New to the site

[Terranova0]

Aloha! My name is Barb, I am 47 and live in the San Francisco Bay Area. My daughter Michelle (27) and I will be visiting Hawaii for the first time Jan 6- 14th, 2007. She graduated from UC Davis 2 weeks ago We are Hawaiian descendents (my Nana was born in the Isands in 1898, her family was from Maui) who are very much looking forward to visiting our maternal homeland. I've been researching this trip for a decade or more, LOL! Unfortunately, trying to schedule our (budget) trip during some of the events we really wanted to see was impossible. We'd love to meet some local folks and "talk-story", or visit some of the non-touristy special sites, especially in the Iao Valley where my family lived. My oldest known Hawaiian ancestor was a woman named Kame born approx 1820- maybe we're related? My Nana had 13 siblings, most stayed in the Islands.

We will be arriving on Oahu Saturday Jan 6 about 7 pm and staying in Waikiki thru Sunday Jan 7 afternoon
Jan 8-9 we'll be on Kauai (lihue)
Jan 10 (hilo) and 11 (kona) we'll be on the Big Isle
Jan 12-13 we'll be on Maui near Kahului
and Jan 14 back in Oahu all day, leaving late that night.

Any suggestions on what to visit and what to avoid would be awesome! If you'd like to meet us, or know of a cool event we should check-out, please send me a Private Message.

Mahalo!

Barb

[pzarquon]

Re: New to the site

Aloha e Barb, welcome to HawaiiThreads, and congratulations on your pending trip to the islands! (Congrats to Michelle as well!)

Many of us are on O'ahu, and I know you're mostly just stopping through, but with a day on the way in and most of a day on the way out, there may very well be an opportunity to meet up -- if, that is, you're up to the motley crew this site is known for attracting.

What sorts of events were you hoping to experience? What other activities have you got planned? Maui is sadly the island I know least, but I like Kauai, and just love the Big Island.

[Terranova0]

Re: New to the site

Hi Pzarquon! LOL about the motley crew here... Takes all kinds to make the world go 'round, as they say! And We enjoy meeting new people.

We want to see some of the historical sites, meet real people, eat some good food, learn about Hawaii from local's perspective, maybe make some kind of spiritual connection to our foremothers. I'd love to hook up for a drink on the beach or lunch at a great local spot. We're both somewhat aware of the political issues and would love to learn more. We originally wanted to do an eco-volunteer tour rebuilding after the earthquake, but our itinerary is a bit too tight to allow it. (Michelle is Poly-Sci major thinking about going to Law School in Hawaii). We'll be staying on cruise ship, the Pride of Aloha and traveling between Islands at night. Sunday the 6th we planned to walk around Waikiki a bit, maybe take a bus ride to the Flea Market (we won't have a car that day). The following Sunday Jan 14th we'll have a car all day on Oahu and were thinking about exploring the Island at large. We understand this is surfing season at north shore so we thought we go watch that for a while after driving up the eastern side of the island. My daughter definitely wants to check out a bit of the night life, too, in each port. We both want to visit some museums and parks.

We'll have a car on Kauai and plan to check out Waimea Town and Canyon on Monday, then head up Wailua River area Tues morning. We have to be back on the ship by noon, Tues. Next stop is Hawaii, where we booked a tour bus to the volcanoes on Wednesday afternoon. Next day (Thursday) we dock at Kona, where we plan to walk around old Kona Town, then take a tour and enjoy lunch at Kona Brewery.

Friday we'll be on Maui with a car to explore it on our own. I am not up to driving to Hana, but all other points are game. Definitely want to see Lahaina and Iao Valley. We'll be in Kahului Port until Sat 9pm.

So there it is. Our Pilgrimage of a Lifetime, lol. How about lunch, or even a picnic/party of somekind on a Oahu beach either Sunday the 7th or 14th?

Blessings*

Barb

[Miulang]

Re: New to the site

Friday we'll be on Maui with a car to explore it on our own. I am not up to driving to Hana, but all other points are game. Definitely want to see Lahaina and Iao Valley. We'll be in Kahului Port until Sat 9pm.

So there it is. Our Pilgrimage of a Lifetime, lol. How about lunch, or even a picnic/party of somekind on a Oahu beach either Sunday the 7th or 14th?

Blessings*

Barb

Hi Barb: I was raised on Maui and visit a couple of times a year. Since you say your family was originally from Iao Valley, I'd say you definitely want to trek up here. At the very end of the road into Iao Valley is a vantage point from which you can see Iao Needle; below is a garden that has taro patches and is used sometimes for Hawaiian ceremonies. On the way up to the Needle is a county park called Kepaniwai where there are exhibits of each of the major ethnic groups that emigrated to Hawai'i (Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese) + a Hawaiian pili grass hut. Right outside Wailuku on the way up to Iao Valley on the lefthand side is the Bailey House Museum, which is a good place to stop to see some artifacts from the missionary families.

