Hawaii
2018 | 7th Anniversary trip
Caught a cold a week before leaving for Hawaii.
Feb 1 (Thursday):
Had difficulty sleeping. Excited and nervous about trip. Only got about 5½ hours of sleep.
Woke up normal time. Took Uber to airport. Hit lots of morning traffic. Our Uber driver was this kinda clueless older woman. She kept talking about how many people were late to trains and planes - people that she had been driving.
Got to airport, checked in, and got through security pretty fast. quick walk to plane and got there while it was boarding. We had a 2-seat row for us. Lots of leg room. Hawaiian air rocks!
Mostly uneventful flight. About 6 hours or less. They served us sammiches and drinks. Our flight attendant was pretty nice, and hooked us up with some extra snaks. About an hour before landing, they served us all a complimentary cocktail with rum and fruit juices. Yummy!
Landed, and got lei'd!
Then we walked forever to get baggage claim because it was in a whole other building.
Waited forever for shuttle to get rental car.
Stopped at old tiki bar, La Mariana Sailing Club that Spencer recommended. We both had a Mai Tai. It was nothing special. Mostly pineapple and dark rum. Had nachos with pulled Kailua pork. Really good. Also a cheeseburger.
Got to hotel. Wait staff are really nice. Place is Gorgeous. Jamie Decker got them to upgrade our room to a nice ocean view on the 19th floor. There’s a purified water dispenser on our floor, and free water bottles.
Relaxed a bit and looked at map. Finally went out and walked to Tikis for late dinner. I had a Lava Flow, which is a light rum drink with coconut milk, pineapple, and strawberry. Mike had another Mai Tai, which was also kind of strong and not subtle. I ordered lettuce wraps but ate only half. Mike had buffalo chick wings.
Walked back, and stopped in a ton of ABC stores. I bought a solar powered hula dancer guy.
The walk felt really long.
Lots of street performers, and people handing out pamphlets. Every block had an ABC store.
My impression of Waikiki: Las Vegas, if Las Vegas just chilled out for a night.
Back at hotel by 9:30-ish, and we collapsed.
Feb 2 (Friday):
Woke up early (for Hawaii, but late for San Diego time)
Hung out in bed chatting.
Went to Eggs n Things for brekkie. Mike had Loco Moco, I had banana macadamia pancakes. They had 3 syrups on table: maple, coconut, and ... guava? Maybe? Mike said it was very sweet.
While having brekkie, a bird just wandered into the restaurant, then flew out the open windows. And the wait staff really didn't pay it much attention. I guess it happens a lot.
Walked back to hotel. Waited for a long time for concierge to finish with Chinese family. (Side note: Chinese middle class is the new privileged white girl. They expected her to do everything for them). Decided to come back later.
Mike changed, and we walked to surf board rental. He rented a long board.
I hung out on shore and tried to take pics of him. There were also some large black crabs crawling over the rocks (largest was probably 8 inches across, including legs. Maybe about a 4 inch body?)
Was chatted up by some buff dude from Seattle. Lol.
Walked back to hotel. Stopped at Starbucks to get coffee. It took for-fucking-ever to get a simple iced latté. Turns out it was one of the new "Starbucks Reserve" stores. I think "reserve" means "take forever, and ignore you while we're making your coffee". Mike showered and changed while I tried to download pictures from camera. Many didn’t come out all that great.
We went and talked to concierge (Lisa). Made arrangements for dinner tonight at top of Waikiki restaurant, in time for fireworks show. Got ideas for north shore trip tomorrow. Made reservations for Diamond Head luau on Sunday.
Was going to get a helicopter tour of the island for us both, but we super got fat-shamed. Anyone over 250 pounds and you have to buy a “comfort seat” for an additional half price. Ugh. Would have been about $800 for the two of us to do a 45 minute tour. No thanks.
May or may not go snorkeling on Sunday morning. I haven’t decided yet.
Went to Ross next to hotel to get some nicer aloha shirts for dinner tonight. Yes... I said "nice shirts" and "Ross" in the same sentance.
Came back to room. Chilled a bit. Got dressed and went to Moana Surfrider for a quick drink. We both had a Mai Tai. I still find the local Mai Tai to be an interesting rum drink, but really the only thing in common with a Mai Tai is the rum.
Went to dinner at Top of Waikiki. It’s a rotating restaurant on the 20th floor. I had a Planter's Punch, and mike had a Waikiki Daiquiri. Goat cheese Rangoons and a poké for appetizers. Caesar salads. I had the best New York steak ever with a tomato and onion relish and a spicy lemon-chili sauce on top. And garlic mashed potatoes. Mike had a panko & bacon-crusted Ahi on German potato salad.
