WOW Hawaii is expensive. Took a trip to Honolulu to visit my husbands little brother and his wife.
We had three reasons for the visit. His little brother was turning 21 and we were
bound to get him waisted. Yeah that didn't happen. He bought roughly $100.00 in liquor and tasted (tasted? I mean really small sips) of each one the night we arrived. He is not all that fond of beer or hard liquors.
The second reason was because it was our 9 year anniversary.
The third reason is because they will be sending his little brother to Iraq sometime near October and we wanted to be with him before he ships out. We left on April 23 and returned home April 30th. It was the most eventful vacation that I have ever been on, and the wettest. One thing that I noticed about Hawaii is that it is like a mini Japan. With the Japanese and all. They have signs and food and little stores all over the place. I felt like I had slipped back in time to when I lived in Japan.
Most of our vacations are one of two things. Either it is snake hunting or visiting family. When it is snake hunting we drive around for hours and hike from sunrise to sunset. Sleeping in tents and eating fast food. Visiting family is a lot busier. Home cooked meals, being toted around to all the family members, sometimes driving for hours just to stay a day or two with one of them. But this trip to Hawaii.... Woah. It was like most vacations in the case of being everywhere but at the place where you lay your head. Getting up early in the morning and coming home late in the evening. We were out so much we never just sat down and watched tv, and boy howdy was it expensive.
We drove to Jerrys' Grandmothers house and dropped off my car. We transferred our bags to her car. She transported us to the air port and dropped us off out front. We had two suitcases and three carry ons. We arrived around 7pm. It took forever for us to get checked in and then get through security. They make you take everything out of your bags you are going to carry on. I don't know if any of you have flown since 9/11 but it is ridiculous. All items must be in plastic bags. NO items can be over 3 ounces. So all of our shampoos and such were these little itty bitty bottles. We had to remove the cameras from the bags and lay them beside the bag as it went through the x-ray. We also had to remove the ziplock bags that had all the three ounce bottles too. I might as well have not put them in the carry on. We must of used six or seven x-ray buckets. After putting everything back in the bag we ran to the terminal where we barely made it in time. The were just boarding the plane. We were right over the wing. As we flew we got educated that they do not feed you. They do not even give you pretzels or peanuts. The food they do have you can order in a book and pay out of the butt for it. We purchased a snack pack and headsets. This cost us around thirty bucks. Thank god I brought snackables. While in the air they made us take a survey. This survey asked us questions like what is our purpose for this visit, and where would we be staying, if we had any fruits or animals with us and if we would be visiting the convention center. I am all for surveys but a lot of people aren't. The stewardess made it clear that if you did not fill it out, there would be a fine. Personally what is it their business if we are there for a honeymoon or just to visit. It is not like we got a gift for visiting the islands.
Everywhere we go my husband finds some way of getting in some herping. Even if it is a quick trip around the building we have stopped at. Though there are not to many reptiles in Hawaii, he managed to find 3 out of the 4 species there and take their picture. He had gone online one night to find out the species of gecko that he had found, and located this
webpage. The person who made the webpage did not research the species first. For those who do not know the difference between a gecko and an anole. This is an Anole..
And this is a Gecko.
Because of the lack of reptiles he resorted to water hunting. He looked for crabs and other creepy crawlies.
Our first night there we were taken out to eat to Bubba Gumps restaurant seafood place. It was really good. Though there soda was terrible. I had everyone taste it, and PJ and his wife said it tasted fine and my husband and I thought it tasted funny. I later found out that all the soda on the island tastes funny whether it is can, bottle or tap. At the apartment we sat up and watched PJ try all of his alchohal (that he hated) and talked.
Over the week here are the things that we did. Here is a bug I found and just had to take a picture of
We went parasailing at Hawaiian Parasail.
It is way awesome but totally scary. Especially when it is really windy. One minute your on a boat getting hooked into a harness, the next you are in the air and the boat is an itty bitty dot on the sea.
