I wanna go back to my Fish & Poi

We recently completed our trip to Oahu… and I must say… I feel like we explored the entire Island 🙂

First off, we had to move our travel dates to 2 days later because of the category 4 hurricane that was threatening Oahu at the time. It had already hit the Big Island and some parts of Maui… so we decided to heed the warning and not even risk it.

So how was Roman on the plane ride? On the way to Honolulu, my son took a 2 hour nap which was awesome! Then we watched a little bit of “Coco.” When he got tired of the movie… we played on my phone, gave him some snacks, and we would pass him back and forth when he would seem to get tired of whichever parent. For the most part, he was just happy… so that flight went very smoothly.

On the way back, however… Roman was a bit more fussy. He would let out this scream which would freak me out. Mostly because I was concerned about what the other passengers would think. I think he was getting restless… he wanted to explore. He was starting to climb up on my seat and was kicking the food tray in front of us. I would pass him over to Chris and when Roman wanted to do something that he wasn’t allowed to, he would let out that scream. He fell asleep for about an hour while I watched some documentaries that were part of the in-flight entertainment. I don’t think I will ever fly Hawaiian Airlines again… mainly because they do not have wi-fi AND every movie or TV show they offer required you to pay. I believe the Keiki package was $5.99 (which consisted of a few movies, games, and tv shows). I may have been too frugal for that. Who knows.

The Hotel: We stayed for 5 nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. Thanks to our Credit Card points, this whole stay was FREEEE. Well sort of… so we get there and we were assigned a really stinky room in the Tapa Tower. I would avoid staying in this tower at all costs. It is old and the hallways look like a scene from the Shining. The “Junior Suite” we were assigned to had a “partial Ocean view” so we only got a view of the ocean from the corner. First of all, Diamond Head is blocked, and you get more views of other high risers in the area. So we get there and I immediately want to be transferred to a different room. But First, we had to go to a luau at our hotel. Which I also do NOT recommend. The luau was INDOORS and the food isn’t all that great. I’m not super sure if it’s always indoors or if it was because of the weather. Also, you tend to get sick of all the guys slapping themselves around and making weird faces during the haka sequence. The pools were pretty awesome. Although I wish they had some sort of water slides. I’ve stayed at the Sheraton in Waikiki and I feel like that hotel is much nicer with a variety of pools to choose from. Including an Infinity pool and a better access to the beach. I felt like the HHV was overrated… I didn’t think that the lagoon was all that great. The water in that lagoon was colder than the ocean water and the sand wasn’t as fine as I had hoped. (I know what you’re thinking… first world problems).

I don’t think I’d stay at that hotel again.

I was really happy that we got to stay at the Turtle Bay Resort for 2 nights. North Shore is just more beautiful than Honolulu/Waikiki area. It felt more tropical with the abundance of plants and coconut trees along the way. The beaches were less crowded, apart from Waimea Bay. My favorite beach was Laniakea Beach aka Turtle Beach. We were more on the side closer to Turtle Beach so we had more sand area than the other side. Anyhow, TBR is sort of Boujee… we were welcomed with a small pack of chocolate covered macadamia nut and a letter. The view we got was of the pool and the ocean as well as the bar area. I felt that this crowd reminded me more of Huntington/Newport Beach. It was far from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki. Anyways… I guess you always get what you pay for because this hotel cost us $400 per night. Which is why we could only stay there for 2 nights lol. But it was well worth it 🙂 The hot tubs were probably the best part of the hotel. And unlike HHV, you can order room service at this hotel.

The Highs: Hiking the Manoa Falls Trail and getting in the water 🙂 Snorkeling at Hanauma bay Going to Turtle Beach (even though we didn’t see any turtles) Drinking as much fresh young coconut as I can get Eating fresh ahi poke in North Shore

Here are some photos we took during our trip.. I’m still going through withdrawals.

Best birthday ever! Got to spend it with family in Hawaii. Who could ask for anything more?! Posted by Rowena Similar on Monday, September 3, 2018