Mini Pandemic Trip Report to Oahu including Aulani

[nono]

These aren't my thing, so bear with me. We (two 50-something parents, a 16 yr old and 14 yr old) had plans for Hokkaido Snow Festival. Then skiing in Hakuba. Then golfing in Florida. So how did we end up in Hawaii? Well we live in NJ. And in early December, we still had a "safe states to visit" program. About 12 minutes after I changed all flights and moved DVC and Hilton reservations around to go to Oahu, the Gov. (Yes, I'm looking at you Murph!) decided if only one state remained, why bother. I wavered. In the end, if we didn't travel last week of Jan/first week of Feb, it would be another year before we could travel.

So we stayed firm. We endured having non-stops from Newark disappear. So now we were connecting coming and going. I got a Masters degree equivalent in Hawaii's Safe Travel Program. And after we tested on Jan. 20 at Walgreens, we pulled out the luggage and dumped our summer clothes* and raincoats into the bags and waited. My husband tested at lunchtime and received his results around 3-3:30 pm, while the kids and I were at the same location testing. We were supposed to test at XPresCheck in Newark airport on Thursday afternoon and to stay up there for our Friday morning flight, but Walgreens just opened another IDNow testing location fairly close to us (40 min away), and we chose that route. Before we knew it, we were really going.

We had to connect through LAX, but both flights were really comfortable (You know it's a pandemic if you can't fly direct on United from Newark). When we arrived it was...interesting. Basically everything was closed and a lot of workers formed a line and welcomed us and thanked us for coming to visit. The arrival folks who checked our Safe Travels items made a point to thank us for coming. We went to National Emerald Aisle and they were super polite and thanked us for coming. We were thanking everyone for having us. And I guess because all the shops were shut, I didn't even think about the lei stands.

We managed to get our luggage in our mid size SUV, and made our way quickly to the Embassy Suites in Waikiki. You would have thought we had been there before. The workers made a big fuss and again, thanked us for coming. It was a theme. And we were so grateful to be receiving their hospitality! Our room was GREAT! I had booked, run of house, lowest rate, and when I checked in on the Hilton app, it suggested a room near where I wanted to be. I took it. Views looking left, down and right.

 

[nono]

Yeah, those are Friday night pictures around 6 p.m. Little quiet on Lewers St.

 

[nono]

Our first morning in Oahu and we weren't up too early. This morning, we took a walk down to Hilton Hawaiian Village via the little beach between the Sheraton and Halekulani Resort. Not many people out. We met a few folks around HHV and they weren't too happy with their accomodations. It had been about 15 years since staying there, and the extra towers, plus the pandemic, it seemed bleak.

 

[nono]

We just poked around all over, and eventually went with intent to the International Market. Being from the (real) South Jersey, Mitsuwa Marketplace is like a 3 hour ordeal to get to...and we had already had Poke Bar (very good) from Lewers St. the night before in the room, and we wanted some more chill time (reading and eating, and maybe some card playing), so we went to Mitsuwa. I think we spent $200. For "lunch and snacks in the room." Not the best Mituswa ever, but their fresh food was good!


That evening, we had booked a sunset cruise on the Mai Ta'i. It was chill and very fun. Up to 10' swells in Waikiki in January made for a really rockin' cruise. Tons of fun. Bar included.



You can spot the Mai Ta'i out on the water by its full green sails.

 

[nono]

Having problems loading pics. Will pick up tomorrow. More pics, less discussion...

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Thank you this is awesome! We are planning a trip for August and you're the second person to mention the Embassy suites I'm going to have to check them out. We are from upstate NY and were going to drive to Newark for the direct united flight but may as well fly out of our local airport and connect in Chicago. What was flying like with the masks and the protocols were you spaced out?

 

[happymommy]

Thank you this is awesome! We are planning a trip for August and you're the second person to mention the Embassy suites I'm going to have to check them out. We are from upstate NY and were going to drive to Newark for the direct united flight but may as well fly out of our local airport and connect in Chicago. What was flying like with the masks and the protocols were you spaced out?

I think the Newark nonstop route was only temporarily halted; same with Dulles. They should be back for the summer (I’m booked late fall nonstop from Dulles).

 

[alohamom]

I got a Masters degree equivalent in Hawaii's Safe Travel Program.

Great report so far! So weird to see the streets in Waikiki that quiet.

 

[Littlelulu01]

Thanks for sharing. I appreciate your details very much. We’re heading down in a few days.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Great report, I'm definitely following along! We will be staying at the same hotel this June with our 12 and 14 year olds.

 

[nono]

Thanks for the kind comments. To finish off with the Mai Ta'i cruise Saturday night, I had one Mai Tai. They were surprised I didn't want a second. So, they are not stingy with the bar. It was really a nice first evening. My husband really relaxed while out on the cruise and the crew got the other small groups (a couple of couples and a party of 3, if I'm recalling correctly) all interacting as the cruise went on. Just low key jokes, etc. All around nice experience.

