.
Well that was an interesting two days.
When we got up yesterday we returned the car and walked from the lot to Wailana Coffee House for breakfast. Then we walked back to the hotel, checked out and waited for our airport shuttle.
Shuttle arrived right on time, short trip to the airport and we got there a couple hours early. Decided to grab a drink and a bite at the restaurant in the waiting area. They only offered four drinks and five foods (wings, nachos, and three sandwiches) so we just grabbed a drink each.
The flight from Honolulu over to Kona was quick and uneventful. Unfortunately, Darrin hadn’t been feeling well all week and a cold finally got hold of him that morning. We had tickets to the Kona Brewer’s Festival Dinner at 6pm that night and we’d booked a hotel room down the coast from Kailua-Kona so we didn’t have to drive back to Hilo in the dark. But, Darrin just wasn’t feeling up to a dinner and instead wanted to simply drive to the house and rest for the remainder of the day.
So, we forfeited the room and headed out. Turns out, that was a good decision.
We finally got to the house around 8, then at 9:30 the phone rang. It was the management company calling to let us know there had been an earthquake in Japan and Hawaii was issuing a tsunami watch. She advised we should watch the TV or listen to the radio and follow any instructions.
We watched a channel out of Honolulu, for hours, constantly waiting for that update that would say everything was going to be fine. But each update said the same thing: the waves were expected to hit at 3am and they had the potential to be disastrous.
There is a disaster preparedness section in the front of the phonebook with maps that shows if you are in an inundation area. If you are located in a shaded area, you were in a low-lying or coastal location and needed to evacuate if the orders were given. Sure enough, before 11, there was a knock at the door. We would have to evacuate the area by 2am when the roads would be closed.
The Civil Defense agency had upgraded the watch to a warning and evacuations were being carried out throughout the islands. The tsunami warning sirens went off every hour on the hour, counting up to 3am.
So, we packed up everything we had just unloaded and decided we would wait for the last buoy data to come in from the Midway Islands before setting out. By 1:15 the information still hadn’t been shared from the previous set of buoys the waves had passed through and we decided not to wait… lest we get left behind.
We drove a few miles up the highway to the nearest town of Pahoa. Hilo is the nearest large centre, but considering they don’t have a good history with tsunamis we definitely didn’t want to head there. Hilo is also an inundation area so they were evacuating as well.
Once we go to Pahoa, we couldn’t remember the directions we had been given to the community centre. We drove around a bit, but no luck. We drove around the school, in case the centre was located nearby, but no luck. We finally just found a place to park on the side of the road and left the radio on while trying to catch some zzzzzs.
We slept on and off until about 6am. It’s just not that comfortable sleeping in the front seat of a Jeep! The headrest is in your way, there’s headlights in your eyes, and during the times we had the vehicle running to charge the battery the dash lights were so bright they were blinding! There was no adjustment for them unfortunately.
Around 7 the sun was up, we were awake, and people in the house behind where we had parked were leaving for work, so we thought we’d better get moving. We drove to the realty office but they were closed so we just sat in the lot. We still had the radio on, waiting for any updates saying we could return home, and getting bits of stories about damage that was done.
-Parts of Maui had been flooded
-Two houses were washed away in Kailua-Kona
-Bubba Gump’s and a hotel in Kailua-Kona had been flooded
-waves in some areas were seven feet high
-at one point a wave (island unknown) swept 100 feet inland
It seemed like Hilo had been spared. But, that wasn’t confirmed, so we sat, and sat, and sat. We were in the parking lot of a busy mall, with a gas station 20 feet behind us, but we were so exhausted we kept dozing off. Then, at 7:30 the tsunami warning was downgraded to an advisory. This meant that all the biggest waves had passed through the islands and the only thing left to be concerned about was the after-effects. There were still strong, unpredictable surges, large waves and tidal effects, so beaches were closed for the day, and people were still not allowed to return to evacuated areas.
Finally, at 9am, the evacuation order was lifted. We still didn’t have the all clear, meaning, the water was still off limits, but everyone on the Big Island could return home with the exception of Kona and the coast south of Kona. They had suffered damage that was still being assessed, including roads that had been washed away or destroyed in sections.
We drove home and happed for a few hours, and wondered if the vacation was worth it!
Also, at 11 last night, Kilauea had the biggest earthquake in something like 20 years. Kilauea has earthquakes nearly every day, sometimes several. They are usually in the 2 to 3 range and aren’t always noticed in the populated areas. But at 11pm the night of the Japan earthquake there was a series of larger quakes and one measured at over 4 on the scale and was felt all the way to the coast.
Plus with the fissure eruption last week (which stopped suddenly yesterday afternoon – maybe a relation to the earthquakes Kilauea had??) there were air quality issues as ash was released for some time.
