Oahu TR, 3/18-3/26 (yes folks, its a long one)
Apr 4th, 2005, 12:46 AM
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Oahu TR, 3/18-3/26 (yes folks, its a long one)
Okay..this is long, but it's soooo hard to keep such a wonderful trip short and sweet 
We’ve been lucky enough to visit a few islands, but Oahu has been the favorite so far. One reason is because even though this was our 3rd trip, there has always been something new to come back for, a different area to explore, a new restaurant to try, a different tour to take, and another beach to lie on. For us, that’s what makes this island so special. Though we love Waikiki, we also enjoy the quieter parts of the island, so we stayed at a beachfront vacation home in Punaluu, on the NE side of Oahu.
Day 1
Our Hawaiian Air flight arrived on time, into HNL just past noon. After only a few minutes wait we caught the Alamo shuttle to the offsite lot for our Jeep Wrangler, a great deal at $195 total for 8 days, inc. fees/taxes.
We headed to the Radisson Prince Kuhio for a 1nt stay (priceline,$69+tax), to get our Waikiki fix before going to the beachhouse. The hotel was booked at 100%, but boy were we pleasantly surprised =D> when we walked into our “standard, city-view room” which faced wide open to the aqua blue pacific. We would definitely stay here again. Only a block away from the beach, there was a heated pool & jacuzzi with a poolside bar and all the staff were very friendly and helpful. We planted ourselves at the bar on the pool deck and after some nachos, a few too many happy hour cocktails & lots of chit chat with a friendly couple from Sydney, we called it an evening..boy does time fly when your in paradise sipping endless Mai Tais
!
We’ve been lucky enough to visit a few islands, but Oahu has been the favorite so far. One reason is because even though this was our 3rd trip, there has always been something new to come back for, a different area to explore, a new restaurant to try, a different tour to take, and another beach to lie on. For us, that’s what makes this island so special. Though we love Waikiki, we also enjoy the quieter parts of the island, so we stayed at a beachfront vacation home in Punaluu, on the NE side of Oahu.
Day 1
Our Hawaiian Air flight arrived on time, into HNL just past noon. After only a few minutes wait we caught the Alamo shuttle to the offsite lot for our Jeep Wrangler, a great deal at $195 total for 8 days, inc. fees/taxes.
We headed to the Radisson Prince Kuhio for a 1nt stay (priceline,$69+tax), to get our Waikiki fix before going to the beachhouse. The hotel was booked at 100%, but boy were we pleasantly surprised =D> when we walked into our “standard, city-view room” which faced wide open to the aqua blue pacific. We would definitely stay here again. Only a block away from the beach, there was a heated pool & jacuzzi with a poolside bar and all the staff were very friendly and helpful. We planted ourselves at the bar on the pool deck and after some nachos, a few too many happy hour cocktails & lots of chit chat with a friendly couple from Sydney, we called it an evening..boy does time fly when your in paradise sipping endless Mai Tais
!
Apr 4th, 2005, 01:14 AM
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Day 2
Got an early start for breakfast ~o) at the Hula Grill (over Dukes in Outrigger Waikiki) and split the Banana & MacNut pancakes w/ coconut syrup, potatos and the Hula Eggs Benedict (total $25 w/ tip). We enjoyed a great view and the meal was pretty tasty.
We then checked out of our hotel in order to make our whale watching cruise at 10:30am on the Star of Honolulu. Several people mentioned that chances were slim to see whales off Oahu at this time, but guess this was our lucky day because shortly after we passed Diamond Head, we heard the first calls..”Whales! Whales!” Over the next 45 mins we viewed 3 pods of whales and a group of spinner dolphins. Okay..here’s where the luck stopped short. Unbelievably my decision that morning to wait to recharge the camera batteries had come back to haunt me #-o. My camera went dead just as the first humpback plunged into the ocean, tail in tow, a Kodak
moment for sure! I was bummed, but luckily we still had the camcorder 
which turned out, was a better choice anyway because those whales are really unpredictable. Spouts were blowing here and there, humps popping in and out of the water, you can’t exactly say “freeze” for the perfect picture. The best was saved for last, at one point a humpback popped up just above the surface level, only about 10-15 feet from the boat. All in all, this was a great tour
and a bargain using the 2 for 1 entertainment coupon.
