North coast day....

Day 10 – Feb 6

Sunday morning and all is well with the world. It appeared that the skies were socked in and the day would offer some rain. Since it was Super-bowl Sunday there was anticipation in the air and the bar was set up early. After some breakfast we decided to take a drive to the North and east side of the island. We drove all the way to the end of the road at the North end and took a walk on the beach and rocks listening to the pounding surf. It was overcast with light rain form time to time. The surf was very cool as it pounded away on the shore showing its bright luminescent colour as it broke into a ferocious curl. On the way back we watched some surfers catch some of those huge (18 ft) waves and riding the power to its limit. We then stopped at Bubba Burgers to sample the best burgers in all of Hawaii. The little village of Hanalei was bustling as the sounds of Superbowl flowed out of every establishment. Each of the small bars and restaurants were full to capacity. We ordered our burgers and waited inside watching the game as did the others who were waiting their opportunity to tastes the best burgers. They did not disappoint any of us and the trick here is to take as they serve them as they do a great job.

Our next stop was at a roadside craft stop in Kapa’a where we checked out some local wares. We did not buy anything but we had some fun chatting up the locals. Next we went to our stand-by Coconut Mall where we have always been treated to a number of local offerings in a mall environment. It was shocking to note that truly one half of the stores were empty. The retailers were definitely struggling and some had gone away for good. There is a distinct lack of tourists on the islands these days with the exception of the travelling Canadians. Many of the vendors commented on the numbers of Canadians and lack of either U.S citizens or foreign travellers. The impact of our economy is felt by all.

We then returned to the resort to watch the final 10 minutes of the game. We found Duck and Karin safely tucked in their corner of the crowded bar. The results were a happy thing to most of the assembled audience. We stayed for a while but retreated to Poipu for dinner at Josselin’s for a Tapas dinner. The food was delightful and very creative in its construction and presentation. We enjoyed some scallop pillows, beef buns, a beef short rib, chicken teriyaki and some veggies with salad. They had a tray of Sangria that we tasted and decided to try it out. That too was delicious. All in all a very tasty dinner with a new look to food preparation as all the food was prepared in an open kitchen environment. Mmmm good!

I was tired on the drive back but it was a good day all around even if there were blasts of rain throughout the day.

A quiet day.....

Day 9 – Feb 5, 2011

The day started slowly as we were all tired the night before. We got together for breakfast at 10:00 and enjoyed the buffet at Kukuio’s. There was a good selection of breakfast delights and we went at it like we had not eaten in days. From there we went to the beach to put in a few hours of reading, snoozing and catching a few rays. The beach was pretty busy with a group of locals monopolizing the volleyball court and playing some pretty good games challenging each other. We learned later that one of the girls was actually on the U.S. team as a volleyball player. This provided some entertainment as we enjoyed the quiet time and the heat of the sun. The weather will play into our plans for the week so we decided to take advantage of the sun when it was around.

Later in the day we took a trip to town and the Walmart for some essentials shopping. I bought a neat little wallet for a card or two and some cash instead of lugging around a full heavy wallet all the time. The ladies picked up some other stuff none of which I questioned. We returned to the resort and went to the Kukuio’s bar for happy hour. We met Duck and Kari there again. They were with their friends who arrived the day before. Eddie, our server made us feel very welcome and we chatted with other guests for a while. It rained a downpour as the daylight left the sky.

We then walked to the highway and went to Meriachi’s for some Mexican food. It was good and we enjoyed some fajitas and enchiladas along with some cheap wine. Then we walked back to the resort and had to pass the bar again. Duck and Kari were still there so we joined them for a nightcap or two. The evening slipped away pretty fast and we crashed at about 11. A fun and not too hectic time was had by all.

Now that I look at this day we really didn’t do very much. However it was a vacation day for sure.

Roosters

Day 8 - Feb 4, 2011
Ahh the roosters of Kauai ... nice way to start the day but so early!

Friday was our day to transfer from Maui to Kauai. The day started in the usual manner and turned a bit cloudy shortly thereafter. There has been talk of some foul weather coming this way. We had a nice breakfast in the condo and completed our packing. We had an 11 o’clock check-out and a 1 o’clock flight to Honolulu and a 2 o’clock flight to Lihue Kauai. We cleaned up the place and left the extra food and beer for the cleaners. Overall the condo was adequate but lacked the feel we had experienced when the place was run by a single management company. The owners now run through any company and the feel in that condo was not what we had learned to like about Kamaole Sands. Some of the entires into the Guest Book were not very flattering of the owners or their approach. But overall it was adequate and we noted some other locations for future stays.

