Hawaii IntinerarySome of you have asked what we did, and since:
1. My memory is increasingly fragile;
2. There was so much;
I decided to write it out:
1/21 Sat: Arrive HNL airport 2p local, drive the H3 through/over the mountains to Kailua, get groceries, booze, and carryout. Watch beautiful mountain sunset from ugly strip mall.
1/22 Sun: Matt wakes at 6a (before sun rises--first time since the Reagan administration), entices family to join him for a sunrise walk on the beach (3 blocks away), family initially disturbed but very happy once there; see sea turtle playing in the surf 10 ft away; go for a drive then hike the lighthouse trail on the eastern tip of Oahu (see humpback wales!), Luke falls on way down--badly cut, there's lots of crying ("dad, it's a bad idea to run in sandals"), dad carries boy on shoulders rest of hike (dad in pain).
1/23 Mon: Scout out Kailua, our "home town" (esp interested in purveyors of adventure: dive shops, kayak rentals, etc), go to local beach (rated #1 in the world by Dr. Beach we were told. Yes, there's really a guy named Dr. Beach).
1/24 Tues: Matt and Carole Scuba near HNL on a shore dive over an old sewer pipe line that attracts lots of action (fact: sea cucumbers look
a lot like turds when you're over an old sewer. Also, we
caught an octopus--crazy blasts of ink in our faces, he escaped twice).
1/25 Weds: Scuba again, this time a boat dive out of HNL harbor at Turtle Canyon and Hale'okeole (or some such hawaiian name, they're equally unpronounceable to mainlanders). See lots of turtles, humuhumunukunukupua'a (
former state fish--funny story), morrey eal, tiger kauari. I'm addicted.
1/26 Thurs: Local farmers' market, then the local beach.
1/27 Fri: Long drive (1.25 hr) to North Shore/Hale'iwa to see the surfers thrash. Just like the movies, very cool. Matt calls people back home to tell/brag that he's just seen the most massive waves. Take Jenni to Roy's for a very fancy, delicious meal.
1/28 Sat: Buy boogie boards for boys and go to local beach. Take boys to Kailua model airplane field. See a big airplane crash. See a Japanese guy do incredible acrobatics. Get loaded up on suger in the pm a local ice cream shop.
1/29 Sun: Local beach in the am, then back to the airfield for a competition in the pm.
1/30 Mon: Hanauma Bay for the best snorkeling I've ever experienced (OK, it was my first time snorkeling anywhere cool, but this was
da kine, brah!). Protected reefs make it gentle enough for even the boys. D gets the snorkel bug, L not as much. Play "Pa' Gator" in swimming pool when we return (kids are told there is a live aligator behind the porthole (pool light) who likes to play with kids. Pa just has to let him out, but comes running back saying the gator has escaped and is chasing him. Kids think it's real (or at least we think they do) until L comes over to whisper in my ear, "I know it's just a prank but we don't care." And we keep up the antics for another 30 min. Thoroughly tired, and glad it is cocktail hour, I exit the pool.
1/31 Tues: Matt and Jenni rent a sea kayak and visit some offshore islands. Matt tries to convince Jenni that a shag on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific is the
coolest thing ever. Jenni's pondering the mechanics (lava is
very sharp) when hikers come upon us (still clothed). Return the kayak and snorkel Lanikai, just down the street. Play shark game with the boys in the surf, get very tired.
2/1 Weds: Back to Hanauma Bay!
2/2 Thurs:
Dolphin Quest. Matt is broke but happy.
2/3 Fri: Homeowners return jetlagged, we go for a long drive and a short hike at the spitting cave of Portlock (see humpbacks come within 200m of us!); go to Sandy Beach for some seriuos waves. Matt won't take the boys out to dinner w/ the grups (bad experience the night before--my kids hate restaurants b/c, as they tell me, "they are sooo boring")--takes them for spring rolls and ice cream while the old people and Jenni go to Buzz' Steakhouse near the beach. Lots of fun for everyone.
2/4 Sat: Last day : ( BIG hike along coastal mountains--3 hrs and 5 miles but Luke did the wholel thing! Offend homeowners by not going to dinner w/ them, go to Roy's instead. Get loaded. Get on plane at 10p (still can't sleep).
