEC, so we stopped at Target to buy something to cover my head. I picked up a white baseball cap with "Aloha!" written across it in bright colours. Because, you know, I didn't look quite enough like a tourist before. The price on the shelf was $6, but it scanned at the cash for $13. It turns out the hat was put in the wrong spot on the shelf, but the cashier gave it to me for $6. Score! We also picked up a beach umbrella.
I was looking for a beach called Kua Bay. The directions in my guide book took us to an unmarked road which led to one of the most crowded parking lots I have ever witnessed. It reminded me of signs in a parking lot in Northern Australia at a popular swimming hole, "If this parking lot is full, Buley Rock Hole is crowded. Please come back later." Cars were parked all along the road, to about a 20 minute walk from the beach. I decided since I wasn't even sure this was the beach recommended by the book, we decided to keep moving. The next stop would be Hapuna Beach, lauded as the most spectacular beach on the island, but another 20 minute drive away. Along the drive, it started getting really windy. Once we arrived at Hapuna Beach, the wind was so strong that not many people were hanging out. We got in the water, but there weren't any waves to play in. Plus, the wind was lifting sand from the beach and tossing it in our faces. So we got out of the water and sat in a protected cove on the beach for about another half hour before Rob pointed out that the hotel pool had better seating and alcohol for sale. Back to the hotel!
On the way back, I suggested we take another look at Kua Bay, hoping that at 2:30 in the afternoon, the crowds would be starting to thin, and we'd be able to see if it was worth going back in the morning. This time, while it was still very busy, we were able to snag a decent parking spot. Once we walked down to the beach, we discovered why it was so busy. The waves were perfect for boogie boarding, and the whiter sand made the water appear much lighter. We stayed for about an hour, playing in the waves.
For dinner, we had reservations for the hotel luau. $58/person for all you can eat, all you can drink and a Polynesian dancing show. Line ups for the bar were long, cups were small, and Hawaii state law apparently limits each person to 2 drinks at a time. So we essentially got back into line as soon as we got our drinks. The other people at our table were a retired couple from Alberta now living on Vancouver Island, with their 2 adult children still living in Alberta. Calgarians are everywhere.
The food was excellent. Rob and I had more than our fill of fish, beef, chicken, pork, coconut and pineapple. Finished off with pineapple upside down cake and coconut cake.
The show included dances from various Polynesian islands, including Samoa and New Zealand where Rob and I have visited before. In New Zealand, we attended a Maori dinner, similar to a Hawaiian luau, and were seated at the only table with other English speaking guests. As a result, Rob was brought up on stage and learned the haka, the New Zealand warrior greeting, designed to intimidate. At the Hawaiian show tonight, the man doing this part came through the audience and gave his scary, tongue hanging out growl to various men. He gave it to Rob, who returned it with an equally scary growl and tongue. He was probably the only person in the crowd who has learned the Haka from actual Maoris. He suprised the guy and earned a laugh from our table. Later in the show, a man did a Samoan fire dance. It was slightly less impressive than the 11 year old world junior champion that we saw in Samoa, but good nonetheless.
We slept in this morning, getting to breakfast a little after 9am. After breakfast, we went back to the room to laze around a little more and discuss what we should do for the day. There has been a barge of some sort parked in the bay, and we finally took binoculars down at breakfast to satisfy our curiosity. Upon learning that it's a jet-ski rental establishment, Rob expressed an interest in renting jet-skis. The other options for the day were to drive north to find a sandy beach, or drive south to another snorkelling spot. Eventually I made the executive decision to go to the beach. So we suited up, lathered up and hit the road.
I seem to have lost my funky black hat from MEC, so we stopped at Target to buy something to cover my head. I picked up a white baseball cap with "Aloha!" written across it in bright colours. Because, you know, I didn't look quite enough like a tourist before. The price on the shelf was $6, but it scanned at the cash for $13. It turns out the hat was put in the wrong spot on the shelf, but the cashier gave it to me for $6. Score! We also picked up a beach umbrella.
