2010 Oahu, Hawaii
Waikiki, North Shore, Ko Alina
Saturday, September 4, 2010 I'm off for a week in Hawaii!!
Fancy Pants, my little girl kitty, kept me up awake most of the night. She knew I was leaving and wanted to get in some last minute loving . I was up at 3:00 a.m., and at 3:30 friends Meredith and Rodney arrived to take me to the airport. Ungodly hour. Spirit was with us, and was delighted to be going with Mom and his friends (his dear Great Dane friend, Ava, was also with us). I had a 6:00 flight, with a transfer in San Francisco, and should arrive in Honolulu at 11:00 a.m., local time. Danni and her friend, Angela, and Angela's mom, Sandy, were due to arrive at 11:30, so that should work out pretty well. That's my plan.
I checked my luggage at 4:30 and wandered towards the gate, noting that the flight was on-time. In the time it took me to get to the gate, everything had changed. The gate had changed, and the flight was delayed until 7:15. That meant I would miss my connection. I changed my San Francisco flight to a later one, which would get me into Honolulu at 3:15 p.m. Not too terribly bad. I had already checked my bag, which was due to transfer in SFO to another airline. I asked about whether that would be handled with my new reservation, and, as it turns out, no, it wasn't. I have no idea what flight it would have eventually arrived on, so I'm really glad I asked about it. They manually tracked my big, purple bag, and said it would arrive with me. Whew!
Well, I didn't actually get out of Denver until 8:30; the only explanation for the delay was "plane delayed". When I boarded my plane in San Francisco, I discovered someone in my seat. He apologized and asked if he could please swap seats with me, as he wanted to sit next to his wife. I said okay, and said goodbye to my window seat. I was directed to a flight attendant at the door, who would show me to my new seat. In first class!!! Not a window seat, but not so bad. I can handle this. The guy was probably on a business trip and brought his wife with him for a nice vacation. This flight, as all the others today, was also delayed. Someone forgot to batten down the hatches, so we had to return to the gate. Oh, well. The young man sitting next to me promptly fell asleep as we took off, so the only conversation I had for the duration of the flight was with the flight attendant: "Would you like some more wine?" "Why, yes I would, thank you." The flight was pretty relaxing. As we approached Honolulu, we had a great view of Pearl Harbor. The navy ships in the harbor looked like sitting ducks; I felt like I was viewing a scene very similar to what the Japanese saw when they attacked.
I arrived in Honolulu about 4:00 pm, local time, about 5 hours later than planned, and my suitcase arrived with me, much to my surprise and pleasure. My AT&T phone forgot how to do voice mail, and suddenly required a password, which I had never set. I had a voice mail waiting, but couldn't get to it. I called Danni and let her know I was on my way to the hotel. On the shuttle ride, I finally was able to set a password (new) for voice mail and retrieve my awaiting message. It was from Danni, telling me that she was having a problem accessing her voice mail. Hmm. Sounds like an epidemic.
I went to the hotel, where I met Danni, Angela, and Sandy, and we all went out to dinner at the local Margaritaville. There were lots of souvenir stands along the way, but they would have to wait for another day. I did stop at a store and pick up some food for breakfast. Sticker shock: a single banana is $.99! Makes no sense. Don't they grow those here? I got to bed at 9 pm, or 1 am, Denver time. I had been up for 22 hours, 18 spent just getting from my door to the hotel door. I was exhausted!
As I was unpacking my suitcase tonight, I noticed that my cat, Zootie,
had packed one of his toys, a little red ball, for me. He doesn't want
me to forget him.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
I was up at 6 am, and witnessed a wonderful sunrise and rainbow. We're on the 27th floor of a hotel in Honolulu, 2 blocks from Waikiki Beach. The view from the balcony is of lots of other apartment buildings and hotels, with a glimpse of the beach. It's obvious the main business in the city is tourism.
After a shower and a cup of coffee, we hit the street, catching a bus to the Honolulu Stadium, home of the Wednesday and Sunday flea market. Great shopping and reasonable prices. Hibiscus jewelry. Hibiscus stickers. Hibiscus seat covers. My girlie Jeep is already decked out in hibiscus stickers and seat covers, but until now, it not have jewelry. We all spent several hours shopping, basically until we dropped. The weather was warm and humid, with occasional cool breezes and some very, very light rain, similar to an Arizona misting system. In fact, that's what I thought it was the first time I felt it. Later, I learned that this is called a "pineapple mist".
On the way back to town, Danni and I stopped at Pearl Harbor to tour the USS Arizona Memorial. The 20 minute film before the tour was really moving. Lots of film of 12/7/1941 from both the Japanese and American perspective. We rode the shuttle boat out to the memorial, which physically straddles the sunken ghost of a ship.
