Hawaii 2006, Part 1
Part 1 | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday
Friday, Dec. 8
Waffles in Paradise
Since these waffles have been a big part of the first couple days of our trip, I thought I’d share a photo. Amazing as these are, after a couple days, I’m starting to yearn for the simplicity of a bowl of Special K. Even the miso soup is starting to look good. Maybe tomorrow...
Surf’s Up
REALLY up! We ended up hanging out in the room and on the lanai for a bit today and didn’t get down to the beach until the afternoon. By then, the winds had picked up and the surf was really rough. I spent most of the time on the beach under a towel and aloha shirt thinking back on the days when I couldn’t get enough sun on my skin, or when 4 - 5' waves didn’t seem quite so intimidating. Feeling kind of old.
It’s hard to tell from this picture, but the waves were coming in fast and hard. Going out past the breakers was a bit of a challenge, and kind of fun, but the undertow was really strong and staying away from the rocks (to the left of this photo) took a lot of work. Coming back in was a bitch, and getting knocked ass-over-teakettle (three times!) by these big waves, one on top of the last, was kind of a pain. (We’re both a bit sore tonight from the workout!)
Jerry wanted to go out again, so I stayed just to keep an eye on him. There are no lifeguards on this beach and there very few people around at this point who might notice or help if he got in trouble. Every time he’d bounce up with a swell, the current would pull him about 5 feet closer to those rocks!
When I got his attention, I waved him up the beach a bit, but at this point it was hard even staying out beyond the breakers and when he tried coming in, didn’t have much better luck than I. (I’d see a wave, then a foot, then a head, then another wave, a leg, a shoulder... until the ocean finally spit him up on shore, sort of like my own fun-house ride.)
The water felt so good, it was hard to resist, but I think I’ll wait for the ocean to present a more user-friendly interface before going in again.
Wildlife update: While I was sitting on the beach, I noticed these little bug-like things scurrying across the sand, something I’ve never seen here before. Turns out they were these little crabs, and they were really fast. Nonetheless, Jerry managed to get this picture!
Winding down at the end of a nice day
My one complaint about my camera (Nikon Coolpix S4) is that it lacks a viewfinder. (I didn’t realize this until I started using it.) The selling point was the big view screen which really works well in certain light but is completely useless in others. If I manage a decent shot on a bright, sunny day outside, it’s almost always by accident.
I’m still committed to bonding with this camera and am more comfortable with it all the time. (It really does take great, sharp photos most of the time.) But it’s hard to compose a good shot when you can’t see what the camera is actually looking at. A really big design flaw, unless I’m just missing something. In the meantime, here’s what I got when I pointed the camera down the other (south-western) side of this cove, a few minutes after the sun went down behind one of the other islands.
Dinner and DVDs
For a change of pace, we ate at the Japanese restaurant here at the hotel. Elegant setting, very good food. (The Maui onion salad was the highlight of my meal.) To wind down at the end of the day, we watch a bit of TV, lately catching up on the 2nd season of Six Feet Under, taking advantage of the DVD player in the room.
By the way, I just got an email from a friend who said he couldn’t get on this page. We’ve upgraded our service and I’m wondering if some of the files ended up being moved, although it seems to be more of a permissions problem, which makes even less sense. I’ll check on it tomorrow but if you’ve been able to get to this page, do let me know.
Saturday, Dec. 9
Season’s Eatings
No breakfast today. Jerry took a long walk and spent the entire morning in the water. I joined him on the beach, went in for a bit and spent the rest of the time reading and relaxing.
We started getting hungry later in the day and went up the road about 3 miles to Longhi’s, this restaurant in Wailea we’d been to several times on previous trips. They have fantastic breakfasts, but we were up for lunch this time. We split one of the best salads I’ve ever had: mixed Maui greens in a honey-mint-scallion dressing (a sweet dressing with a hint of sesame oil) topped with caramelized macadamia nuts.
Those of you who know my penchant for texture will understand that it was more than just having crunchy bits in this delicious mix. Even my chicken marsala sandwich offered texture in addition to taste—a crunchy outside to the chicken I couldn’t quite figure out (it wasn’t breaded), tender inside, and somehow the marsala sauce (with slices of fresh mushrooms) didn’t destroy the crust of the baguette. It was awesome!
Jerry had the manicotti covered in Bechamel and Pomodoro sauces. Along with the best bread that came at the beginning of the meal (covered in tomato sauce, chopped green chili and cheese), it was a fantastic lunch and held us for the rest of the day.
Mele Kalikimaka
That, my friends, is how one says Merry Christmas in Hawaiian! As beautiful as this place is, you wouldn’t think that further decorations would be necessary. But they really do this place up for Christmas.
There’s a hotel up the road, the Grand Wailea Resort, I believe, that has about two dozen big trees along the drive in from the road. Each of these trees has its trunk and branches covered in lights, almost to the top! Driving past, it looks like an enchanted forest. I stopped by last night just after sunset to try to get a picture. Obviously, this would look better later in the evening, but without a tripod, even this shot was hard to get! Take my word for it. It really is amazing. (If anyone wants a larger shot of these photos, let me know. I can either send a copy or link these thumbnails to larger pictures.)
The wreath on the right was hanging on the door to one of the restaurants in Wailea. It includes local flowers (hibiscus and anthurium are the only two whose names I know) and was one of the prettiest and most uniquely tropical decoration I saw. There are lights everywhere (although I saw more electric palm trees in Virginia last month than I have here) and Christmas in the islands is a very big deal indeed.
