Nothing like letting a vacation get in the way of blogging. Our trip has been very relaxing, and enjoyable so far. Here is a summary of how we spent the few days on Oahu.
Early mornings appeared to be a common theme to this vacation. It was not unusual to be up, caffeinated, showered and dressed by 7AM. Both mornings we went to Eggs ‘n Things which serves – as the name suggests eggs and things (hmmm… macadamia nut pancakes are one of those yummy things).
The hotel/condo we are staying at is currently owned by the Renassaince chain and there is a significant amount of renovations being done around the entire complex. I learnt that the the Ilikai is actually made up of three buildings, and there is a pretty good view of the Pacific Ocean from the property (as you can see by the picture).
Once breakfast was done on Sunday, Chris and his parents went to the USS Arizona Memorial. While they were off visiting the memorial, I reacquainted myself with an old friend. It appears that people friends are not the only thing that changes, and Ala Moana has gone through a bit of an expansion, and added a few more shops that I’m still not interested in. Of my three purchases that I made, two of these were done at Macy’s, and one at a local pet accessory store – True Friends.
On the way up towards the north shore of Oahu, we stopped at Queen Kapiolani Gardens where there was a great display of Hibiscus and other native plants. We had decided to drive along the coast up to Waimea Bay, and then down through central Oahu making appropriate stops along the way. Some of the noteworthy destinations included Hanauma Bay, Kailua (for lunch), Laie, and finally we ended up spending a good amount of time at ‘Ehukai Beach. On our journey back through central Oahu we stopped off at the Dole Pineapple Plantation to snap a picture or two.
For dinner, we ended up going to the Chart House Waikiki Restaurant, which is a part of the Ilikai Hotel, and had a wonderful meal to end the day. (I had Ahi Mignon, and followed this up with a phenomenal Key Lime Pie.)