blog.circusgeek

a personal blog with nerdy bits thrown in

Category: Travel

  • Lava, more snorkeling, and the end

    The other day (Tuesday) Kelly and I drove to the 2.25 hours to Hilo on the other side of the island so we could take our helicopter tour we’d booked. We booked it there for two reasons, one, they didn’t offer just the volcano tour from the Kona side (so it would have been a longer more expensive trip) and two, we wanted to see Hilo. It rains a lot in Hilo, and it rained most of the time we were there, but we had a nice lunch, wandered through a farmers market, and explored some of the shops for a bit. Oh, and we also went to the tasting room of the brewery at Hilo (Mehana Brewing). Pretty tasty stuff.

    Then it was time for our helicopter tour. I’d never been in a helicopter before, and it was both fun and a bit scary. The tour south over the volcano flows was really cool though, and I was able to snap some shots of flowing lava. The tour was 50 minutes, and while they claimed it was both a waterfalls AND volcano tour, we were shown all of one waterfall, at a distance. It would be my only complaint about the tour. Say it’s a volcano tour and be done with it, don’t lead people to think they’ll see majestic waterfalls (plural) as well.

    Afterward came time for the drive home. It was 5:30 PM as we drove away from the Hilo airport, and we decided to drive across the island instead of over the north of it (which is how we drove to Hilo earlier in the day). That meant going over Saddle Road, which we’d heard can be pretty treatcherous, but it’d save us time. Oh, it’s important to note sunset is at 6:20 PM or so, so we didn’t have much time to get over Saddle Road before dark. Long story short, it was a winding, hilly mess most of the way, with blind turns and single-lane bridges, and then we ran into rain, and then fog, and the sun had set. My knuckles were white, and my face went pale during a few sections. There was a section in the middle where it went wider and more straight, but it was very very foggy. Fortunately we made it back to the house safely, but only ended up saving 15 minutes. Oh well.

    Yesterday morning we went snorkeling again at this spot about a mile south of the house, and again saw a sea turtle, and of course many brilliantly colored fish. Kelly and I also spent about 2 hours swimming in the pool beside the house, and generally relaxing our last day away. For dinner I had this mammoth burger at a place called Splasher’s Grill, and was full the rest of the night. I had a couple of beers and then I was so full and exhausted that it was time for sleep.

    Today we fly home. Yesterday we cleaned the house up a bit (I want my deposit back dammit!) and started a bit of packing. I was up before dawn (which is about 8:30am PST) and made coffee. Here pretty soon I might jump in the pool one last time before getting packed and starting the long day of airports and airplanes on the way home.

    And again, photos are in the gallery. Aloha!

  • Snorkeling and swimming with dolphoins

    Since my last post, Kelly and I found a really good snorkeling spot about a mile south of our rental house, we took a drive north to see the magnificent Waipi’o Valley, and this morning we went out on a boat tour and swam with dolphins. It’s been a blast, however today’s 4 hour boat tour left me with quite the sunburn. Ouch!

    Now we’re relaxing near the pool, looking out at the ocean just past sunset (which is before 6:30 pm), and I’m enjoying a fine lager from Kona Brewing. Hooray!

    All the photos are on the gallery (same link as previous posts).

  • Day two on the Big Island

    Yesterday Kelly and I drove south to Kealakekua Bay to go snorkeling (after an early morning swim in the pool at the house). The drive took about an hour, and the first spot we went to some locals told us that the visibility was poor and to head a bit further south. When we got there the snorkeling was pretty good, and while the visibility still wasn’t super clear, we managed to snap some photos of some fish and I managed to get a bit of a sunburn. Joy.

    Afterwards we drove to the southern-most point of the island (and the southern most point of the United States) in an attempt to get to Green Sands beach. As a result of both time of day, and weather (started to rain) we had to abandon a 2.5 mile hike to the beach itself so we could get back to the house before dark.

    Last night we went to the Kona Brewing Company a few miles up the road from our house for dinner. The food was really good, and I had a delicious stout that they pour onsite (had a slight hint of coffee flavor to it). Sadly don’t bottle the stout, but we’ve had plenty of their golden and lager while at the house. Mmmm. Beer.

    This morning (like yesterday) we got up early and made coffee. We walked down to a couple beaches just south of the house and swam for a bit, and later we’re thinking of driving north to the valleys and seeing some waterfalls and such.

    More photos are in the gallery.

  • On the Big Island

    Well, Kelly and I have made it to Hawai’i,  ‘the big island’, around 3pm yesterday afternoon (6pm PST), got our rental car and found our rental house. And what a house! It’s without a doubt a fantastic place to stay, much better than a resort. The oceanfront view, the private pool and hot tub, and the house itself are all great. The only minor complaint I have is the lack of easy ocean access. The house sits near an 8ft tall retaining wall that drops to a bed of lava rock. Kelly and I are just about to try and scramble down and try getting in the water a bit. Not sure how it’s going to work yet w/o leading to scrapes & bruises, but I’ll try and figure something out. You’ll see what I mean from the photos. Oh yeah, photos are on the gallery. I’ll be adding to ’em throughout the week. Enjoy!

