Trip report 3/30 - 4/6

Highlights:

- Snorkeling, amazing water and weather

- Saw dolphins, whales, turtles, seals

- Best vacation ever, we got to relax and wished we didn%26#39;t have to return to reality

- Photos: http://www.neuralnw.com/gallery/album113

Fri - arrived in the afternoon after a 6hr flight from the mainlan, plus another 30min connection flight. Picked up our shiny red convertible. Dinner/lunch at the Mermaid Cafe (seared ahi) - YUM!

';checked in'; to our studio, http://www.vrbo.com/42296

The place is fabulous, and I can only say good things about it! We loved it very much.

Took an evening walk in Moloaa Bay, trying to stay awake past 8pm.

Sat - Explored nearby area, Breakfast at bakery in Kilauea, then checked out Hanalei Bay, back to the Kilauea light house (opens at 10am), lunch at Kilauea fish market (more ahi), drove back up North all the way to Haena with lots of stopping.

Sun - South shore and Poipou - We visited the Spouting horn and the botanical gardens, then went snorkeling for the rest of the day! Poipou beach was great for snorkeling though the surf was stronger after around 3pm and on the weekends it was packed with people.

Mon - Waimea Canyon - Drove up the canyon, we planned on hiking but as we got to the upper portions of the canyon we were in complete cloud coverage and a drizzle so we decided to turn back. Instead we headed back to the South shore. Lunch at Brennecke%26#39;s (yuck - overpriced and not worth it). More snorkeling. Saw some dudes running into the ocean with spear guns I guess they were trying to hunt some tropical fish.

Stopped by the Wailua falls

Had an early dinner at Duke%26#39;s barefoot bar. Good food and reasonably priced.

Tue - Kalalau trail - wow that was hard but worth it. The trail is fairly steep and is overall shaped like a pyramid, meaning you go up and down on the way there, and then have to ascend again on the way back. An early start is essential as the humidity and heat make the return trip harder. Husbsand slipped and fell while exploring a side creek. He was freaking out that he got some kind of a tropical disease *roll eyes*. Got eaten by mosquitoes in the parking lot, it was the only time the entire trip that we got bit, but oh boy did it itch for days.

Wed - Catamaran cruise, taro chips. We sailed away with Captain Andy%26#39;s, the crew was friendly and a lot of fun to talk to. We started out the morning with snorkeling. Some lucked out and saw turtles under the water but sadly I was already drying off on the boat. I did get to snorkle and watch a monk seal under the water. Then it was off to the North Shore. We had dolphins following us and throwing us quite the show. We lucked out and had multiple whale sightings the entire trip, some of the whales were really close. The waters on the North side were really choppy which made it for a fun ride. On the way back we had lunch. Oh and did I mention FREE BEER? Overall the cruise was fabulous; nothing like listening to Bob Marley with the wind in your face, and of course remember to drink LOTS of water and sunblock.

After the cruise we were really hot, so we drove to Hanapepe for some chilled drinks.

After the drinks we stopped at the Taro Chips factory for some amazing home fried chips. They were the best chips I ever had.

Also on the way home we visited the coffee plantation

After some resting we had dinner at Duke%26#39;s

Thur - North Shore - Another chill day. We parked at Haena stat park and walked back to Kaepe beach. The lagoon looked so peaceful, but the currents were very strong. The surf was breaking on the reef but that didn%26#39;t stop the waves fully. At one point I suddenly found myself being sucked onto the reef and I was unable to swim against that, so I grabbed on to the first rock I saw and waited it out. After that we didn%26#39;t try to snorkle anymore as it seemed to be too dangerous. But beach-bumming was fun anyway. We ate our snacks, mmmm taro chips and macadamia sticky buns. For lunch I grabbed a fajita plate at the Polynesia grill YUM!

In the afternoon we relaxed in our room, and in the evening we drove to Kapaa for dinner at Scotty%26#39;s BBQ. The smoked pork was great, the beef brisket was so-so.

Fri - We finished up packing, ate breakfast at the Country Kitchen, stopped by Borders to get some books and then headed to the airport. I was impressed with the efficiency of the staff. We were through all security checks in around 15 minutes.

Eating out is expensive, we did cook in our studio several times and that saved a lot of money.

Trip report 3/30 - 4/6

Great reprot. Thanks so much. We are looking at renting the place that you did for our next trip. Nice to hear from someone who has stayed there. We were hoping to get to go this fall, but it may have to wait till next spring. Anything specific you would like to share about what made the studio so great? We love Moloaa Bay and have stayed at a couple of different places, this place looked appealing to us as it is less expensive to some of the others there. Welcome home and thanks again for a great report.

Trip report 3/30 - 4/6

First I must apologize for all my misspellings of the various locations, I didn%26#39;t have the guidebook handy when I wrote the report.

Hikergirl - Starting page 7 I posted photos of the place: www.neuralnw.com/gallery/album113?page=7

I really liked the studio because it felt like we were living in a tree house, as it is 13ft in the air. The lanai was large and faced the ocean, we did only have a partial view, but I did not find that to be a big deal. We spent a lot of time sitting on the lanai and just listening to the waves. As you probably know Moloaa bay is very quiet, we didn%26#39;t see a single tourist (or any person) for that matter the entire time.

Oh one thing I should mention, the studio has a large library of movies, but 95% of them are musicals! Luckily I brought our Netflix with us and so we didn%26#39;t have to watch the musicals (But if you%26#39;re into it then that%26#39;s cool). It also has a large CD collection which we enjoyed, and a book library with several books about the Island. The bed was large and very comfy. Just about the only thing missing from the kitchen is a stove top, so we couldn%26#39;t make bacon and eggs, but again that wasn%26#39;t a big deal for us.

Oh, and the shower is huge, with two separate shower heads! So it was really fun to shower together without having to fight for the water.

The front of the studio (facing lanai and ocean) has two large sliding doors, we kept those open pretty much at all times. So at night we fell asleep to the sound of the waves, and woke up with birds singing on the rooftop.

Beach access was through the rental property in front of us, the hostess said we could go through their property because we were staying with them (no one lives there anyway).

Wow, thanks for the details. I really appreciate it. I did look at your photos. They were great. I will keep the studio in mind for our next trip. I had actually e-mailed the owner when I thought we were going in September, she was great and even sent directions to the house so I would know exactly where it is, but now it looks like we will have to wait. Boo hoo. Oh well, the island and the studio will be there when the time is right for us to go.

Thanks for the wonderful trip report!

Just curious...was there construction going on around Moloa%26#39;a Bay? My husband and I have booked a place for May and the owner said there is some construction going on. We figured we%26#39;d be out and about during the day so it wouldn%26#39;t bother us. Any info you have would be greatly appreciated.

I didn%26#39;t hear or see anything that could be constructions.

Thanks WildNW!

aforcewife: where are you staying? Last September when we were there, there was some construction going on right by where we stayed. It was scheduled to be completed this June.

hikergirl: We%26#39;ll be staying at the Pole House May 24th - May 30th. The owner said she thought the construction would be finishing up around that time.

We looked at staying there but ended up at a hosue just across the road. Eventhough there was some construction going on, it really did not bother us too much and since it will be complete or nearly complete when you are there it should reaally be no worry for you. Be sure to let us know how you like the pole house. Have a wonderful time!

Mahalo for the report and the pictures. They are really making want to go now but have to wait until September.