Here we go again! We departed Austin at about 9:00am to head over
to Houston and catch our flight west. After a layover in Dallas,
we settled in to the worst seats on the plane for the trip to San
Francisco. A beautiful day greeted us, and after checking in to
the Kensington Park Hotel, we strolled around nearby Chinatown and had
dinner there too. A nice first day in California. Quote of
the day: "Our seats are under that second 'A'. The blue one."
Away we go!
Enjoy it Buddy - that's the only first class seat
you will be sitting in today
Chinatown
Dinner at the famed
R & G restaurant in Chinatown
Day 2 - San Francisco
Somehow, the younger kids' internal clocks
immediately reset to west coast time and they had to be awoken at 9:30am,
while the older kids were wide awake at 4:30am. After a breakfast at
Lori's Diner, we hopped a cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf and rented
bikes. It was a foggy, cool and windy day, but we made our way up
to Golden Gate and over to Sausalito. After lunch at a very
mediocre place in Sausalito we faced a choice about how to get back to
San Francisco: bike back or take the ferry. We are able to report
that the ferry is quite comfortable, thankyouverymuch. After a
quick nap, we headed back out for a drive down Lombard Street, over to
Seal Rock, and then back across the Golden Gate (in a rental car this
time) for a great dinner at Marin Joe's. On the way back to the
hotel, we succumbed to temptation at Ghirardelli Square before retiring
for the evening. Quote of the day: "Seriously - why would anybody
drive down this street on purpose?"
On the cable car, heading down to Fisherman's Wharf
Biking across the Golden Gate to Sausalito
Lombard Street
Isn't it fun to be in the back seat while driving down Lombard?
At Seal Rock
Day 3 - San Francisco
We headed down to Pier 33 (in a cab today, skipping the romantic but
cold, slow and expensive cable car) for the ferry ride over to Alcatraz.
It was a beautiful day - perfect for touring Alcatraz and catching some
great views of the city and the Golden Gate. We did the complete
tour at Alcatraz and really enjoyed our three hours there. Upon
returning to shore, we hiked down to Pier 39 for lunch at Boudin and
some souvenir shopping. After a nap and quick dinner at Morton's,
we cabbed down to a very nice performance of "Wicked" at the Orpheum
Theater.
Heading out to Alcatraz
Elizabeth seems to be adjusting to prison life better than Will
Off to see "Wicked"
Day 4 - To Honolulu
We said goodbye to San Francisco at 6:50am and rental car'd back to to
the airport for our 9:10am flight. It turns out that lots of folks
take their little kids to Hawaii, and they kicked the back of our seats
the for the whole 5-hour trip. We checked in to the Hotel Renew,
strolled around the shops around Waikiki, and had lunch at Duke's.
After yet more naps, we headed out for the evening. We visited the Ala Moana mall
for shopping and cocktails (served to Will while he was
wearing his RFHS "Class of 2010" shirt). Afterwards, we dined on
authentic-but-scary Hawaiian food at the Side Street Inn & had alot of fun there.
Will tests the capacity of our rental car
One last look at the Golden Gate as we head out to Honolulu
Lunch at Duke's on Waikiki
Will and Elizabeth share a punch bowl
Dinner with our waitress at the Side Street Cafe
Day 5 - Honolulu
We rose early to beat the crowds to Pearl Harbor and scored tickets for
the 9:20am ferry over to the Arizona Memorial. It was a beautiful
morning, and we spent all of it at Pearl Harbor. Afterwards, we
headed out to the north shore. We had a picnic lunch at the beach
before snorkeling at Shark Cove (no sharks today). On the way back
into Honolulu, we stopped in Haleiwa for a little shave ice and some
souvenir shopping. We also checked out the Dole pineapple
plantation and enjoyed strolled around there. We uncharacteristically skipped our naps today,
and walked down for an early dinner at the Yard House in a nice area of
Waikiki.
