Day 8

It was the last day and we had hardly touched the cool waters. Without a dip in the ganges the trip to Haridwar is incomplete, similarly we had to dip in the ocean. The red sail sporting company was a small company proving snorkel trips on a catamaran. Not that I can differentiate much between a sail boat, schooner, catamaran, jib or mast, the boat was half filled to capacity with 30 people unlike the whale watching sailboat trip which had only 8 people. The captain and his cronies were pleasant and the boat was quite surprisingly accommodating.

As we sailed off to the snorkeling location the reality hit with a bang. I had not swam since the last snorkeling trip since last years Florida trip. The knot in the stomach curled further as people just jumped in and snorkeled away to see mysterious ocean creatures. Gathering the momentum I grabbed a life vest for “just in case” and like a sponge absorbed all the information doled out about the mask and breathing. Somethings rang a bell but it was panic city inside as I jumped into the water complete with fins.

The clear blue ocean with free visibility to the coral calmed out my nerves enough to remind me to keep breathing through the mouth and fin away to the promised site of never before seen so close sea creatures. At some point I lifted my head up enough to see that was way off course and she was sitting by the steps getting the equipment on. I swam back and tried to calm her down and get back to basics. I recalled how in Florida she had shattered the fear barrier and jumped into the ocean albeit never left the rope. There were still some initial activation issues and once she figured out the vest did its job well and the additional red float in hand we traveled far, well as far as the float tied to the boat let us.

There were no mythical being in the ocean. But that was hardly any disappointment because the water temp was just right above being cool and the suns rays were playing tricks with reflection due to waves the ocean floor looked sparkly and divine. After frolicking in the waters for about 40 minutes we decided to call it a day and hopped back to the boat.

With the wind in the sails and on board sandwich lunch in out tummies we basked in the afternoon sun. We also saw quite a few whales much closer than the whale watch trip. The big mammals were awe inspiring and very graceful in their movements. Once back on land we found a place to taste and buy some pure hawaiian coffee and tea.

The drive back to Peoria from Chicago was on automation. After the long flight a good sleep on a proper mattress was much needed. As I woke up and saw the window I could almost see the clouds and mountains past the window. As I shook my head the reality of the cold weather sunk in and the hot piping upma and sambar sure helped cure the blues away.

Day 7

We had half a days worth of driving for the day and half a day of phone calls to schedule a snorkeling trip before we left the islands. We drove all the way back to the volcanos for the aerial tour only to get a five minute tour of the seaside and figure that the clouds would be too low and we will not be able to see any lava flow nor steam vents. We saved ourselves plenty of green but we had a avoidable four hour drive. To salvage part of the trip we went to the touristy waterfalls where we learned to say Merry Christmas in the local language which I repeated a few times and have since then promptly forgotten as well.

The water falls were not pretty on account of the water being muddy but they were quite majestic. Too bad unlike Kempty falls they did not allow people close to the water for safety reasons.

Does doing an activity for the sheer risk of it increase the adrenaline? If you make an activity extremely safe it does take some amount of fun factor out of it.

Her diligence and persistence on the phone yielded results and we had a snorkel tour booked for the next day just in time to wrap up the trip and catch the flight.

The afternoon was a really lazy one with both of completing the library books and a solid nap. Now we can definitely say we took a nap in Hawaii too. In search for a rejuvenating coffee to wake up our Aloha spirits we strolled lazily past the ocean side joints. Each one was claiming their fame in “best burger” or “authentic Hawaiian” to “local favorite” and enticing passerby with low rates and best maitai offers. We decided to go to the burger place but just in case traipsed further away to see what else Kona had to offer. It was kind of channel surfing to find out if there was anything else better going on. We found a Thai restaurant no surprise there, that was right by the ocean side with the sun about to set in an hour or so. Our legs gravitated towards it and we ordered a fish panang and mixed sea food and summer rolls along with a maitai and iced coffee. The view as the sun was setting was picture perfect. It was almost a perfect ending to the last evening in Hawaii. Being Christmas day the motorcycle rentals was closed and mopeds somehow did not quite substitute the craving only raw horsepower and nimble handling could provide.