But, it all makes for really interesting stories when we get home!!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Denise's Hawaii - Day 7 End of Honolulu
Early day today. We wanted to hike Diamond Head before it got hot, so we planned to be there at 6am when the park opens. We were up at 4:50 and got there at about five after six. Already there were busloads of people pouring out into the parking lot.
It was still pitch dark and of course we forgot the flashlights in the suitcase, so we followed one of the groups and away we all went. There had to have been a couple hundred people on the trail, it was crazy.
It’s uphill all the way, no plateaus. As soon as you leave the parking lot, the climb begins. First on a cement path, then it turns into a very rough and rocky, uneven clay path. There’s a fence around a lot of sections to stop you from tumbling down the mountain, but it’s rusty so it gets all over your hands (and arms and clothes if you lean against it – oops! There goes a white shirt.)
One section is pretty rough. There are 74 steps, then a tunnel, then 99 steps and then 54 steps on a spiral staircase to the top of the tower. After the first 74 you could hear everyone puffing and panting in the tunnel, it echoed throughout. Then, when you step out of the tunnel and see there’s another huge set of stairs, you can hear everyone groan! We waited at the bottom landing with a young couple, we just needed to get a break before taking them on. But still, halfway up, I needed another break. I caught my breath for about 30 seconds, but then couldn’t get back in line! There were so many people it was just a steady stream going up the stairs. It was over a minute before there was a break in the crowd so we could keep going up.
Oh, and did I mention it was hot? The sun comes up fast, and by the time we were at the steps it was light enough out for pictures. It also made it hot and sticky. Who knew 6:20am could be over 20 degrees?
But, we made it to the top, and got some great pictures. We even got to see the sunrise, although some clouds got in the way. Now we can say “we did it”. Once is enough.
After that we went back to the hotel to drop off our bags, grab breakfast and head to Pearl Harbor. First we ate at Eggs’N’Things, unfortunately not as good today as yesterday. But still loved those potatoes!
Then we got the car and headed to Pearl Harbor. You can’t take in anything that allows concealment and you shouldn’t leave anything in your car, so that’s why we dropped off everything in our room and just left with the clothes on our backs, two cameras, and Darrin’s wallet.
Unfortunately, by this time it was after 10:30 (we missed a turn on the way and lost some time) and the site had been open for a few hours. There were no parking spots. We drove around and around for over 15 minutes, and even stalked a few people to see if they were going to their cars, but no luck. We finally had to give up. There’s nowhere else around there to legally park, so sadly it was a no-go.
In the afternoon we decided to drive to the South Shore. It was rainy, but we managed to get some good shots while protecting the lens. We stopped at the Lana’i Lookout. And then further down we saw the fishing shrine, and some fishers. Then we got to the Kalona Blowhole Lookout. Took a while, but got a couple cool shots. As the waves crash against the edge, water rushes through a tunnel in the rock and shoots up through a hole in the top of the ledge.
At this lookout you can also whale watch, as well as look for monk seals and spinner dolphins. We did see some whales, but they never breached, we just watched the blow spray for a while.
Then we drove on to Koko Crater Botanical Gardens. On the way, you can see people climbing the Koko Crater Trail – not for beginners! The gardens were peaceful and well-maintained, but we didn’t get to see much. They have several trails, but we got there late and they close as sunset so all we were able to enjoy was one short path.
We stopped at the c-store in the hotel and I found Pineapple Crush in the cooler! Pretty decent, might buy a couple for home!
Also in the hotel, they have an area near the check-in desk that displays a 95 year old canoe. It was built in 1915. It’s been restored and is in perfect condition!
Now, for the rest of the evening we just need to pack up and get ready for our flight tomorrow to Kona.
It was still pitch dark and of course we forgot the flashlights in the suitcase, so we followed one of the groups and away we all went. There had to have been a couple hundred people on the trail, it was crazy.
One section is pretty rough. There are 74 steps, then a tunnel, then 99 steps and then 54 steps on a spiral staircase to the top of the tower. After the first 74 you could hear everyone puffing and panting in the tunnel, it echoed throughout. Then, when you step out of the tunnel and see there’s another huge set of stairs, you can hear everyone groan! We waited at the bottom landing with a young couple, we just needed to get a break before taking them on. But still, halfway up, I needed another break. I caught my breath for about 30 seconds, but then couldn’t get back in line! There were so many people it was just a steady stream going up the stairs. It was over a minute before there was a break in the crowd so we could keep going up.
Oh, and did I mention it was hot? The sun comes up fast, and by the time we were at the steps it was light enough out for pictures. It also made it hot and sticky. Who knew 6:20am could be over 20 degrees?But, we made it to the top, and got some great pictures. We even got to see the sunrise, although some clouds got in the way. Now we can say “we did it”. Once is enough.
After that we went back to the hotel to drop off our bags, grab breakfast and head to Pearl Harbor. First we ate at Eggs’N’Things, unfortunately not as good today as yesterday. But still loved those potatoes!
