Hawaii’s Big Earthquake on October 16th, 2006 - My Story
So, it’s not often that CNN and Fox News run a story about Hawaii all day. I’ve lived here for over a decade now and I’ve never seen the world pay attention to this state like that. Here’s what I have to say about last Sunday’s earthquake.
My family was staying in Volcano at the Kilauea Military Camp (KMC) within the national park. We had a three bedroom cabin we were sharing with another family - good friends of ours. There were 7 of us total, 4 adults and three children. Everyone was awake already except myself and my son. The shaking started just after 7 a.m. Most of us on the Big Island are used to earthquakes - they happen a lot, but usually are small and only last a few seconds. This one was big and lasted for a long time. 45 seconds I’m told. Since none of us expected it to last long we just stayed put. No one went for doorways or anything like that. I stayed in bed, my son actually stayed asleep, and everyone else stayed where they were. I won’t do that again - next time I’m going straight for a doorway.
My bed shook pretty good and the windows rattled in their frames. The TV slid across the counter. That was about it in Volcano. My husband came down to check on our house in Paradise Park after it and he said that a few videos fell on the floor and that was it. I wouldn’t be surprised if my earthquake-like son was really the cause of those videos being on the floor. 
So, here on the East side of the island not much happened. In Waimea, Hawi, and Kona, however, rock walls cracked and sinkholes shifted houses and foundations split and furniture was thrown about the room. It’s weird actually - usually we on the Hilo side get the damage from whatever is going on and Waimea, Kona, and Hawi are unaffected.
One neat thing is, my husband saw it coming. He was looking out the front door towards where the quake was centered. He saw the trees in the distance start shaking violently and opened his mouth to say “look at those trees” when the house started to shake. So, he saw the waves ‘travel’ through the ground before they made it to us.
Oahu lost power most of the day, while most of us on the Big Island lost power for only minutes. People on every island felt the quake - it was that big.
So, the earthquake was not big news for most of us in East Hawaii. Even so, the National Guard was going through my neighborhood this morning, looking for people with damage to report. I guess after Katrina the government has decided to go overboard.
We had a very violent thunderstorm on Monday night that was much worse than the earthquake, in my opinion. It lasted for 7-8 hours. We lost power for almost two days. Every telephone drop in my neighborhood was destroyed so we had no phone for almost 5 days and lots of people still have no phone. We had lightning hitting right in our yard numerous times and the thunder was so loud it literally shook the house like a 5.0 earthquake — every 30 seconds or so. It was terrifying. I got shocked when I touched my freezer, and one of my surge protectors melted. The storm seemed to have been worse near the coast and really centered right over 6th street here in HPP.
Quake discussion at Punaweb Forum
Recent Big Island Earthquakes Map
Current Gas Prices in Hawaii
December 22, 2008 - $2.40 a gallon!! I heard Costco on Oahu has gas under $2.00 for the first time since they opened in the 90s! crazy! It was really fun watching the gas prices fall like a brick .. . and even more fun filling up at $40 for a full tank instead of $70 
September 8th, 08 - prices held at $4.48 a gallon for a month but are now falling slowly. Today, I filled up at $4.35.
July 1, 08 - prices go up a few cents every day it seems. Here in Hilo we are sitting at $4.48 a gallon for the cheapest.
I live on the Big Island and will try to remember to post the current gas price here every time I fill my tank. Prices on Oahu will normally be a few pennies less than on the Big Island. Prices on Maui and Kauai will normally be a bit more, while prices for gas on Lanai and Molokai could be up to $.50 more.
Just as a historical reference so you can compare prices with wherever you are from, I think I remember prices hovering around $2.00 a gallon in 1998. Prices of $2.70 were normal between September 11th and Hurricane Katrina, and after Katrina, the highest price I remember is $3.70ish a gallon.
December 10th, 2007: $3.35 a gallon - well, just before thanksgiving prices shot up to here and they are holding steady.
September 18th, 2007: $3.17 a gallon - OK, summer prices are coming down slowly.
June 12th, 2007: $3.40 a gallon 
Prices were fine until about April, and then WHAM, they’ve been sitting at 3.40 for a while now.
December 20th, 2006: $2.909 a gallon
November 5th, 2006: $2.959 a gallon (wow!)
October 21st, 2006: $3.059 a gallon (lowest I’ve seen in a long time)
Which Island and Areas for Romantic Hawaii Vacation?
My husband and I would like to take a trip to Hawaii next summer. We’ve never been and there’s a good chance we might not go again. We are looking for a romantic trip (it’s our last vacation before we start having kids
We’ll most likely have 10 days and are flying from New York. Do you think we should do two islands? Which two would you recommend and which areas (not necessarily hotels) of those islands would you recommend we stay?