You are hooked to a parachute, that catches the air and you are swept off the boat. It was an incredible experience. I was enjoying it until the wind really started getting harsh. I felt like the rope was going to break and we were going to be sent out to sea. But now I know what a kite feels like. When we would get lifted higher I would cross my ankles and say "put me down put me down put me down". Then I would look down and close my eyes. My husband was attached to the back of me and he kept saying " I am here it is ok I am right here. It is just like being on the zipper (a ride at the fair)."
Auto reply "The Zipper does not dangle me 5000 feet in the air, above water, with just a piece of rope." Needless to say he was mad at me for freaking out. As they brought us back towards the boat they thought it would be funny to dunk us in the ocean .
FREAKIN COLD!!!
Did the same thing to PJ and his wife... she almost lost her bottoms. You can tell by the look on her face in the picture.
After para sailing we went to get something to eat. While waiting for the waitress to bring us the check. Pjs wife and I went off and walked around to all the little shops in the area. We discovered a glassblowing store. A female was inside an enclosed room making a sea turtle. We got a picture of her and video.
We also went horse back riding at Kualoa Ranch. It was a 2 hour trip that went through the mountains and along side movie sets. We saw a bunker from Pearl Harbor,
Godzillas foot prints,
Monkey Mountain,
a cave from The Brady Bunch Hawaii, a log and a tree from Jurassic Park,
Mr. Miagis house,
and some land from the show lost. We were not allowed to bring the video camera but we could bring the digital camera. So we got allot of pictures. The ranch we were on raises Black Angus Cows
and had these little white birds called Cattle Egrets that looked like little storks.
They were ALL over the island. Jerry would always try to take a picture of one while were on the freeway. The birds were brought to the island for the cows. They were to get rid of the flies. They should have only brought males. On the trail we were instructed not to let the horses eat, but mine decided to wait until I was taking a picture or when some tall grass was coming by and he would get a good mouthful. The guide took our cameras during the ride and took pictures of us individually and together.
Visiting the dole plantation was a little boring. Maybe during the season it would have been more interesting. When we went they were all just plants. They have a resemblance to the Aloe Vera plant or the cactus family. Some had little pineapples on them.
The Coy were the funnest part to watch.
I think I took more pictures of plants than of the pineapples.
I later learned this was the state flower.
One night we went to a mall to play putput golf. This was really freaking cool. It was lit in black light and they had you wear these glasses so that everything was 3-D. Every once in awhile you have to take off the glasses just to figure out where the hole was or where your ball went. They had 18 holes and I won. WOO HOO!!!! I attempted to take a picture of it. It did not do it justice. Jerry wouldn't let me video tape it.
Snorkeling is not made for me. I was panicking with it on. I felt as though I could not breathe. I am used to a certain intake of air and that was not providing me with enough of it. I sounded like Darth Vader having sex. I had a blast looking at the fish and the other underwater sea creatures. I did noticed that they do not have starfish of any kind. I wanted to hold a brittle fish. After wrestling the snorkel I eventually just took it off and kept the mask on, holding my breath worked allot easier. That was until the mask started filling with water. Then I would just hold the mask on the water and look. Everyone else went out farther than I would. I was to concerned about being slammed against the rocks. I was already not fond of sliding on the rocks, twisting my ankles, having the reef shave the skin off my legs, or my hands sliced open. My husband thought I was not enjoying myself because I would not snorkel. He kept getting upset at me saying that I was not even willing to try, and I was missing allot of stuff. I tried lots of times I decided that just the mask was fine with me. I had an underwater camera and sand that was entertaning me enough. I was perfectly happy just laying on the beach getting tanned. Or sitting in the water letting the waves throw me back and forth.
We viewed Pearl Harbor. I have not seen so many military boats in a LONG time.
A boat took us to this little.... hmmm I don't know what you would call it. It was a building that was detached from the land.
This was the walkway that was built over the top of the USS Arizona that had been sunk and a section for the names of all the fallen soldiers.
This is a diagram of what the ship looks like.
You could see the ship and it was still leaking oil. After 66 years and it still has oil in it. My husband was more interested in chasing the mongoose that run free on the island.
We also found the island to have wild chickens that just run free too.
I got to see my first luau at Germaine's Luau.
We arrived and found a place a sit. Later wished we would have chosen a closer location. We watched the pig get removed from the pit and we had a buffet.
