Pumpkin at the Pumpkin Patch

Hawaii Quick Reference

Ok. I know, I know, I posted all sorts of stuff. And then I rearranged the order to make it read easier! So I made this quick reference guide to reading all about our trip to Hawaii, post by post. This may be really more than some of you WANT (so go ahead, ignore us!)

Synopsis -- texty overview of the trip. Really the posts that I added with photos do it better justice!

Day 2 -- at the shore, out and about
Day 3 -- Pearl Harbor, resort walking
Day 4 -- North Shore, Polynesian Cultural Center
Day 5 -- Restful hotel day
Day 6 -- Visit to Marriott Vacation Club
Day 7 -- The Pineapple Plantation
Day 8 -- Boat -- Dolphins -- Snorkeling -- Swimming

Family Photos -- PCC, water, Pearl Harbor

Oahu in pictures -- Day 2

The beautiful sunrise at our hotel -- (please note the Day 2 3:45 AM wake up time!) So we were up and dressed in plenty of time to catch the 6:30 AM sunrise outside!

But SOME of us needed our coffee to keep going.

7AM was time to hit the water at the lagoon and see the fish. Megan discovered that she hates sand. That was true for the whole trips, with lots of whining to be carried on the sandy parts.


We headed into town for a second breakfast (you get hungry when you eat at 4AM) and then drove around the resort area and up the coast a bit. We went into Honolulu to get a camera filter that we needed, and saw Waikiki a little as well as some nice areas.

Megan woke up near Diamondhead crater and we took a quick stop to look around, but the trail was closed. We took in the nice view, posed for a few "vacationer" shots, and then headed back to the hotel for an early bedtime.

Honolulu, Honolulu, HONOLULU!

Oahu in pictures -- Day 3

Day 3 actually began again with a 7AM visit down to the lagoon this time to catch the actual fish feeding sponsored by the hotel. They gave us all cards showing the different tropical fish, and then we waded out to feed some small silver fish and these rather large (14 or so inches long) green ones that just swam up to shore! The guy said that they were rather new, and had only been showing up for the last month. Apparently word gets out about free food in all areas! No photos, we were all feeding!

Then we ate, packed up, and headed out to Pearl Harbor and went to the memorial for the USS Arizona. I learned something there, was that the early radar at Pearl Harbor actualy picked up the Japanese bombers. However, the operators thought it was a new fleet of aircraft that they were expecting that day, and sounded no alert. Hindsight, you know. Also, since they were more afraid of sabotage than attack, all of the aircraft were close together, wing to wing, and the battleships were also close, making the targets easier to take out.




The memorial (from the outside)

A view of the flag from below in the center of the memorial

When we finished, we went back to the hotel and spent some leisure time strolling the beach and the grounds.

I just LOVE this photo. It is the Megan Laugh captured (and note the incredibly photogenic forehead scratch). This will be followed by the black eye attained the next day at the IMAX film.

Oahu in Pictures -- Day 4

We started with a drive out to the north shore to see the waves, turtles and surfers. Please see below to see waves, turtles and surfers!

Next, we were off to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Here you could visit each of the Polynesian Villages, see typical attire and activities of early residents of those islands, and then attend a luau and show.

We started in Samoa, where they showed how the natives had to climb the trees for the coconuts (men did all the food gathering and preparation and cooking). Of course, when you see the really tall tree, maybe there is something to that! It was a fun exhibit though, as the climber and announcer really ham it up. Megan tried to play the sticks game at the next village, but mostly it just hurt (me) a lot as she wasn't so coordinated at it.

Dinner was at the luau. THey dug up the pig and served drinks. OF course, the pig was just an example, since there was no way the one would feed all 1000 of us there. Megan got a nice pineapple drink (smoothie) but she was a bit put off by the pineapple itself. Since the Polynesian Cultural Center is a family and Mormon owned location, no alcohol at the luau. So the pineapples always tasted like they were missing a little something (rum perhaps?)

Finally, we went to see the two hours evening show called Horizons. Megan watched almost all of it, and fell alseep during the finale of firedancing. She would have loved it the most!

Oahu in pictures -- Day 5

Friday was an awesome day. Basically we did nothing and vacationed from the vacation. We spent some time on the balcony, and then I went to the spa for a massage and Chris took Megan for a most of the day swim. Round that out with a three hour nap and a great Sushi all you can eat dinner, and it makes for a GREAT day. Not really a photo filled day though, so here are a few that relate.

The room -- bar area, bathroom, and sleeping area (note that balcony is through the double sliding doors / screens were actually also installed so this was great. We could hear the ocean. Megan was a big girl, and never even asked to sleep in our bed. She happily slept in the rollaway that you see here at the foot of the bed.

This is the spa which sits just across the parking lot. Nice pool, saunas, salon, and general happy places. Even basketball courts out back.

Here is our tiny bit of ocean view from our balcony (off to the left of the balcony). We decided not to pay for the upgrade for an ocean view room, but rather booked the "mountain view" economy view. We were lucky and got a high floor (15 of 17) and a corner room with the larger balcony and thus the corner "ocean view" It was a bit of a rainy afternoon when the pics were taken.

Here's a funny bit of vacation. Chris kept noticing all the trucks going up the small mountain in our mountain view. We got interested as we thought it might be a quarry or something related to our normal jobs. A bit of investigating turned out they were garbage trucks. So the mountain is also a landfill. I wonder if they can sell landfill view rooms????

Some ocean view rooms (with a view of the south) can also see the nearby refinery (refinery view!) and those on the north can see the stack of the power plant, although the plant itself is neatly tucked behind a mountain. Mountains are good for hiding things.

Ok, so it really wasn't bad or anything, the resort and location were outstanding. But it is something to ponder. This side of the island is definitely poorer, and Marriott is really pushing this as a stand alone resort. It has four lagoons, a timeshare, and it was announced just this week that Disney is breaking ground on their own resort also there at Ko Olina. The ocean view is great, and it really is better water than at Waikiki for lagoons and for cruises. We saw several tour groups from Waikiki (which is 45 minutes away) drive out to Ko Olina and the marina. But it is a resort surrounded by a lot of industrial things.

Oahu in pictures -- Day 6

Saturday took Chris and I to the vacation club presentation (which was a nice tour one on one) and they had childcare for ages 3+ (and they thought Megan looked old enough anyway!). She played for a few hours, and then we took her down to the pool there to play.

Our road hazard on the walk back

We had the seafood buffet that night, and Megan found a love for crab legs. Alaskan kind crab apparently tastes good, but is hard to get into (see the SPINY video below!) Chris was, of course, quite pleased!

Oahu in pictures -- Day 7

Have you ever wondered where a pineapple comes from? Well, neither had we. But they recommended this tour, especially since we had a kiddo who would love the train ride. So we set out for the Dole Plantation, near the north shore.

We learned a few things quickly.
1. Pineapples are quite prickly. Megan touched one, and nursed this "owie" the whole tour through. She called them spiny like the crab that got her at dinner the night before!
2. You get a pineapple plant by HAND planting the top (green leafy part) of an existing pineapple. The plant will only yield two pineapples (one per crop) and it takes about 18 months to grow one.
3. You can easily SO VERY EASILY get too much pineapple. It was great, good, and then nauseating to eat so many pineapply things.






Boarding the train

Views on the train ride -- some gorgeous landscaping and fields of pineapple. They also had many other tropical plants and fruits planted along the train ride.

Continued nursing of the attack of the spiny pineapple