Hawaii
September/October 2002

I would like to point out first that Hawaii was the best vacation I ever had. It was a wonderful trip. Something was different than I expected, but altogether it was awesome.

On the flight to Hawaii we had a lot of fun. With a lei around our neck we entered the plane. Funny comments from many people and we decided to give the lei to the security officers at the Frankfurt airport. Big laughter at all sites. The first stop was San Francisco. The weather was warm and sunny and it was the first time that I saw the Golden Gate Bridge in fog. San Francisco is still my favorite city and we walked around in the streets. Our itinary contained Union Sqaure, Market Street, Fisherman’s Wharf, Haight-Ashbury and hiking Twin Peaks. Actually I didn’t visit Alcatraz, therefore I took the ferry to Sausalito. There I walked the harbour with afollowing wine test. Certainly we hiked from the Wharf to the Golden Gate Bridge. A wonderful walk since they completed the Presidio. The four days were excellent and I enjoyed it very much. This was a good opening for the vacation.

Then we took a United plane to Honolulu. As we landed on Oahu we saw an unbelievable green island with white sandy beaches and turqouis water. Unfortunately it was only a rumour that you get a lei at the airport. Who cares. The house of Karen and Gary is absolutely fantastic. Only 10m away from the water. From the lawn you can see Honolulu and Waikiki-Beach. You  find all you need in this house: towels, sorfboards, boogieboards, golf-clubs, a babecue-grill,... Simply complete. Karen and Gary are wonderful and very, very nice. We had a lot of fun with them and Karen had many tips to discover the island. On one evening we were invited to a party with friends and neighbours. Between the barbecue you can always take a cool jump in the ocean. We had local food and especially for this evening we wore our new Hawaii-Shirts.

Oahu has a good variety- Lonely beaches in the north-west with sea-turtles, a very green central island and a very touristic Waikiki. This I thought would be very different from what I saw. Not so many hotels and a bigger beach. Anyway, the Aloha-Festival was good to check out the hawaiian food and get used to the people and the music. On one day we drove to Hanauma Bay and snorkeled the corals. The underwater world was unbelievable. The baches on the east-coast invited us to relax and boogieborad a little bit. A fishing trip with David was very successfull and once again a complete new experience. In seven hours we caught 13 Akus, one Ahi and one Mahimahi (1,30m long and 30 pounds). But what was the secret of this success? That Sascha feeded the fish???

Big Island is the volcanic island. With elevation more than 4.000m, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are the highest mountains on this island. We have 13 climate-zones on this world, Big island has 11 of this. The landscape is very different, from a green Ireland to the black lava flows and to caribic beaches – it’s all there. The street round the coast climbs up to 1.500m and it’s an awesome view over the pacific ocean. Highlight  was the visit of the Hawaii Volcanic Nationalpark with the Kilauea Crater. A huge lava flow, that shines red in the dark and a view to the steamy craters were very impressive.

Perhaps Maui offers the best mix. The historic town of Lahaina invites to walk around. The island has many beautiful places. Highlight was the sunrise at the Haleakala crater in an elevation of 3.000m. At 6.15am we stood above the clouds and looked amazed to the sun. Unfortunately it was very cold, but we enjoyed this unforgettable moment. On this volcano, that looks like on the moon, you find the silversword. This flower grows only at this plac on the earth only in the elevation of 3.000m. The road to Hana has 647 curves with 52 bridges and offers a great view to the nature. You feel like driving through a large botanic garden. Moreover you find wonderful places to surf.

Kauai was an excellent place before we had to fly home. This island is very original and not so overcrowded with tourists. It’s called the „Garden Island“. High mountains and the wettest spot on earth, Mt. Waialeale (1.240cm a year) are parts of a amazing landscape. Many green valleys, a lot of waterfalls and lonely bays were really relaxing.

Four weeks of Hawaii is over. It was wonderful and impressive. And now I know, why Gary settled down on Oahu after retiring from teh Navy. It’s like living in paradise and you have to discover it besides the touristic places. Believe me, there are many places to discover.

Once again many thanks to Karen and Gary! Aloha, mahalo and hang loose!

I will come back... That’s sure!

The Schwichtenberg-Familyportrait: Steven Schwichtenberg, Karen Luke and Gary Schwichtenberg Thanks for all!
San Francisco - Alcatraz	San Francisco - Transamerica Pyramid	San Francisco - Golden Gate Bridge
San Francisco - Cable Car at Hyde Street Hill	San Francisco - Twin Peaks	View of Honolulu from airplane
Oahu - Hale Kai Ewa	Oahu - Sunrise over Waikiki	Oahu - Pali Lookout
Oahu - Waimanalo Beach	Oahu - Surfen	Oahu - Pearl Harbor
Oahu - Fishing with David	Oahu - Aku and Mahimahi	Oahu - Sunset near Waianae
Big Island - Pu'uhonua State Monumernt	Big Island - Volcano Kilauea	Big Island - Lava at Kilauea
Maui - Silversword	Maui - Sunrise at the Haleakala	Maui - The Needle
Big Island - Road to Hana	Kauai - Kalalau Lookout	Kauai - Kilaue Lighthouse

Back