PatInMN’s Hawaiian Wedding

This is the first of my logs i will be sending of my trip to Hawaii. Day 1 was pretty uneventful as it was just spent in Airports, so there is not a whole lot to say. Roger and I are really looking foreward to this afternoon as that is when we will arrive in hawaii. I have attached a picture of the courtyard at Our hotle in LA ..it is the travellodge at LAX. Aloha!

Hey everyone,

this is my second report…

I am composing this as I wait for my flight from Honolulu to Maui, I sent just a short note about my flight yesterday…but I would like to expand on it as I have more time while waiting for my flight.

Friday: got up at am to take roger to the airport so he could go to Nashville for a couple of days work.(major accomplishment, as I am NOT a morning person) got to work around 10 am when I got a message that I needed to call the travel agent as there was a problem with my flight on Sunday from Nashville to LA.

I called them , and they informed me that my flight was canceled from Nashville to LA, and they had rebooked us on an alternate flight that left 30 minutes earlier and arrived an hour and a half later than the other one. I asked them why and they informed me that I had to change planes in another city. I said what city and the told me….Minneapolis. I was not amused the only reason I was going through Nashville was so the roger and I could fly together. But there was nothing I could do. finished work…Finally on vacation.

Saturday: took taxi to airport, arrived at 6:45…finally made to the counter to check my baggage at 7:55(they aren’t known as “Northworst Airlines” for nothing.) Arrived Nashville, spent the day with my family and friends, and then spent the night at the crown plaza hotel in downtown Nashville 21st floor with a beautiful view of the downtown skyline.

Sunday: had a great Sunday meal with my family at my favorite Chinese restaurant, dropped off at Rogers work at 3 pm to go to the airport for our flight. when we got to the counter I mentioned the fiasco over our flight and asked if the could do anything for us and I talked her into bumping us up into first class.(the only way to fly) she could only do it for the Minneapolis leg as the LA leg was over booked with no available seating. arrive twin cities Ontime..miracle of all miracles…and made connection for flight to LA. uneventful flight…arrived LA around 10:30 pacific time. took the shuttle to the Travelodge at LAX(standard hotel, but they had some nice gardens)but was not happy about a $1.89 charge for a local call….I have never paid more then $.75 before.

Today: woke this morning to catch our flight on Hawaiian Airlines, big plane but they sure packed them in like sardines. About an hour into the flight someone had a seizure and they asked for a doctor or a nurse..we still continued our flight while they attended the person he was still being attended to when we landed. it was a very smooth flight but wished I had a window row instead of being in the center aisle. arrived Honolulu around 3 PM Hawaiian time(8 PM central) and am just sitting here waiting for my flight to Maui.

as you can see it has been an interesting start to my vacation. but we are finally here and are ready to play 🙂

attached you will find a picture from the window of the airport in Honolulu.

will send you updates daily hopefully.

Aloha,

Well we made into maui around 4:30 pm(9:30 Central). picked up our rental car ..a checy lumina. took about an hour to drive from the airport to the condo, but is was a gorgeous drive, even though the tops of the mountains were obscured by cloud cover.

our condo, the Kaleaialoha, is a small one bedroom unit with a full kitchen and laundry facilities. and a private lanai with a 180 degree view of the ocean and the neighboring island of ??(will let you know when i find out its name.

watched our first sunset which took about five minute once it hit the horizon…but all i can say is Wow!!

let me know what you think .

went and stocked up on groceries for the week at the local safeway(all i can say is $$$) but it will still save money over eating out.

can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

till then …ALOHA

Tuesday June 16, 1998

Aloha,

day 2 started early as we got up at 6 am ..still not quite used to the time difference. Made our own breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. and then took a long walk down the beach, which was very nice.

about 10:30 we went to go book our tours(parasailing, bike down the volcano, and snorkeling) when we got to the place they told us we can save a $100 dollars off of the price of all these tours if we went to a timeshare meeting that would last 90 minutes. we said what the hell and did it. the presentation was quite nice but we still said no.

on our way to the presentation we needed some cheese so we stopped in this little store and the was a tour booking booth there and we talk to the girl and she said that the were having a special deal today on a helicopter tour of Maui…it included a 45 minute helicopter ride around the island, and also a stop on the other side of the island at a secluded beach..which we had checked out earlier which was $179 per peson…and we got it for just $94 ….it was worth every single penny…i really cant put into words how great this was….we flew along the coastline and into the rainforest where there were hundreds of waterfalls some as high as 300 feet, jagged cliffs and so forth…the we stopped at a secluded beach with just us and the ocean…spent about an hour here where they supplied us with sparkling cider, banana bread and fresh pineapple to snack on..when we left here we head up and through the c;ouds till we could see the top of the volcano..with the opening is over 25 square miles and over 10,000 feet. we flew all around this and then headed back to the airport……

Attached is a picture of the private beach area where the helicopter landed for our snack, and exploring.