We returned the car rental and checked in at the airport. The traffic through security was very high but they managed a pretty thorough security process in fairly short order. We were in a line that would take 45 minutes in Ottawa and we were through in about 10 minutes. Organized bunch for sure. We had a short wait for the flight (island hops are like commuter flights around here) and we were on our way – oh we landed after a short 34 minutes.

In Honolulu we had a short wait at the gate and we were loading, flying and landing all as scheduled. We arrived in Kauai at about 2:30. Once there I picked up a car and Freddi waited for the luggage. The latter came in on the next flight (30 minutes later) and we were off to the Marriott Vacation Club called Kauai Beach Club. This is our 4th time staying here and the feel and appearance was very familiar with that “feeling at home” feel about it. We settled in quickly and went down to the pool area and had some nachos and a cocktail at Kulio beach bar. We chatted with some other owners from South Carolina and enjoyed the brief interlude to the day. We then unpacked our bags and went to the local Walmart for some supplies for the suite and to set up the suite for Lucy and Tara-Lee. That was all very easy as we knew where to go and how to get there – mostly.

At around 7 pm we received a text from Tara-Lee saying they were unable to make the tight connection in Honolulu and they would be delayed by a half hour as they and to catch the next flight. They did that and we met them at about 8:30 when they arrived after a long day of travel. We gave fresh flower leis when they arrived to ease the weariness and we drove to the resort. They settled in and we went to Duke’s for some appies and sustenance before calling it an evening. It was a nice day and I was happy to have Tara-Lee and Lucy with us for the week.

Day 7 Feb 3, 2011

The day started with a clear sunny morning and no wind. What a nice way to greet the day. We had no plans for the day and we set out to snorkel somewhere in the North of the island. We drove to the site we thought we had been to before but approached it from an entirely new direction and decided this was in fact the spot. It was a bit confusing but we found it and went snorkelling off the rocky beach. We saw some beautiful fish over the reef but it just wasn’t what we had remembered and there were very few fish there. I recall it being quite clear and plentiful but that was not the case. We rested for a while and sat in the sun to dry our selves off before we set out on the famous drive around the North point. That was an adventure as a good deal of it is one lane and there definitely are vehicles going both ways. It was fun to see it in the sunlight as the last time we drove that route it was pouring rain. We stopped along the way to to enjoy a little lunch snack Freddi had prepared and enjoy the views, wind and the sun.

We returned to Kamaole for a brief relax and Freddi snorkelled out there too. She concluded that there were more fish at our local beach than up the north side near Honolua Bay. I read and contacted Lucy and Tara-Lee to cement our arrangements for the next day.

We drive to Wailea for dinner at Lohghi’s and enjoyed a fine dinner and entertainment from the Chinese community as they had a ceremony to bring in the New Year. Brian, our waiter, was from Oregon and was quite the comedian as he shared his views of the tourists, the Chinese event and some stories of the area. I had Filet and lobster and Freddi had a filet of beef. We enjoyed a fine bottle of Tuscan wine that complimented the dinner very well. A short drive home, some ice cream and the end of an easy but fine day.

A Whale of a day....

Day 6 Feb 2, 2011

The day was basically a non-plus day of puttering about as I was not feeling very well with the cold I have been harbouring since I left Winnipeg. However we did do one thing that is worth mentioning. We went on another Pacific Whale Foundation whale watch trip. We had about 100 people on board and lots of room for everyone. We cruised out of the harbour at about 10:30 and we soon spotted whales breaching and playing all around us. Our team were very excited as the watching has been very good recently. Our first encounter was with a “logging male” who looked like he was a sleep on the surface. We moved on from him and found a calf (picture above) who was playing on the surface and learning what he could do with his body. He finned us, rolled, breached several times and showed us his tail over and over again. Mum was nearby and occasionally showed herself at the surface. That lasted for about 20 minutes and we got some neat shots.