  • August recap & we’re going to Hawaii

    Yup, another month, and despite all my hopes to write more frequently, I keep using Twitter to spout my nonsense, rather than writing to my blog.

    To keep it quick:

    • Early August Kelly and I joined our friends in Eagle Crest (photos)
    • Worked a ton (late nights and weekends)
    • The weather has gone from stupid hot to cold to hot again
    • Had the mother-in-law in town from Arizona
    • Continued yardwork action, trying to keep the place in order
    • Planned a trip to Hawaii

    The last bullet is the important one. Kelly and I are going to Hawaii at the end of the month, and I’m really excited about it. We’re renting an oceanfront house south of Kona on the big island for 6 nights. Since 2001, all our travels have been to Europe, which I love, but that means a lot of cathedrals, museums, pubs, and big cities. I’m looking forward to spending a few days swimming in the ocean, and doing (hopefully) not too much in a tropical environment.

    The house we’re renting has WiFi, so I expect to be blogging and posting photos while there. Doubt I’ll write too much more between now and then since we have have more family visiting next weekend, and I have even more work to do. So for the 2 of you who follow my blog (I assume it’s down to two, since my posts have been so infrequent), expect more at the end of the month.

  • San Francisco, day 4 (fin)

    Before leaving San Francisco, Kelly and I had some time to kill so we wandered around a bit, visited Union Square one last time, and had lunch at the little cafe that’s at one end of the square. Going from downtown to the airport to the gate went smoothly, but then as we sat down, we were told that our flight was delayed while SFO’s air traffic control figured out how to get our plane on the ground. We were delayed about 40 minutes. I realize that SFO is a big international airport, but it seems that they’re too big for their own good.

    We got back to PDX in decent time, and holy moly is it raining out! Ran to the store for some provisions and soon it’ll be time for dinner, then laundry, then relaxing before work tomorrow.

    To recap the trip: It was a really fun mini-vacation that felt longer than it was (which is a good thing). We ate good food, walked a lot, and saw a lot in only a couple days. One thing was obvious, San Francisco is a big international tourist destination (we heard a lot of foreign languages wherever we went, including a lot of French), not sure why but it surprised me a little.

    Anyway, all photos are on the gallery, in case you’re bored.

  • San Francisco, day 3

    Today Kelly and I had a delicious breakfast at a 50’s-inspired diner called Lori’s, drove to San Jose for a Cinco de Mayo festival (the work event Kelly came down here for), then back to San Francisco, walked around Chinatown, had a delicious dinner, and finished the night off at the Irish Bank (the Irish pub we’ve visited each night while here).

    Tomorrow we fly home. We’re supposed to get back to Portland at 5pm, however, that will depend on whether SFO has their shit together enough to get us off the ground on time. Anyway, that’s all, more photos being uploaded to the gallery as I write this. G’night!

  • San Francisco, day 2

    Kelly and I walked today. A lot. About 6 miles in total, including the Embarcadero from Pier 1 through 45 (including the touristy Pier 39 and Hyde Pier) and then up the very steep Hyde St back towards our hotel). Wandered inside both an old ferry boat, and an old cargo ship, shared a delicious hot fudge sundae at Ghirardelli Square, had a few beers at a pub not far from our hotel, and some delicious pizza at a place called Uncle Vito’s. Good day. Long day. Tired. More photos added to the gallery.

  • San Francisco, day 1

    Made it to San Francisco. Finally. The flight was supposed to leave at 1pm, but was delayed 2 hours because San Francisco was boggled by weather or something and couldn’t get their shit straightened out. So, Kelly and I sat at PDX for 2 hours. Once boarded. We sat some more. When we were flying over San Francisco, we had to make circles for a while. What should have been a home to hotel trip of 4 hours took 7. Oh well, we’re here.

    Sadly, weather changed from the forecast I read yesterday, and it was drizzly grey most of the night. However, at least it’s not freezing cold. Kelly and I walked for hours and hours, up steep hills, down steep hills, etc. Had dinner at an Italian place, I had a couple pints at a couple Irish pubs, and at one point we walked past a string of high-end shops that had their windows punctured or shattered by May Day protesters. All in all, a pretty eventful day.

    Photos are on the gallery, where I’ll continue adding ’em over the next couple days. Now, it’s sleepy time.

  • Going to San Francisco tomorrow

    Tomorrow Kelly and I are going to San Francisco for a few days. Kelly has a work event on Sunday (was in Oakland, found out today that it’s been moved to San Jose) so we thought we’d make a short vacation of it. Looks like the weather is going to be a nice (upper 60’s), and we’ve got a few places we want to visit, so it should be a fun mini-vacation.