Category Archives: Oahu

Hawaii, Oahu, Travel

Eight Days in Hawaii: Kauai and Oahu: Part VII

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It was the last day of our trip. And it was also my 50th birthday. I had thought about this day for weeks and what it would mean to me, but ultimately I was just glad to be on vacation with my family. I was happy that everyone was enjoying themselves and everything had gone well on the trip.

Pondering this morning a several weeks before, I had decided that it would be cool to take a pre-sunrise hike at Diamond Head peak and to see the sunrise from the summit that morning. In preparation for this I woke up at 3:30 AM a month beforehand, to get parking reservations at Diamond Head State Park as soon as they were reservable at 4AM MT (or midnight Hawaii time). I had done this in Estes Park, CO the same day my son Daniel and I were going to do the Sky Pond hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.

You can’t just park at Diamond Head on a whim, thus I made sure we had parking reservations. You can walk (or run) into the park, however, and our hotel was about as close as you can get to the iconic peak that has been photographed and painted thousands of times as a backdrop to Waikiki Beach. If we had not been able to get parking reservations, we certainly would have pursued this option.

I had entrance reservations for all four of us, but on the morning of my birthday, only Shelley and I were up and out of bed on time to drive over in time for the sunrise. We had been up late the night before and we didn’t have time to wait for the boys to get up and dressed, or to coax anyone along on the trail. Shelley and I decided to let them sleep, and exited to drive over to the park.

Diamond Head State Park

We drove around and saw dozens of people jogging around the perimeter of Diamond Head, and I admit, at that moment I felt a tad lazy. I enjoy running too and in Honolulu it seemed to be a very popular activity.

But we would be ascending a steep slope and had to do so quickly. Had we walked or ran over, we would have needed an leave at least an hour earlier. And time was of the essence. On that particular day sunrise would happen at 6:29 AM and we had entered just after 6:00AM. We had just under a half hour to make it to the summit of the steep, crowded one mile trail to see it happen.

I told Shelley we’d be ok, even if we didn’t make it on time. It was just good to be there together. At this point on the trip I had only a pair of close-toed sandals left, having thrown away a pair of mud-wrecked, worn out running shoes, with my hiking shoes finally dry from being soaked in the surf at Ke’e Beach, but still and covered in fine particles of sand that I doubted would ever come off.

But I was good with wearing my sandals to the summit. They lacked cushioning and I felt the rough terrain through the soles, but I still had the willpower to hike and even run in them.

We hiked together for about 10 minutes before Shelley told me to just go ahead and try to make it to the top as fast as I could. She would meet me there.

The trail is only partly a trail. It’s also a series of steep concrete stairways and tunnels that eventually lead to the summit of the volcanic peak. And it was crowded. I jogged my way up as best as I could and got there just after the first rays of the sun crested the surface of the eastern horizon over the ocean.

There was hardly any room to even stand once I had ascended to this loftiest of concrete platforms on the unattractive summit of a mountain that had been carved into a World War II bunker. Everyone wanted to stand upon the summit and after taking a couple photos over the ocean, I walked back down a little way to meet Shelley so that we could enjoy the views together.

We wound our way up through the crowd, ignoring the rude people that are inevitably among any large number of people, and returned to the highest level to enjoy the views together. We looked out over Honolulu, the hotel below where our sons were sleeping, at a lighthouse on the coast, and into the distance to the east where more Hawaiian islands lay hidden beyond a thin layer of clouds.

We carefully climbed back down while others pushed their way up and turned the corner to enter the uppermost World War II bunker. A narrow gap led into a pocket in the summit that led to a spiral staircase in the rear, that led down to the stairway and tunnels below.

Diamond Head was a truly carved up mountain, but a reminder that in the 1940s war had gripped this paradisiacal island chain. Fear of an invasion necessitated turning this mountain into a pillbox for gunners ready to fire on enemy troops.

We slowly made our way back out of the battery (careful not to hit our heads on the way in or out) and followed the herd as it descended from the summit. We were far from the only people that had come for the sunrise, but it was also likely that as the day progressed, the temperatures would rise to uncomfortable levels in the park. So who didn’t want to be there first thing in the morning?

