Hawaii Christmas Break 1998

17 December 1998, Thursday
	Alas Ray and I are in Hawaii! Our flight was delayed 14 hours 
leaving Anchorage.  Plus, it took 1 1/2 more hours after starting 
boarding to take off, something about waiting on a weather forecast.  
So instead of lying on the beach we were still at the Anchorage airport 
this afternoon.  When we finally arrived, the airline had misplaced my 
bike. How do you lose a bike box?  We checked into the Honolulu Prince 
hotel to wait for word on my bike and took a nap. When we woke up, the 
airline left a message saying they had located the bike and would 
deliver it to the hotel.

19 December 1998, Saturday
	Went to see You've Got Mail at the theater here in Waikiki.  
It was real good. Other than that we have been pretty lazy, getting 
used to the heat here in Hawaii. Went to the beach.

20 December 1998, Sunday
	Put the bikes together this morning.  With the new derailer, 
Ray's chain wasn't quite long enough so he had to put in another set of
links.  He also has small wobbles in the tires. My bike was fine. We 
rode to a bike shop.  We bought a pair of gloves for me (the last pair 
of medium they had and they were completely out of size small becuase 
of the triathalon last week), handlebar tape, tire liners, a shirt, and 
sun block for athletes.  At dusk, we went swimming in the ocean.

21 December 1998, Monday
	Had a rude awakening this morning, the fire alarm went off a 
little before 730 am.  Everyone had to leave their room.  We went to 
the parking lot.  Then we got tired of waiting so we left for a walk. 
Turned out to be a false alarm.
	We rode our bikes out to see the new Star Trek Insurrection 
movie at a mall about 5 miles away.  While we were waiting for the movie 
to start, we went into a book store.  Ray bought a book.  After the movie 
we decided to go diving tomorrow (we were both certified SCUBA last 
time we were in Hawaii). For convienance sake we decided to hire the 
dive shop across the street (Waikiki Dive Shop).

22 December 1998, Tuesday
	Diving this morning nice and early. It was a pair of boat dives.  
The first location had a coral bottom.  The second was sand with some 
coral.  Very colorful fish and sea turtles.  I touched the shell of a 
turtle as it swam by.  It felt like dirty tile. There was an old anchor 
and some tire rims on the bottom.  There was a line where no coral grew 
connecting the tires.  Ray figures the tires were connected by a chain 
at one time, but it corroded away leaving only trace elements in the 
sand which are enough to prevent anything from growing in that area. 
Our guide killed 2 sea urchins and we fed them to the fish. That was an 
interesting experiance. Suddenly we were surounded by many, many fish 
who came and nibbled on the urchin.
	We had a private dive because the other couple who were scheduled 
this morning changed to a different morning.  It was very pretty underwater. 
Since you must wait 12 hours before flying after diving, we will be 
leaving to bike the big island (Hawaii) tomorrow instead of this afternoon. 
Just as well since we haven't yet repacked.

23 December 1998, Wednesday
	Slept in this morning.  Got up, took a bath, and packed for the 
bike trip. We then rode to the airport.  We shipped the bikes whole. For 
flights to the islands, you are required to box bikes but flights between 
the islands you don't have to. My seat got torn a bit so we covered the 
tear with duct tape :(
	We are staying tonight at Arnott's Lodge in Hilo. We stayed here 
last trip as well. Lucky for us they had a barbeque so we didn't have 
to go back into Hilo for food tonight.  It was good. This may be our 
last real bed for 2 weeks because we begin biking int he morning, which 
means camping out in our tent. Hope I sleep good tonight. It's kind of 
noisy here. It just started raining. Sounds nice hitting the tarp over 
the patio.

24 December 1998, Thursday - Hilo to Laupahoehoe Point, 30 miles
	Ate breakfast at a pancake house in Hilo. Bought groceries in 
Hilo also. We have food for 2-3 days. We almost ran out of water today 
from drinking so much. It got about 85 degrees F. That's hot, very hot, 
considering it was -40F when we left Fairbanks a week ago. Still not 
used to the heat.
	Up and down hills all day. 2 big gultches at the end of the day 
we walked up. Rain showers this evening after we arrived at camp. Had 
dinner of rice and tuna in a covered pavilion. The Bike Hawaii book had 
a typo on one of the distances. According to the book, this place is 
just after milepost 18. In reality it is mile 28. As a result, we biked 
30 miles today instead of the 20 we planned.