We then moved on again and came across two pods who were feuding over a female and they were all pretty large humpbacks vying for dominance. Apparently they push pretty hard but they do not fight to the death. They approached us and swam under the boat and actually surfaced right beside the boat several times. We could see the flukes under the water as they are white and reflect the light quite well. We stayed with them for about 35 minutes and we managed to get some clear pictures of them playing and being aggressive towards each other. While being aggressive they demonstrate behaviour that is atypical of their usual behaviour. They bring their heads out of the water to show their size and they use the barnacles on their head as weapons against their targets. They demonstrate behaviour to prove they are big and strong which of course impresses the females who is watching all of this. We were very fortunate to watch such displays. The team were also impressed as they do not see such behaviour very often.

So our watch was very successful and we returned to the harbour for a light lunch and some shipping before returning to the condo for an afternoon nap. A Nap.... what is with that!

Another sunny day....

Day 5 Feb 01, 2011

The day started with a perfectly clear sky and the birds whaling away outside of our lanai. We had a slow start to the day and got away form the condo about 10:30. We drove to Ma’alaea Bay to see about doing a whale watch tour with the Pacific Whale Foundation. We managed to register for Wednesday at 10:30 and then we shopped in the local craft market. The folks there were really friendly and open folks. We chatted with many vendors and I purchased a t-shirt that was a bit unusual. From there we went to Lahaina for lunch and a walk about. We had lunch over looking the ocean at the Hard Rock and watched whales playing between the islands. The lunch was good and the Margs were very large. Freddi had the largest Club I have seen..... well maybe not as large as the one at the Wagon Wheel in Winnipeg last week. We then walked the streets and looked into the various art shops, clothing stores and some jewellery stores. I picked up a picture for Gray and Bree and hope to be able to get it back to the mainland in one piece. The town was not busy and there were many storefronts that were closed up. The economy is showing its effects in many parts of the island.

We drove back to the condo and got ready for dinner. We were going to Mama’s for our anniversary dinner. We drove to Paia and had a short walk about there but all of their stores were closed for the day. We drove on and went to Mama’s early where they settled us in the bar area for a short wait. Once settled, our server, a surfer, chatted us up and helped us decide on a special meal. Freddi ordered a pork loin dish and I ordered a stuffed Mahimahi with crab and lobster. We also ordered a bottle on Chardonnay from California to compliment the meal. All was great and we shared a dessert that was a banana crumble with vanilla bean ice cream. Rich and decadent for sure!

The drive home was through a clear evening with stars and spotted lights all over the volcano base as we circled around Haleakala. A very nice easy vacation day for sure.

A couple of days .... relaxing

Day 3 Jan 30, 2011

The day started out very early as the singing birds started at 5:30 am. There is one guy who lives outside our window and he is very vocal. The sky was mostly clear and the promise of a sunny day was in the air.

I got up early and did my morning ritual and spent far too much time sorting out a blog issue when in the end it was simply an error on my part where I used a / instead of a period in the address. What a pain but it got worked out and life went on from there. We enjoyed a nice Sunday breakfast complete with bacon and eggs and some of the Guava jam I have always enjoyed. My homemade Chai tea is not yet perfected in this environment as making do with other people’s equipment doesn’t bode well. However enjoyed it and sat and read on the lanai for a while. I have started an exercise routine that is showing how out of shape I am as my muscles are hurting but I will endure that to get back into some sort of shape.

Around 11 we ventured out and drove to Big Beach. It is a beach that is past Mekena and it had been a secluded beach when we found it many years ago. There is a smaller one next to it called Little beach (creative eh!) and it has always been the local nudist beach. Big beach today is now identified as part of a State Park and there is a huge lifeguard stand there equipped with a large beach buggy and all the necessary equipment to stage Pamela Anderson life guard scene. Along with this new equipment and identity comes a much larger contingent of sun worshippers as the once empty beach was lined with towels, chairs and umbrellas from one end to the other. It stretches for about 2 miles along the shore and has a pretty vicious breaker at the shoreline. That stopped many people once upon a time but not today. We found a spot and sank into our new chairs to feel the warmth and read/sleep and rest for a while. It was nice and we managed to stay for a couple of hours. That was probably too long for a first day but it felt so good. I managed to walk up to the newly parked JAWZ truck to get some drinks but other than that no energy was expended.

