Maui shore dive

My first night in Oahu at one of the bars at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, I found myself sitting next to this kind of odd-looking man.  He looked to be in his 60s, short in stature, long grey hair past his shoulders but kind of balding on top, shirtless, wearing flip-flops.  He started up a conversation with me about how he had moved to Maui from Alaska and was actually going to be flying out to Anchorage in a couple of hours (!) to go visit his son.  When I told him that I was going to Maui and was interested in diving, he referred me to his high school ex-girlfriend.  He said that they had been in a relationship long ago but that she married a guy who has his own scuba business in Maui.

When I got to Maui on Sunday, I learned that my hotel offered shore dives.  I was tempted to do that cause no driving would have been involved and it was right there, no hassle.  Since I was leaving Tuesday afternoon, I didn't want what was left of my trip to be all about doing a dive, which can be time consuming organizing, getting back and forth from the boat launch, the actual dive and etc.  But thinking that I met that guy at the bar for a reason, I call Scorpion Scuba Safaris.  It turns out that Mike, the owner/dive master/instructor, gives lessons in the pool at the Kaanapali Shores Hotel, just about 5 minutes away from my hotel, the Hyatt, then takes everyone for a shore dive after the lesson.  He's an older guy, very laid back but also very knowledgeable and trustworthy. 

I told him a little about how I learned of his business.  He laughed when he heard that the guy at the bar said that he was his wife's ex-bf.  "No, no, not at all," was the response, "he was friends with her older brother when he was in high school.  He is also ten years older than her!  The were never boyfriend and girlfriend." 

This was my first shore dive and it wasn't as bad as I had imagined hefting that heavy tank down the beach to the water.  Once we were in the water, I filled my vest with a little air, rolled on my back, and did a sort of back stroke out to the point where we were to descend.  The dive was only about 30 feet deep around a small coral reef.  We saw about 5 turtles, not a lot of tropical fish, an eel, and best of all, a seahorse.  There were three other of his students on the dive, so it was a small group.  Mike had a yellow line, which was helpful because I could tell where the dive master was during the dive.

 
I have a little bit of a dry throat problem, which can make me feel like I am choking.  I do my best to clear my throat and swallow-not a easy task breathing through a regulator.  But once I settled down my throat got a lot better. 

Mike did a great job of pointing out fish and taking pictures.  At one point he saw that I was having trouble floating upward.  He wrote me a note, "long exhale," and that did the trick to keep me down.

The one main downside to the dive was that my eyesight is pretty bad because of the cataracts and I was having a lot of trouble with seeing details and in the distance.  And even though the surf was relatively calm that day, there is still was some sand that got turned up, making visibility not so good at times.  My attention was really divided between looking at all the cool stuff and making sure I didn't get lost!

All and all, it was a really good shore dive experience.

Beautiful Maui never disappoints

View from my room 1726 in Atrium Tower

 After my not so great time in Oahu, I was looking forward to the second leg of my Hawaiian trip.  I took an Hawaiian airline interisland flight on Sunday morning and let me warn you: the Honolulu airport is very busy and understaffed.  Luckily I gave myself a couple of hours to get the airport.

You have to rent a car when you go to Maui, there is no way around that.  I rented a compact car because parking can be a real hassle! The island seemed pretty much the same, meaning unspoiled and undeveloped, since the last time I was there in 1996.  Last time I stayed in a condo in the community of Kahana, which right below Napili Bay.  My then boyfriend and I spent a day at a resort that was super fancy, with penguins and flamingos and a pool with waterfalls, grotto, swim up bar and water slide. 

This time around, I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Kaanpali just up the road from Lahaina.  I picked that place because I am a Hyatt rewards member. 

Unlike Oahu, you really get the beautiful Hawaiian island experience in Maui.  The beaches go on forever and ever and the island's natural beauty is not hidden behind skyscraping clumps of hotel towers.  The air is so fresh and you can smell the beautiful plumaria flowers.  You just feel better being there!

And to my surprise, the Hyatt is the fancy place that I spent the day at all those years ago!  They still have the lagoon with the swans and flamingos, and the penguins in the hotel lobby.  I stayed in the middle of the resort's three buildings with an amazing ocean view.  And while the surf at Kaanapali Beach is a little rough for snorkeling, the sound of the ocean waves more than makes up for that.

