Hawaii 2008 - Round 1
January 11 - January 19 2008
January 11, 2008
This year we shook things up a bit and flew the non-stop flight from Chicago to Honolulu. It was a long flight, but not that bad. We watched one of the 2 movies (The Game Plan – not a theatrical masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but a cute way to waste an hour and a half on a plane trip). Then we watched a few shows on our laptop (It’s nice to have 2 batteries, especially for long trips like this one). The actual flight time was about 8:45, so we wound up landing about 30 minutes early.
Since we’re only spending 1 night in Honolulu, we decided to take the Waikiki Shuttle bus run by Roberts Hawaii. It was a long trip. We had to wait a while for the bus and the commute was long (from the time we got the luggage to the time we got to the hotel it was over 2 hours), but we were in rush hour and the bus was pretty full, with most people at different stops and we were one of the last stops. The bus is definitely the economical choice, especially when doing a round trip fare. But it has its drawbacks that you have to be prepared for. First and foremost is dumb people, they’re unavoidable and when you go cheap you tend to run into them a lot more often. And second you’re tired after a full day on airplanes, whether you take the non stop flight or take a break in California and your patience can be a little thin, but you just have to take a deep breath, relax and remember you’re on vacation in Hawaii. Or else next time shell out the extra money for a taxi (we figure we would have saved about 60-90 minutes).
We finally got to the hotel around 5:45 and we’re delightfully surprised to see that even though we used Marriott points to stay, we were upgraded to a pretty sweet room. There was only one drawback – 2 full beds, but we got a room on the 29th floor, with double balconies and a gorgeous view of Diamond Head (which before now, Sue had only really seen in pictures or from a plane) and a full view of the ocean. We had a lovely view of the sunset last night before the sun dipped below the clouds out on the horizon.
By this time we were starving and Mark really wanted to go to Sansei the Japanese/Sushi restaurant in the Marriott. We were delighted to find that all food (except specials) were 25% off if ordered by 6:30pm, so 3 of our 4 orders of our sushi were on sale. We had the Crunchy Spicy Tuna Roll, the Sansei Special roll, the Japanese BLT and the Yaki-maki roll. Sue and Mark both really liked the Crunchy spicy tuna roll, our least favorite, was the Sansei Special, which had some ingredient that we didn’t like. Sue’s second favorite was the Japanese BLT. Mark liked the Yaki Maki (Sue didn’t), but we didn’t finish it because we were getting full.
Afterwards we just went to the room and crashed. We barely made it to 9pm. It was a long day but a small price to pay to spend time in paradise.
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January 12, 2008
Woke up early and took a walk from the Marriott to the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which took about 30 minutes each way. It was a pretty nice day (honestly, who am I kidding it was a beautiful day!). We stopped at Giovanni Pastrami for breakfast – which is across the street from Roy’s on Lewers Street. Mark had the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict and I had the Sausage and Ortega Chilis omelet. Both were pretty good with very large portions. Sue really liked their hash browns.
After we walked back to the Marriott it was time to take showers and go wait for the bus to go back to the airport. Good thing we left a little early to head downstairs because the elevators were under renovation. It took us almost 15 minutes to get down. But we made it with a couple minutes to spare. The bus trip was a little slow (there were 4 more stops after ours) and it took about an hour to get to the Aloha counter (the first airport stop).
Even though our flight wasn’t until 5:30pm, we decided to go to the airport early to see if we could catch an earlier flight so that we could watch some of the playoff football games. We walked up to the Aloha counter and found out that United messed up AGAIN. They were supposed to give us paper tickets for the trip between islands, and they never did so we didn’t have any tickets. Mark had already fought with them for over 2 hours on 2 different days and we would have had to go to the United terminal (with our luggage), get them to issue paper tickets or etickets then go back to the Aloha terminal, and who knows whether or not we would have been able to get on an earlier flight then? (it was already noon, but the ticket agent already told us we could get on the 1pm flight). Since tickets were only $55 each and we figured if we missed that flight we’d probably wind up spending more than that at the bar waiting for our flight, so we just bought the tickets.
Our flight landed around 1:53 and since we were so late getting to the airport for the flight, our luggage came out rather quickly. So we were on the road in the rental car by 2:16 – not bad. We broke with tradition and went to check in instead of going to Kona Brew Pub. The only reason was to see the football game (Patriots vs. Jacksonville). We lucked out and there was a room ready for us (18-103 – not really the best room, but not horrible), so we ran up to KTA to grab some food and adult beverages for the game.
