Trip report Kauai, Molokai, Honolulu 12/07
 

Here's my first trip report. I'm posting the first part (Kauai) and the rest will be up shorely. It ended up being really long... But hopefully someone will find something of use! Thanks to all who have given such great travel advice.
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Background: Female, 33 yrs old; husband, 29 years old. We haven't had a 2 week vacation since our honeymoon, 2.5 years ago. I've completed 5 quarters as a full-time grad student and I work part-time. My husband is a software developer who has had several stressful projects. This is our first trip to Hawaii. We're looking to do as much relaxing as sight-seeing. We chose Hawaii because we wanted a short flight, warm weather and a less stressful, less expensive vacation than a trip to Europe would be. This is our itinerary:

Poipu, Kauai – 7 nights
Molokai – 6 nights
Honolulu – 3 nights

Day 1 Seattle to Honolulu, Honolulu to Lihue

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- Our flight to Honolulu arrives 1/2 hour early. The airport at Honolulu is "open air" and the warm weather feels amazing. We pick up our rental car in Lihue. We're renting through Budget, and it will end up costing $180 with all the fees. Although we reserved an economy, they don't have any, so we get upgraded to a sedan for free. I'd rather have the budget car, as our car back home is a Civic and the rental is much larger than that.

We head towards Poipu. It's about 5 pm, and the southward sky is an ominous dark gray. We stop at the Kukui Grove shopping center to pick up a few groceries and dinner. A half gallon of Silk soy milk is $6.00, and a box of cereal is $4.00. Since we don't know how well the kitchen at Sunset Kahili is stocked, we pick up some sushi for dinner. A 9 pack of California rolls is about $6. I'd like to browse more, but husband is worried about getting caught in the storm as we're trying to find our condo, so we head towards Poipu.

Along the way, the storm hits us. We finally arrive at Sunset Kahili. We can't see the view since it's dark and pouring, but the inside of the condo looks as nice as it did online. It's painted a bright yellow, and both the bedroom and the living room overlook the ocean. There's a dining area, and the bedroom can be closed off from the living room via sliding screens. It's $120 per night:

http://www.pbvacationrentals.com/sk506.html

We eat dinner and go over the brochures we picked up at the airport. At 8:30, husband announces he's tired. We're in bed by 9:00--I guess there's a first for everything. We fall asleep with the ceiling fan on.

At 7:30 am, I wake up to the sound of birds instead of rain. It's the most wonderful sound I can imagine. Husband and I get up (another first--up by 8:00 am on a Sunday?) and check out our view, which is stellar. The pool, however, is extremely small and unsuitable for doing laps. I don't know if I would stay here again for that reason, but it's an excellent deal for people who aren't looking to exercise in the pool. Because the condos overlook the parking lot, I wouldn't want to be lower than the 3rd floor (we're on the 5th floor).

We eat breakfast and decide to play the day by ear. We drive to Poipu beach, which is relatively empty this early in the morning. We walk on the sand and kick off our sandals. The water is warm; the temperature outside is perfect.

Next we head westward and stop at the Spouting Horn. The tide must be low, as it isn't spouting very high. We resolve to come back again since it's not far from our condo. We keep heading west and end up in Old Koloa town. We stop at Lappert's ice cream shop, and I have a waffle cone with coffee/coconut/macadamia nut ice cream, and husband has a cinnamon roll ($8). It's only 10:00 am, but it it feels like afternoon.

At Old Koloa town, I notice some advertisements for excursions that seem too cheap to be true. Helicopter tours for $100? Snorkel cruises for $60? I realize that they're soliciting for time shares. Husband and I had decided that we would have one “splurge” excursion; this seems like a cheap way to do more, but husband is extremely hesitant. I decide to talk with the person running the booth anyway and get the details. We'd have to go through an at least 90 minute presentation and tour of a new timeshare community by Poipu beach. For this, we'd be able to attend a luau and a snorkel cruise for $200 for the both of us. These would cost $450 otherwise. I'm ready to sign up, but know to consult husband first. He ends up talking me out of it. I wish we had done it. Even if it took twice as long, I think it would have been worth it to do excursions we couldn't otherwise afford.

After that we decide to head to the Botanical gardens. We wander around the main grounds, then discover that due to the recent downpours, the McBryde and Allerton gardens are closed. We decide to come back another day. We then head towards Kapa'a to check out the Safeway. We need some cheap groceries... We notice that traffic is backed up a good half mile heading back. By the time we get to Kapa'a, it's 1:00 pm and we're starving. We end up eating at the Panda Express since we're so hungry. Lunch is fairly cheap at $15.

The Safeway has prices on a lot of things that are comparable to the prices back home. We buy some wild swordfish and salmon; we're given marinade and seasoning to go with them. We buy ingredients for a salad, some Captain Morgan's Coconut rum and Mai Tai mix (groceries = $30), and then head back towards Poipu. Another set of grey clouds lies southward. We decide to stop at Blockbuster in case rain keeps us inside the rest of the day.

