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Maui 2022 – Maui’s Aquarium

Posted on October 19, 2022 by JimG

October 19th, 2022

After taking a scenic route up above Kahalui, we headed to the Maui Aquarium.   I always remember seeing the aquarium on my way from the airport to Kaanapali but I never stopped there.   In So Cal, Long Beach has a great aquarium and Monterrey is renown for their aquarium.  I was curious to see how Maui’s aquarium stacked up.   I was impressed.

Besides the coral reef and Jellyfish exhibits (which I love) they had a 3d experience about hump back whales.  I was very impressed by that.  It felt like they were right in front of us.   They also had an exhibit with the sea turtles.   I cannot remember seeing sea turtles at other aquariums!   All three of us really enjoyed the aquarium. Continue reading →

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Maui 2022 – Kahalui

Posted on October 19, 2022 by JimG

A view from the Kapalua Airport

October 19th, 2022

We were switching hotels and moving from the Westin Kaanapali to the Westin Nanea and although they are next to each other, there is a large field between them and we couldn’t wheel our luggage down the street or beach boardwalk to the next hotel.  We wanted to explore the other side of the Island, I thought it would be easier to change hotels with a car rental.  I went to get the car rental while Sophon watched the luggage.

When I got back to the hotel, Cindy was dealing with a work issue so Sophon and i went for a ride.  Instead of heading towards Lahaina, we headed the other way.  Not to far was the Kapalua airport.  It is a very small airport and although much closer to Kaanapali, there are no flights to it from the mainland.   I remember flying into the airport back in the late 1980s and it hasn’t changed much.   While admiring the view from the airport, Cindy called and we headed back to the hotel to picker her up. Continue reading →

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Maui 2022 – Lahaina

Posted on October 18, 2022 by JimG

October 18th, 2022

Headed out early in the morning for a recon mission.  We would be moving over to the Westin Nanea the following day, although the properties are next to each other, there is a large field between the two resorts. I wanted to see how long the walk was.   I also wanted to locate the car rental agency.  We were going to rent a car for a day and drive to another part of the Island.  The walk was 15 minutes.

After getting back from my walk, Cindy, Sophon and Ubered it over to the 808Grindz café.  Although Yelp and google said it would be open, the sign on the door said closed.  Yes, the shuttle driver was right when he said that restaurants may be closed when you would expect them to be open.  We decided to walk into Lahaina.  It was relatively early and most of the shops weren’t open.   Lahaina can get a little crowded, it was nice to walk around with no people around. Continue reading →

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Maui 2022 – Kaanapali

Posted on October 17, 2022 by JimG

Sunset in Kaanapali

October 17th, 2002

My first trip since the start of the pandemic.  I have to admit, the process of planning it out and finally getting on a plane felt good.  Although it feels like things are finally back to normal, I remind myself that things may take a turn in the upcoming months.

As I landed, I found myself thinking that although I was going to be on this vacation for a week, I should have planned a few more days.  Vacations have a way of going by quickly and I would be back on a plane headed home before I knew it.

We arrived around noon and went to get our luggage and find our shuttle.  Sophon and I found a place to sit, both of us know that it takes forever for the luggage to show up on the carousel.  It is as if they are telling you that we are now on island time. We found hour shuttle and headed towards Kaanapali.

Continue reading →

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Yosemite 2021 – Rocktober

Posted on October 19, 2021 by JimG

Monday, October 18, 2021

We pulled up in front of El Capitan, a huge block of granite.  The first thing I noticed was that there were a lot of cars parked in front of it.  I asked why there were so many cars and he responded “Rocktober!”   This is the month for climbing up El Capitan.

Earlier the guide mentioned that when you stand in front of El Capitan, it feels like it looms out at that top, he said that it doesn’t.  He was right, it felt like wall came out over us, but it was an illusion.   We walked into the meadow to get an unobstructed view of the El Capitan.

El Captain is three times the height of the empire state building.   The climbers on the wall looked like small specs, barely visible.

The guide talked about the movie “Free Solo” which was an award-winning documentary about one individual who made the climb to the top with minimal equipment (shoes and chalk), no ropes and no safety harnesses. The guide went on to talk about the various forms or rock climbing and what equipment is used.

I have a fear of heights, I feel uncomfortable looking at people standing on a ledge, if my hotel balcony doesn’t have sturdy railing, I won’t go out on the balcony, the glass skywalk in the Grand Canyon is not on my list of places to visit.

Continue reading →

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Yosemite 2021 – Yosemite Valley

Posted on October 19, 2021 by JimG

Monday, October 18, 2021

Our next stop was the Yosemite Valley.  The trip into the valley was nothing short of breathtaking.   As we approached it, I couldn’t believe the view that I was getting from my side of the car.  It continued to get better and better.

We spent the rest of the day in Yosemite Valley since the road to Glacier Point was closed.   I was OK with that, every direction I looked at, it was unique and different.  It is not one of those places that you see once and mark it off the list of places that you have seen. The clouds rolled by, the light changed and it kept illuminating different things such as the color of the rocks, the shape of them, the waterfalls that seemed to be invisible and then suddenly illuminated.

