Back from Hawai'i
Jun. 27th, 2006 11:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedishampooBack from Hawai'i, unfortunately. Loved it. LOVED it. Brain fried, but here are a few things I learned:
1) Buildings and things there are all open-air for a reason. The temperature and weather are fabulous, humidity and daily rain notwithstanding. I wish I could never close my windows again. It freaked me out at first, landing at Hilo airport and fetching my baggage under thatch awnings while the rain poured, but who wants to build walls and block out all that natural beauty?
2) The sun there is indeed more powerful than Las Vegas, even. I fried like a lobster despite a good base tan. But now I am all Hawaiian-Tropic-bronze and sexy. ;)
3) The ocean in Hawaii is warm and beautifully-blue but is NOT for swimming. The ocean will try to drag you out and eat you, nevermind that you may be 6 foot tall and pretty strong and a decent swimmer. I finally decided that the ocean was for looking at and listening to, and the pool at the resort was for swimming, much to the relief of my knees, which are scraped from being knocked down and dragged across lava or sand over and over.
4) Volcanoes are super-cool. However, sulphur fumes will indeed make you dizzy.
5) Hilo is charmingly AWESOME despite its constant rain. Unlike the resort on Kauai, which was fabulous and luxurious, Hilo is full of people that look like they came straight from the 70s and 80s. Women wearing muumuus and flowers in their hair everywhere, and they WEREN'T dressed for tourists. Places like "Ken's House of Pancakes" to eat at. Loved it loved it loved it. It was a shock going to Kauai for our conference and mixing again with the rich Yuppie-types and their fancy cars and immaculately-dressed children and $50+ entrees. If you can escape Poipu, though, Kauai has many charming towns as well. Hanapepe and Hanalei and Kapa'a come to mind. And Kauai does look like Jurassic Park.
6) Those cheesy pictures on postcards and palm-tree-beach-ocean art? Those places really exist, and are not cheesy at all.
Pictures soon, I hope. :) Sigh.
1) Buildings and things there are all open-air for a reason. The temperature and weather are fabulous, humidity and daily rain notwithstanding. I wish I could never close my windows again. It freaked me out at first, landing at Hilo airport and fetching my baggage under thatch awnings while the rain poured, but who wants to build walls and block out all that natural beauty?
2) The sun there is indeed more powerful than Las Vegas, even. I fried like a lobster despite a good base tan. But now I am all Hawaiian-Tropic-bronze and sexy. ;)
3) The ocean in Hawaii is warm and beautifully-blue but is NOT for swimming. The ocean will try to drag you out and eat you, nevermind that you may be 6 foot tall and pretty strong and a decent swimmer. I finally decided that the ocean was for looking at and listening to, and the pool at the resort was for swimming, much to the relief of my knees, which are scraped from being knocked down and dragged across lava or sand over and over.
4) Volcanoes are super-cool. However, sulphur fumes will indeed make you dizzy.
5) Hilo is charmingly AWESOME despite its constant rain. Unlike the resort on Kauai, which was fabulous and luxurious, Hilo is full of people that look like they came straight from the 70s and 80s. Women wearing muumuus and flowers in their hair everywhere, and they WEREN'T dressed for tourists. Places like "Ken's House of Pancakes" to eat at. Loved it loved it loved it. It was a shock going to Kauai for our conference and mixing again with the rich Yuppie-types and their fancy cars and immaculately-dressed children and $50+ entrees. If you can escape Poipu, though, Kauai has many charming towns as well. Hanapepe and Hanalei and Kapa'a come to mind. And Kauai does look like Jurassic Park.
6) Those cheesy pictures on postcards and palm-tree-beach-ocean art? Those places really exist, and are not cheesy at all.
Pictures soon, I hope. :) Sigh.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-06-27 07:19 pm (UTC)Pictures?
no subject
Date: 2006-06-27 08:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-27 10:52 pm (UTC)Sounds wonderful! Glad that you had such a great vacation! Welcome back!
no subject
Date: 2006-06-27 11:01 pm (UTC)I had a blast on Maui too, but Hilo is such a native town, verses Honolulu's very touristy side. XD
no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 12:52 am (UTC)Glad ou had a great time.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 02:35 am (UTC)I remember Bryan Pahia always talked so much about Hawaii because his family was from there and its where he grew up.
Someday... I'll get there. When I'm not a poor struggling grad student. Sigh.
Still, glad you're back safe and had a good time!
no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 04:36 am (UTC)Are there no oceans that are swimmable in Hawaii?
no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 06:43 pm (UTC)Definitely, Hawaii or really, any of Polynesia, should be a must-see for anyone. Especially the Big Island and the volcanoes. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 06:44 pm (UTC)Did it rain there? Heard there was some crappy weather on the East Coast.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 06:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-28 10:48 pm (UTC)It was wonderful. Thanks! :)
no subject
Date: 2006-06-29 05:07 am (UTC)