I'm still on a bit of a vacation high so now's probably a good time to post these, while the memories are fresh:

 

So we have a ride arranged but the roads were craptacular and getting worse by the minute - our ride dropped us off at the West 25th Red Line station - 20 minutes later (and NO delays) we were at Cleveland Hopkins and ready to roll. Note the following - after a 10 minute delay for de-icing, we took off for Dallas in about 8 inches of snow:

 

After an uneventful flight, we see the Dallas skyline (yes, I hummed the TV show theme - sue me).

 

The Dallas-based flight crew sounded like they were giving a pageant speech ("DFW is larger than the island of Manhattan, it's the 3rd busiest, etc.). Sounded impressive I suppose:

 

Except for the fact that this giant sh!tpit was shut down by a quarter inch of ice. Trucks were moving on the tarmac, planes were landing, but apparently the little "tugs" that guide the planes to the gates couldn't get traction  :roll: So the captain says "they're probably gettting kitty litter" (instead of salt?!? And sure as sh!t, the trucks were dropping kitty litter on the tarmac), and after sitting on the plane for NINETY minutes, we missed our connector (fortunately the next flight was in two hours - right around lunchtime, so time for food and cocktails!). Oh, did I mention the part where the gate attendant said that they had ONE set of tire chains for the tugs. Not the terminal - the ENTIRE airport. Thank you, you boisterous Dallas jack@sses, I will take the dull and small CLE anyday over your bloated and ill-equipped DFW any day of the week:

 

Anyway, onward and upward for 8 hours:

 

First sighting of Oahu:

 

Not a distinctive skyline, but you don't come here for the skyscraper architecture:

 

And we land on a clean tarmac with a nice view of downtown Honolulu. We thought we had walked out of the terminal into a parking garage - nope, instead of enclosed corridors it's open-air walkways:

 

Keeping the open-air approach, we walked from the bus to our hotel - I saw big panels of glass but no "door". Then I realized the big opening was the "door". Who'da thunk? The "hallways" to the room are also outside - and the view wasn't too shabby, though there's a mountain behind that "gray cloud of doom" - I kept thinking, am I here to throw a mythical ring into a volcano or just relax on the beach?!?

 

Woke up early next morning, and checked out some of the scenery along Waikiki Beach:

 

 

 

 

 

At this point, I realized I was in a good place - a rainbow, plus a landmark historic hotel nicknamed "The Pink Palace" (aka the Royal Hawaiian):

 

We headed east, away from the hotel cluster and found a pier and decided to check it out. Yeah, their fish are a tad more pretty than our carp and perch:

 

 

 

 

The aforementioned "Pink Palace":

 

Hanging out on the pier:

 

Pretty coloring for a dove (I think it was a dove)

 

Heading further east into a quaint residential neighborhood east of Kapiolani Park - that's the landmark Diamondhead crater in the background (more on that later):

 

I may have mentioned that my partner likes to garden, and I maaaay have suggested he could grow some kick-@rse stuff should we ever live here.  :wink:

 

Hikers at the top of the Diamondhead crater trail:

 

Like this was a shocker, but just to clarify, the flower was taken off immediately after the photo:

 

Back to Waikiki Beach, more rainbows:

 

And nice scenery ;-)

 

Speaking of, did I mention that we had thought our room *might* have an okay view of the sunset? Maybe off to the side or something? Turns out we ended up on our balcony every day from 5:30pm to 7pm instead of hitting a happy hour. Mind you we enjoyed cocktails (microbrews from Kona Brewing to be specific) but uh - when you have THIS to watch, why bother with a bar?!?

 

 

 

Being well-rested, we decided to do the Diamondhead hike - not too bad, and the views... well, you be the judge:

 

 

 

During WWII, Diamondhead was used by the US as a lookout spot - thus the remnants like gun batteries, lookout posts, tunnels, etc.:

 

 

And we've made it to the top - worth the $1 admission, I think! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure what this was, or what it's about, but it's in plain view from the top of Diamondhead:

 

 

Someone's pricey digs under construction:

 

Just a tree growing near the trailhead:

 

Back to the hotel again - hey, even the buses have rainbows! :-D

 

The Cloud of Doom which never quite made it to Waikiki (thank Pele):

 

Houses hugging the hillside:

 

BalconyBalconyBalconyBalconyBalcony...

