Hawaii Beaches and the Zen of Tiki

Well I just returned from Oahu again. This trip did not go as well as I had hoped. The trip started wrong and continued to go wrong all week. Not that it was a horrible trip but it seemed like we should have stayed home.  And let me say here and now the worst day in Hawaii is better then any day at work.

We arrived at the airport(LAX) 2 hours before our flight just like we were supposed to. The computers were down so there was a line out the door to check our bags. I checked in at a self serve kiosk then got in line to check our bags.  Finally we made it to the counter 25 min before the flight was to leave. Our bags could not be put on our flight and had to take the next flight out, we managed to get through security and get to the gate just as they were closing the doors.

We landed on time and proceeded to the hotel without our luggage which would arrive 3 hrs later on the next flight. I booked our hotel room on Hotwire so I didn’t get to choose the hotel we stayed at or chose any bedding options. The  hotel was the Aqua Aloha Surf and Spa. The hotel was an older building along the canal in Waikiki that  had been remodeled recently. The room we booked only came with two twin beds so I had to upgrade to get a room with reasonable bedding.  The room was clean and roomy but the bathroom was only slightly larger then the bathroom on the airplane.  I’m a big guy so this was not fun.

The first thing I noticed on this trip was that prices have gone up dramatically since last year when I was visiting. Parking at the hotel was $20/day, quite pricey for a small budget hotel. We settled in and returned to the airport for our luggage.  It was time for Dinner so we found an Outback and ordered some Mia Tia’s and steaks. Again the price was up dramatically over last year and unfortunately the steak was dry and over cooked. This is the first time I have ever had a poor meal at Outback, it’s one of my favorite restaurants.  I don’t mind paying $30 for a meal on vacation but it better be a good meal not a dried out piece of leather.

Ok day one is over and I’m hoping things will get better. We head to Kailua for the beach on the east shore of Oahu.  The water is great the wind is down and the sun is shinning.  For some reason there were many sea turtles out and about this day.  I soon discovered why the turtles were out in force, Portuguese Man Of War Jelly fish were swarming and apparently sea turtles eat these jelly fish.  Swimming out a few dozen yards from shore I managed to get tangled up in some left over tentacles from a dead man of war. Did I mention that dead jelly fish can still sting you? Well they can.  The tentacles’ wrapped around my arm and started to pump venom into me.  I did what you are not supposed to do I used my free hand to remove the tentacles’ from my arm stinging my hand and fingers.

Now let me tell you Portuguese Man Of War stings hurt bad, really bad. Every spot where the venom was injected into my are swelled up to a small bump.  There is little you can do to relieve the pain other then apply extremely hot water to the affected area to break down the venom.  On the beach hot water is hard to come by so I had to suffer. Fortunately the pain subsided in about an hour and was gone 2-3 hrs later.  This was a minor sting, I have heard of people getting in the middle of a swarm of these jelly fish and getting stung all over their torso and arms. I can only imagine how much that hurts.   And of course then next day they put out the warning signs about the Portuguese Man Of War swarming, just my luck.

Ok Day two is over and day three is fairly non-eventful much to my surprise. The whole trip there was very little wind so on the north shore we saw no surf, the water was flat from Sunset Beach to Waimea bay.  Not a good week for surfers and kite flyers but great for swimmers like me.  There is a great burger joint on the north shore in Haleiwa but this time the burgers were again over cooked, I don’t know why I was being punished on this vacation but I was.

I don’t know why this trip just wasn’t going well.  The week was coming to an end and we headed to the airport to return to Los Angeles.  Again we were on time two hours early to get through security and board the plane.  Well that’s what we thought but all the flights were delayed three hours.  Had we gotten to the airport a few minutes earlier we could have been put on the 8:00am flight which didn’t leave till 11:00am but karma was not with us.  The car was turned in so we were stuck sitting in the terminal for 3 hours.

Finally it’s midnight and we are in LA, we have our bags and I called the parking garage to pick us up and take us to our car.  I told the man on the phone we were at the American terminal. He told his driver to wait at the United terminal.  For another 30 minutes we waited then called the parking garage again. He argues with me telling me I said United, but I know I said American. What ever happened to the customer is always right. I guess I wont be using his services any more.

Well that was my latest trip in all it’s gory details. Sorry for the down beat tone but some vacations should never happen and as I already said “The worst day in Hawaii is better then any day at work!”

Thanks for reading my blog.