25 December 1998, Friday  Merry Christmas!
	Stayed at the same park. It rained most of the day. At evening, 
we moved to the large pavilion which has lights. Not a lot happened 
today. We read, cooked dinner, went for a short walk around the park, 
then went to bed.

26 December 1998, Saturday - Laupahoehoe Point to Honoka'a, 15 miles
	We misplaced the tent bag this morning. Up and down more hills 
today. Stopped for lunch at 130 when passing the town of Honoka'a. 
Decided to stay the night. We did a load of laundry, had a steak dinner 
at the hotel restaraunt. I had a glass of wine. Ray had some fruit 
punch that tasted like a melted popsicle. Stayed in a hostel/hotel.

27 December 1998, Sunday - Honoka'a to Hapuna Bay, 27 miles
	All uphill this morning. We walked 4 miles of the hill, so we 
only rode 23 miles today (this was a long, hot hill this morning). The 
good thing is that it was all downhill this afternoon. Went from 1000 
feet this morning to 2500 feet in Waimea at lunch to sea level at night! 
Not a good beach for swimming, but for for playing in big shore waves. 
I had an episode with my heart before dinner.  Ate dinner at the beach 
before finding a place to camp. Ray had a flat tire outside of Waimea 
(rode over a nail). We camped in a small clearing encircled by thorn 
bushes just outside the beach park.

28 December 1998, Monday - Hapuna Bay to Kona, 33 miles
	Ray's tire got 2 holes in it from rolling over thorns at the 
campsite this morning. Same one (front) as yesterday's flat. As a 
result, we were later getting started than we had hoped.
	VERY HOT RIDE TODAY! It was 97F once when Ray looked at his 
bike thermometer.  There was no shade at all. This is the route the bike 
portion of the Ironman triathalon follows. Rode awhile in just my sport 
top. Got sick from the heat. Ray says it was mild sun stroke. Definatly 
heat exhaustion at the least.  Poured water on my tank top.  That 
helped. We ran out of water even though we were carrying more today 
than any other day so far. All we had left was Kook Aid and Mountain 
Dew. We rode into the airport in Kona to fill up on water and rest 
before heading on into town.
	We checked into a hotel. We both have sun burn on our left side, 
which is the side the sun was on. I have small blisters on my lef just
 above the knee.  It hurts even to put a sheet over. At least the hills 
weren't bad today. We were going to make a few stops but passed one and 
were too hot to stop at the others. We will see them when we rent a car. 
This is a faily large hotel. It has 2 pools and a garden area. We went 
swimming to cool off before going to bed and watch tv. 

29 December 1998, Tuesday
	Stayed in Kona today, to recouperate and rest after yesterday's 
heat. We sorted out the packs, sent some things home, bought mugs for 
my parents and mailed them. We ate dinner at Sizzler. Slept in, or 
tried to, an alarm clock in a nearby room woke us up at 630. So we got 
up and ate breakfast in the hotel restaraunt. Lousy, slow service. 
Checked e-mail at an office service/copy place. Watched tv again before 
going to bed.

30 December 1998, Wednesday - Kona to Captain Cook, 10 miles
	Got a late start, nearly noon before we checked out of the 
hotel. We had breakfast at the hotel again. In anything the service 
was worse than yesterday. There are little 3 inch lizzards everywhere. 
It was hot riding again, and mostly uphill. The hotel here in Captain 
Cook was built in 1917.  We had pork chops at the hotel restaraunt. It 
was very good. We walked to the store after dinner for food tomorrow.  
We came back then went to bed.

31 December 1998, Thursday - Captain Cook to ??, 13 miles
	Had to stop riding today because I strained my right knee 
pretty bad. We got an early start (just after 7am) so we could ride 
while it is still cool outside. It was mostly downhill. We planned to 
go to HOVE today. We got a ride back to Captain Cook from a nice local 
woman in a pick up truck. It was just around noon when we checked back 
into the Manago Hotel. Ray went to the store and bought me 2 books and 
an ace wrap for my knee. The hotel lent me and ice bag.
	Ray called Kona and was able to reserve a car (no more biking 
for me this vacation). I read and took a shower while Ray rode back 
into Kona to pick up the car.  Had dinner and lunch at the hotel. Still 
good food and service.
	It was a noisy night. Everyone in town it seem had firecrackers.  
The hotel was no exception.  they closed a parking lot and lit up.  It 
finally quieted down about 1 in the morning.

