LAST DAY IN HAWAII - EAST COAST TOUR

We woke up to a beautiful clear morning - it had been raining a lot the day before.  We decided to drive to Diamond Head.  We had breakfast at Eggs and Things.  Kind of a big breakfast.  We got to Diamond Head park at about 9:30.  This wasn't a unique idea - even the place to wait for a parking place was filled up.  We were told to go away and come back another time.  I guess for us, that'll be another Oahu trip.

From there we drove around to see Hanauma Bay.  First, the bay itself is gorgeous.

Hanauma Bay seen from the parking lot.

Charlie just before we snorked

Me too

An Hawaiian white egret - another parking lot bird

Beyond the parking lot was a ticket office, a store, and a restaurant.  We weren't permitted to walk down the hill to the bay until we had seen a 9 minute video about preservation of the corals and sea life.  At the bottom were showers, changing stations, life guards, places to rent snorkeling equipment, and best of all - the bay itself.  Charlie's hip is very sore, and since my operation 20 years ago, I've really had trouble snorkeling.  We decided to give it a go anyway, and rented fins, snorkels and masks.  Wow!  Am I glad we did.  Somehow, I was able to breath through a snorkel without problems (first time in years) and Charlie, although a bit slow, was able to use the fins.  Snorkeling in Hanauma Bay is like snorkeling in an aquarium.  We saw Convict fish, Trigger Fish, Parrot Fist, lots of others as well.  Our problem this trip was the weather.  When we got to the bay itself, although it wasn't particularly cloudy, it was misting rain.  We snorkeled for about 2 hours, and I got cold.  When we went onto the shore to "warm up"  misty clouds began to pull off other clouds, like cotton candy.  It was getting wetter, and darker.  We opted to leave - but I definitely plan to return.  What a wonderful spot!!

By the time we got back to the car it was full on raining.  We stopped at Halona blow hole - but it was too wet to appreciate.  We drove on around the east coast.  We drove to Waimanolo Beach.  We drove along a suburban street.  Each little road perpendicular to it said, "beach access".  What a gorgeous beach - even in the rain.

Me - apres snorkeling on Waimanolo beach

From there we drove to Kailua.  We had a bit of trouble finding the beach.  We did find the center of the small town of Kailua and a marine base.  Eventually we found the beach.  Another beautiful spot - but it was teeming rain here.  We found a group of guys that were parasurfing.  At least one was.  The rest were sitting with their equipment getting drenched.

This guy was tearing around with that sail on his surfboard!

His buddies hiding from the rain

We continued our damp journey to Kaneohe Bay.  Not really for swimming but very picturesque.

Above Charlie is standing next to our lime green Kia.  It was easy to drive, and easy to spot in parking lots.

Some scenery along Kaneohe Bay.

We drove back to Waikiki.  I was chilly, but our silly hotel had barely lukewarm water.  At least I got the salt off.  We went back to Cheeseburgers in Paradise - oddly not as good as last night.  We then went to the Moana Surfrider hotel along the beach for some wine.  Back to the hotel -

We flew home on Sunday - Charlie's birthday.  Lovely trip - ready to go back!

OAHU - SECOND FULL DAY - AQUARIUM - DOLE PINEAPPLE - SHOPPING

It was drizzling in the morning so we decided to walk to the Honolulu Aquarium - less than a mile from our hotel.  Glenn and Krysty really know their stuff!  

Walled swimming along Waikiki 

Common myna - seen all over Oahu 

Pacific Golden Plover - again - very common on Oahu

The aquarium is small but very informative.  They explained how the managed to keep jellyfish and sea horses alive in their tanks.  Cool bit of info - jellyfish tanks are rounded - I guess so the jellyfish won't get stuck?  break apart?

We had lunch at Marukame Udon.  We had avoided it the night before because of the lone line to get in.  The line is worth it.  They hand make the udon noodles, you have a choice of different kinds of soups or salads (with udon of course).  They also had various toppings, a few sushis (we tried spam - it is Hawaii), and some tempura.  Really a great place.  Only in Japan and Hawaii - too bad.

After lunch we drove out to the Dole Pineapple Plantation to see what was there.  The first, and best thing, was a little steam train - the Pineapple Express - that drove around a bit on the plantation explaining the history and some of the plants.  We also walked around a garden with explanations on a phone-like device. Then into their shop.  What a nightmare.  It reminded me of the old Casa de Fruta in Pacheco Pass.  You could buy pineapples and have them shipped back to the States for $70 - great.  You could buy Dole T shirts, magnets, swimsuits, candy, and on and on.  

the Pineapple Express

Pretty Hawaiian trees and red soil - pineapples like iron

Rainbow gum tree from the garden at Dole Plantation

Pretty habiscus from the garden

Brazilian Red Capped Cardinal - it was hopping around the Dole parking lot

We went back to the Ala Moana center and had a coffee.  Then back to the hotel.  That night's dinner - Cheeseburgers in Paradise - we only ate at the finest of establishments.

