2022 Oahu Adventure - Day 1

 Day 1.  We started off our vacation with a trip to a highly rated breakfast cafe near us. It was called Sweet E's Cafe.  It did not disappoint!!  The staff were SO friendly and efficient, and the food was delicious...In fact it was so good we went again before we came back home!

 Just look at that stuffed French Toast!!  

 

After breakfast we hit the highway and head up to Wahiawa. 

Would any trip to Oahu be complete without a trip to see the DOLE PINEAPPLE PLANTATION and gardens. ? 

This place has been around since 1950, when it was just a fruit stand. In 1989 they opened to the public as Hawaii's Pineapple experience, and they host over 1 million visitors a year.  The gift shop is free (but is it ever really free because I certainly spent my fair share of money there), however the train and gardens are a cost.  We decided to do the gardens, which  are a self explore walking trail through 8 different areas, and costs about 8$ per adult. These gardens showcase some of the most beautiful trees, flowers and plants in Hawaii. Worth the money!!

And would any self respecting trip to the Dole Plantation be complete without an authentic DOLE WHIP??? (sorry Disney I know you say your is just as good...but that is a lie.) The Dole Whip is worth every calorie. A sweet and tart, creamy pineapple soft serve that reeeaaallllyyyy makes your taste buds sing! If you love pineapple like I do, you HAVE to try one.

After the morning at Dole Plantation, we continued on the road and drive along the north shore, and stopped off at a quiet little beach.  It was called Lanaikea Beach and it isnt really a beach for swimming.  It is a great place to wade and lay out and look at the beautiful surroundings, but because of all the rock and coral it makes it hard to swim.  

Lanaikea beach is also called Turtle beach due to all of the Green Sea Turtles that like to come ashore and bask in the sun.  Unfortunately the turtles were a little shy that day and we did not see any...but we enjoyed the warm rays and clean beach and the scenery wasnt too bad either....if this doesnt scream Hawaii, then I dont know what does.

To get to Lanaikea beach there is no parking lot. You find a place along the side of the road and you hoof it. Just be careful not to park in front of anyones driveway and pay attention to no parking signs.  The great thing about Hawaii is all their beaches are public access, and there is a lot of street parking and little lots along the roads for all the beach goers. Lanaikea just happens to be in a stretch where street parking is all that was available during our stay.

We ended our day back in Palolo and tried a Korean restaurant in Honolulu.  We really didnt know anything about how this restaurant worked, (or what we were doing), and I am sure the experience could have been better had we been with someone who knew the drill.  They sat us at a table with a grill built in (Galbi) and we went up to get our meats and veggies etc. We then grilled it ourselves at the table.  Watching others who came in after us we realized we were woefully inexperienced in the ways of Galbi, and next time I will be ready!!

I tried some new things at the restaurant. Some of them I really liked.  Others I dont think I will eat again.  But I am glad for the experience! 

We ended our day back at our BnB, enjoying the breeze and listening to the neighbors rooster.

It really was the perfect start to our vacation .

2022 Oahu Adventure-travel day

This year we were super blessed to be able to take a family trip to Oahu!

 Back in August I received an email from Scotts Cheap Flights,  alerting me to a super great deal to the Hawaiian Islands.  I hemmed and hawed, and tried to decide just WHICH island to go to.  Charles and I had been to Kauai, and I knew we wanted to try a different island this go-round. By the time I actually got to book the flights, the deals were gone. (wah wah waaaahhhhh).  I promised myself, if I ever saw that email again I was going to jump on it.

Then in September my luck struck again.  Another email with even CHEAPER flights.  Charles happened to be in the next room, and I yelled to him "Hey I am booking tickets to Hawaii, where are we going?"

He asked how much and I said $275 round trip per person!! CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT???

He said, "Well at that price I say we take Finn with us and go to Oahu, since there is so much history stuff to see that he would enjoy!"

Well you dont have to tell me twice. I had those tickets booked before he could even blink. (AND it was all 3 of us to Oahu for less than what used to be 1 normal price ticket!!) 

