Back to the Islands...Maui and Kona

If you know us or followed my blog at all, you know that one of our favorite places to visit and "vacation" is in Hawaii.  Obviously, we can't take the RV there and it's truly our fantasy getaway place to completely relax.  I, for one, love all the islands, and don't really have a favorite.  Jack, on the other hand, favors Maui, so we tend to return to that one more than any of the others.  This year was no exception.

We usually go towards the end of October, around Jack's Birthday, but decided to celebrate our anniversary there this year instead, which is around Labor Day.  It made it tougher to find places, etc. but, oh well...

We ended up booking our time share for one week in Maui then another on Kona, the Big Island.  Another change for us this time was that we didn't bring any friends along.  I can't remember the last time we've done that, as we almost always do.  Because of the holiday period, places were harder to find and we ended up getting "hotel style rooms", something we've never had before.  We also decided not to rent cars at either island as we have toured both of them extensively and didn't feel the need to do that again.  This was going to just be a full, sit and relax kind of vacation.

Maui was our first destination.  Our room was okay, nothing special, but it had a great view of the resort overlooking the ocean.  There were two pools, that I quickly learned two things about:  neither one was designated for "adults only" so both were FULL of kids, and two, both were ICE COLD!  Now, the heater at our place here in Arizona has been out in our Olympic size pool all summer and it's not that cold, these pools were half that size, in the full sun, and freezing cold.  I got in, and got out!  Yikes.  The beach was beautiful, gentle sand, and the water was bathtub warm...that's where we went everyday!  It was only steps outside of the resort...so who needed the pool?

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Watching the sunset from our balcony at The Royal Lahina Hotel

Red-crested cardinal enjoying breakfast with us

Along our beach walk

The resort offered free shuttle service to the nearby mall that had plenty of shopping and restaurants as well as another shuttle service that was all of $2 to Lahaina.  We enjoyed both, going into Lahaina for our anniversary dinner.  Fancy drinks and sunset included. It was lovely. 

Fancy drinks and a walk along the boardwalk in Lahaina

 

We were not thrilled with the "on site" restaurant.  We tried, but the menu nor the prices just didn't impress us, so I turned to Google for help and discovered The Castaway Cafe right next door!  A 2 minute walk and we not only found good food and great prices but wonderful staff that we soon became friends with!  We almost hated to leave them at the end of the week.

 

Watching the sun set from the Castaway Cafe

The following week we were off to Kona!  We've only been here once before, about six years ago.  Our friends own a home here and had invited us to stay with them, and kindly showed us just about everything one can see on the island....thank goodness!  Renting a car here (which you need to have if you are going to see anything, as this is a BIG island) is expensive, at least it was the week we were staying.  I figured out that between the car rental, the hotel parking charge and gas, it would have cost us about $1000. for the week.  Not worth it, so we didn't.  

The pictures of the hotel before we booked really didn't do it justice, so when we got there, our jaws dropped.  We soon realized we had actually been here before to "see it" when our friends took us here as a "you've got to see this place, it's unbelievable".  We had taken the boat tour around their little canal and ooh and ahh then.  Now, we were staying here.  How cool was that?

The room was twice the size of the one in Maui with a view of the beautiful Asian gardens.  This resort was huge - 64 acres huge.  An adult pool (nearest us, warm and peaceful) along with various other pools of different sizes and shapes, a man-made lagoon and beach, waterfalls, a dolphin pond, and acres and acres of Asian gardens filled with sculptures and art all surrounded by a water canal and monorail system to get around it all.  Beautiful. They had a variety of restaurants to choose from along with different shops and markets, plus a shuttle service ($) to the local mall for more choices.  All fun, and delicious. 

One amusing thing we discovered were the myna birds.  Seems that right outside our room were these trees that they liked to roost on, so every evening around 4pm or so, they would start flying in.  They would line up along the rooftop...hundreds and hundreds of them, and slowly fly into these trees.  Then as the sun set, they would start chirping.  This goes on for a bit... then quiet down until about 4 AM and the chirping begins again!  Now, you have to understand, there are hundreds and hundreds of these birds, all chirping at the same time - it's LOUD!  When I first heard it, I couldn't quite figure out what it was.  I followed the sound and ended up going outside to look for it, and that's when I discovered it was the birds! Wow.  After that, I realized their pattern and was blown away at how many there were as I watched them come and go.  I used to tell Jack, "here comes our evening and morning choir!" Once you knew about them, you got used to it.  It really was kind of amusing.

