Thinking about that Hawaiian vacation?

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Suds (Popeye's friend) - 31 Dec 2005 21:20 GMT

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051231/NEWS11/512
310330

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Scott - 31 Dec 2005 21:32 GMT

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051231/NEWS11
/512310330

Probably no more dangerous than walking in the wrong part of Toronto after
dark.

But actually, no.

There are dozens of places I'd rather go than Hawaii.

Been there, was not all that impressed.

St. Lucia, Spain, Galapogos, Agamemnon, Scapa, etc. just off the top.

$480 to $920 RT to Honolulu, $710 to $1200 RT to St. Lucia.

http://www.stlucia.org/activity/diving.asp

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Suds (Popeye's friend) - 31 Dec 2005 21:35 GMT

> But actually, no.
>
> There are dozens of places I'd rather go than Hawaii.
>
> Been there, was not all that impressed.

Awww. And here I'd been keeping the guest room with pool and ocean views
empty just for you. I'm crushed. LOL

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Scott - 31 Dec 2005 21:40 GMT

> Awww. And here I'd been keeping the guest room with pool and ocean views
> empty just for you. I'm crushed. LOL

Why have a pool on an island in the warm Pacific?

sh.t, you could have a compressor room, and a mixed gas dive locker
extraordinaire for less yearly layout, and never miss the pool.

You been out to dive with the lava yet?

Oh, and I had an unrivaled ocean view from the deck and bridge of a missile
cruiser (even though our racks were down in between the missile elevators).

Reply to this Message

Suds (Popeye's friend) - 31 Dec 2005 21:52 GMT

>> Awww. And here I'd been keeping the guest room with pool and ocean views
>> empty just for you. I'm crushed. LOL
>
> Why have a pool on an island in the warm Pacific?

Very good question. It came with the house is the answer. I'd love to get
rid of it but that would cost a small fortune. And the kids do love it.

> sh.t, you could have a compressor room, and a mixed gas dive locker
> extraordinaire for less yearly layout, and never miss the pool.

I already have a very fine work area, thank you. All my dive and kayak gear
is stored down there. Actually, if I wasn't so d@mned sick with the flu,
I'd be down there now straightening a bent rudder. I don't want a
compressor. Fills are just ten bucks, less actually with discount.

> You been out to dive with the lava yet?

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Sep/02/ln/FP509020374.html

> Oh, and I had an unrivaled ocean view from the deck and bridge of a
> missile
> cruiser (even though our racks were down in between the missile
> elevators).

Good for you!

Have a happy and safe New Year.

suds

Reply to this Message

Scott - 31 Dec 2005 22:02 GMT

> Very good question. It came with the house is the answer. I'd love to get
> rid of it but that would cost a small fortune. And the kids do love it.

OK, kids would definitely be the trump card.

> I already have a very fine work area, thank you. All my dive and kayak gear
> is stored down there. Actually, if I wasn't so d@mned sick with the flu,
> I'd be down there now straightening a bent rudder. I don't want a
> compressor. Fills are just ten bucks, less actually with discount.

Ten bucks for air????

Blaspheme.

> > You been out to dive with the lava yet?
>
> http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Sep/02/ln/FP509020374.html

I should have included some kind of emoticon, but I dont know what would
have been appropriate, because it was totally fascetious.

I saw the guys doing it on TV, and one of them narrowly missed getting
boiled like a lobster.

> Good for you!

It really sucked, actually.

> Have a happy and safe New Year.

Actually, one of the best in my life.

Ping me offline with a working e-mail, and I'll let you in on the details.

Completely non-political.

Scott

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Suds (Popeye's friend) - 31 Dec 2005 22:20 GMT

>> Very good question. It came with the house is the answer. I'd love to
> get
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> I saw the guys doing it on TV, and one of them narrowly missed getting
> boiled like a lobster.

Actually, someone was killed while filming underwater lava flows about 20
years ago. If you want to go, and can find a boat that will take you, the
Park Service can't stop you but it is highly discouraged.

>> Good for you!
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> Ping me offline with a working e-mail, and I'll let you in on the details.

Not today. Sorry. I'm just about to take a nap. That is if the kids are
willing not to fight for a couple of hours. ;^)

> Completely non-political.
>
> Scott

Reply to this Message

Scott - 31 Dec 2005 22:29 GMT

> Not today. Sorry. I'm just about to take a nap. That is if the kids are
> willing not to fight for a couple of hours. ;^)

No sweat.

It would just make you hate me more.

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-hh - 01 Jan 2006 14:04 GMT

"Suds $Popeye's friend$" <walkthetalk@blowhard.com> wrote:

> Awww. And here I'd been keeping the guest room with pool and ocean
> views empty just for you. I'm crushed. LOL

Don't know what ever happened to the email that I sent you...never heard
back.

In any event, it turns out that our visit to O'ahu was twice as long as
we had planned, but the overall vacation was 66% shorter, as our cruise
was cancelled: CW's 300ft Spirit of Oceanus took damage in a full gale
en route from Vancouver. Consequently, instead of being in Bora Bora
for New Year's, we have to look back at our view from roughly a week
prior, from the Sheraton Moana Surfrider:

http://www.huntzinger.com/photo/2005/hawaii/diamond_head_(A4226).jpg

BTW, Honolulu's Mei Sum Chinese Dim Sum Restaurant (65 N. Pauahi St.),
while very busy, is excellent and IMO worth the wait.

-hh

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Suds (Popeye's friend) - 02 Jan 2006 22:06 GMT

> "Suds $Popeye's friend$" <walkthetalk@blowhard.com> wrote:
>>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Don't know what ever happened to the email that I sent you...never heard
> back.