We both got the Planter's Punch for next round. Then mike got a chewy brownie, and I got a butter cake with molten ganache core.
OMFG THE WHOLE MEAL WAS SO GOOD!!
Honestly one of the best meals I have had in ages. (With tax and tip... $270. But worth it)
While there, there was a fireworks show on the beach. There was a building blocking much of the view, but we still were able to see some sparkles and stuff.
Walked to Coco Cove store. Got a couple tikis for Jeff’s Lazy Lanai. Then back to hotel.
Mike super zonked out.
Feb 3 (Saturday)
Had a bit of tummy trouble (oprobably because of the extreme amount of meat and rich food I ate the day before). Left hotel and got cash, because we were told most of the places up in Haleiwa probably didn't take credit cards (totally not the case, as we found out). On drive to Haleiwa, we stopped at Leonard’s and got malasadas. 3 cream, 2 macadamia, 1 coconut - because we couldn't decide, and they were pretty cheap for a half-dozen. They were warm, gooey, and delicious. The store was busy (Voodoo donuts level busy) and tha tmade Mike was cranky and verklempt, so he waited outside.
The drive was nice. Really cool flat trees, and pines that look like the fake cell towers.
Haleiwa: picked up a T-shirt at the Red Dirt Shirt Company. I did not get a red dirt shirt, though. but I did get another shirt that was equally has hippie-bro
Had lunch at Banzai sushi. Good as hell
- Mike
- Philly roll. Red dragon roll
- Me
- Crispy ahi roll, Lemon drop
- Shared
- Avocado roll
Still cloudy and gray. Humidity at 72%. I'm almost used to it by now. Weird.
Saw a sign for Waimea Falls, decided to check them out. Was a whole botanical and cultural park, with examples of how Hawaiians lived and lots of lush trees. The air smelled amazing. A bit like nutmeg and other subtle spices. We walked up to the falls (about ¾ mile, according to the map) and hung out up there. People were swimming in the pool under the falls. The water was super muddy, though.
Mike realized he left his card at Banzai. We decided to just go to north shore, then drive back to get it
Traffic is horrible. It's a single lane road each direction, and there's a lot of traffic.
Got to Giovanni’s shrimp truck. Mike got garlic shrimp, and a T-shirt. I got a coconut strawberry banana smoothie, and for kicks I tried an "ice cold coconut". I had seen people selling them on the side of the road for the last hour or so, so my ciuriosity was peaked. It's basically just a cold coconut with the top cut off and a straw so you can drink the water inside. Started out good, like sweet thick water. As it warmed up, the character changed to salty sweet viscous liquid. Def. an acquired taste.
Drove back to Banzai sushi to get Mike's card. Stopped at roadside to see giant waves. I got a bit wet when a giant wave crashed on shore. But the water is a lot warmer than San Diego.
Drove home in shitty traffic. It was just a 2 lane street for most of the time.
Got back to hotel. Relaxed for a bit. Changed, and walked to The Eating House 1849. I had a fish meal (forgot to write down what I got). Mike had ramen. He said it was really spicy.
We both had a couple cocktails. Pulu Punch or something. Delicious. Much better cocktail with light flavors. Served with a plumeria on the side. I love that idea!!
Walked back to hotel via a large mall. We stopped at a GameStop. Because Mike.
Tried to see if there were tiki bars or whatever on the way back to the hotel. There weren’t. Decided to get a last drink at the hotel bar.
The bartender here did NOT embody the aloha spirit. He seemed cranky and put out that somebody was asking him to make a couple drinks. Mike had a Mai Tai (same kind as the rest here. Lots of juice and dark rum) I asked for a planter’s punch. He had no idea what that was. I said “just a rum punch”. He scowled and poured a bunch of juices and some light rum in a glass. Lol.
Finished the drinks. Got to the room. And we both crashed. Hard. In bed by 10:30. Zonked out
Feb 4 (Sunday)
Woke up about 7:30. Had a good nights sleep!
Looked at weather. Looks like rain is probably going to cancel the luau.
Drove out to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling. Drove past where we should have turned, but continued up the coast a while. Got out on a beach and took some pictures. THIS is the coastline I expected to see here. So cool/interesting that the north-west and south-east shores are so different.
Drove back to the Hanauma Bay nature preserve. Watched a 10 minutes intro video, then went to get a quick snack before heading down to the beach. Lots and lots of Asians here on vacation.
