Well January 1st was not a bad start for my thirty days. I didn’t really think about buying anything online. Well that was until I finished my ebook on Kindle. Of course its a trilogy and I’m only on book one. I did luck out. It’s not that good lol. Krystal reminded me that it would be an online purchase. Omg what am I going to read? A book made out of paper? I guess I can re-read something or finish reading a boring book I never finished.

Travel tips for Maui

Packing:

I have revised my packing list.

One rolling medium hard side checked bag. One small carry-on rolling bag empty. One backpack for under seat.

Less shirts with sleeves lol.

More swimsuits.

Packing into the bigger bag half full, thanks Kasey 😉.

I’m sure that Kris will just pack one pair of shorts and a shirt lol so I get the rest of his suitcase too.

All my electronics made the cut except the keyboard. I didn’t use it.

I brought enough shoes. One pair of water/hiking shoes, one pair of flip flops and one pair of slides.

A small towel to wipe off with. The one you take to the beach and sit on gets caked in sand and then so do you when you dry off lol.

My travel pillow was terrible. I will be leaving it behind if it doesn’t fit lol. I will take my regular one.

Sporks.

Car food.

Small cardboard box and tape to mail excess home in.

Small blue tooth speaker for the beach.

Car charger.

A blanket. I know. I usually bring one but I thought I’d be fine….not fine lol.

A long sleeve rash guard. The surfboard chewed up my elbows.

Gate check your carry-on bag for free. Thanks Randy.

Swimsuit cover up that doubles as a dress for a night out.

Cleaning:

After a muddy hike, take your shoes down to the beach. Rinse them off in the ocean and scrub them with sand. The sand helps clean off the mud and salt water and gets rid of stains. I did this after the Pu’u Pia Trail hike, sticky brown mud, and the Sleeping Giant, red dirt mud. Both times my shoes came clean.

Hiking:

Waterproof backpack

More water/ Gatorade

Small towel

Bug spray

Car food

Change of shoes for when I get back to the car.

I will still blog on foxpartyofone.com and notate the differences of traveling with a partner. Stay tuned 😁

10/04/19 Friday

Travel day home.

It’s been dumping rain all morning so I don’t feel quite so bad leaving lol.



I got all my stuff packed up and the room cleaned up. I would like to have been the mouse in the room when the cleaning staff come in and find all the piles of things I left behind. I tried to group them together. If the went out on the balcony and found the bodyboard and fins. The meat and cheese I left in the fridge. The peanut butter and granola that was on the cabinet. Did they eat it? The tide pods in the drawer. I hope they didn’t eat those lol.

Alamo gave me a $40 credit back for the ant problem 😁. Good thing he took my word for it. They are good at hiding. Probably hitching a ride in my suitcase lol.

I got to the airport, checked my bags and since I didn’t pull TSA Pre check a third time in a row I had to stand in line with the rest of the commoners. They make you pull out all electronics and food from your carry-on. So much for my awesome packing job lol. When you get through the checkpoint you just throw all your stuff back in your bag. Next time I will separate it in a stuff sack. Ugh. So unorganized. I checked two bags. I decided I didn’t want to carry two onto the airplane. My main bag weighed 39 lbs again. I don’t think I could pick it up if it were any heavier. The rest of my dirty clothes I stuffed into a duffle bag.

So far I’ve been to Oahu twice, The Big Island once and now Kauai.

Oahu is very commercialized. A lot like being in a big city. Shopping malls and five lane freeways everywhere with the ocean and warm sandy beaches as a bonus.

The Big Island pace was a lot slower. No giant shopping malls and driving was simular to a small town in Oregon. Where I stayed you could walk to a lot of different beaches and shopping areas. My only issue would be the active volcanoes lol.

Kauai was the most reserved with only one mall with Macy’s and a few small stores. It literally snuck onto the island along with a Walmart. I felt they are the most diligent about preserving island and not letting big city developers take over.

I’m on the exact same plane A321-neo from PDX to Honolulu. How do I know this? The portable wall that separates us from first class is the broken in the same spot lol.

