Trips

Holy Valley, Holy Isle

~ randyaa ~ 2 Comments

Today we learned again why Maui is called the Valley Isle. It’s really called the Valley Isle because of the very large valley between the two dormant volcanoes. However; we like to call it that because of all the luscious beautiful valleys strewn across the landscape. All of which start on the sides of one of the volcanoes.

Us in front of Iao Needle

After listening to another breakfast briefing about things we already knew we should do or already have done, we took a drive to Iao Valley. This is home to the Iao Needle which rises straight up more than 2,000 feet from the valley floor. it is also known as the phallic stone of Kanaloa, Hawaiian god of the ocean. The many pathways leading away from the overlook allowed you to see beautiful scenery and fantastic views of the needle itself.

Local Jumping into Pool

Atop a high bridge there were two natives jumping into a pool in the tiny steam below, a good 20-30 feet drop. They were defying death for tips and fun we couldn’t decide
which was more important to them.

Waterfalls in West Maui

The view form the valley floor was not the last we’d see of Iao Valley today. We took a tour on Blue Hawaiian Helicopters that lead us over west Maui and Molokai. We flew through some of the most beautiful valleys on the west side of Maui and then flew over to Molokai to see Jurassic Falls and Olo’upena Falls, some of the tallest waterfalls in the world.

After our tour we returned to our room and gussied up for a night out on the… beach. we ate at the very upscale Gerard’s and enjoyed a three course meal with Chekofsky’s Nutcracker playing in the background. Tres chic. When our meal was finished we headed down to the streets and did a little shopping. We ended the night with a ride back to our hotel. Top down, wind in our hair, starry sky above, perfect!

Love,
the mr & mrs

From Sunrise to Sunset

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Haleakala, House of the sun. apparently the best way to see it is: to be picked up at 2am by bus, taken up the 9,740 feet to its overlook and wait for sunrise. the 2 am part was brutal but boy it was worth it. When walking out to the edge you don’t see much except the top of a few clouds (because you’re well above them). As the sun begins to rise the horizon begins to take form around you. Purple, blue, orange and red bounce off the surrounding cliffs making it more and more apparent what 9740 feet up really looks like. A few couples thought it was a good idea to cozy up on a rock outside the protective guard rail. once there was enough light to see the distance to the bottom of the crater they were gone, hopefully by choice. Once what we and many others besides us called the most beautiful sunrise on earth was completed it was time to make our decent.

Us on our bikes

The company we rode up with, Maui Mountain Cruisers, specializes in the cruel game of roll the tourist down the mountain. They dress you up in a bright blue jump suit, give you a goofy helmet and a rickety bike probably older than the mountain itself and push you down the Guinness book of world records steepest road. It’s like a high school science experiment gone bad. As a matter of fact the question is on the Hawaii state regents exam. All kidding Aside it one of the best thing you could ever do, as long as your brakes work (and Randy’s didn’t at first). the ride down the mountain is literally a coast. only 400 yards of pedaling in the whole 40 mile ride. The views were amazing. The cold wind on your face while you zip around sharp bends really made you feel alive.

At the bottom a hot breakfast was waiting for us (it was only 10AM although we had been up for 9 hours). after about an hour the bus brought us back to our hotel. It was just before noon and we decided to take a short nap. about 430 we woke up and got ready for dinner.

Sunset at Ka’anapali

A few minutes walk from our room was the barefoot bar at the Hula Grill. we got a table in the sand so we kicked off our shoes and enjoyed a few drinks before the meal. Our table was up front near the Hawaiian band and hula dancer. We listened to the music, sipped pina coladas and ate as we watched another spectacular sunset over the beach.

wish you were here (but on a different island :-)),
Rachel and Randy

It's always the right time

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We saw two little birds near our dinner table this evening. The male was puffed out, fanning his wings while he did a courtship dance for his female.

Aww look they’re twitterpated

Randy said.

Twitterpated? But its not the right time. don’t birds mate in early spring?

He looked at me with that coy little smile of his and said

honey, in Hawaii its always the right time.

