Blogs from Kaua'i, Hawaii, United States, North America - page 3

Monday, May 8, 2006We flew out of Miami at 6 AM, so that meant a middle-of-the-night ride from Englewood. I slept most of the way to Salt Lake City; we were offered only a cold sandwich on the Honolulu flight. Honolulu is amazing from the air; we marveled at the skyscrapers and caught a glimpse of the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Next was a short flight to Kauai, only 102 miles. When we arrived at the airport, we learned our luggage did not arrive with us. We decided to pick up the car and drive to the hotel; we misunderstood the clerk at the car rental desk and drove to the Lawaii Resort instead of the Kauai Beach Resorts! Finally, armed ... read more

Despite all of the advanced scheduling that went into planning “My Big Day”, it actually began with a very, very lazy morning, waking up to the chilling hum of the overhead fan and hoping that I’d had the foresight to pack something green. Originally the trip had been planned so that it would include both Sharon’s birthday and mine as well. We’d hoped for a sunset dinner cruise; but, managed a last-minute catamaran whale watch outing that was scheduled to last two-hours. At this point in our vacation we didn’t want to risk anymore “three-hour-tours”. I searched on-line but couldn’t find any restaurants showing that they served “fish-and-chips”. I hope this doesn’t turn out to be a bummer having “My Big Day” fall on a Friday during Lent! We’d seen plenty of restaurants in the concierge’s ... read more

We’d set our alarm for six in the morning. Sharon had moved the last of our laundry from the dryer at midnight; but, I was asleep long before that. I showered, folded my laundry and packed everything into cubes, and from there fit everything into my suitcase and carryon. My suitcase now was two pounds heavier; but, at 45 pounds I was still golden. Sharon must have rearranged her luggage because she came in at 46 pounds; but, still under the 50 pound limit. We filled up the tank on our way to the airport. Check-in was really easy at the Fox rental car; and, to make things better the van was already there and we were on our way without a hitch. With all of the trouble and ordeals, and lengthy process or renting the ... read more

Hilo to Honolulu followed by Honolulu to Lihue. The latter being about a 30 minute flight gate to gate with a cruising altitude of around 10,000 feet. The low cruising altitude creates a scenic flight if you have a window seat. I had the window seat this round, I admired the mountains and coastline of Oahu and the clear water below. I spotted two whales in the ocean on this flight. Good start or so I thought. Kauai is a much older volcanic island than the Big Island which means the black lava rock has turned into red soil. This is noticeable from the plane window. Kauai, the garden island as it is known, is very much unlike the Big Island. Exceptionally green even the mountains are shades of bright greens. Home to the wettest place ... read more

We've been working for four days and we have to admit we are a little bit tired and a little warm. (that's an understatement!) Tomorrow is our last build day. We are happy to report, we started and completed roofing a house. We also painted on several houses and are working on completing a front porch. We did have time to sneak over to the black sand beach to watch the sunset. Some of us also stayed up late so we could lay on the beach and watch the stars. It was worth it.... read more