At Poipu, however, it's still pleasant. We put on our suits and head to the beach. We spend the rest of the afternoon lounging on the beach and trying to come up with some sort of an itinerary. We go for a swim, then head back to the condo. Dinner is entirely mediocre--I don't think I put enough marinade on the fish--but we eat on our lanai with a lovely sunset as our view. We watch the first two episodes of season 2 of Lost, then head to bed.

Day 2 Kauai - Snorkeling and Waimea

We wake up early again, and decide to go snorkeling on Poipu. We rent some gear from the shop across from the beach. They charge $6 per day and $20 per week, which I'll find out later is not the best deal, but it's right across from Poipu.

This is our first time snorkeling, and for some reason, I feel that when I get into the water there won't be that much to see. I am in for a pleasant surprise. The variety and quantity of fish is amazing; the coral holds all sorts of anenomes and other sea creatues. It's a great experience. Husband and I hold hands as we float, pointing out cool fish that swim by. After Poipu beach, we drive down to another small beach down the road and snorkel there.

After snorkeling, we go back to the condo and shower. We decide to go to Puka dog for lunch. We're both starving, we'd been in the water for a good 3 hours. It's 1:00 pm, and the line at Puka dog is huge. We decide to eat at Poipu Burgers (right next door) instead. Husband has a hamburger, and I have a Mahi Mahi burger. It's an excellent fish sandwich, but husband's burger is mediocre. He also gets some sort of tropical smoothie, and our lunch is about $28 with tip.

We decide to head off to Waimea despite the lateness of the day. By the time we get to the lookout point, it's late in the day, but the weather is good for viewing. There's a vendor selling bags of various dried fruits, nuts, and bottled water. We buy some dried pineapple, dried apple-banana chips, and 2 bottles of water for $6.50. We consider driving further up to some of the other viewpoints, but decide to call it a day. We stop and do a short walk, but we end up not seeing nearly as much of Waimea as we should have.

We drive back to the condo. I make the wild salmon we'd picked up the night before. Keeping in mind that I hadn't put enough seasoning on the swordfish the night before, I dump a ton of seasoning salt on the salmon. It's about halfway done when I think, Gee, maybe I shouldn't have put so much seasoning salt on that... We decide to eat out the next night. We watch the next two episodes of Lost, then go to bed.

Day 3 Kauai - Death and Disappointment

Today we head out early for the Ne Pali coast. The plan is to hike part of the trail, then snorkel at Ke'e beach.

Our first stop is at the Kilauea Point Wildlife Refuge. We stop at the scenic overlook, and as we step out of the car, a rainstorm hits. We wait it out, then try again. We then drive to the lighthouse. By then, most of the clouds are gone and it's sunny and gorgeous. We linger at the lighthouse for awhile. They have a special place in our hearts since we were married at a lighthouse.

We decide to stop at the Kilauea Bakery and Pau Hana Pizza restaurant for lunch. I have a bagel and cream cheese, and husband has a wrap. For dessert, we have lemon bars. Everything is delicious. Lunch is a bargain at $14.

We continue north, stopping at the Hanalei Valley scenic outlook and Ha'ena beach park. When we finally get to Ke'e beach and the start of the Ne Pali trail, we're extremely disappointed to find signs that both the trail and beach are closed. We soon discover that although the trail is officially closed, people still venture upwards. We make it about a mile to the part where the water overruns the trail, and husband persuades me to turn back. As we make our way back down, it begins to pour and I almost slip in a few problematic spots.

I'm pretty disappointed about not seeing Ne Pali. At Ke'e beach, we see some people holding snorkeling gear. They're from Seattle, they tell us that the snorkeling here is no good today, that it's too sandy. They say they've been here before, in February, and it was much better. We decide not to snorkel. We go to the Limahuli garden instead ($15 per person). The garden isn't fabulous, but the layout of it is spectacular, and it makes up for some of the disappointment of driving so far and not seeing Ne Pali.

On the way back, I see a small turtle enter the roadway from a grassy bank. I swerve to avoid it. There's a car behind me, and I consider pulling over to move the turtle out of the way. Then the car behind me runs right over the turtle. The driver is either blind, or a total asshole. I spend the next couple of hours quite upset about the death of the turtle.

Along the way home, we hit a farmer's market that is just about to close. The vendors offer lots of samples. We try rambutans, which I've never had before. They're delicious. We try a piece of the biggest avocado I've ever seen. It's the size of a mini nerf football, and only $2. We get a smaller avocado, a bagful of rambutans, and a pineapple, all for $10.

We decided the previous night to get Thai food for dinner. We got to The King and I in Kapa'a, close to the Safeway. We order the special of the house, mango flounder ($14.95), and phad see ew with shrimp ($12.95). It's good, not as good as our favorite Thai restaurant back home, but WAY better than my horrible attempts at cooking.

