oahu
Pre-trip
When we planned our Hawaiian vacation in the summer, we’d decided that as a reward for all of the time we spent apart, that we used a bunch of the miles I had accrued on American Airlines from flying between Washington, DC and Lima fourteen times to splurge and get first class tickets – one way. American had recently opened up their reward travel to give their customers the option of splitting round trip reward tickets into two one way purchases, essentially opening the possibility of flying in first/business class one way, then in coach in the other direction. This also gave us the convenience of flying into Honolulu, then out of Maui on the way home. We decided to fly out in first and return in coach after some of the well received input from the travel gurus at Flyer Talk, of course. We thought it’d be better to enjoy first class during the daylight flights, which are also a little longer. Besides, we were sure that we’d be so tired on the way home that it probably wouldn’t matter if we’d sat on wooden benches on the way home.
So, in accordance with our first class accommodations on the way to Hawaii, I’d reserved a car service to take us to Dulles airport in the morning in plenty of time to make the first flight to Dallas. The guy was nice enough on the phone and had even called the day before to confirm. Great! The problem is that the day of the trip came and there we were at 8:15 am sitting outside of our house (he was supposed to be there at 
with no car in sight. We finally called and he said “you know what, I went to the wrong place”. For some reason, Falls Church, VA has been blessed with not one, but two Madison Lanes. This makes for some pretty angry delivery drivers and craigslist bargain hunters, but if you do a Google Maps search on our address or use GPS, you can’t make the mistake…the address numbers don’t overlap at all. So how he ended up there, I have no idea. He made it to our house by about 8:45 for a 9:55 flight at an airport 30 minutes away. And….we actually made it! We got to Dulles about 9:15, used the curb side check in and luckily bypassed the long security line thanks to our “priority” access. We made it to the gate just as they had started boarding.
The flight from IAD-DFW was uneventful. First class was nice – Pili worked on the laptop and slept and I read and listened to music. We had chosen to fly through DFW at the insistence of 100% the American Airlines frequent flyers on Flyertalk as the service to/from Hawaii through DFW is on a 767, as opposed to the 757 we would have had from LA. Actually, I was told that the difference between F class in the planes didn’t make it much of a decision at all, we’d be fools to spend any frequent flyer miles on a 757 through LAX.
flight to honoluluThe flight from DFW-HNL was great! The first class seats on AA’s 767′s are really nice and are sort of in their own “cubes”, in the fact that the seat in front of you never encroaches on your space, no matter how much they are reclined, even if into a bed. We were greeted with champagne before the flight and as soon as we took off, warm nuts were served and we were given a menu and a choice of a Mai Tai or any other drink. Pili opted for the Mai Tai and it was Bacardi’s and Coke all around for me. Pili set up the desk and worked on the lap top for most of the flight. I pretty much read the whole way and listened to some music. The movies weren’t great and AA still doesn’t have video on demand in domestic first class, so your only option is whatever is being shown on that flight.
The lunch and hot fudge sundae were both fantastic and the crew were extremely attentive. We never went more than a half hour without someone asking us if we needed anything. Pili eventually took a nap and decided to test the lay flat bed. The bed was very comfortable and lays completely flat, but not perfectly horizontal. I’d say its at about a 7 degree pitch (feet facing downward), but it’s really not that bad. There is a foot rest at the bottom that keeps you from sliding.
Oahu
honolulu airportOn our arrival in Hawaii, I’d surprised Pili with a lei from “Get Leid in Hawaii”. What a great company name. I can just imagine the sheer delight of the guy who woke up at 2 AM one night with the idea and checked to see if that domain name was still available and found out it was. She was very happy, as she’d always had images of every tourist coming to Hawaii being draped with leis immediately upon exiting the aircraft. I think a lot of the tour companies used to do this for their customers in the 60′s and 70′s, but now it can be arranged through any number of companies at the airport.
Because my parents lived in Hawaii for about 15 years (I was born there), they still go back every few years to see friends and visit, so we decided to do our trip with them, who arrived a few days earlier. They picked us up in the rental car and we went to Ryan’s in Honolulu to meet with some of their friends for dinner. Ryan’s was nice and I was delighted to see that Primo had resumed making beer and decided to celebrate this by ordering a 22 oz. draft. Some of dad’s friends, Bob and Wendy, treated us to dinner, which was a great welcome and nice surprise. After that, we checked into our room on the 35th floor of the the Aston Sunset Waikiki and immediately crashed.
