In February, we took a 10-day island-hopping trip to
Hawaii. We left Milwaukee early Monday morning. The second leg of our flight
was delayed for over three hours in Las Vegas, so we ended up arriving in
Honolulu (Oahu County) pretty late. We picked up our Chrysler Pacifica minivan,
drove straight to our hotel, the Hampton Inn Oahu/Kapolei, and went to
bed.
On Tuesday, we were ready to start our Hawaiian trip
in earnest. Our first activity of the day was a visit to Pearl Harbor. We were
part of the first tour of the day. After Pearl Harbor, we drove to the
southeast part of Oahu, then followed the coast on up. We made stops at the
Lanai Lookout, the Halona Blowhole Lookout (which wasn’t blowing much that
day), Waimanalo Beach, and the Byodo-In Temple. After lunch, we drove to
the Kualoa Ranch and took their ATV Tour. The tour led us into valleys where
several movies (including Jurassic Park) had been filmed. After the
tour, we drove to the north shore of the island and stopped at Waimea Bay Beach
Park to watch the surfers ride the big waves. From there, we drove back to our
hotel.
On Thursday, we drove to Eleele and hopped on a Capt Andy's boat for a sunset dinner cruise up and down the Nā Pali Coast. The sights on this cruise are indescribably amazing.
On Friday, we took a Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour, which was the highlight of our vacation. It took us over the entire island, showing us waterfalls, Waimea Canyon, and the Nā Pali Coast again. Later that day, we drove to Waimea Canyon State Park and Kokee State Park to get a less-elevated perspective. That evening, we changed hotels and checked into the Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay.
On Saturday morning, we returned to the airport to take another flight—this time to the island of Maui (with an Oahu stop on the way). We picked up our brand new Chrysler Pacifica minivan (only 9 miles on it!) and drove to the Courtyard Maui Kahului Airport, our hotel for the night.
On Sunday, we drove the famous Road to Hana. Along the scenic drive, we stopped to spend time at Wai'ānapanapa State Park and set foot on the famous Black Sand Beach. From the beach, we drove into Hana for lunch. After eating, we checked into our hotel, the Hana Maui Resort. Interestingly, our room did not have air conditioning or a TV—they have a more relaxed “old school” feel—but they did have Wi-Fi!
On
Monday morning, we drove south and visited Haleakala National
Park, where we hiked the Pīpīwai Trail to the bamboo forest. While
most tourists who take the Road to Hana turn around and go back once they reach
the end, we continued in the same direction and went around the southeast side
of the island. Initially, the roads are very narrow, but they eventually open
up to a more normal highway. This happens to be my favorite place in all of
Hawaii—it’s quiet and isolated, and tourists are few and far between. If you
ever want to have a little piece of Hawaii to yourself, this is the place to
go. Near mile marker 28 and the Manawainui Gulch, I buried a note
near a large rock. Maybe someone will find it someday. Or maybe I’ll
retrieve it myself on a future trip. On Monday afternoon, we took our final
island hop and landed on the Big Island (Hawaii County). Our home for the next
three nights was the Kohala Suites by Hilton Grand Vacations.
Wednesday was our last full day on the island. Early in the afternoon, we drove south to the Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park. Before finding the main entrance, we used a different entrance that featured one of the worst roads we’ve ever traveled—which says a lot! From there, we continued into Kona for a brief drive down Ali’i Drive. Later that afternoon, we drove north from our resort, stopping briefly at the Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site and the awesome Waipi’o Lookout—childhood home of King Kamehameha. Our final two stops of the day were a couple of waterfalls: Akaka Falls and Rainbow Falls.
On Thursday morning, we got up early to catch our flight back to the mainland. Due to weather issues back home, we didn’t land in Milwaukee until after 4:00 in the morning. It was a long final day to end a long, fantastic trip. Along the way, we picked up three new counties. So, what’s next? We have a Memorial Day weekend trip planned for Iowa and Nebraska, a summer trip to Florida, and a September trip through the Dakotas. Stay tuned!
