Summer in Vancouver and Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island - it is only a short boat trip from Vancouver and worth going to for a short getaway.  

With two children, four adults and a dog we were grateful that most of the journey was out of the car, and in a boat. 

Sailing across the Canadian/US border and then back again, it is probably the only time we will ever cross an international border without showing our passports. 

The island was magical.  A bit like Waiheke Island for those kiwis who are reading the blog.  Remote, but accessible, hot, with a hint of quirkiness and hippiness (if that is a word).

The Airbnb was not ready for our early arrival so we stopped at the market in the township - hot and bothered we found a place to sit in the shade while the kids played in the park, and Winston the dog sat forlornly outside with an adult, looking in at the dog free park.  

We settled for ice-creams and then it was time to find the "blue house".  Close to the beach said the online info, but only as the crow flies.  From the verandah (we aren't allowed to call it a deck in Canada as it apparently sounds like something else), we could see the water, but the road said "No access to the beach" and they were right.  It was a circuitous route to the rocky or sandy beaches and over the few days we must have found and taken almost all of the alternative routes.

At the beaches we returned the little crabs to the sea with our six year old, climbed over rocks and paddled, picnicked - it really was a bit cold for swimming.

There was a turkey farm, where the turkeys followed the children around - I guess because they were similar heights or more likely they hoped for food.  The turkeys became quite a feature that evening as we introduced the children to charades.  To make it easy, we suggested everyone had a chance to act out and make the sounds of an animal and we all had to guess.  "Gobble gobble gobble" said our six year old grandson squatting.  "Turkey" we all said.  "Gobble, gobble, gobble" said our three year old grand daughter and you guessed it we all said "Turkey".  The whole evening was full of laughter as the children took turns and the adults were required to guess - and every time the answer was "turkey".

There was a goat farm, with a cheese factory, lots of feta to chose from and little pizzas which were quite nice, but a tad expensive.

A stop at a cider house, where we were served an immense amount of cider (thankfully the driver was pregnant), which meant all the others could enjoy sample the different flavoured ciders.  Not being a big drinker, we sipped a few and talked about our preferences before handing the glasses over to the cider lover.  We sat under the umbrella while it rained and played games with the kids until the cider was finished. 

That night was a thunder storm - now we have been in many - but nothing like this.  It thundered all night, and each time we woke up with a loud noise and the house shaking like we had just experienced a fairly significant earthquake.  Thankfully, the house stayed up and the kids slept through.

And then it was time to go back to Vancouver, another week for working parents, and fun times for kiwi grandparents to share with grandchildren. We enjoyed some new adventures and revisiting places. 

Buntzen Lake

Buntzen lake is only a 30 minute drive from North Vancouver.  It is an idyllic lake with a small beach and bush lined shores.  We went for a short walk (perhaps when the kids are older we will walk right around the lake which takes a few hours).  Because of its popularity you have to book a car park - it is cheap but a way to manage the numbers of visitors to these popular sites.  And it works! There are always enough car parks (though sometimes you may have to go around the car park more than once).  Our car park was booked until 2.00 and so we left early afternoon - plenty of time for the family to board paddle (I had tried the previous year, but managed to fall off in an inch of water).  I remember distinctly my son in law laughing and saying "No one ever falls off" in that much water.  And the highlight (or low light), as we drove home watching a small bear navigating the footpath and busy road to get back to the bush!

We also managed to do a number of forest walks.  Some with the grandchildren, where there is a forest only a couple of hundred metres away.  Here we climb fallen trees, hunt for slaters and take them home to the slater house where they are lovingly cared for.

When the kids are at school or day care, we venture further to the suspension bridge or other lakes always finding new places to explore and ways to avoid walking along the busy main roads.

Shipyards

A perfect seaside suburb - lots to do and places to eat.  A splash pad in summer, and an ice rink in winter.  Walks around the harbour, looking across to central Vancouver.

Baseball

Our first baseball game, with our grandson's team running on to the pitch with the Vancouver players.  We were a bit put out initially, as we weren't allowed to take any food into the stadium (not even snacks for the kids).  The food was as expected expensive and low nutritional value, but we did enjoy watching the couple attacking a two foot hotdog from either end. 

Surprisingly, the game moved along quickly (perhaps I am thinking of American football when I say this), and we enjoyed watching and soaking up the atmosphere while munching on our fries.

Other things we did in Vancouver - all of which are worth looking up if you are visiting...

Burnaby Historical Village

Lots of historical buildings (churches, bakeries, ironsmiths, drapers, bookshops), gardens and of course the historical merry go round - always a favourite with the kids.