1 January 1999, Friday
	Ate pancakes (huge) in the hotel.  We drove on to the volcano.  
A man had a pass to the park from yesterday he sold us for $5. The 
normal cost is $10.  It is good for admission until the 6th.  Set up 
camp at the park just outside the enterance.  it was just about full.  
Drove around Crater Rim Drive. There is more steam now than when we 
were here 2 years ago. Drove down Chain of Craters Drive and the side 
road to the old campground.  It was closed because Nene birds are 
nesting there. We say 2 adults with 3 young chicks still furred out.
	Ate dinner at the Volcano House. Ray had tuna steak and I had 
lamb. Both were excellent. We had salads, bread and dessert. The bread 
was good, but not nearly as good as last time. Back to camp and bed. 
We had to share the campsite with another couple. All the campsites 
were doubled up like this.

2 January 1999, Saturday
	Went to the museum in the volcano park this morning. had lunch 
at Pizza Hut in Hilo. We drove to the Geothermal Energy plant. They are 
closed to tours on weekends. Along the same road is Lava Tree State 
Monument park. Ray took a nap while I walked around. The trees are the 
opposite of the tree moulds in volcano park. Those are holes in the 
lava where it went around the tree, cooled, and the tree burnt out.  
These are stumps up to 10 feet tall covered with lava.
	Passed the park where Mark Twain planted a tree. The park shop 
was closed. We couldn't figure out which tree what the one he planted 
so we left. this morning we drove up Mauna Loa Road and had hot 
chocolate at the end. There is a trail that goes from there to the 
summit. Stayed the night at the campground again and shared it with 
the same couple. They are from the Netherlands and seem nice.
	We went to South Point. This is the southern most point in the US.
There are cliffs you can jump off of (if you are brave enough, next spot
of land is Antartica!). There is also a green sand beach, but we didn't
go there because it is somewhat of a walk and my knee is still sore.

3 January 1999, Sunday
	Went to breakfast at the pancake house in Hilo.  From there we 
drove the Saddle Road and up Mauna Kea to the visitor's center at 9000
feet elevation.  It has a lot of astronomy and information about the 
observatories at the top.  Very drastic scerery changes along the road: 
city, desert, lava, desert, and finally ranchland.  Back in Kona we ate 
dinner at Sizzler and stayed at Seaside Kona Hotel again.  we stayed up
and watched "B-5 A Call to Arms" on tv. It was good. We tried to tour the
Natural Energy Lab but it is by appointment only. Ray did some geology
work at one of the lava fields on the way to Kona.

4 January 1999, Monday
	We did laundry at the hotel this morning. We drove northeast to 
look at the petroglyphys we passed while biking but were to hot to stop.
We ate lunch at Subway in Waimea. I was sick all afternoon from food
poisoning. We spent the night in Honoka'a again.

5 January 1999, Tuesday
	Drove back along the same route as yesterday this morning. We 
stoppedat the lookout over the Waipio Valley. We didn't go down into 
the valley because my knee wouldn't take the walking. It is a 25% grade 
going down. We stopped at a coffee roaster place to buy coffee for 
presents. Then drove to the tree Mark Twain planted. This time the store 
was open. We bought icecream, took pictures of the tree then went on to 
a black sand beach.  I waded in the water while Ray sat on a rock. We 
left soon after sunset. We were going to spend the night in the 
campground near the volcano but the icecream made my stomach sick again.

6 January 1999, Wednesday
	We went diving just out of Hilo this afternoon.  We rented gear
rather than hire a guide. It was a difficult entry off of lava.	We dove 
to about 45 feet.  There is an arch you can swim through. Ray found a 2
pound weight bag under it. After the arch, we went to a gravel area and
saw some turtles. Getting back to the shore was a chore. The current was
against us, there is only a small area to safely approach where we entered.
Once there, we had to climb back onto the rocks and take off our gear. We
rented 2 tanks each, but decided not to use the second one becasue it was 
getting late. We showered and cleaned the gear then drove back to Hilo to
return it. After the excercise of diving we were both hungry, so we went
to Burger King for a late lunch. We decided to go back to Honoka'a for 
the night.