It was one of the few days we watched a few hours of TV and a more than week without Internet was therapeutic. Very few phone calls and we did not miss much of it either.

Day 6

Another fairly early day completely dedicated to the volcanoes. We had to drive across the entire island to get to the Volcano side. ON our way there we got pulled over by a female trooper for speeding. I would like to think that my charms and smile had won her over and we left the scene unscathed of any tickets. We also wanted to scout the volcanoes from air and it was pouring down pretty hard. So we rescheduled the air p[lane tour to the next day meaning another day of driving back. The sky cleared out now and then in time for us to take a few pictures and browse through the museum and marvel at mother natures fury and workings.

It was a suprise when there were dieties/ sort of where in the different erupted material was labewlled as Pele's hair and Pele's Tear drops, Pele being the goddess. It definitely reminded me of Indian Goddesses Like Durga maa.

There was the overpowering stench of sulphur at some of the locations. For the layman it was a hole in the ground and some dirt, but the fissures and solidified and cracked lava bore tales of destruction from decades ago. The smoldering steam vents were a reminder that eruptions could occur but can be predicted with more accuracy with better understanding and accurate sensing technologies. Some of the technologies are also used in the mining industry.

We also walked though a lava tube which was eerie and just imagine at some point there was red hot lava flowing though the same chamber we were traversing though..... shudder.

We had stopped midway and detoured to a lesser known / advertised waterfalls Umauma. There were insect repellants as aprt of the ticket for mosquitos and I got bit by a wasp. It was non poisonous since I am still here writing about the story but in case I disappear for a few hours and a crime is stopped by a mysterious man in mask, be assured it was me. The falls itself was good because my expectation were really low because of the hype caused by the media.

The rain had added a lot to the muddy flow and the rainforest had a beautiful neon green look to it. A walk through the rainbow park we saw a lot of familiar flowers, ate a over ripe guava and did not get caught, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon etc.

We did hike around a few trails more like trails for city slickers because they were concrete. There were plenty of labels for the plants but was tiresome after a little while and the picture taking reduced after a few hundred yards. But occasionally a guava tree, a beautiful flower or the scenery would revive the interest in pictures.

The driving in the rain through one of the wettest places on earth was full of lush forests almost transported me the best Jurassic Park movie (the first one). We were reliving the 3-D live version of the movie.

We stopped by a drive in to grab a quick bite just the tv show and had very little idea what we were actually getting into. We order two dishes which turned out to two too many. Deep fried shrimp chicken and fish were so sogged up in oil that turned us away from fried food. The saving grace was the icecream float with vanilla on pepsi.

Is there a way to capture the taste the smell the sense of awe for recounting later or to convey the feeling to another person? Possibly not because not everyone would have the same response to the same stimuli.

A beautiful beach is nothing but salt water and dirt. Same scenery different perspective.

On our return we took the supposedly shorter route according to the map but took us a lot longer and a few stops by the black sand beaches did not help make up the time either. A well located chai station would have been extremely helpful and being in Kona coffee plantation side and Christmas eve did not help the case at all. The coffee will have to wait another morning.

Being Christmas eve most of the dining places had either closed or did not pike our interest. We settled on a Thai place and decided to order just one dish on account of the colossal lunch failure. The satay was good along with the chutney. The pad thai was too lemony tangy, I guess by now we have become very picky unless we were very hungry.

Day 5

Waking up early has become the key phrase that is usually left to non vacation time for conscientious health conscious early risers. The lure of romantic sunrise on the islands was sufficient to rise us from the deep slumber induced by the water kissing the sand on the beach. We packed our bags and checked out as Chuck our ride to the base camp greeted us in a gruff voice and a cowboy hat. He had plenty of very funny anecdotes about the weather resembling his wives in predictability among others. We joined four others who were also signed up for the classic sunrise bicycling down the mountain tour. The treacherous climb to the Haleakala mountain was conveniently delegated to Chuck who we later came to know had poor sight and obvious hearing issues. I just thought he loved to talk and listening was skipped in his vocabulary.