Marine Building

The Marine Building is a 1930's skyscraper  in the central city.  Yes, during the art deco period.  The public are allowed on the ground floor and mezzanine and last time we went it was covered in scaffolding.  Not this time... a magnificent example of art deco architecture. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Building 

Science Centre

Always a hit with the kids and grandparents alike and only a bus, boat and train ride away.  The driverless train continues to be fun, as we sit at the front and experience a "roller coaster" sensation as we speed around corners and through tunnels. 

We always start off at the hamburger shop, which sells reasonable burgers and chips (or should I say fries) and then spend hours exploring the exhibits, watching the science talks or playing in the water.

Aquarium

Another hit with the kids and where I taught them that dipping hot chips in icecream and tomato sauce was just the best (much to Mum's dismay).

Summer Concerts

Like in New Zealand, summer is celebrated and at the local mall we spent a nice evening listening to live music.

Outlet Shops

On our last day, Harry convinced me to go to the outlet shops. Nothing much to buy at the outlet shops - but had lunch and watched planes land at the airport (if I didn't know better I would think they were preparing to land on the pedestrian walkways at the shopping centre).

A couple of new observations:

• The local school's classroom doors can not be opened from the outside (there is internal access from hall).  I guess that is a security to stop terrorists (or perhaps bears - yes they do come to school occasionally). 
• Each year, children are asked to bring a bag of familiar things (photos of family, a toy) in case there is an emergency at school and they can't get home quickly.
• To add a driver on to the insurance for the car costs about $1000 (this covers personal indemnity and thankfully ACC covers this in New Zealand). You have to pay for a year, so once we leave Harry is immediately taken off the policy, and most of the money is thankfully refunded. I knew there was a reason I did not want to drive in Vancouver.

Kaua'i Island

Wednesday was full of taxis, planes, lots of waiting in short queues for bags and hire cars - but no customs - yeah!!

Our hotel was a few miles (yes I am trying to be American) away from the airport, through the little town of Lihue and a lot of roadworks.  The condo is great (bigger than many of apartments in retirement villages) and fits our criteria (balcony, pool and kitchen) with added extras like washing machine and dryer.

Over the next few days we sat outside eating breakfast and dinner and nearly every time the resident chickens come to visit (Mum and six chicks).  We were told by the locals and google that chickens escaped a long time ago from their pens after a hurricane.  Having no natural predators and plenty of food they are breeding happily and have now become quite a pest across the island. They are everywhere though I must say they do not seem to poop everywhere like ducks and Canadian geese (of which we have not seen any) or alternatively there are little gnomes who clean the footpaths every night!  We first thought that they weren't doing much harm but on reflection we did not see many birds and wondered if this was because their food source had been eaten.

Our first day was spent having a swim and finding the local supermarket.  There is a Safeway about 10 minutes drive and we stocked up on frozen dinners, lunch stuff and fresh fruit for breakfast.  

Woken by a rooster at 5.30 am, I felt relieved that we had traded the city where our alarm clock was a rubbish truck to the country.

Waimea Canyon is only 30 or so miles away, but Google said a 45 minute drive and it wasn't wrong.  The road was windy and a bit nerve racking with a few inches of drop off from the road to the verge that could kill the cars' suspension without much effort.  The Mustang convertible we had hired (we did order a compact car, but on arrival were given the choice of a SUV or Mustang) was at 15, Harry's dream car but he knew it would not live up to his teenage expectations.  Still, it got us around. What do you think of the lighted Mustang in the dark?

The pictures of the Canyon say it all really.  Pretty spectacular with far more colours than the Grand Canyon (and less tourists).  We spent most of the day there hopping in and out of the car and taking short walks to viewing platforms.

On the way up we stopped at a small historical village called Hanapepe.  The village reminded me of the small towns in Australia which have been taken over by quaint and crafty boutique shops, but have kept their historical quirkiness.  There was also an art deco theatre - soon to be renovated into a boutique hotel. 

The chocolate lover in the family found a 3 hour tour of a cacao plantation and off we went.  The tour involved a walk around the plantation, information about the cacao and vanilla plants and lots and lots of sampling of fresh fruit (white pineapple is rather yum), macadamia nuts, honey and chocolate.   You may be surprised to hear that we came away with no chocolates "difficult to know if they were better than Whittaker's without a direct comparison" said the chocolate lover loyal to his home brand.  He settled on some macadamia nuts for a treat.