We head back home. I call to see how much the Ne Pali coast snorkel tour is, and it's $135 per person. We decide that an airplane tour of the island will be our “spurge” excursion. We call Wings Over Kauai and make a reservation for the next day at 2 pm. It's $100 per person, half the cost of a helicopter tour, and safer.

Day 4 Kauai

Husband and I are awake at 7:30 again. At 8:30, I call to check if the botanical gardens are open--they're still closed. We decide to go to the Moir gardens, listed in the Lonely Planet guide as only worth doing if you're in the area, which we are. There's no sign for the gardens from the main road, only for the restaurant, which is on the same property as the gardens. First we come across an oasis of orchids. There are orchids everywhere--I am in orchid heaven. The cacti and succulent garden is also worth seeing. These gardens are worth the drive for any garden lover.

Next we decide to do a suggested walk in the Lonely Planet guide, to Maha'ulepu beach. The 1.5 mile, unpaved road to the beach is filled with potholes. The beach is well worth the effort; as we're walking along, I see red fence in the distance. It surrounds a monk seal. We do a bit of beach-combing, then head to Puka dog in the Poipu shopping center for lunch.

The Puka dogs are excellent. The dogs are wrapped in a “bun” of Hawaiian sweet bread. I get the hot sauce and mango relish, and husband gets pineapple. The freshly squeezed lemonade has too much sugar and not enough lemon. It's about $18 for 2 dogs and 2 lemonades.

After lunch, we head to Borders in Kukui Grove. We are tired of the lack of variety on the radio stations, and find ourselves missing Seattle's KEXP. We buy the new Band of Horses CD, then head to Lihue airport for our airplane tour with Wings Over Kauai.

It'll only be husband, me and the pilot on our tour. The pilot, Bruce, introduces himself. He presents me with a lei of kukui nut shells and a flower for my hair. He goes over our itinerary with us, then does a brief safety lesson and offers suggestions on how to avoid motion sickness (which I tend to get). I decide to let husband sit in the front since his "dream job" is to be a pilot. Sitting in front, husband gets to read off the checklist of things check prior to take-off. Bruce provides us with Bose headsets which really cut out the noise from the Cessna, and allows the three of us to communicate easily with each other. Soon, we're taking off. The hour speeds by; the scenery is amazing. We see the Waimea canyon, the Ne Pali coast, and Wailua falls. Bruce provides interesting commentary on what we're seeing. Our flight around Kauai will be one of the highlights of our trip. I would highly recommend this tour over a helicopter tour; it's half the price, and is a much more personal experience than a helicopter tour would be.

After our tour, we head to Lydgate to do some snorkeling. There's a lot of wind at the beach, and it's overcast. There are a lot of snorkelers in the recessed pool; we're hopeful that we'll see a lot of neat stuff. The experience turns out to be a disappointment; the fish are scarce, visibility is low and there's no reef here. Husband and I do some swimming; neither of us want to get out of the water. We finally venture out of the warm water and into the wind. We head to Kukui Grove to get some groceries.

Along the way, I feel horribly dizzy. We haven't eaten in six hours, and with the swimming and the flying, I have a bad case of motion sickness. We go by Starbucks, and I have a piece of gingerbread and husband gets an eggnog latte ($7). Then we head to Safeway. We've still got our giant avocado to eat, so I decide to make shrimp quesadillas--something not even I can mess up. We get home around 6:30, eat our quesadillas and have some pineapple and rambutans for dessert. Living in Hawaii has one stellar advantage over living on the mainland--Project Runway comes on 2 hours earlier, at 8pm. We end up staying up later than we have been.

Day 6 Kauai - last day in Kauai

The only thing on our agenda today is the river cruise to the Fern Grotto. I call the McBryde/Allerton gardens, and finally, they are open. We head over, and discover that there is a hefty charge for both gardens, $25 for McBryde and $35 for Allerton, per person. We decide that I will tour the McBryde gardens by myself, and Marc will go off by himself for an hour and a half. We're not used to separating during vacations, and for some reason, it seems a bit weird. The McBryde garden is lovely, but signage is minimal. The hour that I have isn't enough to do all the self-guided tours, but I catch the tram back to the main grounds and husband picks me up. He had gone off beach-combing, and had stumbled across a monk seal along a secluded section of beach.

Our next priority is lunch. We head to the Savage Shrimp van, and share a plate of rice, jumbo shrimp, coleslaw and sauce for $11 with a diet coke. It's delicious. After lunch we head to the Fern Grotto cruise. It's $40 for the both of us, and afterwards, I feel that I could have gone without experiencing it and not have missed much.

We decide to head back to Poipu. We're hungry so we go by Puka Dog for an early dinner. This time I try the coconut relish, which is way too sweet and not nearly as good as the mango.We go back to the condo and read on the lanai. Then we pack, have some pineapple for "dinner," watch a little TV and head to bed.

What a cute condo! Sounds like you liked it? Great report so far.

