We arrived at LGA, on Thursday, 08/10, at 5:30 AM. Delta Terminal was a mad house. A loud speaker reported that TSA will not allow any liquids, creams, gels or lotions in a carry on. We tried to stuff our contraband, (contact lens liquid, hand cream, etc.) into a check in bag. We tossed our coffee & drinks. The security line snaked around the terminal and out the door. We had a 6:30 flight.
The TSA took our frozen blue ice, chap stick and foil wrapped sun-tan lotion. The stewardess lost her toothpaste, face cream and expensive perfume to TSA employees. As soon as we boarded our plane, at 7:00, the plane took off.
We arrived at HNL around 2:00. Two people went in the Thrifty Shuttle to pick up the mini-van. All the paper work was done and waiting, because we were Blue Chip members. We picked up our bags and went outside to wait for the mini-van.
We got to the Outrigger Reef on the Beach Hotel. (Look for my review of the Hotel)
We dropped our bags off and went straight to the beach. We got back to our rooms and found two messages from worried folks back home.
On Friday, we got up early, we were wide awake anyway. We wanted to get to Hanauma Bay early. We got a little lost and missed the Supermarket, that was supposed to be on our way. One parking lot was already full and we parked in the second one. We walked left and the snorkeling was great. We bought 7 sets of snorkeling gear from home.
After Hanauma Bay we continued to drive north. We went to Halona Blowhole. We stopped at a few other lookouts. We had box lunches from a Supermarket. We also bought cases of drinks & water.
On Saturday, we arrived at Pearl Harbor, at 7:30. We saw all the buses & cars and the long lines of people and made a U turn. We went to the Swap Meet and used our Free admission coupons ($1) from the Best Booklet. The Swap Meet was a huge flea market. Prices were not as good as I expected. The vendors refused to bargain with us. We still bought towels, T-shirts, sun glasses, and lots of trinkets.
We continued on to the Dole Plantation. The kids went through the World's Largest Maze in about 40 minutes. We fed the Coi fishes, took pictures and then watched a pineapple cutting demo. The samples were delicious. We then got on line for our Dole Whip, with crushed pineapples on top. Yummy.
On the way back, we stopped at the Arizona Memorial and there was no line. We got our tickets and waited just 30 minutes.
We ate dinner at Perry's Smorgy Buffet. Children under 10 ate for half price. Three years ago, we ate at Perry's Smorgy's on Leward St. and it was great. This place was outdoors and awful. There were no signs over the food to tell you what you were eating.
On Sunday, we drove to Sans Souci Beach to do some more snorkeling. We watched some spear fisherman bring in their catch for the day.
In the evening, the females went to see an Elvis impersonator at the Blue Hawaii Show. Jonathon Von Brana is too tall and his singing was all right. The opening Doo Wop group was great, so were the back up dancers. We had a buy one get one free with the Entertainment Book coupon and saved $62.
Monday, we got to the Sea Life Park at 9:30. The park was expensive, even with our coupons. The parking was $3 and I was unable to find the free parking Best coupon.
The shows were good and the aquariums interesting. However, we were out in the baking sun during the whole time. They need some awnings and shade. It was too hot to stay too long.
We continued our drive toward the north shore and stopped at a beach to swim. We were enjoying the water, until the one of the boys got stung by a blue jelly fish. He was upset and in great pain. Thank goodness for the helpful life guard. He sprayed some vinegar water on the sting.
Dinner has been a great problem, with our group. We did not want Mickey D, Tony Roma or anything familiar from home. We had dinner at Todai's Sushi Buffet. Adults cost $28 and kids under 11 were half price. They measured each child because they had to be less than 5 feet. They had a fantastic variety of food and desserts. It was worth the money.
On Tuesday we allowed the kids to sleep late. However, the construction begins at 7:00. We drove toward PCC and stopped at Pali Lookout and a beach across from Chinaman's Hat. We arrived at PCC around noon. We parked near the exit/entrance for a quick get away. We got on line to get our tickets and turn in some Ent. Book coupons. and had $72 credited back to our credit card. We saw a few villages and the kids did a few activities. We watched the Long Canoe Pageant from a great spot, because we happen to be fishing there. The favorite village was Samoa, with the funny fire dancer. I've been to PCC twice before but never got to see the IMax show. It was so hot, we had to get out of the sun. Therefore, we relaxed and watched the interesting movie, this time. We went to the Ali'i Luau Buffet and got beautiful leis. The show and food were mediocre. They rushed the food and served dessert quickly.
The children had passports and received a stamp in it, at each village. There were some coupons in the passport booklet, that we used in Waikiki.
The show was great and we got to see our funny Samoan fire dancer again. We left just as the show ended and got back to Waikiki in an hour.
On our last day, we went to the Ala Moana Mall and Hilo Hatties for last minute shopping. We used the beach and pool again.
HNL airport was a breeze. We returned the mini-van to Thrifty and took the free shuttle back to the airport, without a problem. The mini-van cost $300 and it was a bargain. The hotel charged $126 for the valet parking and it was worth it.
I'm sorry my report is so long. I hope other travelers can use my itinerary to help them get the most out of their trip. We had great weather and a lot of fun in Oahu.