I video taped the whole show, with the help of PJs wife. I learned quickly that the darker it got the harder it was to take pictures. Hence the reason I wished I was sitting closer.
I was not as interested in the people singing, but I was engrossed in watching them dance. Especially the girls. How do they move them hips that fast and not pull anything. They would ask people to come up on stage and Jerry would wait until the last second and volunteer. Of course he never got to go up, but this is him walking back.
Before the pig was removed from the pit Jerry and I had gone over to have a smoke and he once again saw a mongoose. I tried with camera and video to get one of these critters but all I could catch were brown blurs. I was tempted to place some fish in the middle of the grass and wait for one to come and get it. But I was more interested in watching the show. I would love a soundtrack of the music they played when they were dancing it is very catchy.
One night we stopped along side the road and took a stroll along Turtle Beach. We saw sea turtles just resting on the beach. The first night we went, there were four of them. But of course we did not have any of our cameras with us. Later in the week, we went again and saw two.
The other one had a tracker on it.
They were huge. I cant even think of anything at this time to compare its size too. I can say it was bigger than a manual lawn mower. I guess they are there during the day too. Someone stands near them and has caution tape all the way around them to keep people from touching them. But at night you cant tell the difference between them and the rocks if you don't have a flashlight. *cough Jerry*
The best thing of the week was actually shark diving at North Shore Shark Tours. We get on a boat and drive 3 miles from shore. They drove us to a spot where the crab boats pull up nets. I guess the sharks get fed by the fisherman when they discard things from the net. We tied down and all four of us climbed into the cage. Of course we went first. They lower the cage into the water and let it drift roughly ten to fifteen feet from the boat.
The cage was roughly 8 feet long, 5 feet wide and 10 feet deep. Two of the sides had a fiberglass window to see more clearly. We used the underwater cameras for this, later finding out that these things really suck. Thankfully they give an option to have your adventure video taped. You can see the video at Youtube.
We take our snorkle gear with us and use it to watch all the Galapagos sharks swim around us.
One time when I was above water I saw the native fish swim by.
Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa
I had gone under water and it came at my face and slapped me with its tail. Guess I was in his way. Because I am not so great at snorkeling I would hold my breath and dive down and look around. This did not make hubby happy because every time he would come up I would be up too. With my mask off. He snapped that I was missing everything. Of course I argued back, but that is no good. Unless I am doing exactly what he is doing, the way he is doing it, I am not having a good time, and ruining everything. Eh oh well.
One day we went to a Waterfall.
It was a super long walk. The humidity was outrageous. That was one thing I could not wait for Jerry to Experience. Humidity. I am very surprised his clothes stayed on the whole walk. I have lived in it before so I was prepared... even if it has been 15 years. Not to much for wildflife in there. Was mostly plants and a bird here or there, which I got plenty of pictures of the strangest looking flowers.
PJ did discover 3 skinks on our walk though.
We did get pictures of us though in various locations
At the waterfall signs were posted everywhere saying do not cross the ropes and that is was dangerous beyond the path. They also had signs that said the water was polluted with a bacteria.
Just like at home the signs were ignored and people were swimming. Got a whole ocean and they go to a dangerous waterfall.
Pj and his wife took us to the docks where the Cruise ships load and unload.
We were not there to see the ships though. They had decided to take us to Hooters. The service was not so great and it was hella noisy. When we walked back to the car we saw allot of people fishing off the wall. Jerry decided he wanted to look into the water and see if there was anything interesting. A couple of fishermen walked towards us saying something we could not comprehend. As we got closer we saw they were holding a baby hammerhead shark they had caught. I took a picture of it while Jerry held it.
They layed it on a tarp so they could cut the hook out.
We didn't wait to see if it would survive, but we did watch them attempt to place it back in the water to revive it.