JANUARY SHORT HOP TO HONOLULU

We had gone to Seattle the second week of January.  I was learning how to use a new camera, and, apparently, managed to dump all my photos.  They weren't great.  I'll need to try again.  We stayed in a wonderful hotel along Lake Washington in Kirkland.  The weather was drizzly, but I discovered that you can get a bus from Kirkland to Seattle for only $2.25 each way.  Much easier than trying to drive.  Charlie worked with Stuart Smith - I toured about.

JANUARY 21

The trip to Hawaii actually began as a possible trip to Boston, Ma.  Charlie was going to work with a colleague there.  "Unfortunately"  the colleague was actually coming to LA.  Charlie asked why were we thinking of going to Boston if no one was there to work with.  Why not Hawaii?  Indeed!  Glenn and Krysty love Oahu, talked a lot about where they had gone, and where they stayed.  We hadn't been to Oahu in years, and followed their advice.  We left on a Wednesday morning, the 21st.  Thanks to Glenn and Krysty's advice, we stayed on the east side of Waikiki.    We landed at 12:30, picked up our lime green Kia then off to Waikiki. Our hotel was OK - not their advice - but the area was great. We got to the hotel by only 1:30 and really hadn't planned on what to do.  Part of the hotel "freebies" was a free pass on the Pink bus.  Its main goal was to drag everyone to the Ala Moana shopping center.  That's what we did.  The shopping center is immense - filled with a strange combination of very high end stores - Neiman Marcus Nordstroms Prada on and on - and Hawaiian gift shops.  We got back to the hotel, walked down to the water (only about 2 blocks away), and had a Maitai at Duke's.  We watched the sunset, and had dinner there.  Back to our hotel.

JANUARY 22
This was the first time I had been to Hawaii in winter.  We decided to see the north shore of Oahu, since there was a chance we'd see big waves.  Lots of crazy surf.

Turtle bay

Our first stop was Turtle Bay.  There were signs all along the road before we got there pleading not to expand commercialization to the northern coast.  After seeing the Turtle Bay resort - I'm in strong agreement.  The only way to the bay was a path next to the main buildings.  Clearly the resort didn't want riff raff on their beach.  With public access, we could have swum.  It was just an odd place.  They had their own golf course.  Later on our trip I looked up how much it would cost to stay there.  Amazingly, as much as the more expensive hotels in Waikiki. 

We continued on to Sunset Beach.  The waves were dramatic - lots of signs to stay out of the water.

Not a problem.  They looked scary.

Along the coast, the next stop was the Banzai Pipeline.  Too much blow out for cool pipes - more crashing waves and yellow police tape keeping everyone out of the water.

Next stop - Waimea Bay - Here were the surfers.  We guessed the waves were 15 - 20 feet, but heard on the news that night they were 20 - 30.  Again, no problem for us staying out of the water.

Surfers in the photo aren't us - no surprise.

We drove as far as the town of Haleiwa.  Really a great Hawaiian place.  We had lunch at Kono's - famous for their pulled pork sandwiches.  

Shopping area in Haleiwa that had Kono's pork sandwiches

A chicken moocher

We got back to the hotel at about 5.  That night on a recommendation from the Hertz Renta Car tour book we went to Seaside Grill.  It's not on the seaside - it's on Kohio (parallel to the main drag - one street up).  Good maitai - nice garlic shrimp.

NEW ZEALAND - CHRISTMAS AND THE 26 X 2

DECEMBER 25, CHRISTMAS IN NEW ZEALAND
On the whole the New Zealanders were kind of quiet about the holidays.  There were decorations, but until a few days ago, the carols in the hotels hadn't started yet.  But, in Blenheim, on Christmas day, it was VERY quiet.  Everything was shut.  We had breakfast at the hotel, and, there were lots of people eating.

