Hawaii 2009: February 2009 Archives

Welcome to Oahu

By David Garozzo on February 28, 2009 10:25 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We have arrived safely in Oahu. I was worried about the flight over. Yes, it's only about 40 minutes long, but the winds have been quite strong, and I expected the flight to be pretty bouncy. To my surprise, the flight was quite smooth.

This week, we're staying at the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club. As with any other Marriott resort, no expense has been spared here. The grounds are amazing, with koi ponds, pools with waterfalls, and more. We're staying up on the 10th floor, and the view is quite nice from up here. This resort has plenty of fun activities to do, so we may be spending more time here instead of traveling around the island. Although, there are a few things that we do plan to do off-resort, such as visit Pearl Harbour and go to Germaine's Luau. We're also considering going to the Dole Plantation, the Polynesian Cultural Center, and maybe a hike or two. But I don't want to overdo it again this week.

Last Day on Kauai

By David Garozzo on February 28, 2009 1:43 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We leave this afternoon for Oahu. Overall, Kauai is a very pretty, magnificent island. I'm not sure that I would recommend staying up in Princeville; it's pretty remote up there, and it seems to be too far away from most activities on the island. I'm not sure about all of the resorts on the island, but The Cliffs didn't have any activities that would lead to getting to know the other vacationers. The pool being under construction was a huge let down; had it been open, I'm sure we would have gotten to know more people. I would highly recommend going up to Princeville check out the view from The Cliffs, but not to make that your home base while staying on Kauai. Plus, Princeville is the highest-cost location on the island - gas is about $0.25 more per gallon there. My one night in Kapa'a was very nice, and it seems like a great, somewhat central location to stay here on the island. Unfortunately, the weather went from nice when we got here, to crazy windy around Wednesday, and stayed that way the whole week. I believe that on Oahu, it'll be a little bit warmer, but still windy. I definitely hope to come back to Kauai when it's not windy like this. I'm not sure how easy that would be to plan. For those coming to Kauai, I highly recommend getting the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook. And if you need a discounted rate on a hotel room, get the Entertainment Book; we saved over $150 on the one night we stayed in Kapa'a at the Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort. Use the Guidebook to find the top waterfalls, as well as the top rated activities and unbiased reviews of tours and restaurants. Do the Movie Bus Tour, a Helicopter Tour, check out the view from the lighthouse, and explore the island to find the waterfalls. For us, the weather didn't really permit us to do much swimming or snorkeling, but I'm sure when it's not windy like this that water activities would be fantastic.

Scotty's BBQ: As good as it looks?

By David Garozzo on February 28, 2009 1:40 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

No. It was better. Absolutely nummy! My only regret is that I didn't come here earlier in the week so I can have more time to enjoy the leftovers. Plus, I'm here at night, but the place is set up beautifully with a kind of theater seating, with four tiers of tables that have a grand view of the beach. Must be awesome when the sun is out.

Scotty's BBQ Sampler

By David Garozzo on February 28, 2009 1:33 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

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Hot Dog'd Out

By David Garozzo on February 28, 2009 1:09 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I think I had hot dogs twice this week. We still had a whole pack of dogs left, and the rest of the gang wanted to save some money and stay in. I'm not a huge hot dog fan, but can to for them at the appropriate times. And when u eat them, I prefer them to be charred to perfection. So, tonight, I decided to done alone. I'm sitting here at Scotty's BBQ, and just placed my order for a sampler for one and a tall Keoke Sunset beer. The sampler includes ribs, brisket, pork, chicken, cornbread, and more. I'm not really all that hungry, but it smells wonderful in here. Ahh, my beer just arrived.

Waipouli Resort is Awesome

By David Garozzo on February 27, 2009 9:17 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We're checked in now. I'm pretty sure they're going to reverse the charge for the no-show last Friday. The room at the Waipouli Beach Resort is amazing. Stainless steel side-by-side fridge, two - yes, two - dishwashers. I've never seen that - there's an upper-half dishwasher and a lower-half dishwasher, that run independently from each other. Neat! The master bedroom has a king-size bed, a balcony, and a private bath with a jacuzzi tub. The guest bedroom has two double beds, and a private bath, too! Plus, there's a guest bathroom, too! Three bathrooms? Wow! And there's a washer and dryer, too. Outside, they have a real neat pool. There's a kid area that has gravel at the bottom of it. And then there's at least three whirlpools, and a long river pool. It's snakes around, has two water slides, and at least three waterfalls. Domino and I recently got back from the pool. Unfortunately, the wind is still pretty strong, and while the pool is somewhat heated, it's very cold when you get out with the wind and all. Sandy and John are still down there, and Marie is about to get up from her nap; I think she's going to try and go down there soon. I'm hoping the wind dies down by tomorrow afternoon so we can really enjoy the pool. Don't get me wrong; it was nice, but too cold for my taste. If you come here, make sure you use your Entertainment card for an unbelievable savings. It was a $400 a night room that was reduced down to about $250. Sweet!