At around 2 PM we walked back to the car and went for a drive to the Wailea Centre to do some window shopping. After a couple of hours we left there with some small bags of things we probably didn’t realize we needed when we arrived there. It was fun chatting with the staff of the shops and getting a fix on their interest in the local tourists. We drove to Foodland and picked up some dinner makings and returned to the condo. The balance of the afternoon (not much time) was spent watching the seniors play golf at (Kapalui at the other end of the island). These are the big guys and they were playing a skins game and we could see the weather turn in that part of the island. It got windy and it started to rain heavily just as they were finishing. In our area the same weather followed very shortly after that and we watch the heavy rain calm the very rough seas. While we were watching we could see whales out frolicking in the ocean from our lanai. While I was using the binoculars one whale did a full breach and landed with a huge splash right in front of us. Granted they were quite a ways away but it is fun to watch none-the-less.

Just before dinner we skyped (now that is a new verb) with Bree and Gray and ended up being at the end of the dinner table as they were having dinner with Tara-Lee, Jamie and Tanya. It was fun to see and talk to them and hear about their activities. Bree showed us the ultrasound pictures of Thordier and we saw her tummy in its growing state. Tanya showed us hers too as she is due a couple of months after Bree. It will be fun for them to bring up their kids as they will be so close in age. We even saw Scout but he was not interested in our presence. Good chat and it was fun o see them happy and together.

I used the nearby BBQ and cooked up some nice steaks for Sunday dinner and discussed what we might do with the rest of the week here. I am not sure what we concluded but we shall see as the week unfolds.

Day 4 – Jan 31, 2011 (Monday)

The day started slowly with the sun shining and it was a tad windy. After morning exercises, routines and a light breakfast we set off to the beach. A return visit to Big Beach was the choice to see if the crowds we experienced the day before were just weekend traffic. It turns out that the beach has much more favour with the tourists this year and we found many people there. We stayed for a couple of uneventful hours even though we watched the whales parade by in numbers. The wind was high enough that the sand was blowing in our faces and that tends to detract from the whole experience.

Somewhere around 1 pm we decided to go to Fred’s for some Mexican food and a Margarita. We shared a quesadilla with large chunks of chicken inside and enjoyed the food and beverages. We then decided to take a drive on one of the interior roads (there are not many) that would take us to the Southern most point of the island. We found good roads along the way and passed through Pukalani, Pulehu, Waiakoa and then Kula. The road through these towns afforded a view of the lower island area as we were continuously climbing the side of the Haleakala Volcano but noy going to the crater. When we got to Ulupalakua we passed the Tedeschi Vineyards Maui Winery. We noted that for a stop on our return.
Shortly there after the road narrowed considerably and most of the traffic coming toward us was small tourist buses form either ships or hotels. This route actually connects with Hana but along the S coast. There are two sections on the island where rental cars are without agreements with their providers. This is one of them and there seemed to be quite a few rentals out there. We continued until we got to the shore of the South side of the island. The land varied form farm land to desert to large treed forest to ground covered lava fields right down to the lava shore line. The different areas are so starkly varied that they make one feel that they are fast forwarding through many agricultural regions. It was interesting and somewhat scary as we pushed along the narrow winding road heading for the next curve and dip. Once at the shore we walked about and shot some pictures of the rugged coastline with the lava rock everywhere.

Our return trip was quite quick as I was now familiar with the curves and dips and had some fun driving this narrow road. We stopped at the winery and tasted four wines and a champagne. The first one was a pineapple wine (sweet) but very tasty. We purchased one of those for summertime consumption at Lake Bernard. The other wines were fruit and grape wines from their 23 acres down the highway. They were tasty but noy well finished in my view. The only red was similar to a light Pinot Noir but it was very acidic. Nice little spot with some frisky ladies who worked the tourists. They were fun to listen to. Approx 30 small buses stop there every day.

We returned to the lowlands and picked up some pasta dinner and we cooked at home. I BBQ’d some sausages along with a group of 49 partiers form Cornwall Ont as they gathered for dinner around the BBQ as a meet and greet for two families involved in a wedding on Maui. Our next door neighbours here are John and Lynn with their son and they live in Kingston ON. It is just too small a world. That was the end of an easy day but enjoyable

none-the-less.