Tuesday - sign paperss

Today was a nice lazy day. I slept in and then went over to the HGVC to sign papers as each of us

upgraded our club points and season. I am now a HGVC owner at Kalia Tower oceanfront with two queen beds, platinum season. This is a significant upgrade from owning in Las Vegas, as I will probably not go back there except to see a show. The sales rep Terry Adams was a nice gentleman who gave me a welcome gift of HGVC Hawaii robe, HGVC bright green umbrella, and a box of Honolulu Cookies - Yum. In addition to the great bonus points Josh offered, I think this was a good upgrade for me. I can vacation at any HGVC all over the world. There are so many options in which you can use points. If you have questions about ownership, email me, as I am a big fan of time share vacation now that I own two places. The second one is located in Snowbird, Utah.

Once we take care of business, we head over to spend the day with Gary and Lora. We went to the beach for a while, back showered and then off to dinner at Kona Brew House about 45 minutes away at Kuapa Pond.

We all decide to get appetizers, flights of beer and dessert. What a good decision as the appetizers are quite filling. Roasted garlic, flat bread and nachos. The different beers are fun to try and I find a few new ones that are good. The Lemongrass was excellent and had a hint of ginger flavor in the aftertaste. The Longboard was equally good here too.

Patti takes u

Wednesday - North Shore

Wednesday is the day of the swap meet a Aloha Stadium and it is a not miss visit. Before shopping for your trinkets and gifts at the resorts, go to this swap meet and you will find most things 1/2 price or less. I bought several Christmas presents here. It is held at the Aloha Stadium and encircles the whole place. You can get food, t-shirts, blankets, jewelry and local goods for very low prices.

We pick up Lora and head tot he North Shore. Along the way we stop at the Dole Plantation Visitors

Center and the place is filled with everything pineapple! You can find food items, clothing, pineapple shaped and scented items but the best was the pineapple whip. It is a soft serve pineapple ice cream.

In addition to the tourist items, they have a small display of different types of pineapple. I never thought of pineapple in different varieties, but like an apple, there are several. At one end they have a large koi pond where you can feed the fish.They also offer a short train ride and a small botanical garden walk for an extra fee.

Off to Haliewa for lunch in the North Shore. There is a small park that is filled with 5-6 food trucks,

so we pull in to make our choices. Oahu is filled with food trucks much like we have fast food restaurants on every corner. I had one of the best home made burgers ever at this small food truck. Patti like the garlic shrimp from Giovanni's where the garlic out flavors the shrimp!Next stop at the He>I store (He is greater than I). I have seen these decals on cars for years and didn't get it, but it is very clever.  Right down the road is the Clark Little Gallery and et me tell you that large photos on metal are fantastic! Clark is an extraordinary photographer to begin with, but putting his images on 4' x 5' metal is so lifelike. He now sells these images for $1200-$2500 and offers hats, t-shirts, socks, coffee table books and many other photographs for sale. I follow him on Instagram and you can feel the ocean waves in his images.

We stopped at a local beach and stayed for sunset and it was beautiful.

Last stop is another food truck that produces malasadas. Patti and Gary try to explain that it is fried dough shaped with different filling. So I am thinking, kahula pork, eggs, cheese, pineapple and other Hawaiian delights. So when Patti ordered cinnamon and showed me....it was a donut!! A no whole in the middle cinnamon sugar donut! But I will say they were warm and lighter than our usual donuts. Gary had chocolate in his, I liked them with cinnamon sugar.

It was a long but great day.

Thursday - Sunset & Yard house

Patti wanted to stop over at the Ward Center shopping area, so we made a quick visit to Island Slipper, where I actually purchased a cute purse and no shoes.  Gary came over and we all went to the pool on the 4th floor. It is smaller and has a hot tub there as well.

Thoughts of dinner had me thinking of brewpub - Yard House located down the street a few blocks. So we decided to walk down there for dinner. On the way, the sun was setting so we walked over to the beach block to photograph and watch it. There were hundreds of people on the beach with camera phones to large professional lenses on tripods. It was quite a sight and most people were pensively watching nature paint the sky.

We had a bit of a wait for our table, so a shopping we will go. I ended up buying a pair of sandels from Oluaki which have a nice soft sole. Several local venders were set up in the center court area selling, baked goods, soaps, oils and more. The atmosphere was quite festive as there were lights on the palm trees and a musician was playing the ukalele for the crowd.