We lunched at Bikini Cantina, at Aloha Tower Marketplace. Ordered a Kalua pork quesadilla to share, but were disappointed to hear they were out of pork (out of Kalua pork in Hawaii
). We chose chicken instead, which was “okay”. total w/ fries and a couple of beers came up to $15 w/ tip.
It took about 45 minutes to get to our vacation home from Honolulu to Punaluu. Having designed the website, I had seen many pics of the place, and knew it would be a great, but it was even better in person! The home (http://www.haleahakai.com) sat right on the beach and the interior was furnished in bamboo & tropical décor. It had everything we needed, even kayaks =D>. After settling in we drove North, to watch the sunset at Turtle Bay Resort (a fav spot on a previous trip). Made it just in time to view the most brilliantly colored sunset we’ve ever come across in Hawaii (this time the was juiced-up and ready to go).
Continued on to Breakers in Haleiwa for dinner. This was recommended in the guidebook, but we would not eat here again
. BF had the Hawaiian plate: roasted pork, lau lau pork, fish of the day, rice and lomi salmon. I had Ahi in mango sauce with garlic mashed potatoes. The potatoes and lau lau pork was good, but everything else was bland and tasteless, especially the roasted pork…so far we were 0 in 2 for trying to get some good Kalua pork. With the 2 for 1 ET discount, our meal totaled about $40 w/ tip. I’m not a picky eater, but even at that price we felt it was a waste. The place was pretty packed, so maybe we were just made the wrong menu choices. On the way back to Punaluu we stopped at the Foodland in Laie, then settled in for the night.
Day 3
Seems no matter how hard I try to sleep in, I’m always an early riser in Hawaii. Woke up at 6:30am and took some
rise pics from the house. We then ventured into Kaneohe for groceries at Safeway. Made a lunch stop at The Taco Shop in the Windward Mall food court, (2 for 1 ET coupon for total of $9 w/ sodas.) Pretty good for fast food.
BF’s parents were arriving this afternoon. A word of caution, If you ever plan on flying Aloha, using United FF miles, BEWARE! They ran into major problems with just about every aspect of their travel, from schedule changes to flight delays to overbooking, and both airlines kept trying to pass the fault to the other, with neither resolving the problems. Hopefully, after some letters to both airlines, we’ll see some sort of compensation. Okay, enough ranting, back to paradise…
The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the beach at the house
, waiting for BF’s parents. The temps were low 80’s and the water was nice and cool. BF went for a jog along the beach while I tried not to fall asleep in the oh-so relaxing sun><. We barbequed hamburgers for dinner and enjoyed our beachfront dining on the patio.
Got an early start for breakfast ~o) at the Hula Grill (over Dukes in Outrigger Waikiki) and split the Banana & MacNut pancakes w/ coconut syrup, potatos and the Hula Eggs Benedict (total $25 w/ tip). We enjoyed a great view and the meal was pretty tasty.
We then checked out of our hotel in order to make our whale watching cruise at 10:30am on the Star of Honolulu. Several people mentioned that chances were slim to see whales off Oahu at this time, but guess this was our lucky day because shortly after we passed Diamond Head, we heard the first calls..”Whales! Whales!” Over the next 45 mins we viewed 3 pods of whales and a group of spinner dolphins. Okay..here’s where the luck stopped short. Unbelievably my decision that morning to wait to recharge the camera batteries had come back to haunt me #-o. My camera went dead just as the first humpback plunged into the ocean, tail in tow, a Kodak
moment for sure! I was bummed, but luckily we still had the camcorder which turned out, was a better choice anyway because those whales are really unpredictable. Spouts were blowing here and there, humps popping in and out of the water, you can’t exactly say “freeze” for the perfect picture. The best was saved for last, at one point a humpback popped up just above the surface level, only about 10-15 feet from the boat. All in all, this was a great tour and a bargain using the 2 for 1 entertainment coupon.We lunched at Bikini Cantina, at Aloha Tower Marketplace. Ordered a Kalua pork quesadilla to share, but were disappointed to hear they were out of pork (out of Kalua pork in Hawaii
