Whine & Cheese

Hawaiian Hunks

Don't you just hate when you're taking a picture and someone walks right in front of your shot?!?

Well, in this age of digital cameras, I guess it is not much of an issue... instantaneously you know whether you "got the shot."  Likewise, you can click away freely without worrying about running out of film... ah, technology!

So here I am tyring to get a nice picture of the ocean or the beach... and gosh-darnit look what happens!

Ok, I was a naughty boy...  it was a little nerve-wracking and a little exhilarating to capture (discreetly!)  some of the "scenery" on the beaches of Hawaii.  Thanks goodness for a zoom lens... and "faking" that you are looking through the pictures on your viewfinder (like I could see anything in that tiny screen in bright sunshine!).  There were a few more pix, but unfortunately they didn't quite come out... especially a D.I.L.F or two!   I guess some things are just meant to remain in the memory bank.

And, no... I didn't have the balls (figuratively speaking, of course!) to take any pictures at Little Beach... and besides, even I know that would have been totally not cool (well, there is a pic or two... but you ain't seeing those!)... but hopefully above photo montage doesn't cross the line too badly (we were in public, right?!). I was just admiring their swimsuits and fitness level!  They should be proud!

Finally, thanks to those who responded to my whine beg request in the previous post for some attention comments... always nice to hear from some of my "regulars" and know that you are still out there.   A guy can have a little bout of insecurity every now and then, right?!

HTR: Beaches (Au Natural Edition)

This is a continuation of the Hawaii Trip Report: Beaches post... I thought I had left a good cliffhanger... but didn't get any feedback...

So I don't know if there is any demand for the rest of the story... or if it is just a little too much "sharing"... but here it is, whether you like it or not... haha!

One of the things on my (I'll take responsibility for this one) Maui checklist was Little Beach... arguably the nude beach in all of Hawaii.  But those plans almost got derailed... midway through our Maui stay we both got some serious sun (headache, throbbing, "shrieking" skin), so the brakes were pretty much put on any further related activity that was in the sun (which is pretty difficult to do on a tropical island).

After taking a drive to central Maui to see the 'Iao Valley, we found ourselves with still a good chunk of the day... so we drove down to South Maui where we saw some amazing scenery (which I am so glad we did)... but it also offered us an opportunity, despite our bright red skin, to detour to the beach.

It is not difficult to find.  You pretty much take the one road down to South Maui (past Kihei, Wailea, and Makena)... keep an eye out for the Big Beach parking lots (if Little Beach is your destination, take the first/most northern lot you hit) ... walk to the beach... look north for this lava flow...

... and make the short climb up and over... and there you are (The picture of Big Beach from the last post was taken from that sandy portion, near the tree, at the top of the lava "hill")...

And... well, hello...  there you are with a lot of folks enjoying the sand and surf in the buff... and while one might stand out, there were certainly many folks who chose not to go "the full monty."

For my heterosexual readers, you will want to claim any spot you see once you get to other side... because oddly enough at the far/north end of the beach... it seems like it is just the guys... hmmmm?!?!   Yes, for "family" this is a sorta perfect storm... a nude and gay beach (well, at least a portion of it).

As you'll hear over and over from naturists, there really is nothing sexual about it... and I certainly agree.  Swimsuits that leave something (particularly little) to the imagination, have far more sexual "power" than being naked.  Even at the north end of the beach, there really was no palpable tension in the air... though I certainly sensed a bit more "looking" and "being looked at" going on (guilty as charged!).

A bit surprising (maybe, maybe not?!) was that there were a lot more guys at the "gay" end wearing swimsuits than anywhere else on the beach.  But there was certainly a sense comaraderie just being there... so I understand it just being nice to be in that setting... no matter what the comfort level was in how much skin to share or not share.

But overall there was nothing to be ashamed about... there were all shapes, sizes, ages... men and women... it was all pretty liberating. 

That said, you know how it works... there were people I likely would have chosen not to have seen naked... and swimsuit wearers who really should have lost 'em... but there were exceptions!   