Then we got the car and headed to Pearl Harbor. You can’t take in anything that allows concealment and you shouldn’t leave anything in your car, so that’s why we dropped off everything in our room and just left with the clothes on our backs, two cameras, and Darrin’s wallet.
Unfortunately, by this time it was after 10:30 (we missed a turn on the way and lost some time) and the site had been open for a few hours. There were no parking spots. We drove around and around for over 15 minutes, and even stalked a few people to see if they were going to their cars, but no luck. We finally had to give up. There’s nowhere else around there to legally park, so sadly it was a no-go.
Instead, we decided to take the Tantalus-Round Top Drive. We got a couple of 
good shots early on of Honolulu and Diamond Head Crater. I bet on a clear day the view is even more amazing. It was a tough drive at times though, the road was so narrow, and the turns so tight, there were places two cars wouldn’t get through. But that didn’t stop people from flying around like it was nothing! Probably locals who live on the mountain and are used to the drive.
good shots early on of Honolulu and Diamond Head Crater. I bet on a clear day the view is even more amazing. It was a tough drive at times though, the road was so narrow, and the turns so tight, there were places two cars wouldn’t get through. But that didn’t stop people from flying around like it was nothing! Probably locals who live on the mountain and are used to the drive.In the afternoon we decided to drive to the South Shore. It was rainy, but we managed to get some good shots while protecting the lens. We stopped at the Lana’i Lookout. And then further down we saw the fishing shrine, and some fishers. Then we got to the Kalona Blowhole Lookout. Took a while, but got a couple cool shots. As the waves crash against the edge, water rushes through a tunnel in the rock and shoots up through a hole in the top of the ledge.
At this lookout you can also whale watch, as well as look for monk seals and spinner dolphins. We did see some whales, but they never breached, we just watched the blow spray for a while.
Then we drove on to Koko Crater Botanical Gardens. On the way, you can see people climbing the Koko Crater Trail – not for beginners! The gardens were peaceful and well-maintained, but we didn’t get to see much. They have several trails, but we got there late and they close as sunset so all we were able to enjoy was one short path.
We stopped at the c-store in the hotel and I found Pineapple Crush in the cooler! Pretty decent, might buy a couple for home!
Now, for the rest of the evening we just need to pack up and get ready for our flight tomorrow to Kona.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Denise's Hawaii - Day 6 close
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As disappointed as I’d been with the weather messing with our plans, we’re still pretty lucky in the important things. Watching the news tonight we learned: there was a rockslide on a highway that we’d been travelling the past couple days; a pile-up on another highway we’ve travelled everyday since Saturday; a water-main break a few streets over; a fire at a hotel a couple blocks down; and union strikes at a hotel and the electric company. And, the storm we got caught in on Friday downed power lines on one the main highways and left 300 homes without power for days (partially because of the worker’s strike).
So, with all these things going on around us, we’ve been pretty darn lucky to miss each one of them. It reminds you what’s really important. Even though you want your vacation to go perfectly because you’ve paid a lot of money, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip, you’re still doing okay if you come out with your health, the people you love, and at least a couple good photos for your computer background.
(But the mosquito bites and sunburn still do suck.) :)
As disappointed as I’d been with the weather messing with our plans, we’re still pretty lucky in the important things. Watching the news tonight we learned: there was a rockslide on a highway that we’d been travelling the past couple days; a pile-up on another highway we’ve travelled everyday since Saturday; a water-main break a few streets over; a fire at a hotel a couple blocks down; and union strikes at a hotel and the electric company. And, the storm we got caught in on Friday downed power lines on one the main highways and left 300 homes without power for days (partially because of the worker’s strike).
So, with all these things going on around us, we’ve been pretty darn lucky to miss each one of them. It reminds you what’s really important. Even though you want your vacation to go perfectly because you’ve paid a lot of money, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip, you’re still doing okay if you come out with your health, the people you love, and at least a couple good photos for your computer background.
(But the mosquito bites and sunburn still do suck.) :)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Darrin's Hawaii - Day 6
Soooo, did nothing today.
The plan was to get up early and head to Pearl Harbour. But, majority rules (meaning: husband) and we slept in.
So, we woke up late, got ready, then moseyed over to Eggs’n’Things. It’s a pretty popular place, and sometimes you can apparently wait more than an hour for a table. We decided since we didn’t have any plans, that today would be the day we would finally wait for a table (we’d tried two other mornings but left when told the wait time).
We checked in downstairs, were told it was a 30-40 minute wait, and staked our claim on the sidewalk. After about 15 minutes we got a pager and then it was probably another 15-20 when we got called upstairs to the restaurant.
We both went for the Sweet Bread French Toast with bananas, covered in whipped cream and mac nuts. Yup, sweet enough to cause a coma. But delicious! Darrin also ordered a side of bacon ($5.75 for 4 strips!!! Even for Hawaii that’s extreme!!) and I got a side of potatoes which couldn’t have been more perfect. Topped it off with a Plantation Iced Tea, which is tea and pineapple juice.