Like rookies, we didn't make a dinner plan for after the cruise. I wanted to do something other than go to Poke Bar and eat in the room, despite how good it was the night before. We poked around the Royal Hawaiian Center and found TsuruTonTan Udon Brasserie, which it turns out is a Japanese chain. Service was great, and the Udon choices were quite affordable and good. I got a karaage fix here. Not bad!! We had a Japanese "polite fight" of bowing upon exiting. I think we lost. The host was a professional. I am very sad we didn't get back there again.


The next morning was Sunday morning, and we were on East Coast time, so: SWAP MEET!!!!


We didn't get parked at Aloha Stadium 'til 8 a.m., which was fine. (6:30 a.m. start on Sundays). Here, there were people, but the tourist ring, the outer ring, was pretty dead. We bought some things. At the end of one trip around the stadium, we jumped to the second ring and bought baggies of coconut and mango. We went ot the car to eat, and my husband said, "Oh we don't have anything to eat with..." One of the ladies working the fruit stand had given my son 4 forks, each wrapped with some paper towel. Such a smooth transaction, he hadn't noticed. It was perfect. Thick young coconut and a perfectly ripe mango. Just what we needed!

So, since going to Japan, I have a Daiso obsession. It's like a really good dollar store. There was a Daiso in Pearl City, not too far from the Swap Meet, so my family humored me and we went. On the way, I saw a Leonard's truck and we pulled in to get a 6 pack of Malasadas. We split each flavor in quarters to share. Yum!


The trek to Daiso was so worth it in a way I couldn't have predicted. Got these for $1.50...

Those saved me when we arrived back in Newark to only half of the 30" of snow melted in an uncovered parking lot.

And, yes, we did get some things from the Swap Meet. (Gloves make a second apprearance in the haul.)



We napped, and then got up and swam/snorkeled off Fort DeRussy Park. Showered after we got back and went to Roy's Waikiki downstairs for dinner. I know sometimes Roy's can be hit or miss, but it was a very perfectly paced meal, with super service and each course was delicious. I think we look pretty happy.

 

[nono]

I think the Newark nonstop route was only temporarily halted; same with Dulles. They should be back for the summer (I’m booked late fall nonstop from Dulles).

Yeah, it just shows how deep the pandemic has affected everything. It's not gone forever. It was unfortunately gone for us in our time period.

Thank you this is awesome! We are planning a trip for August and you're the second person to mention the Embassy suites I'm going to have to check them out. We are from upstate NY and were going to drive to Newark for the direct united flight but may as well fly out of our local airport and connect in Chicago. What was flying like with the masks and the protocols were you spaced out?

So, Chicago is where we connected through on our way back. It was like 2/3 normal that morning at O'Hare and our flight was full back to Newark. It was the only one that was full. United has been true to its word on all 4 segments in that it ran auxillary power the entire time so that airflow was full force. Scott Kirby is on the record saying that it's the airflow that made the DOT safety numbers so good, so he's committed to aux power on flights in ground stops, at the gates, etc. And it happened. Mask wasn't bad. I switched to a fresh one partway through each flight. We connected through LAX on the way out, and once we were underway, people were allowed to move around to any other seat in their fare class. That probably also happened on other flights, but on the LAX to HNL there was a specific announcement.

 

[nono]

Great report so far! So weird to see the streets in Waikiki that quiet.

Yes, a couple times it was like the world had ended, and no one had told us. Seriously, if someone has the time to go visit now, please do, safely. While we enjoyed having a rather private time of it, it isn't good for the folks in hospitality. But be aware on Saturday nights, you will need a dinner plan, as locals are doing their best to partronize everyone who is open.

 

[luvdmouse]

We are booked at the Embassy Suites for the first few nights of our trip in May and then onto Aulani. Any suggestions or comments about the Embassy Suites?

 

[Laurca1]

These aren't my thing, so bear with me. We (two 50-something parents, a 16 yr old and 14 yr old) had plans for Hokkaido Snow Festival. Then skiing in Hakuba. Then golfing in Florida. So how did we end up in Hawaii? Well we live in NJ. And in early December, we still had a "safe states to visit" program. About 12 minutes after I changed all flights and moved DVC and Hilton reservations around to go to Oahu, the Gov. (Yes, I'm looking at you Murph!) decided if only one state remained, why bother. I wavered. In the end, if we didn't travel last week of Jan/first week of Feb, it would be another year before we could travel.

So we stayed firm. We endured having non-stops from Newark disappear. So now we were connecting coming and going. I got a Masters degree equivalent in Hawaii's Safe Travel Program. And after we tested on Jan. 20 at Walgreens, we pulled out the luggage and dumped our summer clothes* and raincoats into the bags and waited. My husband tested at lunchtime and received his results around 3-3:30 pm, while the kids and I were at the same location testing. We were supposed to test at XPresCheck in Newark airport on Thursday afternoon and to stay up there for our Friday morning flight, but Walgreens just opened another IDNow testing location fairly close to us (40 min away), and we chose that route. Before we knew it, we were really going.

