07/10/2025 – Island hopping
The adventures of flying can always have its own little twist and this one did too. Our flight to Molokai was leaving at 10:30 am. We got to the airport with plenty of time, returned our rental car, and walked to the terminal. Oops, wrong terminal. We had to keep walking to get to the inter-island terminal. We arrived there quite early and waited outdoors (there is no “indoors” at this terminal). We watched as several crates of live chickens were getting ready to be flown to Molokai with us. Why we are not sure as chickens seem to be everywhere, why crate some more in? At 10:30, they announced that the flight was full – all 9 of us were ready for the flight. The pilot walked us to the plane and told us which seat to sit in (in order to balance the load in the plane, we all had to be weighed along with our carryon bags.) We never went through security, or were even issued boarding passes. The 20 minute flight was beautiful as we saw both Maui and Molokai from the air, as well as the tiny spit of ocean between them. The view included the shoreline, the craggy mountain side, and the waterfalls that seem to abound in the rain forests of Hawaii.
We landed and picked up our next rental car. Disembarking was as easy as boarding; they walked us off the plane and out the door. No muss, no fuss. Our lodging was only a 15 minute drive away, so we soon headed off, hoping to find air-conditioning. We checked in early and settled into our room with no air-conditioning, but lots of fans. It was much bigger that our room in Maui. It was near the ocean and had a nice pool, too. But with no air conditioning, poor Kathy will get no sleep here either.
Our main objective in going to Molokai was to see Kaluapapa National Historic Park. KALU is an old leper colony that was made into a park. Unfortunately, you can only get to the park on a tour and at the moment, there are no tour operators offering tours to the park. We did find an overlook that looks down on the peninsula, so we drove there. The overlook was in a pretty area with some trails. It started misting rain just as we arrived. As we made our way down the trail to the overlook, the rain got harder and harder and the wind whipped up strong and stronger. At one point, as Forest Gump would say, it was raining sideways! We think that is the NPS’s way of saying, “You have gone far enough into the park. Turn around NOW!” We did. As we headed back to the parking lot, the rain and wind died down enough that we walked along another trail that lead to some ancient petroglyphs. There is also a rock formation that looks like a phallic symbol and is used as a fertility omen. It is said that if you leave a food offering and spend the night there, you will return home pregnant. Dave warned Kathy not to drop any foodstuffs there!
We made it back to town and bought groceries enough to last us 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners. Some home cooked meals that somehow still cost a fortune. Arriving back at our room, we ate a nice dinner in the lanai and lounged around the beach and pool. In the evening we watched the first few episodes of the old shows Cheers and Taxi on the TV in the room. Ah, good old comedies!
07/11/2025 – Hawaiian history and a very short hike
We arose the next morning eager for our next adventure and our only scheduled tour of the trip. Fortifying ourselves, we ate breakfast in our room, and started heading towards the meeting place for a cultural hike to a waterfalls at Halawa Valley. We met the guide who first gave us some lessons in Hawaiian culture. We weren’t enamored at the condescending tone and parochial view he espoused, but we did learn a bit. He also warned us that the rain they had received in the last few days had caused the two stream crossings to be a bit more technical. After a short walk, we came to the first stream crossing. It was thigh deep and rocky. Discretion being the better part of valor (and not relishing getting on the plane tomorrow morning with soaked shoes), we thanked the guide for his time and left the group to head back to our car. We instead opted to extend our time in the area by walking to a nearby cove and watching the waves coming in. Rounding out the not so adventurous day we headed back to our room for lunch. We continued our adventures there, when Kathy burnt her grilled cheese and set off the fire alarms. Made for a noisy and fun moment before setting down to “chill” a bit in the hot weather.