It got to the point where I played a little game with new arrivals... guessing who would and wouldn't take it off... and, unfortunately, in most cases I was guessed correctly using those Murphy's Law "rules."

Funny enough, there were a few guys that were staying at our hotel in Maui that we sensed (ok, knew) were "family"... so guess who shows up to the beach (and the north end!) shortly after we arrived?  I think there were a few discreet back and forth double-takes... but no full acknowledgement... and we never did met up face-to-face at the hotel after that.

So I guess that's it... like I said, we didn't stay too long given our previous day sunburns... and, oh...  do I really have to say whether or not I dared to bare?  Definitely a fun little excursion!

And if Little Beach is not your thing...  I still very highly recommend a trip to South Maui to spend a day/afternoon at Big Beach... both Big & Little Beaches had the most wonderful silky beaches and amazing crystal clear waters in every shade of blue imaginable.

Maui Pictures

Whew!   

Just finished uploading and doing brief descriptions of the Maui pictures... so they are here for your viewing pleasure... 48 of them... so twice as many as Oahu... but we were on Maui longer and had a car to explore the island... and believe me, we explored most of it!!

So just some highlights of what you'll see:

The Road To Hana - this is the famed road trip to a small town on the East Coast of Maui... the road, for the most part hugs the coast... but here are the stats: 52 miles, 617 curves, and 56 one-lane(!!) bridges .. they say it takes 3 hours... but we did the big loop around the entire Eastern portion of Maui... and with some stops along the way (some more than 1 hour) we got back in 11 hours!

Waianapanapa State Park - Just before reaching Hana, this is definitely a stop worth making.  A volcanic black sand beach... and amazing scenery with the black rocks, lush vegetation, and the ocean.

Haleakala Nat'l Park at Kipahulu and the 7 Sacred Pools - Past Hana on the East Coast of Maui, a series of waterfalls and pools tumble down  the Haleakala Crater (its peak is an amazing 10,000+ feet above sea level).  We hiked uphill to see a couple of the waterfalls (a series of falls and pools are right near the park entrance and are just a casual walk for those who want to save their breath and legs)... and 1.2 miles up ran into a bamboo forest.

Nakalele Blowhole - What a treat this was...on the Northwest coast of Maui.  Here the ocean undercuts the shoreline, but the pounding surf has broke through the lava plate and created a manhole-sized opening... when the waves come it "erupts" like a geyser.  It required a short (half mile?) hike downhill.. but it was well worth it and we had it all to ourselves for a good 15-20 minutes.  The area also had some stunning scenery...  the blue sky, turquoise waters, foamy white surf, and black volcanic rocks made it a surreal setting.

And more waterfalls and sunsets than you probably care to see (believe me there are many, many, many more sunset pix!)...

So again, you can either go directly to the my Maui Flickr photo set or perhaps just go to my home Flickr page and see them all plus my descriptions.

Hawaii Trip Report: Beaches

No Hawaii Trip Report would complete without a little discussion about the beaches...

Arguably one of the most famous beaches in the world (let alone Hawaii), is Waikiki Beach. 

Our hotel (Hilton Hawaiian Village) wasn't technically on the Waikiki Beach, but the several beaches that make up the Waikiki area... did I care, heck no!

In the picture to the left, you can see our beach was quite spacious... and after walking down to the heart of Waikiki I have to say I am glad we stayed where we did.  This area by far was the widest beach in the area.

Now, I know part of the beach experience is probably to be elbow to elbow with sweaty and hot bodies... but personally I like a little space, okay more than a little space... be able to see the ocean vs. someone's backside (well, depending on the backside!) or be two feet from a children playing in the sand.   But if that's you want you can certainly get it...

The picture to the right shows you the heart of Waikiki... I know it is kind of small, but I think you can get a sense of the number of people.  What you might be able to see, is the size of the beach. For the most part, the beaches in the heart of Waikiki had were maybe half the size/width of the Hilton beach.

