Kim was very happy that this would be our last drive on the Hana Highway. I was sad! I was really getting to enjoy the twisty bits! It was a courtesy to pull over and let faster cars pass when they came up behind you. We had one that refused to pull over. In fact, he would fake going into a pull-off and then go back on the road. He went very slow around the twisty stuff and fast on the straights. It made our drive much longer. Even Kim was complaining that he was holding us up. I think she is starting to like this road! We saw a truck parked in the trees. As we went past, he didn’t park it there, it was smashed into a tree. It was a reminder that you had to be careful going around the sharp curves.
We arrived at the store for the zip lines and met our guides at Skyline Eco Adventures. We were listening to them talk about being hung-over and such. I started to think that we were getting an unprofessional bunch and that would ruin the tour. However, once we hit the van to go to our destination, I saw it was their normal way of joking around. Our main guide was Kevin (Brown Sugar) and we also had Tim (White Chocolate). Brown Sugar told all kinds of jokes. We had two children in the group and some of the jokes surely went over their heads. For the most part, they were PG. He kept things animated and fun.
We had a bumpy ride in a van to get to the prep spot. We got our harness and helmet. After that, we went for another bumpier ride to the first zipline. Brown Sugar told us that the land we were on was an old sugar plantation. The rain pattern changed on this side of the island and it was no longer feasible to grow crops anymore.
It was a little scary for the first zip line. Brown Sugar gave us our first briefing and explained how to do it. Although we listened, there was a lot of information to take in. The landing was critical. We had to arrive with our body pointing straight and run up the ramp. Sounds simple. I went before Kim. I found it was easy to control my position and had an easy ride. Kim hesitated on the other side. I could hear that she said something and the whole group on that side laughed. Suddenly she stepped down and came across. She let out a scream when she started.
We did a few more ziplines and I started to spin around to look at the landscape. I started to look down to see what was below. The ziplines were essentially going back and forth across a small valley. They started off short and got longer as we went. Some were slow and some were fast. There was one that you needed to make a running start or you would get stuck in the middle.
On the fifth zipline, they told us we could use our cameras. It was a leap of faith to hold on to the camera with one hand and maneuver yourself with the other. I got some nice video. On each zipline, Brown Sugar would adjust the braking on my pully. On the next zipline after the slow one, he asked if I wanted to go slower or faster. I said FASTER!
After the ziplines, we went looking for a hotel, since Kim was not interested in another night in the treehouse. We found the Lahiana Inn. It was an old hotel that had reciently undergone restoration. It was beautiful inside. We were lucky to get a room. It was a little small, but to Kim it was paradise!
The town of Lahiana was nice. The waterfront was full of ould houses and shops. Most of the shops were expensive, but it was nice to walk around and look at the town. I wish we had a little more time to explore.
Tonight was our only luau. We were going to the Old Lahiana Luau. It was recommended as the most authentic show on the islands. The food was said to be better than most of the others. We watched the pigs being taken out of the Imu, the underground (sand) oven. Two Hawaiians dug away the sand with shovels to expose the palm leaf cover for the pigs. When the leafs were off, you could see the pigs, including their heads!
I have been in Hawaii for over a week and have not gotten my lei. That changed tonight. I finally got lei-ed! Unfortunately, it was given to me by a guy.
The dinner was buffet and was delicious. My plate was a little heavy on the meat and fish. Kim had a few more vegetables. I always tell her that the animals we are eating, eat plenty of vegetables. I’m getting my vegetables in their meat. They filter out the impurities.
My favorite part of the show was the hula dancers when they got their stuff shaking. I don’t know what it is, but it gets me excited! Although it is not traditional Hawaiian dance, I did want to see the fire dancers. There is nothing like seeing someone juggle burning sticks.
No comments:
Post a Comment