Now all we had to do was wait!!  Since Finn was coming with us and this would not be a "just us/romantic" vacation, we decided to find a place to stay that had 2 bedrooms, because I mean, what 18 year old wants to sleep in the same room as his mom and dad and have to go to bed when they do?

Well January finally rolled around and our first day was a LONG travel day.  When I booked the flight we left our home airport around 2pm and had a 1 hour layover in Seattle and then straight on to HNL.   

Due to flight cancellations and covid and all that other bull----, our original 1st leg was cancelled and rebooked with a different flight.  We were still through Seattle, but now we had a 4 1/2 hour layover! WOOF.  The flight to Honolulu itself in total was less than 7 hours,  but with the travel time, airport time, our new and (not) improved layover, we now had a very long day. All in all it was about 13 hours.

When we left our home it was a dry, snappy 25 degrees F.  Seattle wasnt much better. However when we reached Hawaii it was a toasty 80 degrees!! We walked out of the airport and a moist blast of warm air hit our faces. Finn immediately went "Woah, it's hot...I forgot what humidity felt like!"

I did manage a quick selfie so we could see the Aloha on the Airport sign, However it is difficult to get a good selfie with all three of us because Finn is so tall..and my arms are  not. 

Here is the airport tower without us blocking it.  It is the first thing you see as you depart the terminal and head towards baggage claim.  ALOHA!

COVID DETAILS:  With the covid restrictions in place, we did  upload our vaccine cards (or a negative 48 hour pre flight test result) to their safe travels website.  We were verified and sent a QR code to our phones for the quarantine exemption.  Once we reached Seattle (or to the final leg of your flight that goes into Hawaii), we took our QR code to the covid pre-check area in the airport. They scanned our code, verified our identity against our ID's and gave us a wristband so we could bypass the lines in Honolulu.   Once we arrived in HNL they waved through anyone with a wristband , and those who did not pre-check had to wait in line and show tests or vaccine cards.  Glad we took the extra steps to upload and get the wristband. 

We had prescheduled a shuttle with Aloha Airport Shuttle.  They were prompt, courteous, their van was clean and best of all they were friendly and affordable.  Highly recommend. 

We went to our Air BnB that I had rented for the week, up in the Palolo valley.  We wanted to be out of the hustle and bustle of the city (HNL) and I KNEW that I would have zero use for Waikiki, as it is a walking tourist trap.  I found this AMAZING little place on Air BnB, it was a renovated basement apartment, complete with kitchen, washer and dryer and all the other little perks.  PLUS he also rented us his SUV through Turo for 1/3 of what a car rental would have cost.  Our car was there ready and waiting for us at the house! 

The Palolo area of Oahu is up in the hills about 5 miles from downtown Honolulu, and it was far enough away to feel like paradise, but close enough that you weren't driving forever to do anything.   

Once we got to our Air BnB, we opened up the windows and let a gorgeous crossbreeze through and fell asleep listening to the sounds of crickets and birds. It was wonderful.

 

Road Trip!! Shoshone Falls

About 2 hours outside of Boise is the city of Twin Falls.  I had done some research and saw the love everyone seemed to have for Shoshone Falls.  The last day my mother was here we decided to head over and see what all the fuss was about.
The drive itself was pretty uneventful, easy shot on I-84.  When you get to Twin Falls you follow the signs to the park.
Now, when we pulled into TF, it seemed rather flat and unassuming. In fact I was concerned that all the hype on the Google was an elaborate ploy to punk as many people as possible into coming. However, as we drove it became apparent that was not the case.  The ground seemed to just open up and there it was!  They call it the "Niagara of the West".  It is taller than the famed Niagara Falls, so I had kind of assumed that it would be up in the mountains or something, rather than the flat land and magical appearance.  As we got closer and started seeing the view from the various bridges, we got more and more excited.