7 January 1999, Thursday
	We drove back to Hilo this morning. We stopped at Alakaka waterfalls
along the way. They were great. The trail to them winds through the jungle
and bamboo. A busload of tourists was there so the trail was fairly crowed
in places. 
	Problem: We are in Hilo. The car was rented in Kona. I can't 
ride a bike far because of my knee. How to return the car and both leave 
from the same airport?
	Solution: Ray drives from Hilo to Kona then rides his bike back
while I stay in Hilo.
	At noon, Ray checked me into Arnott's Lodge. I was to stay in the 
dorms until he arrived back late Saturday evening. We went to thestore so 
I could buy any food I would need. After unloading the car and packing 
Ray's bike bags, I am left to myself.
	I unpack my things and amuse myself by reading for the rest of the
day. Ray spent tonight at the Manago Hotel in Captain Cook.

8 January 1999, Friday
	I am alone. Ray is on his way back from Kona, and I worry about 
him. I was recruited to help clean the hostel today. In return for doing
laundry, I got my bed free for the night. The person cleaning the room
brought the sheets to me. I washed, dried, folded, and put them away In
between folding sheets and loading the washer I read another book. It 
started raining this afternoon.
	Ray spent tonight in a macadamia nut orchard. The tent leaked so 
he spent as much time bailing water as sleeping.

9 January 1999, Saturday
	Read another book today. My knee was feeling better so I went 
for a short walk. Ray came back around 7 this evening. The hostel had
another barbeque tonight, which we ate.
	It rained most of the day today. Poor Ray, he had 5 flat tires 
today! One time he got a flat the tire got wound up in the wheel. He put
the new tube in, but it had a hole in it, later found out there was not 
one but 2 hole in the new tube! Luckily, the rain let up while he was 
fixing the flats. When he arrived at the hostel, he was wet and muddy.
	We moved the stuff from the dorm to a private room, ate dinner, 
and went to bed.

10 January 1999, Sunday
	The hostel van drove us to the airport this morning. We then flew
to Maui via Kona. It was a clear day and good view out of the plane. Ray's
parents are spending their holiday on Maui so they met us at the airpor.
We then unpacked and drove up Haleakala (not sure if I spelled that right).
His mom fixed us dinner.  Ray's dad lost his wallet sometime at the
mountain, so he and Ray drove back up while his mom and I worked on a 
puzzle.

11 January 1999, Monday
	We went diving this morning at Molokini. Ray's parrents went 
along, but stayed in the boat. This is considered on
of the best dive sites in the world. The tour we wnt on is a 2 tank boat
dive. The wind was blowing when we started out which caused the waes 
to be choppy. I panicked a bit when I got in the water because the
waves were breaking over everyone's head. I managed to get caled down 
and had a wonderful dive.
	Normally, I use a sixty-pound tank for diving.  This is 
smaller than most people use, yet I am able to stay down the same 
time as other people. On the dive off Molokini, I was given a standard 
eighty-pound tank. I was the first person to have to surface the 
first dive because I panicked and used a lot of air, despite having 
the larger tank.  Since I did not panic, I was able to conserve my 
air properly on the second dive.  As a result, I stayed down with 
the guide and Ray almost half an hour longer than everyone else on 
the tour.
	In the afternoon, we went on an old steam driven train tour 
through some sugar cane feilds. We all had dinner with friends of 
Ray's parents. It was a pleasent day.

12 January 1999, Tuesday
	*Sigh* Today is our last day in Hawaii. We went swimming in an
outside pool this morning. We packed, Ray's mom was kind enoug to do
our laundry, ate lunch then flew to Honolulu.  Ray's cousin lives in
Honolulu so we had dinner with her at an Italian restaraunt she 
recomended. She gave us each a lea. They were pretty. After dinner we
went back to the airport and flew to Anchorage where we spent the night
with friends.

13 January 1999, Wednesday
	Drove back to Fairbanks from Anchorage today. I am told we missed
a good cold spell while we were in Hawaii. School starts again tomorrow.