Hawai‘i Travel Tips
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Global Travel Planning
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I love to travel and my adventures have literally taken me around the world. I lived in Hawai'i for 35 years and lived on all 4 of the major islands (Oahu, Maui, Hawai`i Island and Kauai) so I am very familiar with beaches, hikes, tourist destinations, etc. The entire state has so much more to offer than the beaches at Waikiki. Do you want a relaxing trip or an adrenalin filled adventure? Do you want to see whales or turtles? I will be happy to offer suggestions on how to make the most of your tropical vacation.
My 3 great adventures:
1972 - A 10,000 mile, 4 month motorcycle trip on a 350cc Honda. Montreal to New Orleans to Colorado and up the Rockies to Calgary. Across the Canadian Rockies to Vancouver Island. Down the west coast from Seattle to San Francisco. I started off with a college friend (Elizabeth Streb) but after 2 weeks she wanted to get back in the dance studio. So we parted ways in Boulder, Colorado. I camped by myself almost every night, got a job pumping gas in Jackson Hole. Then met some folks selling fudge at a rodeo in Cheyenne and did the rodeo circuit , ended up at the Grand Stampede in Calgary. I treated myself to a room at the YMCA for my birthday. Hit snow in Banff in September so worked as a waitress for a week. No cell phones - I called my mother collect from payphone about once a week. No GPS - fortunately I love maps! No bad experiences.
2006 - Spent 7 weeks in China. Spent the first 2 weeks traveling alone. Shanghai, Phuto Shan Island (a sacred island devoted to GuanYin - the female Buddha) Ningbo (called the Paris of China), Dunhuang ( the western portal of the Great Wall bordering Mongolia). Joined up with a friend in Beijing, then we went to Kunming, Yunnan and Guilin. She flew back to Hawaii and I spent the next 3 weeks seeing Pandas and a Buddhist University in Chengdu, cruising down the Yangtzee from Chongking and ending the trip in Zhangjiajie.
2018 - A 4 month circumnavigation of the globe. Hawaii, New York City, Oslo, Sweden, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Bali, Singapore, New Zealand, back to Hawaii. I was alone except for the first week in Scandinavia and Italy with my sister, and the final week in New Zealand with my dear friend Sara Banks. I joined Trusted Housesitters so I had free lodging for most of the trip. An olive grove in Italy, a cottage in a small town on the Swiss/French border, a week at a funky but affordable AirnB in Paris, a house owned by Brits in a rural town on the island of Corfu. A week in Egypt on my way to the next sit in Bali. After Bali 2 more weeks in the sweltering December heat of Singapore. Then a delightful 2 weeks at a modern home in Auckland where I had to drive a stick shift on the "wrong" side of the road, shifting with my left hand. Then Sara joined me on the South Island of NZ for a week, hot springs, botanical gardens and more crazy driving.
We took the 12 hour flight back to Honolulu. I was exhausted and exhilarated and ready sleep in my own bed and to swim on my favorite Kauai beach!
So- if you want to travel to any of these places, I would love to offer my assistance. When I graduated form high school (the first person in my family to do so) my favorite aunt told me to get an education and to travel and to not get married. I took her advice and have had a fabulous time learning about and exploring life on this amazing planet!
My 3 great adventures:
1972 - A 10,000 mile, 4 month motorcycle trip on a 350cc Honda. Montreal to New Orleans to Colorado and up the Rockies to Calgary. Across the Canadian Rockies to Vancouver Island. Down the west coast from Seattle to San Francisco. I started off with a college friend (Elizabeth Streb) but after 2 weeks she wanted to get back in the dance studio. So we parted ways in Boulder, Colorado. I camped by myself almost every night, got a job pumping gas in Jackson Hole. Then met some folks selling fudge at a rodeo in Cheyenne and did the rodeo circuit , ended up at the Grand Stampede in Calgary. I treated myself to a room at the YMCA for my birthday. Hit snow in Banff in September so worked as a waitress for a week. No cell phones - I called my mother collect from payphone about once a week. No GPS - fortunately I love maps! No bad experiences.
2006 - Spent 7 weeks in China. Spent the first 2 weeks traveling alone. Shanghai, Phuto Shan Island (a sacred island devoted to GuanYin - the female Buddha) Ningbo (called the Paris of China), Dunhuang ( the western portal of the Great Wall bordering Mongolia). Joined up with a friend in Beijing, then we went to Kunming, Yunnan and Guilin. She flew back to Hawaii and I spent the next 3 weeks seeing Pandas and a Buddhist University in Chengdu, cruising down the Yangtzee from Chongking and ending the trip in Zhangjiajie.
2018 - A 4 month circumnavigation of the globe. Hawaii, New York City, Oslo, Sweden, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Bali, Singapore, New Zealand, back to Hawaii. I was alone except for the first week in Scandinavia and Italy with my sister, and the final week in New Zealand with my dear friend Sara Banks. I joined Trusted Housesitters so I had free lodging for most of the trip. An olive grove in Italy, a cottage in a small town on the Swiss/French border, a week at a funky but affordable AirnB in Paris, a house owned by Brits in a rural town on the island of Corfu. A week in Egypt on my way to the next sit in Bali. After Bali 2 more weeks in the sweltering December heat of Singapore. Then a delightful 2 weeks at a modern home in Auckland where I had to drive a stick shift on the "wrong" side of the road, shifting with my left hand. Then Sara joined me on the South Island of NZ for a week, hot springs, botanical gardens and more crazy driving.
We took the 12 hour flight back to Honolulu. I was exhausted and exhilarated and ready sleep in my own bed and to swim on my favorite Kauai beach!
So- if you want to travel to any of these places, I would love to offer my assistance. When I graduated form high school (the first person in my family to do so) my favorite aunt told me to get an education and to travel and to not get married. I took her advice and have had a fabulous time learning about and exploring life on this amazing planet!