I'm loving your report, britomart!!! Come back soon ... can hardly wait for Molokai and Honolulu! :)

Enjoying your trip report. Amazing (and sad) story about the turtle -- that would have had me upset for hours as well! Glad the rest of your trip was fun -- and I'm staying turned for the next installment.

absolutely a great TR.

Thanks for the TR! I'm eagerly awaiting more as well! :)

Great report!!! More, please!!!

britomart is proving to be even more of a trip report tease than either kealalani or iceeu2. Looking forward to hearing about Molokai.

and then!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the delay! Here's the Molokai section. Pictures and Honolulu section will be up in a couple days. Thanks for reading! :)

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Day 1 Molokai - Kauai to Molokai

Our flight to Honolulu leaves at 12:35. We leave the condo around 9:00 am and go to the craft fair right by Poipu beach. We browse there for an hour, then head to Lihue to return the rental car. We have a 2 hour layover in Honolulu. We eat lunch at the airport, then wait for our flight to Molokai. Husband said the plane would be small, but I didn't think it would be THAT SMALL. It holds 10 passengers. The pilot takes our boarding passes. We sit in the front, and my husband can see everything the pilot does before take-off. It's odd, but cool.

It takes ½ hour to get to Molokai. We pick up our rental car, and uncover a problem. I'm usually the one who drives, because my husband is a better navigator than me. Actually, I'm a horrible navigator. My husband has to pay for this rental, so he has to drive, and it's extra $$$ to add another driver. So we're already stressed out—-my husband because he has to drive, and I because I have to navigate.

On the drive to town, it becomes quite apparent that navigation will be an extremely easy task. The island is much quieter than I imagined. In town, we feel like the only tourists there. I fall immediately in love with the small-town feel of Molokai.

It's Saturday, and I know the stores are closed on Sundays, so we need to get two dinners worth of groceries. Husband wants to get in and get out, which is stressful for me since I'm the one who needs to familiarize myself with a new grocery store with crazy prices, and figure out what to cook. We buy basics, eggs, milk, bread, bratwursts, and beer. Then we head to the condo:

http://wavecrestmolokai305.com/photos.html

We're staying at a condo in the Wavecrest condos, right after the 13 mile mark on the east side of the island. Our condo is very nice. It looks like everything inside is brand new. The floors are giant ceramic tiles that feel nice under bare feet, and there's soft fluffy shag rugs too. The kitchen is brand new and there's a great view of the ocean. The only drawback is that you can't hear the ocean from the bedroom—we got used to that on Kauai. Outside of the bedroom window is a walkway, so occasionally we can hear people walk by, which might be annoying to some people.

The best thing about Wavecrest is the pool. It's made of individual sapphire blue tiles, and it's big enough to do laps. I would stay here again in a heartbeat, just for the beautifully situated pool. There's two b-b-q's and an open air clubhouse. It's nice, we're extremely happy with it. Some locals seem to be having a bit of a party on their lanai, but we're hopeful this is because it's Saturday night. We grill our brats for dinner, and have Kona Brewing Co.'s Big Wave Golden Ale. It's beerlicious!

We read the material that the owner has gathered about things to do on the island, and discover that most of the potential excursions all require guided tours because they're on private land. We also discovering that taking a day trip to Maui on the superferry will cost almost $200 just for transportation.

Day 2 Molokai

We decide to spend the day driving around Molokai. We drive to 20 mile beach, which is supposed to be good for snorkeling. When we get there, we notice several people snorkeling. We sit on the beach for awhile. It's only 11:00, but we're already hungry, and I'm carsick. I decide to drive from now on, despite the fact that the rental is in husband's name.

We decide to go by the Goodz and Grindz, which we saw along the way. It's close to the 16 mile marker. We decide to finally try a “plate lunch.” I get the roast pork with gravy, and husband gets the teriyaki chicken. My pork is pure comfort food—melt in your mouth pork, rich, made-from-scratch gravy, rice and macaroni salad. With a soda, our lunch costs $16.50. The convenience store next to Grindz rents DVD's, but we of course can't agree on something.

We then head to Papohaku Beach, which is the longest beach in Hawaii. We stop at various beaches along the way. When we get to Papohaku, it's extremely windy. It gets so bad that we feel like we're being sandblasted, so we leave. On the way back to the car, husband spots a siamese cat in the grove of trees that line the path to the beach. I spend the next ½ hour trying to get it to come to me. Husband takes about 100 pictures of me trying to get the cat to come to me. It must be feral, it won't allow us to get closer than 10 feet or so.

We drive back to our condo. I feel tired, and my skin feels gross and salty. I take a shower, then go for a swim in the pool, then take another shower. We have dinner, watch Little People, Big World and go to bed.

Day 3 Molokai
12/18/07

We're lazy this morning, and don't get out of the condo until 11am. We decide to go to Goodz and Grindz for lunch. We each have the Mahi Mahi burgers with macaroni salad. The sandwiches are good, but I decide I'm sick of macaroni salad. Lunch is about $15 with drinks.

