Germaine's Luau

Bus 2 Plus 1

I was pretty miserable for a little while.  I didn't know that was possible in Hawaii.  I was ticked off that Wyoming was obviously not interested in hanging out with me but didn't have the guts to tell me - he just kept making excuses and let me figure it out.  I had one especially awful night in which I was missing my daughter.  I wanted to get on a plane and come home early.  But I came all this way and spent all that money - I was going to get out of my room and try to have a good time, dammit.  I went downstairs to the lobby to book some tours.

The woman at the activities desk told me I could save $100 if I talked to the gentleman at the next desk and agreed to take a tour of the Wyndham Properties.  "Are you employed full time?" he asked.

Avon.  "I'm self-employed."

"OK.  Do you have an annual income of at least $75,000?"
     
Uncle Sam said I earned $80,000 last year and taxed me accordingly.  "Yes, I do."

I signed a piece of paper and got a free luau plus $30 off a car rental.  "Make it a convertible."

I boarded Bus 1 to Germaine's Luau at 4:20.  You might think that would be a sign that I was boarding the party bus.  You'd be wrong.  Once I got to the luau, I looked around for a table that might have some fun people.  I chose well.  Bus 2 was the party bus.  They immediately introduced themselves and started talking to me.  The guy front and center in the picture at top volunteered for the men's dance-off.  They brought him on stage wearing a grass skirt and coconut bra.  I wish I'd recorded his dance.  He was hilarious.  He easily won.

The guys were so disappointed...

   

I wish I had my Flip before I left for Hawaii. The video would be in HD and I'd have the software to edit and rotate.

Bus 2 tried to adopt me.  They said they had some empty seats on their bus, but I wasn't sure how far I'd have to stumble back to my own hotel.  I should have taken them up on their offer.  Normally, the ride back to Waikiki is a continuation of the party.  On my previous trips, the guides taught us cute little songs and had people dancing and laughing...not bus 2 on November 20.  She turned off the lights and let all the wet blankets sleep.

Oh, well...at least I didn't spend the night miserable and alone in my room.

Mokulua Islands Seabird Sanctuary

We paddled out to the island on the left. 

I signed up for a guided kayak tour (click link for more info) out to Mokulua Island where the seabird sanctuary is located.  Ocean kayaking is much more strenuous than I expected.  Paddling the lake is tiring, but paddling against a current that wants to either push you in to shore or out to sea is exhausting.  I believe I would have made it eventually, but I was slower than the rest of the group.  Other than one of our two guides, I was the only woman in a solo kayak, the others were paddling tandem.  I was grateful for the assistance when the guides hooked up a line to my boat and helped pull me along.  It took around an hour to reach the island.  I also got a little seasick.  Thankfully, the guides had some Dramamine.




Wedge-Tailed Shearwater


Once ashore, we hiked around to the back side of the island to view some of the birds and the Queen's Bath.  There is a large tidepool around 6 feet deep that the queen and her children used to bathe in.  Some of the guys jumped in.  A few large waves hit, tossed them around, and bloodied their arms and legs.  I would not recommend letting your children jump in unless they are excellent swimmers.  There were several fledgling birds along the trail that seemed to not be bothered by our presence at all.  I took a photo of a wedge-tailed shearwater that looked back at us from his resting spot among some rocks. 

Lanakai Beach

Next, we paddled to Lanakai beach for lunch.  I caught a wave on the way.  I heard it coming up behind me, paddled as hard as I could, and zoomed past the guide who said, "You didn't tell me you knew how to kayak surf!"  I don't really.  It was almost an accident.  I caught another one completely by accident as I was landing on the shore.

The tour guides packed sandwiches, chips, and drinks for us, and provided snorkels for those who wanted to explore the reef.  Everyone was saying they couldn't see much and I was tired, so I just relaxed in the sand.  A local guy came up and started talking to me.  He was telling me about island life and how doing business here is different from the mainland.  Everyone has been so nice to me.  It really is a laid-back place.  No one is ever in a hurry.

After lunch, it was much easier to paddle back to Kailua Beach because the current was pushing somewhat in that direction and we didn't have to fight as much.  The guides helped me out a little bit along the way, but I did most of the paddling myself.  Even when they were towing, I kept paddling and didn't make them do all the work.  I was exhausted.  I went back to my hotel and went to sleep.      

Waikiki



Hawaiian Sunset


I got to spend a few hours with Wyoming today.  He took me around Waikiki on the back of his Harley and then to lunch.  I was worried that I was a secret since he never did add me on Facebook, but that is definitely not the case.  We went to Aloha Towers, where he works, and he introduced me to a few people.  We stepped into a shop where he said they have a bird all the rock stars take pictures with.  The birds were cute, but my favorite was the friendly little lizard with what looked like three horns on his face - like a miniature Triceratops.  He started on my hand and climbed until he was on top of my sunglasses.  Wyoming took the picture with his cell phone and then texted to me, so you can't click to enlarge.  I wish he was more visible.  The bird is not on my head and not pecking at the lizard...

