Day Eight

Because we didn't fly out until 10pm that evening we were able to have another great day in Oahu. Beau, Christopher and Andrew went to the Wet N Wild water park (that was just a few minutes drive from the condo) while Joshua and I went to the Honolulu Zoo. The zoo itself was smaller than Woodland Park Zoo at home but in such a beautiful location - right across the street from Waikiki Beach - and included a small, shaded park in the center. Joshua was enamored with the zoo map and we referenced it at least 50 times while walking through the zoo as he decided where we were going and what animals we would see.

Day Seven

Another lazy day spent primarily at the beach at Lagoon 4. By this time we had discovered the amazing snorkeling to be had just inside the lagoon out in the deeper water. We could see trigger fish, angel fish, sea urchins and a whole lot of other tropical fish we couldn't identify. Beau and I have agreed that we need a parents-only trip to Hawaii sometime soon so that we can spend more time snorkeling (e.g., we didn't make it Hanauma Bay as planned but primarily because snorkeling wasn't high on the boys list of things to do).

That evening, Beau and the boys stayed at the condo and ate pizza with a movie while Grandma, Andrew and I went out for sushi. Found an absolutely amazing place in downtown Honolulu - Sushi Sasabune. There were almost 250 reviews for the place on Yelp and the vast majority were 5 stars. It was the most incredible, mouth-watering, melt-in-your-mouth sushi any of us had ever had. I doubt I'll ever have sushi this good again without making another trip there. It was incredibly pricey but oh so worth it. While there is an a la carte menu the recommended menu is chef's choice. They serve you 13 courses, two rolls each, and it is a gustatory experience of the kind that I will remember for many years to come. Definitely go there if you are in Honolulu and enjoy sushi. OMG good.

Day Six

While Grandma stayed home at the condo for her daily walk, the rest of us ventured into Honolulu after breakfast to hike up Diamond Head. I made the mistake of telling Joshua that we were going to hike a volcano, thinking that that would get him excited about the outing. The opposite actually happened - he cried and got very upset because he did not want to hike through lava!

Despite the rocky start we all made it up to the top. It helped that we had time to fuel up at the bottom on water and fresh pineapple from a food stand in the parking lot (and we all realized that pineapple would never taste as good again until we were back in Hawaii). The views of the ocean and city and the crater were incredible and the promise of shave ice when we got to the bottom kept the boys going on the trip back down.

After the hike we drove back to the condo and went to dinner at the Marriott beach grille in front of Lagoon 3. The sunset was beautiful and we all had a great meal (including more fresh pineapple ;)

Day Five

The day before had been full of activites so we had a relatively quiet day at our favorite lagoon close to the condo. It was overcast but still incredibly warm and beautiful. Check out the huge sandcastle we built.

That evening we all went out to dinner at Roy's at the Ko Olina Golf Club. It was absolutely fabulous food - the Beef Short Ribs were to die for and we all enjoyed the meal. Do note that what they called Chocolate Souffle was actually chocolate lava cake. Our theory is that it was too frou-frou a restaurant to call it lava cake ;)

Day Four

Today was the day for visiting Pearl Harbor. We took the drive into Honolulu and parked. We knew that it could be a long day but we signed up for the free USS Arizona Memorial tour at 1:40 and had tickets to tour the USS Missouri and visit the Pacific Aviation Museum.

We took the air-conditioned tour bus across the bridge to Ford Island. The first stop was the USS Missouri battleship. Wow, that ship is HUGE!! We spent a long time on the walking tour, exploring all the various parts of the giant ship. Christopher and Beau even got to tour the electrician's shop, an area normally off limits to tourists but was shown to them as a favor to Beau being an ex-Navy electrician.

We got some quick burgers at the canteen by the Missouri and then hopped back on the bus to the Aviation Museum. At this point we knew we would not make the USS Arizona Memorial because it was already getting late in the afternoon and we were all a bit tired. There were some great planes on display at the museum and Christopher, myself and Andrew spent time on the combat flight simulators (fun!).

We decided to head on back to the condo in the later afternoon and try to do the Arizona Memorial on our last day in Hawaii before flying out. That evening we had chicken and pasta at the condo and played another roaring round of Scattergories. Christopher wow'ed us all by figuring out a word that begins with G that has four different vowels in it. Can you guess what it was?

(Hint: I had made it that evening to go with our margaritas. A key ingredient is avocadoes).

Day Three

We all took it pretty easy on Day 3. While Grandma and Andrew stayed at the condo, the four of us went back to Lagoon 4 for some swimming and sun. After a couple of hours, including the construction of several sand "people," we took the short walk to the outdoor bar and grill on the third lagoon in front of the Marriott (the same one we had visited for lunch on Day 1).

After some drinks, appetizers and ice cream, Joshua decided he wanted more swimming and sun. Christopher and I went back to the condo to clean up and Beau and Joshua continued to swim and play on the beach until late afternoon. That evening we ordered pizza for delivery and watched movies and played Scattergories.

Day Two

We had a full day of activities on our second day in Hawaii. We began the day by heading north to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. It was a short drive and a beautiful day. We started at the koi pond where you could feed the fish. They were crazy for the food and were massed along the edge of the feeding area, often out of the water and on top of other fish in their frenzy for the food.

Our first activity was riding the Pineapple Express train on a 20-minute guided tour of the plantation. We were all totally surprised to see real pineapple bushes - yes bushes, not trees - and Joshua was thrilled to ride a train.

After that we went inside and got the famous Dole Whip ice cream cones to shore up energy for the Pineapple Garden Maze, supposedly the world's largest maze. It includes nearly two and one-half miles of paths crafted from 14,000 colorful Hawaiian plants. Joshua and I left after we found 2 of the 8 hidden stations but Beau and Christopher quickly found the other 6 in about 15 minutes. Wow!

That night we went to the luau at Paradise Cove, part of the Ko'Olina Resort complex (so only a two-minute drive away!). Before dinner we rode outrigger canoes, played Puili bamboo rattle sticks, tried our hand at swinging poi balls and threw wooden spears. Christopher managed to get bull's eyes on both his attempts - don't ask how Andrew and I did! There were also a variety of demonstrations and short shows to entertain us.

We were all starved when dinner was served and we all enjoyed the pork and rice as well as the chicken and fish and assorted side dishes. The large mai tai's were also a hit with the adults. By 8pm the big show on the main stage started. Lots of traditional dancing and singing but I think we all enjoyed Joshua's dancing with the cutest little girl who was there with her parents.

We were exhausted by the time we left but it was a fabulous, full day.