Coming tomorrow…Bike ride down the volcano…10,000 ft to sea level.

Till then Aloha

Hey everyone,

Wow what a day!!!

We woke up this morning at 1am to catch a van to take us to the top of Haleakala, the worlds largest dormant volcano. we drove about 40 minutes the home base of our tour company and picked up an additional Guide and a trailer with the bike and helments in it.

We had 12 bikers in our group plus the lead bike guide and the driver. up and onward on our trip up the 38 miles to the top of the crater, which sits around 10,000 ft . we arove at the crater around 4:15 am and had a continental breakfast with cofee and juice inside the van, while the guide explained to us the rules and safety requirement, and also abou tthe bikes themshemself which are espeacially equipped mountain bikes with front and rear disc brakes(like on a car). at about 4:30 they let us out of the van to walk to the craters edge where we would watch the most beautiful and breathtaken sunrise you will ever see. we stood around with several hudred people at the edge and froze our buns off waiting for it…it was maybe around 40 degrees!!!

Attached you will find a decent picture of the sunrise i hope , it is so hard to tell on a laptop screen.

After the sunrise we returned to the van where the issued us special clothing, and safety gear. the we waited our turn to go as the National Park Service only allows 1 group to depart every 10 minutes, and we were 6th in line when we got there. then we headed off with the ladies following the guide and the men behind them, with the van following up the rear to protect us from being run over by other cars coming down the mountain.

What an experience, i can’t even explain the feeling you get when you first start out down the steep and winding mountain rode, part nervousness, part excitement, and part Awe at the sight of the valley and winding road below.

After about a mile or too and a couple of hairpin turns everyone started to get their bike legs, and we continued on down. let me preface to say we probably traveled 20 mile without once pedaling except to get out of the parking lot at the top. as we could only go as fast as the slowest person we averaged about 18-20 Mph the first 10 miles down the slope after which we stopped for pictures about 10 mile sinto the trip, and then the guide said for the next five or six miles the slower bikers would bring up the rear so we could do speed around some of the next section where we dropped 3000ft in under six miles. we then got a great exhilaration at the speed and steepness of the decent. where we averaged around 25-30 Mph. WOW…WOW…WOW…30 never seemed so fast on a bike. at the end of the of this section we stopped for breakfast at a little mexican restaurant where the had arranged ,meals for us…i had the breakfast burito…while in the restaurant i saw a most unussual scene(not for this area but anywhere else in the world) it was raining on one side of the building and not a cloud in the sky on the other..very strange.

we boarded our bikes for last leg of our j ourney down the hill along sugar cane and pineapple fields, and a couple a real nice churches into the village at the bottom, and we stopped at a real nice surfing beach to reboard the van for our journey back to our hotel, which we arived around 11:30 am.

then we took a 3 hour nap

i wrote this log to you as roger is still sleeping.

when he awakens i will probably go to the beach and walk.

Coming tomorrow: Luau, and whatever else we decide to do

What can I say except a fantastic day, which every day since arriving here has been.

Mahalo

aloha from hawaii again for day 4…

woke up this morning and just lazed about..that is what vacations are for anyway.

we made breakfast in the room, and then I layed out in the sun for about 45 minutes before our appointment with the embassy resorts(the same company as embassy suites). went to the presentation and we were very impressed with the resort and the salesperson..needless to say we purchased part of it….and it is a maui property so my exchange rate anywhere in the world for timeshares is about as high as you can get.

after we finished our paperwork we went back to get ready to go to the luau…

we went to the Old Lahaina Luau which is considered to be the most authenticate on the island by all the travel guides…the food was adequate but the show was fantastic with the dancers and the music and everything else…we also took in another beautiful sunset from the beach where the luau took place. One of the things that was nice was the open bar with all the mai tais, lava flows, and whatever else you wanted included….so i guess you can tell i enjoyed that.

well i am going to turn in now as we have a long day ahead tomorrow.

Tomorrow……”the Road to Hana”

Aloha,

well we got kind of late start this morning…just decided we weren’t going to rush….

The road to hana is a 56 mile trek on a winding and twisting road that takes approx… 3-4 hours to drive allowing for a few stops along the way. there are over 500 switchback and 55 one lane bridges, definitely not for the faint of driving. it is probably the most scenic road in the world traveling through farm land, where it turn into a winding road along the mountain side on cliffs that hang over the ocean, and into the rain forest that get over 400 inches of rain a year, and past numerous waterfalls.

we started our trek with a full tank of gas and proceeded on the road…the driving was arduous but I would not have missed it for anything, let me just say it was a great day for pictures!!!!

after entering the rain forest the vegetation became lush; with gorgeous flora and fauna , and bamboo forests. but the waterfalls were the most spectacular of the trip…a picture is attached. I wont bog down the list with lots of pics…I will upload them to my web page.

as we were coming out of the rain forest we came to the famous black sand beach where we stopped and played in the surf awhile. then on to our final stop at the seven sacred pools(not its official name but what everyone calls it) which were never sacred but named that to increase tourism to this side of the island; where I did a couple of cliff jumps into the pools.

well after the 4 1/2 hour trek we came to the end of our journey on the road to Hana…well almost…we then had to turn around and return the same way we came down the long and winding road past George Harrisons, Jim Nabors , and all the way back to West Maui.

to quote Bill and Ted…..” A most excellent day”

coming tomorrow a sail boat ride to a sunken volcano crater to snorkel…!!!!!

