Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts

Monday, October 28, 2024

Haleakala Ride

Looking down at the clouds from the summit (Volcano tours)
Another activity that I enjoyed in my younger days may be outlawed.
A popular Hawaii tourist activity, Maui downhill bicycle tours offer visitors an opportunity to see stunning landscapes on a ride down the winding roads of Haleakala with little physical exertion.

The activity, however, comes with some risk, as bicyclists share the road with vehicles, whose drivers sometimes get impatient, and downhill speeds may cause a rider to lose control.

Throughout its history, accidents have happened. Some have died. Earlier this month, Jeffrey Hins, a 68-year-old visitor from Arizona, was killed while biking down Haleakala as part of a group. The Maui Police Department said Hins crossed the yellow double-solid lane into the oncoming lane and crashed into a vehicle.

A new law addressing the safety of commercial guided and unguided bike tours, Ordinance 5439, just went into effect last year to alleviate concerns about safety and disruption to local traffic.,,“There’s been some in the community who want an outright ban on this type of industry operating on the road,” Mike Molina told KHON-TV. Molina, a former Maui County councilmember, championed the new law...

Haleakala downhill bicycle tours started in 1983. Over the next 20 years, the industry flourished, as it was a way for visitors to see Haleakala National Park at sunrise, then do a fun experiential activity. By 2007, about 90,000 visitors participated in bike tours annually, and revenues were estimated at $11 million...

Last year was the first time in 15 years that a new law was enacted to regulate the industry. Ordinance 5439 limits commercial tours to 10 riders, requires a minimum age of 15 and restricts guided and unguided tours to between Mile Marker 3 and Mile Marker 9.5 on Haleakala Crater Road.

Only a handful of companies continue to operate the downhill bike tours today and have altered their itineraries to accommodate the changes.

Depending on the operator, guided tours begin with a van ride up Haleakala Volcano to 10,000 feet to watch the sunrise inside Haleakala National Park. Then, the van brings the group down to around 6,500 feet, where cyclists launch after a safety briefing. Bicyclists then descend on a winding road of 29 switchbacks, while the van follows behind.

Ordinance 5439 cut some mileage from the tours by prohibiting specific areas of road and excluding the town of Kula. Operators have improvised by adding a second bike loop of the switchbacks, a van ride through Kula or lunch stop in Makawao, before continuing on the bikes to ride down to Haiku or Paia, where the tour ends.
I've done the summit downhill a number of times, the most recent occasion being a corporate retreat in the mid-1990's. We watched the sun rise over the crater, then cruised to Paia without stopping. It was early morning, traffic was light, and this weekend bicyclist used the brakes often. However, it is easy to see how increased auto traffic, combined with unskilled bicycle tourists, made serious accidents inevitable. Like many things in life, I'm glad I got to do the Haleakala ride before it got regulated away.

Monday, August 05, 2024

Once an Asset, Now a Liability

Proximity to San Francisco was once an asset but is now a liability to some Bay Area counties.

Headline: San Francisco's rotten reputation is killing tourism across the Bay Area [bold added]
According to the survey results, the city’s rotten reputation — regardless of whether this perception was valid or not — is actively deterring domestic travelers from even considering the rest of the region.

A striking number of respondents, nearly half in some cases, agreed that San Francisco’s woes have made visiting a county like Sonoma unattractive, even though it’s 45 miles away and vastly different from the city.
We unwound at the Kenwood Inn in Sonoma County
Fixing San Francisco's problems isn't as critical to the economic health of counties that are tech-based, but those dependent on travel and leisure, like Sonoma and Napa, have been particularly affected.

Speaking from personal experience, we've been very satisfied with overnight trips to Wine Country. Napa and Sonoma counties are well over an hour's drive from San Francisco, but both geographically (hot and dry during the summer) and culturally they feel much more distant. Here's hoping that they can endure the pain while San Francisco fixes itself.

Thursday, August 01, 2024

Ticket to Ride

The old SF Greyhound station on 7th was clean, safe
and reliable. It has since moved to the Transbay terminal.
An old-fashioned way of getting the homeless out of San Francisco is being revived: [bold added]
Mayor London Breed on Thursday ordered city employees to offer homeless people a bus ticket out of town before presenting shelter or housing as an option.

...Thursday’s directive marks Breed’s latest effort to prove she’s taking a firm stance to address the city’s homelessness and overdose crises. Breed is in the middle of a tough re-election fight with many voters focused on the conditions of city streets and the state of unsheltered homelessness.

