This time we saw the Big Island of Hawaii for a week and then flew back to O'ahu for 2 weeks - where we met up with our partners in crime - Les and Julie. Now we have seen each of the islands twice, and the island of O'ahu three times. We probably won't go back specifically for a holiday here again (as there are just too many places in the world to still see!), but we will definitely stop here on our way back from the U.S.A. when we go next.
We had a fantastic time, and its always great to have quality time with the girls. These are some of my favourite bits:
1. Sight-seeing: seeing some very beautiful coast lines, bays and reefs, waterfalls, lava tubes and rainforests. Also seeing the barraness (it that a word?) of the Kileau Caldrea and surrounding areas. We also did the drive down to the end of the road in Hawaii to see the actual lava flows, but were a little disappointed as the lava was still a fair way away that night and it was hard to get a good look and photo.
2. Spending time at the beach with Leslie and Julie as they are both water babies. Les and Julie bought a Hawaiian Long Board, and both Julie and Dave took surfing lessons and could stand up and balance on the board and get some small waves by the end of the trip. Jas especially loved having a go on the board. We spent quite a few days at Waikiki, and I really loved being there til the end of the day to see the sunsets.
3. The girls loved going to the pool (even though the water was so much cooler than the sea water! Our favourite pool was one of the pool at the Hilton on the big Island, which included several spas, a waterfall, and a big water slide. I especially loved getting cocktails by the pool. Amazingly cocktails in Hawaii are cheaper than buying a glass of wine. However wine in bottles was very nicely priced - starting at $5.99 a bottle for Moscato, and not more than about $12.99 for a NZ Sauv Blanc in you bought the wine from the ABC shop! We even had Les (who has not had a drink in a few years), drinking a few Lava Flows.
4. Driving around O'ahu in a Mustang Convertible (which felt like driving a tank!). The girls thought it was just fantastic - with their hair blowing all over the place, we are definitely taking hair ties next time.
5. The food. My favourite restaurant is definitely Roy's. New vogue fusion cusine. Very nicely presented meals at a reasonable price. You could still wear casual clothes (including thongs aka flip flops). It was also the only place you could fit in an entree, main and dessert!
Other haunts included the Cheesecake Factory (great for the variety and price of meals, the size of the meals and also the cheesecakes); the Yard House (which had the best steaks in Waikiki, and over 150 beers and ciders - you have to try the pear cider if you go here); Jimmy Buffett's (best pasta as voted by Eliza, second best steaks); Dukes (great atmosphere and view as well as great steaks), they also had a barefoot bar/cafe where you could come from the beach without shoes and eat; Hard Rock Cafe (great display of guitars on the roof!); and last but not least the Calfornian Pizza Kitchen - fantastic pizzas, pastas, very good prices, and the place where we got take-out to eat in the room when we weren't super hungry).
6. Also of note, were:
The shopping. Prices were great (especially since the dollar was almost 1 for 1!) Clothes were a lot cheaper here, and all the food was reasonably priced as well (especially considering you could normally order an entree and be full at the end). Dave enjoyed the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, and I enjoyed the open air shopping centers including the Queens and Kings marketplaces on the Big Island.
Seeing the Arizona Memorial again, but seeing the USS Missouri for the first time.
Snorkeling with the girls at Hanauma Bay and also out at Waikiki.
Whale watching on the big island (but also seeing whales up close on the snorkeling tour at Waikiki).
Eliza - finally treading water and dog paddling on the last day without her floatie vest on!
Ahh, we have such great memories.... now to make the photo book and to plan our next holiday! I always think we are so lucky to get the opportunity to travel, and our girls travel well. So many more places in the world I want to go - I especially want to see Italy and Greece, would love to go to Tahiti and Samoa, and also travel around New Zealand. Looking forward to the girls being old enough to go back to the USA, and do some more touring here (and of course take them to Disney Land).
Now changing the topic all together - I'm not one to make new years resolutions, but last year I read 47 books. This year I'm aiming to read 52 books (that's one a week on average). I am pleased to report that I am on target already and managed to read four books whilst in Hawaii:
1. Fallen - Lauren Kate
2. Torment - Book2 Fallen - Lauren Kate
3. A Caress of Twilight - Merry Gentry Book2 - Laurell K Hamilton
4. Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater.
Looking forward to reading a heap of books this year.
Well, must close off for the night. Off to Sydney tomorrow to visit our friends and also to take Jasmin to her Specialist followup appointment. Looking forward to sharing a few bottles of wine with Shell and generally catching up.
1 comment:
All I can say is Awesome! The photos remind me of Magnum PI - and a mustang will do as a substitute for a Ferari... I need to do something with my travel photos... :-)
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