While you’re on vacation abroad, few things compare to an impromptu picnic in the open air. It is the perfect opportunity for sampling the local foodstuffs, wine, and scenery.
Depending on where you are in the world, tracking down a corkscrew can often turn an uncomplicated experience into a bit of an ordeal. On your next trip, save yourself some time and always pack a handy travel corkscrew.
[Photo: Flickr | YannGar Photography]
The Hawaiian islands are known far and wide for the quality of their beaches. From narrow strips of volcanic black sand with dramatic jungle backdrops, to crowded beaches full of the who’s who of the world, Hawaii has a beach for everyone. Maui has just as much diversity as the entire island chain with over 30 miles of beaches. The most easily accessible beaches are located on the west and south or leeward sides of the island. Conversely, the north sees quite a bit of wind and waves while the eastern or windward side harbors more remote beaches in the inlets and bays.
With so many options of beaches to choose it’s hard to pick just ten, but we’ll pick our favorites for you below:
This crescent shaped beach is tucked into a bay holding several smaller resorts north of Lahaina in west Maui. Gain access to this beach on Hui Drive after you pass north of Lahaina and beyond a few of the larger resorts on your left. Napili is a perfect place to plant your beach gear and drop in the water for some body boarding. To take part, body boards can be purchased at any of the local water sports shops and can even be picked up at many of the convenience stores.
Napili is a steep beach with plenty of sand. Children are fine here when the waters are calm, but be aware that the waves can get rough; there can be a strong undertow so test the waters before sending younger kids in. Another tip: shade is sporadic and usually taken by the wee morning hours so arrive early. Parking is free on the street but is a pain in the rear to find. Keep driving around and something usually opens up near the beach access due to rotating traffic from the grocery across the street.
With sounds of swaying palms and gently crashing waves, Kapalua has a reputation for good swimming — and rightly so: it’s perfect for families and children as the undertow is rarely a problem and the water seldom gets too unruly for little ones. Besides the calm swimming waters the beach is a beautiful backdrop for a picnic and the coconut tree grove and lava points at the ends of the beach make for a great photo op, so don’t forget the camera. If you need quick access to the beach, The Sea House restaurant offers a great way to get in.
Ka’anapali isn’t the only name this beach has — the locals have several other names for it and nobody can seem to agree on one. This may make getting directions a bit confusing, but don’t let that stop you. Ka’anapali is a wide beach lined with towering condos on the backside and usually smooth waves on the other. Sand is plentiful here and sandcastle building is a must.
The other popular activity on Ka’anapali is watching the sun set. There are no obstructions (save the occasional sailboat) to block your view of the ever-popular Hawaiian sunset. Some even say you can see the “green flash” here.
Green flash or not, Ka’anapali is a great place to watch the sun drop below the horizon. There is also a long paved path along the back side of the beach which makes for a romantic stroll at the end of the day.
Makena beach, has it all, and proved to be one of my favorite spots as I spent time roughing it here. If facing the beach, the right end has access to water sports at the resort. Snorkeling gear, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and even snorkel cruises can be booked there. The left side of the beach is more tranquil with some shade for escaping the skin-melting sun and picnic tables for lunch breaks.
There is beach access where Makena Road dead ends. If you can’t find a spot for your car near the turnaround at the end of the road, extra parking is also available on Makena Road at the historic Keawala’i Church. Interestingly, this 1832-built church is constructed of lava stone and is a site to see all by itself. Or if you want to show off with valet parking drop your car at the Makena Beach and Golf Resort.
If you seek the perfect beach for throwing a football, tossing a Frisbee, or kicking a soccer ball, this is it. Big beach lives up to its name in that it is not only long and wide but in that it holds some rather sizable crowds. The sandy beach recesses very far from the water and allows for plenty of room for activities. Parking is tight and even on weekdays the lot will be full. Don’t be deterred by this small snag, however, the beach can handle the crowds.
Looking for some shade? At the far end of the beach, a hefty walk from the entry walkway, there is a large lava rock wall which supplies shade in the mornings.
Another creatively named beach, Little Beach, is connected to Big Beach via a rock scramble. Passing the lava rock wall on your right at the end of Big Beach you’ll encounter a path leading over the rocky point and down onto Little Beach. This is a great place to get away from the crowds and it’s also a great place to shed your bathing suit — local nudists call this place home.
Little Beach is less frequented, which leaves plenty of room to enjoy the good snorkeling, excellent body boarding and swimming.
