Just back from Hawaii.

[DawnCt1]

Well, we aren't exactly "just" back but I had to have surgery on my foot so I finally have the time and energy to post. We had a great time. On O'ahu we hiked Diamond Head, loved the Hale Koa, meals and Luau, toured the battleship Missouri and then off to the Big Island. We returned to the Hilton Waikaloa Village where we stayed 6 years ago. It was lovely. The highlight of the trip of course was the Volcano National Park. We hit it while the lava was still flowing off of the pali and through the tubes into the ocean. It was a one mile walk from where we had to park to the lava fields and then a 1.5 mile hike over rolling pahoehoe. I was glad I wore jeans. I splipped and fell on both knees but no injuries resulted. The lava does get slippery when it rains, which it did. Great viewing at night. The glow of the goop dripping into the ocean was out of this world. On to Maui for seven days. Maui is always my favorite. We returned to the Marriott where we stayed 6 years ago and there have been stunning improvements. First of all, its no longer pink! The pool and common areas are outstanding and the rest is location, location, location. We were able to get a villa, two rooms with a mini kitchen which suited the five of us quite well. We could do breakfast although the only heat source was a micro wave. I twisted my DH's arm and got him to go to the timeshare presentation we were offered. One free night including taxes and parking. At those prices I grabbed the free offer. This was my best time share experience yet. We enjoyed the continental breakfast and got the free gift all within 45 minutes and with no hard feelings on the part of our salesman. Snorkeling was great at Black Rock, We made to Hana finally. It was our first ever sunny day en route to Hana and we continued all the way around on the "forbidden road", which was very narrow, one lane but not that bad. The kids loved Blue pool and Ohe'o Gulch. We did a sail and snorkel with the Scotch Mist, a 50 ft Santa Cruz mono hull sail boat. We loved it. There were 8 of us. So much better than being herded on Paragon and Trilogy with 50 other people and for the same price and same locations. Highlight of the trip by far was our day trip to Molokai and the mule ride down to Kaulapapa. It was raining which in many ways added to the sense of isolation and abandonment the patients must have felt as they were left at Kalawao in 1860. Sheriff Richard Marks was our tour guide and an outpatient who was quarantined at Kaulapapa with leprosy. He used the term leper and leprosy quite freely and I didn't hear him once refer to it as Hansen's Disease. I bought the book, "A Holy Man" about the life of Father Damien. I wished I had read it before. It was an almost spiritual experience to realize that 7000 men, women and children are buried there, all but forgotton. There are 35 residents left, the youngest being 65. When the last one passes, the pennisula will be turned over to the National Park System. When I got home, I called Damien Tours to ask about a more extensive reading list. Sheriff Marks answered the phone. He is 76 years old and organizes the tours and maintains the verbal history. While we were there he told us to stay out of the road because there were a lot of half blind drivers around and he would never take anyone's license away. I heard another tourist mention, when we got "topside" that he seemed like a "bitter man". Well duh! If you were snatched out of your life, you might feel that way too. On the other side of the coin, the Kingdom of Hawaii did more for their lepers than any other country has ever done in the history of the world. It was still a Lord of the Flies existance in the beginning, prior to Fa. Damien certainly. I thanked Mr. Marks over the phone for the reading list and I told him that as beautiful as Kaulapapa is, a guilded cage is still a prison. He responded; "Exactly". If you want to know more about this man who has met the Pope and Mother Theresa, google it" Richard Marks of Molokai. Our first class flights were first class. The boys sat in coach and there were no complaints.

 

[KristaTX]

Thanks for your trip report. I'm glad you had a great time .

I read an article in Biography Magazine from August 2003 about Father Damien and Kaulapapa. In fact Richard Marks is mentioned and quoted several times in the article. I had never heard of Father Damien or the leper colony before reading that story. Of all the articles I ever read in Biography, that particular article may have left the biggest impression upon me.

