Month: December 2017
Location: O’ahu & Big Island
Everyone loves looking at the stars at night and I am no
exception. It’s not as if do it every
day, but when I do look at the skies, I am spellbound. But, the one thing I have always wanted to do
was look at the ‘Milky Way’. Back
in school I even bought a telescope and even though I tried to use it as much
as I could, it ended up being a glorified coat rack. The problem was the ambient light. Once, a couple of buddies and I took it in
the middle of a field away from the lights. After an hour we realized that
what we thought was Mars, was actually a ball of dust on the lens. I worked at ‘Adler Planetarium’ in Chicago, but even over there; the telescopes
are not as effective because there is just too much light. Years ago my buddy told me about this place
in Hawaii, where they take you on an expedition up a mountain. You go above the clouds and then they turn
off all the lights and you wait for your eyes to get acclimatized. Then you see it. You can actually see our galaxy. When I planned to do these travels 4 years
ago, this was the one thing I wanted to do in Hawaii. So back in February, right after I booked my
travel to Honolulu, I booked an inter-island flight to The Big Island and
immediately following that I got a seat on this tour. That was 10 months ago. Yes, I was here as a part of “51 in 51”, but this was the main reason
I came. I wanted to see the ‘Milky Way’.
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| 'Kailua Bay' |
I pulled into the parking lot of ‘Kona Seaside Hotel’ and as I parked, a gentleman told me that I
couldn’t park there. Well, I would have
to figure it out at check-in and they told me that all of their parking spaces
were taken for the night and that I would have to go to a public lot. There was a map on how to get there and so
after putting my stuff in the room, I went looking for that parking lot. Well, that was full too and I was now looking
up other parking lots in the area. An
older gentleman who looked like he was a surfer came soon and fortunately got
into his car and left. As I parked in
that spot, I saw a sign which said that there would be no parking between the
hours of 2 am and 6 am and that the violators would be towed. So I left my car and went back to the hotel
to ask about that. The lady at the
reception told me that they sent all of their guests over there and no one has
ever been towed. Okay then. I guess I would know tomorrow morning.
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| Live music at 'Gertrude's Jazz Bar' |
My hotel had a path leading down to the waterfront and boy
that was a cool area. There was a mile
long road along the ‘Kailua Bay’ and
it had restaurants and shopping areas – not the commercial chains, but local
artisans and products. The evening had
set in and people were out enjoying themselves.
There’s something very surreal about walking along a bay in the evening,
with splashing water on one side and the lights on the other. I stopped at a place called, ‘Gertrude’s Jazz Bar’, which was located
on the 2nd floor of a building, with a nice patio facing the waterfront. But, I am more of a cozy room person and so
went up to the bar in the back and struck up a conversation with the bartender
Hillary. She was from New Hampshire and
had moved to Hawaii a few years ago and stayed.
We talked about some of the bars in Manchester that I had visited and
about her life on this island.
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| Looking in towards 'Don The Beachcomber' |
Live music had started playing as I left and headed further
down the bay. I was going to a place
called ‘Don The Beachcomber’, which
was part of a hotel and as stated, it was on a beach. They claimed to be the “Home of the original Mai Tai”, though the one I had left some
scope for improvement. Nearby, was a
place called ‘Huggo’s On The Rocks’
and I headed there for dinner. The
place was full and yes, they also carried something called “Huggo’s Famous Mai Tai”.
These folks have to get more creative with their naming! For the first time since coming to Hawaii, I
tried the "Poke” and it was
definitely better than anything I have tasted elsewhere. The place was closing at 9 pm – which was way
too soon in my opinion – and I decided to walk back to my hotel. It was a perfect evening and I stopped at a
shop to get some water. There were some ladies
getting souvenirs and a gentleman, who looked homeless, came over and asked
them if they could buy him a small bottle of alcohol. And they did.
This is a different kind of place than anything on the mainland, that’s
for sure. I returned to my hotel, not
knowing if my car would still be there the next morning.
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| A nice day in Kona |
I got a call from ‘Mauna
Kea Summit Adventures’ to confirm that I knew where my pickup would be this
afternoon. Once we had sorted that out,
they said that the road to the summit was actually closed, though their weather
projections were clear and so they expected the road to open soon. That was a bit worrisome and so I asked how
confident they were that this wasn’t an issue and they said that their tours
were rarely cancelled, and certainly not on a clear day like today. Well, we would find out soon and I had other
plans prior to that. Before leaving the
hotel I checked if they had parking available for this night, which they did
for a fee. Thankfully my car was still there, and I wouldn't have to worry about it tonight. I
went over to get some coffee at a nearby place called ‘Menehune Coffee Company’.