You could literally spend your entire vacation hanging out at the main pool swimming under the waterfalls, having drinks at the swim up bar, playing on the water slide, or just going back and forth from the pool to the beach that is just a few steps away.  The Umalu bar and restaurant right next to the pool has some very tasty food.  I recommend the fish tacos and nachos. 

I was originally going to stay until Friday but was having problems seeing clearly.  I cut the trip short by a few days, so I didn't get a chance to do all the activities I had wanted, like biking down the crater or driving on the road to Hana to check out the tropical waterfalls.  Thankfully I did manage to go scuba diving.

Umalu bar and restaurant

If you want to step away from the resort, you can go just up the road to the Whaler's Village shopping center.  They have about three or four beach restaurants and bars, a whaling museum, a food court where you can get a filling breakfast of a veggie omelet for about $8, and of course all the shopping you can imagine.  The best part was that it is within walking distance of the resort.

The Hyatt is one of a few resorts in this area of Kaanapali, including the Marriot and the Westin.  Here's something that is not on the Hyatt website and they don't tell you when making reservations:  they have a major, and I mean major, construction project going on behind their Napili Tower rooms.  They told me that they are building a timeshare tower that is scheduled to be completed in 2014.  So, if you are inclined to stay at the Maui Hyatt anytime soon, avoid the mountain view rooms in the Napili Tower!

What you don't see on the hotel website!

of course I look happy.  I'm in Hawaii!

Hawaii getaway- first stop Oahu

There is one way to describe Waikiki in July:  Hordes of teaming masses.  Last year, in May 2012, I traveled to Oahu to see the sights and do some scuba diving.  Pearl Harbor is a must-see as is all the action on Waikiki beach.  It's a great place for a solo traveler because the action is non stop.  The hotels typically have entertainment, there is some kind of show on the beach, and the shopping is enough to keep you busy the entire time.

Waikiki May 2012

 I was kind of sort of planning my next vacation in October.  But for reasons to be explained maybe later, I found myself planning another Hawaiian vacation to include Oahu and Maui in July. 

Last year I stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Waikiki more toward Diamond Head.  This year I thought it would be fun to splurge on a resort, so I picked the biggest and highly rated-at least according to trip advisor-Hawaiian Village Resort.  Ughh.  Never again.

The place is enormous, with four hotel towers, a mall, pools, and a lagoon.   My room in the Rainbow tower was nice enough with views of Diamond Head and the Pacific Ocean

The pools are not that fancy, but fun anyway.  They have a funky little bar near the main pool where I met a few people on my first night. One guy gave me a suggestion for scuba diving in Maui, which I looked into and it turned out to be a great dive.  They also had a hula show you had to pay extra for and every Friday night there are fireworks over the beach.  That was the night the crowds were most intense.  I particularly liked the protected area right off the beach where I did some ocean open water swimming.  The hotel also offers dinner cruises and submarine cruises off their private pier. 

So, I suppose it could be fun if you like that sort of thing.  But it was crazy crowded.  Even getting to my room was a hassle because there was typically a crowd waiting for the elevator and that took 5 sometimes 10 minutes to get into the packed elevator. After a couple of nights I just wanted to go to some local place to chill and have a beer. The resort-goers tend to be honeymooners or on a family vacation.  And they hang out on the beach all night long partying.  Since the beaches are public, the resort can't do much about the crowds or noise out there.  They also were filming a movie right outside my room the first night with cranes 15 stories high shining lights in my room until early in the morning.  They also have a truck that grooms the sand starting at about 4 a.m.  So much for being lulled to sleep by gentle ocean waves!

I went to the Waikiki Aquarium to check out the extremely rare peppermint angel fish.  On the way back to the hotel I stopped at the Korean Festival happening that weekend and all the activities on the beach, inclcuding a beach volleyball tournament and a surfing competition. The beach was much more crowded than last May, and back then it was packed!  Also, it is much, much hotter in July, so there is the heat to cope with.

