05.11.07
Our one year anniversary - a trip to Hawaii
Some of you knew this already but in case you didn’t, Yvonne and I took a 6 day, 5 night vacation in Oahu, Hawaii last week and man.. it was a blast. It was my first time in Hawaii and I have to admit - it was a beautiful place to visit. It’s a bit more humid than what I’m used to here in Los Angeles but it’s still less humid than say New York City during the summer months. Best of all - it was a complete change in scenary for us. It’s just nice to get away you know? In any event, we’ve posted up pictures of our trip to Hawaii within our gallery.
Here’s a quick summary of our trip:
Tuesday - May 2nd
We head out to LAX for a flight leaving at around 9am or so. The flight itself was smooth - so smooth in fact, I actually got a chance to sleep for a good part of the flight (and I really hate flying in general).
We land in Oahu at around noon and check into the Hyatt Regency in Waikiki in the early aftenoon. Yvonne and I spent the afternoon walking Waikiki, checking out the shops, and then heading over to the Ala Moana Shopping Center. (The mall is supposedly the country’s largest open air mall?)
In the evening, we dined at the Sansei Restaurant & Sushi Bar which is basically a cool Japanese/Asian Fusion restaurant.
The prices were pretty reasonable and the food was definitely plentiful. However, if you’re a sushi purist, you might not like the place so be warned! As we were heading out of the restaurant, we noticed that Sansei has a 1/2 deal on Sunday evenings (something to consider as you’ll see later).
Wednesday - May 3rd
We wake up nice and early Wednesday morning (6am was it?), catch an early breakfast and then head on over to the Kualoa Ranch for the first of our many packaged tours. This one was for the ATV tour and if you’ve never ridden an ATV before, I highly recommend it! They give you a quick how-to session with the ATV and then you take a short training course around the backside of the ranch. Once you’re familiar with the ATV, you head on out in single file and drive around the Ka’a'awa Valley. The tour itself was pretty quick.. we were back in Waikiki by 10ish?
Since we were back so early, Yvonne and I decided to head over to Waikiki beach where we relaxed for the next several hours. I thought I had applied enough sunscreen during this time.. needless to say, I did not. My back is STILL read (and peeling now).
After my sunburning session, we decided to take a walk from our hotel to Diamond Head Crater. The entire roundtrip was approximately 4 to 5 miles and it took us about 2-3 hours to complete. Once you get to the top of Diamond Head Crater, you can pretty much see the entire southeast corner of Oahu - in particular - Waikiki. It’s an awesome site to behold.
For dinner we decided to try out a place called the Side Street Inn. You’ll typically find more locals at the Side Street Inn than tourists and that was exactly what we wanted. Unfortunately, the prices were a bit high - they even charged us per soft drink refill. WTH? The food itself was OK… but we felt that the prices charged didn’t justify the food and service that we got.
Thursday - May 4th
On Thursday, we did a little snorkeling with Snorkel Bob’s. I’ll never forget the bus ride to the pier as our tour guide (named Jenner? Janner?) was one of the corniest guys I’ve ever heard. OMG.. his jokes were horrible.. yet they made me smile so I can’t complain right?
We snorkeled from 11ish till around 2pm and then got back to the hotel at around 3pm or so. It really wasn’t that long when you think about it but man I was tired.
I took a short nap in the afternoon while Yvonne trotted on over to the beach to play a quick game of volleyball with some locals. Yup.. she can’t get enough of that sport.
For dinner, we headed on over to a place called Tikis Grill & Bar. Not a bad restaurant but not something that particularly stands out if you ask me.
Friday - May 5th
Friday morning was one of those early riser mornings as we went back to Kualoa Ranch for our second tour - this time a horseback ride through the hillside. Same concept here - single file ride through the country side. Our horses were pretty tame although mine was certainly taking his time going uphill (or perhaps I had a bit TOO MUCH FOOD eh?)
In the early afternoon (3ish), we hopped on a bus to go to Paradise Cove where I had my first Luau. I had a blast with the Luau itself. There were activities that people could enjoy - such as making your own Lei, spear throwing, and getting a temporary tatoo. After dinner, we watched a cool presentation from the dancers there and yes - this included a fire dance too.
Oh yes.. I feel I must mention that I was pulled on stage to do a dance (against my will mind you).. and yes.. as Yvonne would describe it, I was “terrible” on stage in terms of dancing. I’m sorry but my knees and butt just don’t move around that way!
All told, it was an awesome night!
Saturday - May 6th
On Saturday, we headed over to Pearl Harbor and visited the Arizona Memorial. What can I say? It was incredibly humbling to stand there on the Memorial - realizing that over 1000+ people died that day on a single ship.. a day that will certainly live in infamy. It also reminded me of the sacrifice that so many people have paid for the life that we live today.
After the memorial, we headed on over to Aloha stadium and checked out the Swap Meet. It’s basically one big flea market circling the outside of the stadium. Here you’ll find tons of trinkets, t-shirts, and touristy goods for cheap prices. Definitely the place to go to find good deals on items.
In the evening, we met up with some family friends and had.. LOTS of food.
Sunday - May 7th
Sunday was check out day in the morning. We then had dim sum with family friends in Chinatown. Afterwards, we headed back to Ala Moana Shopping Center to kill a few hours in the early afternoon. Along the way, we lost our car.. only to realize it wasn’t the car that was lost.. but rather WE were lost. Ha.
As the evening approached, we headed BACK to Sansei Restaurant to capitalize on the 1/2 special before 6pm. For those of you who’ve never gone to this restaurant, you should get there at around 4:45 pm or so. People begin lining up early for this deal - especially since the restaurant doesn’t actually open it’s doors until 5:15pm. That gives you 45 minutes to order your food at 1/2 off. So yes.. we gorged like crazy!!
After gorging for an hour or so, we headed on to the airport and then hopped on a plane back to Los Angeles.
Monday - May 8th
We landed at 5am.. got home by 6am and slept. That was our vacation!!