We enjoyed a luau while we were there as well.  Now we have seen one on each island except Oahu.  It was quite nice.  We had front row seats, met nice people, the food was good, weather was wonderful and the entertainment was delightful.  I would have to say that the fire dancers were some of the best we've seen.  But as for the luau itself, the best we've experienced, I feel was on Kauai, hands down. 

No matter how many times we go to the islands, we discover new things, enjoy new wonders and always have a wonderful time.  It truly is a paradise for us.  The only downside is the long trip back home.  I hate that plane trip.  The older I get the worse it seems, too.  We ended up taking the "red eye" this time, and I promised myself, I will never do that again...ugh.  We couldn't sleep, to uncomfortable, so we were up for 24 hours, and just wiped out when we got home.  Took us days to get back into shape.  We're to old for this anymore...guess we've been spoiled with all the years of RV travel!  ;-)  

Well, this is probably it for awhile now.  Only two more trips scheduled for the remainder of the year...until then...Aloha...

kicking back in Arizona,  Marie

 

Vacation!

Yes, even people who spend their time “leasurely traveling” around need a vacation!  For us, it means getting away from the RV and camping - so we hop on a plane and stay in one of our time share places.  This time, it was a week in Maui. 

A week isn’t very long (for us) but we took some friends along with us, and booked two suites.  Our friends had never been to the islands before, and when we heard that, we couldn’t resist taking them along!  It’s so much more fun to share the adventure with others.  It was also Jack’s 75th birthday, so that added to the celebration.

Having been before, we were excited to show John and Delores all around.  The weather was glorious, and we didn’t waste a moment after we arrived.  First stop, downtown Lahaina!  Lunch at Bubba Gump’s for fresh sea food and a “toast” to celebrate our stay.  A nice walk around town, taking in all the lovely views.  It didn’t take Delores long to buy her first souvenir either!

High on our list of “to do’s” was a luau, and that was booked before we left.  I had talked with someone from the time share and set it all up and got us VIP seating for the best one on the island, The Old Lahaina Luau.   I had read about it, and was excited to see it.  We had done one in Kauai, but not in Maui, so this would be new for us as well.

The night of the luau, our hosts met us and we all got our pictures taken, then were escorted to the luau and were greeted with orchid leis and cocktails.  We had our own server throughout the evening that never left our side.  Our seats were the BEST!  The only ones in front of us, were the ones sitting on the floor (no thanks, to old for that!).  The entertainment, the food, the drinks, the atmosphere, everything, was just wonderful.  We really lucked out on the weather too, as it was right on the beach, and we didn’t even need our light sweaters we brought.  Such a great night.

The following day, we took them on the road to Hana.  I don’t think they liked it as much as we did.  Delores isn’t much for winding roads - even if the scenery is beautiful.  I thought that if we took it slow, and stopped a lot, she would be okay, but, not really.  Oh well…we still loved seeing it (again).  It’s some of the prettiest part of the island, I think.   We did stop at one new place this time, and that was at MauiWine.  Delores, John and I did wine tasting.  We all agreed…pineapple wine is not for us.  Oh well, it was fun trying it.

Jack wanted to celebrate his birthday at Slappy Cakes a pancake house.  So, that’s what we did!  It’s a unique restaurant where you can make your own pancakes on a griddle in the middle of the table and/or order pancakes as you do at other places.  While we ordered ours, Jack made his.  He had fun playing with the shapes of his pancakes, making faces, and his “age”, etc.  He may be 75, but he’s still a kid at heart!

The week went by way to fast.  Beautiful days with lovely sunrises and sunsets and even a rainbow or two.  But, all good things have to come to an end (or so they say)…so on the plane we came home, once again. 

We are now back in Arizona, nose deep in settling in to this new tiny house of ours.  Still finding things we’d forgotten we had, wondering where we are going to put it now, or do we get rid of it…and in between it all, planning our next adventure!


…kicking back in Arizona,  Marie


If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

On The Road Again...At Last!

It's been awhile...but we are finally back on the road again!  Yea! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we bought a new home, but I'm just not ready to quit traveling...and I was really getting antsy to get back in the passenger seat again!  

This will be a short trip for us...only a little over 3 months.  We have a flight to Maui in late October that we need to be back in Arizona for, and we got such a late start (because of my broken tooth and work on the rig)...but, some travel is better than no travel!

Our first leg is to my son's in Texas, partly to get some love'n and partly to drop off a bunch of "stuff" that I unpacked as we moved in (yea).  We will spend the 4th of July with him and his family, visit a bit then move on...into Louisiana, then north where hopefully it will be a bit cooler.  We will let the weather be our guide this trip.  We really don't have much of an agenda with such a short amount of time.  I'd like to round out the trip in Washington, to visit with my family there, so that kind of makes an odd circle, so to speak.  We shall see.  We have friends from Hawaii who are also on a journey through some of the western states during this time, so we shall see if our paths can cross each other...it would be wonderful if they could...one never knows...