Cost to get in is 5$ per car.  They have a little concession stand and restrooms and a few little kiosks with plaques and signs to read, all about the history of the falls etc. 

We parked and walked over the the lookout.   IT. WAS.  STUNNING!!  As you overlook the falls, it is almost dizzying.  We went on a day where water level and flow was high.  We had perfectly sunny skies and a nice 83 degree temperature. Just perfect.

                                    

 

Me and son -yes he IS that much taller than me (I am almost 5.11)

my mom and son

my mommy

me and hubba hubba

In sunny weather there seems to be a permanent rainbow!  Just so beautiful.

someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection

If you continue on in the same park, there is Dierks Lake.  They have a little beach and picnic area, you can fish, kayak, swim etc.  The swimming seems to be contained to the one portion of lake inside the docks, but they have a diving board and everything. The water was a really beautiful blue green. It wasnt too terribly crowded(granted it was a monday morning/early afternoon).

Dierks Lake

Definitely a place we would come back to and spend more time.(bring our swimsuits!) 

Happy Traveling!

Vacation nazi strikes again

Poor Charles. For 3 weeks straight, I have relentlessly hounded him. I have bugged him with; "what excursion do you want to take?" "do you want sting ray city with 2 stops or 3?" "Should we pay an extra 20$ so it includes lunch?" "Should we bring our own snorkel gear or use the free stuff?" "So you want the beach or do you want to snorkel?" "Can you please make up your mind?" "You tell me to plan it then when I do you get huffy and call me the vacation nazi. I dont think I appreciate your tone" "You want to go by yourself? I can arrange that!" "Fine, go slam the door and sulk crybaby," "Dont think you are getting any vacation sex!!" What do you mean you wont want any?!" "FINE!"

(mumble grumble curse curse curse)

So with little input other than an occasional wishy washy "sounds good" or "what ever you want baby", this is what I have planned, reserved, booked and made deposits on. Having cruised in the past I learned my lesson about paying the high price of buying the cruise ship excursions. You pay more and are packed in with a ton of other passengers. So I found some local reputable companies that were highly rated on cruise critic and trip advisor. I am paying half the price I would than if I booked through Carnival.

In cozumel Charles and I are taking a glass bottom boat tour two of the best reefs in Cozumel. It is a smaller boat and only takes 20 people maximum. It includes snorkeling and refreshments.

In Grand Cayman we are taking a boat tour to Stingray City. You go to a special bay where the docile rays come and get fed. You can swim, play, pet and hug on them. They love people, are very gentle and love to show off. Wethen go to a nearby barrier reef for snorkeling. At the end we stop off at 7 mile beach for some final play time.
In Roatan(honduras) we are taking a zipline excursion through the jungle!! I am REALLY excited about this. We will be at a place that has the jungle canopy ziplines, a monkey habitat and exotic birds etc. Then we head over to the beach for lunch and fun.

And finally, the one I am REALLY the most excited about. Lamanai Mayan Ruins in Belize.

We take a busride through the countryside to get to the river and take a boat ride through the jungle to Lamanai. Then we get 2 hours at the ruins AND we get to climb around on them and everything. We end it with a traditional belizean lunch of chicken, rice and beans.

I am just super excited. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my passport. I am so giddy I am willing to overlook the HORRID "well you are stuck with it for 10 years" photo they slapped in it.

UGH. But the stamps and memories will be totally worth the border guards laughing at me and my scared deer in headlights expression in my passport book.

So now that everything is planned, what is a vacation Nazi to do???

PLAN VEGAS in 2011!!! watch out girls, im on a roll!!

My favorite place...

One more day until I leave for NAGS HEAD!!!
I am taking the boys up there to the beach house for a few days of R and R.
My only chance for a little vacation until i graduate from school in September.
So today I have done laundry and tonight after school I will pack and be ready to head out tomorrow afternoon!
I cant wait. I love Nags Head. Of all the placesI have been blessed to travel, Nags Head is my favorite place on this planet.
come on tomorrow!!