No Room at the Inn?

By David Garozzo on February 27, 2009 6:07 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We checked out of the Cliff's this morning and headed to our timeshare tour. The tour was nice, and we did not buy ($50k!?!). After the tour, we had some time to kill, so we went to Lydgate Park, where they have an insane wood structure playground. We let Domino play for about an hour, and headed to our hotel for the night. When I went to check in, they don't have our reservation. After looking closer at the paperwork, we saw that the reservation was made for last Friday. Ugh!! The guy called accounting, and I think they're going to try and reverse the charges (they charge us for a no show last week). Fortunately, they do have a room for us today, but it won't be ready for another few hours. At least the price is about the same as when I booked it before. So, now we're at Brick Oven Pizza, waiting for some lunch. Pizza is expensive. A small 10" is about $16, and a large is twice that. I hear the pizza is great, so I'm looking forward to my Hawaiian BBQ Chicken pizza. Should be here any minute.

Movie Tour and Lighthouse

By David Garozzo on February 27, 2009 1:21 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This morning, we went on the Movie Bus Tour, and it was fantastic. Sure, I hardly knew any of the movies that they talked about, but it was still very cool. Honestly, I was nervous at first. When they came to pick us up, they were supposed to bring a car seat, and they did not. And then when I got in the bus, the windows were filthy. And on our trip back to their offices, they tried to play a DVD of Blue Hawaii, and the sound was horrible and filled with static. It was awful, and when I got to the office to pay for our tour, I let them know it. They apologized, got the car seat in the bus, washed the windows, and said they would look into the sound system. Also, they told me that we'll be stopping at each location so we can take pictures off of the bus. That made me happy. They couldn't fix the sound system right away, but were able to address it at one of the stops. As I said before, the tour was great. The tour guide gives you info about the island, and plays a movie clip on the TV about the area that you're in. Then, you look out your window, and you see the same scene in person. Very cool. They went through a lot of movies, and we saw some neat sights. The tour included lunch, and I got 20% off using the coupon in the Entertainment book.

After the tour, I dropped Marie and Domino off to get some rest, and the rest of us met up with the Poulson's at the lighthouse. The view from there is amazing, and I got some great pictures of the lighthouse, of the coast with the waves crashing into the rocks, and many birds. I even got a couple of pictures of some whales.

South Pacific Show

By David Garozzo on February 26, 2009 3:58 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Just got back from the South Pacific show. John and Sandy watched Domino for us, which was nice. While there, we ran into another couple from The Cliffs. We asked if they could give us a ride back, and they said they could, so I texted Sandy to let her know that that didn't need to pick us up. Looking around, I think Marie and I were the second and third youngest people there by at least ten years. The show included a delicious dinner of rice, mashed potatoes, chicken, fish, and more. The show was very nice, too. On the way home, I told the other couple that we had won the buy-one-get-one tickets at the activities thing. They said they did, too. Ha. Was it nice? Yes. Would I do it again? No. Would I recommend it? Not unless you're looking for time to kill and you scored discount tickets. Anyway, I have to get to bed. Have to get up early tomorrow for the Movie Bus Tour.

Just Hanging Out

By David Garozzo on February 25, 2009 6:43 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Today, Sandy and John went to the Silver Falls Ranch to do a 3-hour horseback ride, which includes a small waterfall and lunch. Actually, I dropped them off at the ranch, while Marie and Domino hung out at the room. When I got back, we had some leftovers for lunch. We hung out in the room, and then I took Domino with me to go pick up John and Sandy after their ride. While there, we picked fresh grapefruit and fresh oranges, right off the trees. And I took Domino around to see some horses, wild pigs, and cows. Domino enjoyed that. When we got back, I opened up the orange. It was very, very juicy, and delicious. Tonight, Marie and I are going to see the South Pacific dinner show while Sandy and John watch Domino. Unfortunately, the show is about an hour away. Hopefully, Sandy and John can find something to do while we're at the show so they don't have to drive back and forth again.