Day 1
hanauma bayDespite having gone to bed at 10 PM, we still woke up about 5 AM or so. After we killed a few hours, we headed out to the Like Like Drive Inn, a local favorite, for breakfast. Spam on the menu, offered 10 different ways? Yup, we’re definitely in Hawaii. We headed out back through Waikiki, past Diamond head and continued down the coast line, through some of the most expensive real estate in the country. We passed Huanama Bay, the Halona blow hole, Sandy Beach, Sea Life park, Waimanalo Beach park, Waimanalo, and then into Kailua so Pili could see where I grew up. We stopped at our old house on Akumu St., and to our surprise the family that we had sold the house to in 1982 still lived there. The owner noticed us looking at the house and came out to see what we were doing. We talked with him for an hour or so, then drove down to Kailua beach and into Lanikai, where we were told Obama stayed during his 2008 trip to Oahu.
We had lunch at an Italian place called Zia’s Cafe, which was nice. We were pretty much the only people there, so the service was great. After lunch, we drove up the Pali Highway, to the Pali lookout. It was the calmest I ever remember it being up there, I mean there was virtually no wind! Very strange for this place, where my grandmother once refused to get out of the car because of how windy it was. After a half hour there, we continued back on the Pali Highway towards Honolulu and caught the sunset on Waikiki beach. That night, we got some food at a Korean BBQ place, then went for a stroll in Waikiki. We stopped at the International Marketplace, which I remember being a very cool, exciting place as a kid. This time, it was just depressing. About a quarter of the stores were vacant, with the remaining stores all selling variations on the exact same crap. One thing I remembered was this fiberglass wave there that you could stand in, on top of a surfboard, to make it look like you were surfing. We used to do it all the time when we were kids and usually had to wait in line to get out picture on it. We eventually found the wave, all the way in the back, on the second floor. It was a little dilapidated and kind of isolated, with no one around it. It just felt a little creepy and sad. We didn’t even bother taking a picture.
Day 2
climbing olomana Growing up, the view from the back yard of our house on Akumu St. was dominated by mount Olomana. It is one of the most prominent peaks on the windward side of Oahu, but is a relatively easy climb to the first (and highest) of its three peaks. I’ve climbed it at least twice in the past, once or twice as a kid and once on a trip to Hawaii in 1992. Since it’s a favorite hike of my dad’s it was pretty much a given that we’d do it again on this trip, so we decided that Sunday would be the day. On this hike, a friend of dad’s, Chuck, joined us. We took the trail head that starts at the Luana Hills Country club, the one which the guard told us we “can’t miss” and indeed miss the first time we passed it. We had planned about five hours for the hike and it ended up taking only four (two and a half hours up and one and a half down). The views from the top are magnificent, you can see about 10 miles in every direction from the top. I guess due to the internet, the popularity of climbing Olomana has increased dramatically since we last did it, as we probably crossed paths with about 20 other people making the same trek on the trail, which I always remember it a rare occasion to see other hikers. We hit up a Zippy’s in Kailua for a quick lunch, then drove along the coast back to Waikiki.
That night, we headed out to see the free Hula show on Waikiki beach, then drinks at the beach front Moana hotel. For dinner, we just decided to hit up the Royal Hawaiian Center’s food court. After that we did some gift shopping on the newly redesigned Lewers Street, then walked through the Royal Hawaiian hotel, one of the oldest and priciest hotels in Waikiki. On the way home, we hit up the second floor Tiki’s Grill & Bar that we’d passed a few times and listened to some live music.
Day 3
On Monday, had breakfast with my parents in their room and set out to Hanauma Bay. Hanauma Bay is one of the most famous beaches in Hawaii and arguably one of the best snorkeling spots in the world. When my parents moved to Hawaii in the 60′s , you could drive your car right down to the beach. Eventually, they put a stop to that and started running a trolley up and down the steep drive down to the beach. Now, they charge admission and even make you watch a 20 minute video on the history of the bay and what not to do in order to protect it. Even though we left our hotel at 9 AM, we didn’t get down to the beach until after 11 AM. We all took turns snorkeling and sunbathing and had a great time. The water there is always crystal clear and there are tons of fish to see! We left at about four, then went back to the hotel to clean up and eat. We hadn’t had lunch so we were starving by five and decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe. At 5 PM, we were just one of two tables of people in the place, so the service was great.
