50/50 Hawaii (#49)

The big day I aspired to starting back in 1994 happened this past...November 9, 2009. It was the day I turned 50 years young...the day I became eligible to the National Register of Historic Places as long as I still had integrity. It was the day I had raced to see all 50 of our beautiful United States (plus DC). It was the most glorious of all my 50 birthdays...it was the day I spent in the 50th state, a day in paradise on the island of Kauai!

This vacation started several days before when Phil & I hopped from Austin to Houston and then boarded another plane for 8 1/2 hours to arrive in Honolulu to visit my 49th state. My first birthday present was picking up my midlife crisis car-a Mustang convertible. I could not wait to get her out on the open road! This V-8 beauty was just begging to have her peddle buried into the floor, but it had been a long day. We did a quick dinner and beer sampler at Kona Brewing Company before heading to our hotel. Tomorrow would be a day of one of my many firsts in this beautiful state...a day of snorkeling.

Hanauma Bay is a snorkeling paradise located 20 minutes east of our Waikiki hotel. It is home to the beautiful triggerfish-Hawaii's unofficial state fish and officially the longest Hawaiian word...humuhumunukunukuapua'a. We arrived early in the morning and viewed the mandatory film; a preventative strike to keep us from walking along and causing irreparable harm to this incredible reef and home to over 150 turtles, fishes and invertabrate animals. We began our adventure in Keyhole Lagoon as suggested by one of the many helpful volunteers after I confessed I had never been snorkeling before. After lots of laughs trying to master the flippers we headed into the water were the hours passed way to quickly. The amount and color of the marine life was truly amazing, many looked blacklight flourescent and few cared that we had invaded their habitat.

We had a full day of tourist activities the next day starting with a Pearl Harbor and Honolulu City Tour. Before the boat took us out to the USS Arizona Memorial we watched a very sensitive and moving movie account of the events that led up the fateful attack on December 7, 1941. From that point on I had a lump in my throat and shed a few tears (for all the braves soldiers who have served for our freedom). As we moved from the front to the back of the memorial I started to read some of the more than 1000 names on the back wall memorializing the men entombed under my feet. As we looked over the side, two drops of oil surfaced and spread across the water and I imagined as the movie account had said that these were the ships tears. Back at the Visitor Center we had the wonderful opportunity to visit with Pearl Harbor Survivor Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class Sterling Cale, who had just gotten off night duty and ran back to help when the bombing began. He was also in charge of removing bodies from the USS Arizona. Sgt Cale just retired in 2005 after 57 years of government service and immediately started volunteering at the Visitor Center...amazing! While our visit here was relatively short one, it will be forever one of my most moving experiences.

We left the USS Arizona Memorial and headed to the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl with its numerous notable persons including Ellison Onizuka, one of the ill-fated astronauts aboard the Challeger. This beautiful cemetery also has incredible views of Waikiki with a Diamond Head backdrop. We then headed to historic downtown Honolulu past historic districts and many buildings belonging to the government...then and now. Our day was far from over.

A trip to Hawaii would not be complete without attending a good old fashion luau...we choose Germain's which included a very entertaining bus ride west of the city to the beachside location. Our escort Georgie filled us in about the traditions, foods and various Hawaiian word we would encounter at the evenings festivities. She was great at giving us the low down on how to make the most of our experience and she even got up on stage and helped entertainment. When the time came to send a lady from each table to go up on stage and learn the hula, I screamed it was my birthday and ran up on stage! As it turned out not one other lady had wanted to go, but I hadn't given them a choice either. On the bus trip home Georgie gave three beautiful and fragrant plumeria leis to those who answered Hawaiian trivia questions and Phil knew the official longest Hawaiian word for the unofficial Hawaiian state fish. What a great wrapup for an incredible day!

For our last full day on Oahu we got up before sunrise to go out to Diamond Head State Monument and hike to the top. The strenuous 0.8 mile trail to the top was build as part of the island's defense system 100 years ago. The trail includes switchbacks, a tunnel and several sets of stairs including a very steep set of 99 that empties successful hikers into the second level of an old bunker and ultimate rewarding views of Diamondhead Lighthouse, the crater and the Waikiki coastline.


We purchased 3-day Go Oahu cards from Costco for $119 each before we ventured to Hawaii. I was able to book the luau and tours using this handy card. My one do over for this trip would be- not to not purchase them. We booked our time solid the first two day but on the third and last day of the card they canceled our catamaran lunch cruise and we then waited almost an hour for an outrigger canoe ride which never happened. As it turned out we did not get the value we could of...or should have gotten. Fortunately by purchasing the card at Costco we had saved $30 each; if I had paid $149 I would have been very unhappy. We did end up just relaxing the rest of the day, seeing the beach at Waikiki and driving to the north shore.

Early the next morning we left the hustle bustle of Oahu for peaceful laid back Kauai, a short 21 minute ride on Hawaiian Airlines featuring impeccable service. We were taken to Dollar rental kiosk by bus though the confirmation stated in-terminal. I was then subjected to one of the nastiest clerks who thought intimidating me into purchasing needless additional insurance was going to be successful. She stated that I should buy the "loss of use" insurance because in the event of an accident they would likely charge my credit card for each day they lost use of the car up to 21 days! Unlike the wonderful customer experience we had with Advantage on Oahu...Dollar on Kauai was torturous. No matter...this nasty woman was not going to ruin my time in PARADISE.

We stopped at the Oki Diner for a delicious lunch and headed to our hotel. They allowed us to check in early and we headed off to the north shore and the end of the road at Ke'e Beach. Little did we know we would flirt with disaster...would I see my 50th birthday tomorrow???

