Kim and Julie's Hawaii "Monsoon" vacation

Aloha! Following is a journal I kept while on vacation recently with my sister, Julie, in Hawaii. Enjoy! :) Picure postings will follow (need my office computer for that....)

Hawaii vacation 2007

Day 1 - Saturday Dec. 1, 2007

• Flew on ATA to Oahu and then to Kona and the Big Island. The most impressive thing noticed right away were the expansive black lava rock fields. Could see ‘em from the air, and once on the ground, they cover acres and acres of the landscape. Very interesting!
• Our hotel was the Mauna Lani, north of Kona in the Kohala Coast area. Was dark by the time we arrived so we couldn’t see much of the resort grounds. But we liked what we did see, and our room was wonderful, so we were happy. Ate dinner at the Fairmont Orchid restaurant, next door to our resort. Very nice, good food, convenient shuttle service. We fell into bed quite tired, but very happy to have this vacation underway!

Day 2, Sunday , Dec. 2

• We met our Roberts Hawaiian tour bus at the front of the hotel for our “circle tour” of the island at 8:45 am. It was a smallish group of about 14 people, including a mother and (grown) daughter who must’ve been in a fight the whole time because they didn’t sit together! This was a whirlwind excursion of the entire island perimeter--260 miles, with about 8 stops, including a few at Volcano Nat’l Park on the east side of the island. Very cool. It was quite a rapid pace for a tour, but a good overview of the island. It gave us an idea of what we’d like to see next time and how to budget our time. It rained on the way back to the Mauna Lani, and I think perhaps we missed one stop at a coffee plantation. But that’s OK. We were pretty saturated by then.
• Back around 7 pm for dinner at our hotel’s “Canoe House” restaurant. Yum… great atmosphere. Needed to get to bed early as Monday was going to be an early day……

Day 3, Monday, Dec. 3

• Snorkel excursion day…in the rain! We had booked a 8:30 am catamaran tour from Keauhou Bay with a destination of Kealakekua Bay. We thought it might be canceled due to weather, but no… the trip was still on. There were about a dozen people on the trip. We huddled under the sheltered area of the catamaran on the way to Kealakekua Bay, also known as Captain Cook Bay (because this is where he was killed!) It was about an hour’s cruise to the Bay and it rained constantly. It was cold, but not freezing. Coffee and hot chocolate were available. We really wondered what kind of visibility we might have in the Bay once we were there… but it was incredible! We really felt like we were swimming in an aquarium. There were fish of many sizes, shapes, and colors. Julie has a guide page with all the names. It was impressive. The water was warm, mostly, but there were some VERY cold spots due to fresh water streams coming up from the bottom of the bay. At those points, the water was “blurry” and you couldn’t see well. I thought it was my snorkel mask, until one of the crew explained the phenomenon. We snorkeled for a good 45 minutes and then got out and ate lunch. We could’ve gotten back in again at that point, but decided to stay on the boat. There was a break in the rain and I was glad to be semi-dry. And Julie was reluctant to go back in due to her cold. It was hard to breathe right with the snorkel and mask. We enjoyed the bay from the boat just as well. I slipped on the back of the catamaran after lunch and injured my bad ankle again! Just what I needed, huh? The pain eased after a few minutes with ice on it. Oh well… if it’s damaged anymore internally, they’ll fix it on the 20th when I go in for surgery! At least they’d better……
• Back about 1 pm to the dock. Driving back to the Mauni Lani, Julie called a doctor who makes house calls about coming to see me at the hotel room, as I had been suffering an earache for several days. We made an appointment, and he arrived after I showered upon returning to our room. I didn’t have an actual ear infection, according to the very cute Hawaiian doctor, Darren, but he called in an antibiotic Rx anyway. Julie and I had massage appointments after that--which were wonderful--and then we picked up the medication. Then we showered and dressed for dinner at the Four Seasons restaurant, called Pahu I’a. It wasn’t easy to find the place, but once we did, we enjoyed it. This was our “last supper” on the Big Island.