Sorry, I thought I had replied. I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you
but I doubt I could have done much anyway. The wife and kids have been
keeping me very busy, or were until I came down with the flu. Now they are
just making me feel guilty for spoiling their vacation.

> In any event, it turns out that our visit to O'ahu was twice as long as
> we had planned, but the overall vacation was 66% shorter, as our cruise
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> http://www.huntzinger.com/photo/2005/hawaii/diamond_head_(A4226).jpg

Looks nice. (I thought you were staying at the Hale Koa?) And you had some
great weather. It has been nice and dry out here for the last month. Very
unuusual for this time of year. Did you get in any diving? I know the
north and west shores have been closed because the surf has been very heavy
lately but there are a couple of good dives along the south shore. The east
shore has also been good but I don't know of any dive operators that work
out here. With the lack of rain, the normally cloudy Kane'ohe Bay had ~50ft
vis a week ago.

But all that changed yesterday. It's been raining pretty much constantly at
my house for the last 24 hours. I woke last night to discover water driping
from the roof of my bathroom. Great! Fortunately the roof is still under
warrenty.

> BTW, Honolulu's Mei Sum Chinese Dim Sum Restaurant (65 N. Pauahi St.),
> while very busy, is excellent and IMO worth the wait.

SHHHH!!!

Yes we know about Mei Sum: very good and not bad prices. We used to go
there every Sunday after Church but then it got a good review in the local
paper and suddenly there were long lines. I was hoping things would
eventually quiet down.

suds

> -hh

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-hh - 03 Jan 2006 10:40 GMT

"Suds $Popeye's friend$" <walkthetalk@blowhard.com> wrote:

> Sorry, I thought I had replied. I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you...

We had an early exchange. Looks like my email with final info from 3-4
weeks ago was the one that got lost.

> ... (I thought you were staying at the Hale Koa?)

We were, for 3 nights. The "First Lady" (Moana Surfrider) was the
comp'ed room from Cruise West for 2 nights while they were sorting out
alternative accommodations/flights for all of their stranded customers.

Overall, I do have to say that CruiseWest was very accommodating when it
came to customer compensation for the cruise cancellation:

* 2 nights comp'ed 4-star hotel
* 2 days of comp'ed meals @ hotel (including a reception & banquet)
* RT flight to/from Hilo & guided tour of Volcanos NP
* No-Cost for alternative flight arrangements home
(ours was a non-stop in Business Class)
* Full Refund of cruise portion
* $1000/pp credit towards a future cruise

Mahalo, Cruise West.

> And you had some great weather. It has been nice and dry out here for the
> last month. Very unusual for this time of year. Did you get in any diving?

Wasn't equipped for it, and didn't end up really having any free time
where we could have planned it: our days were full before the trip's
scheduled departure. Our plan included two mornings where we got out to
snorkel, for Margaret to check out a new set of fins.

> I know the north and west shores have been closed because the surf has been
> very heavy lately but there are a couple of good dives along the south shore.

A 'local snorkeling guide' (not Snorkel Bob's) we had found claimed that
Turtle Bay would be calm no matter how rough it got...it wasn't. We
found that Hanauma Bay was much better, but as we were scheduled to be
up at the PCC by noon, we were very time-limited there.

> With the lack of rain, the normally cloudy Kane'ohe Bay had ~50ft
> vis a week ago.

We drove down the entire East side on our return from Turtle Bay...clear
& sunny for 95% of it. Looked like a beautiful area with many free
public beach access areas perfect for a picnic.

We didn't get to the west side at all; will have to save that for a
future trip. I'll also have to do some more digging to see if an old
friend is still living in Pearl City too.

> Yes we know about Mei Sum: very good and not bad prices. We used to go
> there every Sunday after Church but then it got a good review in the local
> paper and suddenly there were long lines. I was hoping things would
> eventually quiet down.

Bad news for you then: there's also a positive review on Fodors.com

-hh

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Suds (Popeye's friend) - 05 Jan 2006 21:14 GMT

> "Suds $Popeye's friend$" <walkthetalk@blowhard.com> wrote:
>>
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> Mahalo, Cruise West.

Oh well, you've still got CSN's : "Southern Cross." There is a book called
"Sailing the Dream" you might enjoy. The auther now lives in Lani Kai.
I've meet him. Nice guy.

>> And you had some great weather. It has been nice and dry out here for
>> the
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> found that Hanauma Bay was much better, but as we were scheduled to be
> up at the PCC by noon, we were very time-limited there.

Hanauma Bay is nice but *very* over used. The local government has been
trying to bring back the reef by closing the park one day a week. It should
probably be shut down much more than that but that won't happen. Too much
money to be made: penny wise and pound foolish.

>> With the lack of rain, the normally cloudy Kane'ohe Bay had ~50ft
>> vis a week ago.
>
> We drove down the entire East side on our return from Turtle Bay...clear
> & sunny for 95% of it. Looked like a beautiful area with many free
> public beach access areas perfect for a picnic.

Then you probably drove right past my house. We live along the north end of
the Bay. I've got a wonderful view of "Chinaman's Hat" right out my window.
It's a nice side of the Island that is still realitively undiscoverd. Not
that I mind.

> We didn't get to the west side at all; will have to save that for a
> future trip. I'll also have to do some more digging to see if an old
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Bad news for you then: there's also a positive review on Fodors.com

Fodors? Next time you are headed out this way, let me know. I've got a
much better travel guide for you.

suds

> -hh

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Hostlbuddha - 31 Dec 2005 22:09 GMT

"Scott" <pugetsounddiver@gmail.com> sputtered:

> Probably no more dangerous than walking in the wrong part of
> Toronto after dark.

It's obvious that you've never been to Toronto, Scotty.

But then you wouldn't since you're too scared to go there.

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