He was originally from Portland and had stories about pollution and had apparently held quite a few odd jobs. Our tour guide from Brazil and cohorts in cycling tour from Spain and Germany was like a benetton add for country representation. The full moon added to the bright early hours and coffee was barely sufficient to keep us in the windy mountain top for a sunrise in the clouds. The discussion in the van varied from Lance armstrong to Pushing Tin and pickpocketing tips. Once the time passed the sunrise we headed down on the bicycles which had drum brakes and fixed gear ratio.

There was hardly any pedaling and the only portion was labelled Jane Fonda's thigh Blaster road by Chuck. At first she was pedaling like a grandma driving a skylark in Florida, but after a stop for coffee and breakfast she was right behind the tour guide. The tour guide led the troop on a bicycle and Chuck followed us in the van with the trailer for bikes blocking any traffic barreling down our way. He was in radio contact with the lead and we occasionally gave way to the meddling fuel consuming beasts driven by environmentally inconsiderate folks. I will get off the high horse now.

There were no bill boards in Hawaii, it was conveniently made too expensive so that it does not interfere with the aesthetic view. There were no pearls from Hawaii because of preservation laws. Is that in self interest i.e. If Phillipines wants to harvest pearls and destroy environment it is cool. But harvesting Hawaiin pearls was against the law. Already there were signs of progress that interfere with nature. Existence of Walmart for a couple of years almost guarantees the diminishing returns for farming industry. The 35 sugar mills have dwindled down to 1.5 because sugar could be made cheaper elsewhere.

In the long run the only thing cheaper in US would be ???.

On one hand you want a decently priced vacation and on the other hand one also craves the exotic. If the islands of Hawaii get ravaged by sea of concrete Jane, Jill and .. would be able to afford it bu then it wont be the exotic "place to go". ANd then there would be new islands to explore and ravage.

The fast sweeping wet turns were also being conquered by a late year YZF600 and a missed downshift had the rider squirm a bit but experience took ove as he rode out the turn. Our third leg was fast paced and short lived, just as we were getting used to the pace and the curves and the views we stopped to load the bikes back on the trailer. It was a pretty neat trick to keep the customer wanting so that he would come back. We basked in the warm sunshine on a plastic chair somehow seemed to be a crazy simple wish when we had left Chicago.

After Chuck dropped us back at the hotel we finagled our way to a room for a couple of hours. It was more like the resort graciously offered a room and in the few hours a nap was taken and the chappatis were consumed with Shahi paneer. The garden view room was more like parking lot view room and pale in comparison to the ocean view room, but we were definitely not choosers nor did care, just grateful for the rest and rejuvenation needed for further car drives and plane rides.

We saw some crazy surfer dudes getting smacked around and so close to the rock wall that made me wonder is life insurance rates increase if you mention interests in surfing. We found a desolate point in the highway to stop by and have a cliffhangar reminding moment from the top of the rocks. We returned the car without any trouble and our ride to the airport was immediately available. The only time when we wanted to tip the man we did not have any change, luckily the driver was also picking up a couple more passengers from the airport. Hopefully they had some bills of green and willingness to part with them, but being asian only the first part may be true.

We met another Indian couple at the airport who also did a whirlwind tour of the islands like us and offered good tip on plane ride to the lava viewing and volcano park visiting.

It is like the MBA thing, most of the people I know have either done one or in the process or planning to do one. Same with the Hawaii trip too. One thing checked off on the things to do before the end.

The car rental that we had online was thrice the price compared to the other islands. We took a risk and just took a shuttle to another car rental and found 50% savings by ditching the reservation and getting another car on the fly. Make on wonder how artificial jacking up of prices prior to Holidays is so prevalent.