Many of the hotel, including such schmancy grand dames as the Sheraton Moana Surfrider and Royal Hawaiian, had very small beaches... a small portion of the beach was cordoned off for "hotel guests only."  There was at least one hotel that had no beach at all!   Also, the hotels are much more packed together than the Hilton's very spacious property. 

While we certainly expected crowds and high density in Honolulu, I was still surprised by how packed in things were... especially for some of the more pricey places we passed on... we pretty much went in blind in our hotel decisions... but no regrets at all.

In Maui, our hotel (Embassy Vacation Resort) despite being on the famed Kaanapali Beach, did not have much of a beach at all... even smaller than those that I was just talking about on Waikiki.   The one day we spent "on the beach" (and totally got fried) was on lounge chairs (free, no renting here... though you could rent cabanas) on grassy area.  Now, that is pretty much beach sacrilege... but after experience sand getting everywhere for awhile it was nice not to have to deal with it this time around.

But before I scare you off... there are very nice, spacious, wide portions of Kaanapali ... just not fronting our hotel property.  Just a very short walk south of hotel (north of Whaler's Village) was a very nice stretch of beach.

One of the most stunning beaches we saw in Maui was on the famed road to Hana (a very twisty road to the northeastern part of the island)... and a highly recommended stop at Wai'anapanapa State Park, where you can see (according to the guide book) the only volcanic black sand beach on Maui.  There are too many pictures to share of this place to put in this post... but there will plenty to see when I put up the Maui pix on Flickr, so stay tuned (I hope to do that later today).

But my "best beach in Hawaii" award (and granted there was a lot we didn't see!!) goes to Big Beach in South Maui.  If you are not staying at one of the very fancy places in the area (Grand Wailea, Four Seasons, Fairmont), it is a bit of a drive (as, to our surprise, nearly everything was in Maui) but it is well worth it.

Besides this gorgeous beach you see to the left, the area has some stunning volcanic remnants scenery (this area had the last lava flow on Maui). We went mid-week, so I imagine it gets much more crowded.

The sand was like walking on wall-to-wall carpeting both in and out of the water... and the water was crystal clear and gorgeous shades of blue.  This was the only place where I saw some sizable fish just going waist deep into the water. 

However, we didn't spend too much time on Big Beach... after not getting much "color" during our stay, we decided to lay off the sunscreen for a bit... do NOT do that... EVER!  Go down on SPF, but do not go sunscreen free... so both myself and Todd were pretty toasty from the day before. I am sure most people know the feeling of your skin "shrieking" when you head back into the sun after getting too much sun... so that cut our stay short...

But the other reason to move beyond Big Beach was a visit to its more infamous sister and just a short climb over a lava flow... Little Beach.  Though technically "illegal," this secluded part is the official unofficial official nude beach on Maui (and from what I gather, all of Hawaii).

Given the length of this entry (sorry!) and knowing a good cliffhanger when I see one, I will just say...

... To Be Continued

Oahu Photos

As expected, I got slammed big time with work today... so it was no gentle glide back into the work pool.

So much for my next installment of the Hawaii Trip Report?!!  However, I was thinking of cutting it short.  I sense it won't be a very popular or terribly endearing blog topic.  I do want to share a few more stories but I'll try to keep it short and sweet (though that is a tough task)... though I am not quite sure when I'll get a chance to do it.

But yesterday, I did manage to upload a selection of photos on Flickr from Oahu portion of our trip ... so Waikiki, Honolulu, and Pearl Harbor... so you can check them out at that link... or go to my "home" Flickr page.

Oh, just for the record I took about 350 photos... so you are getting the results of several rounds of cuts.

Will let you know when the Maui pix get uploaded!

Hawaii Trip Report: Hotels

Ok, here we go with my what will be my on-going Hawaii Trip Report series.  It might take awhile to get it done. Today (Memorial Day Monday) my business partner forwarded about 18 work-related e-mails of stuff I need to get going on this week... so it'll be a big splash back into the "real world" for me this coming week and the forseeable future.

As mentioned, I think I am just going to break things down by subject area instead of doing a sequential account of our trip... you'll still get my stories... but hopefully for those planning a Hawaii trip this all might prove to be useful/informative.  So this entry is all about... hotels.