Back to the hotel for a welcome shower and then off to dinner in town. It was a beautiful, balmy evening, and a number of street vendors were lining the sidewalks of the main street, selling their wares. Among them were a henna tattoo artist, a portrait artist, a palm reader, a man with a parrot, and a steel drum player. He had a double tenor steel drum, which I don't how to play because all of the notes are spread across 2 drums and in different places from my lead tenor drum. I miss my drum. But, as of today, I am the proud owner of a pink, hibiscus-decorated ukulele. Now I need to get a ukele book so that I can get a clue, just one, on how to play it.
Monday, September 6, 2010
It's beach day! We slathered on the sunscreen, loaded up the mats and chairs, and trucked on down to Waikiki Beach, a mere 2 blocks away. It was a beautiful, sunny morning. The tide was out and the beach wasn't quite crowded yet. I went for a long walk down the beach while the others settled down for some serious sunbathing.
The water was greenish blue and quite clear. I briefly watched an instructor teaching beginning surfing moves on the beach. There were people wading out 100 yards or more, in the warm water. Most of the surfers gathered at the south end of the beach. Lots of people were just floating with the mostly gentle waves.
I walked back to the girls, who were ready to take a plunge. I joined them in the water. The water was very shallow for some distance out, and the waves seemed to have more force near the beach, so we wandered quite a ways out. It was great! I stayed out there for quite a while and reminded my body and mind that I really do know how to float and swim, as it had forgotten for a while last year when I went snorkeling in the Caribbean. Danni and I are planning to snorkel later this week, so I really hope this reminder helps. Danni and I both have sunburns..
After a couple of hours, we headed back to the hotel to shower, and then proceeded to see a travel agent. We were hoping to get a rental for the day. None were available, but Danni and I signed up for a tour of the Polynesian Cultural Center on Wednesday. While that was being set up, I inquired about hang gliding and para sailing opportunities. There is no hang gliding in the area, but there were 2 para sailing outfitters, one at Waikiki, and the other several miles south. I looked at the brochures, and saw that they both had choices of line length. I initially thought I would prefer the one further south, just because we had already been to Waikiki, but that one offered only a 600 foot line. Paradise Parasailing, of Waikiki, offered a choice of 500, 600, and 1,000 foot lines. I selected the 1,000 foot line. For $25, a person could accompany me on the boat, just as an onlooker. There was no way that I could convince Danni to parasail, but she loves boats, so that was an easy sell. She agreed to accompany me, just to watch, or be a witness, or gather evidence of her mother's ridiculous behavior. We checked availability, and found they could take me up in 2 hours. That's pretty soon, I hadn't quite worked up the nerve to do it. I signed up.
We were picked up by a driver with a lovebird on his
dashboard. 
A
Pretty little live lovebird. There
were 8 of us on the boat signed up for tandem para sailing, plus 2
people who were there just to observe. For some reason, when we arrived
on the boat, they assumed that Danni was the one flying, and I was the
observer. Everyone was excited,
and some were a bit nervous. I was nervous about the landing.
That is, until I discovered that we were to be reeled back onto the
boat deck. Didn't even need to get wet. I love boat
rides of any kind, so this was like 2 adventures in one.
While we were heading out in the bay there was a pretty good
rainbow over Honolulu.
The first to soar were 2 young men
from Japan. They were so excited, and they had a great time,
as we all watched, in anticipation of what was to come for us. The
captain gave us a choice of getting dunked or not; these 2
selected the affirmative. They were dunked several times. 
The crew was a lot of fun. Next up were a couple from India. They were followed by 2 young Japanese women, and then, finally, me and a woman from Viet Nam. Her daughter was the other onlooker. The first 3 rides were all at 600 feet, and my partner had also signed up for 600 feet. I was signed up for 1,000 feet. I told her daughter this, and she decided not to tell her Mom, who did not speak English. Let it be a surprise.
We got hooked into our harness, and the captain started the boat. The wind caught the parachute, and we were airborne. We went up a little ways, and then the captain stopped the boat, and we dropped down into the water. My head went under water, which was pretty scary. Then, he sped up, and we went soaring into the sky. We went 1,000 feet up in the air. Fantastic view! It felt like I was attached to a kite, and I was. I just let go and kicked back. Awesome! I had my little underwater camera with me to record it. What fun! We were dunked 3 times, and the water was cold! We both had a great time.
On the way back to shore, we encountered a pod of dolphin, jumping and spinning int eh water near us. These were called, coincidentally, "Spinning Dolphins", and are only located near Hawaii. Pretty cool!