Hana Bay is one of the few beaches on the east side of the island that actually draws a crowd, though that crowd won’t be anything like what you’ll experience at the beaches on the west and south sides. For the tiny hamlet of Hana, the hundred-or-so people dotting the beach is considered full. Hana’s blue waters are a great place to dig a kayak paddle into when the sun gets hot and the black sand gets hotter. The government allows you to take some of that sand away in a bottle too – free souvenir score!
The landscape at Hana Bay drops steeply from the mountains and is covered with lush green vegetation. The frequent rains on this side of the island have prevented mass-development and kept the community small and friendly. Comprised of black sand, the remnants of lava flows of yore, the beach at Hana has plenty of shade and the park lining the back of the beach has places to leave your car nearby.
For food, TuTu’s snack shop is located in a building at the back of the beach. Its over-priced hamburgers may not be the best, but the view is worth every dollar.
The aptly named Red Sand Beach sports a sand with a reddish tint which derives its color from the cinder cone just to the rear of the bay. There is a lava wall which keeps rough waters out of this small cove and prevents the sand from eroding it. The beach has little to offer in the way of snorkeling or swimming. What it lacks in activities, however, it more than makes up in beauty. The red beach, azure waters, and the green hillsides that drop to this little slice of heaven could just become the subject of the best photo you take in your life. To reach this secluded beach drive to the far side of Ka’uiki Hill, just to the south of Hana Bay.
As part of the Ahihi Kina’u Natural Preserve, this stretch of water and beach is an ideal place to get your snorkel wet. La Perouse is all about getting in the water, and not about beach bumming. The beach is scattered with remnants of the last lava flow that made its way down Haleakala around 1790. The lava-leftovers make for some obstacles when wading, so be sure to wear foot protection when exploring these waters.
Dolphin sightings are frequent and there are several archeological sites in the area to see, while a small hole in the lava rock a few hundred yards past the parking lot produces a scenic blowhole some afternoons. Drive to the end of Makena Alanui Road to find this place. The drive takes you past several nice homes overlooking beautiful lava and sand strewn beaches. Be sure to lock your car when you leave the parking lot, break-ins are reported from time to time.
Something is not much of a secret if you can read about it in guidebooks – so I don’t think I’m in danger of revealing anyone’s private sanctuary here — after all, it’s not much of a secret when this is such a popular place to get married. Nevertheless Pa’ako Beach (pictured at right) bares the name “Secret Cove.”
Discover the Secret Cove by passing Big Beach in the South and then parking near the first telephone pole you see. Across the street from that pole is a wall with a hole large enough to walk through. Passing through it is like entering an enchanted tropical garden.
[Photo: Kaanapali Beach. Tony Faiola/Flickr]
Here are the hottest gadget deals for today, Thursday June 4th 2009. Remember, these deals are often only valid for one day, so act fast before they are gone!
The first deal for today is pretty damn cool if you ask me – This picnic set comes with 32 pieces, and contains everything you need for a fun outdoor picnic. Mind you – this isn’t some cheap plastic junk either, the kit comes with a cutting board, salt and pepper shakers and of course a picnic blanket. On sale at Buy.com for $30.99 with free shipping.
The best deals are often refurbished items, and this Nikon Coolpix S600 10 Megapixel digital camera is no exception. With a 4x optical wide angle zoom lens and optical vibration reduction, this thing is top of the line, with a bottom of the line price. Normal retail price is about $249, but Adorama is selling it (refurbished) for just $100! You’ll find the Nikon Coolpix S600 digital camera here.
If you are looking for a GPS unit with more than just the basics, then check out this highly rated Garmin nüvi 780 widescreen GPS unit with Bluetooth. Sure, it costs a bit more than the super-basic models, but that does get you Bluetooth handsfree, MSN Direct traffic and information services, a widescreen display and more. Normal retail price s $399, now on sale for just $199 with free shipping.
And finally – the Altec Lansing UHP336 Snugfit noise reducing headphones do much more than just deliver a really long product name. They are designed to feel extremely comfortable, yet provide excellent sound quality and impressive noise isolation. Perfect for your upcoming summer vacation flight! Normal retail price is $130, now on sale for just $34.95 with free shipping.
Cockpit Chronicles takes you along on each of Kent’s trips as a co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 out of Boston.
As I mentioned in the last post, I was given this two-day CCS trip instead of a three-day Paris. While I enjoyed the extra day off, it was hard to give up a Paris layover. Not much happened during the flight down and the deadhead home from Miami was uneventful. So we’ll skip ahead to the next Paris trip.
