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 . . .