). We chose chicken instead, which was “okay”. total w/ fries and a couple of beers came up to $15 w/ tip.It took about 45 minutes to get to our vacation home from Honolulu to Punaluu. Having designed the website, I had seen many pics of the place, and knew it would be a great, but it was even better in person! The home (http://www.haleahakai.com) sat right on the beach and the interior was furnished in bamboo & tropical décor. It had everything we needed, even kayaks =D>. After settling in we drove North, to watch the sunset at Turtle Bay Resort (a fav spot on a previous trip
). Made it just in time to view the most brilliantly colored sunset we’ve ever come across in Hawaii (this time the was juiced-up and ready to go).Continued on to Breakers in Haleiwa for dinner. This was recommended in the guidebook, but we would not eat here again
. BF had the Hawaiian plate: roasted pork, lau lau pork, fish of the day, rice and lomi salmon. I had Ahi in mango sauce with garlic mashed potatoes. The potatoes and lau lau pork was good, but everything else was bland and tasteless, especially the roasted pork…so far we were 0 in 2 for trying to get some good Kalua pork. With the 2 for 1 ET discount, our meal totaled about $40 w/ tip. I’m not a picky eater, but even at that price we felt it was a waste. The place was pretty packed, so maybe we were just made the wrong menu choices. On the way back to Punaluu we stopped at the Foodland in Laie, then settled in for the night.Day 3
Seems no matter how hard I try to sleep in, I’m always an early riser in Hawaii. Woke up at 6:30am and took some
rise pics from the house. We then ventured into Kaneohe for groceries at Safeway. Made a lunch stop at The Taco Shop in the Windward Mall food court, (2 for 1 ET coupon for total of $9 w/ sodas.) Pretty good for fast food.BF’s parents were arriving this afternoon. A word of caution, If you ever plan on flying Aloha, using United FF miles, BEWARE! They ran into major problems with just about every aspect of their travel, from schedule changes to flight delays to overbooking, and both airlines kept trying to pass the fault to the other, with neither resolving the problems. Hopefully, after some letters to both airlines, we’ll see some sort of compensation. Okay, enough ranting, back to paradise…
The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the beach at the house
, waiting for BF’s parents. The temps were low 80’s and the water was nice and cool. BF went for a jog along the beach while I tried not to fall asleep in the oh-so relaxing sun><. We barbequed hamburgers for dinner and enjoyed our beachfront dining on the patio.
Apr 4th, 2005, 08:03 AM
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Day 4
Another early morning, cooked breakfast of bagels & eggs and drove to nearby Macadamia Nut Farm by Kualoa. We sampled a variety of nuts and free coffee, and then took the Alii tour ($15pp), which we all agreed was the surprise hit of our trip 
. Our host, the Chief was educational and hilariously entertaining. The tour included fire dancing and a drum performance, a bus ride through the botanical gardens and a boat ride in the fishpond. There were several movies that were filmed there, including “50 First Dates” (the café where Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore met).
After the tour we continued South to the Byodo-In Temple ($2pp). Not a lot to see here except for the temple, but it was a beautiful place, we walked the grounds and took a few. On the drive back to the house, we picked up some garlic shrimp at Kaya’s Shrimp Shack. Back at the house BF and I ventured out in the kayak and enjoyed a walk on the beach. Barbequed salmon for dinner and mixed up a few Blue Hawaiians and Pina Coladas, drinking exotic in Hawaii is one of our fav pastimes
.
Day 5
Drove to Honolulu for our 9:30am Grand Tour at the Iolani Palace. It was lovely, and we learned quite a bit about the Hawaiian monarchy. An FYI, anything larger than purses and small camera bags will have to be stored and photo taking isn’t allowed inside. Apparently, as the guides said, "waiting for people to snap the perfect picture" disrupts the flow of the tours. We had a picnic lunch on the lawn at the palace and then drove to the Bishop Museum. We were there for a couple of hours, saw many historical and cultural artifacts, a hula dancing demonstration and even watched a Planetarium show. Even so, we still didn’t see everything there, but we had dinner reservations at Hau Tree Lanai so we went to Waikiki. Stopped at The Sheraton for cocktails but the Hano Hano Room wasn’t open yet so we had a couple of drinks by the pool and took in the view of the beach and Diamond Head.
