11/30/11- The day has finally arrived. Celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary in Honolulu, Hawaii. We get up early and our town car driver arrives on time at 6am. The kids were still sleeping but we made sure we said our goodbyes the night before. We get to the airport without a problem and prepare to go to the self baggage check-in since we already got our boarding passes off the internet the night before. Problem was there was only one person manning the area and the machine was telling everyone to wait for assistance. After that 20 minute wait we were on our way to the terminal.
The flight was nice to say the least. It did feel weird to not need our passports for once. We also had a direct flight so it took only 5 ½ hours and we were there. We find our rental car which was a nice looking Honda Civic by the way (and drove very well), and took to the streets to find our hotel. Unfortunately I didn’t realize until too late that mapquest located the wrong address for me. Luckily I had my DK Oahu travel guide book with a map and easily found my way to the hotel.
We go to check-in and were offered the 3rd floor. I mentioned to him that we were on our honeymoon (a slight fib by the way) and he quickly set us up on the 12th floor with a nice view. We did have to wait an hour for it to be ready though. No problem. We hit the pavement and walked around while getting a quick bite to eat. When we finally did get checked in I was astonished at all the nickel and diming that goes around. First the airline United charged us $25 to check one bag (now I understand for a budget airline but not when you pay full fare for an established one). Then they sold food on the plane…. It was a 5 ½ hour flight. I mean at least throw me a peanut or two. At the rental counter they try to upsale you like crazy. $15 a day more will get you this car… how about roadside that's $4 more a day. Navigation, extra insurance… damn! I said nothing extra but perhaps the presale of gas and that’s it. Then at the hotel I find that parking the rental car is almost $16 a day and they charge $9.99 for internet A DAY!!!! WTF!!!! Unknown to them I hacked into free internet on the 12th floor so I am happy.
After taking a quick break resting our legs in the hotel we venture out to the beach. The weather was perfect and the water felt nice, but we mainly just walked around. The sun was also coming down just perfectly for us to take some awesome photos. I even got a nice close up of two birds kissing. True lovebirds!
We finished the night off with a great meal and drinks at this Mexican restaurant before crashing for bed.
12/01/11- We weren’t sure which day we wanted to do Pearl Harbor, but after walking around Waikiki Beach yesterday we decided why not go today. I’m so glad we did. We drove our car and parked for free. Arriving around 10:30am we didn’t have to wait long for our free tickets to see the Arizona Memorial. The 20 minute show beforehand was very good and quite informative. The memorial itself didn’t really have much to see, but I am sure it is breathtaking for some.
Next up was the Missouri Battleship. We got some great photos while the sun was still out before the rain started spitting. We ended the tour of Pearl Harbor with a look at the submarine.
After spending a little bit at the hotel to rest we walked down the street to eat dinner at the Seaside Restaurant. Steak, mahi mahi, shrimp, garlic bread, corn on the cob, garlic potatoes and salad for only $18 total. Can’t beat that deal at all. And we only needed to walk about ½ mile from the beach. We later hit happy hour on the way back grabbing dollar tacos and walked the beach for a spell in the dark of night. Overall it was a perfect day.
12/02/11- Started our snorkeling adventure around 10:30am. Our tour picked us up, gave us our gear and drove us to Hanauma Bay. At first it was quite weird as they made us wait 20 minutes before entering a theatre for a 15 minute presentation on their ocean preserve. But soon we made our way to the beach and it was beautiful. The sun was out and the beach was not very packed. After putting our towel down we went right into the water. It took us a bit to get used to the snorkeling gear since this was our first time. After a bit of testing we finally got our feet wet so to speak. With our underwater camera in hand we were on our way.
It was a different experience to say the least. The water wasn’t as blue as I thought it would be and the goggles kept fogging up. But overall it was a good time. After spending a few hours and getting some great pictures we made our ride back to the hotel.
We decided to try out this restaurant down the street that had some decent reviews but was quite disappointed with it. We ended up dropping $45 at this place for watered down drinks, tastless chips and salsa and bad fish and chips. The only good thing was the teriyaki chicken bowl I ordered. We ended up going back to the same happy hour we went to the night before to get some more drinks and finish the night walking the beach again. We sat on the beach for a good 30 minutes or so and saw some nice fireworks shot over the city. Not sure why it was so but hey… it was cool to look at.
12/03/11- Our first so-so day. We really didn’t have a plan for this day so we decided to go downtown to see the Capital district. The first place we went to was the Iolani Palace. The travel book I was reading said $6 per ticket but the actual website said $12, but when we got there they already raised their prices to $13. Strange! Also, photography was not allowed but luckily they didn’t really keep watch.
Afterwards we walked the grounds of the Capital building before making our way back to our hotel. We took a quick break trying to secure our Luau tickets for Sunday at Paradise Cove and then went out shopping. Sharece found a nice cover up as well as some souvenirs for the kids. Also we stumbled upon a 3 foot high totem for our wall, only $30. It looks awesome. After purchasing we started to question whether we could take it on the plane as a carry-on. Oh well.
For the third night in a row we had happy hour drinks and ordered two margherita pizzas that hit the spot. Once we returned back to the hotel I called United airlines to ask about the totem and good news… looks like it falls within their guidelines as carry-on luggage so we are set. Tomorrow will be our last full day before we fly out. Snorkeling, beach and luau should be a nice finish to a fantastic anniversary vacation.
12/04/11- After getting breakfast we took off down the beach to do some more snorkeling. At first it was quite hard to find. We actually went past the area because we were told wrong on how far down the beach it was. When we finally found the area we realized there was not a rental place there at all. We had to walk back towards our hotel to find one. Problem was they only accepted cash. We decided to just forget the snorkeling and lay down on the beach for a bit which turned out to be really relaxing.
The main annoying thing today was apparently today was biker day. They closed off the street in front of our hotel and for an hour straight heard motorcycles revving their engines as they circled around the block. Not quite sure why they have a biker day… seems pretty pointless to me.
After showering up we drove to the west side of the island to Paradise Cove for the luau. Upon entering the gates we were greeted with a drink and a shell necklace before being escorted to our seats. Since we were one of the first ones there we got to pick a good spot for photos later. Before the actual show started they had several activities to immerse ourselves into from canoeing and spear throwing to temp tattoos. Best part was while the sun was coming down, so I got some great pictures.
Next we got our food, which was crazy good with large portions by the way. Fish, chicken, rice, pork, dessert, you name it. Somehow I was able to go back for seconds. Then the show starts. Hula dancing and fire twirling were definitely the highlights here.
After several hours of entertainment we finally make it back to our hotel around 9:30pm. Just in time to get some much needed sleep for our flight out tomorrow. Thankfully it isn’t until 2pm so we can sleep in.
12/05/11- Travel home day. Woke up around 8:30am and took the morning to get our stuff packed. We walked around a bit to check on getting some food before our flight (since we are not going to pay United for their crappy food) and decided McDonalds was the best bet. It’s strange how they serve pineapple with the meals here.
After returning the rental car to Enterprise we boarded the shuttle to the airport. It was here when I noticed our totem was missing. Sharece yelled out about it being in the rental car still and ran out of the shuttle just as it was about to take off. Fortunately it waited for her and we got to the airport without a hitch. Funny thing is to see all of the new tourists to Honolulu with light skin coming off the shuttle to the rental place and the tourists leaving Honolulu all tanned up waiting to board the shuttle. Luckily we got through security with the totem without a problem.
The flight home felt quick and the shuttle home was smooth. All in all the vacation was a fantastic one and perfect for our anniversary. Now to plan the next one in 5 years. Perhaps Rio.
END OF BLOG