...The program of busing people out of San Francisco has existed for years, but it saw a sharp decline during the pandemic, prompting some critics and at least one mayoral rival to question why Breed’s administration hadn’t pushed the program more forcefully. Officials had already vowed to ramp it up earlier this year.
Frankly, if I were a homeless person in San Francisco I wouldn't take that deal. San Francisco is currently spending more than $100,000 per person on homeless services, and chances are that, if I stayed, some of it will trickle through to me, not all of it being absorbed by middlemen and bureaucrats.

Besides, how would I get my tent and shopping carts full of stuff on the bus?

Saturday, July 20, 2024

Oahu No Ka Oi

Oahu is the cheapest, hands down (Merc)
The answer has long been obvious, even if the visitor doesn't have a free "hotel" and car like your humble blogger:

What’s the cheapest Hawaiian island to visit? [bold added]
Of the four main Hawaiian islands for tourism — Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island — Oahu is the cheapest Hawaiian island to visit by multiple metrics. Oahu has the lowest daily average hotel room rate of the islands and the lowest average daily spending per tourist, according to May 2024 data from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.

Though the average room rate in May 2024 across all of Hawaii was $342, Oahu hotel rooms average about 21% less, coming in at $272. That translates to about $70 per night less than the average...

One reason for Oahu’s lowest average room rate? The island also has the biggest supply. In fact, Oahu had more than double the number of hotel room nights than Maui, the next closest contender...

So why is spending on Oahu lower than on other islands? Not only are there more hotels, but also more restaurants and other types of businesses. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, Honolulu County in Oahu had more than 21,000 businesses in 2020, while Maui County in Maui had fewer than 5,000. The increased competition lowers prices for consumers.

There’s also just a lot of free and cheap stuff to do on Oahu. Many of the top activities — including visiting the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, lounging on Waikiki Beach and hiking the Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail — are free. It costs just $5 per person to enter Diamond Head State Monument (though it’s an additional $10 for parking).

And because of Honolulu’s robust bus network and walkability, it’s easy to get around Honolulu without a rental car. For places more difficult to get to, it’s possible to rent a car for just a day or rely on rideshare services like Uber or Lyft.
I use my parents' house and Nissan Altima when I go to Oahu, so I'm able to keep the trip cost to under $1,000 including plane fare. Even so, I typically only use the car to visit Mom in assisted living and like to spend my free time hoofing it around Waikiki and Ala Moana, where there are many quality, inexpensive restaurants.

Some of my friends, whom I like despite their snootiness, only go to the Neighbor Islands. I'm not ashamed to say that this middle-class kid prefers Oahu.

Sunday, July 07, 2024

"Take Nothing for Their Journey"

Today's reading from the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 6:
"He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics."
The minister said that she took two lessons from Jesus' command to travel lightly: that we must have faith in a "radical dependence on God" and that we must be willing to "let go of our grip on those long-held practices and traditions that may not be helpful anymore."

Concerning the latter, she clarified that she doesn't mean that we must throw out the liturgy and all our traditions, but that we must be open to listen to the Spirit's voice if it tells us to change.

At this stage in my life, it's the former lesson, to leave our possessions behind, that speaks most loudly. All the financial security in the world can delay one's fate but not prevent it. In the end our accomplishments, our wealth, and any pride we might have in them mean little except more material for the obituary.

Later in Mark, Chapter 10, Jesus is more specific (my own reflection and not part of the minister's sermon): [bold added]
17 And when He had gone forth onto the road, there came one running, and knelt before Him and asked Him, “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

18 And Jesus said unto him, “Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but One, that is, God.

19 Thou knowest the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor thy father and mother.’”

20 And he answered and said unto Him, “Master, all these have I observed from my youth.”

21 Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him and said unto him, “One thing thou lackest: Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

22 And he was sad at that saying and went away grieved, for he had great possessions.
I am and have been that young man, unwilling to take that final step and leave all behind. Sure, there are justifications that few will quarrel with--I have to take care of my family, I don't want to be a burden to others, etc.

But it's also true that what we thought of as a choice--to take nothing for the journey--was never in the end really a choice at all.

Tuesday, April 09, 2024

The Re-rating of Murphy Beds

(WSJ gif)
Like other items (e.g., iron cookware, analog appliances) associated with a humble past, Murphy beds are now considered a prestige item:
Beds once associated with claustrophobic Depression-era flophouses are popping up at ski resorts, timeshares and luxury suites.

