Our Intense Hawaii Trip... and Comedy as a form of protest
I'm back from Hawaii and the world all but fell apart. Today I'm sharing our intense Hawaii itinerary as well as the scoop on some of how you can combat what's happening in the USA.
I said I would take two weeks off from doing a newsletter / update and oh my, I didn’t think I would be coming back to it with so much to say. Nah, yes I did. I know the world is a hot mess and the French President and Canadian PM are hold it all together with tiny baby threads (and I thank them for that). I felt so privileged to get to travel for two weeks and pour myself into my work in a beautiful place so my brain could take a beat and process what’s happening. → I’ll get into this below.
While I was in Hawaii I got to have some great conversations with people about all kinds of things, from local tourism and how to reach people who visit and just check into a resort and veg, to discussions with Park Rangers who have been directly impacted by the administration’s attacks on them. Heck, I even got to have coffee with a stranger at 5:30 am in my hotel lobby while he gave me pointers on how to connect with people that don’t understand how politics affect them. I went to Hawaii to collect content and share the stories of local tourism operators and ended up talking to fellow humans about what we can do to fight back against “the man.” It was great.
Before anything else though, here’s what’s new on the blogs (actually mostly on MyAlohaTrip.com, cuz I have a ton of work to complete):
Storytelling Marketing - all about what I do, 2TravelDads.com
2 Week Alaska Summer Road Trip Itinerary - MyAlaskaTrip.com
Montana and Yellowstone Road Trip - easy plan for summer, 2TravelDads.com
Island Breeze and Hawai’iloa Luaus - great Native Hawaiian owned productions on the Big Island
Maui Chocolate Tour and Maui Pineapple Tour - really cool agritourism opportunities that are locally owned supporting Hawaiian communities
Body Glove Hawaii (I’ve talked about them and their tourism philosophy before) Super Raft Safari, Historic Dinner Cruise and Whale Watching with a naturalist
Kohala Waterfalls Hiking with Hawaii Forest & Trail - swimming in waterfalls, they partner with Kamehameha Schools to access the protected land.
I’ve got so much more to write about (trip recap below) and hopefully I’ll get it completed before we head to Alaska next week.
Hawaii Trip Recap and Takeaway
Just in case you’re planning a big trip to Hawaii, I’ve got a pretty sweet recap to either inspire you or give you ideas for what to incorporate into your plans. Remember, I work with a lot of destinations and tour operators to experience things, so recreating our itinerary in full isn’t practical and won’t be relaxing at all. We did an absolute ton of hiking and tours while on the Big Island and Maui, and if you were to plan a trip that did all of what we did in 11 days, you’d be in Hawaii for a month. We had a blast doing the work, but is was NOT a vacation at all. (I love my job!)
Read the details of our 11 Day Hawaii Adventure!
MY BIG TAKEAWAY - too many people visit Hawaii without being aware that it’s a colonized land (like the whole of the USA) and they think the islands are there for their own consumption. Actual humans live their and they have their own stories and lives. A lot of people arrive and check into a resort and maybe do one activity on the island, never getting a full picture of either the history or current state of Hawaii. This is my own observation and may not apply to everyone, but in talking with people and listening to others’ conversations, I had some “wow” moments regarding insights into other visitors’ experiences.
And now for our crazy itinerary, which is detailed on My Aloha Trip (link above). We had a ton of fun and saw some really incredible things, so pick and choose what you’re interested in, and then you’ll be able to find deeper info on both 2TravelDads.com and MyAlohaTrip.com in the next two weeks:
Day 1 - We flew into Kailua-Kona (KOA) and picked up our standard rental car, a convertible mustang, to drive up to the town of Waimea to the Waimea Country Lodge. We fell asleep immediately so we could start tomorrow early!
Day 2 - Started our day at the Waimea Farmers Market and then headed to Hapuna Beach Recreation Area to test each beach area. In the afternoon we left from the Kailua Pier for whale watching with Body Glove Hawaii. So many humpback whales and flying fish! We ended Day 2 at the Hawai’iloa Luau at the Fairmont Orchid in Waikoloa, a really cool experience.
Day 3 - We started our day again with Body Glove Hawaii, but this time on the Super Raft for an ocean safari and snorkeling. So much wildlife! After some chill time in the afternoon at our cool Kona hotel, the Pacific 19, we did one more trip with Body Glove Hawaii on their historic dinner cruise. Perfect end to a busy day!
Day 4 - Today was our Kohala Waterfalls hiking day! I’ve been out with Hawaii Forest & Trail before, so I knew what the experience was like doing guided hikes on protected lands, but hadn’t been up to Kohala, the fifth mountain that makes up the Big Island. It was beautiful. To wrap our day, we went to Kaloko Honokohau National Historical Park (one of my favorite places) to enjoy sunset and hanging out with the honus at the beach.
Day 5 - Today we departed Kailua-Kona heading for the Hamakua Coast (the east side) but not before stopping at several Kona Coffee farms. We did some hiking in Hawaii Volcanoes NP, and then as we entered Volcano House Lodge for our dinner, we looked across the caldera of Kilauea and the hillside turned red before our eyes. We got to be looking at it the moment eruption episode #10 began. Eventually we made it to our favorite Hilo hotel, the SCP Hilo (4th time staying here).