Once back on land, our driver let us take turns holding his pretty little peach faced lovebird. Then he took us back to our hotel, pointing out various landmarks on the way. For instance, Johnny Depp was in town filming a new pirate movie, and he had recently gone fishing on that boat and he was staying at this Hilton Hotel. I looked but didn't see him.
We went to dinner at Duke's, a beach front restaurant with patio dining. It was a warm, beautiful night! I had read in "1,000 Things To See Or Do Before You Die", US and Canada edition, that a local delicacy, poke, should be tried. It is raw ahi, tuna, with some local seasoning. What the heck. I had some for an appetizer, and enjoyed it. For dinner, I had a wonderfully delicious Caesar salad with grilled mahi mahi. This is why I came to Hawaii.
It was a GREAT day!Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Angela and Sandy went to the beach while Danni and I went to listen to a sales pitch, for which we would each get a day of snorkeling and swimming with dolphins and sea turtles for $20. Well, there's a sucker born every minute. Enough said. We did get the snorkeling passes.
Angela rented a car for the day so we could take a little tour of Oahu. Oahu is just 45 miles long and 30 miles wide. We headed north and visited the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I rode the little train, the Pineapple Express, for a tour of the plantation and to learn of the history. They had lots of different types of pineapple (who knew there were so many different types), and also some samples of other island crops, such as mango, coconut, coffee, and cacao. I learned that pineapple, unlike many other fruits, such as bananas, quits ripening when cut. Pineapple that is sent to the mainland, is cut before it is fully ripened, and thus is not as sweet at it could be. I've never cared much for pineapple, because it's always a bit tart. Now I have discovered just how delicious, and sweet, it can be. WOW!! I discovered something else really delicious: Dole pineapple macadamia shortbread cookies. Incredibly good when dunked in Hawaiian vanilla macadamia coffee.
We continued our tour of the island, driving further north to the North Shore, the infamous surfing beach. Alas, the surf was not up, and there wasn't a surfer in sight. I had read about another place in my "1,000 Places...." book, that I wanted to check out. On the North Shore there are shrimp shacks, which shrimp cooked up and served in lots of different ways. We stopped to check it out, and ended up having shrimp for dinner. The Hawaiians have been farming shrimp in ponds along this coast for hundreds of years. Glad we stopped! I had garlic, spicy shrimp. Delicious. I didn't realize until after my first bite, though, that they were not shelled. Sandy thought that was really funny.
We came back to Honolulu via the east side of the island. The east side has those beautiful steep, green covered, tall mountains that are frequently seen in movies and on TV, such as Pirates of The Caribbean, Lost, Indiana Jones. Very impressive, especially with the fog rolling down from the top.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Danni and I spent nearly 12 hours today with a tour guide / stand up comedian named Ernie. He took us to the Polynesian Cultural Center up in the northeast part of Oahu, where he added anecdotes, jokes, and history to the center's displays. On the way there, he took a couple of little detours to show us Barack Obama's high school and his (Barack's) grandmother's apartment.
The cultural center is a must for any first time visitor to Hawaii. The landscape is beautiful - flowers blooming every where! There are dwellings and performances depicting the ancient ways and history of the people in the Polynesian Triangle, marked by Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand. Included are Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, and Tahiti. The Samoan was very entertaining. He was funny and silly, yet he did an amazing display of making fire by rubbing sticks and a coconut. Then, he cracked a coconut using a small rock, and also showed us how to shred the coconut meat and squeeze the milk out of it.
There were a couple of interactive sites, one where some visitors played Polynesian drums, and another, where we learned how to do the hula. After visiting each of the sites, we proceeded to the "river" for a review of each of the island's dancers. The river guides were talking about Johnny Depp being there the day before. Of course!
After touring the exhibits, we had a fun dinner at a luau, complete with raw fish (poke), a whole roasted pig, poi, and pineapple. While we ate, we were entertained by hula dancers.
After the luau, we piled into a theater for a wonderful show, depicting life in ancient times in Polynesia. The highlight was the fire dance, which was beyond amazing.
After the performance, Ernie drove us back to Honolulu; it was a very long day. Tomorrow, we are going snorkeling! with fish, dolphins, and sea turtles! Exciting. I'm also nervous, since I'm claustrophobic. When we snorkeled in the Caribbean last year, I had panic attacks each time I entered the water wearing a snorkel mask. Each time, I finally relaxed and enjoyed the swim, but..... still scary. I'm hoping I do better this time.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Today was wonderful, awesome, incredible! We had good karma today!
