Mexico

Hawaii 1998

DAY 1
Depart New York to Kona

DAY 2
Helicopter tour of Kilauea and visit Hilo

DAY 3
Visit petroglyphs and Volcano National Park

DAY 4
Bay View Farms; Ouuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park; Depart Kona to Maui

DAY 5
Snorkel at Black Rock

DAY 6
Hike at Haleakela

DAY 7
Snorkel at Molokini

DAY 8
Farm; Depart Maui for Kuaui

DAY 9
Drive to Kee Beach, other sites

DAY 10
Visit to Fern Grotto

DAY 11
Visit Weimea Canyon

DAY 12
Botanical Garden; Depart Kauai for LA

DAY 13
Arrive in Los Angeles

DAY 14
Visit downtown LA

DAY 15
Visit Disney Land

DAY 16
Depart Los Angeles for New York

This was our first trip to Hawaii. Hawaii was quiet a surprise because it wasn't simple a "lie on the beach" vacation. There were volcanoes, petroglyphs, hiking, snorkeling, etc. Our goal was to get a good idea of all that Hawaii has to offer, so we visited three islands (Big Island, Maui and Kauai) in two weeks.

Day 2 was our first full day on the Big Island. We drove from Kona to Hilo to take a helicopter tour of Mt.Kilauea. The volcano was erupting and you could see the steamy caldera as well as lava flowing into the ocean at the coast. Since we were in Hilo (3 hours away from Kona), we explored the farmer's market as well as the nearby waterfalls. The farmer's market was stocked with flowers and lots of Asian fruit and vegetables.

On Day 3, we visited the Puako Petroglyph archaeological district near Mauna Lani Resort. There are more than 3000 petroglyphs of canoes, paddlers, turtles, sails, dancers, etc. amongst the lava rocks. After this, we took a drive south of Kona, past the black sand beaches and towards the volcano. We spent the afternoon driving on the Crater Rim Road. This was a grand experience even without lava flows. The road takes you past a lava tube, sulfur vents, steam vents and various lava flows from the decades. They have labeled each of the flows along the route. By the time we finished sightseeing it was really late and Srini had to drive back to Kona (3 hours) with little help from an exhausted Asha!

On our last day on the Big Island, we visited Bay View Farms (where Kona coffee is made) as well as a quick tour of the Honaunau National Historical Park. Kona coffee remains our favorite blend, especially when drunk with Hawaiian raw sugar. The Park was once a place of refuge for ancient Hawaiian warriors. There were some people snorkeling in the lagoon in the park.

At the end of Day 4, we left Big Island and arrived in Maui. We were staying at the Westin, a very nice hotel at the Kanapali Beach area. The hotel had some waterfalls, waterslides, flamingoes and was conveniently located near Kanapali Village (a shopping mall with film developers, restaurants, etc).

The next day, we started out snorkeling test at Black Rock in front of the Sheraton Hotel. We also snorkeled at another snorkeling spot right off the highway towards our hotel.

Day 6 started with a drive to Haleakala. From the parking lot, you have a view of the entire set of craters. We got there before lunch and were wearing only our Teva sandals. The sign said that the first hike was 6 miles. We thought we would walk down part of the way and then turn around. However, as you started to hike down to the first crater, you are tempted to walk further and further. We ended up walking the entire six miles down. Downhill, however, was not the problem. All we had on us were two granola bars and a small bottle of water. As we started the six mile uphill hike, Srini started to get severely dehydrated. As we neared the top (stopping every few feet), some strangers shared their water with us. We learned our lesson: never hike 12 miles in the mid-afternoon sun without proper shoes, food and water!

Day 7, we took an Eco-tour (Pacific Whale Foundation) to Molokini island. On the way, we got to see eight whales. We picked an Eco-tour company in hopes that our money was going to whale research. The Molokini is actually a crater partially sticking out of the water. The Reefs End side of the crater has crystal clear water and beautiful fish.

Day 8 Took a tour of a farm which grows all out favorite foods - papaya, apple banana, coconut, and guava. We got a Hawaiian Air flight to Kauai in the evening. Kauai turned out to be a beautiful island, but the waters were too rough for snorkeling.

Our first day on Kauai was spent on a driving tour. We drove to past Princeville to the end of the highway. There was a hiking trail through a rainforest that we ventured into for a few minutes as well as Kee Beach. We noticed that Kauai seemed to have a lot of stray chickens all over the place. Some of them seemed to want to prevent us from going back to our car. We also visited a lava tube that shoots water into the sky each time the waves hit the shore.

Day 10 started with a visit to the Fern Grotto on the Coconut Coast. You take a ferry boat along a river and get off and walk to a grotto area filled with large ferns. Along the way and at the grotto, there are Hawaiians singing songs. Hiking through the forest and being surrounded by ferns was interesting, but the boat ride and the singing was too touristy.

Day 11 was spent at Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Park. Known as the Grand Canyon of Hawaii, visitors enjoy grand views of a canyon with the ocean in the background. It was a cloudy day and as a result, each time the sun came out, we had a colorful view of the Canyon Walls.

It was our last day in Hawaii. We tracked down the framer's market and bought a lot of young coconuts for $1.25 each. We packed our bags and before heading to the airport, we went to a botanical garden. Srini wanted to live in the plantation filled with jackfruit, turmeric, taro, sugar cane, guava with a view of a mountain, rather than heading back to the US.

As we left Kauai, we noticed that the number of tourists was rapidly increasing. We were glad that we left before Christmas. We arrived in Los Angeles early in the morning. Los Angles felt cold after too weeks of 80 degree weather.

Days 13 and 14 were spent in downtown LA and LA suburbs. We even saw a movie at the Mann's Chinese Theater, walked along the Hollywood Walk of Fame and visited Universal Studios.

Day 15 of our trip was Christmas Day. We erroneously thought that no one would go to Disneyland since everyone would be busy opening presents. It never occurred to us that perhaps people got Disneyland tickets as a Christmas presents! Alas, Disneyland was packed!

The next day, it was time to end our vacation and head back to New York.