I second that!! Hiking Diamond Head is incredible, especially if you can do it early in the morning. We went to Hanauma Bay when I went there on my college band tour. When my family went back two years later, I made sure we went snorkeling there. They only let so many people in per day (it is a protected area), and it is absolutely gorgeous!!!
I don't know if you calling hiking, but we did go up to the top just to take pix!!! SO PRETTY!!!! Oh yeah... don't lick your lips if you go swimming in the water... OMGosh made that mistake it was like licking a salt lick *well what I imagine*!!! So gross!!!!
Howabout getting salt water up your nose? When we went surfing, I got so much water up my nose I'm sure it killed all bacteria up there. I could breath so well after that...
These are great! I'm writing them all down. Dh just got a really great digital camera to take beautiful pictures with, and we'll start packing on Thursday!
How long will you guys be in Hawaii for? I'm so jealous of you! What I remember the most is how wonderfully warm the water was. Here in CA, the water is always SOOOOO cold so I never went swimming in the ocean, but in Hawaii... tsk, it's so nice.
I'm not allowed to say when we're leaving or how long we'll be gone, but it's not for a bit. I'll def. let you guys know when we're back, though!
They water is very warm...but salty!!! Luckily, I didn't get any up my nose!!! But I can't even imagine the burn!!! LOL!!!! JEM have so much fun...just go do your thing & have fun!!! Glad to hear you have a good camera. Also there is a beautiful yacht club on Waikiki Beach!!!
I haven't been to Hawaii. But unless it's a WHOLE LOT worse than the saltiness of the Atlantic, I can tell you it doesn't hurt at all!!! Makes you sputter a bit, but it doesn't hurt.
It's been awhile since I've been to either ocean in Florida or California... But I don't remember those being salty... But Hawaii I'm telling you is like pouring salt into your hand & you licking it! We went under the water & when we came up it was on our lips!!! UGH!!!!
Hmmmmm, you are going to Hawaii and I am not ANYTIME soon or ever so I need the tip on HOW to get there
Hahah, stephenpe. The only reason I'm going is because dh has a business trip there. It was a cheap way for him to give me a vacation (his business is paying his half) and took care of both my Christmas and birthday gift! He's a smart cookie. I'm surprised I'm not more excited. I have a bunch of errands to do to get ready-get some sandals and sunscreen, do laundry (we don't have a washer/dryer yet, so it's the laundry mat for me...), find someone to take the bunny, etc. I'm sure I'll be more excited once I'm actually on the plane!
Hanauma Bay for snorkeling is amazing...rent from "Snorkel Bob" he's pretty cheap. Jermaine's Luau is really good, they bus you in from the major hotels so you don't have to worry about driving back at night The International Market Place sellers will for the most part haggle prices so don't take the first offer they give you. When swimming in Wakiki there are parts of the beach that have been blocked off just for wading and swimming so you don't have to worry about surfers, etc. Make sure you watch the sunset at least once!!! Have fun!
When you do go to Waikiki Beach there is like a little lagoon (or when I was there) in between the Hilton & another hotel. We were told there were jelly fish in there...so beware of that. New... I think that's the Luau we went to. It was so much fun & your hosts on the bus make it fun. Did you do the rowing thing? Our host had us all act like we were paddling so when we passed the other bus it looked like we were doing the "work"!!! LOL!!! Jem...that's how we got to Hawaii mom had to go their for business!!!
oh have fun, Jem!!! I was there in the early 1980s and it was great; the Polynesian Cultural Center was fabulous back then and so was the luau we went to...take pictures!
Jem...when you are there...stop to smell the flowers & take pix!!! MOST IMPORTANTLY HAVE FUN WHATEVER YOU DO & MAKE A TON OF MEMORIES!!! (then share a few with us when you get back!!!)