A few interesting facts:

• the cacao is pollinated by ants and midgets while the vanilla flower is pollinated by hand since the little bee that used to do it is now extinct.
• dark chocolate is bitter if it is burnt during roasting.
• dark chocolate has 13,120 ORAC - that is oxygen radical absorbance capacity units per 100 grams while milk chocolate has about half of that.  Broccoli comes in with a poor 890 and blue berries 2,400.  Interesting enough plums have 949 while prunes have around 5,770.

It was on to a beach for a late lunch - but no swim - the tide was up and there was a very sharp looking reef to get across so we settled once again for the pool.

One night we wandered across the road, along the beach and through a hotel lobby to the golf course.  Night time descended on us quite quickly and having taken a detour through the hotel car park that got us nowhere we went back through the lobby and onto the beach.  Having the read the news about Waikiki hotels dominating the beaches we could see it was happening here as well. 

We tried snorkeling on our day trip up north which took us through little villages, past cute churches to beaches where it was difficult to find a car park.  We stopped at a state park and were told that we needed to get an advance online reservation to park and visit - there was no internet so that didn't happen.  On finding a walk through the bush (presumably heading down to the beach) we were told that the state had given the indigenous Hawaiians "rights" to the area and so we couldn't walk there.  Pity this wasn't explained a bit more in the tourist brochures. So, we backtracked a bit and found a driveway to an expensive house which the local teenagers had opened it up for a fee.  We accepted it gratefully and hoped the $30 parking fee was going to a good cause.  The afternoon was spent picnicking on the beach and snorkeling.  We saw lots of fish and Harry went out further and saw pink and white coral.  Silly kiwis though, we had greased ourselves in sunblock when we were clothed but forgot about our backs which were floating above the water line!!

There are a number of lovely gardens on the island and one of particular note was Moir Gardens.  Situated in the more "exclusive part of the island" alongside the Sheraton Hotel, this garden wandered around two story holiday condos with ease. Apparently the gardens were created in the 1930's by Alexandra Moir.  Google says that in 1948 the gardens were identified as "one of the ten best cactus and succulent gardens in the world" (and I must admit I kept saying "this is a very unusual garden" as we explored).  The cacti then moved way for hibiscus, palms and other greenery before heading back to the beach.  A gardener would enjoy a few days relaxing there.

Our last night before flying to Vancouver and we decided to go to a Lūʻau.  To the tourist it is called a 

"festive experience that includes a Hawaiian feast featuring lively music and vibrant cultural performances from Hawai'i and the greater Polynesia".  Apparently, the first celebrations were held around 1819.  During the three hour event we were treated to a train trip around the plantation, food and entertainment which included quite a lot of fire dancing.  There were a number of tables (about 300 people in all) and our table included 8 others all young couples many celebrating weddings and anniversaries.  Looking around the over 60's were definitely in the minority. 

The next day was travel day.  We had ummed and ahhed about what to do during our 9 hour stop over in Honolulu.  In the end we decided to stay at the airport as we had seen much of Waikiki and had no need to go again.  Well, the best laid plans... We get to Honolulu airport and find that the only place to sit is on concrete seats and the only drink is a takeaway at Starbucks. Not a place to spend time with loved ones before they leave that's for sure. Everything else is behind security (which we couldn't go to as check-in wasn't open).  So, alternate plans were laid - drop off our bags at storage - hop on the number 20 bus and go for some food somewhere.

It was a bit of a comedy on the bus.  The bus is a normal passenger bus and stops to pick up passengers from the airport.  People on the bus were told to go to the back and not block the aisles with their large suitcases.  At each of the three airport stops the bus driver walked down the aisle telling people not to block the aisle.  "Where can I put my bag" says one passenger "On your lap" he says unsympathetically.  Seems like a passengers bag was leaning against the button to signal a stop and the bus stopped at a few stops without any body getting off or on. Half way through the journey (which takes over an hour at the best times), the driver walked up the aisle and said "this bus isn't stopping again until we get to the Ala Moana shopping centre - if you want to get off before then get on the bus behind us".  Given, visitors don't get tickets it may have meant we would have had to pay twice. We had no desire to get off, so headed for the shopping centre.  My, the food court is huge and these places are certainly not on my favourite list - we had avoided them on our stay in Waikiki.  Anyway, needs must and so we munched on ok Thai and then bought a cold slushy before catching the bus back to the airport (funny - same bus driver as before but none of the drama).

So, we are now at the airport waiting for our flight. 

Besides the regular boarding calls and security notices there is another one we heard often "We welcome all military personnel and their spouses and children".  Military personnel have priority boarding and also have access to a special military lounge.  "Thank you for your service" is a common statement heard.  We also noticed that some shops give military personnel discounts.