 I didn't rent a car this time as I only was planning on being there a few days.  There is a travel website that said that taxis charge a flat rate to the hotels, and it is cheaper than taking the Speedi Shuttle.  Wrong!!  That information is about 8 years old.  Cabs are metered and a ride to the hotel was running $45!!  The Speedi Shuttle is $15 each way, but if you buy a round trip ticket, you get a $2 or $3 discount.  You absolutely have to make a reservation on the Speedi Shuttle to get back to the airport. I was able to get around town on the public bus, which is much better than driving.

So, lessons learned: No more resorts unless I am traveling with someone.  Even then, meh.  No more going to Oahu in July.  It's just too hot and too many people to contend with. So, my stay in Oahu was not the best time I ever had on vacation.  However, things got better in Maui . . .



Fairfax, California

the sleeping lady

There are literally hundreds of little one-horse towns in California.  They have one main street with a theater, a few restaurants, a coffee shop, maybe a bakery, and perhaps a gift shop for tourists.  The architecture is circa gold-mining days through the 1950s.  I have been to beach towns, historic gold mining towns, northern, central, and southern California towns.  It gets a little monotonous.

Fairfax, in west Marin, is at first glance, just another little California town.  The ubiquitous theater, a bar, and a few eateries line Broadway, the main street,  Take a left turn up Bolinas where you'll see a coffee shop on the corner, a few more small restaurants, a dance studio, and a small park near the police station.  Sounds kind of dull, right?  But when I visited last week, the place was packed! 

So what makes Fairfax so darn popular?  It's hard for me to talk about Fairfax as a tourist destination since I lived there and still am so connected to the people and places.  The Fairfax theater was my entertainment and social mainstay. And for such a small town, they sure have a lot of bars.  The bars and some local eateries provide lots of live musical entertainment, which makes bar-hopping a lively "big-city" experience every night of the week.  The people are, well, its hard to say what the typical Fairfax person is like.  Old-timer ranchers, hippies young and old, yuppies, techies, soccer moms, welfare moms, business people, blue collar let's see, have I left anyone out?  Weirdos, freaks, geeks, young, old and everyone in between.  People-watching at the brew pub, the wine tasting bar, the coffee shop, and Peris and Naves bars is probably what draws so many out of towners to Fairfax. 

Fire road starting in Natalie Coffin Park in Ross leads to Phoenix Lake.

Another big attraction in Fairfax is the perfect starting point for a bike ride up to the lakes: Phoenix, Bon Tempe, and Lagunitas.  The dirt fire road starts at Deer Park, located in a neighborhood off of Bolinas Avenue,   From there the dirt roads take you wherever your legs allow.  You can go to Mt. Tam, but I warn you, the Eldridge Grade trail is a bumpy ride.  You can bike around the lakes, or if you are in the mood, go all the way out to the coast.  You can also stay on the paved road and head west out of town.  But most people prefer to drive that route and take a day trip through Samuel P. Taylor Park, Olema, and either Pt. Reyes Station or Bolinas/Stinsen Beach along Highway 1.

But like I said, my perspective a little different than a casual visitor.  When I drive by the coffee shop, I still see the Corner Bar and re-live some of the drama that went down so many years ago.  Just a few doors up the street used to be tiny Tom's Market, owned by Tom, an elderly Asian man, where you could get your smokes and booze.  He had an intense rivalry with Don's Market, located about a half mile away.  Don was his twin brother.  And next to Tom's used to be the little record store owned by Mr. and Mrs. Morrison.  They settled in Fairfax after following their son from Ireland.  Even though Van left for bigger and better things, the Morrisons stayed behind to run their little record store on Bolinas Avenue.  When I pass the police station, I think of the time Madam, my friend Bonnie's horse, threw her rider and galloped to downtown.  Someone recognized the horse and took her to the police station.  You can imagine Bonnie's surprise getting a call from the police saying they had her horse!

This last visit we went to Fairfax's venerable mainstay, the Deer Park Villa. This is a classic old-style Italian place where you can get prime rib, pasta, and seafood.  Out back on the outdoor patio, under a forest of redwood trees, a singer belted out Sinatra songs.  Inside at the bar, a guy walked in wearing a costume like a shepherd from the Jesus times.  What was weird was nobody gave him a second glance! One time I went into the Koffee Klatch, the greasy spoon breakfast place on Broadway, and saw George Lucas sitting at the counter drinking coffee and reading the Chron.  Again, no one gave him a second glance.  That's Fairfax for you!

