Now it's June!

Tue. June 1, 2010: After a simple breakfast and lots of good coffee we went for a hike. There are many trails in this area but none in the vicinity allow bikes, so it was just as well that we had decided not to bring them. The sky was still cloudy and just starting to break up. We walked around the campground and found that there were only four occupied sites by then. We went partway down the road, and then walked down the Pinckney-Waterloo Trail that connects the two areas. It must be very long because we passed Mile Marker 22. The trail was mostly woodlands, but we walked through a meadow that must have been a farm field at some point in the past. After we passed over a long boardwalk across a swampy area the trail became narrower and the foliage on each side was crowding the path and was still very wet from the rain. So we decided to return to the road and take it the rest of the mile or so to Highway 52. Along the way we saw lots of grape leaves so on the way back we picked lots of nice big ones. Back at the campsite, I washed them, boiled them in salt water, rolled them in 10 packs of 12 leaves and popped them in the freezer. They will be very welcome for making stuffed grape leaves back home!

After a lunch of leftover chicken we got out the inflatable two-person kayak we bought for our anniversary present and took it on its maiden voyage. We blew it up with the truck powered pump and walked it down the path right at our campsite to the lake. We both managed to get into it from a log sticking into the lake without getting our feet wet. We found it to be a lovely way to really see the lake. The sun was fully shining by now, fish were jumping and there were both snapping and box turtles to be seen. We even saw two sleek little creatures that we think were otters. The seats are quite comfortable and afford a lot of back support. We have to get used to coordinating our paddling but we only bumped each other a couple of times. The double kayak doesn’t glide as easily as our very shallow singles ones do, but it’s going to be great to take-along on long trips when we don’t want to hassle with the Loons. It all fits into a large duffle bag that weighs about 30 pounds and can be tossed in the back of the truck. Terrific!

The rest of the afternoon we spent sitting by the lake, enjoying the breeze and reading. I washed off the suntan lotion with our outdoor shower. When I finished my magazine I worked on this Blog and relaxed while Marv played with his ITouch. For dinner tonight we grilled hamburgers on our little gas grill and had potato salad and veggies. Afterwards we drove to the McDonald’s in Stockbridge to have an ice cream sundae while we checked the forecast on weather.com. However we were disappointed to find that they don’t have WiFi there! Instead we listened to the forecast on Michigan Radio and were relieved to find out that the predicted rain showers were supposed to hold off until afternoon. Back at the campsite Marv built a nice fire and we enjoyed s’mores for dessert and then went to bed.

Memorial Day Weekend: A Mini-Get-Away before Alaska

Monday, May 31, 2010: Our mini-get-away was beginning to look truly doomed when we pulled up to the stop light at Grand River and Okemos Road and the woman in the car behind us rushed up to tell us we had dropped our spare tire and it was sitting in the middle of the busy road. It all began when Marv put an aluminum patch on the wheel well which had been damaged when the first tire blew on our winter trip, north of Big Bend. In doing so, he realized that the well on that side was actually not in the right place; it was about an inch too far forward. We most likely had two blow-outs on that side during the trip because of the wheel making contact with the plastic. (We will deal with TrailManor when we get back to rectify that situation!!) But once he had it repaired, Marv felt it was safe to take it the short way we intended to go to camp. He put it all back together after dark, and apparently hadn’t pushed the spare tire “sling” back far enough, allowing the part holding the tire to work itself loose and fall off. We turned left at the light and pulled into the parking lot immediately to the left and assessed the damage. The remaining parts to the sling were bent from being dragged so Marv wrestled off the cotter pins and removed them. Then we rushed back and found the tire, still attached to the sling, next to the road, where someone had dragged it. Once our hearts stopped pounding, we decided there was no reason to return home, since we could carry the spare tire in the back of the truck.

On we went to Green Lake Rustic Campground, between Stockbridge and Chelsea in the Pinckney-Waterloo Recreation Area. We had passed this site many times on our trips to Ann Arbor over the years and had always thought we’d like to give it a try sometime. Arriving on Memorial Day afternoon was a good plan; as we anticipated most people had already packed up and left, so we had our choice of many sites. We found one on the lake and as we looked it over, deciding how to get up the bank to it, the guy next door suggested we pull through his site. That proved to be the best approach. Max turned out to be very friendly and talkative. He asked if Marv was a fisherman because he was looking for a partner. He also invited us over for a cold beer. But we really needed to get the camper up as the threatening rain clouds were gathering. Max was very impressed with how the camper unfolded and we invited him to have a look inside. By then it was starting to sprinkle and thunder so he went back to his site.

We got the inside of the trailer settled and then took a little snooze and played some Cribbage. The rain was pouring down and the thunder was crashing all the while. We got our dinner of a cold roasted chicken, potato salad and sliced tomatoes with slices of mozzarella in between. Quite elegant fare for camping! And it kept raining for a while after we ate. Finally, it stopped and we could get water for the toilet and register. By then the sun was setting so we played the rubber hand of Cribbage (I won), read for a while and then hit the sack.