This was the only morning that I was a bit concerned with timing.  Our Intercity Coach was to leave Blenheim at 11:55, take 30 minutes to get to Picton,  and we had to check into the ferry at 12:30.  A bit close.We were to get the Super Shuttle to the Intercity Coach at 11 AM, and had to check out at 10.  We had asked for a little extra time, but were told that there was only one maid working the whole hotel, so we really had to leave.  Another couple with suitcases joined our lobby wait.  At 10:50 precisely, a guy came in and took them to the local airport.  Hmmmm....  No one came for us.  At 11, we asked the concierge to call the Super Shuttle people.  He said that he'd call, but was afraid no one would be around.  He was right.  No one answered.  Just as I was preparing to drag my suitcase the few blocks to the railroad station, the hotel manager told us he'd drive us over.  What a treat.  On the way over, I asked if there'd be a problem with the Intercity coach.  Not at all.  Not only was there no problem, but the coach showed up 10 minutes early.  We easily made it to the ferry.  All was well.

We had seats in the fancy ferry lounge, and got food for "free".  Because the boat was considered off license, we couldn't get wine.  But we ate a lot, and the food was pretty good.  I kept zipping outside to take pictures of the ride.  Just as we left Picton, we traveled through several small islands.  About 1 hour or so, we entered the Cook Strait, and then onto Wellington.

Fancy lounge on the ferry

Leaving Piction - the town in the background

Charlie on the ferry

Me on the ferry

Scenery around little islands on way to Wellington

Fish farm

More scenery

Last of the little islands then out into Cook Strait

Light houses near Wellington

When we got to Wellington, the Super Shuttle guy that took us to the hotel, turned out to be the owner of the company (no one to work on the holiday).  He took us around Wellington on a wonderful mini tour.  The governmental buildings, the old church, places that were getting earthquake retrofits.  The area around the harbor, and much more.  We went to the Rydges Hotel, checked in and got a great room.  We went downstairs to find out about dinner for tonight.  The hotel was offering a buffet at $120 each!  Gak.  We could get room service, but that always seems kind of depressing.  We decided to walk around the harbor and into the city center.  Our stroll would be for tourist purposes, but also, we might find an open restaurant.  We wandered through an almost empty city center, and while walking up Taranaki Street, found a Shanghai Restaurant open!  We got a seat, and had a wonderful Chinese meal!  Not only were they open, but the food was great.  While we sat there at least 40 people came to try to get dinner.  We were lucky that we tried a bit early!

View from our hotel room

DECEMBER 26, PART I - WELLINGTON

On yesterday's tour I had seen the old St. Paul's Church.  It looked beautiful, and I wanted to get a closer look.  Charlie and I didn't have to get to the airport until 12, so we had lots of time.  We wandered past the government buildings, and then on to the church.  It's not in service any more, but is one of the prettiest churches I have been in.  We then walked down to the harbor again.  Wellington's harbor is lovely.  We walked to the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand.  Out front, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Air New Zealand, they had a cockpit of a 737.  We stood in line, and then went inside.  Plane cockpits always seem hopelessly complex to me.  Back to the hotel.

This was on the French doors to a restaurant along the harbor.  Wellington, the windy city, apparently bashed people who tried to get into the place.  It was closed on Christmas AND boxing day.

Our hotel in the center

Another hotel view

The Beehive - a government building

Inside old St. Paul's

Outside old St. Pauls

Views of government buildings - hillsides beyoned

The exhibition

"Pilots"

Charlie outside the museum

View across Wellington Harbor - bald patch - Mt. Victoria overview of the city.  We didn't have time this trip to get up there.

We packed up.   Got to the airport for our journey from Wellington to Auckland.  Easy flight.  Our bags got checked all the way through to LAX - so we didn't even have to bother with them.  What a treat.

DECEMBER 26, PART II AUCKLAND - TO LA

We opted to walk from the domestic terminal at Auckland to the International terminal.  Our plane left on time.  We landed at LAX at 10:20 AM (we had left Auckland at 7:30 PM).  We got a taxi home.  I'm glad it was a quiet day, our taxi driver was a bit of a wild and crazy guy.   Picked up Wally.  Went grocery shopping.  hmmmm.... back

NEW ZEALAND - 2 DAYS IN ONE - NELSON TO BLENHEIM + MARBOROUGH WINE TOUR

TUESDAY, DEC 23

Yesterday, we got on the road after breakfast in Nelson.  We were picked up by a Super Shuttle, deposited at the bus depot, then took the Intercity Coach to Blenheim.  I expected the drive to be less beautiful than our other drives.  I was wrong.  We drove over two minor passes.  The hillsides, as in much of South New Zealand are steep, cut by farming valleys, and lovely streams.  This area specializes in timber.  The trees that they use are called pinus radiata (Monterrey Pine??).  We were told that it grows in Canada, but takes 75 years to reach full height.  In New Zealand, it takes 25 years.  These pines looked straighter than the Monterrey Pines we've seen growing all over, so not sure if the name is true.  Apparently, the wood has to be treated, or a borer insect destroys the wooden buildings in 6-7 years.  It made for pretty hillsides however.