Some thoughts about Hawaii

• We had a lovely holiday - Kauai is a great island to relax, where Waikiki is full of tourists and the business they bring.
• The locals are friendly and polite and both islands are clean with very little litter hanging around.
• We saw very few insects and only used the inspect spray at the cacao plantation - it was  a special concoction which they recommended we put on  - we will never know if there were no mosquitoes that day or whether the spray was effective. 
• For kiwis it is pretty expensive (exacerbated by an unfriendly exchange rate).  We spoke to some Americans who said that groceries were twice the price here compared to the mainland.
• Some of the scenery (eg Waimea Canyon and beaches) are wonderful, but New Zealanders are spoilt with the over abundance of stunning coastlines so there weren't as many WOW moments as I had hoped for.
• Public transport was great on Waikiki but virtually non-existent on Kauai (a car rental is a must).
• The weather has been great - when it rained it was only short bursts for about 10 minutes and we were always inside or in the car.  
• Kauai Island is very green while Waikiki not so, but there is less colour around than I expected - probably not quite the season for flowers to be blooming.
• Erosion is a concern here.  The high tide mark is now encroaching on green areas and lapping at hotel doors. 

The boarding call for Vancouver is not far away.  It's only a six hour flight.  We aren't sitting together (we were given two window seats behind each other which we thankfully swapped for two aisle seats) - hopefully we might get some sleep.  

Honolulu

We felt the slight impatience that most weary travellers do as they stand in a queue.  We were at Customs in Honolulu.  To amuse ourselves we watched an American get the once over from his fellow countrymen before he was escorted down to corridor for more scrutiny.

Under the tv screen that said "this sign is no longer in use" we waited until it was our turn.  The Customs Officer - scanned our eyes and asked about our intentions, where we were staying, when we were moving on and why.  He handed us our passports and with a smile said  "its sunny and we have warm water - enjoy".  

Outside the airport we found a seat in the shade and notified the taxi company of our arrival via their online portal.  Back flew the message to go across the road at emergency pillar 32 and through the garage to the blue wall.  Not too difficult since we were sitting by emergency pillar 29. 

The driver was quiet and it was a fairly uneventful trip - perhaps that was good since a sign told us that the "last fatal accident was five days ago".  "Perhaps it was a blessing that the driver was quiet" I thought and then I noticed he had one hand on the wheel and the other on his phone.  Pretty sure a man can't talk, steer and text all at the same time. 

Find the lock box said the instructions.  "Which one?" we asked as we viewed the rack.  Our early check in didn't eventuate - there was no key in the lock box!!

The receptionist ignored us until I asked her for assistance - she looked startled as though I had woken her from an afternoon nap.  We could leave our bags, for a fee across the road at the car rental place she told us. Relieved of our big bags full of Marmite, Shapes, Weetbix and other kiwi goodies we wandered down the road carrying our cabin luggage.  

We found a loo to change into cooler clothes and a place for me to eat a mahi mahi burger (the waiter said it was egg mixed with flour and grilled so I assumed there was fish involved somewhere) and Harry had an omelet and half my burger. 

Waikiki is full of shops, I can't quite fathom how they manage to stay in business.  The beaches are busy and so are the cafes but the shops are virtually empty (eg two shop assistants stood outside and enviously stared at us while we ate an ice-cream later in the day). 

On to the beach. We smiled when we saw row upon row of deck chairs and umbrellas (reminiscent of Europe) and smiled even more when no one seemed to notice that the tide was encroaching under the chairs. "Rent me" said the sign on the chair.  Later that day we read that the Council is bringing in a rule that chairs and umbrellas can only be put out once they are rented - in the hope of ensuring the beach remains accessible to everyone. 

We paddled along the beach for a while and then lack of sleep hit us.  I found a nice place to lie on the grass for an afternoon snooze and Harry did some people watching.

Back at the hotel with keys in hand we made our way up to the penthouse.  Luxurious by name and probably it is compared to the other rooms in the complex.  I would call it comfortable and clean with all the essentials (pool, kitchen, comfortable bed and balcony).  

Talking of the pool, during our refreshing swim we watched little geckos performing their mating rituals (gecko porn was involved).  We turned the air conditioner off and took the battery out of the clock (both too noisy) and were asleep by 4.30 pm lulled by the hum of a hundred air conditioners around us.

Even after that outrageously long sleep we were slow to get up.  We wandered around looking for a supermarket (rather than the shops that sell $2 shop type items and a splash of food) and eventually found one with yummy deli food - must have taken an hour to decide on the next few nights dinners (fish burgers) and breakfast (fresh fruit and cereal).   