He had to work this evening, so I headed to the zoo by myself.  I got there at 4:00 and they close at 5:30, so they gave me a free ticket for tomorrow to see whatever I missed today.  The animals are more active early in the morning and the evening so that may not be a bad idea to do on purpose.  I took video of the White-Handed Gibbon showing off.

After the zoo closed, I walked across the street to Queen's Surf Beach where I watched the sun go down.  I just missed getting a picture of one of the sailboats casting a shadow in front of the sun as it was disappearing below the horizon.  My camera kept focusing on the trees and I couldn't get past them in time.  I'll have 5 more evenings to get the perfect photograph of a Hawaiian sunset. 

Aloha!

Image from Flickr.

I spent all day traveling and am exhausted.  Wyoming was teasing me about flying Continental because the last time he flew they didn't feed him, didn't show a movie, didn't provide any pillows or blankets...they got nothing.  That was not my experience at all. There was a pillow and blanket on every seat when I boarded.  They rolled out the drink cart at least 4 times and came around offering cold water a few times in addition to that.  They fed us twice - one hot pocket type meal and then a cold sandwich later.  Airplane food has never been that good.  A sandwich is as appetizing as any of that other stuff they used to offer. 

We also had video screens on the seat backs.  I've heard rumors of those, but this is the first time I've been on a flight that had them.  It took me a few minutes to figure out how to turn it on and my neighbor had to help me find the games.  I also had to buy one of their $3 headphones because I couldn't get to mine.  They are yours to keep, however, and you can even plug your own headphones into the adaptor.  In flight entertainment was free.  I watched CSI episodes, Salt starring Angelina Jolie (disappointing, glad it was free), and played card games. 

I took a shuttle bus to Waikiki.  They are located just outside the baggage claim area.  It is 9 dollars one way or $15 round trip.  I'm finally checked into my room and ready to rest up for tomorrow.  I can't wait!

Bon Jovi Hawaii 1987: Part 3

Part 1
Part 2

Part of our vacation package was a welcome breakfast our first morning on the island.  Most of us headed down to the lobby in our pajamas, thinking breakfast was at our hotel.  It was not.  We ran upstairs to change and grab our cameras as quickly as we could.  We then boarded a bus and were taken to another hotel a few blocks away.  This is when I learned that "continental breakfast" is a pastry and a glass of orange juice.  They also offered tea, and I learned there were ways to drink tea other than over ice.  It's quite tasty served hot with milk or cream, too.

Breakfast was actually a sales pitch for snorkel tours, dinner sails, luaus, and sightseeing trips.  I now know that it's best to book your tours at the activities desk of your hotel.  They have all the tours offered at the breakfast and more, without the hard sell tactics.  You can even rent a car.

After breakfast, it was Hilo Hattie's turn to kidnap us.  Hilo Hattie is an excellent place to shop for souvenirs, but you can get a ride any time.  They have several pickup locations in Waikiki.  They bus was also scheduled to take us on a tour of the pineapple and macadamia nut factories.  We didn't want to spend our day visiting these places, so we declined the "free tour" and walked back to our hotel.  It was a beautiful morning and not an unpleasant walk.   



Our route took us past the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (The Pink Palace), The Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, and Waikiki Beach.  About halfway back to our hotel, I spotted an old woman lying half on the sidewalk and half in the street.  Thinking she was sick or had suffered a fall, I stopped to ask if she was okay.  "I'm awful hungry," she responded.  Another first; we didn't have homeless people living in the streets of Magnolia, Texas.  They try to keep them out of sight of the toursists, but there are plenty in Honolulu.

I don't remember the rest of the trip in chronoligical order.  The next seven days are a blur of luaus, snorkel tours, Australian rugby players, beaches, and concerts.  I'll post the highlights in no particular order beginning next week.  If you have travel stories of your own...post them and link up here:  Travel Tip Thursday.    

Today's tip:  Unless you are traveling with a tour group and there will be information or announcements you need to hear, skip the free breakfast.  It's a high-pressure sales event designed to separate you from your money before you have time to spend it elsewhere.      

Bon Jovi Hawaii 1987: Part 2

Click here to read part 1.

We woke early the next morning (actually, I'm not sure I slept) excited to be going to Hawaii.  Our friends from the night before called our room and told us that the fan club personnel were in the lobby and we could pick up our boarding passes then instead of waiting until we got to the airport.  I ran downstairs to get them.  They actually had "Bon Jovi" on the boarding pass!  I still have one of mine.

After we were done jumping up and down and screaming, we finished getting dressed and headed to the airport, where we joined the other members of the fan club.  In all, there were 150 of us headed to Hawaii.  The majority were teenage girls.  Those poor flight attendants... 

We weren't too bad, other than refusing to stay in our seats.  We hung out in the aisles with our new friends.  That's me in the hat.  Someone stuck it on my head just before snapping the picture.  I tried unsuccessfully to convince her she really wanted to let me keep it.  We didn't wait to get to Hawaii to start taking pictures.  I took a bunch out the plane window.  This might be leaving San Francisco.  Does that look like Alcatraz?  We missed the food service because we weren't in our seats.  We had to ask the flight attendants if they would make another pass.  They said they would but we would have to wait until they were done serving everyone that had stayed in their seats where they belonged.  Finally, after five hours over the ocean, we began our descent into Honolulu.  As we touched down onto the runway, 150 girls screamed and cheered.  The flight attendants breathed a huge sigh of relief.

