Hawaii was a nice place to visit, it's absolutely beautiful, but I couldn't live there. As stated in my other thread, I had a hard time upon my arrival. I left Boston with a case of the sniffles, nothing to complain about since everyone else is dealing with the flu. That coupled with jet lag seemed to bring on what felt like Lyme disease. It was scary and it sucked. That lasted about four days, but I never got to a point where I felt like I was 100% while I was there. I always felt kind of crappy. They do have vog there, which is volcanic fog and it's toxic. I seem to be sensitive to a lot of things these days, so I wouldn't doubt it if that just had an adverse effect on me. I can't even ride behind a two stroke anymore. It could have just been the universe's way of telling me I don't belong there. I felt like shite when I got to Thailand but after three days of that I was right as rain, I'd still like to spend some months or years there at some point. I never got that feeling in Hawaii. By the end of the trip I was looking forward to getting home, and I felt better as soon as I got out of Hawaii. No jet lag on the way back, I felt good when I got back home.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy myself and Hawaii is absolutely a beautiful place to see (but Thailand is cheaper and better). My very first time in the water a huge sea turtle swam right into my leg, it was cool. A day or two later we went snorkeling and saw another big sea turtle as well as all kinds of sea creatures, it was amazing. It's like snorkeling in an aquarium. Another day we hiked up a mountain to an amazing waterfall. That was on the far side of the Hana Highway, which goes almost all the way around the perimeter of the Island of Maui. It's a very rough, treacherous, and twisted shore line road that is a very exciting drive. It was fun. We drove up to one of the big craters on Maui which is a state park and the wind felt like it was going to blow me right off the mountain. The beaches were great obviously, and we spent a good amount of time there. We also went on a whale watch which was exceptional. There was an inordinate amount of breaches, tail slaps, and whale activity in general. It was far more than they usually see when they go out, and that was stated by the skipper and the naturalist and backed up by my father and his girlfriend who have season passes and go out multiple times yearly. I knew it was going to be that way ahead of time, I wasn't surprised. Also it was supposed to rain that day and it ended up being perfectly clear the entire day.
On that subject, the weather- they had more rain while I was there than my father has seen in Hawaii ever. It was an inordinate amount. It was still great for me coming from New England in winter, so I was fine. Nico had stated that in my other thread that if I were capable of being able to make it rain, which I believe I am, then in theory I should be able to make it sunny, of which I stated I had done that as well. I think everyone likely thinks I'm nuts on that front, which is fine. I will say, I checked the weather on my phone one day and the ten day forecast showed rain every day. A day or two after I saw that forecast, I decided to go out on the town by myself. Rain was predicted, and there were clouds all around me, but it was clear overhead. I drove the ten miles into town and I happened upon a couple of local guys hanging out at a park by the beach. Both lived in Hawaii and one was originally from India. We incited a really in depth conversation and before long there were herbal remedies being shared. A few more people showed up until it was a small crowd, and everyone was great. The first two guys I originally met were the two I spoke with the most, and it was like talking with two more Fabios, they were just like me. Although they weren't gear heads but that's it. The time I spent with them was the best time I had on the trip, and it was short. As I walked away from them, I noticed how it was still cloudy all around me, but it was clear over head. I actually took a video of that and I'll post it. Also as I already said, it was supposed to rain for the whale watch as well but it was perfectly clear that day.
As I'm sure everyone will recall, it wasn't much more than a month ago, if that, when there was a false alarm regarding an incoming ICBM bound for Hawaii. I think we were lied to about that false alarm being an accident. I have no idea what actually transpired, but I don't think something like that happens by accident. I think it's far more likely the system was hacked or something else transpired that they'd rather we didn't know about. At any rate, my father and I are both avid aircraft enthusiasts, specifically military, but all aircraft. My grandfather was a waist gunner on a B-17, my father worked on the SR-71 when it was still top secret, and my twin sister is a qualified Chinook grease monkey and Blackhawk door gunner. Her husband is a helicopter and airplane pilot as well and also flew for the military.
At some point during my trip, my father and I were discussing the C-5 Galaxy. He didn't realize that was one of the many planes that we fueled in Baghdad and we used to watch take off and land. It's an awesome plane and my father was surprised that in 2003 they'd still be in avid use as he used to watch them when he was serving during the Vietnam conflict. They're massive planes and they look like they're breaking the laws of physics when they take off because it appears they're going so slow due to their massive size. It looks like they're hanging. So wouldn't you know it, two days after we have the conversation about the C-5, I'm standing behind the bank waiting for my father to come out and a friggin C-5 Galaxy flies over really low, climbing as it had just left the civilian airport. I was in awe and a little bit moved by it, as I'd not seen this site since Iraq in 2003. It was really cool, and I kept looking for my dad coming out of the bank. He didn't make it and missed the whole thing. When he came out I told him that a C-5 just took off over my head, and he thought I was joking at first. I figured it just happened there from time to time but he said that's not the case at all. In his seven years on the island, he's never seen one C-5 fly over there, ever. And it left from a civilian airport which is odd as well. On top of that, my father had said he saw two V-22 Ospreys fly by not long before my arrival as well. Then a few days after he said that, we saw the Ospreys fly over again. Also, we saw a pair of Blackhawks land at the civilian airport which was something else he'd never seen. So in seven years on the island, two separate Osprey sightings, Blackhawks landing at a civilian airport, and a C-5 Galaxy taking off from a civilian airport, all inside of two weeks inside of seven years. Might not seem like much, but we both agreed it's more than just odd.
This first video is from the day I hung out with the locals and it was cloudy all around me but clear overhead.
https://youtu.be/XYKz589297k
https://youtu.be/6pSJOVTE4LI
https://youtu.be/3s7Su8qbAbg
https://youtu.be/LAeI_itvk7c
https://youtu.be/0iYanyCPTRc
https://youtu.be/PaCdxO3iCgk
https://youtu.be/77tZQHRfm_4
https://youtu.be/-NZfA6kyM7Y
https://youtu.be/mqQxPmuzD9g
https://youtu.be/ScVvTiJrBac
https://youtu.be/477nGE1dQ2o
https://youtu.be/7MKeYnzJf7Q
https://youtu.be/lGkBr3YS2ZI