October 2021 Trip - Kaua'i, Maui and O'ahu

I suppose Hawai'i can't always be perfect.

Although many of my experiences on previous trips have been pretty darn close. But this trip was a mix of the wonderful and beautiful with the disappointing and ugly.

What made this trip special was that DeNeise and I went with our daughter Latissa and son-in-law Scott Graham. The places we visited were just as beautiful as ever, and the natural side of Hawai'i remains glorious. Very enjoyable times were spent reveling in the stunning and gorgeous landscapes.

Yet some experiences on this trip were less than perfect, disappointing, and yes, at times even ugly.  Dealing with the vestiges of Covid and the related limitations/changes provided some negative impacts on otherwise enjoyable times. And, we experienced some effects of over-tourism, which is proving to be an increasing inhibitor to enjoying these heavenly islands.

Kaua'i

Wed. October 13 - Sunday 17th

We got up extra early to take a flight out of SLC to Kaua'i at 6am and arrived 1:45 pm. On our way up the east coast to the Princeville/Hanalei area, we stopped to get some lunch at the Lava Lava Beach Club in Wailua, at the Kaua'i Shores Hotel I stayed at back in 2013. It has a great ocean setting, but there was no sun out. Food was okay, but too expensive for what we got.

We checked in to our Pali Ke Kua condo, which was nice and comfortable, and had a spectacular view. At first, I was bummed because of the lack of sun, but after it rained and cleared up a bit, the view provided an awesome, beautiful feast for the eyes.

On Thursday morning, I awoke early and left on my own down to Lihu'e to take a helicopter ride around the island - something I have wanted to do for many years. I got a ride with Jack Harter Helicopters, chosen because they have open doors - allowing better viewing and picture taking. May I say that it was simply awesome! I took some Dramamine in advance and had no problems with the motions of the flight. I kept very busy snapping tons of pictures, but in my eagerness, I forgot to put the setting of the camera to fast motion, which would have made the pictures much better. I was quite bummed afterward to see how poorly some of them came out, but I did get some good shots, and the ride itself was great. I kept saying to myself how awesome it was and that I couldn't believe I was actually finally doing this.

Kaua'i is one very spectacularly beautiful spot of earth. My favorite place in the world!

My first real disappointment with this trip happened on my drive back to the condo. Because of road construction and tons of traffic, it took me 2 hours (more than double the normal time) to get there. The amount of waiting and the amount of cars on the road made me realize just how much growth and tourism are impacting this heavenly island. I hate that.

The four of went into Hanalei to eat some lunch and do a little shopping before our appointed reservation to enter Ha'ena State Park, where Scott and I went hiking on the Kalalau Trail. 

Another disappointing impact of over-tourism on these islands is that you are now required to get a permit with a set time to be able to go to some of the most enjoyable natural places. I had been on the trail twice before without having to do this. I understand and agree that with the increase of demand and use it is necessary to do so. I just hate seeing paradise become over-used and more restrictive. I yearn for the paradise of a calmer Hawai'i that I first got to know back in 1981. 

But that aside, I and we enjoyed this venture. DeNeise and Latissa stayed on Ke'e Beach, while Scott and I hiked the first two miles into Hanakapi'ai Beach. I could never get tired of this hike. Such striking coastline beauty! It sprinkled off and on, giving a mystic, misty quality to the air and skies.

Scott and I returned to Ke'e Beach just before sunset, and enjoyed it with the women.

The next morning I went out for a walk before everyone was ready, and took the very steep path down to the Pali Ke Kua shoreline. I'd say "beach" instead, but that area wasn't really a beach.  But, oh my, how beautiful! I got a pic one of my favorite framed shoreline views with Mt. Makana (Bali Hai).

The rest of the day was spent on the cloudy/cool/rainy Hanalei Beach, and then eating and shopping in Hanalei.

On Saturday morning we were up early and drove down to Waimea to catch a boat ride with Liko Kaua'i Cruises along the Na Pali Coast. Such magnificence and unearthly, ethereal beauty that can't be found elsewhere. This is the part of earth I helped create! It's hard to explain the spiritual joy I feel when I am here.

Near the end of the tour, we stopped and went snorkeling. Swimming with a large turtle and other beautiful fish. Part of me is a fish, and I wish I could stay and swim much longer and further under the water.

After the boat tour, we made our way up past Waimea Canyon (best viewing area fenced off!) and up to the Kalalau Valley Lookout, and Scott and I hike further for more views. More ethereal beauty! We ended the day at Brick Oven Pizza in Kalaheo, repeating the same day's activities that DeNeise and I had done on our 2000 Trip.

On Sunday morning, I drove down to Hanalei to get some more pics, and found a beautiful, sunny, nearly empty beach. Wish it could have been that way for all of us when we came on Friday.

We then met in Kapa'a with Richard, Natasha, Chante and Alyona who flew over from O'ahu to see us - we were supposed to eat lunch with them, but they decided to eat before without us (what!?). We came upon some heavy traffic on the way (again, disappointing to see on Kaua'i) which made us a bit later than we thought, but not past lunchtime. Oh well. We then visited Wailua Falls and Lydgate Beach with off and on rain, until it was time to go to the airport and head over to Maui.

Maui, October 17 - 21st

Sunday evening, we checked into a hotel in Kahului near the airport. The next morning, we began the drive on the Road to Hana, but unfortunately, we didn't get an early enough start to beat the crowds as I had intended. The amount of traffic piling up in Paia was surprising - our first sign of over-tourism on Maui. The next sign came when we tried to make our first stop on the road at Twin Falls. OMH! Not only was it busy, but you now have to pay $10 just to park on a dirt spot near the trail to the falls. A parking attendant told me that this was the result of an exponential increase in tourism that has occurred in Hawai'i over the last several years. Covid actually gave them a breather, but now they are gearing up for the new onslaught. It is just so sad to me to see this and other nice, off-the-road, beautiful spots be overwhelmed and ruined by over-tourism. Hawai'i just isn't what it was.

Soon, however, the beautiful road took my mind off the disappointments with its amazing, abundant beauty.

Oahu, October 21 - 23rd

Flight to Oahu 7:55 am

Here are some of the negative experiences that marred the enjoyment of this trip:

1.    The rainiest / cloudiest trip so far. It wasn’t always bad, but almost every time I wanted it to be sunny at the beach or otherwise, it wasn’t. There were times, however, that the rain added to the beauty and atmosphere of where we were.

2.    The restrictions and requirements in place due to Covid. Mostly just annoying.

3.    New restrictions, required reservations and increased costs to visit places that were previously free and easy to visit.

4.    Stuck in construction traffic on Kaua’i

Day 1     First meal on the beach – cloudy, cool, food not worth cost, trail to beach steep

Day 2     Construction traffic, cloudy/ rainy, heli pix blurry, lunch bad, no snorkel time, pizza cost

Day 3     DeNeise sick, Canyon viewpoints parking fee

Day 4     No church held, rainy, traffic

Day 5     Traffic in Paia, Twin Falls parking, rush to get 20 minutes hour at Waianapanapa, DeNeise pkg,     yell at crossing lawn, Aloha spirit?

Day 6     Ohe’o Gulch – $30 entry fee, bad road, no access to pools, waterfall accesses closed, rock in         window

Day 7     Accident

Day 8     Cloudy Hanauma, DeNeise can’t snorkel, cost, lost ring, Scott vax card

Day 9     Latissa up late/missed Byodo etc

Flight home 7:15 am to 8:05 pm

For more pics of this trip, see: PhotoArt by Ken: Hawai'i 2021: Kaua'i, Maui and O'ahu