Any time is a good time to visit Fairfax because something is always happening.  But the biggest party of the year happens during the Fairfax Festival.  This event takes place the second weekend of June.  It starts out innocently enough on Saturday morning with a parade down Broadway and up Bolinas.  Then everyone migrates to Peris Park for non-stop live music, dancing, partying, food, and a flea market.  As the day wears on, people hit the bars for more drinking, music and, well, that's all I'm going to mention.  At some point they get a little sleep and the party starts up and continues the next day.

I just had to include this video I took at the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo.  It's spring in Marin and I was feeling it that day.

  Where the bee sucks, there suck I;
In a cowslip's bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat's back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily, I shall live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

Up at the ranch

My friend Kim will appreciate this post. Don't worry, no pictures of you in here.  But we can hear you talking over the turkeys.

Whenever I go back home to Marin, one of my go-to destinations is the Sky Ranch up in Fairfax.  My good friends Bonnie and Kim have been managing the horsing around up there forever and a day.  I'm sort of a johnny-come-lately as I've only been hanging around for the last 20 or so years.  Yes, it's been that long!

The ranch trails lead out to the open wild lands of Marin Municipal Watershed District. You could literally go to the top of Mount Tam, even out to the Pacific Ocean, from the ranch.  Well, you could but usually they go riding around the lakes.  Or maybe just the arena.

The ranch is privately-owned property, but that doesn't stop the trespassers from hiking through to get to the trails above San Anselmo and Fairfax.   I guess I can't blame them for wanting to go up there, look how beautiful it is.  One of my classmates from long ago, who hailed from La Jolla, called his hometown God's country.  Well, eh hmm, I beg to differ.  I think my hometown has those braggin' rights, fella.

That's yours truly with one of my buddies.  Kim has about 5 chickens that keep laying lots of eggs.  See that round brick thing in the background?  That's where the goldfish live, and it doubles as a watering hole for the horseys after a long trail ride.

Mr. Wil E. Coyote comes around too, and he is as unwelcome as the trespassers.  There's been verified bobcat sightings, and some say a mountain lion was spotted up on the ridge.  Years and years ago, we spotted a turkey at the ranch, and it was big news.  He was also seen in downtown San Anselmo.  We wondered if he would find a mate, and wished it so.  Well, something right must have happened because Tom and the little missus started quite the family, and they are well-settled at this point.

There was a time when I lived just down the road and would hike up to the ranch and points beyond just about every day, and sometimes, at night.  If someone was around, then we'd have a beer and a good laugh, or a good cry, a bad argument (and you two know who I am talking about). Lots of folks have come and gone, and horses too. But when I go back, thankfully it's still the same familiar place.  Thanks everyone for putting up with my sad stories this last visit!

Spring is just around the corner, can you tell? 

Pismo Beach

Finally got the gumption to leave my cozy little pioneer cabin on the hill in Carlsbad and head up north on the 101.  As expected, driving though LA was difficult.  Went up 5, west on 10, north on 405, and two hours later stopped for some gas in Aquora Hills off 101 North.  By the way, even though it looks like you are headed west off the 405 to get to 101, the highway sign are North to Ventura.  Its true what they say about the 405 -- avoid if you can! 

It was rainy and there were pockets of commuter traffic along the way.  But the beautiful ocean was to my left and the rolling green hills were to my right.  Can't beat the scenery in that part of the country.  Santa Barbara combines all of the romance of the Sonoma wine county with the beachy communities that dot the southern California coast.  When I hit the lottery . . . 

Finally pulled into Pismo Beach at 7 o'clock.  It was dark and rainy, so I didn't do any sightseeing.  Had planned on getting a room at Oxford Suites, which is right off the highway.  I could swear they had a deal I saw on the internet for $75 a night.  The receptionist said there was no such deal and too bad for me.  No biggie, there was new Hilton Garden Inn just on the opposite side of the highway.  They offered a pretty decent rate, and besides, I am an honors member so I got the perks.  Later the next day I looked around the little town and saw some very funky motels.  Maybe next time I'll check it out.

