Bringing the isles to Illinois

Prior to going on our Hawaiian vacation earlier this year, which you can start reading about here, I daydreamed about the souvenirs I was going to bring home. Like the photos I took while we were in Italy on our honeymoon that are now matted, framed, and hanging in our family room, I wanted items I could scatter around our house as daily reminders of this trip. So, as we soaked up the sun, shopped, and did other vacation-related activities, I picked up some inexpensive (and free) curios to bring the island-flavor back to Illinois.

These $2-a-piece dried starfish were the first things I snagged from a nearby shop. I love their white, simple shapes, and every time I spritz myself with my chosen fragrance of the day, I admire their beautiful forms.

Oh, you saw that I threw in the word free did you? Well, that's no mistake. As we visited beaches around the islands, I gathered some large and small pieces of dried corral that had washed ashore and stowed them in my luggage. They didn't make my suitcase smell so hot, but once home, I rinsed the salt water and sand off and distributed them around our house.

Our souvenirs aren't large (like a carved wood mask that many vendors were peddling), but when I catch a glimpse of them, they make me smile and remind me of the wonderful time we had on the beautiful isles of Hawaii.

Hawaii Part 5

This is the final post of photos and commentary from our vacation to Hawaii. (If you missed the first four, here's part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.)

If you remember from my post last week, I told you that in the wee hours of the morning on our sixth day on the big island, Justin and I jetted back to Honolulu for two more days of fun in the sun, before heading back to Chicago.

It was a quick plane ride from Hawaii to Oahu, only about 30 minutes in the air, but once we touched down and had our luggage, we didn't know we would wait an hour and a half for our rental car. Nonetheless, after standing around with about 50 other people, as everyone else get their cars but us, we finally got ours and were off like a herd of turtles (as my mom would say).

Our first stop was Pearl Harbor. We spent all morning and an hour or two in the afternoon walking around the USS Missouri, the USS Bowfin submarine, and the memorial for the USS Arizona. We took a short bus ride to reach the USS Missouri and were greeted by this grand entrance. Little did we know, but the day we visited was the day before good 'ol MO was being officially reopened after being in dry dock for some time as she was getting some restoration and body work done. And let me tell you, she looked pretty good!

You can't tell me this isn't at least a little intimidating.

In the photo below, look closely, see where the side rail is dented? That is the only damage that a one-seater, Japanese fighter plane made when he flew into the side of the ship. The plane basically bounced off and crashed into the water.

After touring the exterior of the ship, we went below deck to check out the living arrangements. I was captured by these racks of mugs. They looked so deserted, but also like they belonged in a diner.

At this size, you can't read the white sign very well, but it said "5-inch Gun Characteristics." So, I, of course, had to show it up with my guns, which I believe are closer to 11".

After spending a little more than an hour on USS MO, we went back across the bay and checked out the USS Bowfin submarine. It didn't take long to walk through it, since it's tiny, but it was still fascinating to learn how it was operated and how people lived on it. My dad was in the navy for the first few years of my life and he warned me that the Bowfin is about 1/2 the width of the one he was on. Yikes!

It was only fitting that the last stop on our tour around Pearl Harbor Bay was to pay our respects at the USS Arizona Memorial.

This beautiful structure spans across the middle section of the sunken battleship, creating a cross if you saw them from above. According to its architect, Alfred Pries, the design of the memorial, "wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory....The overall effect is one of serenity. Overtones of sadness have been omitted to permit the individual to contemplate his own personal responses...his innermost feelings."

I was pleasantly surprised to enter the memorial and see it bare and minimal. The cutouts allow tropical breezes to flow through and provide a natural air conditioning to the space. (The one creepy thought I had while walking around the memorial was that it felt like I was in a rib cage.)

On one end, there is an observation area where you can look down and see the sunken ship. Here's a photo of what you can see of USS Arizona looking down into the water at that point.