Day 6 - Today we visited the Volcano Winery (unique to say the least) and then went back into the National Park for hiking. I really enjoyed doing both the Kilauea Iki Overlook and Crater trails. After a long day of exploring, headed back to our hotel for bed. We got in bed, ready to sleep and randomly Kelly checked the Kilauea webcam… ERUPTION!!! A massive eruption had started just minutes before so I threw on my clothes, grabbed my camera and drove back up the mountain. It was amazing.
Day 7 - Because one waterfall swim isn’t enough, we partnered up with the Umauma Experience just outside of Hilo for a morning of ziplining over waterfalls and canyons, and an afternoon of swimming a Umauma Falls and relaxing in the sunshine. Ending the day back in Kona, we enjoyed one more luau: the Island Breeze Luau at the King Kamehameha Hotel. Another beautiful production!
Day 8 - Today was intentionally left blank so we could have some recovery time. Despite how busy we were on this trip, we actually had 3 activities fall through at the last minute, so those paired with intentional relaxation was great.
Day 9 - Today we flew to Mau’i. The 21 minute flight from Kona to Kahului was quick and easy. We picked up our camper Jeep (yes, we camped on Maui) and then headed to the Maui Gold Pineapple Farm, which was fun and delicious. Our day ended in Haleakala National Park to camp at Hosmer Grove. This is, hands down, the best bird watching in Hawaii.
Day 10 - We were up at 4:30 am to head to the summit of Haleakala for the sunrise. Before noon we did both the Sliding Sands trail into the crater and the Halemauma’u Trail to Rainbow Bridge. Due to a washout, we couldn’t access our next camping site, so we had to scramble and found ourselves at Camp Oluwalu. An evening of snorkeling and chillin’ at camp was great after a stressful afternoon stress.
Day 11 - Thanks to the road closure and new camping location, we were already near Lahaina when we woke up. We watched sunrise OVER Haleakala, relaxed at camp and then headed to Lahaina for some beach time. We visited the different parts of Kaanapali Beach before heading up the hill to the Maui Chocolate Tour. I’ve done cacao farm stuff before, but this chocolate tour was done like a wine tasting. It was totally different. For the afternoon, we did more snorkeling at Oluwalu and saw several honu, and then wrapped our sightseeing at Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge. We returned our camper Jeep, Ubered to the airport and then had a smooth red eye flight back home. Such a great trip!
Follow the Money
And now to get serious about the current state of things.
I still can’t believe we’re in this ridiculous, world-level scary that’s happening. FOTUS and Princess Musk said they were going to cheat, they did, and we’re still waiting on forensic counts and investigations. I can’t wait to see what happens when the Maricopa County findings are released… In the meantime, if you seriously didn’t think things would get bad for the USA or the world with this presidency, you’re literally so disconnected from reality that you shouldn’t have the right to have an impact on others’ lives.
Following the money is always the easiest way to see why things are happening. They distract with stupid things, like cutting jobs and funding for the National Park Service, while they slide big things through, like millions of dollars of contracts to Musk’s companies. They bring President Zelensky to the White House pretending it’s for peace, but it’s to get him to sign away mineral rights in exchange for peace so that the Ukraine can be invaded and mined for lithium… which is what Tesla batteries need. Like, this isn’t hard to figure out or understand people.
Meanwhile in Florida, our awful Gov is talking about ending property tax… because billionaires who keep him in office own huge swaths of crazy valuable land, and those property taxes fund things to general public need to have livable daily lives. And with the deregulation of insurance here in Florida and watching NOAA getting taken apart, there’s going to be a whole lot of property damage and irrecoverable losses this upcoming hurricane season, making a lot of Florida property able to be grabbed up. Seriously, every action of this administration can be traced back to the rich getting richer.
There is so much more I could talk about, but when it comes to the most blatantly easy things to explain on a large scale, it’s this. You can always follow the money to see who benefits from a decision.
Comedy as a Form of Protest
Taking to the streets to protest is a scary thought for most people. It has to be done and well coordinated, but it’s always scary and dangerous nonetheless. Something that many people have ramped up in the meantime, that is in its own way effective on many levels, is using comedy and public art to protest. While I talk crap about social media and the internet all the time, I will say that it is an amazing way for smart people to connect everyday humans with no political interests to the very present reality of what’s going on.
SNL is knocking it out of the park by showcasing the dumbness of FOTUS and Musk. Political cartoonists are at the top of their game and publishing their work without a paywall. Honest, obvious podcasts are growing in listenership like never before (woot woot for MeidasTouch Podcast surpassing Joe Rogan for listenership!) Regular people are making memes and videos that are reaching millions of like-minded AND FRESH EYES. The image I shared above is the perfect example of a post that connected with me and got me to read a long article that included a transcript of the hot mess meeting.
Why is all this important? Just like FOTUS and his team are trying to do to the USA, we can do it to him. They’re trying to break us, makes us sad and quiet, to give up hope and submit. He’s such a sad and sensitive guy that people of the USA publicly attacking him in the most simple, gentle, childish ways absolutely hurts his ego and even with things in the works, he is starting to and will continue to give up on the little things that the American people can fight for on their own. It’s not like we can tease him out of office, but we can make him sulk and slow the roll.
I think that’s everything I have to share for this week. Hopefully next week I’ll be able to share some details about our upcoming trip to Fairbanks, Alaska. I’m really excited about it because my family has never experienced Alaska in the winter/snow. It’s going to be such an adventure.
Thank you for following along on our journey and your support. I love what I do and it really is such a privilege to get to travel and share the stories from our experiences. Have a great week, and don’t lose hope for the world!