Week 29: Diving in Kona

We’re still in Hawaii, but we’re moving on to The Big Island, my favorite island. This is probably the last stop in our Hawaiian adventure since I was not able to get a t-shirt during our trip to Kaua’i a couple of years ago.

As you probably know, my husband and I are avid divers. Our diving trip to Kona through Jack’s Diving Locker was probably one of our more enjoyable dives. The divemaster was very nice and took a really good (slow) pace in our dive tour. It gave us a chance to enjoy and explore. We dove at two spots in Kona: one of which was called Turtle Heaven where we saw three turtles, two of which were sleeping in their rocky shelter.

 

The dive shop staff was also very attentive. One person that stood out was the lady stamping our dive logs. Since they had a variety of stamps, she actually put an ocean scene on my book, complete with mermaids, turtles, and octopus: a fun time indeed.

Diving along the Kona Coast was fantastic. One of the dives in our list is the famous Manta Ray dive. We snorkeled that once and had a surreal experience.  Swimming with these beautiful graceful creatures was an out-of-this world experience. We can’t wait to return and hopefully, enjoy this dive.

 For more info on The Big Island, visit GoHawaii.com/big-island.

Week 28: Colorful Maui

I have one more shirt from Maui. This one was also from that first trip. I primarily bought it for the bright colors. It was so different from the natural beauty that we enjoyed, but a fun shirt, regardless. It reminded me of the psychedelic years during the 60’s (at least, what I saw of those years in Beatles albums or in movies– I was not even born then).

This t-shirt is also predominantly pink, which is Maui’s official color. I think the pink is derived from Maui’s official flower: the roselani.

I think this concludes our trip to Maui. Next week, we’ll move on to a different island. For more info on Maui, visit GoHawaii.com.

Week 27: Adventures in Paradise

This week, we’re staying in Maui. I bought this shirt on my very first trip to Hawaii. We picked Maui for our first trip since we thought it would be a good balance of nature and evening activities.

This trip was many years ago. My friends and I were young(er) and adventurous, so we went all over the island. This shirt represents the activities that we enjoyed.

The first panel represents our trip to Hana. We took the (in)famous Road to Hana. All the tourist brochures were correct; the road was quite narrow with a lot of one-lane bridges. We really did not encounter a lot of traffic, perhaps it was not as popular back then, so it is not too nerve-racking. I even drove part of the way. However, the locals drive really fast – they probably drive this road everyday. Obviously, we let them pass us.

We did not spend that much time in town, but did enjoy the natural beauty. Hana had a number of beautiful waterfalls and pools. We even tried to swim in the seven sacred pools (but we were too tired to even complete one pool).

The next panel represents our trip to Haleakala. Folks usually go to Haleakala for the sunrise or sunset, but we did not wake up early enough nor stayed late to do either of that. Once we reached the summit, we enjoyed the visitor center and some short walks. It was fairly challenging to hike at 10,000 feet, especially if you did not get acclimated.

Haleakala was like going to a different world. It was covered in red soil and there was almost no vegetation, quite different from the lushness of Hana. It was like being on the surface of Mars.

The last panel represents all the time in the water and rainbows we saw. It seemed that everyday we saw a beautiful rainbow; rainbows always make me smile. Although the last panel of the t-shirt has whales, we really did not go whale-watching. We did spend a lot of time snorkeling, enjoying the beach, and just hanging out. We are in Hawaii, after all!

Week 26: I want mine with Lettuce and Tomatoes, Heinz 57 and French Fry Potatoes

We’re still in Hawaii, but moving to a different island. This week, we’re in Maui, specifically in Lahaina at the Cheeseburger in Paradise on Main Street.

We love Cheeseburger in Paradise. Our first encounter with them was at Monterey, California. The views were awesome; we even saw a pod of dolphins diving towards Carmel (awesome!). The calamari sandwich (with the pineapple coleslaw) was to die for. Unfortunately, that location is now closed though - please bring it back!

Our second encounter was on Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii. We were walking along Kalakaua Avenue and saw this restaurant. Visions of the calamari sandwich came to me, and we just had to have lunch there.

Our third, most recent encounter was in Maui on one of our anniversaries. We spotted Cheeseburgers on an earlier stroll. It was Fourth of July. We had dinner there after watching fireworks from the Lahaina Pier. It was crowded, yet fun!

This is probably the second T-shirt that my Hubby bought for me in Hawaii, and he bought it secretly. After seeing his surprise, the odd conversation about the fireworks between him and the bartender made sense. The bartender asked my husband, after I had returned to the bar, whether it “was a large fireworks display or a medium fireworks display”. He replied “a medium display,” but I thought it was pretty big. Ask the little boy who was thankful to us for calling him back when he was about to leave before the finale (long story but a good story).