If your daughter wants to watch surfers, drive to the east end past Paia to Hookipa Park. In the mornings, the surfers are usually out there and in the afternoons, the windsurfers and parasailers are out there goofing around.

If you're planning to drive to Lahaina from the boat, make sure you plan on spending at least an hour getting to the West End because there's only a 2-lane road and it's usually very congested. You're landing on Maui during the height of the humpback whale season, so there's an outlook on the way to Lahaina where people usually spot and watch the whales. There's a foot tour of historical sights that you can take while in Lahaina that's free. Finding parking (unless you get to town early) might be a little problemmatical, though. The historical part of Lahaina is definitely worth seeing because Lahaina was the capital of Hawai'i during the time of the whaling ships.

Kihei/Wailea have some great places too. Our favorite beach (Kalepolepo) in Kihei is the site of an ancient Hawaiian fishpond that's being rebuilt by hand, rock by rock. It's right next door to the Pacific Whale Foundation, where you can also watch mama humpback whales with their calves right offshore.

You really don't have time to go up to Haleakala this time unless you plan to do Haleakala and east Maui one day and Wailea and Lahaina on the second day, which might be pretty grueling and not leave you with enough time to really see things. Hana is definitely something you don't want to do this trip because after the earthquakes and the flooding of recent months, the roads are still pretty dicey, so better to leave that for your next trip.

Right outside Wailuku (on the way to Waihee) are two ancient Hawaiian temples (heiau) called Hale Kii Pihana that offer a sweeping vista of Wailuku and Kahului. It's my favorite place to go to feel the wind and the sun and quiet.

Here's a more complete list of some of the major historical sites on Maui.

Have fun on your grand tour of the islands.

Miulang

[DiverDown808]

Re: New to the site

Aloha Barb and Michelle

From the SFO area, eh ? Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice I love the bay area. I'm originally from the Monterey Bay area, so I was up in San Francisco a lot. Especially during the 80's when the bands I was in, played all the clubs on Broadway.

I bet you're hearing how expensive it is over here. Don't worry. Being from the bay area, you'll see it's about the same.

The only thing I can really tell people when they visit, is to buy any and all gifts and souvenirs at the Swap Meet. The Swap Meet is Hawaii's version of the San Jose Flea Market. It's held at the Aloha Stadium parking lot every weekend and Wednesdays. Start early, because it's a lot of walking outside, and you want to get done before the sun bakes you as you shop.

If you're a water person, you can PM me and I can let you know where to do some great snorkeling and/or scuba diving with sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, and what else you might want to see in the water.

I'm all up for meeting new people, so if the option for having a group drink, dinner, or hug is in the works, count me in

DD

[Terranova0]

Re: New to the site

Nice to meet you, Chris! Enjoyed your music very much, too. Thanks for the tip on what to expect. I will definitely check out the swap meet. Promised the gkids I'd get them something from Hawaii.

We're going to spend as much time as we can on the beach. I love the water, as does Michelle, but we don't scuba. Michelle planned to check out some snorkeling. I might, as well. I rarely get to swim in the ocean as it's usually too cold here in Northen California. I'm looking forward to getting in the water in Hawaii.

I'll send ya a PM. Looks like Sunday, the 14th would be the best day to plan something, if folks are interested. Need a beach on Oahu with a BBQ and where we can watch surfers. Any suggestions?

Mahalo!

Barb

[DiverDown808]

Re: New to the site

Thanks for the compliments on Tahiti Sunset, Barb. That was my first attempt at writing and recording an instrumental, with me playing all the instruments. A bit long, but I think it captures the feeling of a sunset over a beach, ya think ?

For snorkeling, I guess you'll need to do Hanauma Bay while you're here. It's beautiful when looking down the hill at it. The drawbacks are........you have to pay to go in, it's a long walk up the hill after you spent most of the day there (you can always pay to ride the trolly up the hill), and personally.....I really don't think the wildlife in there is anything special.

However, I WOULD recommend Electric Beach (Kahe Point). It's right in front of our power plant. The power plant shoots out warm water about 200 yards off shore, which promotes a lot of plant life, fish, marine mammals, and great corals. When I was a scuba instructor, I took all my classes there for at least 2 ocean dives.

As for surfers and BBQ's ? That's any beach on the island. Just keep your portable grill in the trunk, and start stalking the beaches. It's the winter season, so the North Shore will be jumping.

DD