Whales, Dolphins and Turtles. Oh My!

By David Garozzo on February 24, 2009 11:00 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Long day today; we're home now. The boat tour was quite nice (other than the long drive to get there). I took a Dramamine this morning, and I am pleased that I didn't need to make use of the "Aloha Bucket". Unfortunately, I can't say the same for John or Domino. On the Na Pali side, the swells were quite big, and I nearly lost it, too. There were several others on the boat who did. Anyway, we did get to see whales. Most of the time, it was just a little bit of them, but one time we stopped the whales kept jumping out of the water - full breach! When we were able to find bottle-nose and spinner dolphins, they were attracted to the boat. Apparently, they like to swim in the wake or current of the boat, so they hang out right at the front of the boat. They were fun to watch. Finally, we saw a turtle or two. Every time the captain saw one of these animals, he called it out over the PA system, and stopped the boat. The captain did an excellent job providing some history of the island, as well as information about the various places that we passed. He was very nice. Showbo did very well on the boat; I overheard some of the crew say that they were worried about the dog getting sick; I assured them that Showbo had her sea legs and that there was nothing for them to worry about. At the end of the tour, we had the opportunity to go snorkeling. I wasn't going to go, but then decided that I would. It was chilly out, so Domino and Marie decided to stay on board. It was nice to get in the water, but the snorkeling was pretty lame. There weren't many fish, and the water was choppy and murky.

On our way back from the boat tour, we stopped and saw the Wailua Falls. These are the twin waterfalls that you see in the opening of Fantasy Island, and they are magnificent. I'm not sure if I'm going to get the chance, but I'd love to hike down and check out the falls from the ground level.

Early Morning

By David Garozzo on February 24, 2009 11:49 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Good morning. We're on our way to the Kauai Sea Tours whale watching and snorkel tour. The sun came up recently. Unfortunately, all of these activities are on the south shore, and we have to drive an hour or more to get there. Had I known that, maybe I would have chosen different activities.

Keoke's Paradise

By David Garozzo on February 24, 2009 3:08 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

After the helicopter tour, we went to visit Rob and his family at their Mariott. Marie went in and took a nap while Rob joined us to go check out Spouting Horn. After that, we went back to the Mariott. Man, that place is nice! We walked out to the beach, and we saw a beached seal. I took a ton of pictures. Then, on our way back from the beach, we got to see the seal go back into the water. When we got back, we all went out to eat at Keoki's Paradise. What a fantastic meal! Most of us chose a fresh fish of the day. Everyone loved their meal. Highly recommend it. Tomorrow, we have to get up very early for a boat/whale watching tour.

Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tour

By David Garozzo on February 23, 2009 8:19 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We just got back from our tour. It was awesome. I took tons of pictures. The 70-300mm lens was too long, so I used the 18-55mm. Right now, we're waiting for the DVD to finish burning. Maybe Domino will watch it later; she fell asleep after about 15 minutes. They didn't let Showbo on. Supposedly because they were concerned about the dog messing with the controls. After getting in, I don't think we would have had any problems, but I don't really fault them for denying her.

Beach Picnic Lunch

By David Garozzo on February 23, 2009 2:30 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We went to a local restaurant and got our food to go so we could eat it down at the beach. We ended up at 'Anini Beach. We were told that would be the best place for Domino. Sandy, John and Domino went in the water; I hung out at the beach while Marie chatted on the phone and made friends with other people with dogs. The cool breeze scared us both off from wanting to get in. Sandy and John brought snorkel gear, and saw a big sea turtle. When we finished up there, we came back to the room. I layed down, and the next thing I knew, it was 9PM. Guess the sun and the wind really wore me out. I think everybody is sleeping now. Guess it's time for bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. We have the heiicopter tour at 12:45PM, and then we're getting together with Rob's family for the rest of the day.

Activities Meeting

By David Garozzo on February 22, 2009 5:20 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Went to the activities meeting this morning and I win a door prize of buy-one-get-one South Pacific dinner show! Behind our timeshare are the cliffs. There's a sign and a fence that says to not go down, but in the corner was a trail head that was very inviting, so I took it. I got some good pictures. I hope to be able to do some real hiking this week! RIght now we''re about to go get some lunch, and then head over to the beach to do some snorkeling and swimming.