I'm a bit bummed by the lack of free activities on Molokai. Husband and I decide to go to the beach and build sand castles. We head to One Ali'i Beach with an assortment of tupperware containers. We can't agree on the proper way to build a sand castle, so we decide to build our own. Husband's ends up being a mega complex; mine is more simple and streamlined. I call it a sand sanctuary. The beach is very windy, but we spend a good 2 hours here.

It's already 3-ish, so we head home, wash the salt mist off, and go for a swim. Husband decides to join me. He teaches me how to do a flip and push off at the end of a lap. We spend an hour frolicking in the pool. This is my 3rd time swimming, and it's empty, yet again.

We've decided to go to the Cookhouse for dinner. I've read about their macadamia nut pie, and after mentioning it to husband, he agrees it sounds like a good place for dinner.

It's a 20 mile drive, and it's dark outside. When we arrive, the tables inside are full so we sit outside. We're told that there are no plate dinners available, only the “specials.” I notice on the menu that they don't take cards, and ask husband how much $$ he has. Only $37. We both want the bacon-wrapped shrimp, but it costs $24. The cheapest “special” is $20. Perhaps I'm too picky, or perhaps I'm just really frugal, but if I'm going to spend $24 on a meal, it's going to be one NOT eaten at a picnic table with a (drunk?) guy who can't sing all that well and a crying baby 2 tables over. I also notice that plate dinners are served to locals sitting close to us. We decide to order sandwiches. They're also out of macadamia nut pie. It's a bit of a disappointment after such a long drive.

Day 4 Molokai

Today we drank beer, went swimming in the pool, and lazed around. Not necessarily in that order...

Day 5 Molokai

We woke up early for our snorkel trip with Tim and Molokai Fish and Dive. Arrived at the wharf at 6:45, and we left at 7:00 am. The weather is clear and calm. There are 9 of us total going out snorkeling. The cost is $69 per person, which includes snorkel gear, wetsuit and drinks. It's smooth sailing to our first snorkel site. The boat drops anchor, and we peer over the side. The water is crystal clear and we can see a plethora of coral. Husband and I jump in. We've got 45 min. at this site.

Within 10 minutes, I see a sea turtle. It is absolutely amazing. He swims slowly about 15 feet below me. Then he sees me, and takes off. There are tons of fish here. They feed in giant pods, nibbling on the coral. I'm amazed by what I see. I also wish that I'd used one of the wetsuits that Tim offered, I'm a bit cold. After 45 minutes, Tim calls us in. Everyone saw a turtle. A couple that ventured farther away saw 4-5 turtles.

Next we head to a second site that is the “turtle site.” The wind is already picking up, and the ride to the 2nd site makes me feel seasick. The 2nd site has sandy areas interspersed with coral, Tim says this is where the turtles like to hang out. He's right. We see 5-6 turtles at a time, just hanging out below us. I try to be as still as possible, but they don't seem afraid of us and linger. One seems to be staring right at me, as curious about me as I am about him. I snap pictures with my underwater camera.

After about 20 minutes, a horrible feeling of nausea comes over me and I feel like I'm going to vomit. I look at the boat, and 4 people are on the boat. The waves are getting bigger and bigger. I tell husband I need to go back, and he is ready too. By the time we get back to the boat, the rest of the snorkelers have come back. It's amazing how fast the wind picks up.

We get back home and take showers. We're hungry, so I make french toast with the rest of the sweet bread roles that we picked up earlier at Kametsu bakery. A hint about Kametsu bakery... We bought a roll in the morning for about $1.50. Delicious, warm and fresh. We came back later in the afternoon and scored 5 rolls for $3.50. So if you want to buy in bulk, wait until later in the day.

After second breakfast, we take a nap, our first nap of our trip. After that, we head to town for lunch. We order food from the Molokai drive-in, then take it to the beach and eat there. I order the Bento box, husband orders the fish and chips ($6.99). My bento box consists of rice, 2 chicken wings, a piece of spam, scrambled eggs, 2 “lil smokies” and a piece of bbq beef ($8). It's fairly nasty. I don't know why I was imagining tempura vegetables... Husband's fish and chips is good and a real bargain.

We then go to Miyaki's grocery to shop for dinner. They have some tasty looking prime rib at $7.99 a pound, but husband doesn't eat steak. There isn't any other meat that I know how to cook, so we go to Friendly Isle, where they have wild Atlantic salmon at $7.99 a pound. We get that and some teriyaki marinade, and yet another loaf of Molokai sweet bread.

Back at the condo, we sit on the lanai for awhile, drinking beer. Then I read for a bit, then do a couple hours research on Oahu. Our condo doesn't have Bravo, so we'll miss Project Runway :( The salmon is absolutely delicious, probably due to the quality of the fish. Finally, a dinner that turns out well! After dinner, I go for a swim in the pool. Then we head to bed.