Day 4, Tuesday, Dec. 4

• This day dawned bright and clear and we were happy because we had a 2-hour helicopter tour scheduled for mid-day, before we had to catch our plane to Maui. But we made it to the heliport just in time to hear that the weather on the volcano side of the island was poor and we couldn’t fly there. That’s the main reason we booked this tour--to see the lava flowing! We could’ve done a tour of the northern shore and some waterfalls, but that didn’t appeal nearly as much. So we canceled, got our money back, and changed our itinerary.
• Drove into Kailua and ate lunch at Huggo’s, right on the water, but didn’t have time for any of the cute shops in the area. Had to get to the airport for our flight. Lots of turbulence. I told myself, just pretend I’m on a roller coaster! Yikes. We were glad to be on solid ground again, though it was quite rainy and stormy that night. We made it to our condo and decided to order pizza instead of going out to dinner. We watched some TV and then went to bed pretty pooped.

Day 5, Wednesday, Dec. 5 - Monsoon Begins!

• This day started out all right… it was overcast and a bit windy, but not too bad. It was a lazy morning and I mostly wrote emails to friends. Around 9, Julie got up and we decided to eat breakfast out , but then the power went out! We went to the restaurant anyway, and had a nice meal from their modified menu. While there, the storm kicked into full swing… monsoonal rains and winds thrashed around outside. Julie and I both took pictures. We were glad to be indoors.
• Turns out the power outage was pretty widespread. Schools, roads, and most stores were closed. So we hung out at the condo the rest of the day. We wrote postcards, read our books, napped, and I did my nails. When we got hungry for dinner, we called to see what was open. The place where we had reservations was not, and in fact most places weren't open at all, at least within a reasonable driving distance. A nearby Marriott was open, though serving a mostly cold buffet. It was plenty of food. We had to wait for 1.5 hours to get in, but there was no other choice! Fortunately the bar was open so we could enjoy some mai tai's.
• While we were there, the power was restored at the Marriott, but the lights were still out at the condo when we returned. The resort management had dropped off a green glow stick so we weren't completely without light. Then someone brought a candle by, too, and that helped as well. Julie played backgammon with her laptop computer and I wrote up this vacation journal on mine, using battery power. I got tired and went to bed around 9:30. The lights came on about 2 am and woke me up. I tried to fall back to sleep but couldn't for several hours.

Day 6, Thursday, Dec. 6 - Monsoon continues

• Power was out again in the morning but the storm had eased up a bit. We decided to drive into Kihei to either eat breakfast out or buy supplies somewhere, if possible. Kihei is the next town north of Wailea, and not far at all. But roads were covered with water and traffic was heavy. Seems everyone had the same idea we did. We saw a toppled lifeguard tower, a boat that ran aground on some rocks, and a car smashed by a LARGE tree that fell upon it. Got pictures of some of this. We noticed long lines at a couple breakfast places and decided to try and find a store to get our own breakfast. We ended up with some muffins, bananas, bottled water and some chips--for a mere $21. We were thankful!
• We had planned to do Lahaina today, including a luau at night called the Feast at Lele. This is a cultural extravaganza that features the native food of not only Hawaii, but also a few other Polynesian islands. We were really looking forward to it, but weren’t sure if it would be held, due to the weather (the feast is an outdoor event). We found out the show was going to go on as planned. So in the afternoon, we got ourselves ready and made the 45 minute drive to Lahaina. We arrived early enough to shop around a bit. LOTS of jewelry and clothing stores.
• At the Feast, the sun was setting and the night sky threatened rain. If they just had some canopies over the tables, it would be fine out there, rain or shine. But it was open air above us… and unfortunately by the time appetizers were served, it was starting to sprinkle. But they started the show anyway, which was pretty cool. Male and female dancers doing three different numbers. The first course came, and was delicious (a salad with very interesting ingredients, roasted pork with poi, and some fish with a mango relish). The rain was falling harder by then and the servers began passing out multicolored disposable ponchos, complete with hoods. Julie and I put ours on, took pictures of each other, and continued eating. I also had my umbrella up to shelter my food and me a bit. I ate more than I should’ve for a “first course,” but this turned out to be good because… as the rain steadily increased and lightning appeared, it was announced, before the next course, that the rest of the evening had been canceled. Julie and I just looked at each other in disbelief… and yet the water all around was fairly convincing. We gathered our soggy things and headed to the car for the ride home. We tried to find an open restaurant on the way back, and ended up at Tommy Bahamas’s at The Shops at Wailea. It was still raining when we got home, but again, the lights were on, so we didn’t complain too much. Julie watched TV and I mostly read for the evening.
• News reports from around the island were amazing, incidentally. In Kula, upcountry, there was a major mudslide with at least one home lost. Schools and roads were closed in a lot of places. We were told to conserve water because some of the treatment plants were flooded and not working. This was pretty much a disaster scene!