The rest of the day
We drove around a bit after lunch. Our hotel is the last one on
the road that ends at a lava flow (from the late 18th century, we were told) a few miles down. We decided to see where it went. Along the way, we visited a beautiful state park, Big Beach, where I finally got a good shot of a mynah bird! (These are the noisy critters that flock in the trees and bushes, and along the roof ledges of the hotel, at dusk and dawn.)
The road gets very narrow, just one lane in places and barely two in most others, and runs along a rocky shore. We were amazed to see houses (many with Polynesian-style roof lines) scattered along the road. Although hardly the most remote place to live on the island, it really is a hike from most of the businesses and towns.
I spent some time exploring the shops nearby and taking a few more pictures. (I got a cute shot of a Hawaiian kid, maybe about 9 or 10, wearing a Steeler’s cap. He was so excited to hear that we used to live in Pittsburgh!)
It’s really hard to believe that after tonight, we only have one more night at this hotel. It seems we just got here...
Sunday, Dec. 10
Good Morning!
I just woke up and am out on the lanai watching a bunch of tourists out in a couple of outrigger canoes. I love the view and the sound of the waves breaking on the shore below. What a wonderful way to start a day.
Goin’ Upcountry...
Jerry headed to the beach and I decided to go visit a friend I haven’t seen in a lot of years. Eve and her husband, Steve, run Makena Coast Dive Charters (including an intro to scuba that I’ve been wanting to do for years). They recently opened the Sacred Garden,
which includes a greenhouse with orchids and other tropical plants, meditation areas and a garden labyrinth which Eve and I walked (with the help of a most snuggly and wonderful black lab, Po).
It was a great place to clear my head (which this week has already pretty-well cleared) before heading back home. (And the
“fur fix” was really good for my soul!) I bought a few gifts and a couple things for my office and meditation center, and I promised to add a link to my site (beside the one on this page) to let people know about this place. If you know anyone heading out this way, this place needs to be on their must-see list.
Packing up
It’s just past sunset and Jerry is just back from one last trip to the beach. He’s been enjoying the water and the sun more than ever. I started throwing things in the duffle bag, an extra bag I brought to accommodate the stuff I knew we’d be getting here. (I’m just blown away by how quickly this week has gone by. It really feels as if we just got here!)
We don’t leave until tomorrow night, and from Honolulu no less. We’ll wrap up here in the morning and head out to the airport after lunch. We fly to Honolulu at 3:00 and then have a car for a few hours. We plan to head into Waikiki to visit a few places we like, including this particular Thai restaurant for dinner. (Does it sound like all we’ve done here is EAT? It sort of feels that way at times! Well, it certainly has been a big part of a trip that intentionally did not involve a lot of activity or running around.)
Unless I add something else later tonight, I probably won’t have internet access until I get home, so I’ll add a few last thoughts on the plane (or, more likely, at the airport) and upload it all when I get home.
In the meantime, I really appreciate those of you who made an effort to read this blog, stay in touch and share this week with us. Mahalo!
Monday, Dec. 11
At the airport
In Kahului, Maui, an hour before our flight leaves. It’s really hot here today, 86° and no tropical breeze, at least not here. We still have 9 1/2 hours before our flight home out of Honolulu tonight and the thought of getting another rental car so we could cruise Waikiki and having to check back in later suddenly doesn’t sound like quite as much fun as it did when we were planning this trip. (We can’t actually do anything with our bags until 4 hours before the flight, which is a long way off.) I can’t get a wireless signal here so basically, I’m just killing time...
Wandering around Waikiki
Familiar territory. I’ve never been to Hawaii that I didn’t spend some time around here. After finally finding our bags and getting to the rental car and sitting in rush hour traffic for close to an hour, we managed to find a parking lot and ditched the car just in time to catch a Waikiki sunset. I love this, not just for the extraordinary beauty of watching the sun go down over the ocean, but for the fact that around this time of day, people gather on the beach just to share this experience, applauding when the last visible bit of the sun sinks below the horizon. (Note: Growing up on the east coast, the whole idea of the sun setting behind the ocean, something I didn’t see until I was into my twenties, is still a little bit disorienting!)
We walked around a bit, enjoying the extensive and unique Christmas decorations (including this wreath on the Outrigger hotel, and things like light displays on screens and vehicles in other parts of town), the far-more-urban setting and the cultural mix, which is much more international than what we found on Maui.
There’s this big market place, built around the biggest banyan tree I think I’ve ever seen—stretches between a couple big streets—that we enjoy
and where, this time, Jerry found a couple braided leather bracelets he’d been looking for. Another favorite for us, and one we can’t seem to find anywhere besides Oahu, is a Dole whip. (Imagine a Dairy Queen or Carvel, but made from fruit juice instead of dairy. It’s light, low cal, low fat and refreshing!) We always seem to remember how to find the place that sells these things in the maze of carts and stands and stores.
Off to dinner, most of which we took home with us, and then back to the airport. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon but frankly, a lot of work and hassle going back and forth to the airport and dealing with luggage, rental cars, and traffic for so short a time. I think next time, we’ll just stay on Maui and if we can’t catch a flight home from there, will make a later connection or come in a couple days early instead.
So it’s now the wee hours of Wednesday morning. My sleep is off and I feel about as jet lagged as I do coming home from Europe. We both slept on the plane (with a bit of a pharmaceutical assist or that never would’ve happened) but were dopey all day. I fell asleep around 11 this evening but was up two hours later so decided to finish up this blog until I got tired again.
I’ve got some work commitments tomorrow and plan to spend the rest of the day unpacking, sorting laundry and opening mail. And with Christmas less than two weeks away (!), I guess it’s time to shift into holiday-at-home gears! Yikes.
So all in all, a lovely break for us both. Yet so good to be home! Thanks again to everyone who has shared this journey with us.
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