They claimed to have “100% Kona
Coffee” and if there was any place to get that, I suppose Kona would be it.
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| The lush location of 'Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation' |
Speaking of coffee, I was headed inland to ‘Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation’. As I went further away from the coast, I
could feel the tropical forest getting denser, and soon I was driving through lush
green trees on either side of the road. There
was a tour of the facility at 11 am and I was cutting it close, especially
since I was stuck behind an extremely slow moving truck and only managed to
reach on time owing my trusted GPS finding an alternate route. There were several cars parked by the
roadside just outside the plantation and having seen this in Hilo, it seems like random parking is perfectly acceptable
in Hawaii.
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| That's what coffee starts as |
I went inside and saw a number of people sitting
around. There was a gift shop, where the
tour would start, and a steep path leading down to the plantation. Our tour today would not take us there, but
would rather touch upon the processing aspect of coffee. Our guide showed us the actual coffee berry on
the vine and it looks very different than what we know as coffee. We touched upon the sorting and roasting
aspects of coffee, including the styles and their taste; as well as quality control
and packaging. It was an informative
tour and there were some samples in their gift shop. They said that their coffee was not available
in any stores and the only way to get it was through them. Well, I had no place in my bags, so I guess I would have
to order it online.
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| Homemade sauce in a Rum bottle? |
I did not want to go down to the plantation, so I started
back toward the city. The intersection
to get on to the busy main road did not have a traffic light and so taking a
left turn was a challenge, especially since people weren’t that accommodating. I still had time to spare before my pickup
for the “Stargazing Tour”, but
decided to go there so as ensure that I had the right spot, and also get some
lunch. The said spot was located behind ‘Kona International Market’, which is a
place where one can find island crafts and gifts. The other major landmark over there was ‘Target’, which made it a bit easier to
locate the place, though it took me a few drive arounds to locate it. There was a restaurant nearby called ‘Broke Da Mouth Grindz & Catering’
and they specialized in Hawaiian cuisine.
The people were friendly and the food was hearty and good. I still had time to spare and since
they had recommended that we carry water on the trip, I went over to ‘Target’ and got a bottle. It was full and being inside the store, I
couldn’t tell if I was in Kona or in Chicago.
With water in hand I was about to go explore the market, when I got the
call.
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| Instead of 'Mauna Kea' , this would be the afternoon view from my hotel room |
The road to ‘Mauna
Kea’ was closed and so my trip was being cancelled. The good news, as stated by them, was that it
was expected to open tomorrow and there was a seat available if I wanted
it. I was a bit numb at this news and I
told them that I was leaving tomorrow and this had been the main reason for me
coming here. They really couldn’t do
much about the weather and they said that while the road to the summit was
closed, I could drive halfway up to the visitor’s center. There wasn’t much point to that, meaning I
had the rest of the day available to me.
I sat in my car in the parking lot thinking about how much I had been
looking forward to this. Yeah, I had
booked this back in February, but the dream had always been there. I went back to my room and tried to
decompress. It’s a weird feeling when
you lose something that you have wanted for so long, but now I had a choice to
make. I could either wallow in self-pity
or plan some activities for the evening.
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| And my evening view...though this I am all for |
There were a few options available to me. About 15 miles north was a resort with
restaurants, and further away was a shopping area with variety shows. I called the resort and they said that they
were completely sold out as far as their dining rooms and bars were concerned. So that was out. I saw online that there was a walking tour of Kona, so I called
them and left a message. They called
back a bit later saying that there wasn’t a tour this evening. Next on the list was a Submarine that took you underwater – yes,
that’s right. Parked at the bay, it took people down to see the aquatic life. That sounded interesting, so I looked at the
pictures and it was quite well done, with glass windows and seats facing
outward. I was intrigued, though the
interiors looked claustrophobic and the ticket price was quite high. So I decided to skip that as well, meaning
that I would indulge in my usual activity of walking around the town, visiting
bars and restaurants.