After spotting what our guide called the lower falls, he suggested we hiked over to it.  I was happy that it was a flat hike as my calves were still feeling the burn from the 400 feet downhill and uphill hike earlier.   On the way, there was a lot of commenting about seeing a bear next to the falls.  We did see the bear at a distance for a few seconds but nothing to get a good picture.

We stopped for lunch at the Ahwahnee hotel which is inside the park.  It is a gorgeous hotel built in 1927. After we had lunch the guide told me that it was this hotel that was the inspiration behind the Stanly Kubrick’s set used in “The Shinning”.

As I looked around, I could see it, but me thinking that I know my Hollywood history thought that everyone knows that the inspiration came from The Stanley Hotel in Colorado.  It was after the tour that I realized, the original inspiration behind the novel was The Stanley Hotel, but the inspiration for the sets used in the movie was inspired by The Ahwahnee. and if you google it, you will clearly see it.   Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures, nor did I ride the elvators!

 

 

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Yosemite 2021 – Tuolumne Giant Sequoias

Posted on October 18, 2021 by JimG

The hike to the giant sequoias in Tuolumne Monday, October 18, 2021

I have wanted to go to Yosemite for a very long time but every time that I started to plan this adventure, I would become overwhelmed; the park is over 1000 square miles, there are five different entrances, should I stay in one of the park’s lodges or should I stay outside of it?   I would end up realizing that this was going to require more research and would set it aside.

I finally decided to dive in and go.  The drive from Los Angeles to Oakhurst took about 5 hours but we took our time and stopped for lunch along the way.   We arrived mid-afternoon, found a place to eat, turned in early.  I knew that the tour started sixty miles north of where I was staying and according to Google maps, it would take close to two hours to drive to get there.

Continue reading →

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Bruce Munro: Field of Light at Sensorio

Posted on December 5, 2019 by JimG

December 5, 2019

Drove up to Paso Robles to the Field of Light at Sensorio.  If I drive up north, Paso Robles is a place that I usually stop.  It is wine country with rolling hills filled with vineyards and tasting rooms.  It reminds of Napa Valley before it became popular and overrun with wine tours and visitors.

The Field of Light at Sensorio is a 15 acre piece of art featuring over 58,000 lights that walk through.   We arrived when the exhibit first opened hoping to see it while there was still some light as it progressed into darkness.  As we stood in line waiting to get into the exhibit, we chatted with the other people in line.  The guy in front of us had a SLR with real film.  The girl behind us said that one of her first jobs was working in a Fotomat and yes, she did  look at all the pictures and talked about them with the other employees.  Yes, times have changed.

The event was very nice and we enjoyed walking around it.  It was due to close in January but I noticed that they keep extending it and the website is now reporting it will be open until June.  If I am in the area again, I would go see it.

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Brews and BBQ Hawaii Food and Wine Festival (HFWF) 2019

Posted on October 23, 2019 by JimG
BBQ and Brews Hawaii Food and Wine Festival 2019

Brews and BBQ HFWF2019

October 23rd, 2019

I headed down to the pool around 8:30 AM and the pool was empty.   As the morning went on, more and more people showed up and the more entertaining it became.  I cannot get over how obsessed people have become with posting selfies and waiting to see the amount of “likes” it generates.  There were people where all they did was walk around the pool taking selfies and taking turns taking pictures and posing.

We cleared out just before lunchtime and headed out for a walk and lunch.   I found a place where I could get a slice of pizza with Portuguese sausage while Sophon found Ramen.  I love Portuguese sausage and when I buy it at home, it is never as good.

That night there was a Hawaii Food and Wine event call Brews and BBQ.   It was very good, I loved it.

 

 

 

Categories: Hawaii, Oahu | 1 Comment

Waikiki Alohilani

Posted on October 22, 2019 by JimG

October 22nd, 2019

As I walked to the lobby, I spotted the gecko, originally he was in the shad and I thought it would make a great picture.  By the time I had my phone out and ready to take a picture, he was running for cover.  Every time I walked past that area I kept looking for him but no luck!

As I left Maui, I thought about what a nice time we had in Maui, it was a lot of hanging out and not a lot of running here and there and of course there was a lot of eating!   It was nice having that feeling of “What do we want to do today instead of here is what lined up.

We headed to Waikiki where we were going to attend events that were part of the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival.  We have been doing that for years and we were looking forward to it.   We were staying in the newly remodeled Alohilani.

Over the years we keep searching for the ideal place and in Waikiki that can be a challenge.  First, many of the hotels need to be  updated.  I tried staying where I had status and just about all of them more or less said upon check-in, it is a resort which means elite status means nothing or very little.   I told myself, at least I was earning points but after some of my worst stays, I decided it was better to have a nice stay without earning points versus a bad stay that earned points.

We get to Waikiki and check into the room.  I had a great view of Diamond Head and the rooms were nice.  So far so good!

Sophon and I went found a hole in the wall place to have dinner which was delicious, checked out the hotel’s pool area and aquarium in the lobby and then called it a night.

These days, it is all about “the gram”, as I looked out of my room I saw the mural 16 stories below.  I spotted another mural with a boom box and had the same thought, it is all about that selfie and that Instagram.

Pool Area from my room
Alohilani Pool
Alohilani Pool
Alohilani Pool
Categories: Maui, Oahu | Leave a comment

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