Day 9 Leaving Hawaii--Apr. 10 & 11

Marv and I decided we wanted to spend our last morning at the beach, playing in the water, while Heidi and Kris hoped to get to downtown Honolulu to see the royal palace. That didn’t work out for them when they lost track of each other at the International Market. We rented a boogie board to try some wave riding. It didn’t work too well but we had fun trying. After an hour or so we had to check out of the hotel and have them hold our bags until it was time to go to the airport. We returned to Duke’s Canoe Club for lunch and then had Nate, the shuttle driver who had driven us from the airport, take us back to the airport. Our flight left on time and they made good time, getting us to Chicago about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. On the seven hour flight we saw “Did you hear about the Morgans?” and “Young Victoria”. None of us got any sleep to speak of so our heads were cottony as we arrived at O’Hare around 4:30am Central time, or 11:30pm Hawaiian (and our body) time. The next legs of our voyage were uneventful and we arrived back to our house about noon. It was another memorable and successful Spring Break for the four of us. We were all left with the pleasant impression of how happy the Hawaiians we saw and who served us are. We felt safe everywhere we went. We learned of and experienced the concept of Ohana (family) and were called “cousin” by our new friends. And like Puerto Rico last year, it seemed like we had been to a foreign and exotic locale without ever leaving the country. We left many things undone and several islands unexplored. Sometime in the future, hopefully in the wintertime so we see the humpbacks, we’d love to return to Hawaii. I will most likely next return to this travel blog in June, when we go to Alaska. Y’all come back then, ya hear?

Day 8 Oahu--Apr. 9

In the spirit of the intrepid explorer Captain Cook, we decided to take the public bus to Pearl Harbor today. We knew that the Arizona Memorial was closed for renovations and that the journey would take us over an hour, but considered all that to be part of the adventure. We caught the bus just down from the hotel with very little wait. With stops at nearly every corner it actually took us an hour and ten minutes to arrive at the Visitors Center. We watched the film about that fateful day of Dec. 7, 1941 in the temporary outdoor theater. Then we took the shuttle to the USS Missouri, the only remaining battle ship of the Iowa class and the one where the surrender papers were signed to end World War II. We were shown around by a Korean volunteer who did an excellent job of tying the War history into his personal history. We had plenty of time to wander around the ship, which is now set-up like a museum to not only World War II but the Korean War and Desert Storm, in all of which the ship saw action. From the deck we could easily see the Arizona Memorial. On the shuttle on the way back the driver pointed out a restaurant under the bridge to Ford Island that had a 4:00 social hour with drink and hors d’oeuvre specials. Since we hadn’t had lunch and it was 4:00 we made the short walk over and had two rounds of Mai Tais and shared four of the pupus (appetizers). That was enough to hold us for a long time. The return trip on the bus seemed to take less time but I’m not sure it was much shorter. Our waitress at breakfast had told us there were fireworks on the beach every Friday evening so we walked down to it on the sand and watch for them. After twenty minutes or so we realized there were flashes on the other side of one of the tall hotels right on the beach. By the time we walked around the point, they were over so we missed them. So we headed back to the International Market to see what the entertainment was. We found what claimed to be the oldest band in Hawaii playing a mix of blues, rock, Hawaiian and World Music. They called up an old friend to sing some numbers with them and they ended with a sort of Hawaiian Pride Anthem. It was an enjoyable last evening before we had to pack-up to leave Hawaii on Saturday.

Day 7 Oahu--Apr. 8

All day today was set aside for the Polynesian Cultural Center. We decided to go with a tour group because of the challenge in getting to it on the northeast shore of the island, about an hour and fifteen minutes away. Our ticket included the ali’i (Royal) luau dinner, which we figured was going to be a big meal. Rather than worrying about taking a lunch or paying exorbitant prices inside the Center, we went to Smorgies, just a block away, for their $7.95 breakfast buffet. After filling up there, we figured we could get by with a snack until dinner. We caught the bus at the Hyatt Regency, another two blocks away took off at 10:30 for the park. Our tour guide, Cousin Gandhi was a native of Samoa who came here in 1999. His chatter along the way was a bit over the top but he did tell us the points of interest along the way. It was also enough to make us glad we hadn’t paid to have him be our guide for the remainder of the day. We arrived just as the park opened at noon. The Polynesian Cultural Center (from here on I’ll call it the PCC, like they do) is administered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Our ticket included a tram ride to the town of Lale to visit the campus of Brigham Young University Hawai’i and the Temple, which was the first LDS temple built outside of the continental U.S. But we didn’t avail ourselves of that part of our ticket. Seventy percent of the people who work in the park are students from the University and ones who work in the “Villages” come from the country or islands represented. We were pleased to find there was no proselytizing within the park. And I’ll give the LDS Church this: while the Congregationalists tried to wipe out the dances, language and traditions of the natives wherever they went, this is a beautiful setting that is all about preserving those same things for some of the Polynesian Triangle nations. The Center is an idyllic mostly outdoors setting with six separate “villages” for Hawaii, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, and Aotearoa (New Zealand), and exhibit areas for Rapa Nui (Easter Islands) and the Marquesas. The villages have indigenous buildings, activities and presentations. We learned greetings and other words in the native languages. Drumming and dancing are integral to each culture and the differences and similarities are highlighted. There is also a lagoon running through the area adding to the illusion that these are islands, just as the Polynesian nations are. Indeed, the word Polynesia is Greek for “many islands”. We started by taking a canoe ride from the entrance to the very back of the PCC, where we found very few people. It made our first encounters very personal but gradually the crowds worked their way through the park. At 2:30 there was a canoe pageant on the lagoon with islanders performing on each canoe. After a very full afternoon we enjoyed the luau complete with a roasted pig and a band and accompanying hula dancers. Our day ended with an extravaganza called “HA: Breath of Life”, which featured more than 100 dancers doing dances from the six island nations about which we had learned so much. We were all happy to have a bus driver to take us back to the hotel, to which we didn’t return until 10:30. It had been a very full day.