A government building in Nelson

Hillsides covered with pinus radiata -

An area where the trees had been harvested

Most of the buildings in New Zealand have corrugated iron roofs - it does rain a lot

Farming valleys between the hillsides

This is a mountain of mussel shells outside the town of Havelock.  Havelock is the mussel capital of New Zealand - the green lipped mussels that get imported all over (and in the US).  The shells are used for fertilizer

We've reached Marlborough - and the wineries continue

We reached the Blenheim railroad station in about 2 hours.  We were picked up by another Super Shuttle and brought to the Scenic Hotel in Blenheim.  Not much to look at from our window.  Blenheim is in the valley between yellow hills on the north and larger mountains to the south.  The general appearance is much like central California.  

Once settled we decided to walk around Blenheim to see what we could find for lunch and eventually dinner.  There were an incredible number of pharmacies in town.  Given the number of pharmacies, the warmer weather here, and the number of elderly people, this must be like Florida for New Zealand.  Blenheim is about 3 blocks wide and 5 blocks long, so our walking tour didn't take too long.  We found a sandwich shop for lunch.  There didn't seem like much for dinner, so we ultimately opted to eat at the hotel.  

Seymour Square close to Scenic Hotel in Blenheim

One of the many pharmacies in Blenheim

The town centre

Another example of the corrugated roofs around here

Me at Seymour Square

The Dry Hills beyond the hotel made the area look like California

We walked around town later in the day, and had a coffee.  The coffee here has been superb!  Dinner at the hotel was good too.  We experimented and tried a few local wines.  They were good to great.  

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24

We met the wine tour lady, Carol, and found for the first time since we've come that we were the only people with the 5 hour wine tour.  Last night we liked a Savignon Blanc from Villa Maria (sounds Mexican) the best.  So that was our first stop.  Their wines were really nice.  The most expensive wines from last night's menu weren't available on a 1 glass only basis - so we didn't try them.  The winery Cloudy Bay, was our second stop.  Nope.  We really didn't like their wines.  Any of them.  How disappointing.  Then on to Allan Scott.  There wasn't much there that we liked.  They had a Pinot Gris that smelled like apricots and had a bit of an apricot taste.  A little on the sweet side, I'm not sure if it hadn't been my third winery this morning, I would have like it as much as I did.  Mercifully, we stopped for lunch at Rock Ferry Winery (some of the wineries have restaurants as part of their tasting rooms) - I was kind of tasted out by this point.  I had fish and Charlie had a cheese platter.  The food was outstanding, the setting was lovely, and, they had great coffee.  We had a tasting after lunch.  Their wines were good - but their food was better.  Since it's the day before Christmas, the place was jammed full of people.  The servers did their best, but they had slightly hysterical expressions on their faces.  

At the Forrest Winery they told us about the grape vines here.  They are planted north to south, are drip irrigated, and hand-pruned.  They are so carefully pruned, the vines look a little like candelabras. They allow them to grow more fully to the east, where they can get more moisture.  Under the vines they keep a netting which they extend over the bottom of the vines when the grapes just begin to ripen to keep birds away.  Lots of details...

We took this photo to show off the Villa Maria wines - not us - hence Charlie's cut off head

Outside the Forrest Winery 

Grape vines lined up north to south

Outside the Rock Ferry Winery

In the display cellar of the Framingham Winery

Old cork jammer from Framingham Winery

We picked up some other wine tourists at Drylands after lunch - a place that had a lot of wineries represented in one place.  Nobilo could be tasted there - we didn't taste.  From there we tried Forrest Winery - another great Savignon Blanc.  Their Pinot Gris was not so good.  Lastly we stopped at Framingham Winery.  The owner had come from the Framingham Estate in Nottingham and named his winery after it.  The specialty there was Reisling.  We said we liked dry wines, and were given an outstanding Reisling - and I'm not a particular Reisling fan.  At that point I was definitely wined out.  Downstairs at the Framingham Winery was an old cellar that was for display purposes only - great stuff in there.

Our last stop was at a chocolate shop - Makana Confections.  The little sampler didn't get me, but they handed out a Macadamia Chocolate Toffee that Charlie and I fell for.  Carol was afraid the shop was going to close early for Christmas - fortunately - they were open until 4:30 and we got there at 4:15.  .  Back to the hotel.  Quiet evening - we'll eat in the hotel tonight - we're planning to try some New Zealand venison -  reviews to come.

Tomorrow on to Picton - for the ferry to Wellington - and the beginning of our homeward journey.