The island hopper plane deserves a few lines. First impressions were rickety dinky "will it complete the trip" kind of emotions. The baggage check in person was the same as the non existent security person. In fact he was our luggage storer, flight attendant tour guide and the pilot as well.

We checked into the hotel and saw the beach kinda from the balcony. But by now the Maui hotel would be a tough one to beat, for its proximity to the beach, the ocean sounds, the pool view. We just shrugged at the view and went to find dinner. We had asked the concierge about not so fancy not so fast food and she got the hint and showed us a few inexpensive (cheap) places. One of them was closed so our choice narrowed down by combining our willingness to walk to only one. We saw a palm tree with chritmas decorations for the first time. I ordered the oonu grilled sandwich with fried and she ordered sno crab sandwich with salad. The fish was very very mild but the snow crab on sourdough was pretty good.

Ordering healthy food is not the same as eating healthy food, I noticed as she gobbled up most the fries from my plate. At the end I put my plate farther away but distance is never a deterrent to a fried snack fanatic.

As I see couples clinging to each other like the end of the world, I wonder when and how that comes down to the couple with kids who rarely talk to each other. Reminds me of the Julius Ceasar quote " Like horses, hot at hand but fail the test like a deceitful jade under the eyes of a jeweller" or something like that. Do quibbles strengthen a relation or making up after fights result in taking the person for granted. Is the willingness or desire to make up an indication of the strength of a relationship. Should logic be used in the same sentence as relationship?

Day 4

The only day when we were not slaves of the alarm clock and it was a vacation day for the poor timekeeper. We really did not have much of an agenda for the day except drive around the worlds most beautiful drive and chill on the beach. And the day started with chilling walk down the beach where a early morning photographer clicked us with the morning sun lighting up our faces and boat in the background. There were quite a few others who were strolling and writing messages on the beach only to be washed by waves. But the kiddish enthusiasm could not be deterred by a bunch of hooligan waves. We did manage to catch the "complimentary continental breakfast". I would like to visit the continent where they have such a breakfast.

After doodling around on the beach we found our way on the map to Hana. We would like to claim the circuitous route by "design" and not any deficiencies in the navigation skills. If there were a road sign reading challenge, we would definitely flunk. By a faint chance we located a board hiding behind the lamp post traffic signal and some trees and once again we were back on track. In case you missed it we missed a few turns.

The 30 mile road definitely brought back memories of the deals gap trip and even more treachorous because most of the bridges were one lane while the road was technically two lane. Since most cars were compact size it was ok. I would love to see two trucks navigating around each other. There were several waterfalls and road side stalls and taco shops selling fresh banana nut bread, pearls, fruits.

When we reached the destination we realized the journey on the road to the destination was the main part. The town was hardly worth the few bytes on the web. We located a direction to a snack shop and we found a beach side and got down to stretch our legs. She said there was black sand beach around here and that we should take pictures for patel value. I look at her and look at the sand on the beach and look at her and say "Honey the sand is black here, this must be the black sand beach". Just because there was no big red neon sign these observations seem monumental.

We did find a restaurant / takeout place with stir fried chicken rice for lunch special and we ordered a top ramen noodle soup along with it. Sitting by the beach side benches with packed lunches/ baskets was a common sight and honey mooners were dime a dozen everywhere. But in Hana it looked more like a full family vacation package with kids and grandkids. As our order was ready the olfactory senses were alerted to a new kid in town and the taste buds had a party of the year. The chicken was prepared unusually well adn we had just seen the movie Ratatoille and the taste sensation explosion is an accurate desciption of the chicken.

After appeasing the stomach we headed back the same way and now the brake turn accelerate motions were becoming a second nature and the road to Hana was like a mini race course.

After a little while well a couple of hours of see sawing we took a much needed break to avoid feeling queasy and almost like being in a roller coaster or being on a sail boat in rough seas. After the road straightened out we found another excuse to park our behinds and the car in a beach front personal heavenly alcove complete with a view, surfers and park benches.

