December 29

Dad and I dropped Patty off at work, then set off to see the sites. We started off on Kalanianaole Highway, and stopped at Sandy Beach and the Halona Blowhole. Then we spent a chunk of the day driving along Kamehameha Highway, stopping to take pictures along the way, inclulding some of the Koolau Mountains. We stopped for lunch at Kualoa Ranch, were several movies (including Jurassic Park) were filmed. There were lots of beautiful houses nestled into the mountainside, overlooking the beach. I love the varied architecture of the homes along our route. Some are tiny cottages, others are mansions. We passed through several banana plantations in Kahuku. It really looked like we were in the rural area of some Asian nation. We also drove past Sunset Beach and the Bonzai Pipeline, then through the macadamia nut and pineapple fields in Hale’iwa. We stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation, where I found pineapple doggie treats!

At 4:30 we picked Patty up from work and took a drive along Roundtop Drive. We went up and up and up… until we got to the very top – 2,913 feet above sea level, at Pu’u Ualaka’a State Park. Wait… we weren’t at the top! WOW! We drove up Tantalus Drive, which is amazing. The houses can hardly be seen from the road. The area is steeply sloped, and the houses are tucked in and down behind gates and thick vegetation. The houses must cost a fortune. It would be like living in a fantasy rainforest.

Views from Kalanianaole Highway




Halona Blowhole


Makapu'u State Wayside Scenic Overlook


Views from Kamehameha Highway


Banana plantation


View of Honolulu from Pu’u Ualaka’a State Park


You can barely see the house tucked into the hillside...


Look how curvy Tantalus Drive is!

December 28, 2009

I arrived safely at Honolulu International Airport at 3pm on Monday, December 28. The 10 1/2 hour flight was long and boring, but I sat next to a nice young woman named Beth. She's a student at Chapel Hill. She seemed like a fun, funky person. She's played the ukulele her whole life, and decided to bring it to Hawaii with her. We were both relieved that we sat next to a nice person during such a long flight. We didn't do much when I got to Hawaii, since it was late in the afternoon. We mainly wandered around the upscale hotels and the beach near Dad and Patty's condo.

Aloha!

Back from my trip to Hawaii. Details and photos to come.