We had each been allowed to bring two bags on the trip: one to check and one to carry on.  Being an inexperienced teenage traveler, I crammed each suitcase as full and as heavy as I could possibly make them.  We had assistance claiming and transporting our checked baggage, but were on our own with our carry on bags.  My bag was so heavy I couldn't carry it. I began to drag it. We went down a flight of stairs and it thump, thump, thumped along behind me. 

We were herded out to a garden area where we would receive our leis and take our first tourist photograph.  Every time we boarded a vessel, visited a tourist attraction, or bumped into a man with birds we were photographed and the pictures were offered for sale at a premium price.  I don't remember buying any of them.  I was on a budget.  I had only 300 dollars in spending money for the week.

We were transported by bus to our hotel.  We stayed at the Queen Kapiolani.  It was across the street from the zoo and about a block from the beach.  In the lobby, we were read a long list of rules and given our room keys.  My roommate and I were one of the lucky few who had a room with a view.   From our lanai we could see the ocean and Diamond Head.  Our friends had a view of the alley and the hotel rooms next door. 

The view from our balcony:

My new friends and I walked along the beach to find dinner.  I had never seen water so blue.  Even though the water is actually pretty clean in Galveston now, the Mississippi churns up so much sand as it empties into the Gulf of Mexico that it will always be a brownish green color here.  

I was exhausted by the time we got back to our room.  I was too excited to sleep in San Francisco and barely got any rest on the bus, so I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Part 3 next week.   

Today's travel tip:  Never buy luggage without wheels. 

For more virtual travel, visit Pseudonymous High School Teacher.  Link up if you have a travel story.


 

    

Bon Jovi Hawaii 1987: My First Solo Vacation

In 1987 I was 19 and a bit of a groupie.  Bon Jovi was my favorite band at the time and I had joined the fan club so I could get good seats for the concerts.  The fan club put together a trip to Hawaii that included airfare from San Francisco, 7 nights accomodations in Waikiki, a party cruise, tickets to two of the band's shows and a backstage pass for one of them.  I was working part time in a grocery store at the time and living at home.  Fortunately, my father was not living at home because he would never have let me go.  My mother thought it was a little crazy, but said if I earned the money myself, it was okay with her.  I know I was of age, but my parents were of the notion that as long as I lived at home I had to do what they said.

I saved my pennies and managed to earn the 750 dollars by the deadline.  Then I had to figure out how to get to San Francisco.  I couldn't afford a plane ticket, so I took the Greyhound Bus.  They had a special of 59 dollars each way to anywhere with as many stops as you wanted.  I wasn't interested in stopping, but the price was right.  I spent 2 days on a bus.  No showers.  No bed to sleep in.  No clean underwear.

The fan club had paired me with a roommate for the trip.  We had talked on the phone and decided that we would also share a room in San Francisco the night before our plane left for Hawaii.  I took a taxi to the airport, then called for the hotel's free shuttle service.  When I got to the room I told her, "I'm sorry.  I've been on a bus for 2 days.  I need a shower.  I'll talk to you in 30 minutes."

After the shower, I was ready to explore San Francisco.  We again took advantage of the hotel's airport shuttle service, then caught a bus from there that was supposed to drop us off near the Hard Rock Cafe.  We didn't see it.  We walked into the Meridian hotel (I think) to ask directions.  The concierge gave us directions and a map then told us we should take a taxi because it was really too far to walk.  We had the doorman call us a cab.  Very friendly service for 2 people who weren't even guests.

We got to the Hard Rock Cafe ten minutes after they stopped letting minors in.  We were extremely disappointed, but arguing with the doorman did no good.  We walked around for a while people watching instead.  As we passed a restaurant, my roommate said, "Is that Dennis Quaid?"  It sure was.  He was sitting at a table with a blonde looking very cozy.  I know now that it was Meg Ryan.  They looked very into each other and were oblivious to us staring at them through the window.  Neither of us was willing to interrupt their date. 

Before we knew it, we were back at The Meridian and our bus stop.  It wasn't too far to walk, after all.  We caught the last bus back to the airport.  On the shuttle back to the hotel, we met 2 more fan club members headed to Hawaii.  One of the women had a 15-year-old daughter that she left at home.  I don't remember why the daughter didn't get to come, just that she was not happy about it.  All four of us had a pizza party back at the hotel.  We didn't get to bed until 4 am, but I was too excited to sleep anyway.

Part 2 next week...

Travel Tip:  You may be too old for fan clubs (WHAT?!  No WAY!!!), but joining a group is a great way to travel and make new friends.  Also, don't take the Greyhound Bus.  Hitch hiking is more comfortable and may be safer.

For more virtual travel, visit Pseudonymous High School Teacher.  Link up if you have a travel story.

Images from Photobucket.