Message from the beach hippies inscribed on a bench

Live to love

Love to live

Unlike the angry messages like Marvin sucks or obscene ones this message was a welcome change even to a cynic.

Little kids big kids everyone was out there on the water trying to ride out the waves as much as they could. It was like being a predator at times. Wait and watch repeat cycle followed by instinct and catch the wave and follow through. From the expressions on the young ones fear and courage had no boundaries. The limitless energy and abundance of waves ran dry our patience to watch them. It was more an invitation for us to jump in and catch the waves ourselves and experience first hand the disheartenment of failing and excitement of the wait and exhilaration of cresting a wave. And as the wave picks one up everything slows in time and dream about it for years clearer than 50" HDTV.

It was time to head back to the room to freshen up and read the book till the sun came down.

Day 3

The alarm was doing overtime these days unlike office days when the alarm was set when the results were like a vegetarian tiger. As we walked towards the valet parking we were apprehensive about the reception we would get based on the previous days "thieving". But it was another person and another day. On the way to the car rental we recalled filling the gas in the car and could not find any gas stations till we almost reached the rental return and there like tall saving grace big neon board claimed something in blue but surely selling gas. We caught the shuttle to the airport just as it was about to leave. The unacknowledged scratch on the yellow PT cruiser shall remain unacknowledged. The rental policy without insurance was like a loan sharks dream, anything that happens regardless of whose fault it was the renter was liable for full damage. It was almost intimidating one to get the insurance policy just like thou shalt return the car with full tank of gas else be charged a arm and a few toes for a gallon of gas.

After reaching the second island while waiting for the rental car pickup we saw a few enthusiastic joggers running up and down the hill and a full rainbow behind them. Just to digress for a moment if anyone knows the radius of a rainbow please let me know. Back to the regular scheduled program. We are thankful for the delays else we would have been busy poring over maps and trying to figure where to go how to get there and miss the rainbow completely. Are we so busy trying to catch the moment for eternity by filming it or taking a picture that we forget to actually savor the moment? We do relive the moment everytime we think about it or tell it to friends and family.

Do we tend to observe more when on vacation like birds or leaves or sounds or views that on a normal working day would be tossed aside like a used sock.

After a hunt for a breakfast place we found a fast food joint that also had a activity for less store which we will find hundreds of later in the day. We figured out where and what and when for the next few days for selling a piece of our time listening to sales pitch of a vacation home/time share. But unfortunately we did not qualify since we were not on the island for more than a day/24 hours and had activities scheduled within the next 5 hrs.

Statistically they were targeting people with leisure time who were likely to buy unlike us who would probably make it back to Maui maybe once more in lifetime. But we did get free lunch out of the deal and got us back to Lahaina for the whale watch and that was also close to the hotel.

We walked around till we could check in and then walked around waiting for the sail boat to arrive. Once checked in we were were absolutely positively stumped by the view. We could see the entire ocean from the balcony conveniently located chairs was awesome. But our initial excitement waned quickly when we could not locate the bedroom or the bed. We tried out key on all the doors we saw without success. We had seen a few house maids outside so as she stepped to find out the mystery we found that the bed was stored vertically integrated like a wall cabinet. There goes the midvale school of gifted award to us...again. Luckily she had not found the maids yet.

Luckily my wallet did not loose any weight even after we walked in and out of a jewelry store and strolled past a few others.

The sailboat was probably a 60 footer with a main sail and a jib. the crew was friendly and champagne, beer and chocolate flowed freely, we did have to ask for chocolate twice though. Once out in the ocean the captain shut down the engine and let the wind find us. Looking far out we could see whale snout sprays. As the boat crawled towards the whale sightings the whales would move farther away. We did manage to see one whale up close and looked very graceful and huge. But more than the whale watching the weather was just perfect with sun coming down and light breeze and smooth sailing. The payload was just around 10 people which was great and had newly married couple teaching in SF and a realtor from Austin.