In various spots surrounding the Memorial we saw oil surface and ripple out from below the surface, creating beautiful kaleidoscopes of color. I overheard a woman say that the oil that continues to leak out from somewhere in the ship and they call it tears from the ship.

Does this look familiar? This is the tower that was part of the setting in the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor. The funny part is that in the movie, it is used as an air traffic control tower and in actuality, the tall tower is a weather station and the lower one on the left is air traffic control.

The rest of our first day (Day 6 of our trip) was spent checking in to our hotel at the Waikiki Beach Sheraton and walking around the area, doing a little shopping, and grabbing some dinner. (The photo below is the view down to the infinity pool from our room's balcony.)

The next day (our last and final day of vacation) we woke early and got moving. There was a lot we wanted to do and see before we had to get to the airport that evening for our flight and didn't want to waste a minute of our time. First, we went to a flea market/swap meet at the Aloha Football Stadium. There wasn't anything too exciting there so we did one loop and jumped in the car to go to our next destination, North Shore Beach on the north side of Oahu.

We read in our guide book that this beach is famous for its waves, and is a hot spot for surfing competitions. However, it failed to mention that the beach is beautiful as well, way more stunning than Hapuna Beach on the Big Island. The sand was soft, clean, and perfectly colored and the water had wonderful blue hues that changed each time a new wave crashed. The day we were there, we heard that the surf was low, but at 6–10 feet, Justin and I were still impressed and listened to the "do not swim" signs.

See what I mean about the color? Gorgeous.

Even though, we were not permitted to swim, there were tons of surfers trying their best to make the most of the small waves.

Wipeout!

Here we are relaxing in the sand, watching the surfers.

After getting our fill of sand and surf, we set off to go back to our hotel. Instead of taking the same way we drove to get the North Shore, we took the scenic route and circled back around the east side of the island. En route I read about La'ie Point just off of Kamehameha highway which boasts the best view of a sea arch the ocean punched out of an island not too far off the coast, and convinced Justin to stop by. Aside from the light drizzle and the packed parking lot, it was very cool and frightening to imagine the ocean so rough it beat a hole through that patch of land.

Once we were back at the hotel, we packed up our things, walked around the Waikiki Beach area for a little while longer, and were back on a plane in no time flat. Ah, what I wouldn't give to go back right now...aloha! (These photos are just a sampling of pictures I took on our trip. If you want to see them all check out our flickr page.)

Hawaii Part 4

Our last day on the big island of Hawaii, was serene and relaxed. We started the day off with a short two-mile run around the Waikoloa resort loop drive and landed on the hotel's beach for some R&R and one last look at our hotel's beautiful, private bay.

On our first day, we were told that the hotel's beach is one of the most popular places for sea turtles because it is very shallow, which provide safety from deeper waters. As we soaked up the rays, so were some of these large sea turtles. We saw a few hanging out beach side and swimming around in the water.

During our run that morning, we passed a Hilton resort also located in the Waikoloa beach area, so, later in the day, Justin and I walked up to check it out. It was huge, much bigger than the Marriott, but it didn't have ocean front property—nah, nah, nah. However, it was so large that it not only had a tram shuttle taking guests from end to end, but also a man-made canal with boat shuttles as well.

The Hilton also had exotic birds placed along the canal and a dolphin pool where guests could swim with them. This particular dolphin kept circling the pool and would turn his? her? head to face one eye up to look at me. I think it was flirting with me.

In the hotel's man-made pool, were a couple of sea turtles. Just like the size of the resort, this pool was ginormous, it was so large that guests could rent paddleboats and tool around the water and feed the turtles. This one was mowing the leaves down so, I appropriately named him Starvin' Marvin.

After exploring the Hilton, we went a few miles north to Hapuna beach. Our travel book described this beach by saying if you were to imagine the most perfect beach in the world, you would be picturing Hapuna beach. After seeing it first hand, I wouldn't go so far to say it was perfect, but it wasn't bad.

