Tag: party of one

Oahu

Day 4 Tuesday

Pu’u Pia hike. 1.9 mile out and back. Or should I say up and back down. Elevation was 721 ft. Very beautiful hike. Through the jungle with vines and vegetation all around. Muddy and slippery at times with tree root steps. Yes there was falling involved lol. Just on the way down. Me and Camden. We made it to the top and the view was amazing. Took a group photo. The last one was four years ago. We added one small human👶

Back to the room. Since there was no running water we went swimming instead. I took my muddy shoes and scrubbed them with sand. Refreshing 😁

Hard Rock for dinner. It reminded me of the old days. Traveling and eating out with the kids. Even though they are grown it’s still the same. Although Krystal didn’t get nachos and Kasey didn’t get chicken strips lol.

Day 5 Wednesday

Tragedy. Camden dropped his lip balm in the toilet. I said five second rule. He got it out of there pretty quickly and the toilet hadn’t been used. I said clean it with a disinfectant wipe but Krystal didn’t agree and threw it in the garbage. 😭

Thrifting at Savers. I found some t-shirts and a small carry-on for the trip back. I think my stuff expanded lol.

Razor Sports. Drift carts. So much fun. A mix of Mario Kart and go-carts on tiny wheels. There is a lever you can pull to lift the back end of the cart up to drift around the corners. I think Liz screamed every time she turned a corner. Kasey and Randy couldn’t catch me though lol. Hard as they tried they couldn’t pass me and Camden was in front the whole time.

Lunch at the mall Rainbow drive in. Hamburger and rice plate. Delicious!

Beautiful sunset.

Oahu

Day 2

Woke up at 4am which was really 7am at home. Made myself go back to sleep and ended up sleeping until 6am/9am lol

We walked down to swim in the Hilton lagoon. It was a little over half a mile. It started raining but it was more like taking a shower. The water in the lagoon was a tiny bit chilly but refreshing. I walked out towards the middle and looked down and a school of fish surrounded me. Not small ones. These were around 12-15 inches long and pale blue in color. There were 8-10 of them swimming in a circle around me. So amazing. I wonder if they live there full time or got sucked in through a filter?

Kasey and Liz flew in at noon and we went to Costco to pick up supplies. It was a zoo. The parking lot reminded me of the old days when we would go to Costco in Eugene. Searching for a parking spot for fifteen minutes. The inside of the store was no better. Bumper to bumper shopping carts. I like to see what local snacks they carry and I found these. Hmm. I love crab and I was curious as to how they would taste but I just couldn’t do it lol.

Walked down to get shave ice and shopped a bit.

Day 3

Woke up early and walked down to get a Matcha with Krystal. The coffee shop we tried to find on Google/Apple maps couldn’t give us directions so we settled on Honolulu Coffee. Not three minutes later we found Dean & DeLuca lol. Oh well. Doesn’t look like they had matcha anyways so we are all good.

Drove to the Dole Plantation and rode the train. Noa loved it. No bugs this time.

Krystal chose lunch at Beet Box Cafe. Vegan organic vegetable food lol. Yes, nothing there for me to eat so I walked down the street to McDonald’s lol.

Stopped at Green World Coffee Farm and then headed back to the hotel.

Found this notice slipped under our door…. That is so awesome 🙄 in addition to not having a pool, due to reconstruction, we will not have any water from 9am-3pm.

Went swimming at the lagoon again and the ocean side. The ocean side is so much warmer. Like bath water. You just have to watch out for rocks.

Walked down the street for some Spam Musubi for dinner. Yum! Then we walked back down to watch the dancers at the mall.

Total steps today 17,531/7.25 miles😅

Yes, my feet are complaining a little. lol.

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 🤞🏽🤙🏽😁

Oahu/Molokai

This trip started out as a Foxpartyofone getaway. A little blogging and laying on the beach trip. I love traveling with a partner but I also like traveling solo. I feel like it has helped me to grow as a person. It pushes me to step outside my box. My plans were to go to Maui and Molokai. Well, word got out and that quickly morphed into Foxpartyofseven lol. I got a great deal from a friend, using points at her time share. That went from just me to Krystal, Randy, Camden and Noa and Kasey and Liz tagging along. So I changed it to Oahu. Oahu is very walkable so we won’t be tied to each other. There is a lot to do and see and it can all be done on foot. There is a two bedroom available. We will stay there for a week and then I will travel on to Molokai. Alone lol. This is the last island on my list to visit. I would love to go to Niihau but that is a little outside my travel budget lol but at least I will be able to say I’ve been to six out of seven of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands.

