Author: Tim

Monday, February 21 – Kapaa

“Go West, Old Man!” That’s my motto as I travel to the west side of the island today. I’m going to take the west side highway to its very end in the northwest part of the island. The route will take me from my east side hotel, then loop along the south shore and finish by heading north along the west side. There are no options – that’s the only highway. It’s about a 40 mile drive, but will take about an hour and a half; rather slow for a few reasons: mainly two lane roads; low speed limits; and a switchback route to the north due to elevation gains.

This road trip has two main viewing objectives: the Napali Coast and the Waimea Canyon. This will be achieved via some lookouts along the route and one short hike.

I have a reservation on Wednesday morning to enter Ha’ena State Park, which includes another Napali Coast hike. Looking forward to that!

My rental car shuttle bus driver was very friendly and provided me with some local dining suggestions (I was the only passenger on the bus!). One happened to be on the way back to the hotel, so I stopped there for some takeaway.

Saturday, February 19 – Honolulu

My last day on Oahu. I enjoyed my time on this island. I didn’t plan on staying this long, but it worked out pretty well. I never got tired of gazing at Diamond Head. I’m not sure what it is about it, maybe the fact that it’s visible from so many points in Honolulu and Waikiki. After nearly six weeks though, I think I’m ready to move on.

For my last excursion, I’m walking to Chinatown to see about getting something to eat.

Sunday, February 20 – transit from Oahu to Kauai

I had a 10am flight this morning from Honolulu to Lihue on Kauai via Hawaiian Airlines ($87 + $15 baggage fee). And how do you think I got to the airport? By bus, of course! (I’m going to miss the Oahu bus network!) The flight took about 40 minutes on a medium-sized plane (3 x 2 seating x 28 rows).

There are no Covid-related procedures in place when traveling between the islands. Once a traveler from the mainland has been cleared for arrival in Hawaii, they are able to travel freely interisland.

I arrived a little too early to check into my hotel, so I ended up taking a quick drive up the east coast.

My hotel is also on the east side of the island. It’s called The ISO.

As I was driving along the coast I noticed a nice walking/biking path along the waterfront. Definitely in my future! Coincidentally, during my check-in I discovered that the hotel has bikes available for the guests to use (At no charge…well, it’s actually part of the $25/day “resort fee” that’s included in the daily rate – which also includes sunrise yoga (I’ll be trying that!) and a grab-and-go breakfast). So, I dropped off my bags, changed clothes, and took off on a leisurely 1 1/2 hour bike ride.

Finished up the day with a swim in the pool and some reading in the lounge chair. Not a bad start to my week in Kauai!

Wednesday, February 16 – Honolulu

Sadly, nothing very exciting to report today folks. I spent the morning working on the journal and then decided to head out on my favorite Waikiki/Honolulu walk – the loop around Diamond Head. Never gets old!

I took my camera along, but nothing new or different really stood out along the way. Well, there was one…

Thursday, February 17 – Honolulu

Today I visited the Bishop Museum on the west side of Honolulu. The museum provides information on the cultural and natural history of the state and the Pacific Islands in general. Some of you may have heard of the Polynesian Cultural Center located here on Oahu. Well, I considered visiting that as well, but thought the Bishop would be similar, but less touristy. Plus it was easier to get to! The bus ride took about 40 minutes. The museum entrance fee was $25, plus another $3 for a planetarium presentation.

Correction: So, I was wrong when I mentioned previously that bus fares would be decreasing for HOLO card users beginning March 1st. I received further information when I rode the bus today. It turns out that the fare will remain the same, but the cost of the card itself is going to increase from free to $2. So my indignation was not justified; I have, in fact, actually saved money in this case. Whew! I feel better now! (and as Georgina rightly pointed out, it seemed odd that bus fares would be going down as fuel prices were spiking…)

I ended up spending a fair amount of time at the museum. A very interesting place!

Sidenote: Near the bus stop for my return to town was a McDonald’s. The temptation was too great. I had to get a cone! And the price here was the lowest I have paid yet during my time here – $1.77. This makes three different prices I’ve paid for cones. (Not included the highest price I rejected at a restaurant in Waikiki) It just seems odd to me that the prices would not be consistent throughout the city. I haven’t been to a Madison McDonald’s in forever, but I would think the prices would be the same at every location. Maybe I’m totally off on this? I guess I’ll have to do some research when I get back!

