Oahu and Kauai

The Koko Crater Trail - a young family walking up ahead of us.

We flew to Honolulu on October 5th.  It was the first time Dave and I went to Hawaii on a vacation.  We went with our daughter and her husband, mostly on their dime (lots of dimes).  The plan was to hike the Koko Crater Trail at sunrise, something our son-in-law had been wanting to do the last eight trips to Hawaii.  After the hike and a shower, we were to fly Kauai and spend the next week hiking, doing a helicopter tour, taking a catamaran dinner cruise to see the Napali coast, snorkeling, seeing sunrises and sunsets - and eating.  And for me, a few runs here and there.  

Here we are reaching the top of the tracks on the Koko Crater Trail.  

This is not your typical vacation in Hawaii story.  It is the start of a new phase in our life, one dealing with the possibility of the Big C.

The day before we flew out of BWI at 6am from BWI, Dave had a medical procedure that ended up giving him an infection and by midnight Hawaii time after we arrived he was woke up very sick and bed-ridden.  That is, when he wasn't in the bathroom every half hour, seemingly.  Our daughter and son-in-law ended up flying on to Kauai without us the following day after arranging for another day for us at the hotel in Honolulu.  The plan was (hopefully) a flight to Kauai the following day if he was well enough.   

Dave had started antibiotics at midnight as soon as he realized what was happening to his body.  The doctor had given him a five day supply just in case - at Dave's insistence.  Each day we thought he'd be much better but it was a slow recovery.  He was a little bit better the third day, enough that I thought he could fly the short hop to Kauai.  Dave hardly drank or ate anything and I hadn't realized he wasn't hydrating properly or I'd have insisted. Dehydration didn't help anything. Our daughter and her husband had taken as much of our luggage as they could, what we didn't need immediately, to make our move to Kauai easier. 

What I hadn't planned on was the brain fog Dave had going on.  He didn't empty the water in his water bottle before going through airport security. He didn't pull out his wallet or take off his belt.  He got patted down in great detail.  But after that it was a lot easier and the flight was uneventful.  

It was Thursday when we arrived in Kauai and leaving the airport we drove right by a VA Clinic so the next morning early, we walked in.  Dave wasn't that much better and we were worried about going into a three day weekend without seeing another doc.  So first thing Friday morning went to the clinic.  The VA was on a light schedule due to the upcoming three day weekend holiday and their lab was closed that Friday.  Still, they were aware of the "traveling veteran" clause which we weren't and are now happily  aware since we travel so much. They took the steps to enact it and sent us across the parking lot, literally, to an urgent care clinic where there'd be no co-pay now due to the "traveling vet" clause.  

The urgent care clinic had Dave pee in a cup, of course, but told us it'd be an hour and a half, maybe, before the doc could see him but offered to call us, said we didn't have to wait. There was a lobby area but no waiting room, per se, because there were no chairs, probably due to COVID.  Of course, its Hawaii and the weather is nice and there was a covered drive up area and benches outside. Dave was in such bad shape we went back to the AirBNB across the island and he laid down again.  Sitting or standing was really uncomfortable and despite the warmth of the weather and beautiful sunshine and no fever, he was cold.  

We really liked the urgent care doc that we saw.  He had great people skills, instilled trust and confidence, and gave a 10 day prescription for an antibiotic better able to tackle the UTI. He also prescribed a five day regimen of pills that would lessen the pain of urination.  We are grateful for him and for the staff that helped us at the VA clinic on Kauai. They were kind and knowledgable and followed through to check on us.

About two days later Dave was able to walk a half mile with me to and from a little village of shops near our Air BNB.  I purchased a couple prints by a local artist, Fanny S. Bilodeau.  One is Chicken Divan and the other is Starry Night.  Starry Night, of course, is a cute take on Van Gogh's Starry Night and though I know many people may roll their eyes on yet another Starry Night knock off, I enjoy them.  This particular one I purchased for my son and daughter-in-law who vacationed on Kauai a couple years ago and loved it so much they gave thought to moving there.  They recently had an anniversary so I thought the affectionate rooster and hen in the foreground was apropos.  Our son is a huge fan of Van Gogh.  He's read bio's on him and a book on his letters.  He doesn't believe though, as I do, that Van Gogh was probably bipolar.  I think he has a more romanticized take on Van Gogh's life but that's OK.  No one really knows.   

The chickens featured in both prints are like the chickens in Key West - numerous, protected, entertaining, and part of the Kauai experience.  Apparently tourists complain about the roosters waking them out of a morning hangover, I mean sleep, and stepping in chicken poo outside their AirBNB accommodations.  Amazing how people hate on the natural world, even one, like the chickens, that probably resulted from human intervention into their ecosystem. 

But back to Starry Night. I'm actually working on a Starry Night 1000 piece puzzle.  Its probably the most difficult puzzle I've done.  All the pieces are roughly the same size and shape.  I have all the "stars" put together but have been struggling with much of the rest.  Having good natural light is the key for the subtle changes in color and brush strokes.  

The Chicken Divan print I have by Fanny reminds me of The Blue Couch by Michael Sowa.  I have a large print of The Blue Couch and love it.  So I plan to hang Chicken Divan near The Blue Couch.  

Koko Crater Trail

The Koko Crater Trail, just outside of Honolulu, had 1,048 railroad cross-ties (or steps) and is about a mile and a half long. This tramway was built around 1942/43 due to World War II to move supplies up the Pu'u Mai summit of Kohelepelepe to bunkers and a radar facilities later rendered obsolete.  Now there are about 800 steps. It has a beautiful view and is a nice workout due to the 1,100 elevation gain.

