Tag: Oahu

On Thursday we got up early to explore Pearl Harbor and get tickets early so we didn’t have to wait. We saw the USS Arizona and the Pearl Harbor Memorial.

Waikiki

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Model of the USS Arizona

Pearl Harbor

Part of the USS Arizona still under water.

Oil still leaking out.

View back from the Memorial

On the Memorial

The Memorial from the boat

Afterward we explored the Waianae Coast along the Farrington Highway. We drove all the way to Yokohama Bay and didn’t make it all to Koena Point because the road was too rough even with an SUV. We headed back to the windward coast and had lunch at a restaurant recommended to us by a local called Cinnamon’s in Kailua. Food was excellent. If you are ready to splurge, it’s a fun spot. They had guava pancakes and they are famous for their red velvet pancakes as well. After lunch we explored the southern half of the windward coast. We stopped at Kanikai beach and the sand felt like multi-purpose flour. It was too windy to enjoy as the sand blew everywhere. We saw the Halona Blowhole, then we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Hanauma Bay where we had to watch a safety video before we could go down to the bay. This a famous area for snorkeling.

Guava Chiffon Pancakes

Kanikai beach

Yokohama Bay, Waianae Coast

Yokohama Bay, Waianae Coast

Hanauma Bay

On Friday, we headed out early to hike Diamond Head, then spent a few hours at Waikiki Beach before heading to the airport to take our flight to Maui.

View of Honolulu from Diamond Head

Waikiki

Waikiki

We headed to Oahu early on Tuesday. It was only a forty minute flight to Oahu. First we headed to tried to go to Pearl Harbor, but there was a three hour wait, so we decided to do that another day. We headed to the other side of the island, first we stopped Dole Pineapple Plantation. Rode the pineapple train and learned how pineapple grow. We had lunch in Haleiwa at Kau’Aina Burger. They had great burgers, Dustin’s was a Pineapple Hamburger and I had the Teryaki Chicken Sandwich.

Dole Plantation

Dole Plantation

Dole Plantation

Dole Plantation

Dole Plantation

We drove along the north shore coast and saw several different beaches. We stopped at Turtle Beach (Laniakea Beach) and saw some humongous sea turtles. We spent the night at the famous Stayed Turtle Bay Resort.  The area was beautiful. For dinner we went to Haleiwa Joe’s Seafood Grill. The water tasted like fish (Dustin couldn’t even drink it!) but the food was really good.

Turtle Beach (Laniakea Beach)

Turtle Beach (Laniakea Beach)

Turtle Bay Resort

Turtle Bay Resort Lobby

Turtle Bay Resort

Turtle Bay Resort

The next day we tried to snorkel at the beach, but we didn’t see anything. It was cloudy and too cold for any fish. We swam at the pool, it definitely had the best pool of all the places we stayed.  We checked out at noon and had lunch at Kahuku Grill, a family run restaurant with excellent food. Dustin had a fish sandwich and potato wedges and I had a teryaki hamburger.

Yummy lunch!

Chinaman’s Hat

Hoomaluhia botanical gardens

Hoomaluhia botanical gardens

The rest of the day we explored part of the Windward coast of Oahu which included China man’s hat, and the Hoomaluhia botanical gardens. In the late afternoon we checked into Waikiki Parc Hotel in Waikiki Beach/Honolulu area where where staying for 2 nights before heading to Maui.  It was a hotwire.com special! Walked to the mall so Dustin could see the Apple Store and we also stopped at Walgreens for more sunscreen. Embarrassingly enough we had a Red Lobster gift card and ended up eating there for dinner. Don’t judge!