It took a while, but as the trail leveled out we finally found ourselves with a moment of isolation on the trail again. A rainbow appeared over the ridge, something we had seen many times on the trip, but which was a nice close to the hike. At the parking area we stopped at a gift shop and I picked up a key chain for the collection my son Daniel had started as a child, but which he abandoned for us to continue in his stead.

Honolulu

We both wanted a coffee before we returned to the hotel, so we decided to drive over to a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf a few miles away. Shelley and I used to live in California where we frequented Coffee Beans. After we moved to Colorado they became only a memory since even when we visited California we weren’t in areas where we found them. But they were in Honolulu and it was nice to partake in something from our past life.

After getting some coffee, we decided to go over to the donut shop nearby called Purvé Donuts.

The owner was very friendly and we told him it was my birthday. He made a birthday donut for me with a candle. The donuts were unique flavors and really good. We bought a box to take back with us for the kids to enjoy.

After a nice start to the day, Shelley and I drove back to the hotel with the donuts in hand to wake up Daniel and Evan and spend some time at the beach before our noon checkout.

Waikiki

We were in no hurry to checkout and wanted to spend at least an hour at Waikiki Beach while we still could. Daniel and Evan were still more interested in sleeping than enjoying the beach, so Shelley and I changed into our swim suits and took our snorkel gear and my GoPro to the sand outside the hotel.

It was fun and relaxing to get into the water here. The sand was soft and the water was fairly warm. Every time I go to a beach I want to look under the surface (if the ocean is warm enough to swim in) so it just made sense to bring our snorkel gear.

Once we found a reef nearby we found a lot of fish and even a sea cucumber (photo above on the left side covered in sand).

At 11AM we knew we needed to return to the hotel to shower and change and checkout. Fortunately the hotel was willing to hold our luggage for us for the day while we did some site-seeing, and they let us use the courtesy bicycles to take a ride down the beachfront to where there were more restaurants.

We rode the bikes on the wide sidewalk along Kapiolani Park, eventually leading to the busier areas in the main hotel zone. A police officer told us we needed to use the street bicycle lane. I was weary of Evan riding in the street since he seemed to be wobbling his handle bar a lot, but whatever.

We parked and locked up the bikes and entered an open air mall area. There was a Chinese restaurant called Kirin. That sounded good.

Kirin Restaurant

It was good. Some of the best Chinese food we’ve had in a while. We ended up ordering an extra dish after going through it quickly. One thing about living in Colorado is we don’t have very good Chinese food. They have it in Hawaii though.

After eating we returned to the bicycles and rode back to the hotel to return the bicycles and get the car. We still had some time to burn and Shelley and I needed to dry off our swim suits before packing them up for the flight home.

We got to the car and I suggested going to a historic spot on the island. The place where King Kamehameha won the decisive battle that unified the islands for the first time in the 1700s.

Nu’uanu Pali Lookout

When Kamehameha the Great led his warriors in the invasion of Oahu, he pushed the natives of the island up a valley where they faced a steep cliff (or pali). At Nu’uanu Pali Lookout, Kamehameha’s warriors pushed the opposing forces to their deaths.

The views from the top are majestic, though often cloudy, windy and rainy. Shortly after we exited the car to take photos rain began to fall and we retreated back to the shelter of the car.

With still more time available to us, we decided to go find some malasadas and stop off for some cough drops for Evan, who had developed a nagging hoarse cough along the way.

Heeia

We followed Google Maps to a Leonard’s Bakery location at a mall in Heeia on the windward side to the east of Nu’uanu Pali Lookout. There was a Target there as well for us to stop at afterward to get some cough drops.

Leonard’s Bakery

While we had encountered mostly very friendly people on the trip, the guy at the Leonard’s Food Truck wasn’t among them. He ignored us at first and we almost walked away without ordering.

Malasadas are actually a Portuguese dessert that are popular in Hawaii. Leonard’s Bakeries are the most famous purveyor of these desserts. I didn’t realize until the trip that the Portuguese had a significant history on the island and malasadas are a part of that legacy.

After eating a malasada and shopping at Target, we STILL had more time to burn. So I found another quick, historic site to stop at. This time a heiau.

