2008 AAA President’s Journey to Hawaii
In November 2008, AAA Western and Central New York President Tom Chestnut and his wife Laura hosted a group of AAA members on a unique tour of Hawaii’s natural beauty, island culture and culinary delights. What follows are edited highlights of Tom’s trip diary.
Oahu
From the moment we got off the plane, we knew we had arrived at someplace special. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, with soft, billowy clouds. The air felt warm and fresh, with just a little breeze. With Diamond Head looming majestically in the distance, we arrived at our hotel, the Outrigger Waikiki.
We watched the sunset from Duke’s restaurant overlooking the famous beach, while we enjoyed our first taste of Hawaii’s unique cuisine.
The next day we took a motorcoach ride to the Pearl Harbor Memorial, which commemorates the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941. From there we took a short boat ride to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, which sits on top of the water over the sunken remains of the ship. Parts of the Arizona poke up above the water’s surface, still stained by oil slicks after 67 years.
After a wonderful lunch at the Pineapple Room, a few of us took surfing lessons with professional surfer Hans Hedemann in the inviting waters off Waikiki Beach. To our surprise, we were actually able to get up and ride the waves.
Hawaii
We began the day by flying from Oahu to the island of Hawaii, which is universally called “the Big Island.” We immediately got a good sense of the volcanic origin of Hawaii, as the airport is built on top of a huge lava field. Our home for the next three nights was the Hilton Waikoloa Village, which is built around a cove surrounded by rocky beaches.
For dinner we went to a nearby restaurant called The Canoe House. The setting was very atmospheric, as our group ate outside under a pavilion, surrounded by waves lapping up against the rocky shore.
The next day we took a tour of the entire island of Hawaii, which encompasses 11 climate zones and changes from arid desert to lush rainforest in a matter of minutes. The Big Island was formed by the lava flows from five volcanoes, all of which are still clearly visible.
The largest of these volcanoes, Mauna Kea, is the most massive mountain on earth. From its base on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, it measures 33,000 feet high, which is higher than the 29,000-foot vertical rise of Mount Everest!
Our next stop was at a black-sand beach, which was created by waves crashing against the lava coastline for hundreds of thousands of years. As we strolled along the beach, we were treated to the sight of two huge green sea turtles sunning themselves in a mid-afternoon siesta.
That afternoon we set out on a journey that would take us to the summit of Mauna Kea, which is the highest point in Hawaii and home to the world’s foremost astronomical observation site. We climbed the rolling hills of lava and cinder cones, rising above the clouds until we could see the volcanoes of Maui in the distance.
As we continued on to the 13,000-foot summit, it felt like we were on the top of the world. A collection of 13 massive telescopes, perched seemingly at random on a series of lava hilltops, surrounded us. An intense sunset began to take shape, with a collection of colors that challenged the imagination.
Maui
After traveling on to Maui, we ate dinner at Kimo’s, an excellent Hawaiian restaurant with a large balcony overlooking the ocean. If you ever eat there, be sure to order the Hula Pie. It’s made from macadamia nut ice cream on top of an Oreo crust, and topped with a delicious chocolate sauce. It’s a killer!
Many of us chose to go on the West Maui Mountains Waterfall Experience, which we thought would be a nice gentle hike to a beautiful waterfall. It turned out to be quite a challenging climb, in part because it was 2 1/2 miles each way, but also because it involved crossing two swinging bridges and picking our way through several streams, stepping carefully from rock to rock. Despite the difficult conditions, however, our group proved up to the challenge.
This evening we had dinner at the Hali’imaile General Store, which has won just about every award possible for culinary excellence. As their maitre d’ told us, “We’re in the middle of nowhere, aren’t on a beach, and don’t have a view, so our only hope is to serve great food.”
The favorite activity for many was the West Maui Mountain Zipline Experience, which involved “zipping” from platform to platform in the middle of a rainforest while attached to a harness and suspended high above the ground. And not just once, but eight times!
While none of our group had ever done it before, we quickly got the hang of this exhilarating activity.
For our last evening together in Hawaii, we were treated to the “Feast of Lele,” a wondrous dinner and stage show on the shores of Maui. After watching one last Hawaiian sunset, we got the chance to enjoy the spirited dancing and beautiful costumes, as well as the food and entertainment from four islands: Hawaii, New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa.
It’s amazing how quickly 10 days can go by. All in all, a terrific trip and a terrific group of people to share it with!
Travel to Alaska with Tom Chestnut