Hotel rooms are shrinking, and travelers are increasingly demanding their rooms be more than just places to catch some shut-eye. That has led hotel developers to turn to an old standby—the Murphy bed.

Today’s hideaway wall bed isn’t the rickety, dust-covered last resort many travelers might expect, say hoteliers, designers and furniture companies. They pitch it as an aesthetic marvel that’s also comfortable.
Murphy beds were a staple of pre-War comedy, which showed characters stuck in the walls. Older folks still chuckle at the memory, then their eyes widen in surprise at what modern designers have done with Murphy beds.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Working Vacation

Matsumoto's shaved ice is in this town square.
Going to Hawaii is usually a mix of business and pleasure. When I'm traveling by myself I like to take care of essential tasks (banking, taxes) first. I'm not monomaniacal; I do take regular breaks at the beach and restaurants.

When family members are with me, however, I'm obliged to show them a good time. And so it was that we drove to the North Shore last Tuesday, though everyone had been there last year.

We stopped for shaved ice in Haleiwa and a shrimp plate in Kahuku. The drive around the island is slow, because more than half the distance consists of a single-lane road. We got home that evening.

I did enjoy the break more than I had expected and was highly productive the next day. Sometimes it's best to stop and smell the hibiscus.

Friday, February 09, 2024

I'm Outta Here

We live in the supposedly temperate San Francisco Bay Area, but this cold snap is quite uncomfortable.

I could tolerate the close-to-freezing temperatures years ago, but aging has slowed metabolism, and a little weight loss, which is normally beneficial, has reduced the body's insulation.

Tomorrow I'll be headed back to the Islands, where the most layering I'll need is the occasional light jacket.

The furnace here will be turned off. The natural gas savings alone will subsidize a third of the airfare.

Aloha!

Friday, October 06, 2023

Hostile Architecture

Two months ago we noted how a San Francisco gallery owner was sentenced to 35 hours of community service because he hosed down a homeless woman to drive her from his entrance.

Collier Gwin apologized but still received death threats and attacks via social media. He also received support from many San Franciscans who had grown frustrated by the inability of the City to make a dent in homeless encampments and open-air drug use.

The unpermitted sprinklers (Chron photo)
Best Western Hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin district faced a similar problem on a larger scale and tried to employ a similar solution: [bold added]
A hotel in San Francisco’s Tenderloin that installed overhead sprinklers along the building in an alley where homeless people frequently camp will take them down after a city inspection found they were installed without proper notice, the hotel told the Chronicle on Friday.

The inspection Thursday came after the SF Examiner published a story about the sprinklers that prompted public backlash.

Ken Patel, manager of the Best Western Red Coach Inn at 700 Eddy St., said the hotel used the sprinklers not to ward off unhoused people but to clean the sidewalk beside it, which he said is often dirtied by human waste.

He said hotel employees warned anyone camping below the sprinklers to move before they were turned on, and that the hotel used them only if no one was there.

...The clash comes as San Francisco business owners, city officials and homeless advocates struggle over how to handle homeless encampments. Advocates say sprinklers are an example of “hostile architecture” — physical barriers or deterrents like sidewalk planters, boulders or even loud music meant to discourage people from sleeping or camping in an area.
The City cleans the alley once a week, but hotel employees, as confirmed by the Chronicle, must wash the sidewalk every day.

San Francisco made Best Western remove the sprinklers because the hotel didn't give "proper notice." It's too bad that the City doesn't make people give proper notice before pitching their tent on a sidewalk.

Monday, July 31, 2023

Family Time at the North Shore

Overpriced shrimp plates, horse flies, wild chickens
underfoot: gotta love the tourist experience.
.
I've done the North Shore drive several times in the past ten years, but only if family members request it. When traveling alone, I'm content to spend my time at the family digs near Waikiki. From 2018:
Is the shrimp truck experience worth the trip to Haleiwa? Maybe once, but unless I’m playing tour guide I wouldn’t go up there again, and certainly not on a weekend.
Commitments to oneself are easily broken. With many first-timers here for the 100th-birthday celebration, we agreed to meet them at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck in Kahuku around 1 p.m. on a Sunday.

Arriving from disparate morning activities, all four parties managed to find parking in the general area. After lunch and surprisingly pleasant conversations with interlocutors born after the moon landings, Vietnam, and Watergate, I was done with tourist-ing for the day.