View From Cliffs Behind Resort

By David Garozzo on February 22, 2009 5:12 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Posted with LifeCast

Cliffs Balcony View

By David Garozzo on February 22, 2009 12:47 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

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Good Morning!

By David Garozzo on February 22, 2009 12:44 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

After forever at the rental car place, we finally got our car and headed to our resort. Unfortunately, by the time we got our car, it was dark, so we didn't get to enjoy the scenery along the way. Thankfully, we had the GPS in the iPhone; it would have been a little tough to find without it. When we checked in, they needed a credit card. There's a $50 charge for electricity plus $4 something a day for something else. When they tried my card, it declined. Guess I need to tell them I'm on vacation. They said I could give them the card tomorrow. Our room is on the third floor, and there's no elevator. The unit is nice, and is configured with a master bedroom with a king bed and private bath, living area, guest bath, kitchen and deck on the first floor. Then there is a set of steps that take you up to a loft where there are two queen beds. After lugging everything up, It was 10PM (which is like 2AM). John and I were hungry, so we went to the supermarket to get some food and stuff for breakfasts. We ate sandwiches on the deck, where you could see the light of a lighthouse fly around every few seconds. We went to bed around midnight. Domino woke up around 4AM, ready to go. I couldn't convince her to go back to sleep. I wonder how many days it will take to get her on schedule. The sun is now coming up. Going to have some breakfast. We have an 8:30AM meeting with the activities team.

Rental Car

By David Garozzo on February 22, 2009 12:27 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Well, we all made it here safely. I'm waiting in line at Hertz. It's a very slow moving line. I thought it would be nice if I went and got the car and picked everyone up at the airport, but this line is probably going to take an hour. So they're all on their way here on the shuttle. The drive to Princeville is about an hour. Unfortunately, Sandy forgot her Garmin. Fortunately, this new iPhone has GPS built in. I'll make good use of it these next two weeks. Now I just need to find that car charger.

Animal Quarantine

By David Garozzo on February 21, 2009 10:42 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

After a long walk to animal quarantine, Showbo was scanned to validate her AVID microchip. I then gave them the original health certificate, and we were on our way. We now can bring Showbo anywhere on any Hawaiian island. The weather is warm, and I can't wait to get shorts on. While going through security to get on our flight to Kauai, we ran into Sandy. She helped get Marie to her gate. She and John are on another flight to Kauai, only 5 minutes apart of ours. Right now, I'm sitting on the plane waiting to take off. I was able to score another "A" seat, so I hope to be able to take more great pictures from here. The ones on the other flight looked great on the preview screen. I can't wait to see them.

Outside Of Oahu Airport

By David Garozzo on February 21, 2009 10:23 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

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Oahu From Plane 2

By David Garozzo on February 21, 2009 10:21 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

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Oahu From Plane

By David Garozzo on February 21, 2009 10:20 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

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Flight to Honolulu

By David Garozzo on February 21, 2009 1:56 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Marie and Domino are up in 10A and B. I was assigned 13B. Fortunately, the guy in 13A let me take the window seat. I'm hoping to get some good pictures as we fly in to Honolulu. I took a few of the Salt Lake City mountains with my Rebel; I'll be putting the Rebel pictures up on Mobile Me when I get a chance throughout the vacation. Gonna take off soon. Next stop, Honolulu, Hawaii!

Salt Lake City Airport

By David Garozzo on February 21, 2009 12:55 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Tailwinds got us here 30 minutes early, so we had time to grab a bite to eat.

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Domino's First Flight!

By David Garozzo on February 21, 2009 6:54 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

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Meet The Poulsons

By David Garozzo on February 21, 2009 6:03 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We arrived at the airport just a few minutes after the Poulsons. From left to right, Bill, Rob, Diane, and Deb. Right now, Domino and I are waiting for Marie to make it through security. This is the best I've seen them check her and Showbo. She's been in there a while.

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And We're Off!

By David Garozzo on February 21, 2009 4:54 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We're on our way to the airport! Was a bit of a rush this morning getting all of the last minute stuff together. I guess that's why they call it "last minute stuff." Meant to leave by 4am, left at 4:45am. Domino was great getting up early. We gave her an early birthday presesnt; a Crayola digital camera. Her first picture was of Mom's butt! She loves to take pictures. I'm excited to see how her pictures come out!

Faces of Dave

By David Garozzo on February 20, 2009 11:52 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

It's nearly midnight. Our ride is picking us up in 4 hours to take us to the airport. We're pretty much packed. That didn't take all that long for me, actually. I still haven't figured out how to pack my carry-on stuff (computer and camera), but I'll figure it out soon enough. I just finished shaving. Here's a few pics I took with the new iPhone.

