Category Archive

Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii.

Another new one from my helicopter charter – wow this coast is awesome!

So, we didn’t have a room in Kauai for the last two days of this portion of our trip (which have now turned into 4 days) – we figured we would just wing it.  Well, winging it worked out well, we ended up at an amazing resort – the Westin Princeville / Starwood for just $110 a night for a studio with kitchen and washer and dryer.  We are about as close to the Na Pali Coast as you can get without camping – this is a really beautiful area!  The resort itself is also very nice.

So, how did we get such a deal?  By naming our own price on Priceline.  They break the island down to a few different areas – Princeville is one of them.  The top hotel type in this area on Priceline is 3 and a half star – although this place should be 4.  I did a bit of research, and so far, anyone who entered 3 and a half star, Princeville area is getting this resort, usually for about $110 to $115 per night.

Of course, there are no guarantees on the actual hotel with Priceline, and as the busy Winter season hits around December 15th, this property might drop off the list, or might require a higher bid, but it is worth a try, especially for a property of this quality.  And, to have a kitchen, and washer / dryer is a big bonus.  And, no resort fee, and free wifi in room!

Rainbow over Kauai, Hawaii.

This was from an amazing helicopter trip over Kauai!  Doors off, flying through rainstorms and rainbows – what a great time!

Nukoli'i Beach, Kauai, Hawaii.

Since I pimped my Anza-Borrego workshop on Friday (it is now full by the way – thanks)! – I am falling behind on sharing Hawaii photos, so I decided to do a rare weekend post.  This was from sunset two nights ago.  The trip is going great – more to come.

An oil sheen from the USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

On the surface (literally), this is a beautiful subject – the dramatic kaleidoscope of colors and patterns is a ph0tographer’s dream.  But, these colors are from oil that to this day still seeps up from the USS Arizona.   The USS Arizona is a battleship destroyed during the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in which 1,177 lives were lost on this ship alone – most of which are still on board in a watery grave.  To say that a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial is a moving and somber experience would be an understatement.

Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Well trip from Hell is a big exaggeration – A series of inconveniences would be more accurate.  But that just didn’t sound nearly as good in the title for this post.

It started with our flight.  We got the very last row in the plane – you know, the one where everyone who uses the bathroom stands right next to you and constantly bumps into you as people try to pass each other in those wide isles.  Especially the really drunk lady who visited the restroom every 10 minutes!  On top of it, those seats don’t recline, and the lady next to us couldn’t have been sicker if she was in the hospital.  Finally, the airlines ran out of that thing they call a meal.  But, our luggage made it and we didn’t crash!

Next, our shuttle driver dropped us off two block from our condo.  Not a big deal if we didn’t have 157 pounds of gear in numerous bags.  We drag our gear down the sidewalks and make it to our condo only to find out it hadn’t been clean since  the previous guest.  After a bunch of run around it became apparent that despite being hungry and tired, we needed to find a different room for the night.  We found one, two blocks away – now the 157 pounds felt like 257 pounds, but we made it.

Next morning came and  our condo was still dirty.  Facing check out in our current room, we decided we better cancel our condo and find a room.  This is supposedly a slow time of year here, and a bad economy, but we had a heck of a time finding a place that wasn’t full.  Hotwire finally saved the day.

So, like I said, just a few minor inconveniences.  But we only had a couple of days here and we spent the first two finding rooms or awaiting check in with our bags, but now we are off and running and hope to get as much as we can for our last two days here.  This was just after sunset last night.