Hi Mark I know you recently went to Hawaii and would like to ask you questions from a tourist's point of view. What did you do and enjoy the most? Any suggestions on "must see" places?
Hubby and I are flying over and will be cruising the islands for an awesome 7 days, which I am so looking forward to after the surgery and everything else! I am hoping to be able to visit with Ted Green and his wonderful sense of humor.
Thanks & blessings,
Awanda
Oh Mark....Hawaii questions:-) -OT
Well, well, well, your gonna do it huh? :) I'm glad your feeling up to doing a little cruising. Your gonna be so spoiled by the time you get off that ship, they do everything for you, oh and you get to go shopping in all of the ports. What cruise line are you taking? Oh my, and not to mention hoya's :O. You should e-mail Ted and let him know your plans, and ask if you can come on over !! How darn fun.
Woo Hoo, all interested parties interested in flying to Phoenix on the (um when are you going to be gone Awanda?) please D-mail me. Heidi the watch dog (ha ha) is my best friend now, cookies and string beans and she is a push over. So I don't forsee any problems in just checking out the new GH, sharp cutting object are allowed !!
Good for you, Awanda.
If you are feeling up to it, I think the best thing we did overall was snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. There is a barrier reef closing off part of the bay (it's an old volcano crater) so the surf is extremely mild, there is an abundance of fish, and the beach is very sandy and pleasant for reclining when you get tired of the water.
Lyon Botanical Garden is amazing, if hilly. They have a good collection of gingers, among other things.
The best beaches on the island are near Khailua, which is just north of Ted Green's place.
If you are in Waikiki, there are some fun off the beaten track things. The zoo and aquarium, though small, are really good and the zoo has great plantings of exotic trees and shrubs. There is a store called Spark on the main strip, I forget the address, which is frequented entirely by 15-18 year old japanese boys and girls in $5000 outfits. If you park yourself outside of this you will see an amazing parade of Japanese youth culture fashion. There is a good and cheap seafood place called "Blue Water" on the street back from the main strip which consists of a trailer sitting in the middle of an empty lot. The food is really fresh and good, and it is run by a little old Japanese lady with the voice of a songbird. If you are going to be in Waikiki, I'll look up the addresses of those places for you.
Those are all on Oahu. If you are going to the Big Island at all, you have to visit Carol. She can point you towards the Tropical Botanical garden, which is awesome. Volcano Park is good too, though you can't get near the lava without a lengthy hike through sulfur fumes. (I passed.)
Have a blast!
Tami I know you don't think I'm going to give you the dates of when we're going to be gone, do you? Sistah Karen would be on the first thing flying to Arizona:-). We're cruising on Norwegian Cruise Line. Oh I'm definately going to shop, we're having a luau during hubby's family reunion in July, so I'll need to buy something to wear for that!
Mark thanks so much for the info. I would love to go to Spark, I'm a people watcher. I was watching the Travel channel last night and it was about Hawaii. The showed the Volcano Park and talked about the sulfur fumes, I'll pass that up too:-)!. So much to do and see and so little time.
Blessings,
Awanda
Uh Tami, I have cookies and sharp objects......Dmail me with the plans........:~)
Sistah Awanda - Well, I'd be insulted - if it wasn't true!!
Tami, count me in, I'll bring the stringbeans. I assume it's a BYOS??? (Bring your own scissors...)
Karen
Awanda....I would love to see you and Kermit when you come to Hilo...! Please let me know when it is ...I would LOVE to see you!
Carol
Norwegian is a very nice cruise line, we cruised on Norwegian to the Bahamas. I'm with Mark, you really do have to try snorkeling, it is so much fun. I didn't get to see and coral reefs, but there were some cool fish. My husband wouldn't go with me, he was to taken with the thonge bathing suits !! So I just hooked up with another couple who gave me snorkeling lessons. Do they still have the midnight chocolate fantasy on there schedule? That was yummy.....
Awanda, you need a coconut bra and grass skirt for the luau. Get a skirt for Kermit too.
Joanne, Karen, I'll bring the wheelbarrow and champagne, she has fresh oranges out back too. We will need a refreshing cocktail while we are on break. It is BYOS.... Oh Awanda can you leave the juicer out on the counter.. I don't want to waste any of my time digging through cabinets.
So Tami just when are you planning this hoya party??? Sistah K.....too funny, that BYOS is bring your own stringbeans for my part time dog, Heidi!
Blessings,
Awanda
I can't even believe it... Awanda calls me yesterday from Hilo, I believe it is, and ya know what she has been doing? Of all things, shopping at Walmart. Good thing they don't have a biglots there... She is losing her voice, and hasn't even been to the Luau sp. yet.
OH dear...and I missed her! Actually, I wasn't home all day but was at a friends house landscaping her garden (no muscle, only advice). I was so hoping she would call...I have some interesting hoyas I know she would like to see and I don't mind friends bring their own clippers.
Yes...Walmart is fun here. I wonder if there is anything left on the shelves?
Carol you may want to check for a raspy sounding walmart crazed women on your answering machine... She said she went to Walmart for a picture card for her camera but at check out it was well over $100.00. I think she is trying to figure out how to send all the hoya's she is seeing home..
I don't know my geography, is Hilo and Keauu on the same Island?
No, no message from her. DH was here all day.
Hilo is about 8 miles from Keaau and no water inbetween. They recently established phone service between the two towns and the dialects are understood by all..There are no hoyas in the stores in Hilo - there might be a H. javanica once in a while. No one knows hoyas here. This is an orchid growing area.