Whew!!
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Hawaii Get-away Monday Feb 12, 2018
I hate it when lousy flights get you off to a bad start! Our winter has been so mild, with no snow, that's there's really no reason to get away from it all! But, here we are! We flew from Boise to SF uneventfully enough, not looking forward to a 4 hour layover. Finally, we loaded into this huge 757-200 and got already to go. The pilot comes on and explains that they'd had trouble with their reverse thrusters. "The runway at Lihue is quite short, so we NEED those revere thrusters!" So, they unloaded us and all our luggage and put us on another plane. After several more hours. Sorry for the delay, but one of the oxygen masks had come loose and we need to fix that. Just as we were about to board that plane, we were advised that one of the toilets was broken so we could'n't use it. So we wait. Two options: fix the toilet or find an inbound plane that we could use, which ever happened first. The next plane arrived, after more waiting around, but now they had to find another pilot since that guy's hours had expired, which they did. Finally, 6 hours late, by now it was 11PM our body time, off we went. We arrived in Lihue at about 4:30 AM our time. Luckily, the Alamo people waited up or us. We picked up our car and found our way to the Kauai Shores in the dark where we'd spend the week.
Whew!!
Whew!!
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Tuesday Feb 13
After a fitful few hour of sleep, not used to the humidity, we awoke to overcast skies and upper 60s. By this afternoon it would become partly sunny and quite warm, pushing 80.
After a nice breakfast in the hotel, overlooking the beach, we hiked around to get the lay of the land. There are many hotels and resorts along the coast here. The beach isn't much. Some unusual birds around including roosters and chickens which are everywhere. Within walking distance we found an odd little shopping center called " Coconut Market". There's an interesting looking Italian restaurant that we might try later in the week. There's also a new grocery market where we stocked up on some snack and lunch supplies.
After lunch on our porch we headed north up to Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Preserve, stopping at some shoreline views along the way (including a stop for fresh Malasadas). We also came across a 1940 Episcopal Church made from lava rock - very cute!
This is spectacular! Great views of crashing waves; the largest rookery left in the islands; the restored lighthouse. We saw many Nene birds which were almost extinct but have made a great comeback. Its hot and humid as we hike around the lighthouse!
Returning to the hotel for short naps then dinner at our Lava Lava Beach Bar. Back to the room to watch Olympics and write our journals.
After a nice breakfast in the hotel, overlooking the beach, we hiked around to get the lay of the land. There are many hotels and resorts along the coast here. The beach isn't much. Some unusual birds around including roosters and chickens which are everywhere. Within walking distance we found an odd little shopping center called " Coconut Market". There's an interesting looking Italian restaurant that we might try later in the week. There's also a new grocery market where we stocked up on some snack and lunch supplies.
After lunch on our porch we headed north up to Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Preserve, stopping at some shoreline views along the way (including a stop for fresh Malasadas). We also came across a 1940 Episcopal Church made from lava rock - very cute!
This is spectacular! Great views of crashing waves; the largest rookery left in the islands; the restored lighthouse. We saw many Nene birds which were almost extinct but have made a great comeback. Its hot and humid as we hike around the lighthouse!
Returning to the hotel for short naps then dinner at our Lava Lava Beach Bar. Back to the room to watch Olympics and write our journals.
 |
| Our hotel's beachfront bar/restaruant |
 |
| From our room |
 |
| Red Crested Cardinal |
 |
| Myna bird - imported from India to eat insects. Now considered invasive and a nuisance |
 |
| The Nene - State bird |
Monday, February 19, 2018
Wednesday Feb 14
Awoke to beautiful, bright blue sky. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last. the afternoon was overcast and it was raining by 4:00. Not a big deal!
We started our day by driving up to Wailua Falls, just a few miles from our hotel. There are lots of waterfalls on this island, this is the easiest one to see.
We needed to be at the airport by 12:30 for our airplane ride. On the way we came across "the mall", so we strolled around, killing time, had a bite for lunch ("lobsta' roll- nothing like one you'd get in Maine!) then found our way to the airport.
Our one hour plane ride around the island was awesome! The plane, an "Air Van", was built by an Australian company specifically for use in the Outback. Our pilot, Marcus, was an engaging young fellow from Minnesota. He gave us a smooth ride with plenty of interesting commentary. I rode "shotgun". We picked this mode of conveyance over a helicopter, which is the most common, because it was considerably less money and I wasn't sure I wanted to ride in a helicopter! It was great!
After the plane ride we continued south to visit the Kauai Coffee company, the largest coffee plantation in the islands with 3100 acres. Their visitor center was a tasting room and gift shop.
A word about traffic - its awful! There's really only one road on the island and while the local economy is isn't growing particularly, tourism is. The traffic is so bad they've had to change the school schedule! And there's once section where overnight they put our traffic cones to create a two lane highway. The trouble area is from Lihue through Kapa'a .
Another observation, now that we've seen the whole coastline from the air, there is very little evidence of pleasure boating. Only in Lihue's bay did we see small marina - nowhere else. Wondering why that is?
This evening's dinner, to honor Valentine's Day, was great Italian meal at a place called Bobby V's just a short walk from our hotel.
Back to the hotel for more Olympics!
We started our day by driving up to Wailua Falls, just a few miles from our hotel. There are lots of waterfalls on this island, this is the easiest one to see.
We needed to be at the airport by 12:30 for our airplane ride. On the way we came across "the mall", so we strolled around, killing time, had a bite for lunch ("lobsta' roll- nothing like one you'd get in Maine!) then found our way to the airport.
Our one hour plane ride around the island was awesome! The plane, an "Air Van", was built by an Australian company specifically for use in the Outback. Our pilot, Marcus, was an engaging young fellow from Minnesota. He gave us a smooth ride with plenty of interesting commentary. I rode "shotgun". We picked this mode of conveyance over a helicopter, which is the most common, because it was considerably less money and I wasn't sure I wanted to ride in a helicopter! It was great!
After the plane ride we continued south to visit the Kauai Coffee company, the largest coffee plantation in the islands with 3100 acres. Their visitor center was a tasting room and gift shop.
A word about traffic - its awful! There's really only one road on the island and while the local economy is isn't growing particularly, tourism is. The traffic is so bad they've had to change the school schedule! And there's once section where overnight they put our traffic cones to create a two lane highway. The trouble area is from Lihue through Kapa'a .
Another observation, now that we've seen the whole coastline from the air, there is very little evidence of pleasure boating. Only in Lihue's bay did we see small marina - nowhere else. Wondering why that is?
This evening's dinner, to honor Valentine's Day, was great Italian meal at a place called Bobby V's just a short walk from our hotel.
Back to the hotel for more Olympics!
 |
| Our beach |
 |
| Our balcony |
 |
| Wailua Falls |
 |
| really? |
 |
| Wings Over Kauai |
 |
| Marcus from Minnesota |
 |
| Kileua Lighthouse |
 |
| Wailua Falls from the air |
 |
| The Mall |
 |
| A-Rods airplane they say. Note tail art. |
 |
| Bird of Paradise |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)