After the game we went to the Pointe bar for a nightcap (they close at 8pm though) then back to the unit for bed.
January 13, 2008
Got up early this morning and went for a short walk around the condo grounds. We were going to do more, but Mark’s knee was bothering him so we didn’t want to overextend it.
Today is another lazy day. More football playoffs (starting at 8am HST), so we hung out at the condo most of the day.
For lunch, we made tacos and margaritas. We also got some chips and salsa. We tried Pete’s Fresh Island Salsa Hot. It was pretty good. Not overly spicy but good. The margaritas were good too.
For dinner we decided to stay home and make pasta. We had Moretta’s Napa Valley garlic pasta sauce. It was decent we also added hot turkey sausage and whole wheat pasta. We paired it with a Wolf Blass shiraz that was really not very good.
January 14, 2008
Happy Anniversary to us - 15 years ! We made it, not that there was ever really any question. We got up early (6:30am) and decided to go for our walk after it got light out. We walked down to Pahoehoe Beach Park, which is about a 45 min walk each way from Kona Coast. It’s a nice walk, but the hill at the end is pretty tough. Maybe someday we’ll be able to do it without getting winded.
After eating a small breakfast and showering, we headed up to revisit the scene of the crime. We decided to go to Café Pesto for lunch first. I had the Hakalau sandwich (kalua turkey with spinach and cheese on garlic bread). Mark had the Sandalwood sandwich (Japanese eggplant, artichoke and cheese).
On the drive down to where we got married we stopped at the Mauna Lani shops. We were looking for the condos they were building in that area, just to look and dream, but couldn’t find them so we went through the shops. We both wound up getting new sunglasses, which we really needed. I guess they were our anniversary gifts to one another. Who says 15 years has to be Crystal or Watches? Afterwards we headed to the Marriott Waikoloa Beach Hotel. We decided to stop at the new Queen’s Marketplace to check it out. We were disappointed to find that only a few stores were open yet, with many more still under construction, including the gourmet food store. It will be interesting to see how many more are open in June when we come back.
We then walked over to the hotel for a few beverages at the Clipper Bar. Mark had 2 tropical itches – mostly because he promised John a back scratcher. I had 2 Blue Hawaiians on the rocks. We talked to Peter, the bartender. I thought he looked familiar and it turns out he’s worked at that property for 26 years through 5 different hotels! Afterwards we walked down to the King’s Knoll (the place where we got married). How romantic ! The area is still so beautiful, even though it was incredibly windy and the swells were really something. And we were able to see snow on Mauna Kea from the Knoll.
On the way back, traffic was pretty backed up due to the widening project on Queen Ka’ahumana Highway, so we decided to try a different route. We turned mauka at Hina Lani Street. It took us up to 190 (about a 5 minute drive) and hooked up to Palani Street. We have no way to know for sure, but it only took 15 minutes to get from Hina Lani to Palani and Kuakini, so even if it wasn’t faster, it definitely felt like it because we were moving.
We decided to go to Kona Wine Market to get a nice bottle of wine for after dinner. To our surprise the actually had Turley Paso Robles Zinfandel, which normally can only be found in restaurants, so we picked up 2 bottles: the 2005 Ueberroth Vineyards ($59.95) and the 2005 Pesenti Vineyards ($43.95). (getting off much cheaper than expected and with more wines). Both wines were good, although we liked the Ueberroth Vineyards better (of course). We wonder how much better the wines might have been if we had decent wine glasses, instead of the small glasses they provide in the condo. Oh well.
Afterwards we went down to Fujimama’s for dinner. We had the Sugiyoshi sake warm and a few different types of sushi (believe it or not?). We had the Dragon roll, Da Bruddah, Yo Mamma’s and the Spider roll (which was the suggestion of the sushi maker). There were all really good. Aaron Carter was our sushi maker (not the one from Disney Channel). He was really good and friendly. He gave us a free Nigiri with Opakapaka (pink snapper), because I had never had it and because it is one of his favorite fish. It was very mild and not a lot of flavor, but it was very fresh and pretty good.
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January 15, 2008
Well, Mark slept in today (got up at 9:45), so we got a pretty late start. We decided to head down to the pool for a little sun. The sun was nice and hot, and there was a nice breeze from the tradewinds. The pool is unheated so it felt pretty cold against our warm skin, but it was refreshing.