Over the few days in Waikiki we wandered through a maze of hotel lobby's and outdoor shopping centres to get to the beaches, decided not to hire a surf board and went to the Honolulu Army museum.

On the second day back at the hotel I realised we hadn't checked out our emergency exits.  The only door down to the floors below was beside the lift and it would not open.  Harry tried and then the burly six foot cleaner tried and with three fairly hefty shoulder pushes managed to open it "It's not locked just stiff" he said as he closed it.  We asked him to leave the door open - as we didn't want broken shoulders should an emergency occur. "Who should we tell?" we wondered hoping that no one would come up and shut the door during our stay.  Reception was closed in the weekends (the only time we saw it open was on our first day during the lock box saga).  We emailed Agoda suggesting there was a maintenance issue and could they tell the owner and also the Fire Department suggesting a future potential risk.   

Every night, we checked the emergency door was ajar...

Sunday was the round the island trip for us and 22 other tourists. We agreed that at each stop we would take turns at the window seat.  The bus stopped a lot (photo opportunities, sandy beaches, watching turtles, a fairly ordinary lunch, the Dole plantation, local shops and macadamia plantation).  There was a lot of tightening and loosening of seatbelts along the way. 

It took 80 minutes on the Number 20 bus to get to Pearl Harbor on Monday morning.  On the trip (and also the return) we sat and looked at architecture, scenery and passengers and listened to a deep throaty male voice say for the umpteenth time "stop requested" and "please hold on, the bus is departing".  One intriguing part of the trip (about 30 minutes) was under the motorway.

Pearl Harbor was better than I expected and probably matched Harry's expectations.  We particularly enjoyed the walk through the Battleship Missouri, submarine Bowfin  and the control tower and unsurprisingly Harry found the aviation museum captivating.

There is a lot to see at the museum, but not really a lot to say... so here are a few of the things we learnt.

• A New Zealander was at the signing of the end of the war Air Vice-Marshal Leonard Isitt.  The other signatories to the agreement included US, China, UK, Australia, Canada, France and Netherlands.
• The Missouri and all other US warships are built to a width that means they can travel through the Panama Canal as many of the ship yards are on the east Coast of the US.
• The Kamikaze Pilot who flew his plane into the Missouri was given a military funeral the next day.  The captain said "an enemy that can not retaliate is no longer your enemy" which apparently was not a sentiment shared by the crew. 
• The copper and brass on the submarine was so shiny you could see yourself in it. Whoever cleaned it was a perfectionist and a saint, but I find it hard to imagine it would have been in that condition during the war.
• The war had a significant impact on the locals.  Dorinda Nicholson wrote a book Pearl Harbor Child of her experiences when she was 6.  It sounds like a must read.

I broke a tooth this morning so hoping that no pain sets in before I get home.  Went and bought some Listerine and fingers crossed.

Thought for the day: Why is the union jack on the Hawaiian flag?  Google says it was first adopted in the early 19th century by the kingdom and is the only US state flag to feature a foreign country's national flag.  It commemorates the historical relationships with the UK.  The 8 stripes represent the main islands of the Hawaiian archipelago. 

An enjoyable trip - there were a number of people there but at no time did it feel uncomfortably busy and the queues moved quickly (particularly those for shuttle buses and ice creams).

Photos of the Missouri

The Control Tower

The Bowfin

The Aviation Museum

Our last day at Waikiki.  We caught a bus to Fosters botanical gardens which has a number of indigenous palms, a larger number of exotic palms and a few orchids.  Of particular interest was the cannonball tree which they suggested you didn't stand under for long - looking up you could see why! 

Then on to Iolani Palace, rich in royal history and the impact of colonisation led by owners of the sugar plantations.  Another sad story of the powerful upending of the life of the indigenous people and all that is dear to them.  The Palace was built in 1882 by King Kalkaua and was the home of the last reigning monarchs until they were overthrown in 1893.  After the overthrow it became government offices and were not cared for (how often have we heard that story).  Thankfully, the Palace has been restored with carpets depicting indigenous plants, beautifully carved and varnished wood, plastered ceilings and the most amazing door hinges (which I forgot to get a photo of). 

Goodbye Waikiki - and hello Lihue.  Some reflections of our visit to Waikiki are:

• There are no pesky insects like mosquitoes and sandflies (or perhaps they just don't like kiwis). 
• There are lots of pigeons and hens but we didn't see any sea gulls.
• Hawaii is into solar panels in a big way - we are impressed.
• We still don't get the tipping - we inadvertently forgot to tip someone who came to help us with the internet - feel very guilty about it - but just not one of those habits we have embedded in our brain.