Back, back, back! Whew. It was really great-better than I imagined. Brief re-cap, with pictures to come soon. Flew out on Saturday, five hour flight (shorter than a flight to Michigan... hmmm...). Arrive in Oahu, got a rental car (a convertible!!! yeah!!!) and drove to the North Beach. We rented a condo at Turtle Bay-it was privately owned, and we loved it-right on the golf course, full kitchen, quiet, etc. We walked down to the Turtle Bay resort area and they were filming a Capital One commercial, which was fun to watch (dh's father's cousin is the CEO of Capital One, so we had a good laugh). There was a public beach, a gorgeous pool-it's great that you can walk around resorts even if you aren't staying there. We went to the grocery store to grab food and then wanted to have dinner at a Shrimp Truck, but they had all closed, so we had hot dogs. Haha. Finished the night with Suzie Orman. Woke up on Sunday to adventuring. We had a rental car, so we drove to Pipeline beach, where they have the big surfing contests. Dh had a great time watching the surfers while I hunted for shells. Then we continued to the Waimea Valley, a botanical garden. It was fabulous-the tour talked all about Hawaiian history and ended with a waterfall you can swim out to. But the water is like ice. But I still did it (it took two tries ). Then we went into Haleiwa, a very touristy town, and just walked around. We grabbed shave ice from Matsumotos-no 'd' on the shave, which is weird. It was quite good, better than a snow cone. Then we finally got our shrimp from Fumi's shrimp truck. Very greasy, but very good. We headed back and watched the Golden Globes. Monday was our last day on the North Shore. Dh went snorkeling on the public beach at Turtle Bay, and then we packed up and left. One the way back to Waikiki we stopped at a fruit stand and I tasted fresh coconut for the first time-amazing. Then we stopped at Ted's Bakery and tried their chocolate haupia pie. It was a chocolate pudding/coconut pudding layer pie-very good. Because we hadn't had enough sugar, we stopped and got Starbucks, and then went to the Dole Plantation and got a pineapple float. I luuuuv getting these at Disney, although the Dole Plantation uses pineapple soft serve, which is a bit much. We drove into Waikiki, returned the car and picked up a different car, as now dh's work was officially paying for the trip. We weren't ready to be downtown yet, so we drove back into the country and found a macadamia nut farm and a GREAT reggae station (98.5 The Island). We finally got to our hotel in Waikiki-The Outrigger Reef on the beach. It was actually wonderful! When we were looking at places on the internet, they all looked really dated and 'hotel' like. But it was beautiful in person. We arrived at night, and all the torches were lit and the bands were playing and it was magical. I must say, I like Waikiki MUCH better at night. We ended the night with dinner at Benihana's, which was not very good. Woke up Tuesday morning and dh had his meeting until about 1pm. I took a really long nap and just relaxed. Then we walked up and down the beach, looking at all the cheesy stores. We had lunch at Cheeseburger, which has a great back story and a delicious fish sandwich. We laid by the beach on these cushy chairs and then a guy told us we had to pay for them, so we went to the pool and I finally got my icey Pina Colada. Then we got dressed up and had dinner with dh's client at PF Chang's, which again was not good. I think the food is very bland because it's a touristy spot, maybe? Not sure. Then we walked down the beachwalk and saw a ton of people trying to get us to go to a local gun club, a giant fuzzy Elmo guy, two gold 'statues' that wanted tips, a Peruvian flute playing couple, four hookers and a one-man-rave who did spray paint art. Then we got lost in a four story dutry-free mall that seemed to forget you had to put in exits by law and stumbled upon a beautiful lagoon that I think was put in just for sappy couples like us to take pictures in front of. I concluded this because there were about 12 other couples there taking pictures and not much else. We got up this morning and had breakfast, and then packed up to leave. Returned the car, got to the airport, both of our flights were delayed by a few hours and then flew home! I arrived to a dark, cold house (dh flew straight to San Diego for another meeting) and stepped into several HUGE puddles on the way to the door. Welcome back! I'll be working on our scrapbook this Friday evening at a Creative Memories event-I'm really looking forward to getting more into the hobby and will be scanning the pages for a new website. So I'll post a link when they are up!! The most amazing part of the trip? NO SUNBURN! I brought three huge cans of spray sunscreen, 50 SPF. I'm so proud of our ability to apply and re-apply. We also left without a single souvenir. I grabbed two bags of macadamia nuts, as the lady who set my interview up tomorrow is originally from Hawaii so I thought she might like some, and the other is for a close friend. But other than that, just pictures and memories.
I remember watching the spray paint guy. He was hilarious. I think I have a picture of him somewhere.... I found a picture, but it only has his last name, dagnabbit! What was funny was that during the whole time, you had no idea what he was making.
I haven't read every post but my biggest suggestion is wear tons of sunscreen! I got fried like a lobster in Hawaii and the rest of the trip was not as fun as it could have been. Wear more than you usually do.
Peachyness.... NO WAY... that is WAYNE!!!! I have one of his Tshirts!!! We watched him as well... I have 2 of his paintings & my sis has one. It looks like he's only gotten better!!!!
It would've been cool to have one of his pictures, but this was when I didn't have a job and was trying to be careful with my money. Oh well...
I just did a search Art In Motion!!! I bought one that looks like & eye & he gave my sister & I each one.
That is exactly him! Hahahha. We were cracking up at how he was completely surrounded by an over-50 crowd, rocking out to Lady Gaga with glow sticks. Peachy-the dress is from H&M, $15 on clearance. I bought it on a whim a few months ago, and am not even sure why I thought to bring it. I always pictured wearing it over capri jeans, as I thought it was too short or something. But I totally LIVED in it on the vacation! I had to finally mix it up, as I thought it would be weird if every picture had me in the same outfit...
I bought a dress kinda like that, too short to wear just as it is, but would work perfectly if I were in Hawaii. I'm glad you had a fun time. I really want to go back since we were there for only a week. I really want to visit the other islands. Maybe us CA girls can get together and head on over.
