Hawaii Trip: Honolulu
I didn't live-blog our trip, but I do think I'll do a series reviewing our Hawaii trip. So, watch over the next week or so for posts about our recent visit to Oahu & Maui.
Today's topic: Honolulu
But, before we get there, a word about American Airlines. I'm seriously considering, if we ever fly American to Hawaii again (which is in doubt by itself) that we just don't bother booking a hotel room for our first night, since the chances of getting to Oahu in time to use it are slim. This happened to us in 2007 and again this time. *sigh* Not much to do about it now, and nobody died, but we really weren't planning on visiting Las Vegas on this trip! Our simple, well-planned trip somehow got us in the next day, minus our luggage.
At least we got In-N-Out Burger out of the experience. Those were the most expensive burgers we've ever had, once you factor in the cab fare. But, oh so good!
We've visited Honolulu/Waikiki before (in April 2007 - see photos / descriptions). Both times we've been to Waikiki have been in the "low" season and it's been crowded enough; we can't imagine what it would be like in the "high" season! Waikiki with a crowd does have a high energy level, which is nice for just a few days (and only a few days, if you ask me). Ideally, we would have stayed two nights. Thanks to American Airlines, we stayed just one night -- but it was still a good time.
This time, we stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. For those familiar with Waikiki, that's the hotel that has Duke's in it, right next door to the Moana Surfrider, and across from the International Marketplace. For those who aren't familiar with Waikiki, read that to say "right in the heart of the action." Here's the view from our window (very early in the morning, before the beach got crowded):
We wanted to do two major things while in Honolulu, and we got to do them both:
We hiked Diamond Head on our last trip, and yeah it's a bit of a touristy thing to do, but we enjoyed it and wanted to do it again. The view from the top is worth it! And, it was a good milestone for me. Around Thanksgiving, I ruptured part of my Achilles tendon, then developed a bursitis in my heel. Over the past 6 months, merely walking thru the grocery store has been a challenge most days. So, being able to hike Diamond Head was definitely not guaranteed, but a fantastic accomplishment. My podiatrist came to the rescue with a miracle shot to stop the pain. Here's proof that my foot made it:
Some other random highlights of Honolulu: (links are to pictures)
Check out our favorite photos from our time in Honolulu:
Friday
Saturday
And also Las Vegas, just for the fun of it
Today's topic: Honolulu
But, before we get there, a word about American Airlines. I'm seriously considering, if we ever fly American to Hawaii again (which is in doubt by itself) that we just don't bother booking a hotel room for our first night, since the chances of getting to Oahu in time to use it are slim. This happened to us in 2007 and again this time. *sigh* Not much to do about it now, and nobody died, but we really weren't planning on visiting Las Vegas on this trip! Our simple, well-planned trip somehow got us in the next day, minus our luggage.
At least we got In-N-Out Burger out of the experience. Those were the most expensive burgers we've ever had, once you factor in the cab fare. But, oh so good!
 |
| From Las Vegas |
We've visited Honolulu/Waikiki before (in April 2007 - see photos / descriptions). Both times we've been to Waikiki have been in the "low" season and it's been crowded enough; we can't imagine what it would be like in the "high" season! Waikiki with a crowd does have a high energy level, which is nice for just a few days (and only a few days, if you ask me). Ideally, we would have stayed two nights. Thanks to American Airlines, we stayed just one night -- but it was still a good time.
This time, we stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. For those familiar with Waikiki, that's the hotel that has Duke's in it, right next door to the Moana Surfrider, and across from the International Marketplace. For those who aren't familiar with Waikiki, read that to say "right in the heart of the action." Here's the view from our window (very early in the morning, before the beach got crowded):
 |
| From Friday in Honolulu |
We wanted to do two major things while in Honolulu, and we got to do them both:
- Eat at Alan Wong's
- Hike Diamond Head
We hiked Diamond Head on our last trip, and yeah it's a bit of a touristy thing to do, but we enjoyed it and wanted to do it again. The view from the top is worth it! And, it was a good milestone for me. Around Thanksgiving, I ruptured part of my Achilles tendon, then developed a bursitis in my heel. Over the past 6 months, merely walking thru the grocery store has been a challenge most days. So, being able to hike Diamond Head was definitely not guaranteed, but a fantastic accomplishment. My podiatrist came to the rescue with a miracle shot to stop the pain. Here's proof that my foot made it:
 |
| From Friday in Honolulu |
Some other random highlights of Honolulu: (links are to pictures)
- Best restaurant: Alan Wong's
- Most unique (but delicious) fast food in Waikiki: Puka Dog
- Number of stairs you climb to reach the top of Diamond Head: 271
- Steps you can take on Kalakua Avenue (the main street of Waikiki) before seeing yet another ABC Store: About 10.
- Steps you can take on Kalakua Avenue (the main street of Waikiki) before you want to see another ABC Store because you desperately need another bottle of water: About 20.
- Worst souvenir to bring back from Hawaii: This tin of mints
- Cheapest thing you can buy to bring a smile to my face: A hair-flower from the seller at the International Marketplace (she seems to set up on the right side of the water-feature near Kalakua Avenue).
- Thing not to do on Kalakua Avenue: Make eye contact with the guy with the parrots. We didn't want our picture with them and didn't want to give him $ either. Oh well.
Check out our favorite photos from our time in Honolulu:
Friday
Saturday
And also Las Vegas, just for the fun of it
posted by Becky Laswell at
8:18 PM
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