Anyone been to Hawaii?

[jadesfire]

You did the whale crusie??....and...did you get to see Big Blue?
Sounds like heaven or as close as one can get.  Welcome back to the land of frozen hell . 

[Scott]

Welcome back Brent, I know I've missed you   Sounds like you had a wonderful time.  I still dream of our next trip there and I can't wait to make it happen.  Were you able to get in your driveway when you got home or was it piled to the roof?

[Morgbug]

Big grey, Beth.  Humpback whales are the ones that everyone goes looking for.  We saw about three, but nothing up close like they show you in the pictures.  To be fair, we were early in the season though.

Scott, had the neighbour and his daughter taking care of the mail and he was kind enough to clean the driveway three times   Beer for him.

[JesseVader08]

Swam with turtles on four different days, one that would fit Matt’s sweater even.  It was awesomely huge, probably about 3 feet across, maybe 4 feet long, probably 400 pounds . 

Wow.  That must have been one of those "I'll never forget this" occasions.  It's great that you such a successful trip. 

Oh, and welcome back to the fluffy white stuff.

[DSJ™]

Welcome back Brent. 

Man, swimming with turtles, lucky bastard. I love turtles, did you catch a ride or are you allowed to do that?

[Morgbug]

In a valinesque manouvre, I'm bumping this up, mostly to be a prick.  

Sunday morning we head off to Hawaii (again).  We've been in 2002, 2004 and now again in 2006 (and yes, my daughter has no idea how spoiled and lucky she is).  We're off to Oahu for six days and Maui for eight days this time, a pretty long duration but we managed to get the flights on Aeroplan (Air Canada frequent flyer miles) so it's starting out pretty cheaply, but my wife seems intent on spending what we saved   It should make for a fun vacation to say the least. 

If anyone has some sage advice, I'm all for it.  I haven't been to Oahu since 1988 so things might have changed.  Biggest bummer for me is missing the Pearl Jam/U2 concert by about 2 days   I imagine I might live without being there though

Aloha baby.

[Morgbug]

Pardon the double post, but I should point out that lamely, I'm looking forward to shopping for toys on the vacation.  KB toys, Walmart and K-mart on Maui.  TRU, Hot Topic, KayBee, Walmart on Oahu.  Yeah, sadly I've looked already.  I've actually had decent luck in past on the Islands so we'll see how that holds.  I collect too much crap so usually I can find something.     It'll be kind of neat to see how that goes. 

Probably no Hana yet again (six year old - bored in the car) but lots of awesome plans again - Haleakala, snorkel cruise to Molokini; golf on Lanai, might scuba dive if the opportunity presents itself.  Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu; wife and daughter are going to swim with the dolphins (I'm too cheap to do it) as well. 

As I said on the previous page, this is one hell of a perk for being older than most of you

[Mikey D]

Snorkeling at Molokini was awesome and I enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We did that as part of a tour group and it was much better than just showing up and walking throught the Center blind.  The tour guide knew the best way to get around and plan the day and gave out facts that you wouldn't get just by walking around by yourself.  Plus he was part of the Figi show (him being from Figi and all).  And stay for the night show, you won't be disappointed (and make sure you get one of those ice cream and fruit in a pineapple thingamagigs.  Delicious). Good stuff.

Didn't get a chance to golf while I was out there, hopefully next time.  You bringing your own clubs or just renting on the island?

I'm trying to talk my family into doing Christmas there one year instead of the usual buy gifts and exchange routine we do every year.  Probably not next year, but hopefully 2008.  I'd love to go back, there's so much I didn't see last time I was there.

[Nicklab]

Enjoy Brent!  I remember the Polynesian cultural center pretty well, and it's 20 years since I've been to Hawaii.  The whole place was pretty cool, although it's a little touristy.  It could probably be pretty cool to check out the North end of Oahu and see some of the big surf that's coming in at this time of year.

[David]

Well, I cant say anything about Maui and Oahu, but ive been to the big island. it is very nice. the toy selection at a walmart there got me all my post-OTCs! have fun. 

[Diddly]

My family went to Hawaii again this past June, but we only stayed on Waikiki/Oahu. Your daughter will probably enjoy the Honolulu Zoo, although it's quite fun for everyone. You should also try going to the north of the island and all of the famous beaches, though you should get there early. Otherwise you'll either not be able to find a parking spot or you'll have to walk a ways to get to the beaches. Also, climb Diamondhead. It's a great view once you get to the top, although it is quite a hike to the top. I don't know if you or your family are up for it. Also, you may get to see the giant waves, maybe even the famous surfers who ride them.

We went to an awesome snorkeling spot, I think it was Wayamea Bay (sp?)? I can't remember for sure, but it's the crater where you have to get there early before all the parking spots fill up. The best way to get there is to take the city bus there, it's much less of a hassle, although they stop going there after a certain time so you have to watch the time.

Restaurants on Oahu. There's a place next to the Honolulu Zoo called Teddy's Better Burgers. Eat there. Best burgers and shakes I think I've ever eaten. Another great restaurant on Oahu is Keo's, it's supposed to be world famous so you might have heard of it. Thai food. Good stuff, and awesome service. Our waiter's name was Hal I think, so ask for him if you like to laugh. And then there's always Duke's Canoe Club which has pretty good food as well.

Have fun, hopefully some of this advice will pay off for you.

[Morgbug]

Thanks guys for the comments.

I've actually been to the PCC before, but it was, um, before many of you were born.  LOL.  We're planning on doing the full tour thing there with dinner and the evening show as well.  $300 beans for the three of us but it should be fun. 

As for golfing Mikey, last time I golfed I just rented.  They tend to be pretty high end clubs at the courses and you can rent off course too.  The hitch is I'm a lefty, so it's a bit tricky finding clubs in the US at times.  Fortunately Hawaii gets so many tourists, they often have LH clubs in stock for rentals if nothing else.  We might go back for 2008 and we're staying right up until two days before Christmas, so I'm very curious to see how the crowds are.  If they're not too bad, we might be back and stay until January next time.  Might also swing Fiji into the trip.  I think it's only another 6 hours beyond Hawaii if memory serves me correctly. 

Diddly, thanks for the restaurant advice, it'll help.  I think I mentioned I was there back in 1988 but that's obviously a long time.  I think the bay you wee at was Hanauma Bay on the south end of the island.  We took the bus back in 88 and it was cool.  We may do the same again this time.  I climbed Diamond Head before when I went with my parents, but that's before the last ice age.  I'd like to do it again. 

As for eating, we'll be eating at Maui Taco a bunch

[Nicklab]

Awesome snorkling spot on Oahu is almost always going to be Hanauma Bay.  I can remember snorkling there like it was yesterday.  Too bad that was 1986!  But I definitely preferred the beach there to Waikiki.

So where are you staying on Maui, Brent?  Anywhere near the Lahaina area?  That area is just amazing.  I'm still amazed about what it was like to swim there.  I think I swam about a hundred yards off shore and dove down to the bottom.  Probably about 20 - 30 feet down, and the ocean floor was nothing but volcanic basalt.  Very cool to see if you're used to swimming where it's all sandy.  But I imagine that you might be there around a decent time of year to see some whales in the waters between Maui and Lanai.  And get some shaved ice while you're there!

Maui was amazing, but I still really want to see the Big Island.  I really need to get back there!

[JesseVader08]

Brent, you suck.   

[RenegadeJedi]

In Honolulu, go to Leonards bakery and get yourself some Malasada's. The bell hope gave me great directions there so I tipped him with 1/2 doxen of the chocolate filled ones!

I second that of KEO's...EXCELLENT food...and I am not crazy about Thai!