The sunset dinner at Hau Tree Lanai was amazing. We all enjoyed our meals, I had the "surf & turf" filet mignon & lobster tail w/ veggies
, BF had shrimp scampi over fettuccini, and his parents ordered lobster & lamb chops. The portions were hearty and the service was good too.(used ET card for 2 for 1, so paid for 2 of 4 dinners, total was $160 b4 tip, inc. drinks.) Of course the view of the beach from the terrace, seated under the huge banyan tree made the meal even more special. We gazed at a gorgeous, sunset of flaming oranges, reds & yellows. Then, too tired and stuffed from our meal to do anything else for the evening, we drove home.
Another early morning, cooked breakfast of bagels & eggs and drove to nearby Macadamia Nut Farm by Kualoa. We sampled a variety of nuts and free coffee, and then took the Alii tour ($15pp)
, which we all agreed was the surprise hit of our trip . Our host, the Chief was educational and hilariously entertaining. The tour included fire dancing and a drum performance, a bus ride through the botanical gardens and a boat ride in the fishpond. There were several movies that were filmed there, including “50 First Dates” (the café where Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore met). After the tour we continued South to the Byodo-In Temple ($2pp). Not a lot to see here except for the temple, but it was a beautiful place, we walked the grounds and took a few
. On the drive back to the house, we picked up some garlic shrimp at Kaya’s Shrimp Shack. Back at the house BF and I ventured out in the kayak and enjoyed a walk on the beach. Barbequed salmon for dinner and mixed up a few Blue Hawaiians and Pina Coladas, drinking exotic in Hawaii is one of our fav pastimes.Day 5
Drove to Honolulu for our 9:30am Grand Tour at the Iolani Palace. It was lovely, and we learned quite a bit about the Hawaiian monarchy. An FYI, anything larger than purses and small camera bags will have to be stored and photo taking isn’t allowed inside. Apparently, as the guides said, "waiting for people to snap the perfect picture" disrupts the flow of the tours. We had a picnic lunch on the lawn at the palace and then drove to the Bishop Museum. We were there for a couple of hours, saw many historical and cultural artifacts, a hula dancing demonstration and even watched a Planetarium show. Even so, we still didn’t see everything there, but we had dinner reservations at Hau Tree Lanai so we went to Waikiki. Stopped at The Sheraton for cocktails but the Hano Hano Room wasn’t open yet so we had a couple of drinks by the pool and took in the view of the beach and Diamond Head.
The sunset dinner at Hau Tree Lanai was amazing
. We all enjoyed our meals, I had the "surf & turf" filet mignon & lobster tail w/ veggies, BF had shrimp scampi over fettuccini, and his parents ordered lobster & lamb chops. The portions were hearty and the service was good too.(used ET card for 2 for 1, so paid for 2 of 4 dinners, total was $160 b4 tip, inc. drinks.) Of course the view of the beach from the terrace, seated under the huge banyan tree made the meal even more special. We gazed at a gorgeous, sunset of flaming oranges, reds & yellows. Then, too tired and stuffed from our meal to do anything else for the evening, we drove home.
Apr 4th, 2005, 09:15 AM
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Day 6
BF and I checked out the Aloha Stadium swap meet while his parents spent the day at the PCC. This was definitely the place to go for Hawaiian souvenirs. We got Hawaiian print luggage, aloha shirts, knick-knacks for the house and gifts for only 70 bucks. The prices were lower than the International Market Place. While there we also had a couple of warm malasadas.
Afterward we visited a friend who lives in Lanikai and spent the rest of the day soaking in some and waves at the beach. It was gorgeous with white sand and aqua-green water. The water was calm, lots of people kayaked across to Mokulua islands. Small fish were at the nearby reefs, so we snorkeled a bit too. That evening went w/ friend back to Honolulu to catch some live 
at Gordon Biersch Brewery. The band (Guy Cruz?) was great. Dinner there was good too, hearty burgers w/ garlic fries, ($10 each). We danced and drank the night away and then drove back over the Pali to our rental.
