Hawai'i Kauai Island Trip Day1

During Thanksgiving week 2016, I went to Hawaii. This was my first time visiting there.

Hawaii is the closest America state to Japan, and one of the most popular destinations for international trips.

When I was at elementary school, I remember some rich kids bragging that they went there. I was jealous but I tried not to think about it. I told myself that Japan is surrounded by ocean, so there is no need to go there. It was hopeless for a kid to go there alone, especially considering the amount of money and legal paperwork required. Also my parents don't travel: I have only been on two overnight trips with them my entire life. It seemed as though my brain has refused to think about Hawaii, ever since I was little.

However, when Mr.N mentioned Hawaii last summer I thought that it might be a good time to go, because I live in the U.S. and I don't need my passport. So basically last week I fulfilled a childhood dream. 

Early Saturday morning, we headed for the San Jose airport. We booked a parking spot on somebody's driveway through "Way.com", however, there was no spot. So we needed to park on the street. The service was not organized and lame.

While we were waiting for boarding at a gate, Mr.S2 told me that the Kalalau trail we would hike was one of the ten most dangerous hikes in the U.S. Mr.S2 said, "That was the first one when I googled the Kalalau trail." I replied, "What! I didn't know that. Mr.N didn't tell me."

The flight was scheduled to take off at 9:10 a.m., but a mechanical problem occurred after boarding. Around 10:30 a.m, the airplane had to reboot completely. It was my first time sitting on a plane with no sound.

After 2 hours of sitting on a plane, finally we took off. During the 5 hours flight, I read some magazines, had some complimentary drinks (coffee with milk and sugar), and ate small breakfast (I thought that it was not enough, but Mr.S2 said that it was filling). Mr. R was sitting a few rows ahead of me and I witnessed that he ordered whiskey, which is his favorite drink. Our flight landed in Honolulu. Because of the delay of the first flight, we missed the connecting flight to Kauai. The receptionists at the Hawaiian Airline desk were unbelievably inefficient. Three people were at the desk when we were trying to change our connecting flight, but only one person was actually working; the other two people were just looking at the person who was working. Also, I saw many Japanese people who had their passports in their hands. I felt a little weird seeing so many Japanese people in Hawaii.

First night campsite

 After the sunset we finally arrived in Kauai. I really liked the humidity, which I had forgotten for a while, but it was not as warm as I had hoped.

Then we went to Walmart to get a stove and fuel for camping. At the store, we met Mr.S1 and Ms.R who had flown a day before. Mr.S1 was already wearing shorts; completely adjusted to Hawaii. On the way to the campground, I was a little disappointed, because the stores along the streets were stereotypically Americans instead Hawaiians, such as MacDonald, Tacobell, Starbucks, or Safeway. I knew that Hawaii is a part of America, but it was too American. However, this disappointment was immediately gone when I saw a cat when we reached the campground. That was my first Hawaiian animal there, a tame cat. All campgrounds in Hawaii have cats. I was so happy to camp near the cats. 

2006年のサンクスギビングホリデー（アメリカの感謝祭）にハワイへ行った。これが私の初のハワイ訪問である。

ハワイは日本から最も近いアメリカということもあり、日本人にとってハワイは一番人気のある国際旅行と言えるだろう。日本人は本当にハワイが好きだ。 

小学生の時、夏休み明けのクラスで夏休み中にどこへ行ったか・何をしたかなどを発表する時間があった。クラスで一人か二人ハワイへ行ったとの報告がいつもあり、密かに私はいいなぁ＋悔しい！と思っていた。しかし私がハワイに行ける確率はゼロだった。私の両親は旅行に興味がなかったからだ。なので、こう考えることにした。日本はもともと島なわけだし敢えて他の島に行く必要などない。海はすぐ近くにある。

MrNがハワイ旅行を提案するまでそういう経緯は忘れていたものの、現在はアメリカに住んでいるしハワイに行くのは国内旅行で手続きもなし、今が行くチャンスだ！と考えた。画して子供の頃の夢を叶えたのだ。

そして出発日。空港の近くの駐車スポットをWay.comのサイトで予約していたのに空きスポットがない。仕方なくストリートに駐車。あとでクレームをつけなければ。。。

で、サンノゼの空港でハワイアンエアラインの飛行機を待つことに。

するとMr.S2が我々のいくカララウトレイルはアメリカで一番危険なトレイルということをグーグルで発見。MrNはその情報を（意図的に？）告げず旅行を企画していた。やるなMrN。

そして飛行機に搭乗。飛行機は９時１０分発のはずだったが１０時半になってもまだ１ミリも動いていない。どうやらメカニカルのトラブルらしい。何の音もしない飛行機の中にいるのは初めてだった。ようやく１１時過ぎになって出発。そして中継地ホノルルに到着。もちろん次の飛行機は逃したためカウンターへ。周りを見渡すとたくさんの日本人が。。。パスポートを持っているのですぐわかる。わー。やはり日本人のハワイ熱はまだ続いている！ 

カウンターで次の飛行機の手続きをしてもらうが、かなり手際が悪い。３人の受付人がカウンターにいるのに一人だけ働いていて２人はその一人をただ単に見ているだけ。おいおい。。。これがハワイのペース？

そしてようやくカウアイ島に着く。やはり湿気が高い。日本みたいだ。

そしてまずはウォルマートに行ってキャンプ用の燃料やストーブを購入。そして１日先についていたMrS２とMsRと合流し夕飯を食べた。もっとハワイアンフード店があるかと思ったが空港の近くはマクドナルドやタコベルなどばかりでがっかりした。。。。が、キャンプ場に行って一気に興奮した。なぜならたくさんの猫がいたからだ。猫好きにとってハワイのキャンプ場はパラダイス！こうして１日目が終了。