XPost: alt.society.liberalism, soc.culture.usa

Dänkbløg: Hawaii 2016

My trip to Hawaii this year was pretty much like the one last year,
except I visited Kaua'i instead of the Big Island.

This was my second time to Kaua'i, the first being 25 years ago, when
I stayed at the Coco Palms before it was destroyed by a hurricane in
1992. This time I stayed in the southwest area of the island, near
Waimea.

Kaua'i is beautiful, with pristine beaches, tropical flora, and lots
of wild chickens running around everywhere. There are also wetlands
bird observation areas, though don't expect to see the rare nocturnal wedge-tailed shearwater, but you will hear their ghostly moaning call
at night: (http://www.soundshawaiian.com/mp3/kauai-wedgie.mp3)

There is only one major road on Kaua'i, which ALMOST runs along the
entire edge of the island. Which means that to get from the western
side to northshore you have to drive all the way around, and traffic
backs up pretty bad around Waimea, Port Allen, and Lihue. There are
a number of small towns, mostly insignificant for tourists, and
getting to the exotic scenic places requires an expensive tour or
expensive 4-wheel-drive rental with expensive insurance.

Then back to Honolulu, which I like to describe as Las Vegas on the
beach. Noisy, expensive, overcrowded, but not too polluted and the
weather is usually pleasant. Reasonable bus system, but the time
schedules are fantasy. $2.50 fare with up to 2 transfers within 2
hours. Rental car is recommended for exploring the island outside
of Honolulu.

O'ahu has lots of beaches; I hate swimming and even walking on sand,
but if you do that's great. Hanauma Bay is famous for its coral
reefs and the fabulous colorful fish that live alongside them, but
sadly all the sunscreen washed off swimming tourists has killed them,
and you have to snorkel out a considerable distance to see the fish
now. Last year I took a snorkeling boat tour to see sea turtles,
which was fun but the water was deep and cold (and I hate swimming).

Didn't do Diamondhead this year, but it's always the same mile-long
walk from the bus stop, and another mile-long hike up a path and
stairs to the top where there are a thousand people taking selfies
with Waikiki in the background. Go early in the day, it gets VERY
hot!

Dole Pineapple Plantation! Pineapple farm, pineapple ice cream,
pineapple maze, and, of course, the Pineapple Express miniature
train ride that takes you through the plantation. Overpriced
souvenirs. From Ala Moana Center walk slightly NW about 150-200m
to "Kona St + Opp Kona Iki St (NS)" (21.292970,-157.844985). If
you miss that, walk another block NW to Kapiolani Blvd. and catch
the #52 bus on the westbound side of the street, towards Haleiwa.
Ignore the schedule -- expect up to two hours, possibly with a
transfer to another 52 bus, before you arrive at the Dole
Plantation. Same on the way back.

Downtown Honolulu can be reached via several buses departing from
Ala Moana Center, including #42. See the King Kamehameha statue,
as well as Iolani Palace, the only (former) royal palace on U.S.
soil. $15 audio tour of a Victorian style palace. Smallish,
but ornately decorated in the European style of the time, even
being wired with electric lighting, something even Buckingham
Palace didn't have yet.

If you're looking for sleaze, Chinatown, also downtown, is the
place to go. Waikiki is heavily policed, so don't bother looking
for hookers or drugs there. Still, be discreet, and be careful
as this area borders a large homeless camp.

If you're looking for souvenirs, the huge swap meet at Aloha stadium
on Saturday and Sunday (also bus #42) is the place to go. Everything
from cheap t-shirts to high-quality crafts and jewelry.

42 also takes you to Pearl Harbor -- get off at Arizona Memorial
Drive. Check your bags, $3 each. Tickets to the USS Arizona
Memorial are free, but run out fast so it is best to reserve them
ahead of time, and even then the tour may be canceled due to high
winds. Still a lot to see, though -- expect 3 hours and that's
only if you don't tour the submarine or warship they have on
display. ($65 gets you an all-attractions ticket).)

Manoa Falls! From Ala Moana Center (edge of parking garage)
take the #5 bus to Manoa Valley, which runs every 50-60 minutes.
From the end of the line you walk uphill through an expensive
neighborhood and into a park, and walk a little further to the
trailhead. The trail starts out nice, then gets steeper and
muddier and muddier and muddier and you have to crawl over a few
mud-covered rocks before reaching the top. A beautiful tall
waterfall awaits you, with a pool at the bottom that is off-limits
because of a deadly bacteria but which everyone swims in anyway.
More mud on the way down, and you walk alongside the Manoa creek,
passing bamboo groves on the way (an invasive species). Hopefully
your hotel has a laundromat, and the mud washes out easily without
staining. I should add that you should wear good solid boots or
sneakers with soles with a solid grip. I saw idiots in flipflops,
and honestly they deserve it if they slip and break their neck.