Ulupu Heiau

When Shelley and I went to the Big Island in 2003, we stopped by a pretty cool heiau near Kona. That heiau was significant in the rise of Kamehameha who grew up on the Big Island before leading a war on conquest.

With that in mind, I decided that it would be cool to see a heiau on Oahu before we departed Hawaii.

So what is a heiau? Well it’s sort of a Hawaiian temple made from stones stacked up into a structure, like a flat-topped pyramid.

The Ulupu Heiau was near where we were so I put the directions into Google Maps and off we went. My swim trunks were also still soaked wih only an hour left before we needed to be back at the hotel, so I hung them out the window to dry in the open air as we drove.

We arrived at the heiau which was situated behind a school building. It was somewhat confusing and not well marked.

Shelley and I walked down to observe the huge swath of volcanic rock that was the foundation of the structure. There wasn’t much there to see or do beyond see the foundation so we returned to the car, now ready to make our way back to the hotel to retrieve our luggage and head off to the airport.

Airport and Flight Home

We had some United lounge passes and at the Honolulu airport we were able to use them before they expired a couple weeks later. It was good to have an effectively free bite to eat and some beer before the flight home. We receive yearly passes with our United Explorer card.

The flight home was uncomfortable despite having extra-legroom seats. The 777 lacked the entertainment options we had available to us on the flight out. It was also freezing cold and we had to ask a flight attendant for a second super thin blanket. She also raised the cabin temperature a little.

It was an overnight flight and sleeping was virtually impossible. Oh well. You do the best you can.

Once we were back in Denver we were still dressed for the beach despite being back in the Front Range. I shuffled through our luggage for some warmer clothes after baggage claim to make the drive back a bit more pleasant.

Final Thoughts

We were all tired upon our return, but we had a really good time overall. I don’t know when we will return to Hawaii but Shelley and I are already discussing a trip for just the two of us.

I was glad to have my whole family together for one last vacation to celebrate my 50th birthday. Daniel is in college and will be pursuing his own ambitions and Evan will be a teenager soon too. We have enjoyed almost 20 years as a family together traveling to places all over the US and beyond. I’m proud of all we have done together and I hope the kids will have fond memories to look back upon.

Hawaii is a fun place. Expensive, but fun. Well be back again. And it won’t take decades to do it.

Hawaii, Oahu, Travel

Eight Days in Hawaii: Kauai and Oahu: Part VI

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On our seventh day in Hawaii, we had a activity-filled day planned and had to be up and ready to go fairly early. While it would have been nice to get up a little later in the morning for a change, we also didn’t want to miss out on some of the activities in our itinerary by procrastinating. But we did get a good night’s sleep in the Lotus Hotel.

Koa Pancake House

We hadn’t had a sit down breakfast thus far on the trip, and since we were now staying in a hotel, this seemed the perfect time. After a brief discussion we settled on the Koa Pancake House, located in the same Hawaii Kai area where we had had dinner the night before.

We didn’t want to spend a fortune on breakfast and wanted something less touristy than what was available in Waikiki. Somewhere the locals would eat breakfast. And we found that.

We had macadamia nut pancakes along with bacon, sausage, and eggs. The serving sizes were plenty big too. They also had some guava and other tropical juices, which are a necessity in Hawaii.

With our stomachs full we set off on the less direct route to our destinations, driving along the eastern shore to take in the views of the coastline.

As we passed the turnoff for Hanauma Bay, I felt my sole moment of true disappointment on the trip. You have to make reservations to go to Hanauma Bay two days in advance and the bay is closed on Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately, despite having time in the schedule the following day to go, it was unfortunately a Monday. So we would be missing out on what I had heard was one of the very best snorkeling spots in all of Hawaii.

Snorkeling had been a bit underwhelming thus far, though in Hawaii it can be outstanding. We’d just had some bad luck thus far.

But we still had beach time on the trip. Just not right now. We were on our way to a little bit of Japan tucked away in Oahu.

Byodo-In Temple

Once we made the decision to extend our trip a couple days on Oahu, we started researching places to go and things to do. And one of those places that we found that intrigued us was Byodo-In Temple.