After dinner, we headed to what is now called Don Quijote, but was known as the Holiday Mart for decades (and is still called this by most locals). It is a store that sells a little bit of everything, kind of like a gift shop, Target, Best Buy, hardware store and grocery store all in one. We went there to get some good deals on gifts and also stocked up on macadamia nuts to take home and groceries for the hotel room. Then we took a drive up Tantalus Drive to the lookout to get a great view of Honolulu at night.
honolulu at night
Dad has known a magician by the name of Bobby Acoba for over thirty years and he still lives and works in Honolulu. He has always been a bartender/magician and is currently working at Sarentos at the top floor of the Ilikai hotel in Waikiki. We had a few drinks and watched him do some great magic tricks. He’s honestly one of the best close-up magicians I’ve ever seen. If you are going to Hawaii, it is well worth the visit to Sarentos to see him, even if only for a few drinks. Bobby usually works Monday through Thursdays, but just to be sure, call prior to going to make sure he’s scheduled. [Note: Sadly, bobby passed away on May 13, 2011. RIP, Bobby (1939-2011)].
Day 4
Tuesday morning found us at another local favorite, the Wailana Coffee House. This is one of those places where there’s almost always a line to get a table, but the service is always very quick and the food is great – and cheap! I got an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, with eggs and bacon, for $5.75. Throw in parking for 50 cents and this place is an absolute steal for Waikiki. After breakfast, we decided to drive out the the North Shore of Oahu, where some of the world’s best surfing is. We drove out to Wahaiwa, where my parents lived when they first moved here in 1968, then stopped at the Dole pineapple plantation for a short visit. We then continued north past the town of Haleiwa and made stops at Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay.
drive home from the north shoreOn the way home, we stopped in Haleiwa and walked around for a while. Haleiwa is a small town that attracted a lot of hippies in the late 60′s and early 70′s and is still known as a hippie town to most. We had a quick lunch at one of the many shrimp trucks in town, then hit up Matsumoto’s grocery store for some of their famous shave ice.
After a quick swim at Waikiki beach, we headed back to the hotel. This was our second to last night on Oahu and we were all kind of tired of eating out, so we made a buffet from all of the week’s leftovers and ate there in the room. We then headed out for a walk around Waikiki and stopped at the Hyatt for some drinks at their pool bar and talked to the chatty bartender. The Hyatt looked like a beautiful hotel, so we might check it out on our next trip!
Day 5
One of the most popular destinations for tourists and locals alike on Oahu is the Pali Lookout. It is a lookout above the Pali tunnels that provides spectacular views of the “windward” or north east side of Oahu. The lookout was built in the 1920′s as part of the Old Paliold pali road Road, where the road reaches its highest point on the mountain. What most visitors are unaware of, however, is that the old road still exists and is easily accessible from the east side of the lookout. The Old Pali Road used to be the only link connecting the two sides of the island through the mountains, until 1959 when tunnels were built and the time to drive from one side of the island to the other was cut in half.
I’ve always wanted to do this walk, so we decided to do it on this trip. Dad’s friend, Chuck, joined us again on this hike which is all downhill if you do it one way. We walked down about an hour, then turned around and headed back up. It was amazing to see how narrow and treacherous the this road was that was still in use just fifty years ago: the road is one lane in many spots and has a ton of blind corners. After the walk, we decided to drive back to Waikiki along the coast and stopped at the Halona blow hole along the way as it was much more active today than on Saturday. We headed in to Honolulu and took the elevator up to the top of the Aloha Tower, which for a long time was the tallest building in Hawaii at a sky-scraping ten stories.
That night, we headed to the sea-side Elks club for some drinks with my dad’s ex-coworkers from Burroughs in the 70′s and 80′s, many of whom still live on Oahu. Today was mom’s birthday and she wanted to go to one of her favorite restaurants in Hawaii, The Willows, which had recently re-opened after a few years of being vacant. We had a great buffet of different Hawaiian dishes, then headed back to the hotel to pack for tomorrow’s trip to Maui, with a lot of help from our newly found luggage scale from Don Quijote…
click here to see part II, Maui…
…or click here to see more pictures from Oahu!