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Hawai’i 2020

January - March 2020
A 71-day adventure by Betty Read more
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  • TravelerHawai’i 2020
    1
    Day 1

    A long day of travel

    January 8, 2020 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    A destination for our winter escape was decided when we received an invitation to Dani & Chris’s wedding that was to be held on the North Shore of Oahu. We knew this was an event not to be missed and we wanted to represent Dani’s Winnipeg family.

    We had a 6 a.m. flight to Vancouver, our only option, with a 4 a.m. taxi reservation. After a hectic Christmas season with visitors from the West, I decided to forgo sleep and spent the night doing housework and trip organizing. Sleepless and fighting off a 2 week long cold meant I wasn’t in the best shape for travel. Once on the plane a few short naps and drugs helped! After 3 flights and 16+ hours we arrived in Kauai. The warm, humid air felt wonderful in comparison to the dry, heated indoor air at home, not to mention the sub-zero temperatures outside.

    I had reserved a timeshare in Kapaa but we wouldn’t be able to check in for another 2 days so I used my MasterCard Rewards points to reserve a room at the Kauai Beach Resort. Hotels are very expensive in Hawai’i and this resort would have been an unaffordable $300/night. It was a relaxing 2 days and best of all I didn’t have to do any cooking.    Read more

  • TravelerHawai’i 2020
    Day 3

    It’s not beach weather

    January 10, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    On Day 3 we picked up our car rental, a boxy Kia Soul, and moved into a one bedroom timeshare condo at Kapaa Shores for the week. It’s modest but comfortable and since I had stayed here before I knew what to expect. It’s the only accommodation I have booked so far and we’ve been joking about having to sleep in the car! My deal-hunting skills are being mightily challenged in this peak-season, high-demand environment.

    For the next 3 days the Hawaiian islands were surrounded by two intense weather systems which continued to bring cloudy, wet conditions and 50 km winds. The Big Island got hit the worst with 30” of rain in one day causing flooding. On Kauai there was a land slide closing the highway near Hanalei. However, we were able to drive a half-hour north to Princeville stopping at our favourite sites along the way.    Read more

  • TravelerHawai’i 2020
    Day 7

    South to Po’ipu

    January 14, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Although Po’ipu is only 35 km from our condo traffic is heavy and slow on Kauai so it took us nearly an hour to get there. This has always been our favourite snorkelling beach but not this time. The strong trade winds created large waves at a beach already known for rip-tides. Snorkellers were confined to a small protected area and only a few surfers braved the waves. No snorkelling for us but we did see a green sea turtle on the beach.

    Just down the road was the weekly farmers market that is held at a small upscale shopping plaza. It’s always a good time as we get to see what is locally grown (including colourful tropical flowers!) and be entertained by local musicians.    Read more

  • TravelerHawai’i 2020
    Day 10

    Moving down the street

    January 17, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Finally I was successful in finding another condo for the coming week. It is also in Kapaa just a few blocks south. This is a larger resort with several buildings and somehow we got lucky by being assigned a 2 bedroom, newly renovated ocean-front unit. It’s about 1200 sq ft and was a fantastic deal at $75/night :). I also stayed here during my last solo trip and the location is perfect as the paved beach walk is at the edge of the property. We both go for walks every day but at different times because we move at very different speeds and have learned this is the best way to keep the peace!

    We had to return our rental car and pick up a different one for this week, a Chevy Cruz. We were supposed to get a compact car but got a free upgrade. The first week was a reasonable $210 but the price went up to $425 for this week. Yikes! The principle of supply and demand is the economic model well practiced in Hawaii!    Read more

  • TravelerHawai’i 2020
    Day 14

    The Grand Canyon of the Pacific

    January 21, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Waimea Canyon is one of our favourite sites on Kauai. The canyon stretches 22 km long, 1.6 km wide and more than 1 km deep. We have never seen much of a waterfall here but with all the rain we’ve had it was definitely flowing strong. When we arrived on Kauai we heard about a tourist helicopter that crashed into the side of a mountain in the Canyon, killing all 7 aboard. So sad to hear this but it’s fairly common in Kauai. Not our idea of a good time. We had perfect weather to view the Canyon as on some of our trips to the State Parks heavy clouds and rain moved in abruptly. Trails were very muddy though so we didn’t do any of the hikes but stopped at many of the viewpoints. We had such a great day!Read more

  • TravelerHawai’i 2020
    Day 14

    A beach of glass!