Later that night the boys decided they wanted to go fishing. They had the idea they could catch a hammer head shark. PJs wife and I told them that the hooks were too small and the bait was not interesting. We had stopped at a grocery and bought shrimp. We drove around the whole island looking for a secluded area. One place we stopped Pjs' wife almost drove her Mini Cooper into the ocean and then across someones lawn. When we finally found a beach, Jerry and PJ set their poles up. A light sprinkle started and I decided to put the cameras back in the car. Jerry was still fiddling with his pole when he dropped the flashlight and it went out. I took it back to the car and changed the batteries hoping to fix it. While my hands were full I looked out the window to see Jerry running towards me. He knocked on the window and told me to open the door. I looked confused because I was in the back seat of a 2 door vehicle. The handle was near the passenger mirror. He opens the door himself and tells me to move over. I got out instead. That is when I realized that it was pouring rain. Mind you the whole time we were in Hawaii it drizzled. More like misted is how it felt. This is was soaking everything. I jumped back in the front seat, and heard PJ and his wife open the hatch back then they jumped in too. We sat for a few minutes and the rain stopped. Instead of unloading everything we decided to find somewhere else to go. We ended up on the complete other side of the island in a boat harbor. Pulling everything out again the guys sat down and fished. Wifey and I decided it was time to chit chat. Roughly thirty minutes passed and they decided to move to another part of the dock. That is where they saw the two maybe three white eels, a sea slug, and a puffer fish. But caught nothing. Two thirty in the morning and everyone BUT my husband is getting tired. He insisted that he walk to the wall for a little while because this was the last night in Hawaii. We all walked with him. Sleep was no issue that night.
Before we left my husband was bound and determined that he was going to drive his little brothers car.
He didn't rev the engine and tear through the streets like his little brother does but he enjoyed himself. They tried to get me to drive his wifes car,
but I refused to because it was a stick. Maybe if it wasn't a new car or even a relatives car I would have attempted it, but I was to afraid that I was going to ruin the gears. As usual Jerry got on me about never trying anything new. If it comes to be that it is mandatory that I drive a stick I will learn but till then.... :P
The day we left we went to the zoo.
Unfortunately we got their late and did not get to experience the whole thing as they closed at 5pm. It was also my fault too. I was packing the bags to leave and as I was carrying them out to the living room I slammed my toe into the wheel of my bag. I limped around for hours. Jerry had gone to buy a pack of smokes and we sat down under this tree.
The pain was getting worse. PJ's wife told me we should get a wheelchair. I explained that I did not want to because Jerry would be upset that I was hurt. I guess I have a tendency to mangle myself quite frequently. It is a genetic thing... my mom does it too. We had sat outside of the zoo having a cigarette and when we got up I could not walk. I took my shoe and sock off to see my toe kinked and swollen with a very interesting bruise. It was inevitable I had to be wheeled around the zoo by PJ's wife. I didn't want to bother Jerry with having to wheel me around. It was to much of an inconvenience for him. We only got the chair for bout an hour and a half so I had to hop everywhere else. We did not even get to finish to zoo. All I got to see was monkeys, alligators and birds. As we were leaving we did see this little guy.
We left from the to the airport. We were to load the plane at 7:45pm which is 11:45pm in Arizona. Our bags had to go through an agricultural check. That was to make sure we were not smuggling back any fruits, bugs, or animals (Jerry really wanted to take a gecko home with him, mainly cause they barked). PJ and his wife were lovey dovey the whole trip. WE got many pictures of them cuddling this is the funniest one.
I was in a wheelchair at the airport too. When we went to check in they changed our seats so that we were at the front of the plane right next to the bathroom. We were loaded first but when we got to the Phoenix airport it was whoever could off the plane the fastest. Luckily they had some chairs waiting in the bay and we took one. We landed at 5:35am Monday morning. Jerrys' grandmother picked us up and took us to her house to get our car. We were on the freeway and heading home by 6:30am. By the time we got the bags inside and said hello to the animals it was 7:30am. We fell asleep immediately. At 8:30am by boss called me to say that my store was uncovered. I told her I just got off the plane and did not sleep yet. There was NO WAY I was going in. She attempted to beg but there was no way I was giving in.
Well that was our trip to Hawaii. Hope you enjoyed reading about our vacation and adventures in Honolulu. Video will hopefully come soon so that you can see it for yourself. If anyone would be interested in larger pictures of any of the adventures seen today please send me an email. Thank you and ALOHA!!!!!