And its so true! Everywhere you look in this place there is romance, something to put a sparkle in your eye. Today we didn’t do much but still it was one of the best days ever. We took the car out for a spin, that’s all. We saw a little bit of the island and now understand why this is known as the valley isle. There is so much luscious greenery and rolling hills that end abruptly at turquoise blue waters. We let the road take us up steep mountain sides, around sharp bends, and squeeze us through tight passages where you pray to god a sneeze doesn’t jerk the car over the edge and onto the rocky cliffs below. Despite the anxiety of the rocky cliffs edge the drive was one for the books. We stopped at a few sandy beaches (Maui has a lot) and hiked to lookout points were the view just seemed to go on and on. When The Who wrote “I can see for miles and miles” they must have been talking about this place.

Sunset at Ka’anapali

Our hotel sent us box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts and a complementary bottle of champagne. We ended our first whole day on Maui with a toast to each other and chocolate macadamia nut kisses. To top it all off we got to experience first hand why it’s said Maui has the most beautiful sunsets on earth.

Aloha Nui Loa (Love you lots),
Randy and Rachel

Lewis and Clark

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In another life we must have been explorers. Just as Christopher Columbus found the Americas while trying to find India, we stumbled upon the Hawaiian Paradise Beaches while trying to find the lighthouse. The Beaches are not the paradise they sound like. Instead they are nothing but lava fields that jut out into the ocean where the waves crash against them with an unmatched ferociousness.

Hawaiian Paradise Beaches

While following the coastline, after crossing 4 wheel drive only lava fields and driving through a flooded road, we also happened across Isaac Hale Park. There we were able to catch a few glimpses of surfers taking advantage of the incoming tide.

Akaka Falls

In the morning before our jaunt in the Jeep we headed to Akaka Falls. Akaka Falls drops more than 400 ft in a lush jungle atmosphere. It is on a half mile trail together with Kahuna Falls which provides several overlooks and viewing areas.

Today was a great way to conclude our stay on the Big Island. We caught our flight to Maui and arrived shortly after 7pm. We grabbed the rental (Yellow Ford Mustang Convertible yeah 🙂 ) and began our adventures on the ‘Valley Isle.’

Love,
Rachel & Randy

Destruction Creates Beauty

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Today was the least rainy day since we’ve been in Hilo. I guess when you’re in a place that averages over 126 inches of rain per year and has gotten over 200 inches in the past a little rain is expected. At least it can be accredited with all the beautiful foliage and flowers.

Rainbow Falls

First on the agenda was Rainbow Falls. It’s right in Hilo and since we had to be to the airport for the helicopter ride by noon we wanted to stay close to home. In between bouts of rain we ran from the car to the overlook but couldn’t spend much time due to torrential downpours.

Lava meets Ocean

Just in time for the Helicopter ride the rain subsided and we saw to the east that the sky was open and it would stay that way for the rest of the day. Our pilot Ray was very friendly. He greeted everyone individually and used our names to refer to directions (on Rachel’s side you can see ___). It was different but worked very well. We flew over an area to the southwest of Hilo containing lots of waterfalls, streams and valleys.

Next the helicopter did a fly by over the active vent of the volcano. Ray informed us that Kilauea is not erupting from its main caldera; instead it has formed a rift much closer to the coast and is venting lava from there. Unfortunately during the day it’s very difficult to see much red, although there were a few cracks and gaps that allowed us to see some glimpses of the hot stuff. He then took us to the coastline where we saw the newest land in the United States (and quite possibly the world). Ray told us that since it started erupting in 1983 Kilauea has added over 60 acres to the Big Island of Hawaii.

One of the employees at Blue Hawaiian Helicopters told us about a valley to the north which had some beautiful scenery. Since we didn’t have anything else planned for the day, we decided to take a drive. Our rental was a 4 wheel drive Jeep which allowed us to take several side trips towards the coastline. We first took the top down so we could enjoy the Beautiful weather.

High Tide

The first side road took us to a sign that read ‘public shoreline access’ which led us to a dirt/mud road. At the end of the road (a few hundred feet from the coast) we left the jeep and hiked down to the water to check it out. The scenery at the shoreline was amazing, the waves were crashing while high tide was coming in and some lucky people had a house right off the shore.

The rest of the day consisted of a few more side trips down to the coastline and ended at Waipo Valley where we met a group of natives chanting from the overlook. Sunset over the valley was very beautiful and peaceful. However; the clouds soon started rolling in and we knew it was time to put up the top and head home.

Aloha from the Aldrichs

Made from Fire, Made from Water

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Steam Vents

Today was rather rainy, but does that stop us? never. Today we hit up Volcanoes National Park. After a somewhat late start, the first stop was the steam vents where you could see steam plumes rising from the crater wall. Unfortunately due to the rain we couldn’t see into the crater.

