Oahu, Hawaii - part 1

Aloha everyone! For spring break we made the long long journey down to Hawaii and what a trip we had. We landed in Oahu in the afternoon.. we picked up our car and headed over to our hotel in Waikiki and started to unwind. 

Oʻahu, known as "The Gathering Place," is the third-largest Hawaiian island and home to roughly 70% of the state's population.

Just a week before flying, the hotel emailed us letting us know they were undergoing massive renovations.. yay? So while the hotel was a bit of a mess and honestly the rooms did need the upgrade (pictures do lie) the stay was still excellent. The staff was incredible. If we had a problem, request, concern.. anything at all it took minutes to be fixed. No repeated calls.. no waiting around.. so I will give the staff a big 5 stars!

We were all very jet lagged so we had dinner at Earls Kitchen (one of our best meals) and called it a night.

DAY 2

We got up early.. which was easy thanks to the jet lag and headed straight to Leonard's Bakery. The bakery is world-famous for popularizing malasadas, a Portuguese fried dough pastry, since 1952.

Arriving at 6am meant the line was very short. We took our malasadas and our coffee and headed over to Diamond Head State Monument. Non residents must reserve tickets in advance. We had booked the 6am - 8am time slot and arrived by 6:30. We ate while we walked.

We were surprised by the number of people who commented on our pink bakery box. 

Lēʻahi as referred to by locals is an iconic volcanic tuff crater on Oahu offering panoramic views of Waikiki and the Pacific. There is a paved 1.6 mile trail to the top. There are some stairs and some steep parts but it is relatively easy. It was named "Diamond Head" by British sailors who thought they found diamonds in the crater, though they were actually calcite crystals. The crater was bought by the U.S. government in 1904 for military purposes which is why you will find bunkers and tunnels along the way..

We were done and back in our car by 7:45am.

Since the boys were all hungry again we stopped to have breakfast. 

Our next stop was Spitting Cave. This was tricky to find. It was a small trail tucked between two houses in a very residential area. The trail was short but steep and rocky.

No standing on anything wet is the general rule or you could get swept away. This is also a popular cliff jumping spot..

While we mostly made videos of the cave spitting out the water I managed to get this one here hoping it'll paint a picture for you. It was mesmerizing to watch and we just sat there for sometime. 

Our next stop was Lana'i Lookout which was just fine.. a quick stop or an easy skip. 

Next was Halona Blowhole Lookout. Such a cool stop. You can see ocean water shoot 30 feet into the air from a lava tube.

The blowhole is located in the red circled area. We first saw it from across the way.. then from where the cars were parked. 

Afterwards we went down the beach and right to the blowhole. While mostly we made videos but here are a few photos.

So cool. 

Next we headed to Makapu‘u Point Lighthouse Trail. It was getting hot and there was no parking at the trailhead. People were parking along the side of the road but it would add to the overall hike so after a vote the trail was cut. Instead we stopped at Sandy's Beach and got food from Sandy's Food Truck and ate while watching surfers. The wings were so good!

Then we were back to our hotel and spent some time on our own beach and pool. Waikiki beach was wonderful, Diamond Head in the background.

Soft sands, clear water but.. and this was my own mistake, in my mind - me booking a resort meant the beach chairs and umbrellas would be included. They were not. Kinda killed the vibe just a smidge. 

That night we ate at Buho Cocina - unfortunately the food was just okay. 

DAY 3

We grabbed breakfast from a nearby store and started our day. First stop was Nu'uanu Pali Lookout. Unfortunately by the time we got there a thick fog had rolled it and it had gotten cold and windy. So while there are no pictures to share there is a little history. 

We watched the new Jason Momoa show Chief of War late last year and the cliffs of Pali are the site of the 1795 Battle of Nuʻuanu, where King Kamehameha I secured a pivotal victory, forcing enemy warriors over the cliffs and uniting Oʻahu under his rule, marking a key step in creating the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Next we drove through the town of Kailua and headed over the Lanikai Pillbox Trail. There is no parking at the trailhead so we found parking a few streets away and walked up. The weather was thankfully perfect.. not cold nor hot. A little sun would have made the pictures better but the lack of it made the hike much more doable.

The hike is along the Ka'iwa Ridge and offers great views of the islands of Lanikai and Kailua. We could see people kayaking to the islands, the one on the left had a small beach.

On the hike there were two WWII-era pillboxes which were fun to climb and get an even better view or just some place to hang out for a bit. 

After the hike we went back to the town of Kailua to have lunch. We ate at Over Easy. We had planned to relax on the Kailua beach but due to strong winds and brown water due to earlier rains there was a warning on the beach so we turned right back around and returned to our warm and pristine Waikiki beach. 

We got some shaved ice at Island Vintage. They put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle. Of all the shaved ice we had on the this trip this one was hands down our favorite. 

this post has gotten pretty long so the rest is to be continued... 

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