Hawaii 2007: Hilo

Day 3:  Hilo - Volcano & Rainbow Falls

Today was a L-O-N-G day of touring.  The good news was we had a good time overall, the bad news was that we spent a long time looking at the very same dormant crater.  It was huge, and it was cool to see the lava rock and steam.  But a little went a long way.  It was a little misleading as well that we signed up to see the "Rainbow Falls."  And we did, but no rainbow....when we got back on the bus the driver asked if we saw a rainbow, and everyone said "No" and he explained you really could only see it around 6 am in the morning!  Also we were told we'd see the oldest active volcano....we did, sort of....the driver stopped along the road and pointed out if we looked in the distance between two palm trees we could see a smoldering mountain top - that was it!

After the volcano crater we visited a very cool lava tube (see me in what appears to be a dark cave) - really cool to think that lava had formed and hardened on the top/bottom while still hot in the middle which hollowed it out.  And we finished with a nice treat at the Mauna Loa nut factory with ice cream :)

Hawaii 2007: Kuai

Day 2:  Kuai - Wailua River Paradise Gardens & Fern Grotto

From the earliest part of our planning for Hawaii, every book I read said that the Fern Grotto was a "Must See."  But as we got closer to leaving I read that due to 43 consecutive days of rain in April 2006 the Fern Grotto was closed.  So we were given the substitute trip along the Wailua River and to the Paradise Gardens.  As we boarded the bus that morning I remarked to Kim how disappointed I was we were not seeing the Fern Grotto.  BUT.....as the bus pulled away from the ship our driver told us we were VERY LUCKY because the state of Hawaii had deemed TODAY, yes TODAY, they were reopening the Fern Grotto and that our tour would be the FIRST to visit in over a year.  This was a very big day in the state and to all those associated with the grotto.  

The picture of the gentleman above is the owner/operator of the tour.  His father began the tour in 1946 with two canoes and it had been open continuously until 2006.....so today was a big day for him, and you could tell he was emotional about it.  It was very cool to get to see the grotto and to be the first visitors in over a year :)

Hawaii 2007: Brad's Graduation Celebration

Day 2:  Brad's Early Graduation Celebration

Hawaii 2007: Kuai (2)

Day 1:  Kuai - Canopy Zip Line

Kim, along with Karrie, Peggy and Randy went to the zip line for their first day adventure.  They went up into the valley and climbed to the first zip line where they took off sprinting and leaped into nothingness.....anging by a cord they plummeted to to three hundred yards while suspended hundreds of feet in the air.  Unhooking they went to the next zip line and continued down the valley over SEVEN different zip lines....and never were they stuck in mid-air....thank goodness :)

Hawaii 2007: Kuai

Day 1 - Kauai: Mokihana Helicopter Ride

Brad and I spent our first day's adventure flying in a helicopter.  It was one of the most AMAZING things I'd ever done.  The takeoff from the ground was so cool as we hovered four or five feet above the ground....so unlike airplane flight, then whoosh we were sailing so high!  Looking out through the class we were over the most beautiful of the islands, Kuai.  We went from one enormous mountain/valley to the next.  First hovering high above the valley, then sailing deep into the gorge and back out again.  We were close to the walls and could see the vegetation just dozens of feet away....so cool.  We saw the waterfalls used in Jurrasic Park, the mountain/valley used in Seven Days-Seven Nights with Harrison Ford & Anne Heche, and severl sights used in the Indiana Jones movies.  THe Napoli coastline was so awesome.  The only bad part, and we knew it at the time, was that this would be our coolest adventure and it was on the first day in Hawaii.

Hawaii 2007: Departure-Flight Arrival

Day 1

Today we began our big adventure.  We were up by about 4:30 am and out the door by 5:00 am for our flights.  Our departure out of Fort Lauderdale left at 6:15 am and it was on time.  We were scheduled to land in Houston at 8:30 (their time, 9:30 ours) and then depart from Houston to Honolulu at 9:30 Houston time.  This would put us in Honolulu about 1 pm Hawaii time, close to 7 pm our time.

About an hour out of Houston the captain came on and announced there was such severe weather in Houston that ALL flights in and out of Houston were being diverted, AND being taken out of the air.  We originally planned to land in Aan Antonio, taking us past the storm but the tower instead diverted us to Lafayette, Louisiana.  We landed here at about 8 am Houston time....and it was nothing but a landing strip and a small "terminal" building.  In fact the cabin crew told us there was nothing but vending machines inside.  We didn't know how long we'd be on the ground, but were told when we were given the OK we could fly, we had to take off immediately or one of the hundreds of planes in similar circumstances would take our spot.  Two hours, yes, two hours later after just sitting on the runway (screaming kids, irritated passengers, frazzled cabin crew) we took off.  We landed in Houston finally, at about noon their time.  Our hope was that like our flight, all other flights had been delayed.  We got off and checked with the Continental agent....no such luck, our flight was L-O-N-G gone for Honolulu.  So we moved to the Customer Service line where we stood for nearly an hour.  The agent, who was very sympathetic and helpful (telling us later that she was appreciative of our problem because we were the first, and what appeared to be the only, passengers who were not taking our anger out on the agents).  She looked for flights to Honolulu .... and looked, and looked.  She sadly told us there were no flights on any airlines, from any city to Honolulu on today or tomorrow.  I tole her it didn't matter because we were going on a cruise.  She looked, not even a flight on Monday to Kuai, our first stop.  She said she was very sorry and she would look one more time in case there were cancellations.  She searched, and searched, and suddenly her eyes brightened, and she said, "WAIT A MINUTE!"  Her fingers clacked on the keys and then she smiled and said, "I did something a little out of the rules, but I have seats for all five of you, and boarding passes for tomorrow morning!"

Now we began the process of calling for a hotel and checking with our trip insurance - thanks to Nancy Nelson, our travel agent for telling us how important this could be.  We got a room right at the airport Marriott and stayed the night - one positive being that we were able to watch the NCAA semifinals in the basketball tournament as our Gators moved into the title game for a chance to defend their NCAA Basketball title, on the heels of winning the BCS National Championship in football!

On Sunday morning we got to the airport and after a THOROUGH check, must have thought we were illegals or something :) we were off to Hawaii.  8 1/2 hours on the plane and we landed in Honolulu, then off to the cruise ship.

Got to the cruise ship about 5:30 pm just in time for the mandatory life-boat drill, and FINALLY we were on our way.  We were disappointed we missed our night at the Hilton on Waikiki Beach, but thankful to have made the cruise, and even more importantly that our luggage had arrived in Honolulu (ahead of us!).