Friday, February 18 – Honolulu

I’m kind of in Honolulu wind down mode today. (I depart on Sunday) I spent the morning doing some travel prep – reviewing all my reservations (flights, cars, hotels, parks) and decided to go to a FedEx Office and print them all out. I figured having hard copies might come in handy. And in the case of the park reservations, they’re actually required.

Just ended up walking over to Magic Island to hang out on a bench for part of the afternoon. Very relaxing! And for dinner, I went back to Mama Kim’s to pick up a Poke Bowl…

Sunday, February 13 – Honolulu

Went kind of low-key today. Spent the morning working on the journal and some domestic necessities (email, finances, etc.). Maybe a little loafing around too. It is Sunday after all!

Now, it is Super Bowl Sunday, but I didn’t have a lot of interest in watching the game. If need be, I could watch the highlights on YouTube later (check out the commercials too!). Plus, the kickoff was around 1:30pm here, and it was just too nice outside to stay in watching TV. So, I ventured out this afternoon, with my favorite spot in mind – Magic Island. When I arrived there I was SHOCKED by what I saw – the park and beaches were nearly deserted, on a normally very busy Sunday. Wow! The Super Bowl is indeed a force of nature, even in Hawaii! And on the way back to the apartment I stopped at the grocery store. Same thing. Empty. Crazy!!

Tripnote: There’s a funny tale behind how Magic Island got its name. It’s actually a man-made peninsula (not an island), and the story goes that residents from the other side of the island would visit Honolulu on occasion. Well, on one of their trips they discovered that this peninsula had Magically appeared where nothing had been there before!

Monday, February 14 – Honolulu

This morning I’m back to slip F28 for my snorkeling adventure on the Honu Lani. And this time, it actually is a three-hour tour!

Not a huge amount of pictures to share today because, well, I was in the water, and I sadly don’t have a waterproof camera!

I would rate today’s snorkeling experience as average at best. The overcast skies didn’t help the visibility, which was a little murky to start with. I did see some turtles and interesting fish though. It was a good day however; with some fun conversations with the crew and other passengers. I’m sure the alcohol didn’t hurt either!

Tuesday, February 15 – Honolulu

I made a return visit to Pearl Harbor today. I wanted to tour the Missouri and spend more time viewing the exhibits on the island.

Tripnote: I’m sure this lack of rain I’ve experienced on Oahu will come back to haunt me as I visit the other islands!

It was another sobering visit to Pearl Harbor. I’m fortunate to have had the time to dig deeper into its history.

Thursday, February 10 – Honolulu

Call me Captain Ahab. I’m in search of an up close and personal encounter with a whale today! Unlike the S.S. Minnow though, my tour is only going to last two hours, not three! (and hopefully we’ll make it back to the dock safely!)

You’ve probably noticed there’s something missing from these photos…that would be a WHALE!! (did see a ton of flying fish though, so there’s that)

I’m now oh-for-two on my whale watching excursion attempts. I struck out in Iceland as well a few years ago (remember J.K.?). Maybe I should just take the hint?

I gotta say however that it wasn’t a terrible outing. It was a beautiful morning; with calm seas and wonderful views of Waikiki.

There is a good news postscript though: The tour company offers a “Whale Guarantee”. Bonus! If a whale is not sighted, the customer can go on any one subsequent tour that they offer with a full credit. I’m going to take them up on that, obviously. However, I’ve decided to pass on the whale watching, and am going to go on a snorkel and lunch outing instead (at an additional cost of $42). Watch this space for the details on that upcoming excursion…

My day concluded on a very enjoyable note. My friend Ed’s sister and brother-in-law (who I had not previously met) arrived in Waikiki this afternoon. They were traveling here from Maui, so the plan was to get acquainted and share some Oahu and Maui tips. We met at Sam’s Kitchen for dinner (where I had previously tried their delicious seared Ahi). Our timing was fortuitous, as Sam himself arrived while we were there with the day’s fresh catch!

Our time together flew by – we spent three hours talking. A fun night!

Sidenote: When I told Debbie and Ron about my failed whale mission today, they provided me with some encouraging news: they had just had spectacular whale watching success in Maui! Hopefully that will still be the case when I get there in a couple weeks!

Friday, February 11 – Honolulu

I’m venturing to the windward (east shore) side of Oahu today, to an area called Kailua (thanks for the suggestion Ray & Kathy!). The ride by bus, with one transfer, took about an hour. It was an inland route, so not very scenic.

My itinerary includes two beaches, a park, and a fun hike. Let’s hit it!

