Much-delayed update from my second trip to the beautiful Hawaiian islands. This time we ventured to Maui, which was a spectacular end to the week. Beautiful scenery and nothing but sunny days, it was as to be expected. Seeing Nathan was a nice perk, too!
Saturday, August 4
4AM wakeup for a 7AM flight. WHY do I keep choosing these early flights? This time I decided to drive, and parked in the economy lot at Dulles. It costs $10/day, which (normally) would be cheaper than taking a cab (they're about $60 each way from my parents'). Settled in for the five hour flight from Dulles (IAD) to Los Angeles (LAX), but wasn't thrilled I had paid $40 for a "choice seat." They had a promotion through American Airlines, so I upgraded to a seat in the front of the plane. Unfortunately the seat I chose was in front of the economy seats, there was no basket for magazines, etc., and I never figured out how to use my tray table (it was in the arm) until the final 30 minutes of the trip. All mistakes aside, I arrived at LAX with time to spare for my hour connection. OR SO I THOUGHT.
Naturally, my second flight on United was delayed an hour, and then another hour, and before I knew it my 11am flight was now scheduled for 6pm. After a measly lunch at the airport and a glass of wine for the angst, I re-approached the ticket counter to see what I could work out. The delightfully UN helpful United representative hands me $20 worth of food vouchers (I had already eaten, remember?) and says they can do nothing. So I left the airport, walked up to the United counter, and requested to be put on standby for a different flight, which was leaving at 5pm. Now, I've never done standby before, so when they said I had to wait until everyone was boarded before I could find out whether I made the flight or not my nerves started. Nathan was on his computer at home trying to figure things out, and I was spending a lot of time just praying I would make it.
Finally, they find out a mass of Asian tourists are stuck in customs, and my name is called. Nathan is relieved, I am sitting in a prime seat in the exit row front aisle, and I am settled in for the five hour flight. Made it!
Arrive to Honolulu and my luggage is no where to be seen. Typical. They say it will be delivered to me by 11pm, so I resign to wearing my sweatpants and t-shirt for the rest of the evening. Nathan picks me up and we head in to town for some easy dinner at Gordon Biersch, and check in to the Honolulu Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort. It's not on the beach and parking (valet only) is $30 a night, but it'll do. Once we're settled we head out to meet up with some guys and play a few games of darts. The crowd is fun, but I've been up since 4am, so we grab a late night snack at Denny's and grab my luggage from the desk before passing out.
Sunday, August 5
Wake up Sunday, grab some breakfast at Dennys (again?!) and hit the Infinity Pool at the Sheraton, which is also honestly named "The Bro Tank". It's a gorgeous day and the water is perfect. We grab bean bag chairs and float around a few hours, grab a snack, and head out of Honolulu around noon (after stopping by the market, of course!).
After a long day in the pool, the AC in the truck is nice. We head North toward Waimanalo, grab some groceries, and settle in a nice spot to camp overnight by the beach. Nathan has rented a tent from the Fort, and we grill up some chicken and mushrooms, wander around the beach, then I am so exhausted I crash at 7pm. Whoops!
Monday, August 6
10 hours later we wake up to head South to Waikiki, grab some gear and jump in the boat of Island Divers Hawaii. 30 minutes later we are 30 feet under water in scuba gear, swimming around pointing at fish and turtles everywhere. Our instructors were awesome, the chat was quick, and we got to dive twice! Someone told us the state charges $27,000 if you touch a turtle and they catch it on camera, so we avoided getting close to them! Apparently they carry a lot of diseases.
Scuba diving is checked off the list, and we return to Waialua to pick up his sister and head back to the house. We change clothes, cook up a meal, and sit out by the campfire for a few hours. I have sweet tan lines from my Ray Bans as a reminder of how awesome the day was. We hit the sack around 9pm.
Tuesday, August 7
Nathan has to work early, so I make myself breakfast and do a little work from home myself. He gets home early, and we grab bikes for a ride to Haleiwa, and an epic lunch of Haleiwa Thai. We both get curry, and we both like each others. After a little food-coma-induced shopping in Haleiwa, we set off on bikes up the North Shore to find a Starbucks. The ride is breath-taking, and LITERALLY breath TAKING, because there is a huge hill up the side of a mountain on a road with no sidewalk, and by the time we reach the top I am ready for an iced anything. We indulge in some over-priced chai and cake pops, and head back down the mountain to Waimea Bay, where we take a relaxing swim in calm water.
Nathan's sister drives out to pick us up, and we head to Liuibuenos for some amazing fish tacos. Nathan runs in to some friends there, and we eventually clamber out and back to the house. Not quite ready to sleep yet, so we take a walk along the beach behind the house. It is perfect. Lots of packing to do, so we head back in for the night.
Wednesday, August 8
Wake up ridiculously early for a ridiculously early flight to Maui. We get lost in the parking garage at Honolulu Airport and have to run through the airport to find the inter-island flights! When we make it there, we grab a sandwich at the terminal and jump on a puddle-jumper for a 30 minute flight to Maui. Once we get to Kahului airport, we grab some Starbucks (it's a trend) and make our way to the rental car building. They are out of compacts, so we get a sweet Malibu, which turns out to not be the best rental on the island (more later).