We had to connect through LAX, but both flights were really comfortable (You know it's a pandemic if you can't fly direct on United from Newark). When we arrived it was...interesting. Basically everything was closed and a lot of workers formed a line and welcomed us and thanked us for coming to visit. The arrival folks who checked our Safe Travels items made a point to thank us for coming. We went to National Emerald Aisle and they were super polite and thanked us for coming. We were thanking everyone for having us. And I guess because all the shops were shut, I didn't even think about the lei stands.

We managed to get our luggage in our mid size SUV, and made our way quickly to the Embassy Suites in Waikiki. You would have thought we had been there before. The workers made a big fuss and again, thanked us for coming. It was a theme. And we were so grateful to be receiving their hospitality! Our room was GREAT! I had booked, run of house, lowest rate, and when I checked in on the Hilton app, it suggested a room near where I wanted to be. I took it. Views looking left, down and right.


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Lovely pictures

 

[nono]

We are booked at the Embassy Suites for the first few nights of our trip in May and then onto Aulani. Any suggestions or comments about the Embassy Suites?

Stay tuned! Are you travelling with kids?

Oh, and I went back and filled in some photos for that first weekend in the prior posts. I told you, I'm not really good at writing these up. Going to get better as we go. Promise.

 

[nono]

Monday, January 25. We were semi-adjusted to Hawaii time. Didn't wake up 'til 5:30 (10:30 east coast time). Woke to rain. And customers back on the sandbar melting down. We have an IT company for small businesses in a shore town in NJ...dear customer had a bad Monday s start. Luckily, our backup jumped right on the sitch and squared things away.

I was ready for the bar by 6:30 a.m.! Major adrenaline hit. It was raining pretty good. So I thought, where can we go that if we totally gets rained out, it won't matter much? The Dole Plantation! (I had never been).

So away we went. We got there quickly (before they opened), and it was another "I think the world ended" moment as we were the only ones there, 10 minutes before the place opened. We wanted to do the maze and train ride, but the maze was closed. So we did train ride and visited the large gift shop.





Then we continued up to the North Shore, where there were NO waves. They were epic the week before, we didn't pack our swim bag, and we could have swum. Oh well. Not on home turf, and I didn't get to watch the weather because of the customer issues in the morning. Really, if it isn't summer, please watch the weather reports as it helps pick out which side of the island to surf or to swim.

So, we decided to have lunch at the Hale 'Iwa Beach House, because I had seen their menu and it looked good. Being obvious tourists, we were treated very well, and given a great table for lunch near the firepit (not in use). Wow! I could go back there about 10x on a trip and not get bored with their menu. Our server was very conversational. Gave us some good tips on what to see. We have 1 photo from this stop, and it's my daughter's poke bowl. She ate poke all 14 days. Not cheap, but a good value.


Then we drove north and then east down Oahu, and stopped here and there at interesting places. One beach park we stopped at got us snapping photos...no idea where we were. Possibly north of the Courtyard by Marriott North Shore. You can see the weather. But the wind hadn't really built up on Monday yet on the east side. We should have had our swim gear...




As we cut back across the island and approached Honolulu, the rain returned with force. Being from a little barrier island, we flood like mad in big rainstorms, so we dealt with this like it was normal, and the folks at the Embassy Suites seemed glad we made it back. Later that night, we found out it was a record rainfall day for that date in history. All I knew was that it meant no ocean swimming tomorrow due to run off. I think we had Poke Bar for dinner in the room that night.

 

[luvdmouse]

Stay tuned! Are you travelling with kids?

Oh, and I went back and filled in some photos for that first weekend in the prior posts. I told you, I'm not really good at writing these up. Going to get better as we go. Promise.

Yes. We are traveling with our kids... but they are 21, 21 and 24. Graduation trip for all 3... twins from undergrad and oldest from law school. Reserved a 2 bedroom both at embassy suites and Aulani.

 

[nono]

Yes. We are traveling with our kids... but they are 21, 21 and 24. Graduation trip for all 3... twins from undergrad and oldest from law school. Reserved a 2 bedroom both at embassy suites and Aulani.

OK, great! Mine are 14 and 16 (now 17), so yeah, you will have a good time there. 2 BR necessary for 3 adult children at Embassy as the rooms are fine, but not oversized. I rearranged the living room furniture to make for better card playing. Ask for Keoni from Bell Services. He's a wonderful man! Once I get through the report,I think you will have a few things to do with young adults.

 

[nono]

Oh one photo I missed putting in the Monday edition, I'll call it Scenes from the Back Seat....



Tuesday was a really fun day, with lots of photos. Pulling that together today. Stay tuned!