We landed in Hawaii, Honolulu to be exact. When I say we, there is Teresa and myself, and my parents. My parents had been here once before, many years ago when my dad had R&R during the Vietnam war. I was an infant at the time and remember none of it.
Both mom and dad were excited to be here again, and we were happy to see them excited. We had been looking forward to this trip ourselves. Besides the island paradise, we wanted to try something new and adventurous. Teresa and I did enroll in PADI scuba classes. We had our letters for our open water certification dives. We were so excited to scuba dive in Hawaii. I, unfortunately, developed an ear infection which got worse on the flight and would make it impossible to dive until cleared.
Honolulu
We toured Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona memorial. It was touching to see. We also walked through the Punch Bowl Cemetery. Dad said we had a family member interred there. My ear infection was giving me fits and I went to a clinic. I was prescribed a bit of bed rest. On my vacation? Yes, it took my out for a day.
We drove around the island, taking it all in. While we wanted blue sunny skies, it was cloudy and rainy. That would not deter us though, even if the island had record rains and flooding. I have a folder of printouts got geocaches.
It was also my dad’s birthday and to treat him, we took him to a Luau. We had done our research and found a good one that also offered some different vegetarian options. It was a wonderful evening, including a colorful sunset, sipping Mai Tai’s and Blue Hawaians.
Kaui
After a few days, we took off to Kaui.
Kauai is a so picturesque. It is the site of many movies and TV shows, including the falls in pictured in the TV series “Fantasy Island”.
There is also a natural area called “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. It is definitely something you should go see. While not as dry and arid, it is just an awe inspiring.
We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast in Poipu, not far from the beach what is considered one of the best beaches in the world. We had rented a SUV, though we did not need it to get to the beach, it was just a walk away. It was also mom and dad’s first B&B and they liked it. The hostess as a fountain of information. The breakfasts were good and light, yet still filling. And like many Bed and Breakfasts will do, catered to dietary needs.
We took a road trip to the north side of the island. There was a weather system off-shore that was pushing up the swells and the waves were huge. None of us are surfers, but we loved watching. We also made it to the north shore lighthouse, where I saw a whale breaching. Though no one else in our party saw it, there were a few others pointed out in the general direction.
Maui
After a few relaxing days, We took off to Maui. Here we stayed in a two bedroom condo. It was nice to have a place with a washer/dryer and a full kitchen. We had planned several excursions, including a Atlantic submarine dive. If I could not dive, we wee still going to see the corals. I was also told by my dive instructor to find the Tedeschi winery. He had a few requests and discovered two lovely wines, Maui Splash and Maui Blush.
Another excursion was “Maui Downhill”, a mountain biking ride from the top of the Haleakalā volcano in Haleakalā National Park to the beach. It was a sunrise ride, meaning we had to be up early (2am). We were also concerned about my parents, who also wanted to give it a try and they were in their 60’s. This trip was a bike ride from the 10,023 foot summit to sea-level in just 7 miles. It was all down hill, but we were talking 7 miles… okay that was as the bird flies or a straight line. The ride was MUCH longer than that (over 20 miles). We offered my parents the option to bow out several times, but they insisted they could do it and they did. This is definitely something you should try!
It was one of our last days and my ear infection had healed enough that I could dive. We checked the local dive shops and no one was going out. The rain had stopped, but the run off had the visibility of most dive sites at or near zero. The dive shop did recommend a nice little cove which had no river or run off that would be wonderful for snorkeling, and it was right near our condo. The water was warm and clear and the reefs and fish were full of color. It was worth the wait.