The food was excellent and beer selections outstanding.

Oahu Time - Sunday

Sleep in a bit and adjust to the time difference. Meet Gary and Lora in Kenohe for lunch at Whole Foods. They have a wide variety of prepared foods available for lunching. Some hot foods as well as salads, meat and cheeses. I found a quinoa salad and asked them to slide a small piece of chili lime chicken for the top. It cost about $6 for both and was outstanding. There is a small outdoor cafe set up outside for eaters to enjoy.

Following lunch Gary drove into the residential section of town and we walked down a small path to an even smaller beach area to see turtles! The water was a bit murky from the previous day storm, but wandering a bit farther, it cleared up a bit. Turtles were everywhere! Most were about 16-24" long and their backs covered in fungus, lichens or algae. The swam all around us feeding on the bottom of the cove on the rocks covered with vegetation.

Friday - kayaking, Yard happy hour

 Today we visit the Iolani Palace in the center of the business district. Much like the Alamo, it seems out of place in the center of the tall modern buildings located here. This is the only palace located on American soil and the history of this is very interesting.

There is an audio tour which explains each room and the items within the room as well as any significant historical action taken there. The architecture is amazing and the restoration of this beautiful palace is worth the stop. Right next door is the state capital building and the design is quite intriguing for a government building. Be sure to walk through there as well.

After the palace, Patti and I drove over to her brothers house in Kaneohe for some kayaking. Gary is quite the gentleman loading up the equipment, and unloading at the beach location in Lanikai. The beach launch is just that a small walkway between houses with a 20' sandy beach on which to launch kayaks or paddle boards.

The sky was cloudy, water was beautiful blue green and the waves were low so off we go. Gary in his

new one man and Patti and I sharing a two person kayak. Winds were blowing at us so it took about 45 minutes to paddle over to the Moku Islands about a mile off shore. Once there we floated around for a while with the life jackets on and observed a sea turtle swimming right between us!

The paddle back was a quick 25 minutes through very high choppy water and rain, but the wind was at our back and pushed us along. Again Gary a carried all the heavy stuff back to the car and loaded it on the roof! I was not too tired physically at that point. Back to Gary and Lora's home to shower and make our way to Yard House for happy hour in Honolulu.

Happy hour was great with basically 1/2 price appetizers and $2 off craft beer. My favorite beer has been the Maui Manna Wheat. I can really taste the pineapple flavor. We walked back to the HGVC and waited for the nice fireworks show on the lagoon. Sunset was magnificent as some very large sailboats crossed the sun as it was setting. I only had my iPhone, but it took some great shots.

Back up to the room and exhaustion is hitting after a long and busy day. I need to pack tonight and sort some items to be ready for a long day tomorrow, going home.

Saturday - Sept 26,2015

The last day is here, but we will be busy!

First we must pack our goods and put the suitcases in the car. Next we set up chairs for the Aloha
Parade which will go right past our hotel. The parade started at 9:40 and finished at 11:30. The floats were beautifully decorated with Hawaiian flowers as were the horses and island queens. Throughout the course of the parade the skies treated us to some small sprinkles. There sure were a lot of Miss Hawaii women riding in cars such as Miss Hawaii USA, Miss Latino Hawaii, and Mrs. Hawaii and many more.

This photo is the pooper scooper patrol for the pink Hawaiian queen's court on horseback. Some squads decorate their scooper cart!

Following the parade, we stayed in the pool for several hours even though it kept sprinkling on us. Gary, Lora, Amber, Josiah and Nahum joined us at the pool and dinner. Since we checked out of our room, we only had the Owners Lounge in which to shower and change. The facility was empty and very nice. Now off to the food court in the Ala Moana Mall for dinner.

Say goodbye to everyone and off to the airport to return the rental car and prepare for flight home.

Monday - Spa Day and HGVC meeting

update

Such a LONG flight

Leaving PHL at 10:20 am does not mean early arrival in Honolulu. We arrive in HNL at 5:20 and Lora (Patti Luis' sister in law picks us up and we head to Korean place to eat. A very quick meal of ppork and cabbage and then I board another plane heading to Kona to spend a few days with Heidi Winkler, a friend from the New Zealand trip.
Arrive in Kona airport at 8:30 with check in luggage and a driver is there to meet me with a sign to drive me up to Hiwa to Heidi's home. It is difficult to see the landscape at night so I get a description from the driver and he is quite entertaining.
Heidi's home is fabulous located on a hill with a grand breeze into my room. There are large windows and I'm sure there is a great view in the morning We stay up for hours chatting and drinking vodka, cranberry and lime! It was nice to get to know her better.