The drive to the temple took us along the northeastern shore until we came to a westward turn inland that led to a cemetery. I didn’t know beforehand that the temple was located in a cemetery, and as we sought out a parking spot along the side of the road, it was a bit jarring to see the throngs of tour buses arriving and departing at the same time to a place that should be a place of quiet reflection.

Regardless of the location of the temple, the choice of outfits and behaviors of some of the tour guests were outright disrespectful. A Japanese Temple is not the beach. And the tour bus guests had little concern for behaving in a dignified manner.

Regardless, the fact that the temple has vendors selling souvenirs is also a bit weird too. Not something you expect at a religious site in a cemetery.

Anyway, the temple itself is very cool and the aura of the surroundings seems idyllic.

We each took a turn ringing the sacred bell (having to ensure that the tour groups didn’t shove past us in line) and then walked into the temple and each lit an incense prayer offering. It was very cool to see the Buddha statue inside the temple covered in gold leaf.

We walked through to the opposite end, enjoying the colorful koi in the surrounding pond and admired the temple structure and surroundings. My youngest son, Evan, takes a class in Japanese martial arts and he enjoyed this opportunity to experience some Japanese culture.

After a half hour we proceeded onward to our next stop, debating whether we should get something to eat before we spent several hours on our UTV tour. We decided we were fine without and could just get a snack once we arrived at Kualoa Ranch.

Kualoa Ranch

Kualoa Ranch is a huge ranch on Oahu in the rainier northeast of Oahu. It’s a place of majestic green mountains sculpted into steep cliffs and long verdant valleys. It’s also Hollywood’s favorite place to film movies set in tropical locations.

Kualoa Ranch has been used as the filming location for scenes in Jurassic Park and World (along with Kauai), Kong: Skull Island, Jumanji, George of the Jungle, and dozens more. It’s far more expensive and difficult to film in places like Costa Rica, Colombia, and Africa, so Hollywood builds sets at Kualoa Ranch, and those sets remain in place for visitors to enjoy.

We had wanted to do an ATV or UTV tour for a while as long as we got to do the driving. We found the Raptor UTV tour at Kualoa Ranch and decided that would be a great way to spend the afternoon.

Our tour guide’s name was easy to remember since her name is the same as one of our pet dogs: Sydney. She was energetic and she took our photos at several stops along the way.

As you can see from the photos we had a lot of fun at the Jurassic Park and World sets. When we were finalizing our trip plans we realized that with us going to Kauai and seeing the valley on the Na Pali Coast where the helicopter entered Isla Nublar, and going to Kualoa Ranch we were experiencing a Jurassic Park vacation of sorts.

With Halloween coming soon after we dressed up as characters in the movies and our dogs were dinosaurs. I dressed as Alan Grant and Shelley dressed as Ellie Sattler from Jurassic Park, and Evan dressed as Owen Grady from Jurassic World.

At Kualoa Ranch we saw the valley and the tree that Alan Grant and the kids escaped from the gallimimus herd, and several spots from the Jurassic World movies including the Indominus Rex paddock.

There were some great overlook spots on the tour as well, with impressive coastal views over Kane’ohe Bay. The island you see in the photos above is called the ‘Chinaman’s Hat’ or its Hawaiian name of ‘Mokoli’i’. The name Mokoli’i refers to the island being part of the tail of a huge lizard that was killed by a Hawaiian goddess.

After finishing our UTV ride, we cleaned ourselves of dust at the wash stations at the ranch and made a stop at the gift shop. Then it was time for more shave ice.

Kane’ohe Bay

The coastline near Kualoa Ranch is a reef protected area known as Kane’ohe Bay. If we had had more time it would have been a great place for a beach visit (there is a sand bar that you can even swim or kayak to in the bay).

But instead we had time only to enjoy the views and get more shave ice. This time from a food truck operation called Coconut Girl and Guys.

The shave ice was great here too and the people running it were really friendly.

After our cool, refreshing desert, we needed to head back to the Lotus Hotel in Waikiki to get cleaned up for our dinner reservations at 5PM.

Waikiki

It took about an hour to drive back from Kane’ohe Bay to our hotel at Waikiki Beach near Diamond Head. We took the more direct route over the center of the island instead of following the coast this time.