We really lucked out on hotels.... it was tough to make a choice among all the possibilities on Oahu and Maui... but we were very pleased with what we ended up with.

For our extended weekend on Waikiki/Honolulu/Oahu, we stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  The picture to the left is where we stayed, the Rainbow Tower with that wonderful view of Diamond Head, that you can see here). The Hilton is at the very west end of Waikiki Beach, though technically it is not the Waikiki Beach (several beaches make up the Waikiki "area").  It is a huge piece of real estate and it is enormous... 5 hotel towers,  4 pools, 20+ restaurants and lounges and 50+ shops on the property.  We almost felt like we were at a Vegas strip hotel.  So with that comes a lot of people as well... at the cultural entertainment and fireworks show on Friday night, we guessed we probably were amongst a group of people larger than all the people we saw in one week's time during last year's trip to French Polynesia!  That said, one of the employees of the hotel told us this wasn't even their busiest time (probably in just few more weeks during the traditional summer vacation season).

Needless to say, prices at a resort are up there.  For you city folk, some of these prices aren't worthy of a sneeze... but for us, here in Phoenix we can get a pretty big and nice dinner for two at a casual restaurant for about $25 total.   Pretty much everything we did food/drink-wise did not stay under $40... mahi-mahi sandwich, burger and two beers (no fries!)... two rounds of Blue Hawaiians, etc.  Heck, even not food!  While I have no problems laying on a beach for an hour or so, doing it for a whole day is a bit much for my old bones... so you even had to rent a beach chair ($12.50/day) and an umbrella ($25/day).

But the was plenty of good. The hotel had by far the widest beach in the area.  You pretty much had your own space (well at least we did) and you can stretch out your arms and not hit another person which was not the case further down the beach (more on that in a future "Beach" report)... and there was all you could possibly need right there.  It was also much more quiet (though quiet doesn't really exist in Honolulu) down at this end... and you only needed to walk a mile or so to get to the real hubub of shops and restaurants in the more bustling tourist areas.

In Maui on Kaanapali Beach we stayed at that Embassy Vacation Resort... as noted in the last post, the hotel is dropping the Embassy name... so I not sure if that link will work in the future or what the future name of the hotel is (they noted it around the grounds, but I didn't commit it to memory).

As expected, this was a lot more relaxed than Honolulu... while it was a sizeable hotel you didn't feel the throngs of tourists that you did on Waikiki.  This is an all-suite hotel... so the accomodations were spacious... kitchen/dining/living room combo, separate bedroom and huge bathroom.  We scored one of the ocean-front corner suites that you see in the picture to the right... so we had three sliding glass doors (1 living room, 2 bedroom) that led to a wrap-around balcony (or lanai as the call it here!).

The hotel had two really great perks... free breakfast buffet each morning and complimentary happy hour in the afternoons. 

The buffet was not a "big" Vegas-like spread... but definitely not skimpy... fruits, eggs, potatoes, bacon or sausage, waffles or pancakes, toast, pastries, juices and hot beverages... so needless to say this is something we did every morning before heading out (and it was enough to not worry about finding/eating lunch).  So this saved lots of money and time...

... and from 4-6pm each night was the cocktail reception... a selection of tropical drinks (mai tais, margaritas, rum punch), wine or beer, or well drinks... for free!!.  Granted the serving size was a small plastic cup, but you can go back as often as you'd like and they were more than happy to serve up as many drink per trip as you'd like.  So needless to say you can get a good buzz on a daily basis ( I think we only missed one night). I even got so plastered the last night that I had to force Todd to hold off a couple of hours on dinner until I sobered up a bit!  Again, a big money saver as you certainly had your fill of booze that you didn't have to get much (or any!) more $8-10+ umbrella drinks with dinner!

So two thumbs up for the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki and the Embassy on the west coast of Maui!

Aloha Again

Aloha!  As they say in Hawaii we're back "on the mainland"!