The drive to the hotel is gorgeous and I am glad Nathan is driving so I can sightsee. The entire way is alongside the ocean, which is a perfect blue and the air is 81 degrees. Our hotel is in Lahaina, which is on the west shore of Maui in a more tourist-filled area. The drive is about an hour from the airport.
We check in to the Kaanapali Beach Hotel and gush it up to try and get a little "discount" (fail), and eventually make out to the pool for a little R&R. An hour passes, and then a few more, and we start feeling really hungry, so we wander out to a pizza place near the hotel, which is delicious (and a little less expensive!). Post-pizza coma, we return to the hotel and crash around 9pm.
Thursday, August 9
Early wakeup and breakfast buffet at the hotel, and $50 later we are wondering if we had eaten or not. Out to the beach for a little sun and a little swimming for Nathan, and back to the pool bar for some lunch. A few hours later and it's time to head in to change for dinner.
We put on our "nice Hawaii clothes" and head to the Westin hotel, where we get in line for a legitimate luau. It is SO much fun, and we are put at a table with one entire family who are hilarious and super interesting. The waiter brings us plates of food and drinks and we are loving every second of the show. Later I come to find out that a family had done a luau down the street and they had not had a "fire show", and we did, so it made us feel pretty awesome about the one we picked!
Exhausted and hot, we head back for some much-needed sleep!
Friday, August 10
Waking up in Maui is always nice, especially on days like today, a perfect 83 degrees. We throw on some jeans, and make our way out towards the town of Hana, where we have an all-day plan of riding horses through the mountains to see a waterfall.
Our first stop is to a place they call "Grandma's" for a good reason. The breakfast is absolutely delicious, and gets us nice and ready for the rest of the day. We grab some sandwiches to pack for lunch, and head to Maui Stables via the Southeast road of the island, which is mostly old lava fields. There isn't much to see for a while, and I get a little car sick, so we drive slower and talk about how excited I am to see horses on my trip to Maui. Never gets old :)
We make it to Maui Stables and are given our horses for the day - mine is named Waika, which is apparently some tribal Hawaiian song about a warrior. I'm hoping this is good, but it's hard to tell. The guides tell us about the horses, and how they were all rescued from an Equine Rescue League in California. Then I feel bad about riding them up and down the steep mountain!
Our horses are fantastic, and the trail is muddy. We scramble up the hill until we reach the top, where we dismount and walk up by foot to the edge of the treeline. The edge overlooks this gorgeous forest, and out over in the distance there is a magnificent waterfall, probably 200 feet high. According to our guide, Hawaiian men used to jump off the waterfall to test their manliness. Of course, that tradition didn't last very long once they realized 49 out of 50 would die from it!
We re-mount the horses and head back down the mountain, which is slippery and a little scary, even for the most experienced riders. Nathan's horse takes his time, and I can hear him behind me talking to him about being careful. My cowboy!
We reach the farm and the guide lets us canter the horses up the hill. Waika obviously loves this part, because she bolts up the hill and keeps her ears up the whole time. You're welcome, Waika. We eat lunch and jump in the car, and drive up the Eastern side of Maui to the road to Hana, and then up and around back to Kaanapali. We stop once so I can drive, because the road is terrifyingly windy and on the edge of a cliff with wooden railings. Now we are regretting getting the free upgrade on our car to this boat! We make it back alive, and grab some poke for the road. As usual, it is delicious.
Saturday, August 11
Wake up early to check out and make our way to the airport. There is major traffic out of Kaanapali, and we forget to gas up the rental car, so we rush to a station nearby. Drop off the rental car and literally run to the airport, and are stuck in the longest security line you've ever seen in your life. Apparently a flight had been cancelled twice, and now all these people were coming back to catch the next flight out. It was a mess. Nathan snuck in front of some people near the gates, and we made our way through security. Standing in line, we hear over the loudspeaker that my flight is canceled back to the mainland. Nathan is on a different flight back to Oahu, so we talk to the flight attendants and secure a flight for me back to Oahu with him. More time in Hawaii? OK.... Make it back to Oahu, discuss my new flight plans with the United Airlines people (who canceled my flight in the first place) and they assure me my bags will be at Dulles when I get there. Good news is I have a direct flight from Oahu to Virginia, so 10 hours will get me home. Anna picks us up at the airport and we head to the mall for some dinner, yogurt, and shopping. Back to the airport and the flight is on time, so I say my goodbyes and board for some good sleep.
Sunday August 12
Arrive in Dulles and my bags are nowhere to be seen. Naturally. I make my way back to my parents, where my luggage doesn't arrive for a week. Apparently it sat at Dulles, and no one could find it. Never flying United again.
All-in-all, I love Hawaii!!
Aloha and Mahalo,
Brittanie
Honolulu on Dwellable
