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The reality of returning trips

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  • The reality of returning trips

    When I tell people I am going back to Hawai'i, some seem to doubt the value of return trips. I have gotten to know a few folks that I try to revisit but even I have trouble giving a good reason to impose on their time just because someone as myself wants to say hello.

    Subsequent trips allow me to see things I missed the last times and things do change! I got to see what really expensive land does to the design of mainland stores...even with Walmart and their stacked big box stores in Honolulu. The place least like paradise I have found was there breathing the fumes in the bottom of the parking garage while walking back to the rental car! Must be why it seems locals talk more about shopping Costco!

    Then there's the story of me getting tangled up with a local lady over a parking spot at the paddle store. "Why you here, why you here!?!" still rings in my head!

    But back I am coming after 3 years! (But only Kaua'i & Maui!)

  • #2
    Re: The reality of returning trips...

    There is no denying that I've been made welcome everywhere I went and even enjoyed myself at restaurants where many people usually complain that service is not emphasized...like at the California Pizza Kitchen in Kailua...I had never been to one before!

    This time I am visiting Maui for the first time and I am trying to pre-explore as much as possible on Google streetview to learn what is where and getting used to landmarks. I am terrible for missing turns or getting turned around when following directions! Something not too appetizing to think about when arriving on a late arriving flight! The local agent there has booked me into staying in Lahaina and I think it will be a nice stay.

    Suggestions welcome!

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    • #3
      Re: The reality of returning trips...

      Im no expert but i have been to maui once and oahu several times, in fact, i will be back in oahu april 16th. Maui was nice but it is lacking the night life that i enjoy which allows me to make use of as many hours in a day that i can.
      Doing a little research will help with the use of your time. Most of the sight seeing such as the road to hana and haleakala are on the opposite side of the island so you will do a lot of driving.
      As far as food goes, i did enjoy a place in lahaina called lu lu's, that served an awesome blackened blue ahi benedict for breakfast.

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      • #4
        Re: The reality of returning trips

        My every return to Hawaii (Hilo) unfolded into a fascination with volcanic history and the records preserved within the chants of the Kumu.

        I can still remember filming Puu OO

        from the snackstand with a nice 400 mm tele. The difficult aspect was to
        give a sense of scale to that vent.

        The peak upwellings were taller than the Seattle Space needle.

        The mystery of the the saddle road road villages is yet to be explored.

        Small in size , these small hamlets existed and one of the most

        interesting is the three caves site on Mauna Kea flank.

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        • #5
          Re: The reality of returning trips

          Interesting post and topic, especially for expats like myself. I have been gone from Hawaii for 30 years now, but I get to return about every year or so. I used to go home every six months or so, then about once a year, and even with larger intervals now. But most of the times (about 95+%) I have to go back for some kind of family business -- funerals, administrative work, trust work, family emergencies, etc. etc. So I don't get much time to do stuff that maybe I should be doing.

          Being a foodie, the only thing I do when I go home is go eat at the places I loved to eat at. But slowly, most of those places are now gone. Like if you visit Pomai's blog about restaurant nostalgia, many of those now long gone places were my haunts.

          But I guess the things I miss the most and even if I wanted to, I cannot revisit -- I used to love hiking and exploring in the mountains of Maui with my cousins. And shore line fishing at Kaupo, Hana, Makena, etc. etc. Nowadays, Makena does even come close to resembling how it was back then. And being a Honolulu guy, I eventually gravitated to deep sea fishing having my own boat and gear. Used to go fishing every weekend, launching my boat from Keehi Lagoon, Hawaii Kai, Pokai Bay, Kaneohe, Haleiwa, etc. etc. And we used to catch a lot of fish. But there isn't much fish to catch anymore, and they tell me that if you now catch a 100# ahi, that is a coup. Heck, in those days, a 100# ahi was considered a big shibiko.

          So I still love Hawaii and everything it offers, but my trips back home are not as fruitful as I would like them to be. Like the old saying goes, things change--you can never go back to the old days.

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          • #6
            Re: The reality of returning trips

            Good point.

            The best days are ahead of us.

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            • #7
              Re: The reality of returning trips

              Thanks/mahalo for opinions and suggestions. Less than 2 weeks to go!It will be over too quickly!

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              • #8
                Re: The reality of returning trips

                Originally posted by Merely Malihini View Post
                Thanks/mahalo for opinions and suggestions. Less than 2 weeks to go!It will be over too quickly!
                It did go quickly! However, I did repeat my activity on Kauai again and actually did less driving than I have ever done on a trip! Bought the gas from the rental company and never filled up during the trip on both Kauai and Maui.
                Rode a bike tour trip down mountain on Maui and did Hana trip on nice tour as well. Guide on Hana trip told us of all unhealthy things visitors do along road including parking on aprons that trucks need to make turns on many of the bridges and swiming at the falls where runoff has the taint of pig waste in it! (he was blunt alot!). I may not make another trip out for the foreseeable future. Need to enjoy life closer to home!

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