03/09/2010, Ala Wai Harbor, Oahu
We're feeling a little blue right now and the boat is feeling way too quiet. Although it seemed like they had just arrived, the month was over and Gladys and Dan had to leave to head back to the chilly northwest. We were reminded of the Joni Mitchell song, "Big Yellow Taxi" as a big white limo took our loved ones away. We sure enjoyed their visit and miss them already. Got an e-mail from them this morning that there was white stuff on the ground up there yesterday. Yikes! Guess it will be a while before they get to wear their tropical togs again!
The four of us tried to squeeze as much as we could into the month and we all made very good tourists! After two jam packed weeks on O'ahu, we sailed to Molokai and checked out Kaunakakai, then sailed on to Maui. The Lahaina Yacht Club again furnished us with a mooring ball and after exploring Lahaina on foot, Gladys and Dan rented a car and we got to see most of the "Valley Isle." It was beautiful! We started out with the drive around the west lobe of the island. The Kahekili Highway, a razor thin road traversing the rugged northern tip of the island, offered cliff-side views of beautiful beaches and rural farmland. There were many twists and turns and lots of spots where the road narrowed to what seemed like less than a single lane. It was fun to stop and visit several art galleries along the way, as well as a fruit stand where we were introduced to cheramoyas (sp?) - sort of a cross between a kiwi and a pear. We stopped in the tiny village of Kahakuloa for shaved ice from Ululani's hot-pink stand, touted as the best in our Lonely Planet guide - we have to agree... it was yummy! We didn't do the hike down to bathe in them, but we certainly enjoyed the view of the natural ocean baths cut out of lava rock and encrusted with olivine crystals - and greatly admired those who were willing to try the steep climb down. Nearby was the Pohaku Kani, or bellstone, that we think is written about just to see how many gullible people stop to bang it with a rock - and yes, we did! At the end, Dan's reward for doing the driving on this windy road was a stop at the Maui Brewing Company for a cold Coconut Porter. Of course we couldn't let him drink alone and tried out the Hula Honey Ale and the Blonde Bikini Lager as well - yum! We had a chance to play in the snow there - a small line of snow they call a frost rail right on the bar to keep your brew cold - very cool! (No pun intended!!)
The next day, poor Dan was again our chauffeur as we enjoyed the breathtaking views on the Road to Hana. Our guide calls it a "Roller Coaster" of a ride with over 600 twists and turns and 54 one-lane bridges along the way. After doing the Kahekili, we didn't think it was as bad, but did feel badly he had to then turn around and do it all over again on the way out. The road doesn't go much past the sleepy little town of Hana and unless you have a major off-road vehicle, there's no other way out! The scenery along the way was gorgeous - lots of waterfalls (we liked the "3 Bears" the best!), the Ko'olau Forest with all its jungly greenery, cliff high views of beautiful bays on the north shore, and glimpses of the Haleakala Crater inland. Although the waterfalls weren't flowing like there had been much rain recently, it rained on and off throughout the day and we got the real feeling of being in the rain forest. This area gets as much as 200 to 300 inches a year! The vegetation was incredible and in some areas golden bamboo grew over both sides of the road to form a canopy. There were also lots of painted, or rainbow, eucalyptus and African tulip trees along the way. Once in Hana, we checked out their tiny museum and old court house then had a picnic lunch at the Hana Beach Park with its black sand beach. There's not actually much to "do" in Hana, its all about the trip there and back. We did go a little further down the road to Wailua Falls, which is supposed to be spectacular. Unfortunately, there wasn't too much more than a trickle dropping down the 100 feet, but it was still pretty and we had a fun time talking to the roadside vendors in the area. One lovely lady was obsessed with Elvis and sold leis made out of kukui nuts and shells that all had a story relating to Elvis behind them. She had tons of pictures of him, and then lots of her with Lisa Marie and other Presley relatives. Her car, an 80's style trans-am, even had an Elvis-esque eagle (like from the back of his white leather jacket) painted on the hood and an Elvis-voiced recording that spoke to you if you got too close to it! We bet everyone that ends up at Wailua remembers her. We also did the Haneo'o Road Loop that detoured off the main road for some beautiful beach stops. We especially liked Koki Beach with its milk chocolate-brown beach sand and great view of the coconut topped 'Alau Island. The "Road Away from Hana" didn't seem near as long without all the photo-op stops, but we did stop for quite a while at the Ho'okipa Beach Park - in the morning when we went by, there were lots of surfers out (this area is known as one of the prime Maui surf spots), but in the afternoons, the wind and kite surfers take over. Ho'okipa is said to reign supreme as the world's premier windsurfing beach, being to daredevil windsurfers what Everest is to climbers! It was amazing to watch these surfers catch the wind and the waves - guess what Glen now wants?!!! Seriously though, the sight was so beautiful, we were all mesmerized and stood in the gusty winds for quite some time. We ended the trip by stopping at "Charley's" in Pa'ia. We had read that it is a favorite hangout of part time resident Willie Nelson, but he didn't happen to be there during our visit. There is lots of Willie "stuff" there, though, including his platinum album awards hanging on the wall and a huge replica of his guitar named Trigger!