After breakfast we grabbed drinks from the hotel bar and took a nice walk down the beach. We were out for about half an hour and it was hot, but not too crazy since it was only around 11am. Plus, the drinks helped!
After our walk we went back to the pool bar and grabbed a couple more to enjoy while sitting on the Diamond Head balcony (sun). I enjoyed the heat, but Darrin ended up moving to the Ocean Balcony which was in shade.
Then another trip down to the pool bar for a couple more and back out on the balconies. The menu at the bar only lists Strawberry and Mango Daiquiris but I asked if he could make a pineapple one and voila! Best drink in the land. Unfortunately I was so excited I took several big sips and got a cold headache that nearly knocked me off my feet. But it was worth it to have them create a new concoction that should already be on everybody's menu!
Finally, no rain. It spit a bit while we were in line for breakfast, but it was nothing. There’s supposed to be a 40% chance this afternoon, but right now the clouds are rolling in and out. For once I think we might not get soaked. (Of course, I say that every day.)
Oh, and now another trip for drinks. Darrin just came back with a six-pack. But there’s no bottle openers! Good thing I brought one. Verdict: Hapa Brown Ale is excellent, similar to Fort Garry Dark.
Besides lounging on the balcony and probably another walk on the beach, we have no plans for the rest of the day. We’ll see where the wind takes us I guess!
The only bad thing today is the mosquito bites seem to act up when I get in the sun. As soon as I get hot a couple of them really flare up. Actually, I’m quite tired of the mosquitoes. My first bite was literally when we got off the plane. Somewhere between the baggage carousel and getting in line for the shuttle one of them got me. I’m probably up to 20 now. And winter used to be my reprieve!...
Oh, and it just started raining. Just a sun shower though. Hardly anybody left the beach.
The plan was to get up early and head to Pearl Harbour. But, majority rules (meaning: husband) and we slept in.
So, we woke up late, got ready, then moseyed over to Eggs’n’Things. It’s a pretty popular place, and sometimes you can apparently wait more than an hour for a table. We decided since we didn’t have any plans, that today would be the day we would finally wait for a table (we’d tried two other mornings but left when told the wait time).
We checked in downstairs, were told it was a 30-40 minute wait, and staked our claim on the sidewalk. After about 15 minutes we got a pager and then it was probably another 15-20 when we got called upstairs to the restaurant.
We both went for the Sweet Bread French Toast with bananas, covered in whipped cream and mac nuts. Yup, sweet enough to cause a coma. But delicious! Darrin also ordered a side of bacon ($5.75 for 4 strips!!! Even for Hawaii that’s extreme!!) and I got a side of potatoes which couldn’t have been more perfect. Topped it off with a Plantation Iced Tea, which is tea and pineapple juice.
After breakfast we grabbed drinks from the hotel bar and took a nice walk down the beach. We were out for about half an hour and it was hot, but not too crazy since it was only around 11am. Plus, the drinks helped!
After our walk we went back to the pool bar and grabbed a couple more to enjoy while sitting on the Diamond Head balcony (sun). I enjoyed the heat, but Darrin ended up moving to the Ocean Balcony which was in shade.
Then another trip down to the pool bar for a couple more and back out on the balconies. The menu at the bar only lists Strawberry and Mango Daiquiris but I asked if he could make a pineapple one and voila! Best drink in the land. Unfortunately I was so excited I took several big sips and got a cold headache that nearly knocked me off my feet. But it was worth it to have them create a new concoction that should already be on everybody's menu!
Finally, no rain. It spit a bit while we were in line for breakfast, but it was nothing. There’s supposed to be a 40% chance this afternoon, but right now the clouds are rolling in and out. For once I think we might not get soaked. (Of course, I say that every day.)
Oh, and now another trip for drinks. Darrin just came back with a six-pack. But there’s no bottle openers! Good thing I brought one. Verdict: Hapa Brown Ale is excellent, similar to Fort Garry Dark.
Besides lounging on the balcony and probably another walk on the beach, we have no plans for the rest of the day. We’ll see where the wind takes us I guess!
The only bad thing today is the mosquito bites seem to act up when I get in the sun. As soon as I get hot a couple of them really flare up. Actually, I’m quite tired of the mosquitoes. My first bite was literally when we got off the plane. Somewhere between the baggage carousel and getting in line for the shuttle one of them got me. I’m probably up to 20 now. And winter used to be my reprieve!...
Oh, and it just started raining. Just a sun shower though. Hardly anybody left the beach.
Denise's Hawaii - Day 5
Today was a nice, lazy day. Lounged around, had a leisurely buffet breakfast downstairs and took our sweet time getting ready in the room. We spent some time on the balcony too, watching the action below; there were cheerleaders practicing on the beach, and hula lessons in front of the hotel.