 

[binny]

sounds like a wonderful trip!Glad your home safe and ( I hope) feeling better after surgery

 

[DawnCt1]

Right now I am reading Prilgrimage and Exile, the story of Mother Marianne of Molokai. I am waiting for the three other books I have ordered; In the Shadow of the Pali; The Separating Sickness, which is a compilation of first hand testimonials from former patients, and a historical novel, Ka'a'awa, by AO Bishop. It really is compelling reading.

 

[mommytotwo]

Glad to hear you had a great time. I have fallen on lava several of times and it does hurt really bad. Thumbs up on the spelling of the various Hawaiian words.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by mommytotwo
Glad to hear you had a great time. I have fallen on lava several of times and it does hurt really bad. Thumbs up on the spelling of the various Hawaiian words.

Mahalo. In my next life I would like to be a kama'aina; or maybe in this life.

 

[catsrule]

cool vacation.

 

[Jeafl]

Good trip report Dawn! We are doing almost the exact same trip in June. We're spending 7 days in Maui at the Aston Ka'anapali Shores, 4 days on the big island at the Hilton Waikoloa Village and 3 days in Oahu, still haven't decided where we're staying there yet.

I'd love to hear more about the Hilton Waikoloa when you get a chance. Also, did you go to any good luaus? My kids really want to go to one, We hadn't planned on going to Kaulapapa, but I think we may add it in. It sound fascinating.

 

[ZachnElli]

Great trip report! Glad you had a good time and I hope your foot is doing alright.

Which Marriott did you stay at? We are looking at going in March and I can't decide where to stay! Too many choices!

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by Jeafl
I'd love to hear more about the Hilton Waikoloa when you get a chance. Also, did you go to any good luaus? My kids really want to go to one, We hadn't planned on going to Kaulapapa, but I think we may add it in. It sound fascinating.

The first time we stayed at the Hilton Waikaloa Village we were enthralled. We upgraded for a minimal fee to concierge and loved the continental breakfasts, snacks and service. We were in the Ocean Towers on that trip but concierge made up for the location. On this trip, we had two rooms in the Ocean Towers and en route to the rooms, everything that I didn't like about the HWV came flooding back to me. As beautiful as the grounds are, they are huge! There is a monorail and a boat that will take you to your tower but you can walk almost as fast as the train or boat and the wait makes the trip even longer. The museum walk is lovely....the first 10 times but the focus on THAT side of the hotel is Asian art and it got rather tiresome after a while. There is one elevator that services the Ocean Towers which are three huge circles, there is no connection between the sides so its a long walk after you get to the towers. I would definately ask to stay in the Lagoon Towers. There are shops, Polynesian Art and a more Hawaiian feel in that direction. Food is very expensive there. We stayed there because I got a great military rate for one room and a time share promotional rate for the other. We didn't have to do the timeshare presentation. I insisted on being "unhooked" from that on the condition of accepting the rate. It worked out to $135 per night with the $100 Hilton dollars, which doesn't go very far. The check in desk is very small for the 1200 rooms that the hotel has. Watch your luggage when you check in. My DS's back pack became separated and we didn't notice it until much later. They finally found it but only out of sheer luck. That's the negative. The positive is that it is absolutely beautiful. The lagoon is great. There are a lot of fish and sea turtles. The pools are fabulous and the staff is wonderful. We ate off of the hotel grounds most of the time. If you plan to spend any time at VNP, spend one night on that side. There is a lot to do with kids; Akaka Falls, touring the park, the tsunami museum, etc. In the past, we have spent two nights at Kileauea Military Lodge. This year we didn't because when I made plans the lava wasn't flowing. By the time my reservations were set in stone, it was, but we drove there anyway. Good restaurants near by include Cafe Pesto, Sibo Cafe, Roys of course. Merrimans is usually very good but my entree was slightly disappointing. Under duress from the DS's we ate at the Big Island Steak House. It was just okay. Any more ??? I will be happy to answer.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by Jeafl
Also, did you go to any good luaus? My kids really want to go to one, We hadn't planned on going to Kaulapapa, but I think we may add it in. It sound fascinating.

