Aloha! We took a vacation on Oahu from February 28th through March 7th. This was a great trip because we visited many of the things I had never taken the time to see in the dozen times I've been to Oahu (downtown Honolulu, Iolani Palace, etc.) Below are some of the pictures from our trip (place cursor on the picture to read the caption or click on the thumbnail if you wish to see the larger picture.)
February 28: We arrived in the early afternoon and spent most of the first day just relaxing and walking around (with a quick start on our shopping.)
March 1: We began the vacation in earnest by renting a Jeep and driving around the island. We started with the Valley of the Temples (a a unique cemetery located just outside on Kaneohe.) There we visited the Buddhist Temple. We continued around the island, stopping to view Chinaman's Hat (a cone shaped outcropping of lava off Kualoa Point resembles the peasant's chapeau worn by rural Chinese.) We had lunch at Romy's Shrimp Shack and then spent some time at Turtle Beach to see turtles sunning themselves. A stop for shave ice and a brief run through the Dole pineapple plantation gift shop and we were on our way back to Waikiki. We ate at the La Mariana Sailing Club (a throwback to the days of old Hawai'i, a colorful, ultra-tiki-inspired nautical nugget of a place) and finished our trip with a drive through a residential neighborhood in the mountains to see a panoramic night view of Waikiki and Honolulu.
March 2: We began the day very early with a hike to Diamond Head to revisit the exact location where we got engaged (at the highest peak.) We then hiked back to Waikiki where we had breakfast followed by an outrigger canoe ride (we caught two waves-and the Hawaii Five-O theme song was playing in my head the entire time.) We then shopped during the afternoon and concluded an excellent day with the seafood buffet at the Surf Room at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (the pink palace on Waikiki Beach.)
March 3: We started by catching The Bus to Honolulu. We spent the morning shopping in Chinatown and had dim sum (various types of steamed buns, dumplings and rice rolls, which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options) for lunch. We then walked to Iolani Palace (the only palace on American soil) and took the audio tour. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the palace since I wanted to take a picture of the room where McGarrett's office (from Hawaii Five-O) was supposed to be. We wrapped up the day shopping at the International Marketplace in Waikiki.
March 4: We began the day very early by hiking up Diamond Head a second time. This time, we hiked to the mountain along Waikiki beach and after climbing to the peak, we continued around the base so that we had completely walked around it by the time we got back to Waikiki for breakfast. One of our favorite restaurants was Moose McGillycuddy's. They make fantastic omelettes (my favorite was the SpongeBob--bacon, mushroom, and cheese) and spicy Bloody Marys for breakfast. They also have an excellent happy hour (4-8pm.) Needless to say, we frequented "the Moose" regularly. We then spent some time perusing an art show by the Honolulu Zoo and then just meandering along the beach. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing and shopping.
March 5: We began the day by renting a car, a kayak and some snorkel gear. We then headed to the windward side of the island (east of Chinaman's Hat) and put our kayak into the water in Kaneohe Bay. We kayaked about 2.5 miles to Kapapa Island (a 3 acre uninhabited islet) off the coast. Along the way, we passed over a sunken island (where the water depth was only about 2 feet deep in some locations) and at one point, we were surrounded by a bale of sea turtles. They didn't stick around long and it was extremely difficult to try to get a picture (since they would submerge the moment they detected any movement on our part) but it was exciting none-the-less. We had our lunch on the island and explored around most of its perimeter. On the The kayaking was a lot of fun but we both got a bit too much sun in the process. On the way back, we took a brief stop to do some snorkeling. After returning to Kaneohe Bay, we loaded up the kayak and drove north about 15 miles to the Kahana River where we kayaked a little over a mile inland.
March 6: Having been pretty much on the move for most of our vacation thus far, we just spent the day relaxing, shopping, walking around, eating, and just enjoying another great day in paradise. That evening, after completing the last of our shopping, we sat on the beach and enjoyed a bottle of pineapple wine while listening to the live band at the Tiki Bar.
March 7: We began the morning with a last omelette at Moose McGillycuddy's followed by a leisurely walk along Waikiki beach before heading back to the hotel to pack. We caught our ride to the airport just before noon; thus beginning our homeward trek. (We caught the redeye out of Los Angeles and actually went straight to work on the 8th right after arriving at Pittsburgh Airport.)