I was looking for a beach called Kua Bay. The directions in my guide book took us to an unmarked road which led to one of the most crowded parking lots I have ever witnessed. It reminded me of signs in a parking lot in Northern Australia at a popular swimming hole, "If this parking lot is full, Buley Rock Hole is crowded. Please come back later." Cars were parked all along the road, to about a 20 minute walk from the beach. I decided since I wasn't even sure this was the beach recommended by the book, we decided to keep moving. The next stop would be Hapuna Beach, lauded as the most spectacular beach on the island, but another 20 minute drive away. Along the drive, it started getting really windy. Once we arrived at Hapuna Beach, the wind was so strong that not many people were hanging out. We got in the water, but there weren't any waves to play in. Plus, the wind was lifting sand from the beach and tossing it in our faces. So we got out of the water and sat in a protected cove on the beach for about another half hour before Rob pointed out that the hotel pool had better seating and alcohol for sale. Back to the hotel!
On the way back, I suggested we take another look at Kua Bay, hoping that at 2:30 in the afternoon, the crowds would be starting to thin, and we'd be able to see if it was worth going back in the morning. This time, while it was still very busy, we were able to snag a decent parking spot. Once we walked down to the beach, we discovered why it was so busy. The waves were perfect for boogie boarding, and the whiter sand made the water appear much lighter. We stayed for about an hour, playing in the waves.
For dinner, we had reservations for the hotel luau. $58/person for all you can eat, all you can drink and a Polynesian dancing show. Line ups for the bar were long, cups were small, and Hawaii state law apparently limits each person to 2 drinks at a time. So we essentially got back into line as soon as we got our drinks. The other people at our table were a retired couple from Alberta now living on Vancouver Island, with their 2 adult children still living in Alberta. Calgarians are everywhere.
The food was excellent. Rob and I had more than our fill of fish, beef, chicken, pork, coconut and pineapple. Finished off with pineapple upside down cake and coconut cake.
The show included dances from various Polynesian islands, including Samoa and New Zealand where Rob and I have visited before. In New Zealand, we attended a Maori dinner, similar to a Hawaiian luau, and were seated at the only table with other English speaking guests. As a result, Rob was brought up on stage and learned the haka, the New Zealand warrior greeting, designed to intimidate. At the Hawaiian show tonight, the man doing this part came through the audience and gave his scary, tongue hanging out growl to various men. He gave it to Rob, who returned it with an equally scary growl and tongue. He was probably the only person in the crowd who has learned the Haka from actual Maoris. He suprised the guy and earned a laugh from our table. Later in the show, a man did a Samoan fire dance. It was slightly less impressive than the 11 year old world junior champion that we saw in Samoa, but good nonetheless.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Mele Kalikimaka!
Sunday, Dec 25
Our Christmas plans today were to rent a kayak and paddle to "the best snorkel spot in the state." It's at Captain Cook Monument in Kealakekua Bay, which is accessible by foot over a one hour hiking trail, or by boat. To get there by boat, you can kayak yourself if you have a state issued permit to land the boat on the shore, or with a tour boat. We're not big on snorkel tours, so we got up and hit the buffet breakfast before going and picking up our rental kayaks. Today's abuse of the rental car entailed strapping 2 kayaks to the roof. The rental place was a couple of miles away from the put in spot. At the put-in, a few local guys hang out helping people with their gear in exchange for tips. We didn't know about this in advance, so we only had a $20 bill. Worth every penny when they helped me down the 5' drop to the boat in the water.
The trip took about 45 minutes, including small breaks to enjoy the scenery. Apparently dolphins are common to this area, but we didn't see any today. At the other side, where the snorkelling is, there were lots of sea urchins in the rocks, but we both escaped without injuring anything. We then spent about an hour swimming around, looking at fish and taking pictures. Then we stopped for lunch and I went back out to see more fish while Rob waited on shore in the shade. There was a tour boat in the bay, which looked to be very crowded. But they had slides to get into the water and a barbeque on board.
We then paddled back and had some fun trying to get back out at the pier. Rob managed to get out, but it was too tall for me, and him and the local guy pulling on my arms didn't help. But I was able to swim to the end of the pier where there were stairs.
Back at the hotel, I discovered that the pool bar offers happy hour every day from 4-6. Half price mai-tais and pina coladas. Yes, please! So I spent a couple hours by the pool and got tipsy.