$316.94 + at least $15 a month poorer

By David Garozzo on February 20, 2009 4:16 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

So I get to the iPhone store, and they told me my iPhone is out of warranty. Great. My options were to get an 8GB original iPhone, like I had, for $200, or get an 8GB 3G iPhone for $199. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Wrong. Upgrading to the 3G phone means that you have to pay an extra $10 a month for the 3G service. Crap. So, I decide to get the 3G phone, and the guy asks if I want the 8GB one for $200 or the 16GB one for $300. Ugh. I guess I'll get the 16GB one. White or black? Black. So the guy starts setting up my account, and he asks me what SMS text message plan I want. Ugh! I forgot about that. With the old phone, I got unlimited text messages. Now I have to pay for them. (I better unsubscribe to any SMS reminders right now - done). The cheapest plan is 200 texts for $5 a month. Crap. Whatever. So, I get home with my new phone, and I go to put it in the cradle, and guess what? It doesn't fit. Apparently, the new phone has a different form. Fortunately, the cable still fits. So now I'm restoring my old phone data onto my new phone. Hopefully it goes smooth.

iPhone Dead Screen

By David Garozzo on February 20, 2009 1:47 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I suppose I should be happy that this happened today, before I leave for Hawaii. Over the last few weeks, when I go to use my iPhone, I have had trouble swiping to unlock it. The screen just doesn't recognize any time I touch it. After wiping the screen on my shirt to try and clean it off, the screen starts to respond, and I can use it for as long as I want. Until this morning. This morning, no matter how much I wipe the screen off, it won't recognize my swipe. So now I can't answer the phone, can't text message, and everything else that I use the iPhone for. I had spent the last month or so downloading and configuring various blogging apps on my iPhone so I could use it to blog my Hawaii vacation, so I'm very anxious to get it fixed as soon as possible. I have an appointment at the Apple Store today, but I have so much left to do. I haven't even started packing! So, right now, I'm backing up/synching my iPhone one last time before I head over to the store, where I'm sure they'll hard-reset it, and then we'll see what happens.

Weather Report

By David Garozzo on February 20, 2009 9:52 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow!

10-Day Forecast

           Downingtown   Lihue, HI       Honolulu, HI
              High/Low    High/Low    High/Low
20-Feb    32°/22°         71°/62°         78°/65°
21-Feb    41°/31°         72°/63°         77°/65°
22-Feb    38°/23°         73°/63°         77°/66°
23-Feb    36°/20°         73°/65°         78°/68°
24-Feb    35°/23°         73°/66°         79°/69°
25-Feb    44°/32°         73°/67°         79°/70°
26-Feb    45°/38°         73°/67°         79°/69°
27-Feb    48°/31°         72°/66°         78°/68°
28-Feb    43°/31°         73°/66°         79°/68°
1-Mar    48°/29°         73°/67°         79°/69°
Last Updated Feb 20 09:30 a.m. ET

Carolena

By David Garozzo on February 19, 2009 9:59 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This is our 6-month old sweetheart, Carlena. We had planned to go to Hawaii before we got pregnant. When we found out we were going to have another kid, we weren't sure if we would bring her to Hawaii or not. Our first daughter, Domino, was an excellent baby. I always tell people that God knows how much we can handle, and knew that we had plenty to deal with, so He gave us a baby that slept through the night and wasn't too fussy or anything. We had decided to wait and see how good of a baby Carolena would be for us before we decided if we would bring her with us. Then we took a week vacation in Atlantic City and saw how much crap we had to pack. After that, I decided that no matter how good she was, she's staying home. Fortunately for us, my parents are retired, and they have offered to watch her during out vacation. What a huge blessing! My parents are going to come over tomorrow to pick her up. Unfortunately for them, I think she's just starting to have her teeth come in. Hope she sleeps for them as well as she sleeps for us. (By the way, God has blessed us again with another wonderful baby that sleeps well. Thank you, God!)

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Helicopter Tour Booked!