The airplane is full. They made everyone in boarding zone 3 gate check their overhead carry-on. I guess that’s how you can save a little money as long as there isn’t anything valuable or going to melt in your bag. That’s why I sit up front lol. Although the restroom is all the way in the back. Yes I had to use it. I geared up with my anti bacterial wipes and sanitized the whole thing. It is so small.

On a side note. I look like a gangster. I packed my hat by accident and had to buy one at the hotel.

Or I look like Kasey lol.

On the way down and almost to the landing strip I feel the airplane start to ascend. What!?! Another plane landed in front of us. So glad we averted. We had to turn around and try again. I hope we make it 😁

I’m back!

Last day in paradise.

Ok. I waited as long as I could. I really thought I would make it. I probably would have if I just stayed at the hotel today but I wanted to go north to Hanalei Bay. So I did it. I fueled up. Scarier than trying to jump off a giant rock lol. I chose the gas station closest to the hotel. I had been scoping them out just in case I needed one. I pulled up and it actually had instruction on the gas pump so it was all good. I put ten gallons in. Probably five gallons too much. I was suppose to return the car empty. Oh well.

I drove up the coastline to Princeville and had breakfast at The Spot North Shore. I waited in line for ten minutes to order. It was totally worth it. Gluten free avocado toast, bacon and bulletproof coffee. Delicious.

Stopped off at some cute little shops on the way. I found my favorite bananas😁 apple bananas.

There was a cute cat at one of the stores.

Hanalei Beach was beautiful. It was huge. I spent three hours in the water body boarding. I caught a few good waves. It rained off and on but it was 85 degrees lol.

It was probably my favorite beach so far.

On a side note: this beach was only 25 miles from my hotel but it took about an hour to get there. There are a lot of single lane bridges to pass and with construction, traffic was crazy. There isn’t a road that goes around or through the island so once you are at the northern most point you have to turn around and backtrack.

I headed south and stopped off at Kilauea Point Lighthouse. It is a wildlife refuge and lighthouse. The Nene bird which is the state bird of Hawaii was there. It is also referred to as the Hawaiian goose.

Back to the hotel to pack. I already organized my clothes into stuff sacks so it shouldn’t take long.

I purchased a bodyboard that can’t come home with me. I am going to leave it on the balcony lol. It was either $25.00 to purchase or rent one for the same amount.

Can’t wait to get home😁

10/02/19

Wednesday

Downhill bike ride. Waimea Canyon with Outfitters Kauai. I figured this would be a great way to see the canyon and have some fun at the same time. Two birds one stone kind of thing. My tour got switched from 230 to 6am. Ugh. Who wants to ride bikes at the butt crack of dawn? Well I guess Oregon time is 9am lol. I am going to have to do some adjusting when I get back.

It’s raining. Lol but it’s 78 degrees. It will be like taking a shower 😂.

Drove down there in the dark. So glad I have Maps and GPS. I’m not sure how I would function without it. I’d be lost lol.

Kevin and Mattias were our guides. Very knowledgeable about the canyon and the hawaiian culture. It’s amazing that Hawai’i became a State just sixty years ago and how much their culture suffered back then. Times have changed for the better.

We could see the Forbidden Isle on one of our stops down the hill. For years no one was allowed on that island until just recently. They let you come over, for a few hours, supervised and a large fee. The Ni’ihau live on that island and the Robinsons own it. It’s estimated around 160 people total. I’m surprised Krystal didn’t make everyone watch that on documentary night before Hawaii lol. Very interesting but I’ll watch Moana and wait to see The Rock as King Kamehameha 😁

We stopped at a view point on the way up before we started riding. We all had to demonstrate that we could ride a bicycle. Lol. Our bikes were beach cruisers. One speed with disc brakes and a giant seat. Some of the people that signed up were a little iffy 😂. One girl had to ride around four times because she almost crashed lol.

We got geared up with helmets and took off down the mountain. It was fun. We had to ride single file and weren’t allowed to pass anyone. I almost ran into the guy in front of me a bunch of times. He kept riding his brakes lol. The van with the bike trailer followed us and radio’d ahead if we needed to pull over to allow cars to pass.