Heidi is famous!

Up at 8am and off to breakfast in the small town of Hiwa (pronounced Havii). The buildings are quaint and colorful in the form of the old wild west style, boardwalk included. I am sorry I didn't take and good photos here.
We head North to the point, but stop at a small Chinese cemetery along the way. The headstones are carved with Chinese writing and are tall, not rounded like ours. Some of the headstones are shaped like large oval eggs and all are quite old.

The closer we get to the coast, the foggier it gets in the distance and when we arrive at the Pololu Valley lookout, it is extremely foggy on the ocean and cliffs. But we take some photos anyway. This is a one way road, so standing in the middle of the road is permitted!

Next Heidi drives to a ranch that she knows and the view is fantastic over rolling hills down to the sea. There are about 50-100 head of cattle walking across the field and the grass is wet, but some good shots taken here.

On to the town of Waimea, about 30 minutes away. Lunch is at a barbecue place called the Fish and Hog Market Cafe. I had the brisket sandwich with dill coleslaw and Heidi had ribs. Both were delicious and much to much for one person to eat, we shared.

Leave Waimea for the Kona coast and first stop by the Mauna Kea observatory visitor center in town. The docent there gave a nice short tour of what is done up at the actual observatory. The weather report for evening is not good so we make other plans. Heidi takes me to the HGVC for a tour of where she works at Waikoloa Village and it is magnificent. It has several resorts within the site and a monorail along with a short boat to shuttle guests around the village. This is a beautiful location.

Sony or Nikon at 69th street beach Kona, HI

Off we go to Lava Lava Beach Club next door for some happy hour drinks and snacks. The sun is
getting low in the sky and we decide to skip over to 69th Street beach for sunset. There are palm trees and old dead trees to use in the background so we get set up and click away. I think I got some good images. After sunset it gets dark quickly and we head back to Heidi's home. After a drink or two I am tired and off to bed.

At 3:00am I am awakened by a phone call and decide to get up and take some star photos. I just hope that Heidi does not have a weapon and think I am a burglar. There are thousands of stars and it is so clear I hake photos for about an hour. I hope there are a few good ones.

Heidi has arranged a helicopter tour and we need to be at the airport by 6:45, so I just get up, shower and dressed and ready to go. The tour company is Paradise Helicopter Tours and it is complimentary!! Off we go up through the valley away from the ocean towards the volcano craters. You can tell you ar getting near because of the amount of steam rising from the black ground below.

Our pilot, York is from Belgium and keeps our copter steady and smooth. I am trying to take photos with the Nikon, Sony and iPhone and it is crazy how awesome it is in the air over the active volcano. There is no lava flowing, but lots of steam and looking into the center we can see some bubbling lava that looks like tiny specks of red/orange. It appears as if there are some researchers on the edge of the crater with scientific instruments. I'm not sure because we are not getting very close because of the temperatures.

York points out a lava lake and some other points of interest along the way to our landing at Hilo airport. While there, we rent a car and head out for breakfast at Ken's Pancake House. This is a local favorite and a great plate of cocoanut pancakes with strawberries was delicious.

Down the road from here is a small farm market and we check it out buying a few gifts and trinkets to take home. One of the vendors had his photographs printed on metal and they showed all the details in the photo. They were quite beautiful.

From here, we headed North to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. It is quite hilly and I

Taken with iPhone

recommend you walk down and take the golf cart ($5 for two) to the top. This is quite beautiful and full of native plants, flowers and waterfalls. We are having fun snapping photos all over the place! At the bottom of the trail we arrive at the coast and the incoming waves are crashing all over the rocks close by and more photos are taken. We opt for the golf cart ride to the top and head back to the airport for the return to Kona.

Our flight takes us along the coastline over the top of the island back to Kona. It was a fantastic experience and the cost was right. Heidi was able to snag two complimentary seats on that copter. The return to Kona airport was just in time for me to relax for about an hour before my flight over to Honolulu. It was a grand two days and I hope to return and return the favor and host Heidi someday here in PA.

Hilo valley from the helicopter ride.