We didn’t hit the road until late morning. We checked out Ala Moana Shopping Centre. Grabbed a few goodies at the ABC on the main level. The second level is all window shopping – Bulgari, Dior, Chanel, and Cartier. And those were just the ones around the escalator!
After that we drove out to the Plantation Village. They have different buildings, each showcasing the type of home that would be built for different ethnic labourers that came to Oahu in the early 1900’s. There were houses for Chinese, Japanese, Okinawans, Portugese, Koreans and Puerto Ricans.
Gary, our tour guide, was amazing. He was great at getting people involved and kept grabbing people to act out different bits of history. He made a couple of high school kids a picture bride and her husband; there was a Hawaiian-Okinawan girl and a Korean-Okinawan-Hawaiian man that he kept quizzing about Hawaiian and Japanese culture; a man from the South became a rich Chinese entrepreneur and Darrin was a wealthy white landowner through the whole tour. It was pretty funny, but the actual history is pretty sad. Between the picture brides, and labour contracts that were NOT in the workers favour, and people never being able to return to their home countries, it was sobering. But Gary delivered everything in a way that was still entertaining.
After that we wanted to hike the Manoa Falls Trail and drive Mt. Tantalus Round Top. Unfortunately one missed turn on the freeway and we ended up with a half hour longer trip! But, with a little recalculating on the GPS we pulled in the Manoa Falls parking lot around 4:30.
We were warned that part of the trail would be slippery since it had been raining. Even though the forecast last night and this morning said there was 0% chance of precipitation. But, believing the weatherman, and assuming the earlier rain had been a fluke, we set out sans raingear. It’s only a 40 minute hike on a well-travelled trail so it didn’t seem worth carrying both backpacks. But I should have known better. It seems to always rain here… always.
The hike up was wet and slippery, and because all the dirt is orange your socks get stained, but besides scrambling over rocks and trees here and there it was a pretty good hike and even families with kids were passing us on their way down.
The view of the falls itself was great. 100 feet straight down into a small pool. Most of the pool is filled with giant rocks and boulders now. Apparently there was a landslide in 2002 that pushed 30 tons of debris 600 feet over the cliff and down the hill. We got some great pictures and video footage and headed back down.
Two minutes into the descent and the skies opened up. It rained, hard, the entire way down.
The rental car has one of those keys that can’t get wet or the starter won’t engage so we were scrambling trying to find somewhere dry to hide it until we got to the parking lot. Mission accomplished. My travel pants have a secret pocket to deter pickpockets, so we put the keys in there, then covered it with my tank top and then my blouse. It took three layers of fabric, but we managed to keep those keys dry!
By this time though it was nearly 6 and we looked like drowned rats so we decided to call it a day and drag our sorry wet butts home to dry off.
A couple drinks from the bar and up we went to chill in front of the tv.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Denise's Hawaii - Day 4 troubles!
What a day! I think we had more adventures at the hotel than out on the road today!
We checked out of the oceanfront suite this morning and left our bags at the Bell desk. They said our oceanfront room would be ready in the afternoon so we headed out for the day.
When we came back this evening we picked up our key at the front desk and headed upstairs. Opened the door and…. water everywhere. The bathroom sink had flooded everything. Looks like someone had dumped coffee grounds or something in there because there was black stuff all throughout the pool on the floor and the sink was overflowed with black water. We called downstairs and they said they would find us a new room quickly and send maintenance and housekeeping up right away.
We went to the front desk and the replacement room they gave us was three floors lower. I really loved our view on six so I had really been hoping to get something close. I asked reallllly nicely if might be possible to get higher than third. The poor desk clerk had to call the bell desk to cancel our bag delivery to our room on 3 (and previously to the first room on 6) and do some shuffling but he managed to get us fifth floor – directly under the room we left this morning! Perfect!! It is a gorgeous corner room, with two balconies and a view of Diamond Head as well as the ocean. We never checked into the third floor, but I think it was also a corner suite. And the sixth floor room that flooded was a corner with two balconies, one oceanfront and the other sort of facing beach and sort of facing the building next door.
Every person we spoke with was apologetic about the mess in the sixth floor room and they all seemed genuinely embarrassed. While it really wasn’t that big a deal because these things can happen to anyone, it was nice to know they all cared so much. Ambrose at the front desk was awesome, and then Kyle the Front Desk Supervisor called to apologize on behalf of himself and all the staff involved. What a great crew at the Outrigger Reef!
So we managed to have four rooms in one day, have our bags almost delivered twice before the third time was the charm, and dragged our carry-on and backpacks from floor to floor. But in the end, the thing I’ll remember most was how exceptional all the staff were that dealt with the problem. Front Desk members, housekeeping and maintenance, all great.
But, enough about the evening, let’s start at the beginning of the day.
We checked out a little later than we wanted to and had to ask housekeeping to come back when they arrived at 9am. We dropped our luggage off at the bell desk and loaded all of the rest of our stuff into the rental car. Grabbed a couple towels from the pool and headed east.
