Plan "B"

Hawaii 2006



Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5


Well, I'm finally getting off my duff and blogging after about a month of vacations and work and other things that get in the way of ... well, what else is there except work and vacations?

Rosanna made all the arrangements. Usually, I feel like I'm the one organizing the trips, but this time Rosanna, a travel agent in a past life, did all the arranging. Flight, transfers and hotel came to $900. I figure it came out to about $450 airfare and $250 per night at the hotel. The hotel was in a great location too - right across the street from a Luau every night on the beach.

We went to a "free" breakfast given by the travel company we went through (Pleasant Holidays). It was more or less a "time-share" type high-pressure, "if you don't reserve this now, you won't be able to go" environment. The breakfast was really good though, so I just went along with what the girls were doing.

They ended up wanting to go to the Maui Diver's store where we saw jewelry being made. The interesting part for me was the casting of the rings. My former landlady, Marta, used to cast iron and make some really creative works. I felt a little odd being guided down these glass enclosures of people at work. I wondered how much more appropriate it would have been if the workers were all dressed up like Oompa Loompas.

We exited the factory and was greeted by the friendly folks who offered us champagne and had the girls try on some $15,000 rings and such. I asked about spare silver for my home project, but they said they couldn't sell anything that wasn't in the shape of jewelry. I thought as much, but as long as I was in a jewelry store anyway...

Then, we boarded a bus bound for Hilo Hattie's, a retail store boasting everything that is normally found at the ABC store - minus the beer. After an hour or so, we boarded a bus bound for the hotel. That filled up the entire morning from 7 to noon, so by this time, I think I was hungry again.

Oh, I almost forgot -- Rosanna won a door prize at the breakfast. Surfing lessons. w00t, but she didn't want to go, so I volunteered. More on that later.

Susi came down to visit with Anthony and the kids at a military pool/beach area on the Western end of Waikiki. I hadn't seen any of them for years - probably since Paul & Tara's wedding back in .... 2002?

Anyway, Susi looked great and the kids are really growing up. I also got a chance to talk with Anthony a bit. Last time I saw him, we didn't get to talk much. He's going back to Iraq in September - pray for him.

We went to Germaine's Luau which was a bit further than I had originally thought it would be, but Erin, our guide, made the time fly. She was able to pronounce my name correctly (the ! is audible). We sang campy songs and got an earful of bad jokes - the really corny kind that make you laugh because they're corny. Germaine's was nice, and I was able to get some decent pictures. I recommend it.

Then, it was time for my surfing lesson. I really didn't know what to expect at all, so I went in with no expectations. We got a quick lesson on land about how to get up on a board and headed out to the beach with our boards. Before I knew it I was paddling out to sea. Paddling, paddling, paddling. Wow, there's a lot of paddling in surfing. We'd paddle out to an instructor and they'd turn you around and tell you when to start paddling like mad in order to catch a wave. I ended up catching about 3 or 4, but never stood up. I was pretty sure that I'd fall, so I just enjoyed the ride on my knees. I was able to look around and witness the wave a bit better because I wasn't too concerned with falling off.

Of course all good things must end, so eventually I'd fall off and have to paddle back out. One time, I fell off and hit my foot on some coral. It split my foot open about 1 1/2 inches - ouch, but I think the salt water really helped numb the pain until I could get back on land where I could put some sand in it while walking along the beach. :-)

Since I was on my stomach for so long, the backs of my knees (the knee pit) really got sunburned. So, all in all - sore arms, cut foot and sunburn - I don't think I'll be surfing again any time soon. I'll stick to snorkeling.

I ended up getting one of those 50 SPF shirts that I saw some of the surfers wearing. I think it'll work out, but I think it will look odd if I'm the only person wearing one. Maybe I'll wear it while snorkeling around the Mediterranean next year.

On the last day, we went to Hanauma Bay for some of that world class snorkeling. I was a little disappointed though. Probably a combination of my better experience at another location we went to a few days earlier (hey, why isn't that day mentioned?), and a built up expectation of what it was going to be like. I had imagined lush lively coral reefs with abundant color and life. What I saw was 600 people per hour making their way into the water - stepping on the reefs as they went.

Well, I don't want to close on a sour note, so I'll chat about the other location we went to snorkel at. I can't pronounce the name (or most other names there). I ended up swimming out to a large rock that was jetting out of the water. There was so much going on there that I really wished that I had an underwater enclosure for my camera. I was just swimming along, not really paying attention to my surroundings as I probably should have when I turned my head. There was a HUGE green turtle about 8 feet away from me feeding. I slowing tried to back peddle since I didn't know if these things bite or what! I saw him right around the same time he saw me. He started swimming up to the surface, so I decided to pop up as well and get a peek. His head was like a big cantelope. He took a breathe and then dove. A few whisks later, he was out of sight. I didn't follow him. I just let him do his thing while I continued to look around at the coral and sea urchins. Occasionally, a really colorful fish would saunter by, and on a few occasions I would get caught up in a large school of fish flying through the water.