Hawaii Day Four

This morning, we took off for the airport to catch a flight to Kauai. I'm frankly a little glad to be leaving Honolulu; it's just way too crowded and over-commercialized for my tastes. I can get crowds, shopping and a hectic pace where I live; I don't really want it in a vacation. I think, even though I've lived in Houston most of my life, I'm really a small-town girl at heart. I definitely wouldn't live there if I could find the work I want to do elsewhere.

Less than an hour after we touched down in Kauai, I could tell this island was much more my style. I love the relaxed pace and laid-back attitude. We've rented a beach house right on the ocean, and it would be tempting to spend the next six days right here, enjoying ocean breezes in the hammock and wine on the lanai while doing absolutely nothing. But unfortunately, I really need to accomplish something each day before I can truly relax, so we'll probably at least go for a hike tomorrow.

View from the lanai of our beach house.

Lunch today at the famous Puka Dogs. No, I did not eat that entire thing. I did drink the entire DP, though.

I forgot to take photos the rest of the afternoon. See, I'm already feeling lazier on this island than the last one.

Hawaii Day Three

We decided to hike Diamond Head today, and needed a big breakfast for the energy. We headed out fairly early to Eggs and Things, a popular tourist trap breakfast establishment. We arrived at 7:15 a.m., but still had to wait a good 20-25 minutes for a table. While we were waiting, I snapped this photo of a rainbow. Breakfast was pretty good here; fresh ingredients and reasonably priced.



Diamond Head from Waikiki:

We decided to walk all the way from our hotel to Diamond Head Crater Park, about 3.3 miles one-way, and then climbed to the top. The views from the top were breathtaking and worth every minute of the climb.


Proof that we made it!




Total round trip miles for the hike were just over eight. That deserved a glass of wine or two and a view of the sunset.


We went out walking a bit aimlessly this evening, in search of someplace for dinner (without reservations, a bit of a gamble in busy Waikiki). After walking all over, we finally settled on the Ocean House, which was of course right across the street from our hotel! This turned out to be the best dining experience we've had thus far; the restaurant was right on the water, the atmosphere was elegant without being stuffy, the service was impeccable and the food was really good.

Hawaii Day Two

We woke up fairly early this morning, fried up a few eggs and were on our way to Pearl Harbor.

As expected, the Arizona Memorial was lovely and moving.









We were really disappointed that the Missouri was closed. Apparently, Universal Studios rented it out for several days to film the movie Battleship. If you look closely, you can see some sort of lighting crane to the left of the ship.



We also spent some time at the Pacific Aviation Museum. I now have about 500 (additional!) photos of aircraft, which I'll refrain from posting here. Seriously, between the photos I have from the British Imperial War Museum, the Seattle Museum of Flight, numerous air shows at Ellington, and this museum today, I could easily start my own aviation site.

We went out for dinner at Roy's, which I really enjoyed, and then took an evening stroll on the beach. Went to bed early, as we plan to hike Diamond Head tomorrow.

Hawaii Day One

The flight was rough (no real issues; I just hate flying these days because I just can't seem to get comfortable in the seat), but we finally made it to Honolulu and our hotel.


We're staying at the Trump International which, while not the most luxurious I've ever stayed at, is really nice, gets an A++ for service, and has almost all the comforts of home (including a fully-stocked kitchenette with a stovetop, refrigerator and microwave). And, as you can see, the views from our 18th-story suite are pretty incredible.

After resting for a bit, we walked around the neighborhood for a bit, falling prey to the ubiquitous ABC stores, and then headed for dinner and some live entertainment at the House Without a Key, an outdoor restaurant on the beach.



The food was only okay, but the entertainment was first-rate and really made for a great, relaxing evening.



Dish of macaroons left for us by our hotel turn-down service; on the blog because it's pretty.


Jerry decided to practice his night exposure photography skills from our lanai. The model unsportingly grew tired and begged out before long. (If you look closely, you can see I'm already starting to look a little cranky here.)


A fantastic fireworks display on the beach, with a perfect view from our lanai, capped off our first evening here.