By David Garozzo on February 19, 2009 1:32 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Just got off of the phone with the activities lady, Liz, at the Cliffs. I arranged to have us (my family, and Sandy and her husband) do a timeshare tour. In return, we will receive two buy-one-get-one helicopter tours from Blue Hawaiian. Marie, John, Domino, and myself will be doing the tour on Monday at 12:45PM; I think Sandy's too scared to get in a helicopter. That works out for us, because she'll be able to watch Marie's service dog, Showbo, while Marie goes on the tour. I know we're not supposed to leave Showbo behind, but apparently Hawaii may have different rules that allow businesses to refuse customers. I don't know. I'll have to look it up. Such a relief to know the tour is booked now. I'm really looking forward to it!

Timeshare Tour Value

By David Garozzo on February 18, 2009 12:07 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I've been in contact with the activities people at The Cliffs about booking some things before we get down there. Namely, a helicopter tour and possibly a whale watching boat ride or a luau. For doing a timeshare tour, we can get a great deal on the helicopter tour or other things, so we're going to do that. Everything is so expensive, so I guess wasting 90 minutes of our day doing a tour for at least $125 cash or up to $235 if I take the buy-one-get-one helicopter tour. It seems worth it. Unfortunately, if Marie wants to go on the helicopter tour, they said they would need to charge Showbo full price. I'm not about to pay $235 to have Showbo take a tour, so either Sandy is going to watch Showbo or Marie can't do the tour. I'm not sure how legal it is that they charge Showbo for the ticket, but I don't know how much room there will be on the chopper, either. I know Showbo fits under the seat in front of us on an airplane, so I wouldn't think that it would be a problem on a chopper.

The activities lady also told me about the whale-watching tour. She had recommended the morning tour, because the mammals were more active then. But this time, she tried to sell me the dinner tour. I asked why, and she said that the tour wouldn't allow a service dog on the morning tour. Now that is a load of crap, and I'm sure I can argue our way onto that tour. I have no problem calling the police to settle that. What's with these people? I think I'll book the morning tour, and then just show up with the dog and see what happens.

Finally, I was right - there is no shuttle service from the Cliffs to the other resort where the pool is. I was told it's only 2 minutes down the road, and that if I needed to, I could take a taxi. That really upsets me. I was hoping to be able to go hiking or something and that Marie would be able to spend time at the pool. Now I'll have to figure out how to drop Marie off at the pool while I go out. And then I need to make sure that I can come back to bring her back home. What a pain in the butt. I really hope that I'm not making this out to be more complicated than it really is.

Entertainment Book

By David Garozzo on February 16, 2009 9:32 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I told you the other day that I used my parent's Entertainment card to book the hotel on the Friday that we needed a room. At church yesterday, a friend said something about using the Entertainment book for other discounts, which got me thinking about checking out the Hawaii Entertainment book. After doing some research, it looks like there's probably not much value in the book for Kauai, but plenty of value on Oahu. The book is 35% off now, so I decided to go ahead and order one. It should be here by Friday with the rush shipping. Total cost was under $30. I'm sure I'll make that back with a couple of meals.

No Pool at Cliffs

By David Garozzo on February 16, 2009 7:56 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I just got an email from the Cliffs activity team. I have been exchanging emails with them about booking various activities before we get there. I would really like to do a helicopter tour of Kauai, but they're very expensive. If I do a timeshare tour, they'll give me a 2 for 1 deal, which is nice. But I don't know if my almost-4-year-old daughter, Domino, would appreciate it. Nor do I know if the pilot would give enough information for my blind wife, Marie, to appreciate it. Sandy's husband, John, would like to do the tour, but weight restrictions require him to pay for two seats. So it's complicated. I think I'm going to see if Sandy and John can do a timeshare tour, and then I guess is second seat would be free. I'm getting stressed out trying to work this out.

In the last email I got from the Cliffs, they told me that the construction on their pools have not completed, yet. They said we can use the pools at a neighboring resort. I'm very disappointed about this. The construction was supposed to be done this month. And I hate having to get in a car after swimming. I would much rather just walk back to my room. Hopefully, the Cliffs at least has shuttle service to the other resort. That way I can go sightseeing and know that Marie and Domino can still enjoy their time at the resort. Somehow, I doubt it.

