Oahu /Molokai

Of course. Nothing ever goes as planned. I just got notification that my return flight will be delayed two hours. That will put me back in Portland at 11:30pm. since I’m not a fan of a 3 1/2 hour drive that late I will need to find somewhere to stay the night. Which also means I need a hotel that will come and get me from the airport. So I will end up staying there the night before the flight.

Staying the night in Portland before my flight does two things for me.

1. I no longer have to watch Krystal pack the night before the flight. This is good.

2. I will be at the airport waiting for Krystal and Randy to show up to board the flight. This is bad lol.

Historically they are never early for a flight. Not “Kris” early, (5 hours before boarding and not even able to check my bag) 😂 but early like me. Normal early. Two hours early. No, they will run in with 45 minutes to spare 🙄 One time, Krystal forgot her phone and we had to drive back to the house to get it lol. They have been lucky though and never missed a flight. Yet.

Getting packed up. I am taking the bare minimum. The least I have ever packed for a trip to Hawaii. We will see how that goes.

I was asked by a reader why I blog my trips.

I blog to let friends and family know what I am up to. I blog to let others that have thought about traveling solo know that it’s possible. Once upon a time I had my doubts I would ever be able to go and see what I wanted without a partner. Don’t get me wrong. Traveling with someone is fun. Experiencing things together but it’s also exhausting. Making sure the other traveler is having fun too. You might want to go shark tank diving or parasailing and they are afraid of heights or sharks lol. But mainly I blog to remember. To be able to look back and have zero regrets. My first blog to Vegas 2016 solo got deleted off of here but I learned a lot from that trip. Part of it was saved in my personal archives and it’s fun to go back and read it. I’m pretty sure that trip was all about buffets and eating lol.

Well, see you in the air ✈️

Oahu /Molokai

Good news! I booked my flights. I decided to fly out of Portland. And when I say Portland I mean Portland Oregon, PDX. The actual flight with Hawaiian Airlines was down to $400 and adding my seat choice put me at $600. I love flying Hawaiian. You are guaranteed one meal and I always choose the extra comfort seats. There is more leg room and I’ll get a window seat. Flying out of Eugene would have been around $1300 with my seat choices. It also didn’t match up with my flight home from Molokai. This way I can stay on Molokai until the day I fly home.

Now that my flight plans are all buttoned up I can think about packing. I still plan to check a bag but my goal is to use a small, manageable piece of luggage along with a small backpack. I don’t want to have to wrangle a big, heavy bag along with my carry-ons. I will pack a weeks worth of clothing. I’ll be able to wash them at the condo before I travel on to Molokai. I wear my bulky clothes and hiking shoes on the airplane. I always bring my jacket and hat for the flight. Its usually freezing and by wearing a hat and headphones nobody will try to strike up a conversation with me. Lol. Not a fan of small talk lol.

I will be flying over with Krystal, Randy and the kids. So the night before the flight I will drive up to stay with them. I know this will probably put me over the edge mentally. Krystal has a habit of waiting until 10pm the night before to pack. The horror😂. I really don’t know where she gets her traveling skills from lol. Obviously not me. I am Ms. Prepared, most of the time. Just depends on what has been forgotten lol but I do try to write up a good list.

Well, I’ve got a couple of months to get into shape, pack and plan my itinerary.

Wish me luck 🤞🏽🤙🏽😁

Thirtydays 2021 recap

Well, and just like that. 2021 is one and done. I guess that should have been my new year’s resolution. Blog for a whole year. I’m actually kind of proud of myself for sticking to it. I think I’m going to print it out so I can read it beginning to end.

So, recap. I’m a little late with this. I quit the gym for a couple of months and I found that was when I blogged the most. So, back at the gym and back to the blog. How do I blog and workout at the same time? Well, my favorite machine is the ARC trainer. It’s just like an elliptical but no arms so that leaves my hands free to type on my phone. Lol helps with my balance too!

Twelve 30 day goals.

1. No online shopping

2. No candy/chocolate

3. Shop small

4. The Purge

5. Green drinks

6. No snooze

7. 64oz water

8. Trash less

9. Trash less 2.0

10. No social media

11. Anti-inflammatory diet

12. Bullet journal

Favorite thirtydays?

It would have to be trash less. I learned a lot about my garbage habits and how I look at packaging of the stuff I purchase. I am still using the un-paper towels and handkerchiefs. I rarely use paper plates and disposable silverware. I bring my reusable shopping and produce bags when shopping. I still use the composter for food garbage.

I cringe with every piece of garbage I put in the trashcan. I wrack my brain on how I can reuse it. I know, by keeping it kind of goes against my second favorite thirtydays.