We then headed out to a sushi restaurant for our Christmas day dinner. I had lobster tail tempura rolls, rainbow rolls and ceviche. Rob had some tuna so red it looked fake, but he said it tasted so good he may never enjoy sushi anywhere else again.
And then back to the hotel for bed time.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Snow?
Saturday, Dec 24
Today, while eating breakfast, we watched a pod of dolphins chase some snorkellers in the bay in front of the hotel. Our plans for the day were to drive to the top of Mauna Kea. It's the site of several astronomic observatories at almost 14000 feet. It's the tallest mountain in the world, if you include the 8000 feet that lies below the ocean. There is a guided tour for 4WD vehicles every Saturday and Sunday, as long as the road isn't closed due to snow. We checked the forecast, and since the road was open, we headed up to the visitor's center at 9000 feet soon after breakfast. After acclimatizing at the visitor's center, we joined a convoy and drove up. The rumor is that driving up to the summit voids rental car insurance, but there was no specific prohibition with our company, so we just didn't tell them. At the top, the temp was about 0C. This sounded balmy to us, but we hadn't considered the effect of the 50km/h wind. Brr. I thought we came to Hawaii for the heat? There were dozens of local Hawaiians with pickup trucks that they were filling with snow. We assumed this was a Christmas thing, but the rangers said this happens every time it snows on the mountain.
Part of the tour included access to the Keck telescopes, where several people collapsed due to lack of oxygen. Then we were left to wait for sunset, about an hour after the end of our tour. While we waited, about 30 tour buses came with tourists to see the sunset. The tourists got out of their buses and gatherd in front of our car. A few minutes before sunset, clouds came over the mountain from behind us and blocked the sun. It made for an interesting glow. But the sun set so quickly that we almost missed it due to not being able to see the progress from the car.
As soon as it set, we hopped back in the car and beat the tour buses back on the road down. Between the summit and the visitor's center it started raining. By the time we made it to the visitor's center, it was pitch black and pouring rain. There was also another few hundred people waiting there for the night time star gazing program. The rain made star gazing impossible, and the crowds waiting for the rain to pass convinced me to skip it. So we stayed long enough to each use the bathroom, lose each other and get soaked before heading back to Kona.
We ended up following one of the pick-ups full of snow back to town. We were very tempted to follow him to see what he would do with the snow. But we had to hit a grocery store to get lunch for Christmas day.
Today, while eating breakfast, we watched a pod of dolphins chase some snorkellers in the bay in front of the hotel. Our plans for the day were to drive to the top of Mauna Kea. It's the site of several astronomic observatories at almost 14000 feet. It's the tallest mountain in the world, if you include the 8000 feet that lies below the ocean. There is a guided tour for 4WD vehicles every Saturday and Sunday, as long as the road isn't closed due to snow. We checked the forecast, and since the road was open, we headed up to the visitor's center at 9000 feet soon after breakfast. After acclimatizing at the visitor's center, we joined a convoy and drove up. The rumor is that driving up to the summit voids rental car insurance, but there was no specific prohibition with our company, so we just didn't tell them. At the top, the temp was about 0C. This sounded balmy to us, but we hadn't considered the effect of the 50km/h wind. Brr. I thought we came to Hawaii for the heat? There were dozens of local Hawaiians with pickup trucks that they were filling with snow. We assumed this was a Christmas thing, but the rangers said this happens every time it snows on the mountain.
Part of the tour included access to the Keck telescopes, where several people collapsed due to lack of oxygen. Then we were left to wait for sunset, about an hour after the end of our tour. While we waited, about 30 tour buses came with tourists to see the sunset. The tourists got out of their buses and gatherd in front of our car. A few minutes before sunset, clouds came over the mountain from behind us and blocked the sun. It made for an interesting glow. But the sun set so quickly that we almost missed it due to not being able to see the progress from the car.
As soon as it set, we hopped back in the car and beat the tour buses back on the road down. Between the summit and the visitor's center it started raining. By the time we made it to the visitor's center, it was pitch black and pouring rain. There was also another few hundred people waiting there for the night time star gazing program. The rain made star gazing impossible, and the crowds waiting for the rain to pass convinced me to skip it. So we stayed long enough to each use the bathroom, lose each other and get soaked before heading back to Kona.