The stroll back to hotel was a scenic route walking away from destination to see local shops and budding artists. We found a pretty good bargain for a straw hat much below the range we had expected. The same hat was more than twice the price in a store right next door. And at another store they had marked down price for a gift item incorrectly and we benefitted well too.

In the hotel chicken tikka masala and veg manchurian with chapatis and rice was the meal dejour. It had never before taken so much trial and error to make a meal from frozen chappatiis and microwavable curries. The chapattis had thawed a bit and would stick to the pan and then the pan got too hot and burned the roti. The machurian gravy leaked out and some of the flavor was lost to the cardboard packing. Watching the waves and hearing the soft lull of the water and sand meant a early sleep time.

Day2

All the unaccustomed physical activity (hiking in the sun) and odd sleeping hours caught up resulting in a slight fever. However I was pampered with noodle soups and conveniently escaped jogging by the sea. By 11 after she returned from a hubby uninterrupted walk/jog we were up for some more sight seeing albeit a little less physical.

In the lobby we went to the activity center located earlier in the visit to inflict some touristy questions to the person manning the booth. As I asked the valet parking to fetch the car we were finalizing the luau (Hawaiian feast) we wanted to attend. Meanwhile the parking attendant honked his arrival and left his post in search of something more interesting than waiting on his customers. As we left the booth purchasing the twilight package including the polynesian show the valet attendant was no where to be found. Well there went his tip surfing past the horizon. The car was locked and we had waited for a good two minutes when the patience relief valve opened up. She sneaked past the booth to discover the keys begging to be taken out for a ride to the North shore. And as she picked up the keys, which was probably blasphemous in itself when no one was watching, we walked past a few others who were still stuck in the waiting phase surprised by the exhibition of blatant breach of protocol/etiqette evident in their "I can't believe they just did that" look of incredulity. But my guess is that they might have followed suite after we left in minutes.

We drove towards north shore, which was supposedly a mecca for surfers. The waves at waikiki were like the bunny hill for skiers. We took a detour towards a local town where we stopped by to do patelgiri and there were a few others like us. As we continued on the detour and our nostrils picked up the scent after we saw the sign for huli huli chicken. The grill was set up outside, this was no fancy pants restaurant, hardly a restaurant even. There were a few chairs thrown under a makeshift tent with poles stuck in sand filled buckets. Fresh shrimp were being tossed on the grill and the cleaned up chicken was doused lavishly with the secret braising sauce. We settled on just half a chicken for taste and a dipping of a big transparent vessel with freshly squeezed lime topped off the meal. The sign advertising the aforesaid two-winged edible bird had a chicken dressed in a lei and dancing to some tune happily.

The only dance the chicken was going to actually do was in my midsection quenching my hunger pangs. We walked a little on the beach and sat down to watch budding surfers patiently learning while the experts were showing off, while a few others were content with basking in the sun. As we drove off the beach headed to our next destination we passed by a roadside shack selling pineapple and coconuts and some knick knacks. We stopped by to taste a fresh a fresh coconut and had a non-verbal powwow with a camo wearing, bicycle riding, geographically challenged wannabe army person. There was also a humble looking artist who was carving faces of warriors and gods out of branches and staining them with color. We bought one of sculptures at the Polynesian culture gift shop.

Following the footsteps of Rachels Rays tips on good eats, we skipped the posh read expensive places for something little out of way flavorful and light on the budget as well. The place in the 101 things to do referred to a place exactly like that. Shrimp shack was not exactly what the name said it more like a shrimp van but after a taste of flavorful fresh shrimp with a few scoops of rice that small issue of name was buried under crab legs and butter as well. After many valiant efforts to master the skill of breaking the crab legs using the apparatus provided which was chained to the tray we resorted to the tried and tested appendages extended out and the dumbell lifting and body pump classes were put to the use man intended i.e. put delicious food into the mouth.

