New Years in Hawaii
Y and I decided to start 2006 off with a bang on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. We flew out there December 29 and stayed at the Marriott resort in Lihue. I can't think of a better way to spend winter than in shorts and a t-shirt and newly bronzing the cranium. We chose Kauai because it's less developed and touristy than the other islands.
The trip started out well by first being upgraded at Hertz. They originally gave us a Camry, which was fine, just not really fitting for a Hawaiian vacation. I went to the Hertz counter to work my magic. They gave me a free upgrade to a Mustang convertible. I would like to believe that I sounded very slick flaunting my status, but it went a little more like "Puh-lease can I change cars. Puuuuuh-leeeeeeaaaaaase, my girlfriend really loves the Mustang. I'll be your best friend." Then when we got to the Marriott we got a room upgrade. We got a room with a full ocean view room that overlooked the pool instead of a garden view. Shweeeet!
The weather was a completely different beast in Hawaii. It's so unpredictable. To some degree, it was almost hard to plan activities or it was a constant concern whether outdoor activities will be affected. It did hold up well enough for us to get in some great hikes in the Waimea Canyon and around the Wailua Falls and our helicopter tour. It didn't hold up so well when we tried to go on a sea kayak tour. An 8 mile paddle turned out to be a 1 mile trip to sleep on the beach. We should've seen several beaches along the south coast of the island and ideally marine life. When we reached our first stop, a beach only 1 mile from our launch, the winds picked up to almost 25-30 mph which made it too difficult to continue any further. It was disappointing, but as an afterthough, it was probably for the better. My shoulders and arms were tired after that 1 mile stretch. I think I could've continued for the whole trip but then they would've fallen off when we reached shore.
We also took a helicopter tour of the island since much of it is unreachable by car. That was amazing since 1) I've never flown in a helicopter before and 2) simply seeing everything from the air. We flew by the Na Pali coast and the Waialeale Crater which you can only see by air, boat, or foot. There were supposed to be many more waterfalls and sights. Unfortunately, the island was in the midst of a major drought, so some falls were smaller than usual and others dried up to brown streaks down the side of the mountains.
Finally, I collected my Christmas present from Y. She got me a spa package at the Anara Spa at the Grand Hyatt in Poipu. That was a great way to top off the vacation. I got myself a nice lomi lomi massage in which the masseuse uses her forearms and elbows. I think I could've fallen asleep. The spa also came with a eucalyptus steam room, sauna, swedish shower (a stall with 12 shower heads hitting you from 3 different directions), numerous hot tubs, and a pool. Oooooh baby, it was nice.
I'll post some pictures we took on our trip later.
The trip started out well by first being upgraded at Hertz. They originally gave us a Camry, which was fine, just not really fitting for a Hawaiian vacation. I went to the Hertz counter to work my magic. They gave me a free upgrade to a Mustang convertible. I would like to believe that I sounded very slick flaunting my status, but it went a little more like "Puh-lease can I change cars. Puuuuuh-leeeeeeaaaaaase, my girlfriend really loves the Mustang. I'll be your best friend." Then when we got to the Marriott we got a room upgrade. We got a room with a full ocean view room that overlooked the pool instead of a garden view. Shweeeet!
The weather was a completely different beast in Hawaii. It's so unpredictable. To some degree, it was almost hard to plan activities or it was a constant concern whether outdoor activities will be affected. It did hold up well enough for us to get in some great hikes in the Waimea Canyon and around the Wailua Falls and our helicopter tour. It didn't hold up so well when we tried to go on a sea kayak tour. An 8 mile paddle turned out to be a 1 mile trip to sleep on the beach. We should've seen several beaches along the south coast of the island and ideally marine life. When we reached our first stop, a beach only 1 mile from our launch, the winds picked up to almost 25-30 mph which made it too difficult to continue any further. It was disappointing, but as an afterthough, it was probably for the better. My shoulders and arms were tired after that 1 mile stretch. I think I could've continued for the whole trip but then they would've fallen off when we reached shore.
We also took a helicopter tour of the island since much of it is unreachable by car. That was amazing since 1) I've never flown in a helicopter before and 2) simply seeing everything from the air. We flew by the Na Pali coast and the Waialeale Crater which you can only see by air, boat, or foot. There were supposed to be many more waterfalls and sights. Unfortunately, the island was in the midst of a major drought, so some falls were smaller than usual and others dried up to brown streaks down the side of the mountains.
Finally, I collected my Christmas present from Y. She got me a spa package at the Anara Spa at the Grand Hyatt in Poipu. That was a great way to top off the vacation. I got myself a nice lomi lomi massage in which the masseuse uses her forearms and elbows. I think I could've fallen asleep. The spa also came with a eucalyptus steam room, sauna, swedish shower (a stall with 12 shower heads hitting you from 3 different directions), numerous hot tubs, and a pool. Oooooh baby, it was nice.
I'll post some pictures we took on our trip later.
posted by Steve at 10:46 AM
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