Day 7, Friday, Dec. 7 - Monsoon begins to abate

• I awoke about 6:30... to the sound of rain, what else? However by the time Julie got up, sun was peeking through the clouds and there was a break in the rain. We got pretty excited! We had been toying with the idea of traveling “up country” today, which is, on the slopes of Haleakala. But we thought driving conditions might be bad still, so we decided to stay local and go shopping. As we went to the first shopping center, the weather was wonderful: warm sun, blue skies, a few puffy clouds here and there. We had some good luck at the stores, and both got some great deals on clothes. However, as we were checking out, it started raining again. No, it started POURING BUCKETS again! It was a squall. We made it to the car, but probably should’ve stayed in the store… driving was treacherous. Very low visibility, roads swamped, and water falling in angry sheets from the heavens. Julie and I both asked, “What has the gods SO ticked off at us now??” We didn’t have too far to go, fortunately, and pulled into the next parking lot in one piece. We shopped at Hilo Hatties and got most of our gift shopping done. The squall cleared while we were in the store, so we had no further driving problems, thank God.
• Back to the condo to drop off packages and rest a bit. At about 4:15 it was still clear skies. We went shopping at The Shops at Wailea, finding some more treasures. (HOW am I going to get all this stuff home???!!!) Then we got to Nick’s, where we had reservations, in time to take some sunset photos and enjoy a wonderful (and VERY expensive) dinner. But during dinner--guess what? Yep, it started raining again… quite hard… and it continued ‘till well after we were home again.
• Tomorrow is our last full day here on Maui. If the weather is good and the beaches are open, we want to go snorkeling. If not, we at least want to try walking at the beach. We might also go up country for lunch, to someplace Julie really likes. I’m quite certain I’ve gained a few pounds already on this trip. Ugh! I’m dying to get back to my exercise routine. One piece of good news: my earache is much better now. I think the antibiotic did the trick (which means it must’ve been an ear infection, contrary to Dr. Darren’s diagnosis!). I’m just glad the pain is gone.

Day 8, Saturday, Dec. 8 - A mostly clear day

• When I woke up today, I noticed right away that I didn’t hear rain falling! But after a little while, it clouded over and… you guessed it… the rain was back. I figured we weren’t going snorkeling today, so I took a shower and waited for Julie to get up. By the time she did, the skies were clearing and we were hopeful of a sunny day.
• We went out to breakfast at the Five Palms in Kihei and then did some shopping in town (I know, I know… Too much shopping!). By mid-day we were back at the condo and needed naps. Later, the sun was still out, so we took a walk along the path that borders the beach in front of our condos, and continues past the neighboring resorts. We stopped at the Grand Wailea for cold beverages. (Julie once stayed at the Grand Wailea so she was the tour guide for me of that property. It’s very ritzy.) We walked back to our condo, arriving about 4:15, in time to clean up and go to dinner at the Four Seasons (Ferraro’s). First we had drinks in the lounge and watched the hula dancer and the tiki torch lighting ceremony. Very nice. Dinner was awesome, and again, very expensive. But for our “last supper” we wanted something special.
• We were thrilled that no rain fell during dinner and we made it back to the condo completely dry. Spent the evening packing, getting ready for tomorrow’s trip home. We are sad to be going, but are starting to talk about our next trip over here, possibly next December. The weather this time was a fluke, by all accounts. The mayor of Kula said she’d never seen a storm like this in “50+ years on Maui.“ Others said they’ve vacation here yearly for over 30 years and never seen such rain. Oh well!! We survived and have some interesting stories and pictures to share. We’re telling ourselves we shouldn’t have so much rain and wind next time.