Fortunately I’ve managed to hold an entire line of Paris trips for June, so I’ll be trying to catch up on all the great recommendations for things to do in the city of light.
Since I was the relief pilot for this 6 P.M. departure, it was up to me to do the exterior preflight. The rain was starting to come down in sheets, just in time for my venture outside to look over the airplane.
At least the wet ramp made for a few nice photos…
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We taxied out on time, only to discover a lineup of fifteen airplanes in front of us waiting to takeoff from runway 33L in Boston. It was easy to see the cause. A large dark line of clouds and rain north of the airport was disrupting the normal departure paths of the jets, which meant that ATC had to work with the pilots to get headings that would keep them far away from the storm.
We listened as pilots asked for a different heading after they lined up on the runway and saw the green and yellow blobs that depicted the heavy showers and convective activity on their radar. Finally it was our turn to enter into position and hold on the runway. ATC gave us a left turn to a 250 degree heading, toward the city of Boston. This heading might have worked a few minutes earlier, but the weather looked to us to be far better to the northeast. Some ATC facilities are getting more advanced weather radar capabilities, but it’s always up to the pilot to decide if they’re comfortable with what’s in front of them. Captain Al asked for a turn to 020 degrees instead. ATC took a minute to check with the departure controllers to see if this would work for them.
With our brakes parked, I was able to take a picture of the weather ahead from my view in the observer’s seat, and also the view of the radar on the map display.
Our 020 degree heading was approved and the climb out was perfectly smooth. We passed along the ride report–an indication to the controller to let the airplanes behind us know that this direction may be their best choice.
Since we had a relief pilot aboard, we each had an hour and fifty minutes for our break in one of the new business class seats. I think all three of us managed to sleep during our breaks, a rarity for me. Usually the relief pilot gets the first break, which is during the meal service when the lights are turned all the way up as bright as a tanning bed.
Forty-five minutes before landing, all three of us were back in the cockpit. Jim, the co-pilot, pointed out the beaches of Normandy. Since it was the Friday before Memorial Day in the U.S., I thought it was a pretty good time to finally catch a glimpse of this part of the world, where WWII came to a close. Unfortunately, with the sun coming up in our eyes, the view wasn’t ideal. But I’ll keep an eye out next time for this historic area since I’ll have an idea what to look for.
Approach control told us to expect the north runway, 9 Left, which meant a good mile more to taxi to our gate. Al turned to Jim and said, let’s ask for 8 Right. Now, this is completely normal in Miami, Chicago or even Dallas. But for some reason, in Paris we just never seem to get a different runway from what they have in mind for us, no matter how nice we say Bonjour when we contact them. So we’ve long since given up asking for a change in runways. Captain Al doesn’t normally fly Paris trips as he’s always preferred the Caribbean. But he’s not shy. And sure enough, his request was met with a “roger, expect runway zero eight right.” Amazing. I’m glad Al has opened my eyes to this whole ‘ask and they just might say yes technique.’
I’ve heard stories of the bus ride into Paris taking as much as two and even three hours during the weekday morning traffic. I’ve mostly had weekend trips to Paris, so I haven’t had a chance to see this gridlock very often. This time we were lucky to have just an hour and forty minute ride into the city via our full-sized bus. I usually plug in my iPhone and listen to the latest This American Life podcast.
While waiting in the lobby for our room keys, everyone discussed their plans for the day. After the requisite four-hour nap, I would meet up with Captain Al and Lisa, one of the flight attendants who gave me a cake for my birthday over the Atlantic in January. I’ve always enjoyed flying with Lisa, but hadn’t had a chance to visit with her much on our previous trips.
The eight other flight attendants and the co-pilot scattered to do their own things. Shopping, museums and working out were in their plans.
The three of us met up in the hotel’s crew lounge before going down the street to the Monoprix grocery store. We picked up some baguette, cheese, wine and salami before walking to the Tuileries Garden next to the Louvre to have a picnic. Fortunately, Lisa’s a bit of a wine expert, so we had her pick out a bottle.
Lisa at the Monoprix, or as I like to call it, “Mono-Lisa.”
This picnic routine has become a favorite with crews for lunch. While technically it’s forbidden to have an open bottle of alcohol in a public park, the police seem more concerned with people who are clearly drunk. As this article on Picnicking in Paris mentions, as long as you’re discreet, you’ll be treated discreetly by the police, who have been known to say, “Please hide the wine bottle,” followed by a polite “bon appetit” as they move on.
We sat down in the Tuileries Gardens, which is right next to the Louvre.
