Akeem the African Dream Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 I just completed an amazing trip out to Hawaii where I visited the Big Island, Oahu, Kauai, and Maui. We did some incredible things such as hiking through a steaming volcano crater, visiting Pearl Harbor, driving up through Waimea Canyon and biking 28 miles down 10,000 foot Mount Haleakala on Maui. The first leg of the trip took us from MCO to PHX and then a 7 hour flight from PHX to KOA. High above the mountains in New Mexico On the ground in Phoenix Finally made it View from the hotel in Kona Sunrise in Kona Halema'uma'u Crater @ Volcanoes National Park Kilauea Iki Trail Pretty amazing 4 mile hike across a steaming crater floor and down the sides of the crater. When it rains it is like being in a sauna. In the crater on Kilauea Iki Trail Did a nighttime hike near Kalapana and into the now evacuated Royal Gardens Subdivision but none of the photos of the lava flows at night came out very well in the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akeem the African Dream Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 Hopped a flight from Hawaii to Oahu and stayed out @ the Marriott on Wakiki Ko'Olina area on Oahu from high above Aloha Stadium site of the NFL Pro Bowl View from my room @ the Waikiki Marriott Pearl Harbor I have many pictures from Pearl Harbor that I will add to another post in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akeem the African Dream Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 Some sunset shots from Waikiki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akeem the African Dream Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 After Oahu it was on to Kauai which is also known as the Garden Isle. There are parts of Kauai like Waimea Canyon where you think you are out west. Waimea Canyon You only know you are on an island when you can see the Pacific Ocean from high above Rock formations along the south coast and "Spouting Horn" View from my hotel room out onto Cocounut Beach in Kapaa Town Firepit at the hotel Kalapaki Beach Lots of waterfalls on Kauai'i Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELCwx Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Your pictures bring back many memories from my two vacations in Hawaii. I can remember standing in some of those same spots and taking some of those same pictures (although conventional film as that was 20 years ago). I never went to the Big Island although I did spend a week in Kauai. A lot of people do not bother to go all the way out there and they miss out on a lot of the beauty and tranquility. Hopefully you also have some pics of Maui which was my favorite. We stayed at Kapalua both times but traveled all over the island as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 I fell in love with Kauai. That place was magical. Same with Maui. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akeem the African Dream Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 Your pictures bring back many memories from my two vacations in Hawaii. I can remember standing in some of those same spots and taking some of those same pictures (although conventional film as that was 20 years ago). I never went to the Big Island although I did spend a week in Kauai. A lot of people do not bother to go all the way out there and they miss out on a lot of the beauty and tranquility. Hopefully you also have some pics of Maui which was my favorite. We stayed at Kapalua both times but traveled all over the island as well. I have some pictures from Maui coming as soon as they are uploaded. Interesting you bring up Kapalua. I am entertaining the possibility of accepting a position with my company in Kapalua over the next few weeks. Its either Kapalua, Salt Lake City, or unemployment so I have to make a decision. I should get some Maui pictures posted in the next day or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wederwarrior Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Great shots, I have always wanted to experience hawaii Kona looks awesome where was your favorite spot/island? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELCwx Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I have some pictures from Maui coming as soon as they are uploaded. Interesting you bring up Kapalua. I am entertaining the possibility of accepting a position with my company in Kapalua over the next few weeks. Its either Kapalua, Salt Lake City, or unemployment so I have to make a decision. I should get some Maui pictures posted in the next day or two. That's quite a spread of choices, lol. My first thought is to be envious of someone with a chance to live and work there, but I guess it isn't necessarily for everyone and depends a lot on your personal circumstances. I've known a few people who have moved to Hawaii (mainly Honolulu area) and they all suffered from some "rock fever" for a while but ended up staying. Looking forward to those Maui pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akeem the African Dream Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 I fell in love with Kauai. That place was magical. Same with Maui. I agree Kauai is amazing. The diverse landscape is what really sets in apart from the Canyon all the way to the rainforest with lush green all in between. Before I could get to Maui pics I found some more of Kauai that i thought I would share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akeem the African