Tuesday:Another highlight of the trip: Chopper!
We had already picked up the Blue Hawaiian GCs from Costco on Friday so we went straight to the heliport in Lihu’e for our 930AM ride.
I must have asked/requested/beseeched for window seats for both me and my wife half a dozen times, and although they made it seem like they would make it happen, ultimately only my wife did, which was quite frustrating.
Anywho, a chopper over LIH is definitely a must-do. The majority of the island is almost impossible to see by car, so chopper is a grand way to see what you otherwise could not, especially if you left your tent and hiking boots at home.
DSC02814 by
ajkddf, on Flickr
Our pilot had done this trip about 10,500 times and was quite informative.
DSC02817 by
ajkddf, on Flickr
The two coolest portions of the trip were: 1) We got to see places from the air that we had visited on the ground, like the ‘Opaeka’a Falls and the Wailua Falls (pics below), and 2) the day we went was one of the ten days in the year that the weather was clear enough that the pilot was able to take us above and over Mount Waiʻaleʻale, one of the wettest spots on earth, so that we were able to look down on it. (Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a
great snap of it, but there is a pic below.)
Some pics with descriptions (in blue):
Kauai Lagoons Resort by
ajkddf, on Flickr
Famous movie waterfall by
ajkddf, on Flickr
This waterfall, though you can't see it, actually has a helicopter landing pad to the immediate left. Often times, this waterfall is used in movies; in fact, I think the landing pad was built specifically for camera crews to get in an our easily.
Well-known Kauai red dirt by
ajkddf, on Flickr
Another Waterfall, much larger than the first by
ajkddf, on Flickr
Po'u o Kila Lookout from the Air by
ajkddf, on Flickr
Na'apali Coast and (what I think is) Kalalau Beach by
ajkddf, on Flickr
Wainiha by
ajkddf, on Flickr
Hanalei Bay by
ajkddf, on Flickr
Hanalei Bay is the place where Bethany Hamilton had her arm bitten off by a shark while surfing... The movie Soul Surfer is based on her surfing life.
Although it may not look it, this is the Wettest Spot on Earth:
DSC02879 by
ajkddf, on Flickr
See that little white structure in the picture? That's the instrument they use to measure annual rainfall to determine this is the wettest in the world.
DSC02880 by
ajkddf, on Flickr
Land bought by Steve Case, and leased out to herders. by
ajkddf, on Flickr
After the chopper ride, we drove about 90 mins up to Waimea Canyon. We stopped at the Waimea Canyon lookout, which was nice.
DSC02917 by
ajkddf, on Flickr
waimea by
ajkddf, on Flickr
However, it was nothing compared to the Pu’u o Kila Lookout, a view 20-30 mins passed the Waimea Canyon Lookout. And boy oh boy was that a view. Jaw-dropping.
DSC02927 by
ajkddf, on Flickr
DSC02934 by
ajkddf, on Flickr
After a few photos, we drove the hour back to the hotel, where Mrs. AJK rush-packed, I bought Hyatt GCs from raise.com for 10% off, which worked perfectly (once I called into verify my purchase), and we checked out.
However, all that running and packing made us hot, and because our flight wasn't for a few hours, and because we were Diamond, we used our access to the Anara Spa, which has private showers, a pool, and most importantly a steam room and a sauna. After about 45 minutes in the spa, including a nice shvitz, I changed, heated up our second to last POM meal in the Grand Club, devoured it and off the airport we went.
Here's the Diamond "menu" from check-in:
Our flight back to the HNL was ordinary and quick, just like our outbound, and we were still looking good for Plan-B return from HNL-EWR, being #1 and #2 on the upgrade list with 4 seats open.
About 15-20 mins or so before departure, when neither of us had cleared yet and with just
two remaining seats, I walked up to the gate agent and inquired when he would be processing upgrades.
"Oh, I am just about to do that now. I assume you're the top two on the list?"
I said "yes," and no sooner than finishing the word "yes," a woman came up to the desk and inquired about an upgrade to business.
The gate agent looked at me, then looked at her, then was forced to say, "Yes, we have 2 seats left for purchase. Each one is $900, but you must decide now."
Thinking (naively, I might add) that most people are not plunking down $900 for business seat ten mins before a flight, I figured I had at least
a shot. And then I saw this woman think out loud:
"Is it worth $900 for a good night sleep... hmmm..." She went back and forth for 30 seconds, and I'm sitting there praying that she decides like a true DDF'er that it was most certainly not worth $900 for such an upgrade. Heck she could buy like 4 nights in the Park Hyatt NYC for that amount of money!
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity she said... "I'll take it."
She handed him a CC and there went the second to last seat.
The agent then turned to me and said, "So, who between you two is sitting up front?" I told him my wife, and he said "well, since you're such a gentleman, I'll give you three seats to yourself."
And so it was. I flew the Jewish Business Class home, went to sleep 10 mins after take off and woke up 30 mins before landing, sleeping a solid 8 hours. Worked out just fine in the end.
And speaking of the end, this is the end of this TR. Hope you enjoyed!
Topic Wiki
