The Adventures of Sunsette -- Texas Travels, Part II— Apr. 12

[Alliecat]

"Hi everyone!  Still with us?  Our journey's not over yet...
"davidd.... YES!!  It's a hau.  Mum looked at the photos taken along the path and recognized the leaves.  Guess we couldn't stump you after all."

"Next we went to Waikiki.  The last photo above was taken while we waited for a pre-booked discount taxi that never showed up.  After you book for your arrival time, you still have to call them AGAIN when you get there, and THEN they dispatch the taxi!  Through gridlocked traffic?  And they make you wait far from all the other taxis at the smoking area.  Ew!!  A random taxi arrived, cruising for fares.  Mum took that one, and got soaked on the fare.  At this point she was beginning to think we'd run out of cash.  We didn't... whew...
"(And she left the other company a bad review on Tripadvisor " )


"We're in an Airbnb along the Ala Wai canal in Waikiki.  It was a bit of a shock after our luxurious retreat.  According to Mr Airbnb Guy, our little cubbyhole, probably less than 200 square feet, is worth several hundred thousand dollars.  Well, the view is nice from the part of the lanai that doesn't face straight into the neighbouring tower 40 feet away..."



"We hopped on a bike and went holoholo.  This is familiar territory.  Mum has occasionally dreamed she was back in Hawaii, and she said this felt like another one.  Except the traffic was worse."



"Mum used to live here!!  It was on the 7th floor, at the end.  She said coming back was very surreal, and it seemed like all the years in between disappeared.  She didn't go looking for her old landlady, whom she said was crazy..."



"And she used to work here!!!  Many years ago, there was a dolphin cognition research lab here.  Mum found them fascinating and wonderful, but she says if she could've gone back and stolen the dolphins to take them back to the sea, she would have.  It's a junkyard lot now.  That was weird and surreal too."



"Mum's sand souvenir from the beach beside the lab site."



"We were pretty huhu cos she forgot our surfboards."



"At the Outrigger Hotel we saw this restored wa'a that's over 100 years old.  The builders gave them names, and this one is called Kalele.
"I wonder if we could find a we-sized one...?"



"The International Marketplace used to be a really cool warren of souvenir vendors in winding alleys under a fabulous banyan tree.  It was a wonderful place to find cute and kitschy and sometimes great stuff, for really cheap.  A few years ago they all got kicked out when the place was turned into a high-end mall.  BORing!!"



"At least they kept the tree.  There are a few nice statues of historical figures, but the rest is stores you could find in any ritzy shopping district.  Did I mention boring?  There was hardly anyone in the mall and we only went in one art gallery.
"The remaining vendors are now stuck in an alley a couple of blocks down.  We spent more time there.  Mum found out she could've got we-size surfboards way cheaper than in Kona, and the whole crew could've had them.  Auwe!"



"Mum remembered, today!
"A French lady came along and asked to take our picture.  She said we were trop mignon.
"(And we're saving our very favourite photo with these till the very end!)"



"We went to the Waikiki Aquarium.  Mum was also huhu, that she'd wasted time at the boring mall (because Airbnb Guy said it would be cool to see) ... time that could've been spent at the much cooler aquarium, which we saw in a rush."


"A wall of little tanks of different corals."



"Mum thought the nautiluses were really cool when she was here before, and she was happy to see them again."



"The jellyfish made for great photos! We're not sure why they're swimming upside down..."


"Queen Kapiolani, in the park named for her.  She was queen consort of Hawaii from 1874 to 1891.  It's common to see leis on the statues around Hawaii."



"Our last sunset in Honolulu.  It was just a weekend.  Mum wished she'd booked for longer.  We watched the sunset from Kapiolani Park and wished this interesting dream could go on a little longer."



"Nighttime view from our Airbnb."



"Mum will always remember her first arrival in Hawaii.  Landing at night, she saw the 'splashes' of light up all the valleys, and it was as though humanity had splashed up like lava onto the shores of the islands."



"We'll be back... we hope."

"Mahalo for following!  More to come!"

[Lejays17]

Another great set of photos.

I agree with you about boring malls/shopping centres, the only really cool one I’ve ever visited was Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, and that’s only because of the surreal ness of the ski field inside it.
The rest of the mall was pretty standard shops.

Gorgeous aquarium photos, love the upside down jellyfish

[davidd]

So that's what the "new" International Marketplace looks like, huh?     I felt so sad when I read that they were tearing out the old one to go "upscale."

The property owners in Waikiki just don't get it. They don't understand what people come to Hawaii to see. But property values and rents are so high, I guess the idea of having small-kine vendors is not as appealing as hosting name-brand luxury goods retailers.

I did not know there was a marine mammal research lab near the beach in Waikiki! Perhaps the facilities were gone by the time I moved there. When did you... I mean, when did Mum live in Hawaii?

The Waikiki Aquarium is a much nicer facility than I eected it to be. I did not visit it until several years after moving to Hawaii. I like seeing the leafy sea dragons, as well as the nautilus exhibit.