I’ve done a lot of walking today! But thankfully there was a public access point to the street not too far from here, and from there the bus stop was close as well. Whew!

A very enjoyable day!

Steps Update: Today is the halfway point of my abbreviated trip itinerary. A perfect time to see how my steps are progressing: I’m still averaging 17k steps per day, with a day max of 30k, and a min of 10k. I’m guessing though that my average is going to go down as I transit to the other islands, due to the fact I’ll have a rental car.

Saturday, February 12 – Honolulu

Today I booked a guided tour of Hawaii’s Plantation Village. This is an outdoor museum that includes restored buildings and replicas of plantation structures. It is on the site of a previous working sugar plantation, to the west of Honolulu. Via an express bus, it took about an hour to get there.

The guided tour lasted about an hour and forty-five minutes, at a cost of $12 (with the senior discount; should I be happy about that?). A bargain! It was very interesting, and there were only four of us on the tour.

Sadly, I have to admit that I dropped the ball on taking photos. I was really engrossed in the tour and assumed I could work my way back afterwards to get more shots. What I didn’t realize though was that access to the outdoor portions of the museum was via a guide accompaniment only. Doh! Sorry about that!

Sugar Trivia: I learned that the C&H brand of sugar stands for California and Hawaii – because the sugar cane was sourced in Hawaii and refined in California. There you go!

I came across some more disturbing news today (following the Subway travesty). A sign on the bus indicated that, as of March 1st, fares using the HOLO card would be dropping from $2.75 to $2.00. What?!? I can’t believe I’ll be missing out on this!

Tuesday, February 8 – Honolulu

I’m going to venture out today to a park in Honolulu that’s kind of off the beaten path (just the way I like it!). Kakaako Waterfront Park covers an area of about 35 acres and is the site of a former landfill, so it has a rolling topography. It took me about 50 minutes to walk there from my apartment.

And there were some nice photo ops along the way…

One of my neighbors told me about a Honolulu institution called Leonard’s Bakery. Founded in 1952, they are know for their Malasadas – a Portuguese doughnut without a hole. I need to check this place out! It’s about a 50 minute walk heading inland, so let’s do this!

I’m sorry this day was a little boring, but I had fun!

Wednesday, February 9 – Honolulu

I booked a guided tour of Iolani Palace today ($30). Due to Covid, advance timed reservations are required for the visit, and group sizes are limited. So, a rare pandemic benefit!

The Palace dates to 1882, and was the home of Hawaii’s last reigning monarchs. It served as the official royal residence and the residence of the Kingdom’s political and social life until the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893. Iolani Palace has the distinction of being the only official royal residence in the United States.

On my previous Honolulu downtown walkabout I included several pictures of the Palace exterior, so today’s entry will just include a few pictures from the interior.

The tour lasted about 1 1/2 hours and was very enjoyable. If you have further interest in this topic, I suggest looking into the history of the Hawaiian Royal Family and the forces that led to their demise.

I had a good day, but probably a rather mundane entry for the readers. Apologies for that. I’m hoping tomorrow will bring a little more adventure! Interest peaked?

Sunday, February 6 – Honolulu

I had a little bit of a journal backlog to catch up on this morning, and after that I decided to spend the afternoon meandering around parts of Waikiki that I hadn’t visited yet. I started off by returning to the beach volleyball courts, but the action wasn’t as intense as yesterday, so I moved on…

And who else remembers his iconic hit Tiny Bubbles??

Monday, February 7 – Honolulu

Well, I’ve finally figured out the remainder of my travel schedule. I determined a couple days ago that I would be departing Kona on March 15. Instead of returning straight to Madison though, I was thinking of stopping off in Las Vegas. It’s been at least 30 years since I’ve been there, so the thought was appealing. And the first weekend of March Madness also happens to take place during this week. Bonus! Well, maybe not. As I did a little research, I discovered that this is a BAD time to be in LV! Attempting to watch the games in a sports book requires an expensive reservation or a long wait to gain entry. Pass!

I’ll therefore be arriving back in Madison on March 16 (overnight flight) – after spending a little over 9 weeks in Hawaii instead of the planned 3 months. Not terrible, I guess. I rebooked my Southwest Airlines return (again!). The change resulted in a fare increase of $150, but I had the $30 credit from my previous change, so the net increase was around $120.

For the rest of the day I ran a few errands, and then took a walk over to Magic Island. Boring, I know!