In front of the USS Missouri and the Arizona Memorial
On the Arizona Memorial
Day 6 - To Maui
On the way to Honolulu airport, we stopped at Leonard's Bakery for some
of their fabled masaladas (apparent translation: fried dough balls).
Honolulu airport is a breeze, and we were quickly aboard our 101-mile
flight to Maui. Once in Maui,
we stopped in Lahaina to meet the folks in our dive shop & grab lunch
before heading over to the Ritz-Carlton. After checking in to the
hotel, we did battle with the formidable surf on the beach right outside
of the hotel . Later, we enjoyed a late dinner at Leilani's at
Whaler's Village in Kaanapali.
Waiting in line for malasadas at Leonard's
In Lahaina
The Banyan Tree in Lahaina
Dinner at Leilani's
Day 7 - Maui
We departed the hotel at 6:30am and headed down to Lahaina for our first
dive charter of the trip. It took us about an hour to motor
out to Molokini and, once there, we had two nice dives inside of the
crater. Australia must have spoiled us because we weren't too
overwhelmed with the aquatic life at Molokini, but we did see a few
small sharks, eels, and a 12-foot-wide manta ray. After a picnic lunch
on the lanai of room 2244 and a naps, we enjoyed a few drinks on the
patio at sunset, and then headed over to the Hula Grill at Whaler's
Village for a late dinner.
On the 55-minute trip out to the Molokini Crater
The pre-dive briefing
Hanging out in the Pacific
A couple of white tip sharks
How about some regulators, guys?
Spotted eel
Will glides over the reef
Heading back to Lahaina
Day 8 - Maui
We made our now-customary stop at McDonald's for a pre-dive breakfast
(what other place is open at 6:30am on a Sunday in Maui?). Our
dives today were at the Cathedrals II and I sites off the coast of
Lanai. These sites have underground lava formations that are fun
to swim through and full of wildlife. A 5-6-foot white-tip shark
greeted us on the "alter" on our second dive and there were plenty of
other fun critters around too. Back on shore, we strolled around
the artists' wares under the big banyan tree in Lahaina and Will scored
a cool tiki statue (with the eyes "going down" - symbolizing "family" or
some such thing). The now de rigueur power naps were had, and we
enjoyed the wine and cheese on the lanai of the girls room as the sun
set. We decided to have dinner in the sushi restaurant in the Ritz
tonight, and the staff was kind enough to fetch a $17 cheeseburger for
Will. A very nice Father's Day indeed! Quote of the day:
"They ought to have a tram going to our room."
Heading from Maui to Lanai
Elizabeth giant strides in
Will swims through one of the Cathedrals
Elizabeth and a few hundred friends
A nice white tip was waiting for us over the "alter" in the Cathedral
Our customary post-dive lunch on the veranda
Day 9 - Maui
For our final dives today, we headed out to the "backwall" of Molokini, a
tough wall dive in thousands of feet of water. It was great - lots
of sharks, eels, and other interesting stuff. This night, we
enjoyed "The Feast at Lele" - a really fancy luau with great
entertainment, 24 different food items, and no shortage of drinks.
What a nice day to enjoy the sunset our our last evening in Hawaii.
Quote of the day: "Mom and Will are in deco!"
Dan helps (?) us get in to the water
Elizabeth
Some photos of the backwall, courtesy of Will Peterson, underwater
photographer extraordinaire
Will gives chase to a white tip
Well, at least one of you is watching your gauges
At the Feast at Lele
Day 10 - Back to the States...er...um..."Mainland"
After three busy (and early) days of diving, this was our day to sleep in
and enjoy the amenities of the Ritz. The girls checked out the
fantastic pools at the hotel, and the boys headed down to the surf for
one last duel with the waves. We shook (most of) the sand out of
our suits, packed up, and headed for the Kahului airport. Two
flights and two drives later, we made it back home - a little sunburned,
perhaps a few pounds heavier, and full of many great memories from our
trip west.