Of course, as with the International Marketplace, developers want that prime aquarium property, and for years "talks have been ongoing" about moving the aquarium (and demolishing the nearby War Memorial Natatorium) to make way for upscale redevelopment at that end of Kapiolani Park. The tentative plan is to move the aquarium to a location in Kapolei, closer to the Disney Aulani resort... of course.

There is also a big push to ban all independent vacation rentals on Oahu. The hotels don't like the competition.

Traffic was a contributing factor to why we moved. I imagine it's become worse in the past three years. Sad thing is, some friends who still live in Hawaii just visited us here in Utah, and they said the traffic isn't that bad. I think they're just getting used to it. I never got used to it. When I moved there, we could breeze in to Waikiki all the way from Hale'iwa on the North Shore and be parked in the public parking lot near the zoo in 45 minutes. Those days are long gone: both being able to make the drive that quickly, and finding free parking near the zoo!

Still... with all the negatives, I love seeing these photos, and they make me feel homesick. I wanna go back to my little grass shack....

[dargosmydaddy]

Wow, those are some seriously gorgeous views! And awesome sea creatures! (And adorable dolls, but that goes without saying )

[fishy]

Wow, these are so great!

[Elfy]

I’m with Allie, I would have preferred the aquarium to the mall. You get malls everywhere. Aquariums are special.

[Alliecat]

"Mahalo for reading, everybody!  Mum's even more behind on photos again, especially in light of recent developments which we'll get to... but we're back to share some more of our adventures as she has time to pick photos to post."

I did not know there was a marine mammal research lab near the beach in Waikiki! Perhaps the facilities were gone by the time I moved there. When did you... I mean, when did Mum live in Hawaii?

"The Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Lab was well disguised, behind a blah board wall.  It was mostly fishing boats in the harbour then and not as many touristy enterprises (boy, has that changed!) so not many people would've come by.  You would've seen the top of the 'tower' and hear people yelling and blowing whistles during training sessions, but otherwise you'd never know what was there.  They were VERY ...um, 'cautious' about letting anyone through the door.  Probably because they were trying not to get noticed by anti-captivity people who think dolphins don't belong in little cement tanks.  (Imagine that!)  After the death of the last dolphin in 2004 it was shut down.
"Yep, the Tripadvisor reviews of the International Marketplace are very mixed, and all the bad ones say pretty much the same thing; they were sad to see the change because it's not Hawaiian kine shopping.
"We heard about the idea to ban Airbnbs.  Maybe someone should ask whether hotels should be allowed to charge That Much!
"Oooh, we hope they don't get the aquarium too.  It's nice where it is, at the park."

"Well, we're on our way again.  That was really too short.  We're at Honolulu Airport again."








"Mum shed a tear, and promised she would return..."







"We flew over Lanai and Molokai."









"Hello, Haleakala!"



"This is Byron. He lives at the Lahaina Airbnb.  He wishes his mom was home more often, and that she remembered to fill his bowl before she went out.  He was so sweet and came right to mum when we arrived.  Crossing our fingers that he had no dietary restrictions, we gave him some leftover chicken kebabs because he was so hungry.  I think he appreciated them."



"Our first sunset on Maui was gorgeous."






"Mum's sand souvenir from Lahaina."



"The women at the next table gave us stink-eye.  What, you have to be a certain size to eat here??"

"The Hawaiians have 200 words for rain.  Mum used a few more when a day of pouring rain spoiled our plans.  We were going to go to the new Maui Ocean Center but we'd have had to stand in the rain for an hour just to get in because every other tourist on Maui had the same idea.  So we just went holoholo up the road instead."



"Mum loves 'Iao Valley.  She was here on her last visit to Maui, but it was too wet and misty to see much this time.  It was the site of a famous battle in 1790 where King Kamehameha defeated his last enemy to take control of all the islands.  It was said the bodies blocked the stream, hence the name Kepaniwai, 'damming of the waters'.  Today it's a beautiful peaceful green place."



"Kepaniwai Gardens is lovely, but it was too wet for many photos."



"Haitai is a 'mythical, omniscient unicorn-lion believed to uphold justice and repel evils'.  This replica of a Korean statue was placed here in recognition of the centennial of Korean immigration.  
"We wanted a picture sitting on him, but, did I mention it was wet...?"



"But mum, we wanna hike!!"



"And this is Maui traffic.  It was like this, all day, ALL the way.  Stop and go, about 35mph at best.  Mum wonders how you'd ever know how much time you needed to get anywhere if you lived here."

[fishy]

You have a new kitty?! When did he show up?

[davidd]

I have known two people who moved to Maui and actually got fairly decent jobs there. Both of them ended up leaving, one within three years, the other in less than a year. The last time I visited Maui, which was in a time frame measured in "more than a decade ago," the traffic seemed absurdly congested until you got way upcountry.

I saw these photos on Flickr, and I was hoping they meant you were already heading back to da islands. Oh well, at least you live an an island, which, even though it is cold and rainy and remote, is still pretty cool.

When I lived in Hawaii, I felt badly for people who were visiting on holiday when it rained... because when it rains, it seriously rains and often doesn't let up.
My last week on Oahu was one of constant torrential rains, some of the heaviest I had seen during my time there, combined with the most intense humidity I eerienced while there. My final few days had me not regretting leaving at all.