Tonight we were going to celebrate my 50th birthday with a dinner at Duke’s Canoe Club on Waikiki. It was about a mile walk (and run) from the hotel, but the Waikiki sidewalks were much more relaxed on Sunday than it had been the day before.

Duke’s Canoe Club

Since we were having my birthday dinner we spent a bit more and Shelley and I enjoyed all the tropical cocktails we wanted. We ordered some good appetizers and Shelley and I also bought the fresh leis they were selling at the restaurant.

I ordered ahi tuna and had a free birthday dessert with a candle brought to the table. When sunset came we gathered as a family for a photo in front of the beach. The final bill was a number higher than I usually spend. But you only turn 50 once.

On the way back we stopped for some souvenir cookies at Honolulu Cookie and enjoyed the statues and banyan tree on the path back to the hotel.

Tomorrow would be our final day in Hawaii with an evening flight home. Tomorrow would also be my official 50th birthday. My plan was to wake up early to enjoy the sunrise from a famous spot on Oahu.

Hawaii, Oahu, Travel

Eight Days in Hawaii: Kauai and Oahu: Part V

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When we were first making plans for this trip, we were thinking that we would only be visiting Kauai. As time went on, however, we started to think more about a visit to Oahu as well.

We already had a connecting flight in Honolulu and we had a day with no real commitments on the last day of the trip. So why not make that connecting flight earlier and spend a day visiting Pearl Harbor before our flight home? My wife and sons had never been there, and I was there only once, when I was 13. I had also never visited the museums there (we were on a tour that took us only to the Arizona Memorial).

Then as we started to do more research on Oahu, we found there were many additional activities that looked fun and exciting. We could go UTV riding at a ranch used in many movies including Jurassic Park. We could visit a Japanese Temple. There were many beautiful beaches and hikes and historic sites that we could visit on Oahu as well.

So after some thought, we decided to extend the trip two additional nights, giving us three days on Oahu. My son Evan would miss a couple days of school, and I would be celebrating my birthday IN Hawaii, instead of the day after we returned home. But in the end I think the trip plans seemed that much more complete.

To facilitate the change in plans, I used Southwest Airlines points that I had available to book an early morning flight for us. We had to get up early and drive down from Princeville to Lihue, drop off the car, and check in at the tiny airport. Arriving as always two hours early, we were the first ones there for our flight. Hmmm. Maybe we did have an extra hour to burn. Oh well.

I told my family that this would be the shortest flight I have ever taken at just over 100 miles, and it certainly was quick. The plane’s ascent was immediately followed by its descent. It was a 40 minute flight that didn’t even seem that long.

Though we were sad to leave Kauai (and I know we will be back again), the sense of being in Hawaii was still there, even if we were now in the most populous region of the state. The open air walkways carried a warm, tropical breeze and it felt good to know we still had a few more days to enjoy before traveling home for work and school.

While my wife and kids collected our suitcases at baggage claim, I went to pick up our rental car. This time it was a Mazda CX-5. A vehicle model we used to own and hopefully the luggage space would be better than the Chevy Malibu we had rented in Kauai. It turned out to be just as cramped. We had overpacked and that would not happen next time.

Oh well, at least we were here, had all of our stuff, and were on time to drive over to Pearl Harbor which is only a short distance from the airport.

Pearl Harbor

We are history buffs and Pearl Harbor is a place where history changed dramatically in a matter of hours.

I remember back in AP US History class in high school having a discussion about the strategic reasons for Japan’s attack on our naval base at Pearl Harbor. Japan was already engaged with China and Korea. The Japanese objectives were creating an Asian empire. Why attack the US, a nation that had the power to defeat it?

Because they knew that war with the US was inevitable. The US had control of the Philippines and the Japanese empire could not advance on Southeast Asia without confronting both the US and the British Empire. The attack on Pearl Harbor was an all or nothing campaign, the Japanese Rubicon. The day after Pearl Harbor they would invade Hong Kong as well.

The attack on Pearl Harbor had to not only succeed, it had to completely cripple the US Navy and knock us out of the war before we had a chance to fight. And it was one of the most audacious and perfectly executed military attacks in history. They succeeded in catching our navy completely off-guard. The mission was a total success.

