The Hawaii Series, yes, we are experts Chapter 3 · Wednesday February 23, 2011 by colin newell
Planning a trip to Hawaii from “North America” — or as they say in the Hawaiian Islands… the mainland?
Couple of things you should know and plan ahead for.
Flights: The Hawaiian Islands, Honolulu, Oahu being the hub, is served widely by many International and domestic carriers from North America. A lot of the “direct” flights occur from Western cities like Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Diego and others.
Photo right: Palm trees. All shapes and sizes. You will find yourself looking at the sea… a lot… and the fabulous plant life!
And if you have done any flying anywhere, you will know that the secret to economy is booking ahead and/or using “miles” – we generally book 8 to 10 months in advance. And we have yet to use “miles” for anything – I was accumulating Aeroplan points for a couple of years – had about 60,000 of them – and then did not heed warnings about making a simple purchase to keep them up to date – and lost the entire castle.
As an aside, I think customer loyalty should work both ways… Just saying.
So plan ahead folks. The flight, in our opinion, is the first thing you should nail down when getting your trip together. Plan ahead. Shop around. And unless you notice the flow in this series of articles, the order of operations should be (our opinion)
- Research your destination; books, internet, word of mouth
- Shop and purchase your flight
- Book your lodgings
- Get your rental car
- Shop for what you will travel with; clothing and accessories.
Car Rentals: The cheapest car rentals are quite likely on the Big Island of Hawaii – but do not leave this task to the last minute. My typical deal with Avis rent-a-car (slightly more expensive than most…) is less than $30/day unlimited miles when I book 10 months in advance. Try getting that rate when you arrive at the Airport and it could be 25% to 50% higher.
Most of the Big Island can be handled with a standard rental (is extra for a four-by-four Jeep or SUV type vehicle) and for many rental agreements this includes the often maligned and much improved “Saddle Road” – check your paperwork folks! From what I understand, AVIS is OK with the Saddle Rd. but I have never taken it – and our last visit (a month ago), there was snow on/about the visitors center – so no dice here. I hate driving in snow in North America and I sure as heck avoid it in Hawaii!
What to pack: Do not make the mistake I did this time. I had an full sized new bag (on rollers for check in) and dang it if I did not needlessly fill it up. No reason to bring 22 cotton T-shirts to Hawaii. But I did… Hauling 7-10 pair of Jockey tops and bottoms makes sense because I like to do laundry once a week when on the road. That and 3 pair of Tilley shorts, 3 ExOfficio shirts, my Tilley hat, Teva’s and slippers for the condo and I am good to go… and not including any camera, computer or electronics – I carry that on in most cases.
Security in the air: As we all know, since 9/11 travel has been less casual… less fun… more stressful. And for those of you that find flying a little nerve wracking (I don’t), the whole airport experience can be a little unsettling. The good news about Hawaii is (from my perspective), it is a pretty laid back place – it is not considered a terror hot-spot and maybe, just maybe, the TSA and airport experience is a tad more laid back. And unless you are flying (departing) from some place like New York, Washington or some other sensitive area, chances are the whole departure experience will be seamless. From our observations over the last 3 years in a row, TSA folks have been ultra-professional and lately, seemed to have developed a sense of humor. Go figure.
There has been a lot of chatter over the last 10 months about enhanced airport security — and yea, I think it is a good thing… but from what we witnessed, the only folks that were getting “enhanced” screening were setting off metal detectors (the old traditional ones) or families that had new children and were loaded up with young family accessories.
I know, the fact that Andrea and I are white, professional looking 40-somethings probably weighs in our favor. Cannot do much about that. That said, we were traveling around every shade and size of folks and no one in particular was being singled out… other than those that were bleeping the metal detectors – which is kind of the way it should be.
In our next chapter in our Hawaii travel series, we will talk more about the planning aspects of having a good time – research that you should not leave out – and setting your expectations and budgeting according.
Thanks for reading!
The Hawaii Series, yes, we are experts Chapter 2 · Saturday February 19, 2011 by colin newell
I have been talking to a lot of people about travel the last 6 months or so.
And from my perch in the North-west (Victoria, B.C. Canada), I hear the following a lot…
“Going to Hawaii” “Going to Maui” “Going to Kauai” “Going to Waikiki”
Oh yea – and a few cheapskates going to Mexico… no bias or anything here. None at all.
Picture at right: The Bamboo Restaurant in Hawi, North Kohala district on the Big Island of Hawaii – is a culinary gem!
Folks looking for a warm getaway in 2011 look towards Hawaii and the Islands for a bunch of great reasons.
It’s warm. Yes, it is warm year around.
It’s safe. Hawaii has a really, really low crime rate. Pay no attention to Dog the Bounty Hunter or Hawaii Five O because it is, firstly a reality show and secondly fiction.
The place we stay, a condo 10 minutes walk from the heart of Kona, Hawaii, has not had a car break-in in over 4 years. Many reasons: Laws are tough and it is an easy going place. Drug addiction (despite what you see on Dog) is not rampant and everyone appears to be living well.
It’s part of America, a pretty civil and law abiding place.