 

The next morning my hotel bill was $30 more than the rate they gave me at check-in.  The woman said yes, they have that rate, but no, they don't offer it at that hilton, but sometimes if someone calls someone and gets permission they offer it.  I did not appreciate the lip I got about it, She should have just said okay, our mistake.  I mean, I am a gold tier member and I stay at these hotels all the time!!!  Whatever, I'll never stay there again.

 

Poked around the little one-street town of Pismo Beach the next morning.  This is the classic case of a beach community with growing pains.  It started out as a very modest, very quirky little beach town, and then all the rich folks moved in.  I'm posting a couple pictures of houses on that same street.

 



 



Having tootled around Marin on a Vespa in my formative years, I appreciated this sign in the window of the Taste of the Valley.  For such a short mainstreet, they sure do have a pretty good variety of eateries.  Price Street is the main drag, with casual pizza joints, the CrabShack, fine Italian dining, Honeymoon Cafe, and of course, the Moose Cafe.

 

The actual beach was, meh.  I guess I am spoiled by the beaches all along the coast of San Diego County. 

 

 

Back on the road, it was a pretty quick jaunt up north.  Of course, I did leave at 11 in the morning.  Right outside of San Jose, you can make a choice to get the the North Bay by either taking the 280 going through San Fran and crossing the Golden Gate or taking the 880 through the East Bay and then crossing the Richmond San Rafael Bridge.  What to do??!  I opted for the 880 and wouldn't you know it there was a crash that backed up traffic.  ARRGHHH another traffic jam!  But once I crossed the Richmond San Rafael bridge I started feeling better.

 

The Embassy Suites in San Rafael was the big deal fancy place when it was new.  But now, it does seem a little dingy, the years are starting to show.  But still, can't beat the free booze at the manager's reception and the free made to order breakfast in the morning.

 

Oh, and the rain cleared up.  It's beautiful out there!

 

Road Trippin'



tide pools, Encinitas, CA

Little octopus hiding under a rock

To drive or not to drive, that is the question.   I'll be going up north in a little bit and deeply pondered the pros of just getting in the truck and traveling on my own terms versus cons of the long, long hours on the road.  It was sort of hard to price it out. Virgin America has screaming great deals from San Diego to SFO lately, only $69 one way.  And I love that airline, they have great service and pretty comfortable coach seats.  Enterprise Car rental was sort of tricky.  They have weekend rates of around $9 a day, Friday return Monday.  Otherwise, it was about $33 (or was it $37?) a day.  And that was from the car rental place in San Rafael.  So depending on who I could work with at Enterprise, I maybe could have gotten the weekend rate and two days full price.  Plus, I had to factor in the long term parking, which would be about $66 and the roundtrip   Driving on the other hand, is the cost of gas.  At the time I worked it out, I figured $4.20 a gallon.  Soooo,  it turned out to be $100 cheaper to drive.

Unlike a road trip to Arizona, there is a lot more to see between San Diego and San Francisco.  I'm probably going to go up 101 and maybe stay the night in San Luis Obispo.   Then it's a short trip home.   Of course, the more direct way is up 5, over the Altamont pass, then into the east bay and over the richmond-san rafael bridge.  Well, I've done that drive many times and it is really boring.  According to the directions from Google maps, it a 7 hour and 2 minute drive.  Righhhht!   It takes at least 8 hours to get from Marin to LA. 

Monterey is a destination along the 101.  It's a great place to poke around for an afternoon.  Of course, there's the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  I must have spent 5 hours there, I loved it!  But I'm that kind of person, I just love the ocean and all the creatures in it. And if you are the literary/history sort, you'll love to visit the old hangouts of Steinbeck and Cannery Row.  I also went to Carmel one night to see a concert.  But none of the tour books informed me that they don't have street lights in that town.  Needless to say, it was difficult to find my way around at night!! 

So maybe this time around I'll stop in Carmel during the day for a visit to their world-famous art scene.  Another plus to driving is that I can load up on all the goodies I want.  So maybe a trip to an out-of the-way winery is in order. 

Once I'm back home it will be a little business (yuk, taxes), but more pleasure seeing old friends.  Can't wait!