housed us ten years ago. The view from here is a bit different than
that from the Waikiki Beach hotel! Here we see volcanoes, not high-rises.
A stroll down the Kaanapali Beach Walk brings us to the Hyatt Regency Hotel,
voted (by us) to have the best beachfront grounds and pool of them all. The
Grotto Bar is a cave inside the swimming pool and features a bridge over the pool
and a waterfall at the end of the pool. You can swim up to the bar and order a drink!
Still at the Hyatt Regency, we come upon a pond with local birds (hired by
the hotel?) and wild birds, relaxing just like the tourists. This feeding
station is normally used by the "hotel swan" but the Back Crowned Night Heron
is "waiting in the wings" (sorry) for the swan to finish so he can indulge.
Here we stumble upon a relaxing tourist ... oh, it's Mary!
That's enough relaxation ... let's do some touring. We start by driving
up to the Haleakala National Park, which is having a clear day at the
top. We were very lucky to have a day like this on the mountain.
At the top of the crater there is a lot to see. Here are some views
of the inside of the crater, showing some cones where eruptions have
occurred, although the large, main crater was not caused by an eruption.
These observatories atop Haleakala are a collaborative research
effort between the government and the University of Hawaii.
Mary thinks we saw one of these Nene birds, a type of goose that
is the Hawaii state bird. Snuffles, our travel mascot, enjoyed
Hawaii nearly as much as he did Tahiti (he prefers cruise ships).
The silversword plant lives in only one place in the world - Haleakala. This endangered
plant can live over 50 years, but it blooms once, spreading its seed ... and then dies.
Gee, do we look cold? ... we're freezing up here!
The peak is just over 10,000 feet and on this day it was cold and too windy to wear a hat.
Now let's go to the Big Island ...
Click for Big Island pix
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