After a little while we came back to the condo for lunch of leftover tacos and were going to go back to the pool, but the sky had clouded up, so we decided to take a drive south. We stopped for a few pictures at Kealakekua Bay, then continued south to find the spot where the Kona Sea Ranch lands are located. (between mile marker 95 and 96). They have 5 acre lots starting at $259,999. Besides being at least 40 minutes outside of Kailua-Kona, it’s also in zone 2 of the potential lava flow map.
We then headed home and got some Thai food from Royal Thai Café for dinner. Mark got the Pineapple Curry with Pork, Sue got the Spicy Fried Rice. The dishes were pretty good, but there wasn’t much spice to either one of them. In Royal Thai Café’s defense, we didn’t specify how spicy we wanted our dinner. We paired the Thai food up with a 2006 Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling, which, for $11, wasn’t too bad. We stayed in the rest of the night and watched TV. We have such an exciting life.
January 16, 2008
We went for our walk down Ali’i Drive down to Keauhou Bay and then back to Kona Coast resort. The total is just about an hour, going at a slower pace to be careful of Mark’s back. After our walk we showered and went to take a look at a few housing developments, but none that we looked at were open, so we headed up to Walmart to get some jogging pants since the high for Sunday (when we return home) is 6 degrees and we only have shorts with us.
Then we went to Kona Brew Pub for lunch. Mark had the Pepperoni Ali’i and Sue had the Captain Cook (minus the mushrooms, of course). After lunch we were going to head to the pool, but the sky clouded up and so we just stayed home and hung out having a few cocktails.
We ate in since we had some leftover pasta and pretty much just chilled out and watched tv. Another exciting day for the Vincent’s.
January 17, 2008
We did the same walk today as yesterday, but we got out a little later than normal, so the walk was warm but still nice. After our showers we decided to go to Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill for lunch. Mark had the Blackened Ahi special and Sue had the Justin’s Chicken Wrap. We both liked what we ordered. It was a good lunch sandwich place, nothing fancy, but decent food.
Afterwards we decided to go check out Don’s Mai Tai bar at the Royal Kona Resort. Mark had the Pele’s Volcanic Mai Tai, the Tropitini, the Berritini and a Lavaman Red Ale. Sue had Don’s Original Mai Tai and Don’s Green Flash. All the drinks were pretty good and the atmosphere and view are phenomenal. The bar is pretty new (last time we were there they were still building it) and is semi-circular right on the ocean. The view is great and there’s a nice breeze. Very relaxing and tropical. It really makes you not want to leave, but since we were driving, we had to be responsible and head back. When we go back to the condo and went out to the pool, but all the comfy chairs in the sun were taken and so we headed back to the condo to read a little before going to dinner.
For dinner, we finally made it to La Bourgogne, our favorite French restaurant. It is a small restaurant on Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway and Nalani Street. Although it doesn’t have a view, the inside is intimate and very French country in feel and design. And of course, the food is excellent. As are the wine prices. They have a motto that a good bottle of wine should add tremendously to the meal, not to the bill. And they’re telling the truth. For dinner, Mark had the special of the day – Cassoulet, a hearty French casserole/stew, Sue had the Osso Bucco. Both were excellent as expected. For wine, Mark chose a 2004 Bordeaux from Margaux – Chateau Lascombes. It was really, really good. In typical Bordeaux fashion, the wine got better with every glass. And the price on the wine was $80.
After dinner we had just enough time to stop off at Kona Wine Market before they closed for another bottle of nice wine. We chose another Turley Zinfandel. This time we went with the 2005 Paso Robles, Dusi Vineyard. While it was good, we still thought the Ueberroth Vineyard was better. We also think that wine would have been helped by proper wine glasses as well.
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January 18, 2008
Well, it’s Friday, unfortunately. I think vacation is the only time we’re not happy about Fridays – at least most of the time. Today we did the Pahoehoe Beach Park walk, then had a late breakfast and went to the pool for a while. Finally getting some sun. One of the problems with Kona Coast is that the pool fills up early and there really aren’t that many lounge chairs, making it hard to get some good sun, unless you’re out early. Although going out around 11ish isn’t too bad either, since many people take a sun break for lunch. Oh and the pools aren’t heated so, especially in January the water is VERY cold, or at least feels that way.