Today’s plan was Windward side, with possibly North Shores and a lookout enroute to the windward side.
As soon as we pulled out of the lot our tire light came on again. We went back to Dollar and explained the situation. The attendant we were dealing with thought it might be a nail causing a slow leak so he did a quick switch and we were on our way.
We headed up into the mountains on Pali Highway and turned off onto Old Pali. Wow. The trees have grown so far over portions of this road it’s almost dark. It was so lush, and the trees were huge, the philodendrons had leaves more than a foot wide. It was absolutely gorgeous.
The old Pali joins the new Pali back again just in time for the Nu’uanu Pali lookout. From this vantage point you can see a good stretch of windward coast including Mokoli’i and Kualoa Park. Just below the lookout there’s a portion of old Pali that you can hike. We only went a few minutes down to get some great shots so I don’t know how far it goes, but it’s paved so it would probably make a really great hike.
From there we caught Kamehameha Highway to Kualoa Beach for a quick swim. Unfortunately it was a bit rocky so nobody was going in the water. But, luckily for us we brought flip flops so we were able to go far out and the bottom wasn’t a problem.
After the swim we went over to the ancient fishpond, but we couldn’t get a great view.
We continued up the coast to the Polynesian Cultural Centre. But it was closed. D’oh! It was careless on my part. Originally PCC was supposed to be during the week, but because of all the rain we reorganized our schedule and I moved PCC to Sunday without even thinking. Mormons created the Polynesian Cultural Centre to share the culture of Polynesia and still run it today, so no alcohol is served on the site and the centre is closed Sundays. I didn’t even think of it when I moved our plans around – and it’s more than an hour to get there!
We decided to continue around on Kamehameha and visit the North Shore beaches to see if there was any good surfing. I don’t know exactly where we were, but at one point we turned a corner and in a valley in front of us was a wind farm! Just came up out of nowhere. It was an amazing sight. They are BIG. There was at least 7 or 8 turbines, with the lush mountains behind them. It was an awe-inspiring sight. Unfortunately the camera was in the back seat and we were going 45mph so the shot was gone before we could even think about it. It’s just one example of how Hawaii is trying to find greener ways of doing things. For energy, you see a lot of solar panels, on houses, and controlling highway signs. But the wind farm was amazing. I had no idea they had one. I don’t know if there are others on Oahu, or on other islands.
We ended up stopping at Pipeline and Banzai and the shorebreak was crazy. It was a calm sea, but not far off the beach they’d start building until they crashed on shore. There was only one surfer where we were, but swimmers and bodyboarders were everywhere, enjoying the ride.
We continued into Hale’iwa and grabbed some pizza and wings for dinner before returning to Waikiki.
One cool thing we did pass on the road, but didn’t really get to “see” was where Lost and Jurassic Park were filmed, and the resort from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Tomorrow we may try to get to the Polynesian Cultural Centre again, but we haven’t decided.
We checked out of the oceanfront suite this morning and left our bags at the Bell desk. They said our oceanfront room would be ready in the afternoon so we headed out for the day.
When we came back this evening we picked up our key at the front desk and headed upstairs. Opened the door and…. water everywhere. The bathroom sink had flooded everything. Looks like someone had dumped coffee grounds or something in there because there was black stuff all throughout the pool on the floor and the sink was overflowed with black water. We called downstairs and they said they would find us a new room quickly and send maintenance and housekeeping up right away.
We went to the front desk and the replacement room they gave us was three floors lower. I really loved our view on six so I had really been hoping to get something close. I asked reallllly nicely if might be possible to get higher than third. The poor desk clerk had to call the bell desk to cancel our bag delivery to our room on 3 (and previously to the first room on 6) and do some shuffling but he managed to get us fifth floor – directly under the room we left this morning! Perfect!! It is a gorgeous corner room, with two balconies and a view of Diamond Head as well as the ocean. We never checked into the third floor, but I think it was also a corner suite. And the sixth floor room that flooded was a corner with two balconies, one oceanfront and the other sort of facing beach and sort of facing the building next door.
Every person we spoke with was apologetic about the mess in the sixth floor room and they all seemed genuinely embarrassed. While it really wasn’t that big a deal because these things can happen to anyone, it was nice to know they all cared so much. Ambrose at the front desk was awesome, and then Kyle the Front Desk Supervisor called to apologize on behalf of himself and all the staff involved. What a great crew at the Outrigger Reef!
So we managed to have four rooms in one day, have our bags almost delivered twice before the third time was the charm, and dragged our carry-on and backpacks from floor to floor. But in the end, the thing I’ll remember most was how exceptional all the staff were that dealt with the problem. Front Desk members, housekeeping and maintenance, all great.
But, enough about the evening, let’s start at the beginning of the day.