Maui was wonderful and we would have liked to stay for a few more days - we had wanted to do a snorkel trip to the Molokini Crater and the guys really wanted to hook up with some more fish (they had a double hook up as we approached Lahaina, but sadly, they both got away), but the weather gribs kept showing a high pressure front moving in bringing strong winds which would have made the anchorage uncomfortable and the channels difficult to cross, so we made the decision to beat the winds and head back to O'ahu under pleasant conditions. That was when we got up at 1:45 in the morning to get underway - you know how that turned out! Although the closer to "T" time we got, the more nervous I got, the trip back went very smoothly. One of the highlights of the whole Maui trip were the humpback whales and they didn't disappoint us on the trip back either. They were everywhere and it was fun to watch them breach, blow, and slap their ways across the channels. It did make us wonder - would the whales feel the tsunami? Luckily, there wasn't much to feel by us or the whales! Yeah!!! I forgot to mention that when we first got back to Lahaina, our friends from Relax were there. They had heard we were coming and waited there an extra day so we could visit. It was so nice to see them again. When we got back here to Ala Wai, both Relax and LopTo were here, so we had a bit of a Radio Bay Gang reunion (we were just missing Nakia!).
Our last week with Gladys and Dan on O'ahu seemed just as chocked full of fun as the first two. Joyce and Shirley had us all over for another wonderful dinner and Joyce presented Glen and Dan each with a beautiful hand-made Hawaiian weapon that her husband Ernie had made. There were tears all around at the thoughtful gesture and the shark-toothed clubs will be treasured by both men forever. We also made a trip back to the Aloha Stadium Swapmeet so Glen could get a Ukulele. It's a beaut, made out of koa wood, and Glen is already playing up a storm. The winds did just as forecasted and it was a bit of a wet, gusty week, but we managed to get in some Waikiki Beach time as well. We were laughing that it is probably one of the first times on our entire trip when we actually just laid out on the beach. It felt good to soak up some rays, then get spit on by the clouds - made for some gorgeous rainbows! G & D rented a car for a couple more days mainly to help us get some errands done. Glen is now signed up with the VA clinic here in Hawaii and has an appointment to see a doctor on Kaua'i in a couple of weeks (needs to get some blood work done to refill prescriptions - we should have bought more over the counter in Fiji!!!) We also made another productive trip to CostCo and West Marine! After one last round of fireworks over Waikiki on Friday night (which we have a wonderful view of from our boat), it was time to say our last good nights. Saturday morning they were up at 5 (OMG!!) and the limo (amazingly less expensive than a taxi to the airport) came at 6:30 to whisk them away. We are now trying to remember how to be cruisers. Oh yeah, we remember... have things break down and have to ride a bus or walk to get replacement parts! We'll save that story for next time!!! Big hugs to all and another thank you for all the calls and well wishes that came our way due to the tsunami!
Oops! Almost forgot to explain the picture for this posting! Out of the hundreds of pictures I took and the thousands that Gladys took while they were here, I had to use this one - it shows Glen and Dan checking out a propeller near the Maritime Museum (that was sadly closed for repairs). Why this picture? Because the entire time Gladys and Dan were here, we kept being asked by EVERYONE if the two of them were twins, or at least brothers. Gladys and I used to be told all the time how much we look alike, but only once (when we were asked if we were two sets of twins) was any mention made to that - it was all about the guys, go figure!!!
|
Comments [1]
02/27/2010, Ala Wai Harbor, O'ahu
Okay, who says we don't know how to show a guest a good time!!! Chapter 10 of our book is entitled... Treat Your Guests to the Peril of Tsunami!!!! Didn't we just go through this?!!! What are the odds that we could be in the "right" place at the "right" time for two tsunamis within such a short period of time? Maybe we should start buying lotto tickets!!!! Anyhow, will make this short for now but wanted to let everyone know we are safe and sound and tied back up in the Ala Wai Harbor near Waikiki on O'ahu. Gladys and Dan are still with us and aren't even threatening to jump ship any time soon!