The little boy sitting in the right background was the one in 
first picture holding his parents hands at the start of the tramway hike 
up Pu'u Mai. 

I liked the graffiti art on this cement block.  And again, there is the little boy who hiked up the steps with his parents.

Incredibly beautiful.

My daughter

The view back towards Honolulu

Upper left is our son-in-law.

Our son-in-law and daughter.

As we were making our way carefully back down the tracks/steps which were slippery and very steep in spots, some folks were going up with their dogs.  Dogs aren't allowed on the trail according to the signs.  But this older dog decided that was ok.  He didn't feel like going up anyway.  Cute.

Our son-in-law went down the tracks across an area that has a drop off underneath.  I didn't feel brave enough to traverse that.  It was slippery and my balance is not what it used to be despite my occasional yoga sessions. Or perhaps because my yoga sessions are not as religiously pursued as they should be.

This Frida mural was right across the street from Leonards where we wanted to get Portuguese rolls but they were too crowded.  Our daughter and her husband needed to get back to the hotel and shower so they could catch their flight over to Kauai.  

Leonard's - an iconic place with great food. It was not to be for us on this trip.

And the place was packed inside, too. 

So our daughter and her husband flew on to Kauai and Dave and I stayed another day, hoping the antibiotics would kick in fast and he'd be back to Abby Normal.  The antibiotics seemed to be working but in slow motion.  Long story short, it took about five days for Dave to be able to move about and do some tours with us.  However, the second day in Honolulu, he was OK enough to be able to fly to Kauai, about a 45 minute excursion.  He had so much brain fog though that he didn't empty his water before going through security at the airport, and didn't take out his wallet or take off his belt.  He got the full pat down. 

People on Waikiki Beach enjoying the sunset.  Our hotel overlooked Waikiki.

Another view of Waikiki.

Morning on Waikiki looking off towards Diamond Head Mountain.

Another evening shot, sunset, from Waikiki.

As Dave starts to feel a little better he wanders out onto the balcony of our hotel looking out at nighttime on Waikiki Beach. 

And even though I was keeping an eye on Dave, I was also getting a lot of reading done sitting on the balcony.  I spent a lot of time watching surfers, swimmers, snorkelers, families and friends tossing frisbees and footballs...

And here he is, feeling a little better yet.

Woo hoo!  It was fun to watch the tour boats come in to dock at Waikiki. The spot where people dive with the sea turtles was just beyond this dock as well, so there were lots of boats out there all day while their passengers enjoyed nature.

Morning overlooking Honolulu from Waikiki Beach.

Waikiki Beach.

Morning on Waikiki Beach.  I went for an early run but as per usual, I stopped to enjoy the sights. 

Early morning Waikiki. Diamond Head is rising on the left.

Early morning Waikiki.

Waikiki looking towards Diamond Head.

More pictures, below, from my morning run in Honolulu.

Fort DeRussy is an Armed Forces Rec Center that used land the Hawaiians used to use for fishing.  There were lots of shallow fresh water ponds they could fish. All were filled in by the US military, transporting coral and lava rock from around the island for months.

I love these red-crested cardinals first brought to Hawaii as caged birds from South America. For whatever reason, they are missing from the Big Island.

I love big murals.  The world does not have enough of them. 

More pictures, below, from my morning run.  

Our hotel on Waikiki.

The foliage in Hawaii is quite lovely. 

Here is Dave at the airport in Honolulu awaiting our flight to Kauai. 

I saw every sunrise except one on Kauai.  

Andrea standing on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean towards the sunrise.

Below, a bride and groom were doing drone pictures of themselves at sunrise on the beach near Poi Pu.

One of the mornings Andrea and I came to the cliffs for the sunrise and heard a noise that sounded like a quick exhalation of breath or a little airy toot and then realized it was a monk seal. A nice first gift of the day.  Besides the beautiful sunrise.

I love the clouds, the layers and patterns of gray and green and blue and a touch of yellow and pink.

The monk seal, the stealth tooter.

Mike watching the sunrise on the beach near Poi Pu in Kauai.

Just a beautiful shot early morning after the sunrise, walking back to the parking lot.

 

Hawaii is like Alaska and Canada in that regard.  Beautiful everywhere you look.  

And if the beautiful views weren't enough, here we have more roosters and green sea turtles. I found the 8 sea turtles on the beach while out for a morning run. 

And every day we'd have roosters and occasionally a hen visit us in the backyard at our Air BNB.  Occasionally if we inside a rooster would look in the window. 

More lovely foliage pictures, below.

I like the found objects used to make decorative hangings on the patio of this condo. 

Right out back of our Air BNB there was the Hapa Road. I ran it a couple of the days we were in Kauai. It runs from Hanaka'ape. Bay were ships used to be off-loaded with goods and fresh produce and livestock was loaded onto the ships. The Hapa Trail is 150 years old. It is a cart path, really.  

There were little white flowers growing on the cacti along the edge of Hapa Road. 

And cows int he field boardering the Hapa Road. 

And golf balls.  

The Napali Coast of Kauai.

The Napali Coast of Kauai.

Its appropriate to end this picture blog with another green turtle.  This one was swimming with Dave and Mike while they were snorkeling just off the beach.  Andrea and I went snorkeling later and didn't see it but when we were sitting on the beach it came ashore alone.  Nice.