Oahu-Diamond Head

Our flight to New Zealand got cancelled due to a late season category 2 cyclone so we had a bonus day in Hawaii.

We decided to climb Diamond Head. Harry and I had climbed it before and we knew the views would be spectacular. It didn’t disappoint!

The trail to the top of Diamond Head was built in 1908 and used by the US Army. It’s a steep 1.6 mile round trip hike-with lots of stairs! Bring water, wear sunscreen and go before it gets really hot!

Diamond Head is known to Hawaiians as Le’Ahi but it later became known as Diamond Head after British Sailors mistook crystals on the beach as diamonds.

We took a taxi to Diamond Head from our hotel. We waited for the Waikiki Trolley afterwards and had an entertaining ride back to Waikiki with our driver, Fuji.

We were dropped off at the famous Duke Kahanamoku statue on Waikiki Beach. The Duke was a native Hawaiian competitive swimmer and was known as “the Father of Modern Surfing”.

We ate lunch at the beachside Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian and were then treated to one last lovely Hawaiian sunset!

Oahu-The Royal Hawaiian

We loved our stay at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel! We had ocean view rooms in the Mailani Tower and the views were incredible!

We had a great time lounging by the beach, playing in the ocean and floating in the pool.

Harry and the girls really loved their surf lesson!

A highlight of our stay was paddling out in our outrigger canoe with our guides. We had amazing views of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. We weren’t expecting to ride the waves in that thing but man did it fly. It was exhilarating and we loved it!

During our stay, we checked out some other hotels too. We had a lovely dinner at the Halekulani Hotel– the lobster bisque was delicious!

We had drinks at “the First Lady of Waikiki”, the Moana Surfrider Hotel. The sunset that night was spectacular!

In what was to be our last night in Hawaii (except our flight to New Zealand was cancelled so we got a bonus day!) we went to the luau at The Royal Hawaiian.

Aloha! Next up…New Zealand!

Oahu- nuts!

We did have a great time in Oahu but sometimes things don’t work out quite the way you hoped!

First, there were the sunburns. But, this was not totally unexpected considering that we all came to Hawaii very white!

Next, Helena and I had to visit Kahuku Medical Center on our third day in Hawaii because our lingering coughs weren’t getting any better. We got some antibiotics and inhalers-not fun but the doctor and clinic staff were very nice!

Then, I got a bunch of mosquito bites that didn’t agree with me. They swelled and got huge and red and days later they all bruised. I decided to wear pants for the next few days! I won’t insert a picture here but… Gross!

Lastly, our rental car had a dead battery and possibly some other electrical issues and we ended up getting stuck in Haleiwa.

Some super nice locals tried to jump start our car for us but it didn’t work so we had to take a Lyft from the north shore down to Waikiki!

Luckily, there are worse places to be stranded than Haleiwa town on the North Shore! The girls liked the shave ice at the famous Matsumotos!

Our arrival at The Royal Hawaiian was pretty awesome too. It’s known as the “Pink Palace of the Pacific”. It’s one of the first hotels in Waikiki and it’s still as grand as ever!

And!…our flight out to New Zealand got cancelled but one more day in paradise is ok too!

Oahu-Surfs up in Waikiki

Harry and the girls took surf lessons through The Royal Hawaiian Hotel and they had a blast!

After practicing on sand a bit, they paddled out to wait for the waves. It was the first time surfing for the girls and I think Lola enjoyed it even more than Helena but they were both jazzed!

I prefer my surfing on dry land. Like surfing the web. I did watch them though and I’m happy they had a blast trying something new!

Aloha from Oahu!

Aloha from the Hawaiian Island of Oahu!

If you watched the very special Hawaiian Brady Bunch episode as a kid, or perhaps Magnum Pi, those were filmed on Oahu. Or maybe, more recently, you liked Hunger Games, Jurassic Park, Forgetting Sarah Marshall or 50 First dates?…you guessed it…all filmed on Oahu!

The island of Oahu is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and is known as “The Gathering Place”. If you fly into Honolulu, you will land on the island of Oahu just like us!

It’s been over a decade since Harry and I were in Hawaii but it was still so familiar. This visit was the first time for the girls though- unless you count when we brought Helena as a baby but she doesn’t remember!

While on the North Shore, we hung out at the beach, played in our pool, visited the Polynesian Cultural Center, lunched at the lovely Turtle Bay Resort, visited my mom and dad’s old home and explored Haleiwa.

We stayed on Oahu for 7 nights. We spent part of the time at an Airbnb on the North Shore (very close to the very delicious Ted’s Pies). We spent the last 3 nights at the The Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki.

Aloha!