This spot gave us a clear view of the museum where we could take in the sights and visit for a while. While we spread camembert over a baguette, I found out that Lisa is an English Literature and creative writing teacher at a Rhode Island college. She grabbed a magazine and wrote out two lines that showed how punctuat
ion can change everything:
I’d argue that in addition to the punctuation, the picture to the right of the quote added to the impact.
After finishing an entire baguette, half the cheese and a bit of wine, we packed up to continue our walk. We passed this spider, which was formerly on display in London and now resides in Paris. It’s 30 feet high and it was built in 2005 for a staggering $3.2 million.
We approached a wall at the edge of the Tuileries garden that had some round air vents cut out. For some reason, curious Al decided he needed to look into one of these holes.
“Check this out!” He yelled at us. “It looks like a sun dial.”
Now I was trying to figure what a sun dial would be doing in a sewer grate. Isn’t it a little dark down there for a sun dial? But sure enough, there was the face of a clock or perhaps a sun dial on the floor of this long storage room.
“It looks like where the Louvre stores their artifacts!” Lisa gasped.
We looked into most of the holes in the wall and found them packed with stuff. Mostly clay pots, the sun dial and maybe some of the equipment that originally came with the palace that is now the Louvre. We were all surprised that this stuff was slightly exposed to the elements.
Lisa said, “We’re just like the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew!” We agreed I’d have to be Parker Stevenson while Al took the Shawn Cassidy role. But I really think Al’s more like Sean Connery.
Upon researching further, it may be parts recovered from the Tuileries Palace that burned down in 1871. The Louvre is now a u-shaped palace, but at one time the open end was actually the Tuileries Palace. It’s been proposed that the building be rebuilt someday for an estimated $400 million. As we walked out of the Tuileries, we noticed a gate blocking the entrance to the area where we made our discovery. Maybe we weren’t meant to be back there.
We decided to stroll through the Louvre and maybe take a few pictures. A couple stopped us and asked if we’d take their picture. They were from St. Petersburg, Florida and they looked like models. Of course I couldn’t pass up the chance to take a few good pictures for them. I’d like to apologize to them if I ran their batteries dead trying to get just the right shot.
We then went down to Pont Neuf to jump on a boat tour of the Seine. It’s only 11 Euros for an hour trip and we still had some of our picnic to eat. We weren’t leaving until the next afternoon, so we enjoyed another romantic plastic cup of wine. Our tour guide informed us that she wasn’t yet certified, and she hoped we didn’t mind. She did a great job and sat right front of us while explaining the history of Paris.
The lighting was perfect and I took advantage of it to snap pictures of the oldest bridge in town, Pont Neuf.
We also saw an Amphibious car called the Amphicar parked on the back of someone’s river boat.
After deciding that the river boat was well worth the 11 Euros, we walked to the Latin Quarter to find something to eat. Sharlee, a commenter on the last Paris trip, mentioned that the creperie at 27 Rue Andre des Arts was where she had the best crepes ever. Since that’s one of my favorite streets in Paris, I was almost sure I had eaten there. It turns out I hadn’t, so we all waited about a thirty minutes to get a seat.
After our light picnic in the late afternoon, a creperie was just what we needed, since we weren’t looking for a very large meal. The dinner crepes or gallete as they’re called, were perfectly cooked and we all enjoyed the nautical theme of the restaurant. A cat made a surprise visit to say hello after we finished our ham and cheese galletes. It moved on quickly to see if the people next to us had anything better that they were willing to give up.
Without Al on this trip, I wouldn’t have seen how surprisingly flexible the French controllers are nor would we have discovered the Louve’s secret storage area. I guess it pays to be inquisitive. I’m glad to have experienced these two Paris trips with Al and to learn more about Lisa’s second job as an English professor.
Here’s a gallery of many more pictures from this Paris trip:
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Cockpit Chronicles takes you along on each of Kent’s trips as a co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 out of Boston.
A while back, I wrote about vendors in Venice jacking up the price of goods for rude tourists. Now it appears as if the people of Venice are taking it a step further and implementing fines for tourists who don’t respect the rules of the city. And these fines can range from 25 to 500 euros — ouch! The city is being patrolled by t-shirted stewards who will alert police if the rules are broken. So far, 100 tourists have been fined.
Punishable crimes include laying out food, walking about bare-chested or treating the Grand Canal like a beach, and implementing fines is the city’s effort to uphold its image as a mecca of fine art and sophistication. Still, I don’t see what’s wrong with having an innocent picnic every now and then …