There is No Place Like Home !!!
After 3 flights and ~16 hrs, we arrived back in the Land of 10,000 Lakes at ~1 PM Monday. Though this morning, my body still thought that 7 AM was 2 AM. (ie its going to be a long day) Also, sleeping in those coach seats definitely is not an easy task, especially with 3 girls trying to curl up on or next to you.
Some final thoughts on Hawaii before getting back to other topics:
- At 44 years old, I got to experience some incredible firsts for me. These included riding in a helicopter, riding in a submarine, snorkeling over a coral reef, riding a boogie board, walking through a lava tube, hiking through lava flow areas, touring Hawaii, etc. (ie my kids are "Lucky Kids")
- Sea Urchin's are everywhere and incredibly intimidating when you are snorkeling in shallow water with no water shoes or flippers. (where to stand up ???)
- A recession on the mainland causes a major recession on the Islands. Tourism is their primary source of revenue and it is way down. Spring break is their peak season and we ran into no lines or crowds.
- Hawaii has education funding problems also. They instituted every other Friday as a school furlough day to save money. (not sure when they make up the hours)
- Unions can ruin any business when left unchecked. (per van tour driver) The sugar cane and pine apple industries have totally shut down on Maui. The production costs are too high compared to other lower cost countries. Hopefully it can restart someday with a new owner and new employee/company contracts.
- Their grapes and my grapes come from Chile.
- US Navy is looking to promote biofuel creation on the Islands. (forum) Which makes sense since sugar cane is an excellent source for making biofuels, and those battle ships have big fuel tanks.
- A perfect place for wind generation units... I am from the land of wind towers in SW MN and I was even getting tired of the trade winds that kicked up every afternoon.
- Banyon trees are very interesting. (Picture)
Well, drop me an email if you have any other questions regarding Hawaii or travelling there. Back to typical topics tomorrow.
3 comments:
Sounds like a fantastic vacation. My family tends toward city trips, but Hawaii is definitely on my bucket list.
--Annie
Which islands? Maui, obviously. Hawaii, obviously, and Oahu, obviously, but any others? How much time in each? Which helicopter company, and what island?
J. Ewing
I think that is the fascinating thing about Hawaii, you can find an island for most tastes.
For city and history buffs, Oahu would be a slam dunk. For people who love sand beaches and tourist stuff, Maui is incredible. Kuaui sounds like it would be great for folks who want to unwind. The Big Island is a little rougher and is great if you are a geology buff. Where else can you watch land being made by mother nature.
Molokai and Lanai sound like they are best for day trips from the other islands. And Kahoolawe is off limits after decades of the US military using it as a bombing range... (ie they are working to recover/disarm it)
We spent ~5 days on Maui and 3 days on the Big Island (Hawaii'i) My wife and daughter's liked Maui better, whereas Big Island was my favorite. They loved the soft sandy beaches that were everywhere, whereas I loved the severe diversity of the Big Island scenery and shorelines.
Maybe I also sensed what one of the Big Island folks told us. "Those Maui folks are too up tight, we Big Island folks like to hang loose..." Which definitely fits my relaxation mode.
As for service provider's we had great luck with all of them. Their links are in the previous posts. Just remember that seeing flowing lava on a helicopter tour is very unlikely. Apparently Mother Nature is pretty inconsistent and unscheduled.
As for time on each, we could have spent the whole week on either island and still felt we were missing something. If time and money allowed, I would plan for a full 2 week vacation with the majority of time spent on 2 islands. (ie maybe a day trip to Pearl Harbor or Lanai)
If only 1 week is permitted I think I would spend it all on 1 island. Especially when travelling with 3 kids... Otherwise you feel a bit like Chevy Chase in Vacation.
Here are some other useful links:
Hawaii Wiki
Hawaii Aloha Travel (Kalei)
Islands Info
Hawaii comments
Clark Griswald Grand Canyon
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