Category Archives: Hawaii

I have a Volcano On My Mind

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Old Faithful Erupts

Old Faithful

I want to see a Volcano

After all, I just visited a super volcano! Yellowstone is an amazing place to visit. Surround yourself with geysers, steam vents, boiling mud and steaming rivers. What you won’t see is lava or magma. In Yellowstone that’s still deep underground. We hope it stays there for a long time. An explosion of a super volcano would be devastating!

But I still want to see a volcano

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Back in 2007 I visited the Big Island of Hawaii. As part of my trip I spent a day in Volcano National Park. We drove through lava fields. We even saw the “VOG” in the distance. Vog is volcanic fog and its loaded with sulfuric acid. Needless to say we didn’t get close. We considered hiking over the lava field to see the glowing lava but the solid lava is like glass. Any little fall causes lots of cuts and bleeding. Right at the start one of our party tripped and fell. Lots of band aids later we all helped her limp off the lava and back to the car.

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Let’s Look from the air

After our mishap on the ground we thought we might be able to see the lava from the air. Our group didn’t want to try a helicopter but they were willing to take a small plane ride. We signed up for the tour of the island. As part of the tour the plane circled the vent with the boiling lava. It didn’t look like much from the air. We only had glimpses of the bright red. A cooler skin of black floated over the glowing lava.

Maybe another chance

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During the intervening years I heard about a boat trip along the shore. They go out at dawn and dusk when the lava flow glowed as it poured into the sea. That was way on top of my to do list. Then last week I checked the eruptions for Kilauea. It’s not flowing into the sea anymore! “Lava flow is still active on the pali and coastal plain, however the ocean entry is currently halted”. I may find my plans “foiled” again. Can’t wait to get there and find out!

What Does The Future Hold?

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Hula danceTime to consider Future plans

What trips are in my future? Where should I turn my attention next? Things have been moving fast but I suddenly find myself with no stories or trip updates. That’s quite unusual. Part of the reason was that I spent my last Hawaii vacation doing exactly that, vacationing. I relaxed and unwound. I didn’t seek out adventure and my trip was short.

 

Coming up next

I have another Hawaii vacation on the books but this time to the Big Island of Hawaii. The Big Island was the first island I visited in Hawaii. That was back in 2007. Since then I’ve been to Oahu and made numerous trips to Maui. I wonder what changes have taken place since my first visit! 11 years is a long time. We stayed at Sea Mountain on our first trip. Sea Mountain is located near Volcano National Park on the wet side of the island. This trip will be at the Royal Kona Resort. Its on the dry touristy side of the island. I won’t have a condo this trip. It’s a standard hotel room.

Some things I can try on the Big Island

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I’ve been looking into some of the activities I might be able to enjoy. Top on my list is an ocean cruise around the edge of the island to see the lava from Kilauea flowing into the ocean. As much as I’ve bee researching this I seem to get different information all the time. I may have to wait until I’m there to see if they are going out.

I’ve also heard that a night snorkel with sting rays is an awesome experience. It was a tour guide on Maui that told me about that. Speaking of Snorkeling, there are quite a few snorkel trips advertised as well as Snuba.

There are also helicopter tours and shark diving. Waipio Valley is listed as a “must see” but requires some hiking. I’m not sure I’ve recovered enough for any lengthy hiking so I’ll just mark that with a question mark. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

Whale Watching in February

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Watch out for the Whales

February is the highpoint of the whale season in Maui. The whale season is said to run from Mid December to Mid May but I can vouch for February. You can even watch the whales from shore! I love the whales. I think they are amazing animals and here you get to see the tiny babies as well as the adults. Of course “tiny” is relative. A 2 ton baby isn’t tiny by human standards but next to its mama, its just a bit of a thing.

Whales

What’s a Little Motion Sickness?

My dinner cruise price included a whale watch trip. I hadn’t planned on going whale watching this visit because I forgot to pack my motion sickness patches. The whale watches can get a little rough and I am prone to sea sickness. How many people do you know that can get sea sick while scuba diving? I did!  But that’s a story for another day! Anyway I had a whale watch coming to me so I decided to cross my fingers and take a chance.

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Whale Watching with Hawaii Ocean Project

The Whale watch boat was berthed in Lahaina Harbor, a very popular starting point for many whale watching companies. To pull out of the harbor everyone has to be seated. This is true for all of the cruises. The crew of our ship made all the proper announcements but they didn’t enforce them. Adults and children were still wandering the decks as we cast off. They went on to announce that serious photographers should be seated on the lower deck in the bow. I found my seat in the bow and prepared my camera. I shouldn’t have bothered.