Day 6 Oahu--Apr. 7

We got away from the Kona Bali Kai, got gas, returned the rental and arrived at the airport without a glitch and with plenty of time. Our flight to Oahu left early and took only about half an hour so we were on our second island about half an hour earlier than expected. We found a shuttle to take us to the Ohana Waikiki West for $9.00 a person; cheaper and more comfortable than a taxi. Our very interesting driver, who was originally from Iran, gave us a mini-tour on our way in, which was very helpful. Despite arriving around 11:00, the Ohana had our room on the 16th floor ready so we checked in and got settled before looking for some lunch. From our balcony we can see Diamond Head through the buildings and the ocean to our right. We are three blocks from the beach, and right across the street from the International Market, through which we walk to get to the beach. Everything we need is nearby. A friendly woman gave us directions to her favorite place—Duke’s, right on the beach. It was good food and not as expensive as I would have expected. After we ate, Kris and Heidi went back to the International Market (I’ll just call it the I.M. from now on) to find the Post Office while Marv and I walked up the beach for a while and then cut back over to the hotel. We made arrangements to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center on Thursday and talked about what else we wanted to do. It was too late to go to Pearl Harbor so we opted to take the free trolley to Hilo Hattie’ in Honolulu. It is the quintessential “All Things Hawaiian” store, with everything from clothes to kitchen ware to bath and skin products to coffees and snacks. But it was still smaller than what we had expected. Heidi and Kris did quite a bit of shopping before we all got back on the trolley and rode back to the I.M. We walked through it again and stopped for coffee (them) and a mango smoothie (me). When we met back at the hotel Kris and Heidi had found the perfect place for dinner—the food court at the I.M. was having free entertainment. Back we went again to the I.M. We each found something different from the others to eat. Marv had a whole fried tilapia and I had sushi, from different vendors. The show was a Hawaiian drum band and 6 or 8 dancers with a variety of costumes doing dances from all the Polynesian cultures. It was probably similar to what we’ll see tomorrow on a grander scale, but they were really good. It was still early and a lovely evening so we walked back to the shore to stroll along the beach for several blocks, enjoying the magical street scene and all the people before going back for bedtime.

Day 5 Hawaii--Apr. 6

Our last day on Hawaii is our last chance to do a snorkel trip. We went with SeaQuest, which was an inflatable raft trip. The 7:45 beginning meant another early morning. Our very entertaining guide, Liam, took us first about half an hour down the coast to Pu’uhonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge) Bay where we had been on Saturday by land. The water there was a bit rougher than it is usually but we stayed for about an hour and saw two green sea turtles, along with spectacular fish and coral. One of the turtles swam straight at Marv, causing him to have to back pedal in order to keep his required distance. As we left the bay a pod of spinner dolphins swam all around us. We went north to Kealakekua Bay where the Captain Cook Memorial is. The intrepid explorer first came to the islands in this bay, where the natives greeted him as a God because his pale skin and masts with sails seemed to be the fulfillment of a prophesy. However, on his return trip there was a little “misunderstanding” and he was killed here. The bay is now a protected marine sanctuary and the snorkeling is even better here. The natural harbor is calm and protected and the reef drops in a sheer wall down to 150 feet. We saw a green sea turtle here, too, and Kris and I saw a four foot Moray Eel. After an hour or so we made our way back up the coast, pausing several times to look at sea caves and arches. We got back about noon, picked up a few more groceries and ate lunch on our lanai. Then everyone wanted a nap before thinking of anything else. Afterwards, Marv and I sat on the shore and read, napped and listened to music (Marv) and journaled (me) while Kris and Heidi took a walk to find some postcards. We ended up staying there all afternoon and got to see some green sea turtles feeding. For dinner we went to Jackie Rey’s Grill for some authentic Hawaiian poke (a raw marinated fish pupu, or appetizer) and salads. Afterwards we tried to find the Sheraton Resort, where they shine lights into the water near the deck. The lights attract plankton, which in turn attract manta rays to feed. But they turn off the lights at 9:30 and we couldn’t find the resort in time. So instead we returned to the Kona Bali Kai for the last time to pack up and get ready for an early trip to the airport to fly to Oahu in the morning.