 

The ladybugs were grey with black spots... go figure.

 

That sunset thing again:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up, flora...

 

And fauna (err... fisha?):

 

 

 

 

cute!

Oh boy.  That place is literally paradise.  Beautiful, beautiful, BEAUTIFUL photos.

I am seriously jealous, but I'm glad I got to see it in photos anyway.

Hawaii looks OK if you like that sort of thing, I guess.

 

 

:wink:

 

:clap:

gorgeous. I LOVE the Hawaiian Islands. Can't wait to see more. I am headed back again to the Big Island and Oahu again this Dec /Jan. Just gotta have my fix. As much as I like seeing different places everytime I travel, I cannot let go of Hawaii. Did you see those fish in the water on the pier near the zoo? If not I am curious where b/c i will be chasing them around with my snorkel next winter.

wow, awesome.

nice photos MayDay!  Can't wait to see part 2.  I was in HNL back in August, loved every minute of it.  If all goes to plan, I'll be moving out there in about 3 weeks.  Hopefully I'll be adding more photos of the 808 to urbanohio shortly.

moving there? Jealous. At one time were hoping to join the Oahu branch of UO. Stupid ecomomy. 

I'm sure, of course, that your recent visit to Hawaii had nothing to do with a US Navy warship running aground there. :-o

^Actually no, in all seriousness it was my partner's mojo/witchcraft with travel sites that locked in ridiculously low airfare ($400ish roundtrip each). :-)

^400ish OMG. give me some mojo. We once got one around 575 (it also had stops/stays on another island, so it was a great deal). what travel sites does he use?

 

I have stumbled on what I call "portals" playing in the middle of the night. We have ended up on some crazy unplanned trips that way.

Well...umm...JEALOUS!

^400ish OMG. give me some mojo. We once got one around 575 (it also had stops/stays on another island, so it was a great deal). what travel sites does he use? I have stumbled on what I call "portals" playing in the middle of the night. We have ended up on some crazy unplanned trips that way.

 

The whole trip basically stemmed from a discussion this past fall of "let's travel during the winter". With the economy, I said "as long as it's somewhere warm but in no way, shape or form can it exceed _____ budget". I figured we'd end up in Florida or New Orleans which is fine, and then about a month later he asks "what do you think of Hawaii?" I said "I think it's beautiful - in pictures because there's not a chance in..." and then he showed me the prices and I knew it was meant to be.

 

Yeah I learned early on in the relationship that MY forte is (once we have a destination) finding the nearest coffeespot, bar, must-see restaurants, transit stops, etc. and putting together an itinerary and studying maps until my eyes bleed (it worked, I ended up giving directions in Waikiki rather frequently). Honestly, I think he uses every site out there and is just patient enough to watch them all - btw, it was $430 each - so needless to say, I don't question it, I just go with it. :-)

I've come across roundtrip from Dayton for $425 as recently as last month.  I haven't checked what it has been recently, though (it only costs me about $200 ;).  Right now is obviously a good time to hit up the Hawaiian islands.  Some very good deals are to be had.

 

MayDay, if I may ask, what was your opinion of Waikiki.  I'm not a big fan.  Way too touristy for me with all the chain stores and chain restaurants.  But that was pretty much to be expected.  I'm guessing you're going to have some photos of other parts of Oahu?  Windward is my fav.  I spent almost every day at Kailua and Waimanalo beaches when i was there.  Oh, and if anybody reads this, don't go to Sandy beach, even though the surf there is pretty good.  I was robbed and all the local youth there just laughed at me.

I've come across roundtrip from Dayton for $425 as recently as last month.  I haven't checked what it has been recently, though (it only costs me about $200 ;).  Right now is obviously a good time to hit up the Hawaiian islands.  Some very good deals are to be had.