Day 6 Molokai – Last day on Molokai

Called Molokai Plumeria at 9am to find out when their tours are. It turns out that they start at 9am... We decide to go by the next morning since our flight isn't until 12:30.

The only thing on our itinerary is to visit the Mac Nut farm and the library, and hopefully finish our Xmas shopping. We go to the Kamakana Gallery in town, which is a co-op that features art and crafts made by Molokai residents. The shop is upstairs above the American Savings Bank. There is tons of beautiful artwork and jewelry. We buy turtle pendants made from opal for my sister-in-law and my two nieces ($12.95 each), and some handcrafted soap ($6 each).

Next we visit the public library. The library is filled with patrons, as all libraries should be. It looks well stocked with good materials, and it's nice to see a public library system that is well supported. We run into the woman we gave a ride to from 20 mile beach. We chat with her for a bit about our snorkel trip.

We're heading over to a place that sells shaved ice when we notice a van selling fish tacos. The van is located in the parking lot of the non-Chevron gas station... I didn't get the name. The fish tacos are heavenly. They come with a mango salsa that is delicious. We get a small salad, rice and a soda for $8.00. As we're waiting for our food, a woman gets fried ice cream and tells us it's the best. After lunch, we're too full for shaved ice, so we head to Purdy's Macademia nut farm.

We get there just in time for the next tour. It's very interesting and we're invited to ask a lot of questions, and to crack our own mac nut shells. We also get to taste the roasted nuts, their honey mustard sauce, and their honey. We buy 3 small bags of roasted mac nuts for gifts ($7 each). Our shopping is almost done, and we're glad to have supported the local economy.

After the Mac nut farm, we head back to town and have ice cream. On the way back to the condo, we stop by Hotel Molokai to check out their dinner menu. It's got great ambiance, and the food seems reasonably priced, so we make a reservation. Then we go to the condo. I stop at the office to get quarters for laundry, and ask about the cats we've seen hanging out in the parking lot. They're feral, and I ask if there's an animal shelter on the island. They don't have one, and once the feral cats are caught, they will be euthanized. There are no vets on the island who spay and neuter animals. This strikes me as most unfortunate.

Back at the condo, we hang out on the lanai, drinking the last of our beer. I do laundry, then I go read by the pool and take a swim. It saddens me to think that this will be my last swim in the lovely Wavecrest pool. I chat with someone hanging out there, and learn he's from Whidbey Island, WA.

At 5:30 we head to Hotel Molokai for our dinner reservation. We get a seat right by the ocean, and the sun is setting. The restaurant is open air, and it has a lot of island character. Perusing the menu, husband can't decide between the pork loin roast with mango chutney ($15.95), or the mac-nut crusted chicken ($14.95). I'm leaning toward the coconut shrimp ($19.95), but I decide to order the pork and we agree to share entrees. I order a side salad, and Marc has the soup (chicken and wild rice). I get a lava flow drink for 6.50.

The soup and salad are good. My entree, however, is extremely disappointing. Pork loin is one of the few things I can cook well, so I know how a good one should taste. First of all, it's luke-warm. The pork tastes like it's the kind from a bag with marinade. It's slightly chewy and overly salty. The chutney is good, but there's also some kind of sauce that isn't good. I recall with longing my plate lunch of melt-in-your-mouth pork from the Goods and Grinz...

The pork comes with mashed potatoes that are really good and garlicky, and a pile of mediocre peas. Husband's chicken is good, but it's covered in another type of strange mango/papaya sauce that isn't very good. For dessert, we order the mango cheesecake, which has chunks of mango inside. It's good. If I were to dine here again, I'd stick to something that is impossible to mess up (like coconut shrimp), or stick with something cheap like the quesadillas or coconut shrimp from the appetizer menu. Our bill comes to $48.

Another thing I didn't like about the restaurant was the fact that there were animals begging for food on the beach. A skinny, nursing dog stood on the beach the entire time begging for food, and a black and white cat showed up later. I tried not to let these poor animals spoil the nice ambiance of the restaurant setting, but couldn't help but feel sorry for them.

After dinner, we went back to the condo, packed, and headed for bed.

Here's our pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/britoma...7603611020976/

And the rest of the report.

_____________________________________________

Molokai to Honolulu - From Heaven to Hell

Today we wake up at 7ish, and head for the plumeria farm at 8:15. It's right before the 3 mile marker out of the main town, there's no sign, so we have to look for the plants and the driveway leading to the house. The owner, Dick, introduces himself and takes us out to the orchard. He shows us how the flowers that are best for leis are the kind that are just beginning to open, and advises us to pick about 50 for one lei (or, until we get tired, he says).

We pick for about ½ hour, then bring our flowers into the sewing room, where Nicki shows us how to sew the leis. We chat with her as we make our leis. The whole experience takes about an hour and 15 minutes, and costs $15 per person. We get to take our leis with us. I will end up wishing we'd come another day—our trip to our hotel in Honolulu will expose them to too much heat, and they'll end up wilting.

