Oahu, Hawaii...part 1
So let me start out by saying that we didn't plan to go on vacation to Hawaii... I know what you're saying... How do you not plan to go on vacation?
Let's backtrack a few months to November....there was a fundraiser at Becky's Hope Horse Rescue and our good friends (the kind that are more like family) came over to go with us. My husband, who donated his photography skills for the event, headed out early... We had a little time to kill so we pre-gamed like college kids, but a little more high brow; Woodford Reserve style. At the end of the night, we realized that we "won" a stay at a penthouse for one week in Hawaii. (If you've ever been to a silent auction, you know that should read "bought" instead of "won". At the end of the day its for a good cause and it forced us to take a much needed vacation.)
We will say that we wish we could have island hopped, but it was nice to explore and have down time on Oahu. We were under the impression that one could simply board a ferry or puddle jumper to island hop, but that's not the case. If you want to see other islands, you'll be visiting TSA... All in all it was an amazing trip. There are so many photos that this post will definitely be split over 2 posts.
The night before our flight out, we realized that the 4 of us and all of our luggage wasn't going to fit in an Uber or Lyft. We weren't able to schedule a premium driver, so we took our chances and I dialed up Executive Car Service (the first result I found on Google). I had major 'analog anxiety'. I called a phone number and gave the polite agent my credit card information over the phone. I received no confirmation email. All of the worries; {unnecessary} panic set in. The next morning, the driver arrived in the suburban large enough to fit us and all of our luggage with room to spare. There was water and the Wall Street Journal; he helped with our bags as well. It was just like the car service I get when I travel for business, except I actually had to schedule it myself. Oh, the irony. We were super pleased with the service and I'll definitely use ECS again.
Flights were long, but direct from DFW. Trey being 6'7" splurged and also tried to make amends for our less than stellar honeymoon by upgrading to first class, YAY! We landed around noon local time and picked up our rental car...No we didn't get a Jeep. Have you ever tried to put luggage (or even groceries) in a Jeep? It's not exactly easy, especially with 4 adults. We had some time to kill before we could check in, so we grabbed tacos and margaritas. Once our apartment was ready we gathered provisions, for which prices are much higher than on the mainland. (A dozen conventional eggs runs about $7.) We relaxed and watched the sunset and the fireworks. Trey of course thought the fireworks were his own personal welcome to paradise :)
Sunset view from our penthouse
Fireworks on our first night
On our first full day on the island we headed east to Honolulu to go on a food tour. We wanted to do the North Shore tour, but it was booked for the next 3 months. We had a blast on the Hole in the Wall tour though. We had manapuas, poke, rice noodles, cocoa puffs (not the cereal), real Hawaiian pineapple, and much more. We went to Chinatown and saw all of the markets, shops, and even got a tour of a noodle factory. Rumor has it that that noodle factory - where all noodles are still made by hand - is the sole supplier for a well known Chinese, chain restaurant. (Photos below.) The guides gave us some additional spots to visit while we were on the island, so we definitely recommend going on the tour early in your trip. We were very full and tired after our eating extravaganza, so we headed west to our abode. We lounged in the hot tub and listened to the waves for the remainder of the day.
Meanwhile, the hubs had some minor camera malfunctions that benched his new Fujifilm GFX 50s. Since the closest Fuji retailer is in San Francisco, he was not a happy camper. (Locking mechanism issues which we hope to have resolved before our next big trip in June.) We had a great schedule that mixed beach/pool lounging with adventuring activities. It was amazing just to decompress and enjoy the surroundings. More to come in part 2...