Day 7
BF & I drove to Ko’Olina lagoons for some exploring. We took the North Shore route and stopped at Sunset Beach to take pics of surfers and watch the big waves. Got to the lagoons about 11am and the lots were filled. We weren’t about to turn back after the long drive so after waiting a while we parked at the Marriott ($15$-)..ouch!). The beach and lagoons were great, the water was warm and there was a good variety of fish. We ate our picnic lunch and spent a few hours snorkeling, swimming and relaxing8-), it was worth the $. BTW, if you spend at least $25 at the hotel restaurants/shops, parking is free.
Took a detour to Honolulu on the way back for Tantalus. It was a bit cloudy, but a soothing drive w/ nice views. Then went to Pali lookout and on to Kaneohe, to meet up with BF’s parents for dinner at Haleiwa Joes in Haiku Gardens. Like Hau Tree Lanai, this was another great dinner. The setting was gorgeous and overlooked gardens with a pond and gazebo. Happy hour was 4:30-6:30(?) so had tempura crab roll, garlic bread & 
while waiting to be seated. BTW..this was no ordinary garlic bread, it was about the size of a small pie, cut in triangles and drenched in butter and seasoning and it was less than $3 at happy hour. Ordered dinner..caesar salads and 2 plates of "Sticky Ribs" to split between us. BTW, with all this splitting of food, we’re not frugal…just smart. The servings (a rack of baby pork ribs each) were huge! They were drenched in a soy-ginger/hoisin sauce and served with rice…DELICIOUS! Though we were pretty full, we couldn’t dare leave without tasting some Paradise Pie (Kona coffee ice cream, oreo crust w/ chocolate sauce). Tab was $100 w/tip for all.
Drove along the coast, guided buy the bright
and sounds of the surf on the way back home, dreading the fact that we only had one full day left
#39;(.
Day 8
Well, our luck of good weather ran out, as we woke up to the sound of pouring rain#-o. What a drag, we had hoped to spend the last day enjoying the beach house and kayaking. BF’s parents drove to Waikiki, for the Atlantis Submarine tour. BF & I decided to wait it out at the house and hoped the weather might change…it never did. Waikiki, as it turned out, was dry and slightly.
The only time we ventured out was to drive 25 mins e/w to pick up some Sunset Pizza. A bit of a drive, but from what we remembered on a previous trip…that pizza was good stuff The rest of the day was spent watching Hawaiian nature and history videos from the owner's library. Parents returned a bit disappointed with their submarine trip ($70pp inc. ET coupon for 25% off). They expected to see a lot more marine life than they did.
We cooked our last dinner in, chicken chow mein & dumplings. Less than 24hrs till our return to Los Angeles…*sigh*
Day 9
Raining again all over the Windward Coast and North Shore. BF and I made a last stop in Waikiki and had enough time for the breakfast buffet at the Shorebird ($10pp). It was pretty good and we enjoyed our last view of Waikiki Beach and Diamond head><. The weather, like the previous day was okay in Waikiki, no rain just a lil sprinkles here and there. After a quick dash to International Marketplace, we headed back to the airport, that familiar anxiety starting to creep in over the thought of leaving paradise
. All in all, it was a great trip, and like always…we still have something left to see for the next time.
Thank you to all the fodorites for your always helpful advice & suggestions!
BF and I checked out the Aloha Stadium swap meet while his parents spent the day at the PCC. This was definitely the place to go for Hawaiian souvenirs
. We got Hawaiian print luggage, aloha shirts, knick-knacks for the house and gifts for only 70 bucks. The prices were lower than the International Market Place. While there we also had a couple of warm malasadas.Afterward we visited a friend who lives in Lanikai and spent the rest of the day soaking in some
and waves at the beach. It was gorgeous with white sand and aqua-green water. The water was calm, lots of people kayaked across to Mokulua islands. Small fish were at the nearby reefs, so we snorkeled a bit too. That evening went w/ friend back to Honolulu to catch some live at Gordon Biersch Brewery. The band (Guy Cruz?) was great. Dinner there was good too, hearty burgers w/ garlic fries, ($10 each). We danced and drank the night away and then drove back over the Pali to our rental.Day 7
BF & I drove to Ko’Olina lagoons for some exploring. We took the North Shore route and stopped at Sunset Beach to take pics of surfers and watch the big waves. Got to the lagoons about 11am and the lots were filled. We weren’t about to turn back after the long drive so after waiting a while we parked at the Marriott ($15$-)..ouch!). The beach and lagoons were great, the water was warm and there was a good variety of fish. We ate our picnic lunch and spent a few hours snorkeling, swimming and relaxing8-), it was worth the $. BTW, if you spend at least $25 at the hotel restaurants/shops, parking is free.