We made a stop at a viewpoint and found some wild guava. I ate some and I liked it. It was a little weird. You eat the whole thing.

The view was spectacular. It looks a lot like the Grand Canyon.

Back on the bikes for the remaining trip down.

Our guide picked flowers for us. Plumeria. If you place it behind your right ear you are available and if it’s behind you left ear you are taken😉

Mines not floppy Camden 😉

We returned to Poipu around 10:30am. When we drove by my Jeep someone had written on it with mud….and threw mud on the door.

It said, “learn how to park” 😳😂

In my defense, it was dark and rainy when I got there and you couldn’t see any lines on the side of the road. Apparently we needed to park head in. Not parallel. One of the other couples on the tour also had mud all over their windshield lol. They parked behind me. Well. Lesson learned 😂😂😂😂

I was soooo tired. Went back and took a nap lol.

10/01/19

Tuesday

Mmmm, breakfast. My favorite meal of the day or maybe it’s just the bacon lol.

Hiking the Sleeping Giant this morning. It’s only 3 miles away from my hotel. Getting there was a chore though. There are three lanes in front of the hotel. Two going north one south. That’s fine but every morning they switch it up with safety cones. So they change it and one lane is north and two south. They block off the left turns so you have to go north and then turn around to go south. So confusing and Maps does not know this lol.

It is 1000 feet at its highest point and about two miles to the top. It took me about two and a half hours round trip. It was treacherous in some spots. I had to actually rock climb. Which climbing up was easy. It was the climbing down part that was hard.

I met a couple on my way down. He had a baby strapped to the front of him. I’m still not sure how he made it up there. I also ran in to some people with little kids. Probably five and seven years old. The older one kept saying he was going to make it and the younger one said he was not going to make it lol. I wonder if they did.

Me at the top. Some guy offered to take my picture. Notice the white knuckles lol.

It was very muddy and slippery. I kept thinking, ” I hope it doesn’t rain or I’ll be sliding all the way back down.”

Went back to the hotel to shower. I sweated like crazy. Then went to Kapaa and went into all the cute little shops. One of them said Kauai/ Portland so I went inside but it smelled like incense so bad I had to leave. I’m not sure the name of it lol.

Back at the Lava Lava Beach Club for happy hour 😉

Hostess : Are you here for happy hour?

Me: Yes.

Hostess: I can seat you at the bar.

Me: No. I would like a table. Hostess: Well you will have to be out by 5:30. We will need that table for dinner.

Me: That’s an hour and a half. I’m not that slow of an eater. Hostess : Oh.

Omg. Well maybe I will stay until 5:31 lol.

Some people just don’t get it. No. I don’t want to sit at the bar and make small talk with random strangers. I want to relax and be lost in my thoughts while looking at the ocean an blogging. That’s why I chose a table. Plus I need some food lol. If there had been one more in my party I’m sure this would not be an issue. It’s not crowded and there is no line to get in.

I think I will leave her a note.

“Your hostess needs to understand that some single people do not want to sit at the bar and have random conversations with strangers. That she should not make the patron feel bad for taking up a table and she should not have given the customer a time that the table would need to be vacated. I pay for my food and I tip. I am also staying in the hotel. So it is convenient for me to eat here. Will I be back? I doubt it.”

Okay. Rant over. Lol.

I have to get up at 4:30am😳. I booked a downhill bike ride for 2:30 pm but no one else signed up. They would rather start at 6am. Which means I have a 40 minute drive for check in. Ugh. I hope it’s worth it.

9/30/19

Monday

Gaaah! my arms lol, they feel like wet noodles from surfing. All that paddling out. I think I need to work on my upper body strength. I’ll go body boarding instead today. Kalapaki Beach in Lihue is supposed to be good for waves and also surfing if I feel like it.

Breakfast at the Lava Lava Beach Club. Which by the way is Huggo’s on the Rocks. Like the restaurant I went to on the Big Island.

Seated right next to the beach.