The Purge. It was very freeing donating bags of stuff that I knew I would never use. I didn’t do the Marie Kondo method, holding it while asking myself if it brought me joy🙄. Nope, I held it up and asked myself how much would it cost me to replace it. Pretty much all of it was minimal dollars except the stuff that had sentimental value. I’m still going through the house now. Someday it will be cleaned out.

Hardest thirtydays?

Has to be the no social media. I don’t really consider myself a social person but social media makes it easy to be social while not in person. You can connect with people near or far with a post, message or a like on their page. Covid kind of cut off the in person meet ups so I think for some it was a needed interaction. I gravitated more towards Instagram because of no politics, just fun stuff. Reddit is my second favorite. Just a forum you can talk to others with similar interests. There is some political stuff but not as much as Facebook and Twitter. They have really gotten more about politics and advertisements which I find annoying but some of my friends only use those venues so I can’t dump them. Tiktok is probably the worst. Laying in bed, swiping through video after video while not realizing an hour or three has passed. I did learn some stuff about plants and iPhone tips but was it really worth it?

Easiest thirtydays?

Had to be the 64 Oz of water per day. I found I drink twice that a day. I love water. Room temperature, not cold or with ice. Just gulpable, sitting out on the counter, water lol.

Which thirtydays have I kicked to the curb?

No snooze. That one was impossible. I am not going to lie. I’m not a morning person. My alarm is set for 6am and most days I make it out of bed by 7am if I’m lucky. Maybe I need to go back east for a month so when I get back I’m used to getting up at 3am 😂

The bullet journal was tough. I live a pretty boring life so the daily bullets were hard to find something interesting to write about. I still keep a bullet journal but it’s just a recap of the month or if something exciting happens.

I am sad that this blog is over but I think a foxpartyofone trip may be in my future. Stay tuned😊

Maui 2021

Day nine-solo

Last day in paradise. Better make the most of it. Surf lesson at 10:30am and I hope the weather is going to cooperate 😃 my instructor’s name is Kris. Lol. I think I can remember that.

Didn’t find many waves to ride because of the storm but I got my workout in lol. An hour and a half of paddling out is hard! We saw a huge turtle poke his head up and take a look at us. So awesome. Forgot why you should wear a long sleeve rash guard….

OH yeah, now I remember. The board rubs your skin right off lol.

I’m starving so going to Leilani’s on the Beach. It’s rated number one on Yelp so we shall see.

20 minute wait for a table. Not bad. Seated next to the beach with an awesome view. The whales were really active not far out. I ordered a Ginger Hoku. Fresh fish and chips and Thin Mint Hula Pie for dessert. Delicious x10 😋 service was good too.

It started raining. A downpour lol. Everyone on the beach packed up and ran for cover. It was amazing how fast they cleared out. It’s still 80 degrees. I probably would have just waited it out. Maybe jumped into the ocean lol.

Back to the condo to try and pack. Yes, pack. Always my nightmare. My bag is not big enough for all my stuff🙄so I got another one. I opted for a smaller checked bag instead of a big one. Two small checked bags are much more manageable for me than one huge one. Because of Covid, Krystal said they won’t pick your bag up for you at the airport and it has to go through the scanner. Krystal must have used her big hair charm because some random guy offered to pick hers up for her 🤣🤣 So I’m checking two bags, carrying on a backpack. Hopefully I don’t break any wheels off lol.

It’s raining. A lot. There is a flash flood advisory. I hope I can get to the other side of the island tomorrow morning or I’ll be stuck on the island and that would be just awful lol.

Maui 2021

Day eight-solo

Omg. Got a text from Tracy the dog sitter. Axel got sprayed by a skunk 😫. Probably the skunk that’s been eating my tulips lol. All this time living in the country and this is the first time it’s happened. I texted Kris. He has a plan lol. Good thing Axel loves water. I feel a little terrible that I’m missing out on all this. A little. Lol.

I’m taking a surf lesson today and tomorrow at Island Style Adventures Surf School. The lessons are held at that awesome boarding beach down the beach walk. It was perfect. After being rolled, pounded by waves and almost losing my shorts, I surfed all the way in to the beach! It’s kinda like wakesurfing with a much bigger board but dependent on mother nature instead of the boat driver for waves lol. My arms and hands are super tired from paddling out but I can’t wait to go out tomorrow.

On a side note, when I was back in my room changing my clothes I bent forward and a ton of water drained out my nose like a faucet. Lolol. Probably from when I got rolled in the surf.

Had a little snack. Spam Musubi. Spam, rice and seaweed all in a convenient brick. It was a bit dry but I was starving.

Back to the room to watch the sunset.

Maui 2021-solo

Day seven-solo

Up early to take the ferry to Lanai. I’m going out to visit the Lanai Cat Sanctuary.😻The ferry ships out of the Lahaina harbor.