Currently Mexico (not all of it of course) is ravaged by poverty and regional drug wars – sure, you are not likely to get caught in the middle of a fire-fight, but why run the risk of being kidnapped, murdered… or worse.
Sure, you can save a lot of money traveling in Mexico – but if you want worry free travel, I think Hawaii is a great choice – which explains why everyone is talking about it – and actually going there.
So anyway – warm, safe, stable (and if you are a Canadian with Canadian dollars) it is as affordable as it’s going to be for a while – our dollar being at par or better!
Getting there – The clear majority of folks that visit Hawaii fly there – considering the alternative (taking a boat), it is the only way to go. But pick your carrier carefully. Andrea and I have been flying Alaska Airlines for some time now – and they never let us down. I made a vow a couple of years ago to:
a.) Avoid YVR (Vancouver International) and
b.) Air Canada (The Canadian equivalent to Aeroflot)
If at all humanly possible.
Seattle (SEA) Tacoma is, by far a vastly superior airport for getting into the Pacific.
Seattle International has a better vibe, it is better organized, and there are no twitchy Canadian RCMP officers with tasers waiting to send you to your maker (OK, more bias, long story…)
So, for us, SEA is the way to go – and Alaska Airlines as a carrier. They are the American version of Canada’s West Jet (whom I would happily fly with if the scheduling was right…) West Jet flies to Hawaii but I have yet to exercise that option.
And for our readers around North America – you really do need to do your homework. While we were in Hawaii we talked to a lot of people about how they got there – and there were horror stories aplenty about those old familiar airlines ; United and American. Look, if you can avoid them, do it. Scan trip adviser online for feedback and testimony on who served travelers right. Ironically, in North America, Hawaiian Airlines is one of the most popular airlines going – sadly, they do not fly everywhere. Check their site for cities served. Hawaiian flies direct to Honolulu from a handful of large Western U.S. cities like Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles. Check them out.
In our next chapter, we will talk about the planning that goes into a trip to the Hawaiian Islands.
The Hawaii Series, yes, we are experts Chapter 1 · Sunday February 13, 2011 by colin newell
Andrea and I have just returned from a month in Hawaii. For the third year in a row.
So yes, we are experts now.
And it is high time I cooked up a series on the subject of visiting and getting the most out of your Big Island experience.
So – This will be a series of blogs on getting to, staying in and eating – drinking all that Hawaii has to offer.
For starters, let’s talk about what Hawaii is overall – and what it is not.
And keep in mind, this is NOT going to be a Fodor’s, Lonely Planet or Hawaii Revealed type guide – because that has been done – and they are books.
Book suggestion By the way – if you are planning on visiting the Big Island of Hawaii for the 1st time – or are returning after a hiatus, buy yourself a copy of Hawaii Revealed by Andrew Doughty – it is the one single book purchase that you must make. It is complete, concise and honest – 3 things I hope to be with this series of blog entries.
Hawaii overview: OK. Myths.
1.) For starters, Hawaii is not a tropical place (one of the bigger misconceptions) – Hawaii is sub-tropical. Yes, it is probably hotter than where you live right now, but if you are a North America resident and live in the Northeast or Midwest, your weather is probably hotter and more humid than most spots in Hawaii.
2.) Hawaii is not blazing hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Yes, it is cooler in the winter time – but unless you think that 85 degrees (F) or 29 degrees © is uncomfortably hot in the summer, then yea… you might find it hot. Because Hawaii is not equatorial (18 to 26 degrees North of Equator), it is cooler than you think and there is only modest variation in the temperatures between seasons.
3.) There is no Island called Kona. Waikiki is not on the Island of Hawaii. Waikiki is on the Island of Oahu. The Big Island of Hawaii is actually bigger than all the others – hence the moniker The Big Island. Hawaii actually refers to the one big island. The Hawaiian Islands refers to all the Islands. Confused yet? Apparently a lot of people are.
Pleasant reality: Hawaii is a mere 5 hour flight from Vancouver or Seattle. That means, in the same amount of time it would take to fly to Toronto, Ottawa, or Chicago – you could be in the tropical paradise that is the Hawaiian Islands.
Anyway – Up shortly, boatloads and boatloads of Hawaii observations… stay tuned.
Jump to Hawaii – Chapter Two
Andrea's Dirty Rice with Chicken - Cooking Cajun · Sunday February 13, 2011 by colin newell
1 cups rice cooked
1 Pound chicken breast boneless fillet (pan fried with salt and pepper)
1 Yellow pepper chunky chopped
1 Red pepper chunky chopped
1 standard yellow onion chunky chopped
1 Anaheim pepper chunky chopped
Saute above vegetables in pan that was used for chicken
Saute/sweat vegetables for 10 minutes
5 minutes into sweat, add
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons parsley flakes
3 tablespoons creole seasoning *
1 teaspoon chili flakes
Stir into vegetable saute – and add 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Chilpotle sauce concentrate OR favorite hot sauce.
Chop up cooked chicken into bite size pieces and add to vegetable mix.
Add rice in thirds.
Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock.
Serve with sleeves of Irish Beer – this is a hot and spicy dish.
Creole seasoning recipe we use:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt (optional)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried leaf thyme