The flight to Honolulu is quick. We wait for a shuttle, and discover we're $3 short for the $18 fare. The shuttle driver tells us that at the last airport stop, there's a cash machine where we can get cash. Husband runs in and gets cash. We end up purchasing the return fare too, so it's $30 for the both of us, and give the driver a $5 tip for being so helpful and showing husband where the ATM is.

The drive to Honolulu takes an hour. Our hotel is first. I am extremely disappointed with our hotel, the Ambassador Waikiki. On the website, they show rooms that have water views for the one-bedroom suites for $105 per night. We're on the 4th floor, and there's no view. I call the desk and I'm told that the suites with views are on the 10th floor and up, and they're $20 more. If I had known that, I would have just reserved the studios for $69 a night. We ask to downgrade to a studio, but they're fully booked.

Not only is the view nothing like the pictures, neither is the room décor. It feels worn and outdated, there's not even a bathtub or room service or breakfast. I'll end up being rather grumpy the rest of the day. I feel their website is extremely misleading.

We decide to walk to the beach, which is about a 15-20 minute walk away, farther than I thought it would be. Along the way, we seen tons of fashionably dressed people and scantily clad women. I feel frumpy, and fat. The shops are ritzy and the beach is full. So far, Honolulu has left me anything but relaxed.

It's about 4:00, and we decide to head to Diamond Head. We go to an ABC store and get some bus routes. It looks like a #14 will get us there, so we wait for that. When I tell the driver that I want the trailhead for Diamond Head, he tells us to take a #22 or #23. By the time we get to the road that leads up to Diamond Head, it's 5:00. The gates inform us that it closes at 6:00. This is poor planning on our part. We wait for another bus, and the first one that comes is jammed pack with people. We get on the next one, and go back to the hotel.

For dinner, we head to Keo's Thai restaurant, which is right by our hotel. We don't have a reservation, but we get right in. We order the pineapple curry with tofu ($12.95) and the seafood medley ($17.95) which has scallops, octopus, shrimp, mahi mahi, tomatoes, peppers, squash in a sweet and sour sauce. Both are excellent. Husband also has a lava flow, and dinner is about $50 with tip. We enjoy trying new dishes that we couldn't get at home, and highly recommend Keo's.

We go back to the hotel and decide to take an entire tour of the island with E Noa tours. Their royal circle tour is $65 per person. We book it for the next day.

Day 2 Honolulu

We have breakfast at the coffee bar outside of the hotel lobby. I have a bagel and cream cheese and an iced tea; husband has a “tealatte” and a blueberry muffin. It's $12 for breakfast. The tour van picks us up in front of the hotel at 8:30. This is the itinerary:

Five people have canceled, so we have to meet another van to combine the two into one. Eventually we head eastward. The tour ends up being an excellent way to get a good overview of most of the island, and there's only one annoying woman from Vegas who sits near the front and asks the driver idiotic, personal questions that are of no interest to anyone else.

For lunch, we stop and eat at a restaurant at a golf course. There are no tourists there, other than the golfers. Husband orders the crab salad sandwich ($12.95) and I order the Cobb salad ($9.95). Both are very good. The total is about $27 with tax and tip.

We get back Waikiki at around 6:00 pm. We wander around, unable to decide what to eat. Since we spent a lot the previous night at the Thai place, we decide to have a cheap dinner at McDonald's. I order the filet-o-fish meal, and husband tries the McTeri burger. We get pineapple with our meal. It's $17, not exactly “cheap.”

We then stroll through the International Marketplace. I'm not normally a jewelry person, husband and I don't even wear wedding bands, but I see a lot of stuff that piques my curiosity. The attitudes of the vendors, however, keep me from buying anything. The vendors are all extremely pushy. If you ask how much something is then don't show interest in purchasing it, they will keep lowering the price. When you try and explain that you're just looking, they keep pushing the merchandise on you. One woman even grabs hold of my elbow as I start to walk away. It's very annoying. We head back to the hotel and go to bed.

Day 3 Honolulu

Today we go to IHOP for breakfast. It's about 4 blocks from the Ambassador. I order the carrot cake pancakes with scrambled eggs, hash browns and sausage for $7.99. Husband orders the cream cheese/strawberry pancakes with extra meat for $9.99. With orange juice, our bill is around $25 with tip.

Stuffed full, we head to Diamond Head to walk it off. As we're waiting for the #22, a cab drives by and says he'll take us to Diamond Head for $3 each. “To the information center,” I ask. He says yes. We get in, and after a few blocks he informs us that it's $4 to the information center or into the crater. It ends up being $8. I don't tip him since he changed the price after we got in the cab.

We get there around 9:30 am. The hike is fairly strenuous, but it feels good to be doing some hiking. On the way down, the spiral staircase is backed up with people coming up. I'm glad we came early. This is by far our best bargain excursion of the trip.

After the hike, we go back to the hotel room to shower off the sweat. Then we head to Chinatown for dim sum. We go to Legends, and we wait about 5 minutes for a table. It's a Sunday and the place is packed. The first cart comes around and I recognize shrimp balls, shu mai and bean curd. It's all delicious. We also end up trying chicken hum bao, bbq pork pastries and bbq pork noodles, seafood dumplings and taro puffs (which are somewhat bland, but at least we can say we've had taro). The guy seated next to me is helpful at translating what stuff is, as it's difficult to understand the waitress in the loud din of the restaurant. For dessert, we have mango pudding. The bill is just over $30 with tip. The dim sum here is a step up from what we usually eat in Seattle; it tastes more “authentic.”

After lunch, I'm certain I'll never be hungry again, and we consider canceling our dinner reservation at Duke's. We go back to the hotel and vegetate for awhile. Around 5:00, we head out to Duke's, still unsure if we should eat there since we're not hungry. We wander around the beach, then at 6:30 arrive at Duke's. The place is packed. The hostess takes us through the restaurant, the mid-section of which is so noisy, if we'd been seated there, I would have requested another table or left. Luckily, we're on the far side of the restaurant, by the salad bar. There are fewer tables and it's much quieter.

I get the salad bar and husband orders the chicken. The salad bar is heaven. My first time around I have some ceasar salad and a bunch of cherry tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes are as good as those that come from our own garden. The second time around I have a spinach salad and a bunch of cherry tomatoes. Husband has a lava flow and the grilled chicken, which is juicy and delicious (the skin is on the breast). For dessert we have key lime pie. With tip, it's about $55, our most expensive dinner.

After dinner, we wander around, stopping at the International Marketplace and an ABC store to pick up the last of the gifts. I haven't got anything for my brothers (why are men so hard to shop for)? I end up getting them Hawaiian shirts—hopefully they will like them ($13 each).

At the International Marketplace, I decide to buy a mother-of-pearl bracelet ($10, then $8), and a few shell bracelets for some girlfriends. The guy who helps me, Mike, is the only non-pushy vendor that I've seen. He's very nice and chats with us about Seattle. He's located to the left and 1-2 stalls back from the International Marketplace sign/fishpond. I highly recommend going to him for any shopping here.

After that we head back to the hotel and pack, then head to bed. We can't wait to see our cats, but we're a bit depressed about returning to the grey, Seattle weather.

Overall impressions of Hawaii:

We would definitely return to Kauai and Molokai, but aren't sure about Oahu. We'd like to visit the Big Island and Maui on our next trip.

I don't think we would go in December again. We would probably go back in the spring/summer when we are able to do more ocean swimming/kayaking, etc.

Aloha britomart!!

Lovely reporting... enjoyed your photos very much. Mahalo for sharing!

((R))

I loved this part of your trip report "...I wake up to the sound of birds instead of rain. It's the most wonderful sound I can imagine."

This is one of my favorite Kauai memories. Thanks for the report!

Good report! If you do ever decide to return to Oahu, I'd suggest renting a car to do some touring/ exploring on your own.

We really enjoyed the hike to Manoa Falls:
http://tinyurl.com/26wd9v

and the Tantalus Drive:
http://tinyurl.com/22m58m

as well as the Pali Drive & the Circle Island tour recommended by Dusty's pal's, Sharon & ? (can't remember).

There's lots to do there (away from the hustle bustle) if you seek it out.

Thanks for the trip report!

I liked your trip report.

I'll also add that I always recommend renting a car on Oahu in part because of the time waiting for or on public transportation. And in the end, taking public transportation ends up costing as much as renting a car would have.

I think the only way to get out & see Oahu as it should be seen is by renting a car.

Thanks all for the nice comments!

Who knows, maybe we'll go back to Oahu someday. On our tour of the island, the guide kept talking about traffic, what traffic would be like later/earlier in the day, what it's like when "surf's up" in the North shore, what it's like in the summer. And of course we saw a lot of traffic firsthand. I really hate traffic, on vacation I want to escape that, not go someplace that's known for that.

Thanks so much for posting such a thorough report. Great pictures!

Nice report! If you return to Oahu, I would recommend you not stay in Waikiki....the Ambassador, yuck! I used to have parties there when I was in high school. hee hee. Perhaps the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki would be nicer (I believe you can bid for it on Priceline). Waikiki is a little too busy, IMHO...you won't have birds outside your window! Well, I don't have birds outside my window, but I do wake up to a large rainbow every morning. Ho, hum. Just another beautiful day in paradise!

I just found your great trip report. I felt like I was there.
Thank you.
BTW, the turtle incident would of had the same affact on me. I'd be sad for days.

Excellent trip report. Probably one of the best I've read. Detailed and truthful. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

Loved your pictures and trip report! I am now even more eager for our first trip to Hawaii this summer!! :))
THANKS!

Thanks everyone! :-)

MelissaHI,
Since you said that you were not recommending staying in Waikiki, where would you suggest to stay? We are planning a trip to Oahu next December.
thanks