Were there Whales?

just missed but got the splash

We saw whales. There was a lot of breaching and tail slapping. I can’t criticize the trip for that. But I will say I won’t go on this trip again. Getting shots of whales is hard enough without playing a dodge game with people holding their cell phones up in front of everyone. I was competing with heads, elbows and children being lifted on shoulders. This is not a trip for a serious photographer. There are other whale watching boats that have stadium seating so no one has an obstructed view. Or I’ll take one of the smaller rafting tours. All the seats on those are good and its very exciting. Let the families go out on this trip. I’ll find a different one next time.

Tail Slapping

A Little Sunset Cruise

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A Dinner Cruise in Paradise

Cruise the coast of Maui at Sunset. Dine on prime rib and baby carrots. Drinks flow freely. Live entertainment as if the views aren’t enough. What could be better. How about an escort of humpback whales?

Maui Princess

The Maui Princess

I’d taken the Maui Princess Dinner Cruise before. The previous year my sister, my cousin and I had enjoyed the relaxing sunset cruise along the Maui Coast. It was a beautiful evening and I think its safe to say a good time was had by all. It wasn’t exciting but it was relaxing. So as I considered my options for my last two days in Hawaii, taking the cruise again seemed like a nice idea. My goal this trip was to relax and unwind. Not go on an adrenaline kick.

The Old Lady and the Newly Weds

west Maui Mountains

I had to laugh when I was taken to my table. Single travelers must be a real headache to tour operators. Most of the tables were set for 4 people. What to do with a lone senior citizen? In my case they seated me with a young newly wed couple. The newly weds were on their honeymoon. They were good sports about sharing their table with me. The woman entertainer was quite good but it wasn’t long before she was upstaged.

The Humpback Escorts

This time of year is whale season. We’d just left the harbor when a pair of whales surfaced right next to us. One was clearly a mama humpback and the other was her baby. According to our captain the baby was probably only 2-3 weeks old. Next to Mama it looked tiny. The mama whale was teaching her baby to breach. It’s the way the baby gets in shape for the long journey back to Alaska. The pair stayed close all evening putting on quite the show. The baby never seemed to tire of his breaching acrobatics.

Breaching baby Humpback

A Magical Night

The whale pair stayed with us the whole evening. At times the antics were so much fun even the crew stopped serving to watch. We were all seated on the top deck so there were no bad seats. I didn’t bring the camera so I had the freedom to just sit back and enjoy. Yes, I felt a pang to not be capturing the action but sometimes its nice to just be immersed in the experience.

 

Luaus in Hawaii

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imu

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Luau’s are everywhere in Hawaii

Luaus are to Hawaii as barbecue is to the South. I’ve been to Luaus on Oahu, The big Island and Maui. I’ve lost count of the number I’ve attended. They all have certain elements. You’ll have Kalua Pig. Its usually the center prices of the celebration. A whole pig is cooked in an underground oven called an imu. You’ll also get to taste poi, a paste made from the taro plant. Some of the other traditional foods are Lomilomi salmon, chicken and long rice. You’ll probably be served Haupia, a coconut milk based treat that’s been popular since the 1940’s for dessert.

The Luau Shows

Princess Dance

There’s a lot of pomp and tradition to the Luau shows. Some start with a procession of Hawaiian Royalty others begin with the opening of the imu. Many just begin as a stage show. No matter what the  format, all of the shows tell a story of the Islands. Different types of native dance and song are showcased. Most have a fire dancers which is always a crowd pleaser.

The Feast at Lele

I was told this Luau was different from any I’d been to before and it shouldn’t be missed. It was a sales pitch and I fell for it but  I was getting a nice discount so why not. Usually tickets are $110/head. I paid $49.00. At most luaus you are seated at long family style tables and go through a buffet line for food. Not so at the Feast of Lele. You’ll have your own table and server.

Our Band

The Band played popular ballads but they all sounded like Hawaiian music. As they started another familiar song I commented ” Here’s another traditional Hawaiian  favorite for your listening pleasure.” My tablemates thought that was quite funny.

Feast of lele dancersJourney across Polynesia

The Feast of Lele differs from other Luaus because you don’t go through a buffet line. You’ll enjoy a 5 course meal themed  by island  and delivered to your table by your server. The entertainment features the dances of the island to match your meal, Hawaii, Aotearoa – New Zealand, Tahiti, Samoa and dessert.

 

Let me tell you how I really feel

I fully agree that everyone should attend at least one Luau but by now my luau experiences were approaching double digits.  I love Hawaii but I am not a fan of Hawaiian food. Give me a good steak anytime.  I like the shows but after seeing as many as I’ve seen I don’t need another one. Even the fire dancer has lost it’s exotic feel. Disney includes a fire dancer in it’s Festival of the Lion King.

Fire Dance