Sean

Filed under: Best Beaches on November 7th, 2008 | No Comments »

Lets Eat…
Let’s talk dining - you can eat any class you want from Mickey D’s to 5 star dining. I prefer to eat like the locals, have a plate lunch at the many small Hawaiian BBQ’s scattered around the island. The lunch plate is not for vegans as the BBQ platter consists of pork, pork and more pork or possibly chicken. Lunch comes with macaroni salad, steamed white rice and cole slaw. This food will keep you fueled up for quite some time and is very tasty. Did I mention that Hawaiians love SPAM….

Best Kept Secret On The Islands…
I’ll let you in on a secret, Mickey D’s sells their old style hot apple pies in Hawaii. Living in So. Cal I can tell you it’s been a long time since I had one of these treats. Lets hope the Health Nazi’s don’t find out. My breakfast consists of an Egg McMuffin and a hot apple pie, yummy!

I Can’t Believe I Ate The Whole Thing…
As with most people on vacation it’s not uncommon to over eat, half the fun of the vacation trying new and interesting things. Mix it up, there are chains like the Outback, Red Lobster and Todai Japanese Buffet. On the top end there is Restaurant Row in Honolulu with places like Ruth’s Chris Steak House and other fine dining establishments. For eating with the locals try dining at Sam Choy’s or Duke’s, maybe even China Town is your cup of green tea.

A Night Out In Honolulu…
Eat in the restaurant row then head west on Nimitz Hwy to make your way over to Hilo Hatties Hawaiian Store and when your done shopping keep heading west to the Dole Cannery. They have a movie theater and some more shopping.

After spending hours of exploring Hawaii Beaches, dinner and a movie is a great way to end the day.

Filed under: Best Beaches on May 14th, 2008 | No Comments »

Earlier this year a second lava tube opened up on the Big Island from Kilauea volcano. Kilauea has been erupting continuously since the 1980’s. This new lava tube is increasing the amount of toxic sulfur fumes released into the air. The fumes mix with water vapor, dust and sunlight to create the islands version of California Style Smog, called Vog. The pictures I have seen remind me of my childhood in Los Angeles in the 60’s and 70’s where you choke on the air if you venture outside.

USGS Photo

I have seen pictures of Diamond Head where you can hardly see the volcano for the haze. Local farmers are loosing some of their crops and their livelihood to the pollution. The VOG has traveled hundreds of miles from the Big Island over to Oahu. Not what you expect when you visit paradise but everybody has a bad day now and then. These conditions will not last forever. Lets hope the air clears very soon. I always say, the worst day on one of Hawaii’s beaches is better then any day at work. I hope you will agree with this sentiment.

USGS Video

Filed under: Best Beaches on May 14th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Kailua State Beach is my personal favorite all Hawaii beaches on the East coast of Oahu. This is not a surfers beach, this is a beach for everyone else.

This beach is a protected bay on the east side of Oahu. The surf is mild 1 - 3 ft on average, there is usually a nice breeze blowing that is strong enough to enable world class wind surfing. You can reach Kailua from Waikiki by a short drive from Honolulu taking the Pali Hwy through the rain forests. The Hwy drops you down into the town of Kailua. As you enter the parking lot you will see a van full of beach toys such as kayaks and boogie boards that are for rent.

Be on the look out for sea turtles, they will swim up to you and stick their head up out of the water and check you out. You have to be fast they don’t spend much time looking at you before they disappear under the waves. There is not a lot to see snorkeling but once in a while I have seen turtles cruising along the bottom. I recommend getting there early on weekends to find parking.

Not far to the south from Kailua is Hanuama Bay. You can snorkel with a wide variety of colorful fish and sea life. The weekends get busy so you must get there early because the park will shut down when the parking lot is full. There is a shack on the beach that rents masks and fins if you don’t have your own. There are three Orange balls floating near the back of the bay. There are strong currents past those floats that will pull you out past the coral. The life guards are constantly pulling people out of this area with their jet ski’s.

North of Kailua you will find several shrimp hatcheries. Stop at one of the road side stands and enjoy the Shrimp Scampi it’s fantastic. Further north is the Turtle Bay Resort and Golf Course. This could be a great way to spend the morning before hitting the beach.

As you round the tip of Oahu you are now on the North Shore approaching Sunset Beach and the Banzai Pipeline.

Filed under: Best Beaches on May 7th, 2008 | 2 Comments »