Here is a recap for anyone who's interested.
January 10
We made it to California, a long flight. Our plane was delayed out of Philadelphia because it had to be de-iced. I was worried they would cancel the flight because of the freezing rain, but we finally were cleared to take off. We only had 30 minutes to change planes in Denver and because we were late, I thought we might have to stay there overnight, but the connection flight waited for us. Thankfully.
January 11
Arrived in Hilo on the "big island" of Hawaii around 2:00 pm, picked up our rental car and took off toward the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
It was overcast with intermittent sprinkles, but we saw the volcano. It was pretty awesome driving by steam vents and walking through lava tubes and seeing huge lava fields. We hiked along a lush rain forest trail up on a cliff above the lava fields.
The rest of the afternoon was spent driving to Kailua-Kona where we ate dinner and spent the night.
Andy was definitely not as he used to be. He's easily confused and asks me numerous times what we're doing. I am doing all the driving and planning, as well as trying to figure out where we need to go at the airports, etc. This is such a change from former trips when I just followed his lead. But we still enjoyed being away and together.
January 12
Spent this day exploring Hawaii. First stop: Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. There was a great hike to the beach. It's a volcanic island and there were fields and fields of rocks. We were amazed, though, at the tenacity of life, ferns and plants growing out of the lava.
Next stop was Kehaha Kai State Park. We started driving in, but the road was in terrible condition. Andy was worried about damaging the car so we turned around and left. The whole drive up the west coast was scenic with occasional views of the ocean. Another stop we made was the Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area. Because it was Sunday, there were a lot of people there. It was a beautiful beach. We sat for a while on the sand soaking in some sun and the beauty of the spot. Andy waded in the water.
We had been told to check out the Waipi'o Valley Lookout, so we drove up there - worth it - wow! We could see across to huge cliffs coming down to the beach.
Then another stop was the Akaka Falls State Park. It looked like rain so we carried our umbrellas with us. It was a beautiful hike through lush jungle. It started to rain. Up went the umbrellas. It rained buckets and our feet and legs got soaked! We saw a beautiful waterfall, kept walking, and saw another waterfall. What an adventure.
January 13
Left the hotel at 5:45 am, dropped off the rental car, then waited to board the plane to Maui. Kerby & Judy picked us up and we stopped for breakfast on the way to their house. What a beautiful lovely place they have. They have 2 acres of property with all kinds of beautiful trees and bushes. Their house is built in such a way that every room opens out onto the patio surrounding the pool. The trees on their property include lemons, tangelos, avocados, papayas, starfruit, plumeria trees (for making leis), fig trees, African tulip trees, flumago, hibiscus, red ginger, white ginger, all kinds of varieties of palms, bottlebrush trees, bougainvillea, etc.
It was a very nice restful and relaxing day, sat by the pool for a while, then up on the deck to watch the sunset, which we missed because clouds rolled in. What a view from the house. They're situated up on a hill with a view of the ocean.
January 14
We attempted to go to Iao Needle, but it was in the rain forest of Maui and when we got there, surprise! It was raining! So we didn't stay. Then we drove down to the beach at Maalaea
Bay. There was a boardwalk about .6 miles long that we walked along: the Kealia Coastal Boardwalk. We saw several ae'o (Hawaiian stilts). The only place in the world they exist is on the island of Maui.
January 15
More showers put a damper on our plans, but it was nice to just relax. In the afternoon we went out whale watching. That was a success, saw quite a few.
Also got caught in a shower, which fortunately didn't last long, then saw a beautiful double rainbow.
Kerby and Judy took us out to eat at a restaurant called Monkey Pod Kitchen. Our waitress was from Haddonfield, NJ!
January 16
Drove up the Haleakala National Park. When we started, it was nice and clear, but driving up, the clouds rolled in and we though we wouldn't be able to see anything when we got to the top, which is a little over 10,000 feet. But when we got there, there was enough of a breeze to blow the clouds away. We were able to see down the slopes of the volcano, cone after cone.
It's pretty barren up there, but there were these very interesting plants, called "silver swords." This is the only place in the world that they are found.
January 17
Drove around Maui, starting out on the Hana Highway. This is a 68 mile stretch of road along the eastern and southern shores of Maui. That 68 miles, though, is very twisty, with hairpin curves, up and down, one lane bridges, all through very interesting terrain, like bamboo forests, rainbow eucalyptus trees, etc. Of course, it was fun doing it with Kerby and Judy, with Kerby keeping us entertained with interesting stories and tidbits along the way.
January 18
Got up early this morning and went to the Maui Swap Market. Found some fun things for the grandkids before heading back to Judy and Kerby's to pack up and head off to Kaua'i.