My husband and I love Maui. In fact, he’s ready to go back there NOW. Perhaps we will be in one of our future anniversaries (we’re celebrating one this week) … and we get to enjoy another cheeseburger in paradise!

Aloha! 

BTW, The title of this post is from one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs.

Week 25: Oceanfest at O’ahu

My apologies: My post for this week is a bit late. Hubby and I took some well-deserved R&R along the coast. We also almost bought a new T-shirt, but I resisted, at least for now.

Summer is at its full swing, in most places, at least.  It’s unseasonably cold where we live, and it almost feels like fall or winter.

With this cold weather, it would be appropriate to think warm thoughts. Also, since its still vacation/road-trip season, I thought we’d take a trip (again) to the Hawaiian Islands.

This shirt is probably the first t-shirt that Hubby bought for me in Hawaii. It was my first time to the island of O’ahu, and we were strolling along Waikiki and sightseeing. We saw some festivities in the lobby of the Outrigger, where we were staying, and decided to check it out. There were several booths about ocean-related activities, shopping, and entertainment. Unfortunately, we were not able to see much of the surfing (which this T-shirt features) because of timing. Hubby bought me this t-shirt as a souvenir of that occasion and our trip to O’ahu.

It looks like that now, OceanFest is a big event in O’ahu. It is “dedicated to promoting Hawaii’s ocean sports heritage.” It also commemorates Duke Kahanamoku, who is considered to be ”The Father of International Surfing” and probably “Hawaii’s greatest athlete.” For more info, check out OceanFest’s festivities from last year.

A final note: We had a lot of fun that trip and greatly enjoyed what the island had to offer. Before this trip, I thought O’ahu was just “the big city,” but I was very much mistaken. Not only did we enjoy Waikiki Beach, but we also snorkeled at Hanauma Bay, windsurfed and kayaked at Hale’iwa and Kailua, enjoyed a stroll to Waimea Falls, devoured shaved ice on the North Shore (also at Hale’iwa), enjoyed the Byoodoin Temple, and lastly, enjoyed a truly fabulous luau at Germaine’s. As we visit this island more, one can see that there is so much more history and culture about it. It is a confluence of the many cultures that make up Hawai'i. As the nickname implies, O'ahu is truly The Gathering Place. 

Week 24: On Saguaros and Thunderstorms

This is the last week of my Grand Canyon series. This last shirt I primarily bought because I loved the rather beautiful design. I love the lightning bolts, the Saguaro Cactus, and the background that is composed of multiple shades of light blue and green.

The Saguaro Cactus is found exclusively in the Sonaran Desert, which is in Southern Arizona and New Mexico and “Western Sonora” in Mexico. Although they are rarely seen in the Grand Canyon, they line the roads to and from this beautiful, grand park.

This shirt is so striking that I receive compliments each time I wear it. I remember one notable one when we were in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii where THE “Uncle Billy” of the Kona Bay and Hilo Bay Hotels complimented me on how beautiful this shirt was. I think he wanted to buy it off my back! For those who do not know, Uncle Billy is an institution, even a landmark of The Big Island.

For more photos of lightning in the Grand Canyon State, check out this flickriver page on Arizona Thunderstorms. Now, I know the inspiration for this t-shirt.

Week 23: Sunsets at The Grand Canyon

We're continuing our series on the Grand Canyon this week. I have two more T-shirts from the Grand Canyon, so I thought I'd feature them in sequence.

This T-shirt, like the previous one, reminds me of the sunsets enjoyed while at the park. The sunrises and sunsets at the Grand Canyon are spectacular and are very popular events.  Since I am not a morning person, I never really saw the sunrise but, we always enjoyed the sunsets. After a long day of hiking and sight-seeing, our favorite way to relax was to sit and enjoy the sunset with some fresh fruit, cheese, crackers, and a nice bottle of wine.

Lobbying for a spot can sometimes be difficult. So one has to be early and pick one out. This can be especially important if you brought a camera and you want to take some awesome shots.  We were relatively obsessive about this so we would get close by, well, about an hour early and pick a good vantage point.  Nowadays, I have read you can take guided sunset tours. Those may just save you the wait time, not that the wait was not enjoyable. 

I also love the turquoise design that complements the orange. For me, it represents the Native American people, like the Havasupai and the Hualapai, who still call the Grand Canyon their home.

Watching the sun's descent over the truly majestic Grand Canyon can reward you with an incredible show of colors and shadows. It's a must do activity when you're anywhere near The Grand Canyon National Park.                   

P.S. ‘The Park’ is a UNESCO World Heritage Site & was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt as The Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908.