We checked out a little later than we wanted to and had to ask housekeeping to come back when they arrived at 9am. We dropped our luggage off at the bell desk and loaded all of the rest of our stuff into the rental car. Grabbed a couple towels from the pool and headed east.
Today’s plan was Windward side, with possibly North Shores and a lookout enroute to the windward side.
As soon as we pulled out of the lot our tire light came on again. We went back to Dollar and explained the situation. The attendant we were dealing with thought it might be a nail causing a slow leak so he did a quick switch and we were on our way.
We headed up into the mountains on Pali Highway and turned off onto Old Pali. Wow. The trees have grown so far over portions of this road it’s almost dark. It was so lush, and the trees were huge, the philodendrons had leaves more than a foot wide. It was absolutely gorgeous.
From there we caught Kamehameha Highway to Kualoa Beach for a quick swim. Unfortunately it was a bit rocky so nobody was going in the water. But, luckily for us we brought flip flops so we were able to go far out and the bottom wasn’t a problem.
After the swim we went over to the ancient fishpond, but we couldn’t get a great view.
We continued up the coast to the Polynesian Cultural Centre. But it was closed. D’oh! It was careless on my part. Originally PCC was supposed to be during the week, but because of all the rain we reorganized our schedule and I moved PCC to Sunday without even thinking. Mormons created the Polynesian Cultural Centre to share the culture of Polynesia and still run it today, so no alcohol is served on the site and the centre is closed Sundays. I didn’t even think of it when I moved our plans around – and it’s more than an hour to get there!
We decided to continue around on Kamehameha and visit the North Shore beaches to see if there was any good surfing. I don’t know exactly where we were, but at one point we turned a corner and in a valley in front of us was a wind farm! Just came up out of nowhere. It was an amazing sight. They are BIG. There was at least 7 or 8 turbines, with the lush mountains behind them. It was an awe-inspiring sight. Unfortunately the camera was in the back seat and we were going 45mph so the shot was gone before we could even think about it. It’s just one example of how Hawaii is trying to find greener ways of doing things. For energy, you see a lot of solar panels, on houses, and controlling highway signs. But the wind farm was amazing. I had no idea they had one. I don’t know if there are others on Oahu, or on other islands.
We continued into Hale’iwa and grabbed some pizza and wings for dinner before returning to Waikiki.
One cool thing we did pass on the road, but didn’t really get to “see” was where Lost and Jurassic Park were filmed, and the resort from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Tomorrow we may try to get to the Polynesian Cultural Centre again, but we haven’t decided.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Denise's Hawaii - Day 3 Pineapples
Today was a little slower going, but it all turned out great.
We were late leaving the hotel for breakfast and then had to come back anyway. We wanted to eat at Eggs’N’Things but the lineup was 40+ minutes, so we just dropped our postcards off at the USPS outlet across the street and headed back to the hotel. After breakfast we had to head back to the room to get a few things we forgot but found out our internet was down and had to wait for repair.
By this time we were two hours late to pick up our rental car so I called to confirm that everything was still fine. While confirming our reservation she told me we had been given the wrong address when it was booked. So we walked over to the new address she gave us and picked up the car. But as soon as we pulled out of the lot the tire light flashed on the dash! So we looped back around the block and they filled all the tires to the right pressure.
When we finally hit the road we were 3 hours late from my original plan. So, away we went to Dole Plantation. Unfortunately it took us a little longer to get there than it should have. I had read about a really pretty route to take that was preferable to the H2 and Kamehameha. I was trying to navigate from a bad map and he was trying to follow the GPS (which didn’t have my route in it). Needless to say we got lost twice, but never too far out of our way.
We did make it to the Dole Plantation and it was a lot of fun. Overpriced maybe, but a fun outing. The maze took us about an hour, which I think is pretty good. We had a plan and stuck to it and almost never got lost. We also went on the Pineapple Express train tour. You know, 8000 acres of pineapple fields was way less exciting than I had anticipated. But the narrative during the tour was really informative.
Back in the restaurant we tried the Dole Whip, a soft serve pineapple ice cream We got the vanilla/pineapple swirl topped with chopped pineapple. Definitely worth $4.50 on a hot day (and it’s always a hot day in Hawaii). Even though it’s been raining and dreary for three days, it’s never cool and it’s always humid. But it’s a nice break from -25!
Leaving the plantation we were going to stop at the Royal Birthstones, a sacred site where ancient Hawaiian royals would give birth. Sadly, we never did find the turnoff. They date back to the 12th century and are marked with petroglyphs, so it’s a shame we didn’t get there.
On our way back through Wahiawa we grabbed a late lunch at Maui Mike’s, which serves fire-roasted chicken and little else. It was awesome. It’s apparently a favourite with the army folk too. In our half hour there we saw five grab dinner. Schofield Barracks, Hawaii’s largest army base, is just down the highway.
We got back just in time to change and head out to our evening show. We headed to the Holiday Inn Beachcomber to catch the Magic of Polynesia show. It really was a lot of fun. Hula dancers, a singer, and Hawaii’s number one illusionist made for a pretty good 2 hours.
