Home (11/2-11/3)

The last day on Hawaii was uneventful, to be honest.  We ate the breakfast we got the day before at the bakery, I caught up on the blog, and we waited for the tour guide to pull our bags for departure. There was a bit of milling around the lobby with the others while we waited.

We finally left Kona International Airport (KOA) at about 130 pm for the 4.5 hr flight to San Francisco, then after about a 1.5 hr layover we had another 4 hr flight to Pittsburgh.  We arrived at about 630 am.  I was all screwed up thanks to the International Date Line, Hawaii's non-observance of Daylight Savings Time, and the mainland's falling back an our on 11/1.  I thought I'd sleep on the plane, but couldn't.  Then I drove about 2.5 hrs home.  I made sure to get plenty of coffee at Sheetz--so long ABC stores!

Which was my favorite island?  The four we were on (Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii) were all beautiful and interesting in their own way.  But I have to say it was Kauai I liked best.  A lot of beaches, a friendly, laid-back (even more than the other islands) attitude, developed as well as rural areas, and no active volcanoes are all factors in my decision.  If I ever get back to Hawaii (the state), I will have to visit Molokai and Lanai (and hopefully Niihau) to make sure Kauai is the best.

What did I think of the group tour?  YMT is a great company.  They took care of the luggage on every flight, the hotels were all clean and comfortable, and our tour guide (Kalili) did a lot of work to keep us happy and answered all of our questions.  (He told me I had interesting questions.  I told him that I knew that was tour guide politeness for weird.)  The other people on the trip were very nice too. By the end of the two weeks, we made a few friends who I wouldn't mind travelling with again.

Now having said all that, I'm still not a big fan of guided tours.  One reason I enjoyed the trip so much was because my dad and I didn't sign up for many of the group events.  We actually used the tour group to get to the islands cheaply, and then rented a car on each island we stayed on.  (We put over 1000 miles on the rental cars across the four islands.)  When we did travel with the group on the bus--usually on the first day on each island--we saw a lot of things, but I could tell that it was geared toward having us spend money at each location we stopped at.   And while I liked saying aloha and mahalo (thank you) to Hawaiians we met, I soon tired of responding ALOOOOO-HAA every time one of the bus drivers called that out.

Of course, it was great spending time with my dad--we've traveled to the UK this way and Ireland with my wife and kids--since we tend to have similar interests.  As I was leaving he said, "We'll have to do this again."  I agreed, but I told him there was no way that Fe would stay home while I go on another one!  Ha ha.

Aloha.

Hawaii (The Big Island) Part 3, 11/1

This was the second day we had the car on Hawaii, but we had to be back for the luau later, so we didn't stay out too long.  We started early and went looking for the monument to Captain Cook, who was killed on the Big Island.  Our bus driver on the first day here told us that the Hawaiians felt bad after they killed him, so they named a town after him.

The monument can be visited by a long, difficult trail or by boat.  We chose to take photos from across the bay.

Captain Cook Monument from across Kealakekua Bay

Shore along Kealakekua Bay

Our next stop was also the third National Park that we've been to here, Pu'uhonua O Honaunau.  I'm not typing that again, so here are some pics:

Lastly, we visited the southernmost point in the United States, called (appropriately) South Point.

A view if the point from the highway.

Wind turbines along the way.  The wind was very strong here, enough to have the trees grow bent to the wind.

Cliff view at Southpoint. Diving was forbidden, but for some reason there were platforms there to make it convenient if you wanted to.  This was taken from one--scary--but anything for the blog.

After re-visiting the black sand beach and bakery from the first day on the island, we headed back to return the car at the hotel in time for the luau.  The lighting didn't lend itself to many pictures.  It was quite a show with dances examples from many Polynesian islands--not just Hawaii.  I'm not sure how authentic it was, but the performances were good and they worked hard.

The food was good too.  I had the pork (of course) and turkey as well.  Also tried poi, which must be an acquired taste.

This is right outside the hotel.  I didn't give it much thought at first--thinking it was just a prop--but I later found out that this was where King Kamehameha I "retired" and eventually passed away.  So we've seen both his birthplace and final resting place here.

This was the "royal procession" before the luau began.

Tomorrow we say Aloha to Hawaii and we leave for home from Kona International Airport.

Did you know:  Mark Twain spent four months in Hawaii in 1866 as a reporter for the Sacremento Union.

Hawaii (The Big Island) Day 2, 10/31

Of the four islands we've been to, Hawaii is the one that has surprised me most.  It is described as the youngest of the islands, and with all the lava rocks around, I believe it.  Some are only now being reclaimed with vegetation.  I guess I also got used to smaller islands, but Hawaii is the size of Rhode Island.  It's also the only one I've seen cactus plants on, a well as rain forests.  The dry and wet sides of the island seem more pronounced, to me anyway.

We were scheduled today for a helicopter tour at 12:15 pm in Hilo.  We left our hotel at about 8:30 am and got to Hilo about 10:30.  We quickly stopped at a farmers' market in Waimea since I wanted to try breadfruit.  I found a stall that had it, but it was the whole fruit which he said needed cooked.  I said our hotel wouldn't let me do that.  I don't think they get many tourists there.

Our helicopter tour started out with a safety briefing and then all of six (there were four others in our group) filed into the aircraft.  I was lucky and got a window seat.

Our helicopter was on the right

I'll admit I was nervous about it, but I'm glad I did it.  There was no dramatic lava flows into the sea or visible eruptions, but we did see some lava bubbling in a crater and a good aerial view of some waterfalls that you can't see on the ground because they're on private/government property.

Views from the helicopter

We drove around to the northern part of the island along HI 270.

Lookout View

Made a quick stop at the Akaka Falls State Park.  It has a 400 ft tall waterfall--higher than Niagara Falls.

Along the trail in Akaka Falls State Park

The Akaka Falls

We didn't quite make it to the northern tip of the island, but we were close.  The last stop of the day was a little town called Kapaau.  The Kamehemeha statue in Honolulu is a copy.  This is the original which was found in a junk yard in the Falkland Islands.

King Kamehameha I, Kapaau

Right before sundown we hit the end of the road and Pololu Valley lookout.  We almost turned around earlier, but I'm glad we didn't.

Pololu Valley Lookout

Pololu Valley

Palms from Pololu Valley Lookout

Tomorrow is the last day we'll be able to travel on our own in Hawaii.  We'll explore the southern part of the island a bit.

Did you know:  Honolulu means "sheltered bay".