Hawaii is a state of the United States of America located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the only U.S. state located outside North America and the only island state. Distant and exotic it is on everyone’s bucket list. While travel is at a standstill, I thought I’d share a slide show from my trips to Hawaii. The photos are from Oahu, Maui and The Big Island. They include landscapes, water sports, flora and fauna. There is so much in Hawaii to see.
Let’s leave the supernatural behind. I’ve got a long list of places I visited over the years so I thought I’d mention some of my favorite experiences. That’s not as easy as it seems. but at least it’s fun to reminisce.
The very first trip I took was to Hawaii on 2007. My Mom and Sister went with me. We went to the Big Island. In a way I wish I could get that innocence back.
I think I spent the whole vacation with my mouth open. Everything amazed me from the condo overlooking the golf course and the ocean waves to the Chain of Craters Road in Volcano National Park. Everything was new and fresh.
The following year I went back to Hawaii. This time to Oahu. This time my sister went with me but my mom stayed at home. We were in a high rise building only a block from Waikiki Beach. And we saw rainbows ever day, morning and afternoon!
That trip had so many highlights. Of course there was Pearl Harbor. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, everyone should go there and pay their respects. It is such a moving experience.
I snorkeled in Hanauma Bay, a volcanic crater. What an amazing time!
We spent a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center, another don’t miss stop and nearly got blown off the “pali ” (cliffs) at Nuuanu Pali State Park, our first experiance with the trade winds.
Jump to the fall of 2008. I was in a use it or lose it position with my time share points so I took another vacation. On a shoe string I booked Sedona, Arizona. This time I was traveling alone.
Snoopy Rock
The Red Rocks of Sedona are breath taking but nothing prepared me for my first sight of the Grand Canyon.
On the South Rim, Grand Canyon 2008
I stepped off the tour bus and my head spun. I had to step back. The sight made me so dizzy. My mind kept telling me it wasn’t real. Nothing could be that spectacular.
Grand Canyon
It’s fun to think back like this and almost embarrassing to look at my pictures. I’m happy to say I’ve improved in that department!
Now I’m no expert but with 3 trips and 3 islands under my belt I do think I can share some insight into Hawaii’s varied climate.
Whenever I tell people I’m heading to the Islands for vacation I am always asked about the weather. Even better was when there was a headline in BOLD letters “SNOW IN HAWAII”. I love it! So let me share what little I do know about Hawaii and its weather.
For the most part weather in Hawaii is fairly consistent year round. There are 2 seasons, summer from May to October and winter which runs from November to April. Daytime temps in the summer are around 85 degrees F and only slightly lower in winter at an average of 78 degrees F.
So how can there be snow if it’s 78 F you ask.
Well the islands have an amazing diversity of micro-environments. Each have their own unique weather, plants and animals. Did you know a volcano like Kilauea creates its own weather? It sure does and we experienced that the first night on the Big Island. As we drove from Hilo to our time share we hit a heavy fog bank and lots of misty air. It was so dark and hard to see that it made for a very stressful drive for our first night there. Only after we visited Volcano National Park did we find out that it was from the volcano. The islands are all of volcanic origins with topography that ranges from sandy, sea level beaches to towering volcanic mountains.
Mauna Loa on the Big Island is the world’s largest active volcano. It extends 13,697 feet above sea level but there is another 3100 below sea level. When you hear that there has been snow in Hawaii it is likely to be on either Mauna Loa or Mauna Kea, also on the Big Island. So you could go skiing in the morning and surfing in the afternoon all on the same island.
By the way, Mauna Kea is even taller than Mauna Loa and is the location of the world’s largest observatory.
So now that the matter of snow has been addressed let’s talk about the trade winds. Sometimes they can be pretty strong as Sandy and I experienced when we explored Pali Lookout (Nu’uanu Pali) on Oahu. But thanks to these prevailing breezes even 85 F is comfortable.
The trade winds bring moist , cool air into the northeastern slopes of the mountains. As the winds are forced up the mountain slopes the air cools and the moisture condenses causing rain. ( Sorry for the science lesson) This is why the islands seem to have a split personality, warm and wet on one side and desert dry on the other.
Most of the resorts and tourist destinations are on the dry side. Tourists don’t like to get rained on. They want to bask on the sandy beaches and drink their tropical drinks with little umbrellas. I like the beaches and snorkeling but I also love the lush green of the rain forest. The Big Island is a great example . The beautiful botanical gardens are all around Hilo because it is on the windward side of the Big Island but the resorts are on the Kona side. Driving from one side of the island to the other is dramatic. You leave the moist rainforest, drive a twisting road over the mountains (with outstanding vistas at every turn) and hit the flat, dry, arid side of the island. You drive through desert and lava fields to reach Kona.
This wet/dry pattern is repeated to varying degrees on each of the islands. Depending on where you are you can experience tropical rain forests, cool alpine regions, arid deserts, and sunny beaches – all within the span of just a few miles. Is it any wonder that I’m enamored of the islands? Like thousands of people before me, I fell in love with this island paradise.
Every Hawaiian Island has its own flavor. Different paces and feelings.
The Big Island will always hold a special place in my heart. Maybe because it was the first Island we visited?
But Oahu was special too. It was a much more urban Island. After all, it’s the “Gathering Place.” But Oahu will always be linked to Pearl Harbor for me. Very emotional. Everyone should visit the Arizona Memorial. Watching the History Channel specials about the Pearl Harbor attacks took me right back to the feeling I experienced the day of my visit.
Maui falls somewhere in between. It seemed to have more commercial/urban areas but there was a lot of unspoiled area too. Of the 3 islands Maui was the hardest to drive around. The “Road to Hana” was without question the most dangerous and challenging. Its the only island I did not drive around completely myself. We took the tour.
We didn’t get into the interior too much. That area is the wet section and is probably similar to the Hilo area on the Big Island. The road to the interior was washed out and closed. I hope to explore it more when I go back in February.
Maui was filled with things to do. We kept busy on the sea , in the air and under sea. We filled our days with sunset dinner cruises and luaus, helicopter rides over Haleakala and a submarine journey 127 ft under the sea. Great adventures all. And all in a tropical paradise.
So which Island do I like the best now? I’m still not sure. I’m beginning to think it depends on what I want out of the trip.
Its interesting that Sandy said the one regret she had about this vacation was that we didn’t go on the whale watch. That had been high on our must do list but the whales were just arriving while we were there. We probably would have seen some but the general scuttlebutt when i asked was that it would be a blow or a tail here or there. Not the wild antics Hawaii is known for. That comes later in the season. So we, or maybe it was me, made the decision not to include a whale watch trip this time. Maybe with the wisdom of hindsight, that was a mistake.
We’ll just have to time it better next time we go. And there will be a next time!