After the crab was consumed with fervor hitherto known only in imagination of ravenous hunger meeting a feast fit for the king we decided to add a little polynesian cultural adventure to our experience. We barely made it to the last canoe rides and headed to the only show we thought we could make. We got a temporary warrior tattoo that looked menacing and then tried the poi sort of juggling weights tied to strings and try to maneuver the trajectory of the attached weights in a sort of circular fashion. The demonstrators were mostly native or at least sounding and looking and made it sound so simple, and would occasionally show off by changing from clockwise to ccw and then switch hands and then single handedly accomplish what ten of us were barely able to do with two hands. The ease with which they switches between various motions had a hidden beat and when they missed it made them human and without skipping another beat they would pickup the pace and catchup. That was true showmanship. The ritual touching of noses was Alaskanish but the warrior dance was really intimidating and the facial expressions had quite a bit of terror in them. The yells and screams were definitely from another era unlike the profanity or verbal punches that we see today.

WE decided to be bold and be late for the traditional luau / feast since our bellies were asking for a break and there was a tonga drum show as well. As woman nudged me to be a "volunteer" I managed to get my behind on stage to match my non existent music less talent against a burly enthusiastic tongaman. I seemed to hang well or so I think till the drum tempo increased a tad and then confused my brain cells which told one thing to my muscles and my muscle tried to execute and there was chaos. I shared the stage with an australian who was on a world tour with his 4 kids and parents. For my efforts I did get a crown made of palm leaves which I left in the rental car (I just remembered as I write this 12 hrs later).

There was picture taking with leis and she got the last one!! On to the luau which was supposedly a feast and roasted pig was the focused entree. Since we just had a lot of food, our hunger level was not much and unless the food beyond a level of excellence it was not going to please us. That meant extreme high standards, the salad and the chicken and the roast and the others did not make the cut. However the dessert selection was wide and one of them tasted like jinnu with a flavor of coconut.

There was enough time gap between dinner and the show just to entice people to buy stuff and the trick worked. WE bought a wooden warrior/god which was a good bargain which we found out later. There was a booth where one could pick a oyster shell among many and then the shell would be opened and you would own the pearl that were inside. One lady was so lucky that she picked three or four and all of them had two pearls. Two pearls were rare and three were extremely rare. But the whole concept was pretty neat, with a guranteed pearl inside, of course the color of the pearl would not be known untill the shell was broken. We bought one and found a pink champagne pearl which was cool and had the pearl drilled for mounting on a pendal/ear ring to be decided later. Somehow a pearl on a 1o carat gold white or otherwise did not sound appealing.

After the purchase we entered the show where the center aisle tickets were an upgrade which we cheaply refused to purchase. But the view was just as good and the performances matched and exceeded expectations. The humor element was overbearing at times but the skill and execution was really good. The music at times reminded me of Goan music. It must be something about islands.

The drive back in the dark two lane highway was uneventful and were glad to be back in the hotel ready for another days adventure.

Day1

Day 1:
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The alarm woke me up at around 4 and as I slumbered for a little while more and opened the window a couple of hours later the ocean sounds and visual soothed away any tired muscles and something that is unusual for a work day both of us woke up earlier than usual. We had a bowl of cereal (save time and mullah) and headed out to Diamond head crater.

Being the cheap skates or health conscious we avoided parking right at the bottom of the hill which would have set us back by a fiver; we chose to park in a free parking area and walk for about 20 min and trek for about a couple of hours. There were some steep steps slippery trails but mostly greeted by smiling faces returning from the top and enthusiastic tourists and locals huffing away and passing us. Even though we were out of breath as well, we were going at just half the pace of the runners, yes there were people running up hill!!. There were a few look out points which served more like a good spot to take a much required breaks for resting the behind and grab some water.

The topmost point was more like a military look out post and the view was all that pictures attempt to show and more. The wind blew through whatever hair is left on top of the cranium and felt close to heaven. There is something about the bluish green tinge of the ocean that reaches to the deepest of being.