Right on Hapuna beach is the Prince Hotel, yet another amazing resort, and just outside they have this beautiful walkway lined with perfectly white palm trees. I couldn't pass up the chance to snag another photo.

We closed our last day by dining on oysters and fruity, cocktail drinks at the Prince Hotel's Coast Grille as we watched the sun set on Hapuna beach.

Bright and early the next morning we were off again, jetting back to Oahu for two more days of fun in the sun before heading back to Chi-town. FYI: If you missed the first three parts of our Hawaiian vacation, you can catch them here, here, and here.

Hawaii Part 3

I'm not trying to draw out the posts of pictures from our vacation in Hawaii in January, but here is part three (see part one here and part two here), capturing the fourth day of our trip (if I still have your attention).

On this day, we jammed our itinerary with another trip around the island including Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, Punalu'u Bakery, South Point, Volcanoes National Park, Hilo, Rainbow Falls, and Boiling Pots.

Our first stop was Punalu'u Black Sand Beach where, if you didn't guess, the sand is black. Like all other days on the island, it was hot and sunny the day we visited and when we took off our sandals to walk along the shore, the sand was so hot we had to walk in the water so our feet didn't feel like they were being burned.

After catching rays on black sand beach, we stopped at Punalu'u Bakery and picked up some donuts and delicious lunch.

Then we cruised on down to South Point, the southern-most point in the U.S. As one of the windiest places on the island, we held on to our hats and watched the waves crash into the cliff shore. Justin told me that if I was to conveniently fall in, the current would take me to Antarctica—thanks honey! The water in this tidal pool was the most beautiful cerulean blue I have ever seen.

To reach South Point we had to drive down this narrow road that was surrounded by grazing cows and wind turbines. As you can see from this picture, the constant force of the wind has permanently altered the growth of this tree and all others around it. We thought it looked like it had gotten a bad buzz cut. Ha!

Finally, around lunchtime we arrived at our main destination, Volcanoes National Park. Unfortunately, part of crater rim drive was closed due to elevated levels of sulfur dioxide gas, but we were still able to hike up to Kilauea Caldera. Here's the view looking across the crater from Pu'u Pua'i Overlook.

Then we hiked through the Thurston Lava Tube, which is one tube that did not collapse after the lava had flowed out. (Most lava tubes cave in after the lava leaves because they have no support holding them up.) Can you image this thing filled with lava? It looks like a giant snake burrowed through the earth.

I snapped this photo on the trail leading to the Thurston Lava Tube. It's one of my favorites of the two of us from our trip.

After seeing all the sites at the top part of the park, we drove down to the coast where the most recent volcanic activity has occurred. Unfortunately, just a couple weeks before our visit, the current volcanic activity stopped flowing. In the photo below, you can see how the waves of lava engulfed the land and road that used to be there. See the road sign? It says ROAD CLOSED—no kidding!

After viewing so much devastation in the park, it was pleasant to see some beautiful things along the coast. One of the many sea arches we saw on our trip, this one was created when the water punched a hole in the land and kept wearing it away.

There is also a ton of new foliage growing out of the cracks in the lava. This particular succulent's vibrant green caught my eye surrounded by all of the weathered black lava.

On our fourth day, we also visited Rainbow Falls and Boiling Pots in Hilo, but by the time we got over to that side of the island the sun was setting and I couldn't catch a good photo. So, you'll have to go see them for yourselves. Aloha!

Volcano Wine and Kona Beer

When Justin and I go on a trip, be it to Europe or our neighboring state of Michigan, we like to drink in the local flavor, literally. It is always an ambition of ours to taste wine from the local wineries and drink beer from local breweries when we travel, and in Hawaii we did a little bit of both.