Took a detour to Honolulu on the way back for Tantalus. It was a bit cloudy, but a soothing drive w/ nice views. Then went to Pali lookout and on to Kaneohe, to meet up with BF’s parents for dinner at Haleiwa Joes in Haiku Gardens
. Like Hau Tree Lanai, this was another great dinner. The setting was gorgeous and overlooked gardens with a pond and gazebo. Happy hour was 4:30-6:30(?) so had tempura crab roll, garlic bread & while waiting to be seated. BTW..this was no ordinary garlic bread, it was about the size of a small pie, cut in triangles and drenched in butter and seasoning and it was less than $3 at happy hour. Ordered dinner..caesar salads and 2 plates of "Sticky Ribs" to split between us. BTW, with all this splitting of food, we’re not frugal…just smart. The servings (a rack of baby pork ribs each) were huge! They were drenched in a soy-ginger/hoisin sauce and served with rice…DELICIOUS! Though we were pretty full, we couldn’t dare leave without tasting some Paradise Pie (Kona coffee ice cream, oreo crust w/ chocolate sauce). Tab was $100 w/tip for all.Drove along the coast, guided buy the bright
and sounds of the surf on the way back home, dreading the fact that we only had one full day left#39;(.Day 8
Well, our luck of good weather ran out, as we woke up to the sound of pouring rain#-o. What a drag, we had hoped to spend the last day enjoying the beach house and kayaking. BF’s parents drove to Waikiki, for the Atlantis Submarine tour. BF & I decided to wait it out at the house and hoped the weather might change…it never did. Waikiki, as it turned out, was dry and slightly
. The only time we ventured out was to drive 25 mins e/w to pick up some Sunset Pizza. A bit of a drive, but from what we remembered on a previous trip…that pizza was good stuff
The rest of the day was spent watching Hawaiian nature and history videos from the owner's library. Parents returned a bit disappointed with their submarine trip ($70pp inc. ET coupon for 25% off). They expected to see a lot more marine life than they did.We cooked our last dinner in, chicken chow mein & dumplings. Less than 24hrs till our return to Los Angeles…*sigh*
Day 9
Raining again all over the Windward Coast and North Shore. BF and I made a last stop in Waikiki and had enough time for the breakfast buffet at the Shorebird ($10pp). It was pretty good and we enjoyed our last view of Waikiki Beach and Diamond head>
<. The weather, like the previous day was okay in Waikiki, no rain just a lil sprinkles here and there. After a quick dash to International Marketplace, we headed back to the airport, that familiar anxiety starting to creep in over the thought of leaving paradise. All in all, it was a great trip, and like always…we still have something left to see for the next time.Thank you to all the fodorites for your always helpful advice & suggestions!
Apr 4th, 2005, 09:25 AM
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Aloha gg,
Perfect report!! Good to hear what it's like to stay in Punaluu. The website you designed is great... what a lovely home.
I just love to read great reports about O'ahu... home away from home
Glad to hear you had such a great time... mahalo for the memories.
Perfect report!! Good to hear what it's like to stay in Punaluu. The website you designed is great... what a lovely home.
I just love to read great reports about O'ahu... home away from home
Glad to hear you had such a great time... mahalo for the memories.
Apr 4th, 2005, 09:26 AM
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Thanks JohnD, unfortunately, we didn't get enough snorkeling this time around 
, we missed Hanauma Bay this time because we wanted to avoid crowds. But, if all goes well, there's always next year!
iceeu2, wait till you see the pics of our view from the restaurant, gorgeous! Definitely give them a try, we all felt it was worth every penny.
Will be posting a link to a few pics later.
, we missed Hanauma Bay this time because we wanted to avoid crowds. But, if all goes well, there's always next year! iceeu2, wait till you see the pics of our view from the restaurant, gorgeous! Definitely give them a try, we all felt it was worth every penny.
Will be posting a link to a few pics later.
Apr 4th, 2005, 09:43 AM
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Great report - I want to go back!