Well, congrats! on getting one more trip in before you have kids. I have a 3.5 year old and the trips are even better now because he is so incredibly enthusiastic and loving of everything - much more than we old people are anymore. It’s just magical to watch him on a waterslide or playing in the waves - it sometimes seems my heart will just burst from too much love but, of course there is that long period where it is hard to go anywhere and then when you do go somewhere YOU don’t get to do what YOU want to do - everything becomes for the child(ren). So, you have the right idea getting in a fabulous vacation for you while you still can!
Ok, in 10 days, lots of people do squeeze in two islands. Personally, I would be against this, but then I am more of a lover of getting settled in, relaxing, hanging out, reading, sitting still, etc. I find travel time to be a big drag. We live on the Big Island and last December we spent 7 days in Waikiki. We’ve been there dozens of times - my husband even lived there for several years, and we still found that we only had ONE day of relax on the beach and don’t do much of anything time. We had a bunch of things we wanted to do, and we found that 7 days just was not enough time — that’s another reason I wouldn’t want to do two islands. However, if you two are more like my husband - move, move, move, and move faster type of people, and you really want to see two islands, well, you’ll have to make that decision.
Ok, now onto WHICH island(s). The Big Island is probably out because there are only a few real waterfalls and they are all on the Hilo side (and you’d probably want to stay on the Kona side) and most of them aren’t really “hike to” types of waterfalls. We do have really fantastic scuba diving, but you can find that other islands too. Plus, the big drag about the Big Island is it’s just so BIG. You do a lot of driving here.
Well, there really is no one BEST island .. so this is pretty hard to tell someone. I’m getting an idea that you would like Maui best. If you decide on Maui I like the Wailea area for the best pamper-you resorts. Kaanapali and north of Kaanapali is also nice (napili, kahana). Maui has this fantastic “drive to Hana” where you can literally hike to a different fantastic waterfall every 20 miles or so. If you did Hana, staying overnight is good - then you can do the waterfalls in Hana too. For really good waterfall information, get the maui revealed book
Oahu is nice too. A lot of people are really down on Oahu because Waikiki is soooo commercialized and the traffic sucks and there are literally a million people crammed onto this one little island. However, I like Waikiki, I like Waikiki beach, I like the North shore (which is NOT commercialized - very old Hawaii) and I like that Oahu is very big-city party all night kinda place. Not that I party all night, but Waikiki is literally the only place in Hawaii that is like this, so if that is what you want, there is your only option. Most of the rest of the state shuts down at 10pm and never even starts up on Sundays.
Kauai is also very nice. Much quieter than Oahu and Maui. Great hiking. The island is practically one humongous beach that just wraps around it with very sculpted and green mountains in the middle. Dry and hot in the south, wet and lush in the north. Windy and a bit more rainy on the east side, West side is uninhabitable - but the boat rides and hiking are great.
So, I don’t know how helpful this will really be for you. I don’t think you can go wrong with Maui, so maybe start thinking about it first unless something I said about Oahu and Kauai grabs you.
Dolphin Swim Programs in Hawaii, Oahu and Kauai and the Big Island
Years ago I was able to swim with dolphins (in a rescue program?) in a closed lagoon at a posh resort on the Big Island, for $50 if I remember correctly. Now my wife is interested but we are not headed that way. Heading to Oahu and Kauai end of November. Do you know of any other program like that?
On the Big Island, you probably did the Dolphin Quest at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. These days, it’s more like $200 though :). I don’t believe there is any such program on Kauai, but on Oahu, you have the Dolphin Quest at the Kahala Hotel and Resort and the Sea Life Park has a dolphin swim program too. I can’t say which would be ‘better’ but I know in the past if the dolphin gives the OK you could hold onto their fin and get a ride at Sea Life Park, which is something the Dolphin Quest does not do.
Oahu Wedding Locations
My fiance and I are looking to have our wedding in Oahu in June or July of 2007. Can you tell me any locations that are really beautiful ? I have done A LOT of research but would like another opinion. My fiance lived there for 11 years (military kid), but that was 15 years ago and I am sure so much has changed!
Well, what hotel are you staying at? Most hotels have a gorgeous garden or building set aside for weddings. As a matter of fact, a hotel garden is probably the ONLY place near the ocean where there will be flowers. Waialae beach park also seems to be a popular place for weddings. I think you can have weddings at Waimea Falls and Waimea Bay, and Sunset Beach is really pretty too - really a ‘typical’ hawaiian beach. Congratulations! Lisa
Thanks for the info! We are staying at the Hole Koa (miltary family) and we really don’t want to have it there?
Oh but the Hale Koa is gorgeous! That would be a nice place. Here, here’s some nice wedding pics at various locations that might help you out a bit.