Delicious 😁

It literally poured down rain last night. I don’t think there aren’t any gutters because the water rolled off the roof in sheets. No thunder😁. I’m kinda liking the whole rain at night thing. Oregon could stand to learn a thing or two lol.

Nope, no gutters. I guess that way you wouldnt have to clean them out.

So besides having manual windows and door locks and no backup camera my awesome rental has an ant colony living in it. They are super fast and the run around like they are on fire. They are also really tiny so when one runs across your legs you can’t smash it. At first I thought Krystal was in the car with me and her stray hairs were blowing on me lol. Nope. Ants. I don’t know if I’m going to call tomorrow on it or not. Then I would have to drive it back to the rental company and I’m leaving in three days. Is it worth it? Maybe if it were spiders lol.

See those white spots? They were moving their eggs.

Went to Kalapaki Beach. No waves but still played in the water for a couple hours. Laid out on the beach. I was getting hot and just about to get in the water when a rainstorm hit. Ahh. I like that kind of rain. Took the body board out. Spoiler alert. You still need to use your arms to use it lol.

Traveled down to Poipu Beach. No waves there either. Floated around. Got a little burned even though I put sunscreen on.

Crazy beach hair.

It’s 80 degrees and pouring. I like it!

9/29/19

Sunday

Today is surf day Sunday 😁 so excited. Booked a class at Poipu Beach Surf School. The class was 10-12 pm. I carried my board down to the beach on my head😁. We were in the water for an hour and a half! The instructor gave you a push when he saw a wave coming. I stood up the first time and fell off. Then I caught my own wave and rode it into the beach. It’s a lot of work for a ten second ride but its totally worth it. I want to go back and rent a board for the day but I think my arms will be screaming tomorrow. I will take the gopro and camera to get some pics.

Lunch at the Lava Lava Beach Club. This time I get a big table. Lol. The waitress was trying to make small talk. Her: Are you here on business? Me: No. I’m here for fun. Her: By yourself? Me: Yes. I went surfing this morning. She ran out of questions 😂

Kris thought I should eat something green so I ordered the garlic shrimp salad. I sent a picture of it to Krystal and she was surprised that I was eating kale and quinoa lol. I told her it came with the shrimp😂

It was really good but I couldn’t eat all that green stuff lol.

So I’ve been down to the beach in front of the hotel a bunch of times and there is never anyone swimming. I found this sign today 😳 I guess a 25 minute drive to Poipu Beach really isn’t that bad lol.

I think this sign covers all but sharks lol.

Krystal read that nine to fourteen days after a full moon the jellyfish come into shore. I guess that wasn’t fake news lol.

9/28/19

Saturday

Yogurt and coffee on the balcony. Went down to the beach in front of the hotel. So relaxing watching the waves roll in and listening to the surf crash.

Too bad I don’t know yoga. They have a free class every morning on the beach.

Went swimming in the pool. The water was nice. There is also a hot tub. Lol don’t know why I’d want to be any hotter.

Drove to Poipu Beach to check it out. Nice waves.

I didn’t really think ahead and wear my swimsuit lol. Oh well I will be back there for a surf lesson. It will be interesting to see if it’s much different than wake surfing behind the boat.

Drove up the beach to the Spouting Horn.

Cats?!? I love cats lol.

I didn’t see any cats but I did see a bunch of chickens. The Spouting Horn reminded me of the blow hole at Depoe Bay.

Stopped off at Starbucks lol. That was for Kasey, Liz and Camden. Which by the way took me forever to find. It was in an outdoor mall and Maps said I arrived while I was still on the street. I am hating on Maps. I always turn too soon and have to backtrack. Ugh. So annoying.

Back to the hotel for dinner. Seated at the same table. As we were walking to my table the hostess said she admired me for eating alone. I told her it was either that or starve…😂 the look on her face was priceless. I know. I’m terrible 😁 I ordered a Lava Lava Mai Tai that comes in a giant bamboo glass. Probably nine inches tall. You get to keep the glass. So I will take one for the team. Team foxpartyofone lol. I ordered the Mahi chowder with a side of rice. Still hungry so I ordered the key lime pie.

P.S.

I only drank a quarter of that Mai Tai.