We "sat" this one out in deep water while in transit from Maui to O'ahu early this morning. Thankfully, we were up at 1:45AM to get underway to beat some strong winds predicted for later tonight and tomorrow - we turned the radio on at 2 this morning to hear the wonderful news. It was comforting to know we had so much time to get to deep water this time - nothing like the fright of abandoning the boat and running for high ground. When we were getting close to O'ahu, we could see and feel the swell change direction and strength, but other than that, nothing! Yahoo! :) Thank you all so much for your calls and e-mails - we feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people who care about us - big hugs to all!
PS - The picture shows a few of the hundreds of boats that were out in deep water waiting for the all clear signal to go back into harbors - we were so thankful the call came and we were able to get tied up without any ordeal this time!
|
02/20/2010, Kaunakakai, Moloka'i
You'll never guess where we saw this beautiful tile artwork - in a bathroom! Okay, not an ordinary bathroom, but one that was sculpted to look and make you feel like you are in a lovely underwater cave! The Hundertwasser toilets in Kawakawa, New Zealand can't even compete with this one, and the really cool thing is that it is in the private home of a friend's on O'ahu! Ray's sister-in-law and sister, Joyce and Shirley, invited us over for a wonderful dinner at the home Ray's brother, Ernie, and Joyce had bought over 40 years ago. While alive, Ernie fostered the love of arts in both his own historically accurate Hawaiian weapons and also in showcasing other artists' work in his home-based gallery. All of the tiles in this bathroom were handmade and installed by one of the artists he worked with. It was truly amazing! The rest of the house was also beautiful and it was interesting to see all of the art on display. I should mention the view outside the house was also incredible - it is up on a hill overlooking the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Joyce and Shirley outdid themselves with a yummy lasagna dinner with all the trimmings. We could barely walk when we left! We sure enjoyed their company and hope to see them again when we get back to O'ahu. Thank you so much, you two! :)
We think we covered just about every major "sight" on O'ahu - from the emotionally charged Arizona Memorial and Punchbowl National Cemetery to a couple of hours wandering around the Aloha Stadium swap meet, and everything in between... Chinatown, Haunauma Bay, North Shore beaches (Pipeline, Sunset Beach, and Waimea), the Dole Plantation, the Polynesian Cultural Center, Waikiki, the Ala Moana Mall (without the guys!:), Diamondhead, Koko Crater, Makaha on the west coast (Glen really wanted to see this great surf spot because it was so popular when he was first learning to surf in San Diego), the Halona Blowhole, a funky little surf museum in Kale'iwa, and so many more! We have been eating like little piggies as well - my favorite so far has been the super garlicky shrimp from the Fumi truck in Kahuku (a true O'ahu experience!), but it's all been good! We have really enjoyed being tourists and are so grateful for all the "spoiling" from Gladys and Dan!
Glen's nephew, Myles, gave us the head's up that the Black Pearl from the "Pirates of the Carib" movies was on the island, so we had a fun time finding it (on the hard in a little harbor called Barber's Point) and checking it out. It was actually brought to Hawaii under its own power (twin screws). Now we're going to have to watch one of the movies again to compare how it looks on film with it's real life look! We hear it is going to be "made over" for the next movie which is going to start filming on both O'ahu and Kaua'i this summer.
The winds didn't cooperate for us to leave O'ahu on Wednesday, but we did make it out on Saturday. True to our "show your guests a great time" form, we anchored in the same place we had spent a fairly calm night on the west side of Moloka'i only to have a very heavy swell start up late at night - it rocked the boat a little too hard for sleeping and by 4:30 in the morning, we were getting a little concerned at how strong it was breaking, so we pulled anchor and headed back out. Mind you, this wasn't as bad as tents being blown down at 2:00 in the morning, but not exactly what we wanted to have happen with guests on board! We are now calmly anchored in the little harbor at Kaunakaka'i on the south side of Moloka'i and are planning to leave in the morning for Maui - fingers crossed for pleasant winds!
|
Tammy