Now, at this moment, rain mixed with snow is pounding on the roof here in the so-called "arid" region of southern Utah, and I am thinking that maybe Hawaii rain isn't all that bad, after all.

Interesting info about the marine mammal lab. It almost sounds, well, not very "lab" like. Were you there as part of your university studies?

[Alliecat]

You have a new kitty?! When did he show up?

No, he was at the Airbnb in Lahaina.

Interesting info about the marine mammal lab. It almost sounds, well, not very "lab" like. Were you there as part of your university studies?

Yes, it was a volunteer internship, and it was definitely not a very, um, upscale (?) lab. I was not in favour of dolphins in captivity but given a chance to go and see firsthand, I was willing to see whether it would change my mind. They were wonderful, but, it didn't.
My sympathy about the rain and s***! We had some rather fat rain last week that seemed to be snow in disguise... I think I could live with more rain if I didn't have to shovel it and it was warm.

[Lejays17]

Lovely scenery - a pity that the rain got in the way of hiking and more outside photos.

I’ve really been enjoying the holiday! Does make me want to got (like the photos of my parents trip to Croatia makes me want to go there too!)

[Elfy]

I’m with Sunsette, that sunset was gorgeous.

[Jubilee]

The garden looks cool so much green,What was one of your favorite spots to go to on this trip?@Alliecat

[Alliecat]

"Aloha again everybody!  We've got a couple more chapters to share with you as mum sloooooowwly catches up with all the photos.  Lejays, you should go!  And yes, the sunset was so pretty, with colours the camera just can't capture.  Mum misses her film camera...  Jubilee, our favourites were the magic garden at the retreat center, and the helicopter tour.  And, well, this chapter was pretty cool too."


"We're on our way to Lanai!  Mum had to stay on Maui to get there cos we couldn't afford the hotel at $1000 a night, and there were no Airbnb's."



"Departing Lahaina, we see the summit of Haleakala is beautifully clear.  This was the day we should have gone there, but, yesterday's rain messed up our plans."



"Approaching Lanai...  It's a 45-minute ride on the walk-on ferry (no cars)."






"Manele Harbor, Lanai.  They make you go inside and sit down when they dock and depart.  Mum was bummed that her photos were spotty from the windows!"



"Our driver had just returned from living on "the mainland" USA and was delighted to be back on the island he grew up on and had just started this job.  We envied him...
"The entire length of the road, all the way, is bordered by Norfolk Island Pines.  What a huge planting project!"



"We're heeeerrre...  The Lanai Cat Sanctuary!  They had just over 600 cats (probably a few more by now).  Their mission is to give Lanai's feral cats a home, adopt out those they can and care for the rest, and protect native birds by keeping the cats from roaming."



"E komo mai means 'welcome'."



"There are baskets in the trees and tons of little houses everywhere.  The cats get fixed and they all get enough food, so with no need to compete, they pretty much all get along."



"Lunch in the 'catfurteria' (really. there's a sign)."



"If you go to the full-size pic on Flickr, you can read about the sanctuary."






"You can just hang out for a few hours with the cats.  Mum shot like 100 portraits of them.  And she got very scratched when she brought out the treat bags... you get mobbed, and they are very eager."




"Aloalo and I had a quickie photo before it was time to go."



"Ooops!"



"True..."

"If you are feeling charitable, please check out the sanctuary's website or find them on facebook... send them a little donation or something from their Amazon wish list.  They always need more houses and supplies.  And they're working to ex-pand the site so the cats will have more room (and they can house more cats)."



"On our way back to Maui... you can see Molokai on the right and Oahu on the horizon."



"Another spotty through-the-window pic, of Lahaina harbor."



"We saw the reconstructed remains of an old fort in Lahaina.  It was originally built around 1832, and demolished in 1854.  The blocks are made of coral."



"And here's Alo on the famous banyan tree.  It was a gift from missionaries in India and was planted in 1873 in Lahaina to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of first American Protestant mission.  It was 8 feet tall when it was planted and now is 60 feet tall with 16 major trunks!  The canopy covers over half an acre!  It was an absolute racket of birds up there!"



"OK here's a plan...  Since property is so stupid ex.pensive and we're gonna want a boat anyway, let's just buy a boat and live on that."



"Yes, we want to stay!"



"The clock is ticking down.  We're so sad our time here is nearly over.  How can 3 weeks have gone by??  Technically we do have one more sunset in Hawaii, but somehow this felt like the last one." 

[davidd]

Long-term mooring fees are stupidly ex-pensive, too, assuming a berth ever comes open. Just sayin'.

More wonderful photos, several of which have me feeling "homesick."

Not so much the cats, though. Feral cats are omnipresent throughout Oahu. I attribute much of this to the transient nature of Hawaii residents, particularly the military. Oh, how our glorious military personnel love to adopt little kittens... only to leave them behind when they leave the island after two or three years. They'll take their dogs, but almost invariably they leave the cats behind. Same holds true with college students, and with affluent twenty-somethings who move to Hawaii for a few months to surf and party.