Summer Vaca, Part I: Hawaii

Hello again, faithful readers. Sorry it's been so long. We trust you are all enjoying your own busy summers and hope you've found time to fit in some kind of get-away with your family or friends. Summer vacas are the best aren't they?

For us, summer vacations are typically road trips and outdoor adventures, mostly here in the northeast. This summer, we had a unique opportunity to go to Hawaii for a week. What brought us all the way to Hawaii (that's SIX time zones away!)? Work, naturally.

Honolulu and Waikiki Beach ~ James, Cary, Sandy and Dave

As part of a national training grant, UConn CLEAR was commissioned to hold two trainings for the USDA Region 9 in Hawaii, one on Oahu and one on Maui. Three of us got on board to conduct the trainings, myself and a colleague Dave, along with some help from an old friend, Sandy (remember him?). It was great having the crew together again and along with James, the four of us were quite a traveling team.

We spent three and a half days on Oahu, mostly in the Waikiki area. Waikiki is a very popular tourist destination. The streets are lined with major hotel chains, restaurants, gift stores and people. LOTS of people. It was nice but I think we got out of there just in time. Three days was certainly enough! While we were on Oahu, we had a chance to visit Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial as well as the USS Missouri, the warship that traveled to Japan in 1945 to officially end World War II.

On day three and a half, we flew to the island of Maui. Maui was simply stunning. As soon as the plane landed on the tarmac we could tell we had made it to paradise. No big hotels, no bustling street sides. Everything about Maui was laid back, relaxed and easy-going. We quickly made our way to the small town of Paia on the north shore and found the Nalu Kai Lodge (although truth be told we drove past it a few times - it was so unobtrusive that if you didn't know what you were looking for you'd miss it). The Nalu Kai Lodge was more of a bungalow than a lodge and definitely nothing like the hotel we stay at on Waikiki. There were a total of eight rooms in the whole place. No TVs, no bathroom doors and no distractions. I think we could all agree it was...perfect. We settled in and then set off on foot to explore Paia and find something to eat. Paia had no shortage of excellent small town restaurants. We had a multitude of choices - from fresh seafood to Mexican, Mediterranean, Greek, Italian and more. Not to mention the gelato. Oh, the gelato! We ate well while we were there and probably came home a little chubbier too.

Paia Town Center and the Nalu Kai Lodge

On our days off we explored the entire island. From the Road to Hana and beyond to the top of Haleakala and the bottom of Honolua Bay, we saw beautiful beaches, waterfalls and rainbows; rugged mountain tops and volcanic craters; lush valleys and desert slopes; endemic plants, lizards, tropical birds and furry roadside rodents; narrow and terrifying country roads; sea creatures, SEA TURTLES, sunsets, moon rises, fallen stars and more. Much more. Too much to even describe. You must go. Or live vicariously through us. You can start by watching our video. Mahalo!