Thursday, February 3 – Honolulu

More travel planning taking place this morning! I’m making progress, thankfully. I’ve now added a week in Maui following the week in Kauai. Only finalizing the big island (Hawaii) itinerary remains.

While visiting the Koko Crater Botanical Garden, I met a couple from Oregon who told me about another botanical garden located in the heart of downtown Honolulu. Really? So that’s this afternoon’s destination.

The Foster Botanical Garden was about an hour walk (to the west) from my apartment. It’s not a huge garden – 14 acres – but it contains an interesting mix of tropical plants ($5 entry fee).

Friday, February 4 – Honolulu

Okay, I’m designating this my “stupid, but lucky” day. I decided to make a return visit to the north shore – to check out some other beaches to the east of my previous trip. It’s an area called the Banzai Pipeline, and I was hoping to see some of the big winter waves the area is famous for (and were nowhere to be seen on my last visit!). Well, I did not go away disappointed! In fact, there just happened to be a major surfing competition being held here this weekend. Today was a practice day, which was perfect for me (low-key, less crowded, free!).

Sidenote: Of course, I could have easily known in advance that this tournament was taking place; just a little advance research would have provided that information. But no!

I took a bunch of pictures, but with my low skill level and lack of high quality equipment, it was difficult to get many good action shots. Hopefully the ones I posted below will give you a feel for the power of these waves! They were great fun to witness! The surfers too!

Based on the fact that the waves on my previous visit to the North Shore were much less powerful, I was curious how these tournaments are able to be scheduled in a reasonable manner. As I was talking to one of the other spectators, she passed along that the timing is based on a selected 10-12 day window. Interesting…

Sidenote: I’m writing this on Sunday morning, so the results of the men’s competition from Saturday are in. It turns out the winner was an aging surfing legend!

Across the street from Ehukai Beach was a hike I wanted to check out – the Ehukai Pillbox Trail. It’s around 3 miles long, which is a combination of a loop and and out-and-back trail. There was a fairly steep gradient at times, so it was a little more strenuous than I expected!

A short walk to the east from Ehukai Beach is Sunset Beach. This will be my last stop for the day.

With the name Sunset Beach, you’d think it would be obvious that I should stick around to witness that event. Nice idea, but I’ve got a 2 hour bus ride ahead of me, so I think I’m going to make my way back to Honolulu!

Saturday, February 5 – Honolulu

More travel planning this morning! I’m sooo close to being done! Today I booked my final Hawaiian leg – 9 nights on the Big Island (Hawaii), mainly based in Hilo. Since I’ve decided to cut my visit to Hawaii short, I’m thinking of doing a short stopover somewhere in the southern U.S. before I return to Madison. Hopefully I’ll get that figured out soon!

Similar to Magic Island becoming my favorite spot in Honolulu/Waikiki, the Diamond Head loop has become my favorite walk. That’s this afternoon’s adventure! And unlike last time, when I was lazy and didn’t take any pictures, this time I came across some new sights I think (hope?) you’ll be interested in. So, here we go!

Sunday, January 30 – Honolulu

I did some housekeeping stuff this morning, including a journal update and a trip to the grocery store. Exciting, I know!

Sidenote: I’ve checked out four different grocery stores near my apartment, and it turns out Walmart generally has the lowest prices. And it’s a nicely laid out store as well! The one negative is their limited produce section.

By early afternoon I was ready to get out and enjoy some more of the beautiful weather. I decided I was going to go back to the Diamond Head Grill for some takeaway dinner, so I meandered that way via the waterfront. The beaches were pretty crowded. As I mentioned before, I’m pretty sure that’s due to an influx of the locals on the weekends. (No pictures of note to post here – it’s all similar to what I’ve uploaded previously. Sorry!)

The Grill’s daily special was a grilled chicken gyros with a salad. Mmmm…might have try that out!

So, my apartment is on the very western edge of Waikiki, and the Diamond Head Grill is on the eastern edge. I point that out because the walk back took me about 45 minutes. Not terrible. But I probably won’t be going back there a lot! (For reference, my previous hotel is pretty much right in the middle between my apartment and the Grill)

Monday, January 31 – Honolulu

I worked on some travel planning this morning. I ended booking the next leg of my trip – 7 nights in Kauai. (That’s the longest I was willing to go – it’s expensive! And, of course, I’m cheap!) I’ll reveal the Kauai costs when I get to that part of the trip. I head there on the 20th of this month.