 

MayDay, if I may ask, what was your opinion of Waikiki.  I'm not a big fan.  Way too touristy for me with all the chain stores and chain restaurants.  But that was pretty much to be expected.  I'm guessing you're going to have some photos of other parts of Oahu?  Windward is my fav.  I spent almost every day at Kailua and Waimanalo beaches when i was there.  Oh, and if anybody reads this, don't go to Sandy beach, even though the surf there is pretty good.  I was robbed and all the local youth there just laughed at me.

 

Were you alone?

^No, I have a good friend who is a grad student at UH, as well as his roommate who is of native descent.  My friend and I were in the water catching some waves when somebody came up behind his roommate, took our bags, and ran off.  Stole our keys, cell phones, my wallet, my camera (hence I never had any photos to share with UO) so we had to ask an officer who came to give us money to catch The Bus back into town.  Yeah, that sucked.

^I'm sorry to hear that, but it doesn't sound like something exclusive to Sandy Beach - plenty of tourists get targeted all over Oahu (not just in Hawaii, obviously) and it's just unfortunate that it happened to you and your friends at that specific place. It's another unfortunate example of why they always say that you (or whoever is with you) should always watch your stuff like a hawk even if you're in the immediate vicinity. Apparently while we were there, a mentally-ill person stabbed two people on the Koko Crater trail - horrible, but again - could have happened anywhere :-\

 

Yes, I'll be posting photos from a road trip up to Haleiwa. I didn't mind Waikiki but I should clarify that 1. we were staying at the eastern end near Kapiolani Park - it was still touristy but a little less "Vegas Strip/Times Square" than the section of Kalakaua between the Hyatt and the Royal Hawaiian; and 2. I knew what to expect - it's the most touristy area of a city with a population of about a million. That said, we found plenty of spots that had a more local flavor, especially along Kuhio; and honestly I loved having both the beach AND urban amenities in easy walking/transit distance. I'm not a fan of super-isolation, I prefer to have amenities and a functioning urban area in easy reach. Some friends recommended a few resorts but I would absolutely loathe being stuck somewhere (or forced to rent a car every day) with a golf course I'd never use, overpriced drinks, resort fees tacked on everything, etc. With the quieter section of beach close to our hotel, we were able to relax as much as we wanted, and with the city at our doorstep we were able to check out what Waikiki had to offer (for better or worse).

This is an amazing collection of photos.  This one may be my favorite...

 

Love Honolulu and Waikiki even though it is touristy. That is saying a lot b/c I generally avoid tourist traps. Honolulu is functioning international city with a lot of culture.  I could live there in a heart beat. Mayday stayed in my favorite part of Waikiki.

 

I have been to all the islands at least once except Lanai. the Big Island is my favorite, b/c I do a lot of skin diving/snorkeling/outdoor things and I like the all crazy ecosystems. There is no urban life, but Hilo is a very cute town. But if I had to live on one, I would pick Oahu b/c of Honolulu. It certainly has its crime, but good lord I live in inner city Cleveland so I don't get too worked up when I go there  :wink:.  Just be smart and don't let your guard down just b/c you are on vacation. I understand the ecomony was hit pretty hard there too. 

^No, I have a good friend who is a grad student at UH, as well as his roommate who is of native descent. My friend and I were in the water catching some waves when somebody came up behind his roommate, took our bags, and ran off. Stole our keys, cell phones, my wallet, my camera (hence I never had any photos to share with UO) so we had to ask an officer who came to give us money to catch The Bus back into town. Yeah, that sucked.

 

Back in September I went on an annual tour to Hawaii and during our in-brief Sandy Beach was one of the places that they specifically warned us about.  We decided to go anyway and the local crowd there looked pretty rough.  Also when I was there a local was on trial for punching and killing college student who was on vacation. Apparently the student was taking pictures and snapped one that randomly had the local in it and the guy went crazy. I think they said he was hopped up on drugs and he hit the dude so hard that it ruptured an artery in his brain. From then on I was wary of the locals lol.