Day Three – Diamonds are Forever

Carol suggested that we start the day at Hanuana Bay before the big busses drop people in the afternoon. It was a good thing we followed her advice. We were arriving around 8:30 and there was a line of cars waiting to get in. We had to watch a mandatory video on how not to walk on the rocks. It was apparent from the beginning that it was going to be crowded. Many a time, I would be bumping into people as I swam around the coral. I found a channel that led out into the deeper water. There were not many people out in this area. I liked it the best, but there were not many fish out here. Once back into the protected area, I was again surrounded by many people. Some girl dove down and was not paying attention and head-butted me in the groin. Another teen girl must not have liked how I was stopped and taking a picture of some fish. She reached out and touched my leg and acted like I was in her way. Although the fish were beautiful and the few pieces of coral were nice, I was ready to hang it up for the day. Besides, I suspected I was getting sun-burned on my back and head.

Back at the towel, we met a boy from Russia. He told us several times how the Russians had beat some enemy and even told the story of how the Russians beat the US in some battle. I wanted to remind him that we won the cold War.

Hanauma Bay was very beautiful. On the walk down into the crater that formed the bay, you could see beautify blue water and a protected reef. But there were probably a thousand or more people tightly packed into this area. I would recommend it because it is so beautiful. The crowds were the only thing that would keep me from going back.

Our next stop was the Diamond Head crater hike. I always thought that the name came from the shape. In fact, the first European’s to climb the mountain found crystals and thought they were diamonds. We were about to make an accent on the summit, but were stopped by the magical forces of the shaved ice truck. I had to have one before we started.

It was hot and the sun was on us for the entire hike. It was not really steep, but it felt like it. As it got steeper, the trail turned into switchbacks. Kim was starting to slow. She had not been sleeping well since we arrived and with the heat, she was getting tired. I motivated her by pointing out some of the people coming down made it. There were several old people, a pregnant lady, …. Towards the top, there were several stairways. It was good to get to the top. The views of Honolulu and Waikiki were nice.

On the ride back home, we stopped at Holona Blowhole. I think we stopped at the right time. It was putting on a good show.

Tonight we decided to try Korean cuisine. They brought out some cabbage soup and then a bunch of appetizers. The only one I recognized was Kim-Chi. Kim wanted the shrimp Tempura and I ordered dumplings. Ever since the trip to China, I have loved them.

Day Too – Relaxation on the Beach

It must have been 4:30 when Kim stirred and got up. It was around 10:30 for us. We tried to back to sleep, but we were pretty much awake. We could just see some light starting to show outside, so we grabbed the camera and went to the beach. Our B&B, the Manu Mele in Kailua, is about a hundred feet to the beach. There is a trail between housing developments for beach access.



We walked the beach and watched the sun rise. It was beautiful. We walked quite a way before we returned to the hotel. After a short nap, we walked on the beach to Kailua Town. You could see where there were the tourists were staying. There would be long stretches of beach that were vacant and suddenly there would be a mass of people.

In one of these masses of people, we saw something that should violate pet etiquette. If your dog wants to poo, you should move it away from the waterline where everyone swims. As a wave came in, the dog made its drop and a mad dash to dryer land. This left the owner trying to pick up the droppings. As we went by, we could still see a few Baby Ruth’s still floating in the pool.

One of Jon’s favorite treats is Hawaiian Shaved Ice. Here in Hawaii, they simply call it Shaved Ice. He had two at lunch.

The owner of the B&B, Carol, told us that Obama stays in a house down the street when he is in Hawaii. The house is now up for sale and they were having an open house today. Kim and I went to take a look. We had to look like interested buyers. The sale price was 7.9 million. If we hit the lottery, we may be interested. The views out of the master bedroom and living room were awesome. They looked out on the beach. There must have been seven or eight spare bedrooms on a long hallway. Each had their own bath. One of the baths had a full length window next to the wall between properties. I’m not so sure I would trust the neighbors each time I took a shower.

Supper was at Buzz’s Steakhouse. We had a small table wedged into a corner next to a high traffic area. It was busy for the entire meal. Our meal was very good. How can steak be bad?

Day One – The Trip Begins!

It was 6:00 am when the alarm sounded. Kim was worried about getting the last minute details and packing finished before we left. There were piles of clothes and electronic goods around the bags. In an hour, everything was packed somewhere and the Mini was filled with bags. Before we put up the top, it almost looked like the Beverly Hilibillies.

We decided on parking at Behrend and Jason was nice enough to give us a lift to the airport. Hopefully the Mini will survive the two and a half weeks at Behrend.

Our flight was a little delayed as we left Erie. It seemed like a bad sign that we were barely started and we were having our first delay. We sat on the runway for 10 to 20 minutes before we took off. Upon arrival we had to run from the C terminal in Detroit to the A terminal. If you have been to Detroit’s airport before, you know that is not a short walk! My legs gave out about a hundred yards from the gate, but Kim was worried that the plane was going to leave without us and she sprinted ahead of me. We barely got on the plane.

The last two hours of the flight to Honolulu were not fun. It was uncomfortable in the seats and we were getting very tired. To us, it was 2:00 am in the morning! Finally the flight was over. In all of the movies about Hawaii, there is a Hawaiian girl with a stack of Lei’s greeting everyone as they get off of the plane. We did not see one at our arrival. It was disappointing not to get lei-ed when we arrived!




We got our bags and headed for the rental car counter. We got a Dodge Challenger. It is one of the cars that looks like the 1970’s version of the model. When we arrived at the B&B, it was great to lie down to sleep.

Prelogue

On our third day in the Sinai last year, it must have been about 140° in the shade. There were dozens of flies around our meal (Kim says there were thousands.) Kim finally had enough. She said “Next year we are going to have a civilized vacation!” Up to that point, I almost had her agreeing to a six day cattle drive in Utah.

There was a little debate about a destination and Hawaii was agreed upon. For me, it was not the adventure vacation I was hoping for, but I could do a dive and some hiking. We put a lot of work into planning this last fall and found some cool things to do. Since this replaces the cattle drive, we are doing quite a bit of horseback riding.