Travel Note: I’m going to need a rental car in Kauai (and the other islands), so I checked with my credit card companies to see if either of the two offer Collision Damage coverage when using their card. Well, it’s good news – bad news time. The good news is one of my cards does offer the coverage. Alright! The bad news? My account (and thousands of others) with that card have been transferred to a different provider. So my existing card will be voided on February 21st. Ugh! That’s double bad news! Not only will I not receive the CD coverage, but I’ll be down to one credit card for the rest of my trip after February 21st. I’m confident (hopeful?) it won’t be a problem though. There is some follow-up good news however. I ended up booking the rental car via Expedia, and they offer CD coverage through AIG for $10/day, which isn’t terrible. One more note: I’m sure the new credit card provider has mailed me their card which will become active on the 21st, and may even include CD coverage; but, of course, I’m not home to receive it! Doh!

By afternoon I was ready to get out and clear my head. So I decided to take the walk around (not into) Diamond Head Crater. This is the walk that goes along the waterfront in Waikiki and then wraps around the crater to return back into town. It’s a pretty walk, and fairly grueling with some elevation changes. (Once again, I haven’t bothered with pictures; you’ve seen it already) Dinner was chicken noodle soup out of a can. Yum!

Sidenote: I’ve been here three weeks now, and I hate to say it, but I’ve recently been hoping for a rainy day; just so I could take a day of just loafing around and not feel guilty about it. But it’s been nice every day! Pretty lame thing to be complaining about, right? (BTW, still averaging 17k steps per day)

Tuesday, February 1 – Honolulu

I have a little day of exploring planned. I’m heading back to the southeast corner of the island – to the area around Koko Crater (there’s a lot see there!).

The first stop is Koko Crater Botanical Garden. The garden path is about 2 miles long, with some minor elevation changes. An easy hike. And the best part: it’s free! I should say that the name is a little misleading. To me it seemed more like a nature preserve. I’ll let you be the judge after looking at the pictures! (and like at the arboretum, I’ll offer the caveat that I’ve made no attempt to identify the various plant life! Sorry!)

Okay, time to head to the beach! To get there from the Botanical Garden was about a 30 minute walk to the south.

And for those of you of a certain age, Halona Beach Cove is where the beach scene in the movie From Here To Eternity was filmed.

A fun day!

Wednesday, February 2 – Honolulu

More travel planning this morning folks! I’m looking at going to Maui following Kauai, but nothing is booked yet. Spoiler alert! I’m probably going to return to Madison earlier than expected. The costs on the other three islands are much higher than here on Oahu (mainly due to the need for a rental car), so my budget is looking to be busted ahead of schedule (although, my original plan was not to stay in Hawaii for the full three months). I’m still sorting through the scenarios though. Watch this space…

Following the planning stuff and some journal work, I ventured out to what is probably my favorite spot in Honolulu. That’s right. Magic Island! Basically just planted myself on a bench, contemplated life, did a little reading, and listened to one of Matt’s podcasts.

Before finding my bench of choice though, I came across this cool ceremony…

Sadly, I have some terrible news to report people! Brace yourselves!

On my way back to the apartment I stopped at the nearby Subway to pick up a $3.99 special. Well, they’re no longer offering that promotion. What!?! The horror! Now, there are many other Subway shops in the area, but as far as I could tell this was the only one offering the special. And now it’s no more. Brutal!

So I went to Plan B for dinner. I stopped at the grocery store (not Walmart) to pick up a premade salad. On the way out of the store I noticed this popular booth.

Friday, January 28 – Honolulu

I’m a little tired this morning, so I decided to hang around the apartment and work on a journal update, do some reading and watch TV. Boring, I know! (remind myself – marathon, not sprint!)

I did get out for a walk this afternoon though and ended up at my favorite bench on Magic Island. I did have a pleasant surprise on my walk back to the apartment however. I took a new route and came across the companion statue to the one I highlighted previously that’s adjacent to the Hawaii Convention Center. Bonus!

Saturday, January 29 – Honolulu

I ventured into Chinatown today. The Chinese New Year is this coming Tuesday, so I was hoping some special activities might be taking place. Unfortunately, due to Covid, there were no public celebrations scheduled. There was still plenty of traffic and long lines though at Chinese bakeries and flower shops.

It was about a 45 minute walk to the west from my apartment.

For dinner? The $3.99 Subway special! Weird that I didn’t get something to eat while I was in Chinatown, right? I know! I just wasn’t hungry at the time. I’ll definitely go back though to try out some of the food stalls!