January 19
We are fumbling along on our own after being spoiled by Kerby and Judy taking care of us. I was feeling overwhelmed and inadequate this morning. When we arrived last night, it was raining and dark and we were driving around not knowing where to go. I woke up an hour before Andy so had time to pray and be ministered to by the Lord. Jesus' command to Joshua came to my mind, where Joshua is told to "be strong, be courageous, because I will be with you." Granted, I am not fighting the battles that Joshua would encounter, but I'm dealing with battles, nonetheless. So when Andy woke up, we planned our day. As we opened up our hotel door to step outside, we were greeted by sunshine and blue skies! Yeah! Thank you, Jesus.
We ate a hearty breakfast at a nearby cafe, then started our drive to Waimea Canyon - the grand canyon of the Pacific. It was certainly grand and thoroughly enjoyable.
After that, we drove around, made a few more stops at interesting spots before having lunch. All the restaurants have open windows and lots of beautiful landscaping and potted plants. It truly is a paradise.
January 20
Drove on the east side of Kaua'i to Wailua River to take the Smith Family River Boat tour. That was fun with Hawaiian entertainment on the way to the Fern Grotto where ferns grow upside down out of the rocky cliff.
It was a beautiful day with blue skies and no rain. That is pretty amazing considering we were near the rainiest spot in the world. The interior of the island gets 400-600 inches of rain a year! We were told that in 1996, during a severe hurricane, it rained non-stop for 42 days straight and that year the average rainfall was 700 inches.
The rest of the day we continued driving along the eastern, then northern shorelines, stopping at beaches along the way. The sea is so blue/green and clear. You can see the bottom with lots of white crashing waves. We stopped at places like: Anahola, Kilauea, Hanalei, Anini Beach, Ha'ena State Park on the Na Pali coast. We went to the end of the road.
January 21
Left early this morning for Honolulu on Oahu. This island is very different from what we've seen so far. It's the most inhabited island, with lots of people, very urban, lots of high rises and congestion. Our first stop was to Pearl Harbor where we visited the USS Missouri Memorial. This memorial was built right over the sunken ship. We're glad we saw and experienced that.
When we left the memorial, we wanted to see Waikiki Beach. Traffic downtown was horrendous. We drove in circles for a while before finding a parking spot. Saw the beach - it is beautiful but there were lots of people.
Ate some lunch outdoors, holding onto our stuff because there was a stiff breeze. Then we drove to Diamond Head.
January 22
Got several texts that there was a big snow storm at home. ha, ha - we missed it! We were enjoying warm sun and cool breezes, wearing shorts and sandals.
Today was fun. We found a nice little cafe for breakfast before heading out to explore Oahu. We drove south from Honolulu, then east and north, traveling around the edge of the island, stopping at beach parks along the way: Kuli'ou'ou, saw the blow hole,
Makapu'u Beach Park, Wainanalo, Kailua (best beach),
Kahana Bay Beach Park, Hau'ula Beach Park, stopped at the Polynesian Cultural Center (but didn't want to pay admission because we couldn't stay long), La'ie Point, Kahuku, Kawela Bay, Sunset Beach, Waimea and Waimea Falls.
Traffic on the north shore coastal road was horrendous, bumper to bumper for many miles. The surf was especially fierce today, much higher than usual and EVERYONE was out to see it. The coastal road is only 2 lanes and it was stop and go the whole way. We estimated that the lines of traffic stretched for 30 miles at least. I think everyone on the island decided to take the day off to see those gigantic waves. And they were something to see. The wind was so strong all day, it was blowing mist from the waves high into the air and across the road. Cars and people were everywhere. It took 15 minutes to drive 1-1/2 miles. We saw all kinds of photographers and news vans. Supposedly, this was touted as the waves of the decade, estimated at 40-50 feet high. No one was surfing in it - it was way too dangerous.
When we got back, we decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory to eat. My iphone got us there, but there was no where to park. I stopped and asked a policeman what to do. He directed us to go around the block and park in a parking garage. So we did. Then we had to walk to the restaurant several blocks, walking through a shopping mall on the way. I kept trying to remember landmarks along the way, hoping we could find our way back to the parking garage. I had to ask several people how to get to the Cheesecake Factory and we finally got there. After all that effort, we were told it would be a 50 minute wait and it was already 6:00 pm. So we left and ate pizza at the food court in the mall. We did end up finding the parking garage, had to pay $4, and were also able to find the car. It all ended ok!
January 23-24
Flew to California on Thursday, then to Philadelphia on Friday. It's good to be home again, sleeping in our own bed and being surrounded by the familiar.
But it was a good time away. We saw many beautiful sights. Hawaii is truly lovely. It was somewhat stressful at times with Andy not himself. He was easily confused and not very helpful. I felt out of my element at times and unsure of myself. Overall, though, it went well. My plans were well laid and things went as smoothly as they could, I think.