We went snorkeling in Ko Alina, northwest of Honolulu, for about 3 hours today. Another day on a boat, which is always a good thing. On the way there, I channeled my Mom, who believed in the power of visualization. I visualized myself floating with snorkeling gear, and being calm and serene, and seeing dolphins, turtles and all kinds of fish. I think it really helped, as I was pretty relaxed when we were given our snorkel fins and mask. I told the crew that I am claustrophobic, but have done this twice before, and really loved it; I just needed help getting through the first ten minutes. I wore the mask and snorkel for about 5 minutes before getting in the water. I took it nice and slow at first when in the water, holding the ladder and then...... a sea turtle swam by. I was off! Chasing a turtle. The third time is the charm.
Our first stop was a place that had sea turtle. There was one afloat when we arrived. three of them were resting on the ocean floor, and one kept looking up, stretching his neck. I waited and waited for him to come up for air, but he was wary. I followed a couple of others as they headed for new digs, but never got up close and personal with any, but our guide took my camera down to turtle-eye level for a closeup.
Our second stop was nearby and was to see dolphins. When they were spotted nearby, we stopped the boat and got into the water, very quietly, just floating face down, without fins. Apparently, the sight of people with fins disturbs them. Our captain told us to be very still, doing a dead man's float, when they come by to check us out. If they trust, us they will return for another look. After a while, a flotilla of dolphins swam about 20 feet beneath us, along the ocean floor. Incredible! It was so very, very quiet. They didn't return; must have trust issues. We loaded up and moved to another site, where another pod of dolphins swam beneath us, checking us out, and then returning!
Our third stop was also nearby, closer to the beach to see a coral reef, and stop four was to see a multitude of various sizes and colors of fish, swarming around us. It was beautiful! My underwater camera began shooting everything with he flash on, and I was unable to turn it off while I was in the water. Damn!
Lucky for us, the onboard photographer had his SLR and captured these wonderful images:
If I ever come back to Hawaii I must do this again. Captain Mark with Ko Alina Ocean Adventures. As we approached the marina our captain also mentioned that The Black Pearl, Johnny Depp's pirate ship, was anchored just around the corner.
In the evening, I feasted on calamari and a Mai Tai at Duke's, out along the beach at sunset. Beautiful end to the day. After dinner, Sandy went back to the hotel, Danni and Angela went for a walk around town, and I went for a walk by myself around town. I stopped to talk to the Rastafarian playing a double tenor steel drum. I told him that I could play some, and he wanted to hear, but I don't know where the notes are on a double tenor. He persisted, saying that he would point them out for me, but then, I forgot every song I know and could not remember what notes any song started with. When I play, I don't think in terms of notes, but usually just remember the sound. He didn't believe I knew anything at all about steel drums. Then he asked me where I was able to find a steel drum in Colorado, of all places. I told him I ordered it from Trinidad, and that it was made by Mappo. His jaw dropped, and I said "now you believe me, right?" Yes, he did. Mappo is a very highly rated drum maker in Trinidad. Not that I knew that when I ordered the drum.
Friday, September 10, 2010
It was a rainy, misty morning. Danni and I had thought about going to hike Diamond Head this morning, but not gong to do it in the rain. We all went out for breakfast, instead, and when we had finished, the sky had cleared. It's another beach day! We spent another couple of hours at the beach today, and later we did some shopping at the International Mall, which we passed each time we went to the beach. Dinner tonight was at the Outrigger Hotel's Shorebird Restaurant, located on the beach. This was a fun place to eat, as you grilled your own food on a large grill located at the back of the restaurant. I had mahi mahi, and also followed Danni's lead by grilling some pineapple slices. Great food! Even better sunset, visible from our table. After we got back to the hotel, we could see some fireworks being set off at the beach.
It's been a really great week. My Monday sunburn is almost healed. I'm getting really good at pronouncing Hawaiian names - at least in my head. There are only 12 letters and 2 accent marks in the language, although there should be 13, as the missionaries left out the letter "T" when transcribing the language. A, E,H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, U, W.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I took at 5:15 a.m. shuttle to the airport. The driver, using a microphone, said he'd let us sleep and he'd wake us when we approached the airport. Then he proceeded to play tour guide. The microphone never left his hand, as he talked, non-stop all the way to the airport. He pointed out Obama's high school, the navy housing (built in the 1960s), and a pink building, which you couldn't see right now because it's dark, etc. Too funny.
I grabbed some breakfast and headed toward the terminal. I was still a ways off, when I heard the final boarding call! I thought I had about 15 minutes to get there for the first boarding call. Well, I ran, with 35 lbs of carry-on baggage in hand. Made it to the gate in time. Boarded the plane and took my seat. Big sigh of relief! As I was turning off my cell phone, I noticed the time - it was early! We actually left the gate 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time. Only on Alaskan Airlines. As we flew out, there was a nice view of Honolulu, Waikiki Beach, and Diamond Head