    January 21, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    On our way back from Waimea I insisted on stopping at Glass Beach in Ele’ele as on prior trips I was unable to find this small beach hidden in an industrial area. I have never seen anything like it. Many years ago this was a dumping ground for glass bottles and auto glass. Apparently a geologic feature called the Swiss Cheese Shoreline with it’s hole-filled lava rocks smashed the glass and after 10-30 years created this glass beach. I knew I shouldn’t but I couldn’t resist taking a few larger pieces of sea glass to add to my collection from other beaches. The plan is to create something....some day!Read more

  • TravelerHawai’i 2020
    Day 15

    A day at the beach

    January 22, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We haven’t exactly had beach weather since we got here so today we felt obliged to take advantage of the sunshine. A half-hour drive North took us to one of our favourite spots, Anini Beach. The water was warm, clear and had serious rip tides making it impossible to swim. I walked the 3+ km beach while JS enjoyed reading his book. It was a relaxing day and neither of us got sunburned, which must be a first for JS!Read more

  • TravelerHawai’i 2020
    Day 17

    Time to move on

    January 24, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today we had to return our rental car to the airport and move down the road to our third timeshare condo. We weren’t renting a car for the coming week so I arranged a ride with the Avis shuttle that was going to the cruise terminal, a short distance from our condo. He kindly dropped us off at the resort entrance. Besides our luggage we had two boxes of food so we weren’t exactly travelling light! I knew there were no grocery stores nearby and without a car I had to stock up on food, wine and beer for the week. I checked-in with the front reception and was pleased that the move went smoothly, or so I thought. Then JS informed me that he had left his CPAP on the shuttle bus and was convinced it was gone forever. JS is irrational and very negative when these things happen. So back to the office I went and made arrangements to meet the Avis driver at the cruise port, a 10 minute walk. Within 15 minutes the same driver showed up, JS retrieved his CPAP and all was well in his world. We then splurged on a delicious lunch at a nearby oceanfront restaurant called Dukes.

    There is a beautiful, extensive Marriott Resort next door to Dukes but the beach is public. Our condo is a ten-minute walk from here on the other side of the tracks! We’re in a two-storey townhouse with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, at least 1200 sq ft. It’s a bit dated but very clean and was my best deal yet....$199 for the full week! Of course we got hit with Hawaii’s high accommodation tax and a resort fee, another $167, but still well within our budget. The other two condos were $550 and $475/week, a fraction of their regular cost. Finding these last-minute bargains in high-priced, high-demand Hawaii has been a challenge and it’s not for the faint of heart as I was never 100% confident that I would find us a home!    Read more

  • TravelerHawai’i 2020
    Day 23

    The week time stood still

    January 30, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    With no car we were limited to the immediate area as public transit has very limited service. Most days JS parked himself at the pool with his book while I did my usual exploration on foot. Our home cooked meals were pretty basic and repetitive but the wine was good! I spent many hours searching for a Waikiki condo for next week and at the final hour just settled for a one bedroom condo for the first night as we were unsure of our plans. Our timeshare company offers these units at $85/night when booked within 2 weeks of arrival and it includes free parking! Most Waikiki hotels are triple the cost with a $25-$35 parking fee plus a daily resort fee.Read more

  • TravelerHawai’i 2020
    Day 24

    Waikiki...time to wake up

    January 31, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    There is always an adjustment to be made when travelling from sleepy Kauai to bustling Waikiki. After a 30 minute, $65 flight from Kauai we landed in Waikiki and took a taxi to our condo (at $42 the taxi cost almost as much as our flight!). Check-in time wasn’t until 4 pm so they stored our luggage while we made plans to pick up our rental car. I chose to walk the 3 km route while JS took the bus so we had agreed to meet at the bus loop by Ala Moana Mall as we were both familiar with this location. For some reason JS decided to wait for me in a different location believing that I would be walking right by him. Well I didn’t go that route and ended up waiting 45 minutes for him, worried that something had happened. I finally gave up and headed to the Enterprise location nearby. Coincidentally, JS also made that decision and we ended up running into each other at one of the mega mall entrances! What were the chances of that happening?! Not off to a great start! We were given a brand new Toyota Camry and after a quick stop at the condo to change clothes we were on our way to The Proud Peacock Restaurant at Waimea Falls on the North Shore of Oahu. Although it was less than 60 km it took us almost 1 1/2 hours to get there. Most of this route is a narrow two-lane, heavily travelled coastal road.

    Dani and Chris had invited all of the out-of-town wedding guests to this event. There were about 35 people there, a mix of friends, co-workers and relatives. Nancy’s group of 5 people got lost and arrived about an hour late. Nancy was navigating.....just saying! That afternoon most of this group had gone ATV/UTVing at a ranch where Jurassic Park was filmed. This was also a pre-wedding event but we had opted out. They all said it was a lot of fun except for how dirty they all got. The dinner was a typical Hawaiian meal of pork, sword fish, noodles, and vegetables, with an open bar of course.

    The drive back to Waikiki went smoothly until we hit the city. We got very lost and had to stop for directions in a not-so-nice area. It was a long day.    Read more

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