We had been to luaus before so we weren't looking for the best but the most convenient. We went to the one at our hotel which was actually very good. If you plan on going to Kaulapapa, remember that all visitors must be at least 16 years old. We stayed at the Marriott Ocean Resort and Villas in Ka'anapali. We had a living area with a queen pull out sofa and requested a roll away. DH and I had a king sized bed in the other room. Two bathooms and a little kitchen area, no cook top. It was nice. I was lucky to get the villa. If any one is going in March, I would consider the Wailea area. It is drier and sunnier, particularly in the winter.

 

[Jeafl]

Wow! $135/night at the Hilton Waikoloa? I've tried every website on earth to find a better deal than the $215/night we are paying. We already requested the lagoon towers, and they gave us the usual standard answer of "we can't guarantee it, but we'll make a note of it..."

Thanks for letting me know about Kaulapapa. My two youngest will be well under 16 so I guess we'll have to save that for another time.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by Jeafl
Wow! $135/night at the Hilton Waikoloa? I've tried every website on earth to find a better deal than the $215/night we are paying. We already requested the lagoon towers, and they gave us the usual standard answer of "we can't guarantee it, but we'll make a note of it..."

Try calling Hilton Grand Vacations. Its the timeshare promotion division. Tell them you have heard that they have a promotional rate and you are interested in the details. You have to purchase it up front and its non refundable. Its also five nights. That fit in exactly with our plans so it wasn't a problem for me. I had already booked our interisland airfare by then and paid for it with FF miles from United. Don't forget; if you have any amount of stray miles that don't add up to a domestic ticket, you can sometimes use them on Aloha or Hawaiian. Also, Hilton often lets their rooms go on Priceline for less than what you are paying. Don't forget that the Marriott is near by as well. If I hadn't gotton the rate I did at the Hilton, I would have gone there. Its on A Bay and a great beach. Also, book your rental car as soon as you are sure of your dates. You can keep checking back for a lower rate. In our case, the rates never got lower than the ones I originally booked. We loved the Ford Explorer than we got from Budget. It had the third seat in the back. We took our own snorkeling equipment. The snorkeling is great at Black Rock, in front of the Sheraton.

 

[Hillbeans]

Wow....I keep bugging my DH to go to Hawaii, and i've even set up a "hawaii" fund so we can go on our 10th anniversary.

Would you recommend going with smaller children (not babies)?

 

[Serena]

Dawn, you made me even more determined to go someday.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by Hillbeans
Wow....I keep bugging my DH to go to Hawaii, and i've even set up a "hawaii" fund so we can go on our 10th anniversary.

Would you recommend going with smaller children (not babies)?

Absolutely. Hawaii is for everyone.

 

[aprincessmom]

Hi Dawn...

I kept wondering if we'd run into you since we were there at the same time. Did your sons go surfing on Maui? We ended up taking the Pacific Whale Foundation snorkel trip to Molokini and then over to Lanai and it was fabulous!

Welcome back to reality

 

[dianeschlicht]

Dawn, did you go to the ancient Heiau that's south of Kona? I got a book on polynesian culture there that was super interesting. It sounds like you like the same things about Hawaii that we do. The Big Island is our favorite. Have you ever done the Palace on Oahu. That was interesting, but our favorite on Oahu is Diamond Head and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

 

[shortbun]

I can just smell the lava reading your post! If Kilauea is still
erupting next time you go, I highly recommend a helicopter tour
over the caldera! It's amazing!
Your trip sounds awesome! We've never made it all the way
to Hana, I'm jealous! The Molokai experience sounds great too.
I've stayed there for a few nightson a couple of vacations but never taken the tour.
Next time, we'll do it. Thanks for the report.

 

[GaryAdams]

dawn,check your pm's lol