We did manage to break away from all the unpacking for a few days to Sedona before we left.  We'd been there before, but it had been a few years, and we really needed a break.  It was about 10-15 degrees cooler too, which was nice.  We took advantage of our time-share and stayed there and swam in the pool, had a massage, ate out, read a book, layed around and relaxed.  It was great.  The area's red rocks are just so lovely, really peaceful.  I love walking through Tlaquepaque Plaza, it's such a picturesque place, even if you don't want to buy a thing!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to new adventures, and even re-seeing places we've been before...bring it on, bring it all on, I'm ready world, here we come!  Yahoo!


...on the road to Texas,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Kaua'i Bound!

No matter how kind or gentle or thoughtful all the doctors, nurses, EMTs and police personnel were surrounding the accident there is no medicine like the smiles and hugs that greeted us when we arrived in Kaua'i.  Seeing our wonderful friends Sherrie and Ken was the best relief from all the tragedy that we had gone through on our last day in Maui.  We knew we would still have to deal with numerous insurance and police calls, but having our friends with us for the week would make it all so much easier.  They brought the sunshine to our vacation once again!  Yea!

With hugs all around, a quick trip to the store for supplies and a lovely trip to our condo to check in and relax!  Wow, we were located right on the beach!  What a view!  We could sit out on our patio and watch the ocean waves...ahhh...this was going to be nice!

Our first outing was a drive to go see Kilauea Point Lighthouse (c1913).  A lovely drive that took us by the Hanakap'ai Falls (300'), way, way in the distance...

A lovely old church, Wai'oli Hui'ia Church (1834)...

And a stop at Ha'ena Beach Park, where the dry caves are...

...And finally to the breathtaking lighthouse!

One of the things that Sherrie had on her "wish list" was to go see the Fern Grotto...so we booked a boat trip to go see it!  What a fun little trip!  They take you on a barge down the Wailua River telling you stories and playing music, singing and doing the hula en route to the Grotto.  We passed a few Kayakers along the way that seem to be enjoying the journey as well.  Once at the grotto, we were disembarked, and walked a small distance.  At one time people could actually get up close and touch, get married, etc against the ferns themselves, but to much damage was being caused, so now they have built a wooden deck that is about 30' from them now.  It's still easy to view them, and they sure are lovely!  They had a woman sing the Hawaiian Wedding song (just to add to the moment!) while you are enjoying the view too.  ;-)  Then a nice walk back through the woods, and to the boat again!

That evening I was able to check off a big item on my bucket list...one I had been wanting to do for many years...to go to a luau!  When Jack had asked me what I wanted for my 70th Birthday (back in April) I told him I wanted to go to an "authentic luau"...well, as much as one can find these days, anyway, when we get to Hawaii.  So, we researched all of them and found that Smith's Tropical Paradise in Kaua'i' to fit what I was looking for!  We weren't disappointed.  From the very beginning being greeted with shell leis, taking a tour of their beautiful gardens, taken to the Imu where the pig was buried, the fabulous dinner and music, to the evening's entertainment and show.  It was everything I had hoped for...a wish come true!

There was only one "must see" left to do now...and that was Waimea Canyon.  I had seen it once, about 23 years ago (on a bus trip), but Jack had never been to Kaua'i, so I was anxious to show him this beautiful canyon, so off we went!  It was even prettier than I remembered.  Being in a car helped too, because we could stop and let me take pictures!  The first stop was a big surprise...this little waterfall along this deep red dirt, just outside the park...beautiful!

Then, off into the canyon we went!

Our week was coming to a close...two last waterfalls, a last drive through the Tunnel of Trees and then it would be hugs goodbye to our friends (for now)... None of us wanted to leave the beautiful sunshine, the daily crowing of the roosters, the lovely birds we tossed crumbs to, or the smell of the ocean waves...but life was waiting for each of us back on the "main land", so back we must go.  Calgary and Tacoma were waiting on each of us with their cool arms, out with the shorts and in with the sweaters for awhile!

Thank you Hawaii, we'll be back!

...kicking back in Tacoma,  Marie

For additional reading, check out: 100 best things to do in Hawaii. It is completely free and packed with practical tips and advice. You can find it here: https://www.your-rv-lifestyle.com/best-things-to-do-in-hawaii/

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Vacation!

