Helicopter, monk seal and secret waterfalls June 28 2009

We started the day in our budget ocean view room and enjoyed a cozy breakfast at the balcony. Then came the helicopter tour which I was very excited about. It was like the Vishwaroopam of the color green! (sorry can't think of a better fitting English word - means 'in true form and all its glory') The most memorable moments were the Jurassic park waterfalls at eye level, and many others adorning the cliffs, flying into the Honopu valley with the Na Pali ridges all around and of course viewing the Waialaealae crater and the Weeping Wall. I wish we spent all our heli time in Na Pali and Waialaealae - very unique and mesmerizing. I was pretty upset that Jack Harters landed at 59 min and odd seconds when it was supposed to be a 60-65. minute tour. Call me bickering but at those rates and all that eye candy scenery, air time should be measured in nanao seconds with an atomic clock which stop counting after 60 minutes. (maybe 59 for our pilot) . We had lunch at Kauai pasta (thumbs up) and then visited the Kilauea lighthouse and bird sanctuary. Birds were everywhere - nesting close to the trail, all over the cliffs and flying above (red footed boobies, red and white tail tropicbirds, Newell shearwater and the great frigate bird).

We then hiked down to Secret beach where D rested in the tree shade while the 3 of us hiked to find the secret pools. The going was a little tough in flip flops over lava rocks especially after we passed by a monk seal snoozing in the sand. The pools themselves appealed less than the waterfalls further down. It was a small waterfall with exactly 3 massage spots after crossing some super slippery rocks but imagine soaking in a waterfall while gazing at the ocean a few feet away. As we headed back to the beach with relative ease, I waited and witnessed the very cute sight of the monk seal wobbling back into the ocean, after it's slumber was disturbed by a rogue wave. We spent time in the water braving the waves and saw a guy boogie boarding without a board! Way cool ... We could also see the Kilauea lighthouse above us. We hiked back up with a smile on our face and joy in our hearts. After much debate we had dinner at the Polynesian cafe in Hanalei. The Mexican dishes r decent, the Asian dishes not as much. G very very sweetly sacrificed his enchilada dinner for me and ate my uncooked rice and sorry looking Tofu. All in all a fabulous start with wildlife and waterfalls.
Notes:
The trail to Secret Beach is short and steep like many other beach access trails of north shore. It was dry when we were there. Rainier weather would have made for a slicker trail.
Please do not loiter and talk close to the monk seals. After all its their hard earned nap time. And yes we heard this from the ranger.
Helicopter tour is great if you have the money for it. The photos are rewarding too. If not don't sweat it, it is just another way of enjoying the beautiful island.
Regarding seating in the helicopter, we got seated in the front. Lucky us! The front middle seat is great for overall viewing while the front right seat is good for photography and gazing on particular sights. The glass panes extend to almost your feet.

Flying to Kauai - June 27 2009

Just boarded the flight to Ontario where we wait for 3+ hours before we fly to San Francisco and then to lihue. I could not sleep yesterday night fantasizing about changing (missing!!!) flights so as to fly on the nonstop which leaves Denver at 11 am and reaches Kauai at 2 pm. That would have been cool(er) right? I have been eyeing that flight ever since I chanced on it being available on miles exactly 4 days after I booked my long winding trip leaving at 9.00 am MST and reaching Kauai at 7.00 in the night ... While I did put my best foot forward in trying to change it, I made peace with it the minute I talked to a united service agent.

Lessons learnt:

united has some seriously twisted rules on award tickets - any changes including missing a flight have to rescheduled on exactly the same itinerary with the same stopovers. Get ready to camp out - tardy award flyers :)

Sometimes procrastination is a virtue. The mystery (wisdom?) is knowing when!

I am thankful that i didn't really miss a flight. That would have been very uncool, wouldn't it?

Last but not the least we are on vacation! The rest is fluff.
We have been grumpy, sleep-deprived, stressed, relaxed, with all care and concern slowly ebbing away all in the span of a flight journey. Yeah baby, vacation has begun ... Long live the travel bug!

East Coast trip - May 20-26 2009

Well the trip mostly involved seeing family and a lot of driving, with some touristy highlights thrown in the mix. The trip included the cities of Binghamton (where I landed), New Jersey, New York, Boston, Amherst and Ithaca (for a little bit).

May 21 2009

I spent a few hours in New York where I took a sub ride to Brooklyn Bridge and walked up to the arch. It was hot, crowded and impressive at the same time. This was my second trip to New York - had already done the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island,Time Square and Rockefeller plaza in my first trip. This time I did a couple things I did not get to see the first time around. I looked around Grand Central Station as well. This was truly a stunning building on the inside. One level had a impressive food court with aromas of bakeries, indian cuisine and many others wafting as you walk by. Another level had a supermarket that didn't look too expensive for its location. If I lived in New York, I think I can maintain my weight sans any extra effort. All that walking in and to subways stations will do it for me. I enjoyed that part a lot- more relaxing that driving a car in a new place. It seemed like the work hours were longer here and in New Jersey possibly because of unavoidable commute times. I drove to Princeton at 8.30 in the night and while I did not get stuck in traffic, the highway was busy.

May 23 2009 - Boston

We stayed in Knights Inn, Danvers for 2 nights. It was okay is all I can say. Breakfast was abysmal, the room was clean but lacking in amenities (no fridge, no microwave) - just a TV. The wash basin was inlaid so much in the counter that you had to bend over to use it. We drove over to Boston harbor and parked in the Harbor garage at a whopping 35$ a day. We lazed around a little bit, had lunch in Faneuil Hall Marketplace and took a whale watching trip to Stellwagen Banks through the New England Aquarium. It was a long ride in and out and relatively less time watching whales. But the whales were plentiful and very close to the boat. I could see the mouth, the tail, the hump almost entire whales. I would take a faster boat if one was available. We came abk to Faneuil Marketplace to have dinner. The Greek/MiddleEastern place was really good with wraps and plates and such.
We came back to the harbor for the Boston Duck tour which gave a good overview of the city away from the harbor. Driving the Duck was also cool. We headed back to Knights Inn after the tour.

May 24 2009

We drove to Amherst to visit my cousin. We also stopped by the Puffer Pond and Quabbin reservoir before driving back to Binghamton. Amherst and surrounds had a very quiet slow life feel to it and as my cousin quipped that the number of cemeteries there (which is a lot) shows how popular it is with the retirement community. Many trees and some hilly drives around.

May 25 2009
Today was the best day sightseeing-wise. My brothers took us to Watkin-Glens Falls where we did the hike from the Upper Entrance to the Main Entrance. I took the bus back to get our car. We then drove to the South Entrance to have a nice picnic lunch prepared by Mom (Vetha koazhambu and thayir saadham) at the expansive lawns there. We also had some very good ice-cream in the Watkin Glens village before heading to Taughannock Falls. On the way we saw the expansive Seneca lake and Hector falls right by the road. Taughannock falls was very pretty in a natural setting and I only wish we had some time to hike down to the falls. The expansive view of the entire river after the falls and the granite-like backdrop of the falls was so impressive. We also stopped at the Cayuga lake picnic area, again very beautiful before we drove back home through Ithaca. Ithaca is also a buzzling town and would make a nice base for exploring this part of upstate. I wouls surely return and maybe even spend a week or more in this area which I tried to see in a day. Looking back, nice memories with family :-)