We've Arrived on Oahu!

We have made it to Oahu with just a couple of bumps along the way.  Our first issue arose before we even left Minnesota.  On Thursday, Jeremy got an email that informed us that the condo we were supposed to be staying in while on Maui was being foreclosed on, meaning that we no longer had a place to stay for eight days of our trip!  He frantically tried to find a place to stay Thursday night and all day Friday, but every lead fizzled out.  By the time we went to bed Friday night, we still had no place to stay, but we were hopeful that something would work out since Maui would be the last half of our trip.  There is a big whale festival going on while we are on Maui, so everything from cheap hotels to the most expensive condos are booked.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

We woke up on Saturday morning at 3:30am, parked the car, and shuttled to the airport with plenty of time to reach the gate for our 7am flight.  We had an uneventful flight to Dallas, where we had a short 1.5 hour layover before our 8.5 hour flight to Honolulu.  We all did well for the first half of the flight, but my mom started getting nauseous during the last four hours.  There was still about an hour left of the flight when my dad came and asked us for our barf bags since my mom had already gone through both of theirs.  I won’t go into detail, but she needed a change of clothes when we landed and she remained pretty green looking for the rest of the night.

We rented our car and drove to our hotel which is just three blocks from Waikiki Beach.  My dad, Jeremy, and I left my mom in the hotel to rest while we explored the area.  We walked down to Waikiki and then walked along the beach while the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.  I didn’t remember how impressive Diamond Head looked from Honolulu, but I didn’t have the camera so no pictures until another night.  My dad thought that Waikiki would be wider and longer than it was.  We meandered through the International Market Place and decided that this was something that we would have to bring Mom back to when she was feeling better.  It had many small shops with trinkets and souvenirs.  

We grabbed supper at Hula Dog, which Jeremy had been looking forward to since I found it on the internet weeks ago.  They take taro bun and skewer it onto a hot rod to toast the inside instead of slicing it lengthwise.  Then they fill it with their special sauces ranging from papaya to guava to mango.  They add garlic sauce ranging from mild to spicy and then add a polish sausage or veggie dog.  Jeremy thought that it was delicious, my dad thought it was pretty good, and I would have preferred a bratwurst from Target Field or The Wienery instead.  We bought some beer at a small market and headed back to the hotel to check on Mom.  She was feeling a little better, so we all relaxed a bit before bed.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

We were just getting ready to go down to our hotel’s continental breakfast when our hotel phone rang.  They asked for Jeremy and we were all hopeful that it was one of the Maui rentals calling to confirm a place for us to stay next week.  It was only 7am and they told him that they were the front desk and needed to confirm his reservation the rest of our stay in Honolulu.  He refused to give his credit card information, and when we got downstairs, the front desk had no knowledge of any such phone call.  This was the first scam that we escaped for the day. 

We enjoyed a simple breakfast and then headed to Diamond Head.  Mom still had some flu-like symptoms, so she opted to skip the hike and read her book while the rest of us hiked to the top.  Diamond Head is an old volcano that has several old military bunkers built into it.  The hike is pretty easy with the elevation changing about 800 feet in just under a mile.  There are about 200 steps at the end to take to you to the top where you can get great views of Waikiki Beach and Honolulu.  On the way to the top, we saw a couple of whales in the distance and some surfers.  When we reached the top, it was obvious that it had been raining in Honolulu and there was a beautiful rainbow over the city.  We had to cut our time and picture-taking short at the top because it started to rain.  By the time we had reached the bottom of the stairs, though, the rain had stopped.  It was a nice start to the day, and then we were off to the North Shore.

We stopped at the Dole Plantation, where my mom was eager to see baby pineapples.  We avoided the typical tourist trap souvenirs that filled the store and headed to the café.  We split pineapple ice cream, pineapple macadamia nut cheesecake, and pineapple upside down cake.  It was all delicious!  We walked around the free section of the plantation where we saw baby pineapples, eucalyptus trees, and hungry koi fish.  We called to wish my brother a happy 30^th birthday and then headed to the North Shore beaches. 

We stopped at several beaches on the North Shore to try to catch a glimpse of some great surfing.  There was an advisory in place on nearly every beach for strong currents and dangerous swimming/surfing conditions.  There were lifeguards at Waimelea Beach that continued to warn novices to stay out of the water and to hold onto small children at all times.  It was incredible to watch the brave surfers catch waves that must have been 20 feet high.  We sat and watched the surfers while enjoying the sunshine at the famous Pipeline beach and then drove along the coast on our way back to Honolulu. 

In the evening, we went back to The International Market Place where my mom had Chinese food and Jeremy, my dad, and I each had an amazing fish taco and shrimp taco.  We looked through a few of the shops and then headed back to the hotel.

We still have no place to stay when we arrive in Maui.  Jeremy thought that he had a lead on a place, but the deal got a little suspicious and we are quite certain that we avoided the second scam of the day.  We will hear about another condo that sounds promising at some point on Monday and we are all desperately hoping that it works out.