Hour long ferry ride in the sun with a mask on 🙄 my tan line should be epic 😂 I guess I could ride inside but it’s probably a germ fest in there so I’ll opt for the mask tan instead lol.

Took a shuttle to cat sanctuary. It’s a cat paradise. It was founded in 2008 to help control the feral cat population and protect the nesting birds on the island.

The cats are sectioned off by age in large fenced in yards. The fences are probably seven feet tall with an overhang so they can’t climb out. Plenty of houses and trees for the cats to hide in and climb on. A cat tree is an actual tree full of cats lol.

They give you a bag of cat treats so you get mobbed when you first walk in. They are all super sweet. I spent two hours there and was sad when the shuttle came back to pick me up. I bought a shirt and a hat and donated the “aloha spirit” money that the good Samaritan who got our car out of the sand wouldn’t accept, to their cause. I’m all covered in cat hair but I loved it.

On the advice of the captain I decided to ride the ferry back underneath. I got a little sea sick on the ride over up above. Every other seat was taped off so people were pretty much six feet apart. One guy was asleep when we were disembarking lol.

Continuing on with todays’ cat theme I stopped at the Cool Cat Cafe. It’s an upstairs open air restaurant with a view of the old town Lahaina walkway and the ocean. Great for people watching. Kris and I ate there last year. Avocado fries and a root beer freeze. Yum!

It was super sunny and hot today. I got fried. Well my arms did. Not my mask face. Lolol.

Maui 2021

Day six-solo

foxpartyofone is officially solo.

Took a stroll down the beach walk looking for food. There is a huge outdoor mall right next to my hotel. Well, its more of a condo. I am staying in an apartment that is owned by “Mark and Susan” lol. Past residents have left notes of gratitude for allowing them to stay. Ummm, they are paying for it so maybe a note from the owners would be more appropriate. Like, thanks for the $$🤣😂

Stopped at Waicoco restaurant which is between the Aston and the Westin. Table for one? Lol. Yes. They can’t push single eaters to the bar now with Covid so yes, I’m going to take up a whole table.

It’s not raining right now but I chose to sit inside the open air building. The cushions were soaked outside.

I’ve been here ten minutes and no service. No water, coffee or contact. They did give me a menu when I was arrived. The table across from me sat down after I got here and they are taking their orders. so annoying. I must be invisible.

Finally. Fifteen minutes in they took my drink order. The manager stopped by and said that he noticed how long I had been waiting and offered to comp my meal. That I could eat anything I wanted. I wish I was hungrier. I guess invisibility has its perks lol.

$60 worth of free food. The pineapple dip was awesome. Sugar, lime salt and something spicy.

I left a tip. They all shouldn’t pay for the inaction of one employee plus the food was delicious.

Stopped by the Concierge desk to see what Kris got me for my birthday. I get to choose to do whatever I want! I was thinking of doing the sunrise tour to Haleakala, ziplining or downhill bike riding but the weather isnt predicted to be the best so I chose to go the island of Lanai and visit the cat sanctuary, whale watch and surf. I can’t wait 😁 thank you Kris ❤️

Went to Black Rock and snorkeled. It’s amazing how buoyant you are in the ocean. I just floated around. I saw some beautiful fish. The water was really clear.

Sat out on the lanai and listened to the surf. It crashes pretty hard right in front of the condo. It’s the perfect place to sit and blog.

My whale watch tour got canceled due to the weather. There are flash flood warnings and evacuations on the other side of the island. The locals say it’s the worst storm in 25 years😲 and it’s not just on Maui. All the islands are on high alert.

The rain eventually turned to a sprinkle so I walked all the way to the end of the beach walk. I found some killer waves for boarding in front of the Kaanapali Alii.

Maui 2021

Day five

Krystal got up early and walked a mile down the street for takeout breakfast for my birthday. Eggs, bacon, potatoes and muffin😋 this time I got to eat all my bacon lol.

She finally finished up packing🙄and dragged her bag down the stairs.

I guess down was much easier than up🤣.

We headed for the airport side of the island to ease my fears of Krystal missing her flight lol. Drove over to Kanaha Beach. It was raining so there was hardly anyone there. We walked down the beach. Krystal had a hunch we would see something and she was right. There were turtles up on the beach. We kept our distance and didn’t bother them but it was funny. They would slowly open an eye and take a look at us. I could have sat and watched them forever.

Stopped at Goodwill and then Ululani’s for Krystal’s last shave ice. Lol. I think we ate it every day we were here.

Rain started coming down hard. Dropped Krystal off at the airport. Sad to see her go. It was a good trip.