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| The busy 'Kona Brewing Company' |
Nearby was ‘Kona
Brewing Company’ and while it appeared to be just across the road, the way
to get there was convoluted. Only when I
started walking did I realize that since it was located on a short hill, I
would have to follow the road as it wound up after half a mile. Luckily, I saw a short opening in the wall by
the roadside, allowing me to climb up the slope and save myself a hike. The brewery was packed to the brim, with people
waiting to get seated and a crowded bar area.
I found a small corner to stand and ordered a
beer called “Pipeline Porter”, which
was really quite good – having hints of Kona coffee – and served perfectly
chilled. It was a lively place with a
great ambiance, though I just stayed for one drink.
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| Artisan shops on the bay |
It was getting dark as I walked towards the waterfront and
since I had a great time chatting with Hillary yesterday, went back to ‘Gertrude’s Jazz Bar’. Once again, while there was live music on the patio, I sat
at the bar as Hillary commiserated with me on missing my trip. She told me that there was a perfect cure for
this and it was called “Kava”. Initially I thought she meant the sparkling
wine, but apparently this was a drink that put one in a heightened state of
relaxation. Sounded like something
passed around at a party. She told me that there was a place further down the
road that served it. We talked for a bit
and I left after a beautifully titled drink called “Kona Nightingale”; telling her to look me up if she was ever in
Chicago. I walked by the waterfront and
even spend some time exploring the stores and the marketplace. I came across something that looked like a store
from outside, but was actually a hotel called ‘Kona Inn’. The bar area was
overlooking the beach and it looked like a perfect place to relax. This was a busy place as well, with their
dining area – which was right on the beach – being full. I stayed for a drink called “World Famous Lina Inn Mai Tai” – once
again, how can everything here be “world
famous”?
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| Beach Volleyball, away from the beach |
I was going to a place called ‘Foster’s Kitchen’ for dinner and it was located above a floodlit “Beach Volleyball Court”, which was
being used. Also, behind the court was
the infamous “Kava” bar, though I
wouldn’t be stopping there this evening.
The restaurant had a few people there and even though it wasn’t located
on a beach like some of the other places, it still had a nice ambiance. They were known for their cocktails and something
called “Stairway to Heaven” did not
disappoint, though I could have done a better job with my food selection. In any case, it wasn’t a bad place to hang
out. Just like last night, I decided to
walk back to my hotel. By the time I called it a night, my disappointment
at missing the trip was diminished, for it had been a good evening.
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| Final morning in beautiful Kona |
It was beautiful morning and there was no doubt in my mind
that the trip to ‘Mauna Kea’ would be
on today; while I was leaving this
afternoon. I walked over to the nearby ‘The Fish Hopper’ for brunch, and then got in my car to head to the
airport. I debated going to a place
called ‘Mrs. Barry’s Kona Cookies’,
which was on the way to the airport. But
once again, my lack of luggage space meant there was no point to it and so I
decided to arrive early at the airport and wait. That decision was one of the best that I have
made since it was an adventure finding a gas station to fill my car. I had found one on the map, but there was a
lot of traffic on the way, once again owing to a 3-way intersection without a
traffic light. Once I arrived at the gas
station, I realized that it was part of ‘Costco’,
meaning I could not buy gas without a membership. Now it was getting late and I saw another gas station on the map, though it wasn’t the easiest place to get to. After a few wrong turns, I finally
found it and filled gas in a hurry, making it to the airport later than I would
have liked.
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| A unique airport terminal |
There was a queue at the security, and once I was through
it, a weird and wonderful sight greeted me.
The airport terminal and the gates were like an open air mall, with
big canopies covering the seating areas.
Only in Hawaii! This meant that
you could see planes coming in and hear the loud sounds of the jet
engines - there were several flights
leaving for various islands. Fortunately, I was able to get my bags on
board without having to check them in.
As we took off, my window was facing away from
the island, meaning that I wouldn’t even be able to look at ‘Mauna Kea’. Perhaps it was
better this way. Sure, I had not done
what I come to do, but the 3 days on this island had truly been amazing. I had seen miracles of nature at ‘Volcanoes National Park’ and Kona was
a picture perfect image of a coastal town.
Now it was back to the concrete jungle of Honolulu, but I had some
interesting things lined up. I said
goodbye to this place but not before making a promise to myself that someday I
would return, for I had some unfinished business. One day, I will see the stars from the summit
of the tallest mountain in the world.
To Be Concluded…
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