I can’t say this will be my last trip to Hawaii because it won’t. Hawaii calls to me. There is always that whisper in my ear. The ocean. The sand. The sun. The fruit and the aloha. 23 and me found me a less than one percent relative from Honolulu. Lol. For those of you who don’t know me, I was adopted at birth, so my heritage has always been a mystery. I must be from there, right?

As always I am wrestling with the question of checking a bag or carry-on. Carry-on would be so much easier and quicker to deplane but I can’t take any self defense weapons on board so I will have to check a bag. This includes a knife and a tazer. The tazer is compliments of Anna. Thank you. I am somewhat doubtful that it works though. Lol, anyone want to be my test subject?

Traveling solo there are always safety precautions that need to be taken.

1. I never use the bellman to take up my luggage, that would imply I am traveling alone.

2. I always do a safety sweep of the hotel room. Check for cameras, the windows and the locks. Bring an extra lock.

3. Lie and say I am meeting someone or my partner is on their way.

4. Put my car keys and wallet next to my shoes in case I need to leave in a hurry.

5. Keep my cell phone and weapon of choice with me at all times.

6. I never stay on an elevator if someone gets on. that gives me the creeps.

Bottom line, always trust your gut.

Omg it’s May and I haven’t booked the flight…. Reason being, I am having a hard time deciding whether to fly out of Portland or Eugene. Portland is 3 1/2 hours away but it is a cheaper and faster flight. Usually a straight shot to Honolulu. Eugene is an hour drive time but I would have to change planes in Seattle so that adds time to the trip. I can stay in a Portland park-n-fly hotel but that adds time driving and also increases the cost of the trip making it about the same as flying from Eugene. So, it’s a toss up.

Welp. Wish me luck 🤞🏽

Maui-2021

Day ten-travel home 😢

All packed up and ready to go. Sitting out on the Lanai listening to the surf roll in. I must have been a dolphin in a past life. The ocean calls to me.

It’s raining so it’s not quite so hard to leave paradise.

I just realized that I haven’t gotten sick the whole time I’ve been here. Normally, I am gluten free. If I eat anything with gluten in it it gives me the worst stomach problems and makes me feel like I swallowed a bowling ball. Since I’m on vacation I have played the gluten lottery and I ate a white bread egg sandwich, breaded fish and chips and other stuff that normally gives me problems. Weird. Is there no gluten on the island, is it the ocean or the sun? Maybe it’s the time of day that I’ve been eating. Up early. Eating early and last meal in the afternoon? I don’t know.

The rental return process was super easy. I just pulled up and they emailed me the receipt. I chose to walk the path from the return station to the airport rather than take the train with a bunch of people. I figured I’d be sitting down for five hours and a ten minute walk wouldn’t kill me. Well maybe. Dragging two bags lol.

On the way thru check-in my shoes fell through the conveyer belt and landed underneath. The attendant was too big to crawl under and get them so they were going to go look for a broom. I crawled under and got them. Gross lol. My bags weighed 37lbs and 43lbs so total would have been way too much for one bag and there’s no way I could have picked up an 80lb bag lolol.

I got to the gate three and a half hours early. Flash flood warnings behind the airport! Glad I made it before then. Went to the first class lounge which is really just a place to sit and get wifi and drink coffee, tea or soda. No snacks because of covid 🙄 but it’s quiet.

I have to show off my invention. My ears get really irritated and I get a headache from the mask straps so I bought two hat pins and wrapped the cord around them instead of my ears. Genius lol. Too bad I can’t wear a hat to work. Maybe I could do the same thing with a headband and buttons 🤔.

Finally in the air at 2:30pm. Oh joy. The flight is full and I have a seatmate. Ms. Gluten free dairy free. She brought her own food but complained they didn’t have food for her or non dairy creamer for her coffee. But she ate the crackers and chocolates they handed out? I’m pretty sure my eyes rolled into the back of my head and were about to get struck🤣 Uh hello? Gluten and dairy for sure. So headphones on, hood up and movie time for me lol.

The flight was four hours 59 minutes. Exactly. Pulled into Portland International Airport. Staying at the Radisson Hotel tonight then home😊

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.