I'm not sure if I posted a blog for last year on the Big Island,
but it was fabulous! The first night I was there the volcano
erupted and I rushed to the visitor center at the top and saw the
lava bubbling away. Not a huge eruption, but it was the first
time I ever saw lava in real life. The next day someone had placed
strange objects around, something wrapped in banana leaves which I
assumed were offerings to the volcano goddess, Pele. Never made it
to Pahoa, a very out-of-the-way town that was almost evacuated as
lava encroached (it stopped before hitting town).

The Big Island is my favorite island of all. The volcano side is
the windward side, at roughly lower-cloud elevation so there is
always a light drizzle going on. Which means lush rain forests.
And lava, lots and lots of solidified lava. One highway takes
you through a humongous lava field that goes all the way down to
the ocean. I forget the name but it was windy as hell and it
felt like being at the end of the world.

Information for the stoner tourist: There is no pakalolo in
Hawaii, it is just a myth. Actually, that is not quite true.
There is marijuana, but not for tourists. If you're there long
enough and befriend the right people, you'll find someone with
a connection. Don't smoke it in public, especially in Waikiki.
Pakalolo is grown in Hawaii, but not enough to meet local much
less tourist demand, so most of it is smuggled in from the
mainland. And forget about scoring it on Kaua'i right now. The
feds recently busted a big meth ring, which also supplied the
island's marijuana, so everyone is hoarding their stash.


Accessories:

Panasonic DMC-ZS540S
$219 Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC-ZS40S-Digital-Camera-3-0-Inch/dp/B00IOTTLZY Nice compact camera that fits in pocket, good lens with high zoom, long
battery life, GPS with 15-second logging (eats up battery though).
Combine with following by synchronizing camera time with GPS time (or
use NIST.gov, but make sure to sync to the second):

Bad Elf 2200 GPS Pro (GPS logger)
$150 Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Elf-2200-Black-silver/dp/B008VWNBBE
Durable little gadget which displays latitude and longitude, but not so
good with altitude. Sometimes takes a minute or two to get a satellite
lock after powering on, but tends to keep the lock well after. Long
battery life (actual time unknown), but memory holds up to 100 hours of
logging at one time per second. Logging can be turned on and off, and
points of interest recorded.
+
iThing with Bluetooth
This is absolutely necessary for using Bad Elf. It *WILL NOT* connect
to any other device -- Android or Wind*ws -- and Bluetooth is the only
way to transfer the GPS logfiles off the device, as well as adjust
settings such as logging frequency, English/Metric units, etc. The
iThing does not connect to non-iThings, so I resorted to e-mailing
myself the logfiles. That said, the Bad Elf is an excellent little
gadget, very accurate and pretty good at keeping a satellite lock as
long there isn't a lot of concrete around.

Wolverine Fulton Men's W05107 11 3E
$70 Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IEU14I
Sounds too wide, isn't. Replace cheap insole with Dr. Scholl's Sports
Gel. So comfortable I wear them daily, not just for hiking.

High Sierra Elite backpack
$35 Costco
Best backpack I've ever owned! Not too large, but plenty of room for everything from your water to electronics. Large-tooth zippers, lots
and lots of pouches, and an airflow mesh thing that keeps you back
cool. Heavy duty stitching, and metal cable that reinforces the handle.
So far it has survived 3 or 4 machine washings. Occassional item at
Costco, grab one when they are in stock. Comes in red, blue, or black.

Asus X205T netbook
$130 clearance Walmart
Pros: Full-functioning computer with speedy SSD and 10-12 hour battery
life.
Cons: Comes with Wind*ws 10; Linux incompatible. RAM and SSD could be
larger.
Weight: 1kg, fits nicely in backpack. Runs Google Earth.

LG G3 Verizon VS385
Pros: Quad-core supercomputer that fits in pocket and also makes
telephone calls.
Cons: Verizon makes it unrootable and includes "featured" (and
unremoveable) apps that suck your mobile data dry the moment you turn
it on. Use pre-paid SIM card when traveling overseas (I learned that
the hard way).

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