Hotel Booked for Friday Night

By David Garozzo on February 14, 2009 9:59 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Since our timeshare is from Friday to Friday in Kauai, and we're going to be there from Saturday to Saturday, I needed to find a place for us to stay on Friday night. I could have booked another night at The Cliffs, but Marie thought it would be better to book something closer to the airport on the east coast. I went on to Hotwire, and looked at my options. The cheapest was about $125 per room for a 3-star hotel. One step up from that was about $175 per room. I'm sure either would have been fine. After all, it's just one night, and I'm hoping that we will be spending most of the day sightseeing things on the east coast. Before I booked the flight, I decided to flip open the Kauai Revealed guidebook. In there, they have a "Real Gem" icon next to the Waipouli Beach Resort & Spa. The place looks fantastic. For grins, I decided to see how much that place would be. I found a website with some info, and it looks like I could get a one-bedroom unit that sleeps four for $225 + tax. That's not bad at all! I tried to call the number, but there was no answer. So I called the number from the book, and told the guy that I have four adults and one child coming. Unfortunately, he (nicely) refused to sell me a one-bedroom unit because I have five people. He was actually very nice to talk to. I asked what my other options were, and he said they had a two-bedroom unit for $399 + tax. Ugh. That's a bit more than I wanted to spend. I suppose I could hang up and call back and tell them I just have four people and get the one-bedroom unit. I asked if they had a AAA discount or anything. He said they didn't have a AAA discount, but they had an Entertainment Card discount. Hmm. I decided to call Sandy and see what her thoughts were. I was hoping to save money. After all, it's just a place to sleep, right? Anyway, Sandy said to just get the two-bedroom unit. Fine. I'm sure it'll be really nice. Before I called the hotel back, I decided to call my parents and see if they had an Entertainment Card. To my surprises, they did! So I asked them to look in their book and see what the offer was. When they looked in the book, they said that the hotel I was looking at wasn't listed. Oh well. So I call the hotel back, and a lady answers the phone. She asks how many people, and I reluctantly said "five". And I told her how I just spoke with somebody and how they wouldn't give me a one-bedroom unit even though I have a three-year-old with me. She, too, was very nice to talk with, but told me that they get in trouble if they do that. Anyway, I put in my request for the two-bedroom unit, and I asked about the Entertainment Card discount. She said there was, and that it was a good one. With the Entertainment Card, the two-bedroom unit is only $250!! Wow! I signed up for the room immediately. I'm very excited. This place has "a two-acre, river-like pool that meanders through the entire courtyard of the property." Two waterslides, three spas, and more. Very nice. Check out the website. I'm sure you'll be impressed.

Showbo Can Enter Hawaii!

By David Garozzo on February 12, 2009 10:13 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

After bowling tonight, Rob gave me a pineapple. Not just any pineapple, but a Dole pineapple, delivered directly from Hawaii. He's brought them over before, and we've even had taste tests with ones bought from the local supermarket. The one direct from Hawaii was sweeter. I'll be cracking this one open tomorrow for sure. I'm positive I'll be eating plenty more of them while I'm in Hawaii. That, and coconut. I love coconut.

On the way home from bowling, I checked my email on my iPhone. I finally received an email from the Rabies Quarantine Branch about Showbo, and she has been approved for entry into Hawaii! Phew!

Only a couple of things left to do before we get down there. I need to call the car rental place and reserve a car seat for Domino, and I still need to book a hotel room for Friday night. I'll get around to that stuff Saturday, I guess.

Still No Response

By David Garozzo on February 12, 2009 5:26 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I have no idea if they received the faxes or not. I followed up again with a phone call. I had to leave a message. I'm getting a little nervous.

Faxed More Info for Showbo

By David Garozzo on February 10, 2009 7:10 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Faxed the Hawaii Quarantine Branch our itinerary, as well as a letter from Canine Partners for Life that explained Showbo's responsibilities this morning. Followed up the fax with an email, but still haven't heard anything back.

Faxed Showbo's Info

By David Garozzo on February 9, 2009 6:28 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I checked the UPS tracking number, and Shobo's blood made it there right around 10:30am. Hopefully it made it there safely and that it remained cold enough to be good for testing.

I gathered up all of the info that I could for Showbo, including the shipping confirmation, and faxed it to the Hawaii Quarantine Branch this morning. Had tons of problems with the fax machine. The fax was about 18 pages, but I had to send it in groups of 3 pages in order to get it to go through. Haven't heard anything back from them, yet.