Afterwards, we decided to pop into the Hard Rock up the street for a couple drinks and a late night snack. Waikiki absolutely comes alive at night. There are torches all down Kalakaua and down a couple side streets like Beachwalk and Lewers. The sidewalks were full of people going to and from shows, bars, restaurants, or just window shopping. All the stores are open late and there are street performers everywhere. There was even one balloon artist who made the coolest, and cutest, little penguin. If I thought it stood any chance of making it home in one piece I would have bought it in a second. The next most interesting person out there was the corner preacher with the megaphone who told us we deserved to die for bringing our sins to Hawaii. To each his own…
We finally got back to the hotel just before midnight and finally got to see some good night sights. The clouds lifted a bit this evening and we saw stars for the first time! Not a lot, but enough to let us know that tomorrow should be a good weather day. Today was also the first time we saw a sunset; the cloud cover and been too thick and low up to now.
Enough stargazing, time to get to bed. Tomorrow we move out of this suite and into a regular oceanfront room so we need to pack up and get out! If all goes smoothly tomorrow we should be swimming in the morning and see the Polynesian cultural centre in the afternoon. Then, hopefully, we can hit the North Shore beaches and check out some surfers. We have a few here at Waikiki Beach and Grey’s Beach (in front of the hotel) but I want to see bigger waves and hard core dudes out there!
We were late leaving the hotel for breakfast and then had to come back anyway. We wanted to eat at Eggs’N’Things but the lineup was 40+ minutes, so we just dropped our postcards off at the USPS outlet across the street and headed back to the hotel. After breakfast we had to head back to the room to get a few things we forgot but found out our internet was down and had to wait for repair.
By this time we were two hours late to pick up our rental car so I called to confirm that everything was still fine. While confirming our reservation she told me we had been given the wrong address when it was booked. So we walked over to the new address she gave us and picked up the car. But as soon as we pulled out of the lot the tire light flashed on the dash! So we looped back around the block and they filled all the tires to the right pressure.
We did make it to the Dole Plantation and it was a lot of fun. Overpriced maybe, but a fun outing. The maze took us about an hour, which I think is pretty good. We had a plan and stuck to it and almost never got lost. We also went on the Pineapple Express train tour. You know, 8000 acres of pineapple fields was way less exciting than I had anticipated. But the narrative during the tour was really informative.
Back in the restaurant we tried the Dole Whip, a soft serve pineapple ice cream We got the vanilla/pineapple swirl topped with chopped pineapple. Definitely worth $4.50 on a hot day (and it’s always a hot day in Hawaii). Even though it’s been raining and dreary for three days, it’s never cool and it’s always humid. But it’s a nice break from -25!
Leaving the plantation we were going to stop at the Royal Birthstones, a sacred site where ancient Hawaiian royals would give birth. Sadly, we never did find the turnoff. They date back to the 12th century and are marked with petroglyphs, so it’s a shame we didn’t get there.
On our way back through Wahiawa we grabbed a late lunch at Maui Mike’s, which serves fire-roasted chicken and little else. It was awesome. It’s apparently a favourite with the army folk too. In our half hour there we saw five grab dinner. Schofield Barracks, Hawaii’s largest army base, is just down the highway.
We got back just in time to change and head out to our evening show. We headed to the Holiday Inn Beachcomber to catch the Magic of Polynesia show. It really was a lot of fun. Hula dancers, a singer, and Hawaii’s number one illusionist made for a pretty good 2 hours.
Afterwards, we decided to pop into the Hard Rock up the street for a couple drinks and a late night snack. Waikiki absolutely comes alive at night. There are torches all down Kalakaua and down a couple side streets like Beachwalk and Lewers. The sidewalks were full of people going to and from shows, bars, restaurants, or just window shopping. All the stores are open late and there are street performers everywhere. There was even one balloon artist who made the coolest, and cutest, little penguin. If I thought it stood any chance of making it home in one piece I would have bought it in a second. The next most interesting person out there was the corner preacher with the megaphone who told us we deserved to die for bringing our sins to Hawaii. To each his own…
We finally got back to the hotel just before midnight and finally got to see some good night sights. The clouds lifted a bit this evening and we saw stars for the first time! Not a lot, but enough to let us know that tomorrow should be a good weather day. Today was also the first time we saw a sunset; the cloud cover and been too thick and low up to now.
Enough stargazing, time to get to bed. Tomorrow we move out of this suite and into a regular oceanfront room so we need to pack up and get out! If all goes smoothly tomorrow we should be swimming in the morning and see the Polynesian cultural centre in the afternoon. Then, hopefully, we can hit the North Shore beaches and check out some surfers. We have a few here at Waikiki Beach and Grey’s Beach (in front of the hotel) but I want to see bigger waves and hard core dudes out there!
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