Rented snorkel gear. The water was a bit chilly, but you got used to it pretty fast. I started to snorkel, and got water up my nose. Had a minor panic, flailed, and sputtered out water and snot for 5 minutes.
Went back and exchanged mask for a medium, and tried again. Same problem. Because of my beard and mustache, I just can’t get a good seal so... I gave my camera to Mike, and went back to shore. He stayed out for at least another 30 or so minutes. Got some great pictures.
We took a tram back to the top then went back to the blowhole to get some pictures. Even though it was low tide, it was still pretty neat to see the landscape.
Drove to Teddy’s Bigger Burgers and had a late lunch. I got the best fried pickles I’ve had in a long time. So good.
Came back to hotel. Chilled, then showered.
Relaxed a bit before going luau.
The luau we went to was the Diamond Head Luau. The only farm-to-table luau on Oahu. Most Luaus are about 1,000 to 1,500 people. This is around 200 people, so it's a much more intimate experince.
The luau was pretty epic. We weren’t sure they were going to do it because it was supposed to rain. I called, and they said it was still on, and they were putting up a tent.
We waited in a line to get in, then they gave us a lei and took out pictures with a couple of the performers. Then they handed us a Mai Tai, and we went to sit down. Our table was almost perfectly center stage.
Had a couple appetizers, then went to get 1 of our 2 comp drinks. We wandered around a bit. I got a woven crown thing made of palm fronds. The guy showed me how to weave them! Then they had us all sit down. Apparently, on the trip to O’ahu, somebody died on the plane. Her 2 friends went to the luau anyway, and took home her lei in her memory. The host sang a blessing in Hawaiian, and then a prayer for their friend, also in Hawaiian. I got misty eyed. Mike did too. It was beautiful, even though I had no idea what he was saying.
The MC had the perfect voice and cadence for the show. He was great. They had 3 male and 3 female dancers demonstrating dances from around the islands: Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, and a couple more?
They also did a tribute to 30’s-50’s Hollywood, with the women in sparkling "gass skirts". Super kitschy, but lots of fun
The guy who did a Maori Hakka was great. He was also the main guy for the Samoa slap dance. He was freaking hysterical. Also taught us the 2 main Samoan claps. The Po (low clap), the … pika (?) … (high clap), and another where you rub your hands together. Great audience interaction, and his delivery was perfect.
They had a fire knife dancer who was only 10! He and another fire dancer guy did a "dance" together. I wouldn't actually call it a dance… more like a juggle.
The food was super tasty, and all kinds. I tried poi. I like it! Mike didn’t.
Got back to hotel. It was still raining. Mike decided he wanted to go out. It was only 8:30, after all.
On our way out, the doorman saw that I didn’t have an umbrella, and loaned me one. This hotel gets major marks for being awesome.
We walked to Duke’s. Mike got us super lost, and we walked down some back alley and got our shoes and socks soaking wet. Eventually found it. Sat down and had a couple more drinks, and some hummus!
I bought a T-shirt on the way out, and we came back to the hotel.
Feb 5 (Monday)
Woke up. Packed. Discovered that I had the major squishies. Oh well, at least it was the last day of the trip.
We packed, then went to ABC store to get some quick souvenirs/gifts. Mostly chocolate covered macadamias.
Walked to Stabucks and had a quick brekkie. Back to hotel. Checked out. Drove to Kono’s for a breakfast burrito. I realized I kinda wanted to get more of the cheap leather bracelets as gifts, so we went back to the hotel and drove around until we found the little back market. Mike almost hit a guy on a scooter (and then had a small road rage at the guy. Oh, Mike).
Found the market. Parked. Found the bracelets. I bought 6 (1 was for me). Got back in car, then drove to car rental. Got there early, so went to Target so Mike could look for Star Wars toys. Because Mike.
He was really worried about returning the car, because there was a dent in the door. It was there when we got the car, but neither us nor the rental place noticed or mentioned it. Only discovered it when we got to the hotel, and they did a more thorough check. So he was nervous that the rental place would try to ding us for it.
But we got there, and the guy did a quick walk around of the car, then said we could go. They were holding the airport shuttle for us. So basically, we got to the car rental return, and 45 seconds later we were on the shuttle to the airport. Yay!
Got to airport. It was this huge self-check in for baggage. But the ticket had this bogus $80 upgrade fee on it, so we had to wait in line to see and agent to get that figured out. The baggage goes through some “agriculture department” scanner, and then it’s off to the plane
We walked about 12 minutes or so to get to our gate. On the way, (and this is AFTER going through security), they scan your carry-on for agriculture, again. Odd.
Got to gate. Got on plane. Flew home. Nice and easy flight.