Dream Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Great shots, I have always wanted to experience hawaii Kona looks awesome where was your favorite spot/island? Thanks. Favorite islands had to be Maui and Kauai. Maui has a little bit more going on than Kauai, but Kauai is stunning. I wouldn't likely do Honolulu/Waikiki again as it just simply reminded me of South Beach or Ft Lauderdale. Honolulu is a concrete jungle. If you haven't been you at least have to stop and visit Pearl Harbor. I would only go back to the big island if there was a massive eruption but if you have never been I wouldn't plan for any more than 2 or 3 days on the Big Island. Hilo seemed like a much more interesting town than Kona. I thought Kona was actually kind of a bore. The one thing that really struck me about Hawaii is how cold it gets at the higher elevations. We stayed in Volcano Village on our 2nd and final night on the big island and temps were in the 50's during the day and mid 40's in the evening. On top of Mount Haleakala on Maui temps were in the 30's with wind chills in the teens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Thanks. Favorite islands had to be Maui and Kauai. Maui has a little bit more going on than Kauai, but Kauai is stunning. I wouldn't likely do Honolulu/Waikiki again as it just simply reminded me of South Beach or Ft Lauderdale. Honolulu is a concrete jungle. If you haven't been you at least have to stop and visit Pearl Harbor. I would only go back to the big island if there was a massive eruption but if you have never been I wouldn't plan for any more than 2 or 3 days on the Big Island. Hilo seemed like a much more interesting town than Kona. I thought Kona was actually kind of a bore. The one thing that really struck me about Hawaii is how cold it gets at the higher elevations. We stayed in Volcano Village on our 2nd and final night on the big island and temps were in the 50's during the day and mid 40's in the evening. On top of Mount Haleakala on Maui temps were in the 30's with wind chills in the teens. That's what I said. I saw Waikiki and that was enough. Too crowded. I heard the north shore of Oahu is really nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famartin Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I visited Hawaii back in October 2009. It was kinda a spur of the moment thing... had some time off and what I was planning to do with it didn't pan out, so a co-worker suggested Hawaii. Visited Oahu and the Big Island, though they were brief visits... spent about 2 days total on each island. Long enough to get a good feel for them but not too long to get bored. If I ever go back I'll skip both islands unless there's a big eruption on the Big Island... I was only able to see lava from a mile or two distant last time. Anyway, to share... (sorry for the clicking...) http://www.njfreeways.com/personal/Hawaii/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjames1992 Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Wow, Kauai is awesome. I went to Hawaii with the family back in 2002. We stayed on Oahu most of the time, but did spend a day on the Big Island and got to see the volcanoes, which was really neat. I wouldn't likely go back to Honolulu again (though Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor was neat), but Kauai looks like it could be fun. I haven't been to Maui, either. And, frankly, I wouldn't mind spending some more time on the Big Island as I didn't spend nearly enough time there. I'd love to drive to the summit of Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcglups Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Great shots and looks like you had an excellent trip! Suggestion for making Oahu a better experience is to definately leave the city and venture to the north shore and definately hilke around Kaeana Point back towards Yokohama Bay. If you stay for more than a few days look at renting a house on Crozier Drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akeem the African Dream Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 That's quite a spread of choices, lol. My first thought is to be envious of someone with a chance to live and work there, but I guess it isn't necessarily for everyone and depends a lot on your personal circumstances. I've known a few people who have moved to Hawaii (mainly Honolulu area) and they all suffered from some "rock fever" for a while but ended up staying. Looking forward to those Maui pics. Finally started uploading the Maui pics. My ride from LIH to OGG On top of Haleakala Still cold at about 6500 feet Warm enough at 2,500 to go into shorts and a t-shirt at the end of a 28 mile ride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akeem the African Dream Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 Finally started uploading the Maui pics. Our resort on Ka'anapali Beach Hands down one of the best meals we had on Maui. Beef and Chicken Skewers on the near plate and Mahi Mahi stuffed with a lobster salas on the far plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELCwx Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Finally started uploading the Maui pics. More nice pics. Love the food pic. Everything is so fresh and tasty in Hawaii. We made a choice between going up Haleakala or driving the road to Hana. We chose the drive to Hana but I was a bit underwhelmed. Kinda wish we had made the other choice after I see pictures like these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.