Friday, July 6, 2007

Travel Tales: Hawaii 2004, Part Two

Our adventures in Hawaii began bright and early on the morning of April 4, when we headed out on the "Circle Island Tour." As mentioned in a previous, "quote-of-the-day" post, our tour guide's name was Kona, like the coffee. He picked us up at the hotel and we began our very full day of sightseeing.

Our first stop was the Dole Pineapple Pavilion, where we enjoyed "pineapple whip," a frozen dessert. Kara and I thought it tasted kind of like cheesecake. The pavilion also had a maze of hedges we could walk through, but we didn't pay the extra money to do it (plus, it looked really easy - you could see the middle from the starting point!). Instead, we walked around the plantation and discovered just how many miles from home we were (4,972).


From the pineapple paviliion we saw more of the island, including a stop at a Macadamia Nut Fam, where we were able to sample the many different varieties. Kara was particularly fascinated, however, by the automatic paper towel dispenser in the bathroom!

We ended up having lunch at a golf club/course (the Ko'olau Golf Club). During the meal, two wayward birds managed to get into the restaurant. They didn't cause any trouble though - they simply walked around as though they had every right to be inside the building (which I suppose they did!). The golf club provided it's own bathroom fascination as well - the bathroom was the size of an apartment, with a large seating area that looked as though you could hold an entire business conference!

Also around the golf club were some of the scenes used in "Jurassic Park," which you can see by helicopter (we didn't have time for that!).

Other sights seen on the tour were the Diamond Head Crater, Chinaman's Hat (an island in that shape; we saw it from the bus), the "From Here to Eternity" beach and Hanauma Bay (which we only saw briefly on this day, but went to a few days later).

After the tour, dinner was at Outback (the first in a series of chain restaurants we went to), and we headed back to the hotel, but not after a stop at one of the ABC (All Blocks Covered) stores that grace EVERY SINGLE street!

Coming Soon: Day Three!

No comments:

 

Made by Lena