This really shows how much there is to see and do on Oahu. I was there 1 week and you were there just over 1 week and I don't see much (if any) crossover between our trips. I think I better keep a copy of this report - if I get a chance to go back, it will give me a good idea of new things to do!
Mahalo!
This really shows how much there is to see and do on Oahu. I was there 1 week and you were there just over 1 week and I don't see much (if any) crossover between our trips. I think I better keep a copy of this report - if I get a chance to go back, it will give me a good idea of new things to do!
Mahalo!
Apr 4th, 2005, 10:12 AM
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Aloha makai1, thanks for the compliments..it was fun designing a site to showcase such a perfect place. Waking up everyday to the sounds of the surf was heavenly!
Bart, how right you are. I noticed in your TR a few things we have yet to try, namely some of the goodies like Leonards & believe it or not, we still haven't tried Matsumotos shave ice#-o
Bart, how right you are. I noticed in your TR a few things we have yet to try, namely some of the goodies like Leonards & believe it or not, we still haven't tried Matsumotos shave ice#-o
Apr 4th, 2005, 07:54 PM
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ggrtist - Great report!! Thank you! Sounds like you had a wonderful time. I so understand that sad little feeling as the time to go home approaches. If I didn't look forward to seeing my cats as much as I do after a week of being away, even in paradise, I'd probably blubber all the way to the airport.
We leave in 4 days for Oahu, staying at the Marriot timeshare in Ko'Olina. How sad am I -- I'm already thinking how sad I'm going to be when we're packing up to go home!!
Thanks again for the report. I'm so excited to go.
We leave in 4 days for Oahu, staying at the Marriot timeshare in Ko'Olina. How sad am I -- I'm already thinking how sad I'm going to be when we're packing up to go home!!
Thanks again for the report. I'm so excited to go.
Apr 5th, 2005, 07:45 AM
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PICS: We had a fun time trying out my new camera, these are a few of our fav moments - http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ggflie...82OyCB8ZWdNVe3
The colors in some of the sunsets look almost unreal!
katolb90: We didn't do the kayak to the island, but there were many people doing it. It didn't seem like a difficult trip..there were even some teens out there so I would think it's okay for novices if it's a nice day with a lot of people around..wear life jackets too.
iamq: unfortunately, one thing we didn't get was enough relaxing and water play at the beachhouse. The reefs in front are about a hundred yards or so out, and the days we had planned to explore them were nixed when it rained, so we missed the snorkeling there We may go back in summer 2006, we all know Hawaii weather is never guaranteed, but chances of rain on windward side will be much less in summer.
juanita1989, 4 days till Ko'Olina..how wonderful! Now stop thinking about it being over before it's "over"..there's plenty of time for that on the flight back home.
The colors in some of the sunsets look almost unreal!
katolb90: We didn't do the kayak to the island, but there were many people doing it. It didn't seem like a difficult trip..there were even some teens out there so I would think it's okay for novices if it's a nice day with a lot of people around..wear life jackets too.
iamq: unfortunately, one thing we didn't get was enough relaxing and water play at the beachhouse. The reefs in front are about a hundred yards or so out, and the days we had planned to explore them were nixed when it rained, so we missed the snorkeling there
We may go back in summer 2006, we all know Hawaii weather is never guaranteed, but chances of rain on windward side will be much less in summer.juanita1989, 4 days till Ko'Olina..how wonderful! Now stop thinking about it being over before it's "over"..there's plenty of time for that on the flight back home.
Apr 5th, 2005, 10:29 AM
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thanks for the kind words about the pics all..it sure isn't too hard to take a nice pic in paradise, that's for sure.
katolb90gt;>'Lots of people around' so we won't drown. I get it.<<
Hilarious! you had me cracking up... never heard that line b4. I'm not good at judging distance, but I would say maybe a mile, it looked pretty close. This trip was my first time kayaking, but if we'd kayaks, I'd have definitely went to the island.
katolb90
gt;>'Lots of people around' so we won't drown. I get it.<<Hilarious! you had me cracking up... never heard that line b4. I'm not good at judging distance, but I would say maybe a mile, it looked pretty close. This trip was my first time kayaking, but if we'd kayaks, I'd have definitely went to the island.