Family time is enjoyed like a good meal: in small bites.

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Cute Kid

After picking up a morning coffee near the International Market Place I sat in the circular garden dedicated to Queen Emma.

A family of seven stopped to play. From their clothes and accessories, but more noticeably their self-assuredness they exuded an aura of wealth. The lady was a beautiful blonde, tanned and athletic. If I had not seen her kids I would not have believed that she was a mother five times over.

The father, who was about the same age, chased after the boy, 5, while the mother looked after her toddler daughter. The two eldest and the baby they left alone.

I was particularly amused by the baby. His head turning rapidly, he would assess his surroundings, then crawl to another spot and repeat the process. At intervals he would take a bite out of the malasada that he held tightly in his left hand. His parents clearly weren't worried about him ingesting harmful bacteria or rolling around on the heavily trafficked artificial turf.

They probably weren't Americans. and that was too bad.

Friday, July 14, 2023

Fits and Starts

July, 2023: lots of progress (viewed from Kuhio Ave.)
The fits and starts of construction since 2020 have been mirrored in this Waikiki property that I walk by on my semi-annual trips.

In 2020 tourism slowed to a trickle, unemployment in Hawaii reached 15%, and construction halted not only for economic reasons but also because it was a non-essential business during the pandemic.

In 2021 tourism picked up slowly, some Mainlanders exploited the working-from-home craze to move to Hawaii, and construction resumed.

Nov., 2022: Building on Kalakaua & Kalaimoku
In 2022 rising inflation caused the Federal Reserve to take the punch bowl away by dramatically increasing interest rates. Speculative projects were postponed, if not killed.

The opposite effect occurred on construction-in-progress. Delays were costlier, and it was urgent to finish them to make them revenue-producing. The property I've been watching is on pace to be completed by year-end.

That's good timing. Tourism is almost fully recovered, and this is the only sizable building coming on line in Waikiki.

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

No Cruises on the Horizon

During the 1970's we went on our first and only cruise, a trip along the "Mexican Riviera." Starting in Acapulco, the ship made its way north, stopping at port cities until it reached Los Angeles.

I immediately grasped cruising's appeal. Travelers didn't have to pack their suitcases every night to make next morning's bus or train; the floating hotel would move to the next destination while they were sleeping. At one's leisure one could disembark and see the city, or stay onboard if so inclined. Ocean cruises were something we would want to do when we retired.

During the 1990's there were outbreaks of legionnaires' disease on cruise ships. Diseases spread quickly in close quarters.

Now that we're retired we're leafing through the brochures. However, health and safety risks still appear to be as significant as they were three decades ago. Headline:

The Viking Neptune outbreak originated in Iceland
Stomach Virus Spreads Through Cruise Ships at Fastest Pace in Years
So far this year, there have been 13 outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships, according to reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That marks the largest number of norovirus incidents on these vessels in a single year since 2012—and the year is only halfway over.

The most recent outbreak occurred on a North Atlantic Viking Cruises sailing that docked in New Jersey on June 20. More than 100 passengers fell ill, according to the CDC, accounting for 13% of all vacationers on the ship. Crew members also contracted the gastrointestinal illness.
We'll still travel by ship when it's clearly the best option--for example, Alaska--but for right now there are no cruises on the horizon.

Thursday, June 01, 2023

I Got the Jab Anyway

Three years after the government locked down everything, fear of the coronavirus has largely dissipated. Outside of hospitals and doctors' offices few people wear masks.

While mRNA vaccines appear to provide some benefit, their protection against COVID-19 isn't foolproof. Also, scientists and government officials now confirm that there can be side effects, including myocarditis and pericarditis.

Despite the apparent lessening of the COVID-19 danger, and the now-documented potential side effects of the vaccine, I got the jab anyway.

We'll be traveling next month to visit family in Hawaii, and I don't want it on my conscience should an elderly person get sick.

And yes, I'll wear a mask, too.

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Wallet Impact Fee

The Hawaiian legislature is working on yet another ploy to soak tourists:
A “visitor impact fee” bill that would require any nonresident aged 15 or older to pay for an annual license to visit a state park, beach, forest, hiking trail or other natural area is still alive.
Most tourists will likely pay the $50 for the "annual license," and the overwhelming majority will not use it much since few can afford to visit the Islands more than once a year.