USPS Can't Overnight My Package

By David Garozzo on February 9, 2009 10:37 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This morning I needed to get Showbo's blood off for testing. Before putting the package together, I called the lab to confirm that I have everything that I needed. This is the second time I called the lab, and both times the lady I spoke with was very very nice. She said that test results can take up to two or three weeks, but it all depends on how backed up they get. I should have asked what the best case scenario was, but I forgot. Anwyay, I made copies of everything I needed to make copies of, wrote out the check, got Showbo's blood out of the fridge, found a nice box for everything to send off to the lab in Kansas, and headed off to the US Postal Service. When I got there, I looked for the "overnight" mailing label and started to fill it out. While working on it, I overheard the USPS worker tell another person that if they overnight their package, it will get there by noon tomorrow. That'll work. So, I finish up my form, and get in line. I tell the lady I need to overnight this package, and she proceeds to punch in all of the numbers. Total cost was $27. Not bad. Then I asked, "This will get there by noon tomorrow?" And she replied, "No. We can't overnight it. Must be going to a small town or something. The earliest we can get it there is Wednesday afternoon." What? You did head me say that I needed this overnighted, right? So I ask what my options are, and she says I can try FedEx across the street at Staples. Ugh.

So I get to Staples, and they have a FedEx mailbox, but they're an authorized UPS shiping location. Whatever. I head over to that counter, and the guy looks at me funny and says they're not a USPS shipping location. No kidding. He must have been confused because my box had "Express Mail" tape all over it from at the Post Office. Anyway, after getting him on the same page as me, I was able to get the package shipped via UPS. I had to choose between getting there by 10:30am for $58, or by 5:30PM for $52 I decided to splurge and get it there in the morning. I don't want to take any chances.

FAVN-OIE Test

By David Garozzo on February 6, 2009 5:29 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Marie just called me from the vet where Showbo is getting her clean bill of health and getting some blood drawn for this FAVN-OIE test that needed to be done weeks ago. The blood needs to be packed in ice and shipped overnight to a lab out in Kansas for testing. The weird part is that the vet is giving us the blood to have us mail it out! How weird is that? Couldn't I just send in any dog's blood if I wanted to? That's just bizarre. So anyway, just to be sure, I called Hawaii, and they said that does sound unusual, but that they have heard that some others have had to do that, too. So, I called the testing center in Kansas, and they said that it's up to the vet. In fact, only about half of the samples they receive are from the vet. Weird. Unfortunately, since it's late on Friday, the post office is closed. And since we need to overnight it, we'll have to wait until Monday to ship it out. Ugh. On a positive note, when I called the testing center in Kansas, they told me to include a copy of the service dog certificate. With that, it'll cost only $21 for the test (instead of $47), and they'll fax the test results as soon as they're ready.

Oahu Stinks?

By David Garozzo on February 6, 2009 4:42 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I brought my daughter, Domino, to an ear doctor this morning. No problems; just checking on the tubes she had put in a long time ago. While there, I asked if there was any concern about swimming with the tube that's still in. He said that if she doesn't go below two feet of water, then there's nothing to worry about. I told him we were going to Hawaii, and he said he was from Hawaii. He asked where we were going, and his response was "Oahu, for a week? Kind of a long time to be on Oahu. It's okay, but there are much better beaches on the other islands like Maui." Ugh! He did give me a tourist tip, though. He said there's a small beach on the north shore where there are tons of turtles we can swim with. He said to get there early in the morning, because it can get pretty crowded. Sounds neat!

Service Dogs Going to Hawaii

By David Garozzo on February 4, 2009 8:45 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

We leave for Hawaii in a few weeks, and I haven't done anything to get permission to get Showbo into Hawaii. I know she has to get a clean bill of health from the vet within 30 days of arriving, and there's probably some other stuff that needs to be done. So, I decide to call the Hawaii Rabies Quarantine branch to get the exact specifics that I need for a smooth arrival. The man I spoke with, Steve, was extremely friendly. Unfortunately, the first thing he asked was if we had some special test done called the FAVN-OIE (or in some documentation, OIE-FAVN) rabies antibody titer. I had not. He said that we needed to get that test done ASAP, and the test takes three weeks to get the results. Three weeks?! We leave in two-and-a-half weeks! He said that as long as we get the paperwork started and get the test done right away that they would work with us to make this work. I assume this is somewhat common for them, but I'm worried about complications. I hope we don't have to leave Showbo in quarantine when we get there!

Cold Winter

By David Garozzo on February 4, 2009 8:20 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

It's been one of the coldest winters in a long while. I still don't know if I believe in that "global warming" stuff. The colder it gets, the more I look forward to getting down to Hawaii. Not that I don't like the snow. In fact, a few weeks ago, I took Domino skiing at Spring Mountain. She did fantastic, and she looks forward to doing it again. Maybe when we're down in Hawaii we'll see how we do on a surf board!

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