After our fun in the sun, we decided to go grab a late lunch. Since there was a wine tasting at Kona Wine Market, we thought about trying the Mixx Bistro Bar for some Pupus. Their menu definitely has an asian flair, but served in a Tapas style. We had the potstickers, salt and pepper pork ribs and crab rangoons to start, then had the surf platter and the popcorn chicken. All of the pupus were really good. While we were there it wasn’t very busy so we had some time to chat with the bartender Corey - a nice kid from North Carolina. We sat around drinking for a while and then checked out the wine tasting at Kona Wine Market. Nothing like the Top Shelf tastings, there were only 3 wines, but all of them were decent. Nothing spectacular, so I didn’t write down what we had. There was a Spanish white, an Argentine Malbec and a French Cab/Syrah/Merlot from Provence. Corey got off work and joined us at the tasting. Then we all went back over to the Mixx, were we shared another bottle of Turley Zinfandel, this time the 2005 Old Vines Howell Mountain Zinfandel, which we got at the employee discount and paid $58. Very good. Not sure if it was necessarily better than the other bottles we had, but we had better glasses (Mixx actually serves their wine in Riedel Crystal). We really wanted to have some more wine and hang out with the locals because we were having such a nice time, but we knew we needed to be responsible and not drink too much.
We decided to try Kenichi Pacific for dinner, located in the Keauhou shopping center. Who would have thunk that Mark would have talked Sue into having Sushi 3 times in one vacation. But honestly, since Hawaii is surrounded by ocean, you’ve got to figure the fish is going to be really, really fresh. We had the Hot & Spicy Roll (like a spicy tuna roll), Spider Roll and Hawaiian Roll (blackened yellow tail with pineapple). While they were all pretty good, Sue’s favorite was the Spider roll and least favorite was the Hot & Spicy roll (it was a little mushy). Mark’s favorite was the Hawaiian Roll and his least favorite was the Hot & Spicy roll as well. All in all, it’s a place we will probably revisit on future trips to Kona, but so far, our favorite Kona sushi place is still Fujimamas.
January 19, 2008
Well, it’s the day we always dread – the day we have to leave Hawaii. And we had a little added drama. As we were packing to leave the condo to check out, Sue couldn’t find her wedding ring. We looked all over, included going through the garbage, no luck. Sue was really getting upset and starting to get physically nauseous. Then Mark decided to look through the luggage, and it fell off the top of one of the bags. Sue thinks it was on top of a tablet and when she packed the tablet into one of the bags it must have fallen off and landed there. It was more of a sentimental issue than material, but at least we found it.
For lunch we went into Kona and had lunch at the Canoe Club. We both had burgers and while they weren’t bad, they were overcooked. But the view was pretty nice (check out the pictures below).
Afterwards we were going to go see a movie, but the only one that was playing that fit our timeframe was I Am Legend, which neither one of us were too keen on seeing, so we decided to drive over to the Hamakua Coast and try to find some 5 acre lots that are on sale. It was a long drive, about 60 mins, but it was pretty and helped passed the time. We didn’t quite find the lots we were looking for (we were close but turned around too soon). The ride back to Kona (for our trip to Kona Brew Pub), was not without a bit of drama as well. We had rented a Ford Fusion and it tells you how many miles you have left until you reach E. We got down to 11 miles left to E. Sue was getting a little nervous, but we made it, so now looking back, it was no big deal.
We stopped for dinner at Kona Brew Pub and shared a Greek pizza, it was okay, but not either of our favorites. Mark thought it was salty and missing the “meat he likes”. Sue liked it except for the artichokes, the salt came from the Kalamata olives and it was vegetarian (thus the missing meat).
Alas, it was time to drive to the airport. It’s always bad going home, but Chicago was having a terrible cold spell so we went from 80 degrees in Kona to -4 (yes, that’s minus 4) in Chicago, talk about a turnaround! Since we didn’t pack any pants, we wound up going to Walmart and buying jogging pants, which was a very good idea. We still wore shorts and sandals on the plane, but threw on the pants when we got to Chicago (thankfully our luggage arrived with us.).
The flight itself was pretty uneventful. We slept very little on and off for maybe 90 minutes. We used the Avistar/Fast track parking, which cost us about $85 for 8 days. After a slight delay, we were on our way. We got home from the airport about 7:30am and got about 4 hours sleep. Lucky for us tomorrow is MLK day, so we still have a day off.
And here ends our Hawaii vacation – round 1; only 144 days until round 2 starts.