We ended up following one of the pick-ups full of snow back to town. We were very tempted to follow him to see what he would do with the snow. But we had to hit a grocery store to get lunch for Christmas day.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Off to Hawaii!
Friday, Dec 23
To avoid Calgary winter as much as possible, and with few family in town, we're spending Christmas in Hawaii.
We got up early this morning and got to the airport. The line-up for US customs reached through the designated area, around behind the check-in counters and down almost to the Tim Hortons before domestic security. This represented about a 2 hour wait. After about 45 minutes, we were called to the front due to being the next departing flight to keep on schedule. By the time we made it through customs, and security and our gate, it was boarding time. We walked right onto the plane, and then had to wait for about 2 thirds of the other pasengers to make it through. We ended up leaving about 45 minutes late. Coincedentally, right behind us was one of Rob's mountain bike buddies with his family.
That plane was one of the 3 oldest in Air Canada's fleet. No seat back entertainment, and ash trays in the arm rest. I had discovered this when checking in, so we brought lots of books, movies and games to keep ourselves entertained on the 7 hour flight. We landed in Maui, collected our bags and took them to check in for our inter-island flight. The line-up for security there was so long, and we landed so late that we decided not to leave the airport. Instead we had lunch behind security again and got on another flight.
We landed in Kona slightly after 4pm and got the shuttle to the rental cars. We had booked a "standard SUV", and were given a Chevy Acadia. It's got AWD, and non-sliding doors but it's a minivan in every other way. Yuck. But apparently there is always a shortage of rental cars in Hawaii, and Christmas time is especially bad, so we had no choice. We couldn't even pay extra for the Cadillac Escalade because it was reserved.
We're staying at the Royal Kona Resort. It was built in the 1960s and not had much renovation since. It's very old-school, kitschy Hawaii. We love it! We booked an "ocean view" and they gave us a corner unit with a wrap around balcony and 2 walls of windows with sliding glass doors. The neighbours are going to LOVE us. One way faces the pool and ocean, the other direction faces the luau pit and the other tower of the hotel.
We went for a bit of a walk up the street, the main core of the tourist district. Lots of pub restaurants, gift shops and tour agencies. Then we drove to Target and Costco to stock up on drinks and snacks before heading back to the hotel and passing out.
To avoid Calgary winter as much as possible, and with few family in town, we're spending Christmas in Hawaii.
We got up early this morning and got to the airport. The line-up for US customs reached through the designated area, around behind the check-in counters and down almost to the Tim Hortons before domestic security. This represented about a 2 hour wait. After about 45 minutes, we were called to the front due to being the next departing flight to keep on schedule. By the time we made it through customs, and security and our gate, it was boarding time. We walked right onto the plane, and then had to wait for about 2 thirds of the other pasengers to make it through. We ended up leaving about 45 minutes late. Coincedentally, right behind us was one of Rob's mountain bike buddies with his family.
That plane was one of the 3 oldest in Air Canada's fleet. No seat back entertainment, and ash trays in the arm rest. I had discovered this when checking in, so we brought lots of books, movies and games to keep ourselves entertained on the 7 hour flight. We landed in Maui, collected our bags and took them to check in for our inter-island flight. The line-up for security there was so long, and we landed so late that we decided not to leave the airport. Instead we had lunch behind security again and got on another flight.
We landed in Kona slightly after 4pm and got the shuttle to the rental cars. We had booked a "standard SUV", and were given a Chevy Acadia. It's got AWD, and non-sliding doors but it's a minivan in every other way. Yuck. But apparently there is always a shortage of rental cars in Hawaii, and Christmas time is especially bad, so we had no choice. We couldn't even pay extra for the Cadillac Escalade because it was reserved.
We're staying at the Royal Kona Resort. It was built in the 1960s and not had much renovation since. It's very old-school, kitschy Hawaii. We love it! We booked an "ocean view" and they gave us a corner unit with a wrap around balcony and 2 walls of windows with sliding glass doors. The neighbours are going to LOVE us. One way faces the pool and ocean, the other direction faces the luau pit and the other tower of the hotel.
We went for a bit of a walk up the street, the main core of the tourist district. Lots of pub restaurants, gift shops and tour agencies. Then we drove to Target and Costco to stock up on drinks and snacks before heading back to the hotel and passing out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)