Sunday 4/14:
We were up again early on Sunday for our long day at Diamondhead and Waikiki. At this point I am starting to worry about a mutiny from the teenagers as we all know how much they love their sleeptime…but whatever, I’ll take my chances-we are on vacation in paradise…you can sleep at home!!
I must admit, I dragged my feet a little this morning as Tiger Woods was making a run at a green jacket at the Masters! Fortunately I was able to drag myself away from the tv and we headed out for our usual breakfast stop at the Island Country Market across the street before heading to Diamondhead.
It was a hot morning and we ran into a parking issue since there was some sort of road race taking place and we has a difficult time finding parking (we couldn’t get to the Diamondhead lot because the road was closed for the race which ended up being a blessing in disguise!) My crew was losing interest in finding a parking spot but I was determined not to miss this opportunity (I never made the trek up Diamondhead on my previous trip to Oahu). We finally settled on a paring lot “reserved” for a school or something but it was a Sunday and I was willing to risk it! It was a bit of a walk to just get up the driveway to the Diamondhead entrance but we quickly saw the blessing as anyone who was able to enter very early (before the race) was stopped from exiting until the racers had passed!
We paid our entrance fee and began the climb! It was a long and winding climb up the crater and I made sure to keep my lead as to avoid a knife in my back from the potential “mutineers” behind me! We stopped a few times for various pictures and water (which we had brought with us). I am proud to say that the crew sucked it up and seemed to be happy that they day when we finally reached the summit (my evidence of their contentness being the fact that I am writing this now!)
The views were breathtaking:
It was truly amazing. It was also very inspiring to see the various people (many elderly and physically challenged) making the hike! It put my crew’s complaints to rest!
The crowds had certainly increased on our decent and we were again grateful for our early start and arrival!
After getting back to the jeep (and feeling fortunate for no parking ticket!) we headed for Waikiki. We found a parking lot 2 blocks from the beach at a hotel that allowed public parking. We made our way down to the shore where we quickly took in the beautiful views (and LOTS of people). The crew was hungry, and we set out to find Duke’s (which has conveniently close by). After a short wait we were seated in a great spot outside overlooking the beach. We had a great lunch to go along with a couple of Duke’s famous Mai Tai’s and non-alcohol drinks for the teens. We now headed for the beach and found a nice spot to sit. We rented a surf board for the teens and they headed out to the beautiful water of Waikiki beach! (I thought it was so cool to look back at Diamondhead from Waikiki beach after looking at Waikiki beach from Diamondhead just hours earlier!)
I can’t say that it was the most successful day of catching waves but they all (allegedly) managed to get up at least once. We wrapped up the surfing session and agreed to go our separate ways for a couple of hours…Bec and I to the Mai Tai bar…
…and the teens to shop and find icecream. We enjoyed our Mai Tai’s and then took a walk through the shops before meeting up with the kids, getting the jeep and heading back to Aulani for our now routine of early evening pool, hottub time. We debated our dinner options and settled on Assaggio Italian not far from Aulani (near target I recall). It is a non-descript building but our meal was good to very good, fast and reasonable. We would go back if in the area! We headed back to Aulani headed to bed after our very active and fulfilling day!
…next up Pearl harbor!
We were up again early on Sunday for our long day at Diamondhead and Waikiki. At this point I am starting to worry about a mutiny from the teenagers as we all know how much they love their sleeptime…but whatever, I’ll take my chances-we are on vacation in paradise…you can sleep at home!!
I must admit, I dragged my feet a little this morning as Tiger Woods was making a run at a green jacket at the Masters! Fortunately I was able to drag myself away from the tv and we headed out for our usual breakfast stop at the Island Country Market across the street before heading to Diamondhead.
It was a hot morning and we ran into a parking issue since there was some sort of road race taking place and we has a difficult time finding parking (we couldn’t get to the Diamondhead lot because the road was closed for the race which ended up being a blessing in disguise!) My crew was losing interest in finding a parking spot but I was determined not to miss this opportunity (I never made the trek up Diamondhead on my previous trip to Oahu). We finally settled on a paring lot “reserved” for a school or something but it was a Sunday and I was willing to risk it! It was a bit of a walk to just get up the driveway to the Diamondhead entrance but we quickly saw the blessing as anyone who was able to enter very early (before the race) was stopped from exiting until the racers had passed!
We paid our entrance fee and began the climb! It was a long and winding climb up the crater and I made sure to keep my lead as to avoid a knife in my back from the potential “mutineers” behind me! We stopped a few times for various pictures and water (which we had brought with us). I am proud to say that the crew sucked it up and seemed to be happy that they day when we finally reached the summit (my evidence of their contentness being the fact that I am writing this now!)
The views were breathtaking:
It was truly amazing. It was also very inspiring to see the various people (many elderly and physically challenged) making the hike! It put my crew’s complaints to rest!
The crowds had certainly increased on our decent and we were again grateful for our early start and arrival!
After getting back to the jeep (and feeling fortunate for no parking ticket!) we headed for Waikiki. We found a parking lot 2 blocks from the beach at a hotel that allowed public parking. We made our way down to the shore where we quickly took in the beautiful views (and LOTS of people). The crew was hungry, and we set out to find Duke’s (which has conveniently close by). After a short wait we were seated in a great spot outside overlooking the beach. We had a great lunch to go along with a couple of Duke’s famous Mai Tai’s and non-alcohol drinks for the teens. We now headed for the beach and found a nice spot to sit. We rented a surf board for the teens and they headed out to the beautiful water of Waikiki beach! (I thought it was so cool to look back at Diamondhead from Waikiki beach after looking at Waikiki beach from Diamondhead just hours earlier!)
I can’t say that it was the most successful day of catching waves but they all (allegedly) managed to get up at least once. We wrapped up the surfing session and agreed to go our separate ways for a couple of hours…Bec and I to the Mai Tai bar…
…and the teens to shop and find icecream. We enjoyed our Mai Tai’s and then took a walk through the shops before meeting up with the kids, getting the jeep and heading back to Aulani for our now routine of early evening pool, hottub time. We debated our dinner options and settled on Assaggio Italian not far from Aulani (near target I recall). It is a non-descript building but our meal was good to very good, fast and reasonable. We would go back if in the area! We headed back to Aulani headed to bed after our very active and fulfilling day!
…next up Pearl harbor!
Last edited:
