cawu

Ahhhhhh, Hawaii. What can be said? I’m not sure there’s more than a handful of people who have ever had anything less than a wonderful time there. Good weather, good food, good sights…what more are you looking for? Karen and I spent 7 beautiful days in Kaanapali, Maui followed by 3 quick days in Waikiki to wrap it all up. Not all was ideal, though. I had some paper writing to finish up for the end of the semester which put a slight damper on our first few days, but once that was fully out of the way it was relaxation-city!

our condo’s view

This was, I think, my fourth time to Maui and maybe eighth time to the islands in general. Not much new, but you really don’t need “new” out there. I’ll take it unchanged and familiar any day. We did take an excursion to Lanai, however, that was a first and a highlight of the trip. This little island, previously made up of mostly pineapple plantations, only has about 3000 residents and is dominated by the two resorts run by Four Seasons. There’s one town and basically one main street. Anything you want to see out toward the shores (other than where the ferry comes in) requires traveling on rocky trails in a 4×4 vehicle. Here’s our Jeep, pulled to the side of the Polihua trail as we passed through the “garden of the gods”:

the garden

driving the garden of the gods

Looks almost like what you’d think the surface of Mars looks like, eh? Oh, and when I said rocky, think Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye ride from Disneyland. For real.

I think we averaged about 10 mph through the trail. The ride’s well worth it though…at the end you get this beauty:

polihua

That’s 1.5 miles of pristine white beach, baby. No footprints, no trash, no people. Somebody build me a villa there, please.
Closer to town you see a bit more of the resorts’ influences…we stopped on our way back to say hi to the folks living at Kō’ele stables:

Kō’ele residents

Our few days in Oahu went by quickly, but we managed to take in a few sights including the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites…I hadn’t been there in over a decade!

Ford Island

Arizona

Plus, a little visit to a historic site with family ties! Check it out…my great-great-great-grandfather!

Afong Villa

Good times! Oh, and can I share anything about Hawaii and not mention killer food? I think the images speak for themselves.

blue ginger loco

leilani filet

zippy’s mix

da kitchen loco (this…was the best)

Incredibly blessed to have been over there 4 times in 4 years…what a way to be spoiled! Until next time, Hawaii!

makena