We had a great trip and there is so much to talk and write about that I am sure that I will do my usual "beat the dead horse" and babble on way too much about it... but don't worry, we eventually move on to something else before too long here at W&C.

Instead of doing a sequential re-count of the trip, I think I will just split it into themed posts in the days ahead... hotels, food, beaches, cool sites... and... umm... I was a little sneaky with the digital camera, too... so I got some shots of some of the other pretty things on the beaches... and I am not talking about sand and surf.  So look forward to some eye candy down the road.

We didn't end up doing that many organized activities while were there... many things were sold out... or after getting waaaay too much sun on Wednesday we had stay out of the sun (which is kinda sorta hard to do on an island).

We had a few "real world" intrusions while we were there... but we tried not to get too wrapped up with them... had to do a few organizational type calls regarding my car...

And then, if you ever worked with a contractor... you know how that goes.  They don't show up when you want to and vice versa... so while on Maui when found out on our new pool surface was being installed when it wasn't (and shouldn't have been!) started until this upcoming Tuesday.  But all is fine there and our pool is currently re-filling and it looks beautiful... and the car stuff is moving along as well.

So anyhow, this "introductory" vacation post has already gone on too long... so let me just say we totally hit the hotel jackpot on both Oahu and Maui... the pictures below are both off our hotel room balconies (or lanais as they are referred to in Hawaii)...

Despite booking a "ocean view" room, upon check-in at the Hilton Hawaiian Village we were told they had upgraded us to a "deluxe ocean view" and this is what we got... woo hoo!

On Maui we did book a "deluxe ocean view" room... and they weren't kidding about that! 

We were treated to this real-life postcard just a couple of hours after checking in to the Embassy Vacations Resort Kaanapali Beach (though it's not going to be called that for too much longer, they're dropping the Embassy name).

A lot more stories to come... stay tuned!

Aloha

You take the good,
You take the bad,
You take them both and there you have the facts of life.
The facts of life.

Ah, philosophy in the guise of a TV sitcom theme song!

This past week is one that I will not look back on with a whole lot of fondness.  But, if it's true and it all "evens out in the end" let's hope that the "bad" (well, okay, the "not good" in the big picture) is replaced with a whole lot of "good" in the days ahead.   

We leave for Hawaii bright and early tomorrow morning.

It is pretty ironic, this time last week I was worried about Todd.  He has a very stressful job and works long hours... with that combo, it is difficult to get into "relax" mode... so, after the events of last Friday, let's just say he didn't have it any easier when he got home.  So this vacation is coming at a perfect time for both of us ... just when we needed it the most.

One funny thing has occured when I started gathering things "to be packed." I found I had an insane number of AC adapters I needed to pack.  It got so bad, I realized that I had to label them to avoid getting seriously confused.  There is one for the cell phone, one for the iPod speakers, one for the iPod (thankfully that one is white, and so different from the other ones), one for the portable DVD player, and one for the extended DVD back-up battery pack!

Much to Todd's chagrin/dismay, I am bringing some TiVo along with us.  A little while back I decided to get one of those 7" screen portable DVD players.  With some software, I am able to burn TiVo recorded programs onto a disk... so we will be entertained on the plane by our backlog of Earl, Office, Scrubs episodes... and even the latest Desperate Housewives and Lost episodes that didn't quite fit into our schedule this week!  So anyhow...

Local time Friday afternoon we'll find ourselves here...

On world famous Waikiki Beach... staying at the Hilton (pictured in the foreground)... on Sunday we have plans to head out to Pearl Harbor.

Mid-day Monday,  we hop a short flight over to Maui...

... where we'll be staying on the west coast of Maui on Kaanapali Beach... our hotel is the one with the asterik.  No plans yet set in stone for Maui... but from what research we have done, there is certainly no shortage of activities to keep us busy... but, of course, we plan to pencil in some good beach time.  We'll be back over Memorial Day weekend.

I have pre-posted a few entries to pop up while we're away... so be sure to check in every now and then to see what surprises I have in store (well, that builds it up waaaay too much).

Aloha!