But the primary objective had failed. They sunk a few battleships, destroyed many smaller ships and wiped out much of our air force at Hickam Field. But the US still held Hawaii, and was now determined to fight.

As my teacher said, the only way the attack really succeeds is if they invade Hawaii and push the US back to the coast of California, something they didn’t have the manpower to achieve because they were already spread thin across the Asian front. So the war would be difficult and costly on both sides, but the end result was already predetermined: Japan would lose the war.

USS Arizona Memorial

The first stop for most visitors is the USS Arizona Memorial which sits above the sunken battleship Arizona. The shape of the structure is designed such that the center roof is lower to mark the defeat at Pearl Harbor, with the ends rising skyward to represent ultimate victory in the war.

It was our first stop at Pearl Harbor as well. Almost 1200 US Navy sailors were killed right at this spot and its only when you see the wall with all of the names that this number really hits you. One bomb that hit at just the right spot caused a massive explosion that sunk this mighty ship and took the lives of over a thousand on board who weren’t even expecting to fight a war that morning.

I had visited the memorial when I was 13 and it was good to take my kids there as well. The Arizona will slowly rust away as time goes on, but for now we can still look at the hull of the ship underwater and appreciate that it is a grave for those service members. It is sad to know that the last survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack have now all passed (for years you could still encounter them at Pearl Harbor) but at least this memorial keeps their memory alive for subsequent generations to appreciate.

We were also lucky that we could even visit the site, since it is part of the US National Park Service and we were visiting during a government shutdown. Luckily there are enough donors who care enough to support the site’s operation that is was open during the shutdown. We also donated at the museum to help keep the park open for more visitors regardless of what happens in Washington.

After viewing the memorial for the allotted 15 minutes, we returned to the ferry boat to return to the naval base. We still had a lot more to see and do at Pearl Harbor.

Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum

When I was a kid our visit to Pearl Harbor was on a tour that left out so much of what you can see and do at Pearl Harbor. The Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum is among the best museums you can visit to really learn about submarine warfare.

The museum is comprised of the main museum building and the USS Bowfin submarine. The building has a large interior exhibit space that covers submarine warfare starting in World War II, then the Cold War, and into the present and future. We spent over an hour just on this section of the museum and learned a great deal more than I would have ever expected.

By the time we exited the museum building it was after noon and we were hungry. We still had the USS Bowfin to explore, as well as the other museums (USS Missouri and the Aviation Museum).

We stopped at the outdoor eatery next to the museum and took a moment to eat and rest. Even outside the museum there was a huge torpedo, artillery, a submarine scope and more and we spent some time viewing each and posing by them for photos. Afterward we walked a gangway to the USS Bowfin submarine.

The Bowfin was in shockingly good condition. The brass components are polished to a shine I would expect from a brass musical instrument. The Bowfin was commissioned during World War II and sunk over 40 Japanese ships. It was finally retired in the 1970s before being converted to a museum attraction in the 1980s.

We explored the lower deck and over the water line. There was a Navy veteran onboard that we spoke to briefly. I asked about the voice tubes that I had seen on the German U Boat U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Similar voice tubes weren’t used on this submarine, mostly due to it being built later and being more modern.

After exploring the deck we stopped at the souvenir shop and I added a shot glass to my collection. We also posed for a family photo that was printed on a replica historic newspaper dated to Dec. 7, 1941 which we bought for $20.

Now it was time to take the shuttle bus to Ford Island. There was two more museums to visit.

USS Missouri

Battleship warfare largely ended with World War II, as aircraft carriers and submarines made them obsolete. But the battleship Missouri took decades to fully retire, even seeing service in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

You can’t fully appreciate the size of the artillery guns on a battleship until you see them up close. They are truly massive. The round conical structures you see protruding above the waterline at the Arizona Memorial are the artillery mounts.

The USS Missouri has several decks to explore and we managed to get separated several times amid the labyrinthine decks. We found the spot where a kamikaze pilot crashed into the ship and where he was given a burial at sea. We found the spot where the Japanese formally surrendered to the Allied forces and the documents of surrender.