Let me know if you are getting tired of these reports.

Aloha,

Well it was another early day today, was up at 5:45 am so we could catch the sail boat for our snorkeling trip to molokini. Molikini is an underwater volcano crater with a reaaf and tons of tropical fish

The boat we were on was around a 60ft sailboat, built in 1929 and it had been slowly refurbished over the years, they served us a continental breakfast on the way to our foirst dive site which was called five graves to see sea turtles the hide on the reef. The turtles were hard to see along the bottom but one of them came up to the surface for air and it came within a couple of feet of where i was swimming, i got a couple of pictures with the underwater camera…i sure hope they turn out ok.

after that dive we continued on another 35 minute to the island of Molikini and federally protected nature preserve. you may view the reefs and fish..but you best not touch anything or risk a huge fine. the snorkeling here was fantastic we even got to swim with a white tip shark…i sur ehope that picture turns out cause no one would believe me. we swam here for about an hour and had a lot of colorful fish and a fantastic reef. I took alot of pictures underwater, will have to wait till they get developed and posibly scan a few of them to post.

when we finished our dive we had lunch on board before we headed out to sea to Sail…the waters were quite rough and it clouded up and the spray was very chilly…we did this about an hour..and i think we could have ended it a while earlier as it was a little to cold and choppy for my taste. on the way back to sure another sailboat chanllenged us to a race, which the crew accepted and we won . we pulled back into dock where we bought a couple of t-shirts before heading back to the condo for a nap.

Roger took me out to a very nice restaurant for dinner called the “The Waterfront” …all i can say is excellent…. we had a tableside ceasar salad, and a seabass and shrimp dinner served with a ginger and coconut sauce. and roger told them it was my birthday so the served me a piece of coconut pie with a grahamcracker and macadamian nut crust. On the way to the restaurant it was raining so when it stopped we had a gorgeous Rainbow ..which i will attach a picture in a foloowup email.

another great day….

Coming tomorrow….Parasailing and possibly the nude beach…but dont expect picture of that …LOL

attached a picture of me on the sailboat.

Mahalo

you need a a Little Rainbow…

Aloha,

Day 7: kind of a short day today .

we got up at 7am to go to our parasailing expedition. It was a lot of fun. Roger went first and the picture that is attached is roger at 400 ft in the air. next was my turn; it was very quiet up there the only sounds you could hear was the wind and the engine from the boat. but the odd thing that happened was as soon as the last group of parasailers on our boat was finished the engine started smoking…so we had to call another boat and have us toed into shore.

we were going to go to the nude beach today , but i wasn’t feeling that well so we just strolled around Lahaina, the oldest city in maui..which boast the second largest banyon tree in the world..the shade of which covers an entire square block.

after this we just went home and i layed down to rest. where we have stayed ever since…bu tlooking out the window it was overcast all day so we didn’t miss much.

Tomorrow: our last afternoon here…catch our plane at 5 pm

attached parasailing picture

Aloha

Day 8 Last Day in Hawaii 🙁

Hey everyone,

Not much to report today as it was our last day in Maui. We got up fairly early , and I made steak and eggs for breakfast…we had to get rid of the groceries we had bought :-). We finished packing our bags and checked out of the condo. as we had a long time to kill we went into Lahaina shopping for souvenirs, and ate lunch. why we were there we toured the Maui Divers Jewelry Design Center where we saw some wonderful jewelry designs, and bought a couple of really nice pendants for our mothers…it is a circle with a mother dolphin and a baby dolphin with 2 pieces of pink coral which is harvested at over 1200 feet off the coast of Hawaii. they are very beautiful. then since we have been sending these reports everyday, We hadn’t got around to our postcard writing so we did that and got them mailed , along with our mothers gifts and my Dads Fathers Day gift of 100% pure Kona Coffee(talking about sticker shock $32 a pound) and some macadamia nuts.

Since we had to have the car back by 5pm we asked to take an earlier flight to Honolulu, and then we waited in the Honolulu Airport for 2 1/2 hours for our flight to the Mainland…where we landed at LAX this morning at 5am PST ..and am still here waiting for the car rental place to open at 7am.

no pictures were taken on our last day so I mined one from an earlier day of one of the waterfalls on the “Road to Hana”

Today: Visit my Brother and his family at Six Flags Magic Mountain(we will compare ride notes later beav)