On our second drive around the big island, we swung into the Volcano Winery in Volcano, Hawaii, no more than a couple miles down the road from Volcanos National Park. We had fun sipping and tasting their wine made from grapes and fruit grown just out the back door, but were not impressed with the flavor, packaging, or prices ($16 a bottle!). Call us cheap, but generally when we buy wine straight from the house it was made, bottles are somewhere between $6 and $12.

Back at the hotel, we ran to the grocery store in the shopping center next to our hotel and snagged a mixed 6-pack of Kona Brewing Company beer that included 2 Fire Rock Pale Ales, 2 Big Wave Golden Ales, and 2 Longboard Lagers. Unfortunately, I can not comment on the taste, since I am not a fan of beer, but the speed at which Justin was draining them leads me to believe that he either thoroughly enjoyed them or was having a bad day, which, let's be honest, can anyone have a bad day when they are on vacation in Hawaii? I didn't think so.

Just like any other graphic designer, I am a sucker for nicely designed beer/wine/alcohol packaging and Kona Brewing Company's packaging is a case in point.

I especially loved their bottle caps because on the flip side was a hawaiian word and it's english translation. While Justin was drinking, I learned that ipo is lover, aloha is hello and goodbye, pupu is appetizer, wikiwiki is quick, and keiki is child.

Hawaii Part 2

I showed you some photos from day 1 of our trip to Hawaii and you better believe that the rest of our week was just as jam packed as day 1. We started day 2 with some beach and pool lounging in the morning and after lunch hit the road to go see the waterfalls that scatter the Hawaiian highway 19. But on our way cutting across the middle, we drove by some adorable hawaiian cows. Isn't he precious?

We were also warned of the speed humps, the hawaiian version of speed bumps, which had me giggling like I was 12 years old again.

Once we made it to the coast, highway 19 turned south and we (and other tourists alike) stopped every couple miles or so to walk back across the narrow bridge we just crossed, gripping the safety railing for dear life as cars flew by behind us on the highway, and oogle the gorges and waterfalls. On occasion, we ventured off the highway to check out a few parks and other waterfalls. The crashing waves were huge at Laupahoehoe Point Park and the water was so perfectly blue (pictured below).

In the way background of this photo you can see one of the waterfalls that we were able to see from the highway bridge. Nearly all the waterfalls are found in huge gorges like this and then they flow right into the ocean.

The water turns from a deep blue to medium blue to light blue once hitting the ocean shore.

One of the most popular waterfalls on The Big Island is Akaka Falls. After about a ten minute hike, you come to a fenced in ledge where the view is prime. It was absolutely breathtaking.

The morning of our third day was soaked up with a whale watching boat ride. This was my favorite part of our trip. Currently, it's mating season for Humpback whales and we watched male whales showing off for the ladies by blowing water, slapping their tails, and breaching, which is what this one is doing. At first I was really disappointed that I had the camera up too high, because this was the biggest and closest breach we saw all morning, but now I am in love with the shot and think the cropping is really artistic. (My art professor would call it a happy accident and I'll take it!)

Some of the other whales came right up to our boat, which was a tad scary since they are as big as buses, but the guide said that they are more agile than humans are.

And a mother and couple-week-old baby were also showing off for us. The marine biologist tour guide told us that the mom was probably trying to teach him how to breach and help him build up muscle for their swim back to Alaska at the end of the season. The dark grey hump to the left of the baby whale breaching is the mom, so you can see how little he is compared to how huge she is.

That night we went to Ho'Okena Beach for snorkeling and watched the sunset, keeping a close eye on out for the green flash. The green flash is the exact moment the sun dips below the horizon, supposedly when the light hits the water it flashes green, but unfortunately I didn't see it.

Not only was Ho'Okena Beach beautiful, small, and fun to snorkel at, but it provided some great photo opportunities. I couldn't pass up taking some of the moss on these rocks right at the shore line. Its vibrant green color mixed with the color of the sand, ocean, and sky created a serene color palette.

You can see the highlights from day 1 here and the rest of my photos from my trip here.