It was interesting to see the living quarters as well. They were actually pretty large and spacious. There was a recreation room area that seemed like it would be a nice place to relax. It was effectively a floating headquarters at sea, on a ship that saw significant action in four wars.

At Pearl Harbor you can visit the ship where the US entered World War II and the ship where the war formally ended.

Before we returned to the bus, we were hot and tired and a dessert stop was available to us at the wharf where the Missouri was docked. We enjoyed some Dole whip and shave ice to cool down. It was hot out.

Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum

Our last stop was the Aviation Museum. We were starting to tire and we were hot, but we wanted to see this final museum of the day.

I wanted to see the Japanese zero airplane and it was among the first planes on exhibit as we entered. These were some of the best fighter aircraft of World War II and were technologically superior to Allied aircraft at the start of the war. It didn’t take long for the Allies to catch up and build even faster, more maneuverable aircraft, however.

The aircraft here are not only historical, but had individual histories as well. You see aircraft that were recovered from fields, swamps, and in various states of reconstruction. There was the wreckage of a Japanese plane that crashed on Nihau Island and the accompanying story of the pilot is told there too.

A B-17 bomber that lie in a swamp in Papua New Guinea and was recovered in 2013 is on display. You can see a Flying Tigers aircraft and dozens of Cold War jets just outside the hanger.

After a long day at Pearl Harbor, we boarded the shuttle bus back from Ford Island. My eldest son Daniel felt rushed, but to try to see every exhibit would be a matter of days, not hours. We needed to head to our hotel, unpack, and have dinner.

Waikiki

Driving from Pearl Harbor to our hotel we got to see the city of Honolulu from the freeway for really the first time. I may have been there at 13 years old, but really had no significant memories of the place.

The condominium towers and houses of Honolulu really make it look very different than cities in mainland America. Hawaii in many ways is a gateway to Asia, and this is obvious in the architecture and culture. We intend to visit Asia for the first time in a few years, and are just deciding where to visit first.

We took some time deciding on where to stay on Oahu. It seems like 90% of the hotels are concentrated in the Waikiki Beach area, with some scattered on the north and western shore. We considered staying on the north shore away from the busier Waikiki area, but eventually settled on the compromise of being at Waikiki at the quieter end near Diamond Head. It was a great choice.

The Lotus Honolulu at Waikiki

Hotels in Hawaii aren’t inexpensive and staying at a reasonably nice hotel on Waikiki, even in the offseason like October, will still cost $400-$500 a night plus parking and resort fees. Or more.

On Kauai we stayed in vacation rentals and could buy groceries to mitigate meal costs, but now that we were on Oahu and in a hotel, we would be eating out for every meal. But our hotel was right by the beach below Diamond Head peak, both of which we could see from our balcony.

After unpacking and taking a moment to clean up after a hot sweaty day, we considered our options for dinner. Waikiki is always a busy area, but on that particular Saturday there had been a lot more craziness due to two events that happened the same day (which I won’t get into).

Still parking was limited at the hotel and I was concerned that if we left our parking spot we might not have a place to park when we returned in the evening. Therefore I we decided to just try walking down the beach to one of the restaurants along the beachfront.

Well, the craziness was too much. Too crowded, too insane. After entering one crowded restaurant we made up our mind to drive to an area away from Waikiki for dinner. We had walked a mile from the hotel and so, to save time, I ran back to the hotel to get the car while Shelley and Evan waited. Daniel had decided to stay at the hotel and we’d get takeout for him wherever we ended up going.

I got to the hotel and drove the car past Kapiolani Park and hit gridlock traffic exiting the beach. Yikes. I met up with them after fifteen slow minutes and we set off for Kona Brewing down the road in the Hawaii Kai district.

Kona Brewing Company

Kona Brewing turned out to be just what we wanted. Totally chill environment right by the waterfront. Really nice waitress bringing us nice cold beers and delicious food. We started off sitting outside, but the wind picked up and we moved to a warmer spot inside.

As we were leaving we picked up some souvenir beer glasses from the restaurant store. It had been a busy and tiring day, but Kona Brewing capped the evening off well. Now we could head back to the hotel for the night before another activity filled day tomorrow.