Next we stopped at the Jagger Museum which had some nice views of the crater, some seismographs and a lot of information about the Hawaiian fire goddess Pele. As we drove around the crater rim the weather changed many times. A few times it cleared up enough for us to get a good look into the crater. At these times we could catch glimpses of steam vents and sulfur scars in the crater floor.

The most notable vantage point was the southwest riff. This scar in the landscape was spectacular in itself but it also provided us with the ability to get close to the rim for some spectacular views. We then had the opportunity to walk across the steam vent fields to get to another viewing platform. Once we got there we couldn’t help but notice the sacrifices laid out, some even set out as whole meals, for the fire goddess Pele who is said to live in that particular crater.

End of the Road

Unfortunately the current lava flow is much too far away (approximately 5 miles) from the viewing locations. You can, however; see the gas plume forming as the lava meets the ocean. With any luck tomorrow the weather will be nicer and we’ll be able to see things clearer from the Helicopter. We couldn’t see the active lava flow but we could see the remains of the last lava flow to cross road. It made us wonder how often they need redo the road.

The next and final stop was an old lava tube. The entrance into the tube was pretty sweet, as it was mostly hidden by the lush jungle fauna. It was neat but there wasn’t really a whole lot to see. The roots coming through from the plants above were pretty cool. Beyond that If you are pressed for time this is skip-able.

After a big day in the park we decided to take a drive to Kona on the other side of the island to hopefully catch sunset and dinner. Along the way we stopped at several beautiful areas. One of which was a black sand beach. This was a must see as there are several different colored sand beaches on the Big Island, and it is our goal to see each of the different colors.

We arrived in Kona too late to see the sunset, and pretty late for dinner. We grabbed something quick to eat at LuLu’s and hit the road again to get back to Hilo and our hotel. Unfortunately the day took its toll and we had to stop several times to take a quick nap on the way home. And now as our heads hit the pillows of our hotel… we bid you adieu.

With Love,
Randy and Rachel.

A Boat and a Plane

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Sailors Lost

Today we had a real early start. We left the hotel at 6:45 and dropped our bags at the airport. From there we headed to The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. We learned a lot of interesting things and saw even more. There was a museum at the memorial which had several interesting displays. The most moving of which was a display containing the items corresponding to one of the sailors lost on the USS Arizona. It contained his diploma, his purple heart, the telegram sent to his mother notifying her of his death and several other times of importance pertaining to his life.

Flying High

The memorial itself is very somber but an empowering part of American history. You felt a sort of pride stepping onto the deck of the memorial with the American Flag flying high above. It was inspiring to learn that even the survivors of the USS Arizona still to this day request to be buried at sea with their shipmates. When requested, they are cremated and Navy divers are commissioned to place them amongst the wreckage.

After visiting the memorial we caught a quick taxi ride back to the airport and it was on to the Big Island. Once arriving on this rainy paradise, we grabbed our rental and went out for a joyride. We took the ‘scenic route’ (which was labeled as such) and happened across an amazing overlook and trail head to the shoreline below. Since we didn’t have anything else planned we took the trek and we’re glad we did. The tide was coming and the waves were furious. Check out the photo album for some amazing shots from our mini-hike.

By the time we made it to the end of the ‘scenic route’ it was time for dinner. We found out how different Hilo is from Waikiki as it took us almost an hour to find a restaurant (we weren’t being picky, we couldn’t find ANY). However; once we found one, Hilo Bay Cafe, we determined the food was worth the search.

Another great ending to another great day.

Aloha,
Rachel and Randy

A Perfect Day in a Perfect Place

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Atlantis IX

This morning, we quickly found out that our free one-day trolley pass was not really the ‘public transportation’ we thought it was. It was more of a tour trolley but it only took you to the shopping centers (probably the reason it was free). While waiting for the first trolley we met another honeymooning couple from Rhode Island who had the same deal as us… worthless trolley pass. After our brief 3 stop trolley ride we decided we’d have a better morning if we simply got off, walked the beach and perused the shops until it was time for our Atlantis tour.