Even full-time RVer's have to have a "vacation" from time to time!  For us, this year, it was flying to the islands of Maui for a week, then to Kaua'i for the another week.  Ah, the joys of being retired...

We parked our baby at my nephew's side yard in Tacoma for the two weeks and flew off to sunny Hawaii!  Our timeshare hosts greeted us with packages of wonderful goodies and promises of a good time while we were on the island!  We planned on taking them up on it too.  Jack and I hadn't been on this island in over 25 years, and for me, I had only been for a couple of days, so hadn't seen much when I was here!  So much to see and do, I hardly could sleep!

Our first day trip was to Lahaina.  Both of us wanted to see how much it had changed over the years.  It used to be the "heart" of Maui...a small, quaint town, always full of fun.  Well, like everything else of course...it's grown!  Still fun and lively.  We were able to spend some lovely time just wandering around, enjoying the various sights, like the beautiful old banyan tree that was originally planted back in 1873 by William Owen Smith and has spread out to cover several acres now.  They have created a whole park around them!  Simply beautiful...

A wonderful surprise was a sand dune Japanese cemetery, Puupiha Cemetery, that was across the street from the Namu Amida Butsu, Jodo Mission.  I've visited a lot of interesting cemeteries in my travels, but never one built in sand before!  The Japanese never cease to amaze me.

It was such a clear day, we even got a wonderful view of Moloka'l from town!

And what's a shot of the beach/ocean without seeing surfers?

A trip to Maui isn't "complete" without taking the drive to Hana!  So, off we went (complete with "app" in hand).  What fun!  Jack loves driving all those twists and turns, and the traffic wasn't all that bad, and lucky us, it was a nice clear day too.  Of course, we had to stop a hundred and one times so that I could jump out and take a picture (or three) of every waterfall, weeping wall, flower, tree, and 'special scenes' we saw!  Me and everyone else too!  ha ha 

There were "extra special" highlights along the way tho...  I absolutely fell in love with the Ke'anae Peninsula.  The black lava rock jutting out from the deep blue of the ocean with the green plants alongside, was just so beautiful.  Then, add a 150 year old church and small cemetery to the scene, and you have a photographer's dream!  I could have stayed there all day...

Another special stop was at the black sand beach, Honokalani, where I could get my feet wet and gather up some of it to take back with me!  

Jack had only one wish for the day, and that was to visit the grave site of Charles Lindbergh who was buried in Kipahulu in 1974.  Lindberg loved Maui and it was his wish to live out his days here & be buried here.  It's quite off the beaten path, which I'm sure was also his wish, after all the hounding he suffered while he was alive.  There is also a sweet church here, built in 1857 along with a small cemetery.  When we arrived, we were greeted with a couple of horses peeing through a banyan tree!  No one else was around.

The rental car (and phone app) people tell you to turn around here and go back the same way, but our local host told us as long as it wasn't raining, and we kept our eyes out for "cows", the locals just continue on around the island, and we could too!  She shared that the scenery really changes, and it would be a shame to miss it, and to just repeat the same long road back (we agreed), so on we went!

We were so glad we did too!  We came across such wonderful surprises and beautiful scenery!  

The first was a beautiful rainbow came out to greet us.  We never saw any rain, but what a glorious rainbow, it just filled the sky everywhere you looked!  Once, when we turned a corner, we came upon a lovely old church and when I got out to take it's picture, the rainbow followed me...I think I captured the most perfect picture...don't you?

And some of the wonderful scenes we would have missed...

..and of course those cows! 

All to soon our visit to Maui was coming to an end.  It was our last day, and our last trip back to the condo, and BANG!  We were hit!  Jack saw blue and red lights coming at him, a car coming AT him, he said "holy shit!" and swerved (just in time!!) and was able to save our lives by only colliding our headlight into his taillight.  I had been looking down until I heard him, when I looked up, all I saw was a silver car flying into the air and crashing down and another coming at us (the one that hit us) and then BOOM, the air bags going off.  Minutes later a policeman rapped on the side window and asked if we were "okay?"  We assured him we were, to go to the others.  We were the only ones that survived.  We were sent to the hospital for ex rays, etc. and came away with deep tissue bruises, cuts and scratches, but the whole ordeal was very sad.  It had been a police chase, and the young man (29) had crossed the meridian into on coming traffic, hitting a young woman (33) head on, sending her into us.  If Jack hadn't seen it all in time and reacted as fast as he had, we would also had been hit head on.  A heck of a way to end our stay.

We were glad to be moving on to Kaua'i and joining our friends for another week!

...on our way to Kaua'i,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/