Killed some time with shopping. I know, torture, right?

Checked into my hotel. Staying on Kaanapali Beach. I’m on the sixth floor and I have a beautiful view of the ocean. You can hear the surf crash onto the beach. It’s super loud.

Kris called ahead and had a big bouquet of flowers, Lei and a bottle of champagne waiting for me in my room for my birthday! I was so surprised. There was also a note to see the concierge desk for another surprise. I’ll have to go by there in the morning.

Walked down to Black Rock beach. There are a bunch of huge volcanic rocks that you can climb up and jump off of. Ummm, not going to attempt that. If I don’t tumble off from the climb I’m not sure if I would jump off. My only fear, unrestrained heights lol.

Maui 2021

Day four

Woke up early today. 6am. Hiking at Iao Valley State Monument. Krystal read about a secret hike so we are going to check it out. Got there early, 8:15am. And it is cold lol. I should have brought a jacket. The attendant asked if we were locals. Does it count if we look like locals? I think you get a discount if you are. It was $10 to park.

We walked the cement path up to the top. It was a pretty easy hike and I’m not cold anymore lol. Then came Krystal’s “secret” hike. A very well worn trail if you jumped the fence. So we did. We hiked along the side of the mountain until Krystal decided we should turn around. I think she was afraid I would fall off and it would be her fault. That’s fine. The bugs were starting to feast on me lol.

We took all the other trails down by the creek. Krystal wanted to jump into one of the pools but a guy already beat us there. He was layi g at the bottom, flat like he was dead. Oh well. That water was freezing. We were there about an hour and a half.

I read this thing that said that it was bad, even disrespectful to stack rocks anywhere on the islands. I suppose it means different things for different people but I took care of a couple of them. Krystal was horrified lol.

Drove towards Lahaina. Stopped at an outdoor craft market. They took your temperature on the way in. I was surprised mine was normal. I felt like it should have read at least 100 degrees lol.

Went down to the Banyan Tree. Shopped along the waterfront. Found Ululani’s Shave Ice. Delicious 😋 best yet.

Went looking for a good body boarding beach. When I pulled up, Krystal said to stop, don’t go too far into the sand….but I pulled up a little farther. We looked up and down the beach. No one was in the water. Hmmm. That’s suspect. We decided to leave. Ummm, I put into reverse and dug a hole with the back wheels. I looked at the control panel. Omg. It’s not four wheel drive! I tried to go forward and then backwards but nothing. Dug my hole a little deeper.

Just when I thought I would be stranded there forever a guy pulled over and asked if we needed help. Pretty sure he saw Krystal standing in back of the car, her big hair blowing in the wind😂🤣😂.

He was super nice. At first we tried to dig it out and put flat rocks behind the tires but it wouldn’t budge. So, he hooked a strap from his van to the Jeep, gave us a tug and we were free!

We tried to give him money but he wouldn’t take it. Said it was the aloha spirit😊 he was probably thinking, ” stupid tourists” lol. That is the last time I don’t check to see if I have a 4×4.

Traveled a bit down the road and found another beach. This time I backed in. Plus it was gravel not sand🤙🏾

We were getting ready to bodyboard and saw this rainbow raising up from the hills. I’m sure there was a pot of gold over there.

Rode some awesome waves. Even Krystal rode them. We thought we were taking video but were pushing the wrong button…so no proof she did it lol. Sorry Krystal.

Krystal found this warning on a map after we got back. 🤣🤣🤣

Walked down to the beach for Krystal’s last sunset.

Maui 2021

Day three

It’s Maui Goat Yoga day! My birthday present from Krystal, Randy and Camden. I can’t wait. I’ve never done yoga so we will see lol.

Our class is on the opposite side of the island so we were out the door early. We stopped at a farmers market on the way.

Krystal’s favorite place to be. No jelly coffee🥲 must be an Oahu thing.

Thought I would share with you some insight as to Krystal’s planning vs. mine.

Krystal’s list.

My list. [_______] insert things to do…..

🤔 Lol. It’s in my head.

Maui Goat Yoga. This was located up in the mountains at a cute little farm. Basically you do yoga, following the instructor all while goats are running around you and jumping on your back and playing king of the mountain lol. I think I spent most of my yoga time playing with the goats. They were adorable.

That was so much fun! I want one 😁

Drove to Paia for lunch at Island Fresh. Krystal needed a drink.

Super cute outdoor restaurant with a hen and their chicks running around. I ordered my favorite meal of the day. Breakfast. When it came, one of my pieces of bacon was hanging over the edge of my plate. I looked down at my side and there was a chicken giving me the eye. Before I knew what she was looking at she jumped and grabbed that piece of bacon and ran off lol. I guess she is the provider of the family😂