Peering through

Atlantis
XIV is 65′ passenger submarine which takes it’s victims down to a maximum depth of about 120′ to view the tropical fish at the artificial reefs on the ocean floor off Waikiki Beach. It was very interesting to say the least. One amazing thing is how the colors changed. Red quickly turns to brown and all other colors quickly begin to fade the deeper you go. While looking out the port hole(s) you could see lots of very cool fish and reefs, the most notable being Amberjack’s and Spotted Ray’s.

We ended the day with the Paradise Cove Luau. We haven’t been to any other Luau but from what we’ve been told (and from what we’ve experienced) Paradise Cove is the best. It certainly lived up to expectations. From the lei making, Canoe rides, the festival of the pig to the fire dancing. It simply had something for everyone. And don’t forget about those drinks! Our Bartender Lei Lei fixed us up what she called ‘AMF on Crack.’ Translation: lots of alcohol. Our package included 4 drinks and we watched as she poured 3+ shots in each drink. A very nice couple on sexy bus #2 (our bus) who were in Hawaii celebrating their 54th anniversary gave us several more tickets which we also used, although probably didn’t need to.

Paradise Cove not only has enough activities to keep you busy, but it also has fantastic scenery, and no we’re not talking about the half naked natives (although that’s pretty nice too…). The sunset from the Cove was absolutely gorgeous and there’s plenty of pictures so be sure to take a look.

Fire Dancer

During the show they inviting all the honeymooners to stand and be recognized. We expected more of the audience to be standing than actually were, there were perhaps 3 couples out of about 200 people, opposed to everywhere else on the island where it seemed like everyone we talked to was on their honeymoon. Soon after the band played the Hawaiian Wedding song and invited anyone in love to dance. Needless to say we jumped at opportunity.

On the ride home Oli (our host) showed us her hula skills as she was once a performer at the Luau festival. We were also told to ‘flash’ any of the ugly cousins (all other buses from the Luau) during what she called ‘Bus Wars.’ The flashing just consisted of keeping the bus lights off and using our cameras with the flash on. Quite entertaining although we only had one challenger.

When we got back to the hotel, we played our song (If you didn’t catch it during the wedding it’s “The Luckiest” by Ben Folds) and danced on our Balcony while onlookers passed by below. A very romantic ending to a perfect day.

Love,
The Aldrichs

Welcome to Oahu

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Diamond Head

A little advise for your next vacation, Ask for the upgrade! we started out with a ocean view room…meaning as long as you can see a sliver of the water…ocean view. We were upgraded to an ocean front room meaning all you can see is water. we can walk out on to the lanai or balcony and almost touch the top of the palm trees and we can listen to the waves of the ocean while we sleep. The first night was amazing but the first morning/day was incredible when we got to actually see the view!

We started off the day with a complimentary breakfast (which included pineapple, and so has every meal since. apparently they’re grown around here or something) and a quick 2 hour introduction to the islands. Here we listened to a native tour guide tell us about all sorts of wonderful things to do that we either already knew about or already had scheduled. We did however get some good recommendations and decided to take advantage.

Us

Once we decided on a few things to do we determined that today would be a good day to climb/hike Diamond Head. Rachel was a little uneasy with the thought of hiking in a dress but we were assured that the hike was not that demanding so we trekked on. We’re certainly glad that we did. The views from the way up were awesome and the views from the top were astounding. It provides a perfect vantage point to view Waikiki Beach.

After the hike we grabbed some lunch and took it easy for the rest of the day. We took a walk on the beach and did a little bit of shopping.

At sunset we had reservations at d.k Steakhouse. If you ever have the chance at dining at one of the d.k Restaurants I highly recommend it. Our steaks were easily the best I’ve ever had. I had the Sensei Filet Mignon and Rachel had the Filet Mignon and Oscar.

After dinner we had a quick stroll along the beach back to our Ocean Front hotel room, and then crashed (which is why we’re not posting until now).

with Love,
Randy and Rachel

RaR day 1

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First of all we just want to say thanks to everyone who brought down the house last night. We had some mighty fine dancers out there (you know who you are 😉 ). As our first act as husband and wife we would like to announce the MVP award. And the winner is… (the choice was obvious…) Uncle Jerry for his outstanding dance numbers. Thanks Uncle Jerry for making our first decision together as husband and wife so easy. We haven’t had that much fun… ever. To see all of our friends and family celebrating our love with such enthusiasm touched our hearts in a way we’ll never forget.

Check out some of the first available candid shots from yesterday here.

Thanks to everyone, we love you,
Mr and Mrs Aldrich