We were in Oahu for 7 days and then 8 days in Maui. Maria and Mark joined us for 4 days on each island. We loved Waikiki, it is like New York on one side of the street with beautiful high rise hotels and shops like Tiffany’s, Coach, Louis Vuitton and the other side of the street with surf boarders, volley ball and snorkeling and great restaurants all around. At night the streets are alive with interesting characters like “Silver Man” (a man completely painted silver) and “Newspaper Man” (a guy covered with newspapers with a dog made of newspapers) who sit motionless on the street all night. The first night we walked by Newspaper Man we thought it was a statue. We made all the tourist stops, the Arizona Memorial, Battleship Missouri, submarine Bowfin, the aquarium (best ever). They grow coral for the aquariums in L.A., Baltimore, and Orlando. Went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. Coral not as colorful or as many fish as the Caribbean. We visited the Iolani Palace where the kings and queen of Hawaii lived before the U.S., led by Sanford Dole and his fellow sugar cane and pineapple planters, known as the Big Five (who controlled banking, shipping and every other facet of economic life) imprisoned the queen and took over the country. Of course we did it for their own good !!! The day we toured the palace they were having a celebration of the queen’s birthday, with the Royal Hawaiian Band, dancers, singers and government officials. We just took a seat with the officials and had a great afternoon of authentic Hawaiian entertainment. After the ceremony the dignitaries went across the street for lunch at of all places, a restaurant in the YWCA, so we followed them there and the food was excellent. We rented a car for the day (you don’t need a car in Waikiki, public transportation is great) and drove up to the north shore to the big surf, and the surf was up, 10 to 12 foot waves. Maria, Mark and I rented surfboards and went out. It wasn’t pretty but we did catch a few smaller waves. The bottom is completely coral (not sand like the East coast) and when you fall you try to land flat on your back or stomach so you don’t hit the bottom, but we managed to cut our feet on the coral.

We all flew to Maui together. Maui is a lot less developed but still touristy which is what we want for water sports, etc. The first day on Maui we got up at 2:30am to get to the top of the volcano Haleakala to ride a bike down to the ocean, a drop of over 10,000 feet in 38 miles. They said it is the biggest drop in the shortest distance anywhere that you can ride. They drove us to the top of the volcano, which is a National Park, where we waited in 30 degree temperatures in yellow parkas for the sun rise, then rode or should I say held on and rode the brakes for 38 miles looking over the side of the volcano, to the ocean where it was in the 80’s. It is a required activity when you come to Maui, glad we did it. Drove up to the beaches in north east Maui to the most famous windsurfing sites in the world. Top windsurfers from around the world were competing in the final event of the pro tour. These guys were riding the face of the waves in and then going back out they did flips with the board and sail with their feet in the foot straps. Hawaii is not windsurfer friendly to intermediate windsurfers and kiteboarders like us. This time of year the leeward side of the island has very small waves and little wind and the windward coast has big wind but also huge waves and a coral bottom. If you are not a super expert wave rider you will be leaving Hawaii in a box. Before you go you have to practice holding your breath as the waves hold you under when you fall. Most of the surfers we saw have scars across their backs, arms and legs from scraping the coral bottom.

We went snorkeling around the island of Molokai, off Maui. The typical booze cruise on a catamaran with all you can drink at 8 am. The coral was better and the water deeper than in Oahu but the fish were not as good.

One night we went to a luau in Lahaina. Every hotel has its own luau but if you get to Maui be sure to go to the Old Lahaina Luau. They put on a great show with native food by the ocean. There were two wedding receptions at the luau, brides in gowns and grooms in tuxes. Just a small intimate affair with about 300 other people, both were American couples. We saw at least 2 or 3 weddings every day in Hawaii.  The Americans go to Maui and the Japanese go to Oahu to be married. It is cheaper for a Japanese couple to get married in Oahu than in Tokyo, $400 for everything; wedding, reception, video, etc.

We explored the southern end of Maui (we were staying on the western side) heading toward the last lava flow which ran to the sea in 1790 from the volcano we biked down earlier. Along the way we passed multi -million dollar resorts, a sort of Beverly Hills by the sea, with championship gold courses and tennis complexes. We saw a small lot across the road from the ocean for $2.4 million. Then we swam and snorkeled at a beach at the foot of a 360 foot cinder cone. In Maui you carry your fins and mask in the trunk of your car and just stop if you see a place to snorkel. Then we stumbled on a nude beach and I did stumble looking at the scenery. At the end of the road we came to the lava fields. It looked like a field that had just been cut up with a huge plow, very irregular clumps of lava piled one on top of another from the volcano to the sea.

The last day we sailed on the America II, the 1987 America’s Cup finalist that lost in the last race by 26 seconds to Stars and Strips with Dennis Conner. It was the last of the 12 meter yachts to race in the America’s Cup. We had a great sail in the ocean in 20 to 25 knot winds and 5 to 10 foot seas. We were soaked from the water coming over the bow when it crashed off a big wave. The boat is 65 feet long and the mast is 77 feet high, 30 feet shorter than when it raced. Watching the America’s Cup races on tv being sailed now in Australia will be more interesting.

A lot of surfing equipment is made in Maui and we would have bought them out if there were an easy way to get it home. So we bought bathing suits, beach shorts, lycra tops, and a wet suit.

We had a great trip and would recommend spending 4 or 5 days on each island, at least on Oahu and Maui, to see and do everything.

Some interesting facts:

1.     The 12 letter Hawaiian alphabet created by New England missionaries is a pain in the ass. I couldn’t tell one town from an another on Maui, there’s an example. Which town are we going through – Waile’e, Waiehu, Wailuku, Waikapu, Wailea, Wailua or Kapalua, Kahana, Kahului, Keokea, Kaupo, Kipahulu, Kailua or Kihei. I have enough trouble with English.

2.     On other islands like Aruba and Margarita there are windsurfing centers right on the beach so you can carry the equipment into the water and change equipment when the wind changes. On Maui we couldn’t understand why we couldn’t find a rental shop on the beach. Then we found out there is a law in Hawaii against doing business on the beach. Probably a great idea or the beaches would look like Wildwood.

3.     Maui is the only island that still grows pineapple and sugar cane for export. Labor cost became so high in Hawaii that most pineapple and sugar cane are now grown in the Philippines and South America.

4.     Ninety percent of the population of Hawaii lives on Oahu. Over 60% of the population are Asian with the largest ethnic group being Japanese at 30%. Only about 10% of the population are pure Hawaiian. Sugar cane and pineapple growers brought in Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, Tahitian, Vietnamese and other Asian and Pacific islanders.

5.     Hawaiians on Oahu go to vacation to Las Vegas. There is no legal gambling of any kind in Hawaii plus it is cheaper for them to fly to Las Vegas than to vacation on another Hawaiian island. They offer packages of 5 days/4 nights for everything for $622.  

 

(We have been traveling with Glenn and Lillian since sometime in the 1970's. We've been to St. John, Haiti, Guadalupe, the Poccano Mountains, the Cotswolds and London, Eastern Europe, plus many more interesting places.  Glenn is into extreme sports and Lillian is an extreme sport just to survive with Glenn. You will have a chance to meet Glenn and Lillian on our trip to Egypt.)