Hawaii Part 1 (of 3)

For my birthday in July, Matt gave me a trip to Hawaii!!! This past week was when we got to go and so now I will share my travelog. Day 1 was mostly just traveling. Our flight left around 11am and it takes about 6 hours from Salt Lake to Honolulu. The flight wasn't too bad - plenty of new movies to catch up on. We gained 4 hours when we reached Hawaii and although it was only early afternoon there I was starving! It was past dinnertime for us and all we'd really had to eat that day was a Cinnabon at the airport and the in-flight snacks.

Me at Waikiki beach

Matt at Waikiki beach

Waikiki Beach

We took a shuttle to our hotel, then we had to take another shuttle to pick up our Go Oahu cards. These are cards we bought when we booked our flight and hotel. They offer all kinds of activities in Oahu (they have Go cards for other major cities too) and they are paid for (with a major discount) when you buy the card! Once we had the cards we decided we should schedule as many of the activities we wanted to do as possible so we had a plan for the week. We weren't sure how many of the activities we'd be able to get but we were able to schedule everything that needed a reservation! By this time we were super starving, as it was pretty much dinner time in Hawaii already, so we ran across the street to IHOP for dinner. Awesome first Hawaiian dinner:)

Kuhio Beach Park

Duke Kahanamoku statue

Next we decided to find our way to the beach. Our hotel was only a couple blocks from Kuhio Beach Park but the intersections we chose weren't marked so we weren't really sure where we were! We knew the general direction and after wandering through a hotel courtyard or two we found ourselves at the beach. We walked through the sand and surf and saw the Duke Kahanamoku statue. We sat near the statue and watched them light the torches nearby as the sun was setting. Such a beautiful sight! By then we were already so tired that we went back to our hotel and crashed for the night.

Torch lighting

Waikiki at night from our hotel

Day 2 we got up really early because it seemed late to our poor jet-lagged bodies! We walked to a restaurant several blocks away called Eggs and Things that our tour book suggested and it did not disappoint! And fortunately we got there before it started getting really crowded. There was a huge line when we left. Matt ordered the macadamia nut pancakes and I ordered a bacon, potato and cheese omelet and it ended up coming with a few pancakes too. While not really traditional Hawaiian food, they did have coconut and guava syrups that were delicious. Everything was so good!

Eggs & Things

Diamond Head

After breakfast a shuttle picked us up and took us and several other groups to Diamond Head. There are shuttles to pick you up for just about anything. It was so nice not having to drive around unfamiliar territory. The trail to the top of Diamond Head is not real long - less than a mile - but it is practically straight up in some areas. It takes a good 30-40 minutes to the top. About halfway up you hit these stairs and they're a killer. My legs wanted to give out and I was huffing and puffing to the top. Fortunately, people in seriously good shape were huffing and puffing too so I didn't feel so bad! The view from the top is spectacular and well worth the trek up even if your legs feel like jello for a few hours after.

View from halfway up Diamond Head

Diamond Head Lighthouse

In the shuttle on the way to Diamond Head we passed Waikiki beach and in the same area we walked to the night before they were filming Hawaii Five-o. We got to see Steve McGarrett! It was awesome! Apparently they're also filming a couple movies on Oahu right now: Battleship (I think it's called) and Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Sadly we did not run into Johnny Depp but one of our shuttle drivers saw him a few weeks ago buying really expensive Hawaiian shirts.

Waikiki from the top of Diamond Head

Hot and sweaty at the top of Diamond Head

After Diamond Head we walked to the beach and took a ride in an outrigger canoe. There were four of us in the canoe and we'd paddled out into the ocean. Then we'd turn around and start paddling back until we hit a wave and we would ride that back toward shore. We got to do that a couple times out and back. It was so much fun and it didn't seem like too much of a workout but between Diamond Head and the canoe we were so sore the next day! Sadly we didn't get a picture on the canoe because our camera would have gotten too wet.

The dreaded steps

Sunset on the beach

The rest of the day we just walked around Waikiki. There are so many high end stores it's crazy! They have Prada, Tiffany jewelry, Armani, Juicy Couture, you name it. There are tons of souvenir shops as well as ABC stores. I guess they were started by an Asian man with $2 in his pocket and now there are 42 ABC stores in Waikiki. They are a convenience store/gift shop and the locals like to say ABC stands for All Blocks Covered because there is seriously an ABC store on every block! Later we went swimming in the hotel pool and tried to relax the muscles that were already starting to get sore from the day's adventures.

Shopping by the beach (Kalakaua Ave)

ABC Store