Every attraction which can be easily fenced off, for example Hanauma Bay and Waimea Falls, already charges a steep admissions fee to non-residents, and a general "visitor impact fee" is obviously just a pretext. Existing fees aren't even spent consistently on site maintenance:
Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area has collected more than $1.5 million in fees from visitors, but the fees have not been reinvested into the park.
It's a race between my old home State of Hawaii and my new home State of California to see which can dream up new ways to tax visitors. And they wonder why the convention business is down.

Note: after the break is the full article.

Monday, March 06, 2023

Carpe Diem is Over-rated

The wind, rain, and sun are intense...at the same time.
With only ¼ mile remaining on the walk home, a flurry of rain hit the Kalakaua Bridge for 30 seconds. Soaking wet without an umbrella or jacket, I decided to forego stopping at the Honolulu Coffee Company.

There was plenty to do on my last day In Hawaii--put the finishing touches on Mom's tax returns, have her sign them, pack for the return trip, tidy up the family home, and refill the tank on the car. I really shouldn't spend an hour in a coffee bar, no matter how pleasant the surroundings.

There will be ample time for relaxation in July, when we will return for family celebrations.

Thursday, March 02, 2023

Cocks of the Lots

On the same block as million-dollar houses and condos roam wild chickens. (We've noted them before.)

This empty lot in Waikiki is ripe for building, or perhaps it's owned by a developer who is biding his time, hoping to buy adjacent properties to build something tall.

Construction projects that had been active when I was here in November are being completed; those loans don't extend indefinitely.

Friends and relatives on the Mainland have been shocked at the price of Hawaiian rentals. Tourism is almost back to pre-pandemic levels.

Given construction lead times, owners of empty lots such as this one should be laying the groundwork(!) for a speculative build, but it's not my money and advice is cheap.

Then the chickens will have to find another place to strut.

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Leave the Parka, Take the Slippers

The low temperature is expected to be 37°F tomorrow morning in Foster City.

It's a good time to leave for the Islands to tend to financial matters and family obligations.

I think I'm really going to enjoy this trip to my home town.

Honolulans have told me to dress warmly because the temperatures have fallen to 68°F.

Noted, but I'll still leave the parka in California.

Friday, November 25, 2022

The Day of Departure

The cup leaked badly
On the day before my return to San Francisco I cleaned out the fridge, reviewed Mom's tax records, and filled up the gas tank. The next morning was scheduled for laundry, packing the suitcase, and visiting Mom.

But the first thing on the agenda was to walk to the Waikiki Starbucks, which had become part of the daily routine.

That part didn't go well. After a few minutes coffee dripped down my hands and onto my shoes. I checked the lid several times, but it turns out that there was a pinhole leak on the bottom. Auwe!

From the McCully 7-Eleven
After dumping the rest of the cup I stopped by a 7-Eleven to buy an Azuki Bean scone, regretting briefly the enthusiasm for disposing of some tasty leftovers the night before.

Departure day had a few more hiccups: Mom was fast asleep when I stopped at the assisted living facility (we talked on FaceTime the next day, but it wasn't the same), the airport Agricultural-Inspection conveyor belt was broken, causing thousands of pieces of luggage to back up, and not coincidentally my flight was delayed an hour.

It was 45 °F when I arrived at SFO, and out came the jacket that had last been worn when I left San Francisco. I was home.

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

A Happier Trip

MacBook Air battery had to be done immediately
I have always brought work on vacation.

The habit started in college during my freshman year, when I flew home for the first winter break with the suitcase half-filled with books. My school was on the semester system, which pushed final exams to January.

High-school friends whose colleges were on the quarter system had already completed their finals and had a more fun-filled vacation than I did.

Having cracked open the books on only a couple of occasions that first Christmas, I learned something useful: only bring work that I was absolutely sure I would spend time on. Leave behind anything that could possibly wait.

Speaking of things that couldn't wait, the replacement laptop battery failed disappointingly after one year (the expectation was three). I gave a moment's thought about trying to wangle a free or discounted replacement from the manufacturer, then opted for the speed and simplicity of ordering another one for $45. It arrived the day before departure, when there were a dozen more important things left to do.

And so it was that I spent my first night in Hawaii taking apart the 2014 MacBook Air, putting in the new battery, and screwing it back to together. The battery could run the computer for four hours, and we're good for another year.

Another lesson: getting it done sooner makes for a happier trip