The trek back down was a lot quicker with a little less griping when going uphill. Our next stop was the historic infamous Pearl Harbor museum. We intended to see just the submarine bowfin and Missouri fighter vessel and skipped the air force museum. All the exhibits made us feel so close to a major historic moment. The submarine was fairly cramped quarters and visions from the u-571 played a little in my head. We saw tables where letters might have been written to close family members, happy moments disturbed by emergencies, poignant moments in shared loss, where boys grew to be men.

All these great thoughts were interrupted when we passed the mess halls when hunger pangs came back with a vengeance we quenched by a bad hot dog and a great cold cut (just by comparison) and chips. After a 30 min search of dining places, which could satisfy craving for authentic seafood without being too pretentious. We boiled the list down to a Thai place and a tiki's bar and grill. After passing by thet place it looked really appetizing with good ambience and not to feisty pricing. The mai tai was good and the signature drink was a touch below good. The fish in the medley melted in my mouth and the shrimp garlic in coconut gravy appealed nicely to my taste buds.

Day0

Notes from author: Please do not try to read it all in one go. It is seven days of vacation and we invite you to read it one day at a time to transport you to see the view, smell the beach and feel the breeze.

Day0:
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The plan was perfect. Leave by 4:30 arrive at 7:30 to catch the 8:00 bus with enough time to check in and catch the 10 o clock flight. What was not taken into consideration was that the waking up hours was insane by many standards and underestimated the laziness factor. And added to the mix was the Chicago traffic factor. As we were inching towards the airport the traffic grew thicker and like a hourglass the time was slipping though. I saw a opening in the fast lane and switched to it causing grief to people behind and angered looks that could slash a tire. The moment the car shifted completely to the other lane, lo and behold brakes lights are on for the car in the front and the lane we switched from started to move faster. I could almost hear the satisfied smile of people passing us.

The race was on and the fuel meter did not co-operate either. There was no time in the morning to fill up and now there was a chance we could be stranded because we were out of gas. And we had not stopped since the start and the bladder pressure was building in the background. Finally we reached the place where we were supposed to park the car and catch the ride to airport.

There was a interviewee who was late and did not have a ride there were people going to mexico who were trying to catch a flight and there was barely enough room for all of us and the luggage. The rickety van looked like a old war horse with stories to tell and so tired that if you stopped it may never start again. The check-in line could dishearten even the seasoned traveler. Internet check-in was a god gift (even though man gets credit for it). There was hardly a queue for the online check in. The security line was no trouble at all and now I appreciated every little thing that came our way.

The flight was fully booked and crying babies loud enough to turn one away from having kids (at least think about it) The in flight entertainment was actually the different variety of people boarding the plane. Few meeting their fiancées, getting married, returning islanders, people intending to become islanders and of course tourists.

This was the first time woman landed in California. Well even if it was for a couple of hours at the airport I guess that counts. The lunch at mexican was a fairly palatable chicken filled quesadilla which was toasted rather well.

The flight to Honolulu was uneventful except for the completion of reading the book Deception Point. We had to fill out a form about any food items brought along to the island. Like diligent and teacher fearing parent obeying law-abiding people we declared that we brought some potatoes and onions (yeah I know).

Only to see that the locks of our baggage were broken into for inspection. I failed to see the point of the declaration form.

It took a while to find the right spot to wait for the rental car shuttle and the feeling of being in Hawaii was sinking in with each lei we say and the floral prints and shorter shorts. After a bit more u-turning we finally got to the hotel and checked in. Opening the window showed some promise and we freshened up quickly and search for a cure of the growling stomach.

After a brief walk around a couple of blocks we found there was plenty of Japanese influence in cuisine and population as well. We settled on a chinese restaurant hoping for some good sea food in a style that would satisfy the fresh sea food deficiency we had suffered since the singapore trip. The food was a ok. We made it back to the hotel to catch up on some badly needed zzz’s.