Our first stop was Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge with its spectacular 1913 lighthouse complete with its original Fresnel lens. On our journey to the lighthouse proper we stopped to "borrow" a pair of binoculars to view the abundant wildlife. We had arrived just in time to join the elated staff celebrating the season's first sighting of an Albatross. The birds were fresh from arrival from Alaska, who would spend winter in this paradise. The hillside was littered with the white dots of Red-Footed Boobies and we observed the nesting grounds of Shearwaters. There was much talk of the first sightings of humpback whales who also winter here, but alas we were not lucky to see any this trip.

It was on to the end of the road, we stopped just past Princeville at the Hanalei Valley Overlook with great views of taro fields with a spectacular mountain backdrop. We continues down the road as it dropped into the valley and a series of one lane bridges encouraging us to "yield to oncoming traffic." In the town of Hanalei we stopped at the oldest church on the island. The beautiful Wai'oli Hui'ia Church was completed in 1912. The mountain background displayed a profusion of waterfalls threading from top to bottom. What a romantic place to get married!

We finished our drive at Ke'e Beach on the north shore and part of the incredible Napali Coastline. After a photo op in a tangle of tree roots at Ke'e Beach and a stop at the Waikanaloa (Blue Room) Wet Cave we returned to Princeville in search of Kauai's only blue diamond letterbox at Queen's Bath. it was getting late and we thought we would have enough time to venture straight down the trail, retrieve the box and head back to Hanalei for dinner at one of the quaint eateries in the little downtown hamlet...we couldn't have been more wrong.

While the box planter warned of the slippery nature of the trail, they said they took their children and carried a ten month old...were we in the same place I ask? The red clay trail with a wet skiff of moisture provided optimum challenge as we navigated or slid down a path perched precariously close to a craggy black lava edge. Had we lost our footing, we could have plunged into a small canyon about twenty feet below. We got down to what was described as the "washing machine" just in time to watch the sun drop into the horizon in a matter of seconds...and then it was dark and time to head back up the trail...no flashlight either. My heart was beating like a triphammer and I heard Phil start to swear...the next thing I think I saw was Phil's broken flipflops whipping past my head and into the washing machine. I questioned wheter I would see my 50th birthday the next day. We made it back to the trailhead parking lot, the lone car, but we were alive. No dinner in Hanalei tonight, no letterbox. We went back to our hotel room, got cleaned up and headed into Kapaa to Pizzetta's for an amazing pizza and their very tasty signature beer "Rooster Brew" by the Keoki Brewing Company.

The big day would finally arrive, and yes of course I did live to celebrate my most glorious of all birthdays! It started with the Big Kahuna one hour morning flight around the island of Kauai with AirVentures. I conquered my fear of flying in small airplanes a few short minutes after takeoff. We flew with two other couples; one from Pittsburg and the other from northwestern Florida. The route looped around the entire island, pasting through the lush Waimea Canyon, up along the dramatic Napali Coast, past several waterfalls including the one used in the opener of the old Fantasy Island TV show and my most favorite part-flying over the 1913 Kilauea Point Lighthouse we had visited the day before.

Shortly after landing we were standing alongside Wailua Falls which we had just flown over less than an hour before. We needed to check in for our Holo Holo catamaran cruise at the Port Allen Marina by 2pm. It was only about a third the way around this fairly tiny island and we had a little over two hours. That was just enough time to visit Keoki Coffee; the largest coffee plantation in the US and do a little letterboxing in an old abandoned cemetery filled with Buddhas and stones with Asian script. Abandoned and overgrown the cemetery stones were still incredible.

The cruise was a 3 1/2 hour cruise along the Napali coast in a supercharged catamaran. we were on board with about thirty other people and the boat could have accommodated 49 so it was perfect for manuevering around. Pru & Tim, the Florida couple from our morning airplane ride were also aboard and we discovered they had lived near Austin for several years before returning to her home state. The gang sang "Happy Birthday" to me and I graciously thanked them for joining my party. An open bar and excellent Asian dinner rounded out the romantic sunset wind down topped off with a champagne toast. We disembarked the boat just after 6pm, but I was not ready to finish this party, so it was off to the Waimea Brewing Company for a little beer sampler for dessert. They had great beer label t-shirts sporting their logo "The Last Beer Before Tomorrow." Waimea Brewing is the westernmost microbrewery in the US and to the left of this island is the International Date Line (tomorrow). This had been a birthday like no other and tomorrow was my last day in paradise.

We check out of our room at the crack of dawn and headed to the west side of the island again to drive the Waimea Valley. Waimea in Hawaiian means Red Earth and it reminded Phil and I of a lush slightly miniturized Grand Canyon. Teh road climbed quickly fro the town of Waimea and followed along a high ridge for about 15 miles. The end of the road offered a dramatic view overlooking a deep craggy valley. We had seen this island by air, sea and land. Making our way back to Lihue Airport we stopped at Lappert's Ice Cream for a scoop of their goumet ice cream. I had Tutu's Anniversary a combination of coconut ice cream and passionfruit and raspberry sorbets, it was out of this world. We still had a little time to sightsee, so we headed south to Poipu to see the Spouting Horn blow hole and the Tunnel of Trees drive north of Koloa. Our plane to Honolulu was at 8pm so we had time to stop for one of our most awesome dinners at the Garden Island BBQ. Recommended by a local it was a tremendous value at $15 for two...we could not believe our eyes when the bill came. We left Kauai in stormy weather, and I felt like crying too. From Honolulu our plane left for Salt Lake City and flew overnight and by 1pm the next day we were back in Austin, Texas...older, wiser and a little more relaxed. I may have missed getting Alaska and finishing my original 1994 goal, but it was only by one state. Maybe I can find the time before 50 officially escapes me on November 9, 2010??? Regardless, I have had the great fortune to explore this beautiful country... and there is still so much more to see and do.

Aloha Y'all!