We arrive in Honolulu and have booked accommodation through Craigslist. It is a high-rise building on the 36th floor with a mid-way glass balcony, which instantly makes me nervous! In hindsight, I would not do this again because it is not up to our standard, and this is why we have now become luxury travel experts. We have gained experience in the safety you need to have with online sights and accommodation booking sites for family travel.
The lights in the hills are just lovely as we look out from the spa. The pool is freezing, so I leave that to my seven-year-old son to enjoy.
We have been living with one small bag of clothes for the past week, and I had left the bulk of our luggage at the home of the family we stayed with prior. I cannot wait to throw these clothes out. Traveling in the same clothes is super boring. However, a travel tip is to go to Wall-mart or just buy souvenir t-shirts. Here in Hawaii, they are only $3-$4 each.
Next day we meet our new friends, who have managed to work out how to use our international sim card on our phones – quite tricky! We enjoy lunch at famous Dukes right on Waikiki. The food here is great – I highly recommend it, but there is a long wait to get in.
My son has discovered some new kids books and uses the time to read.
Travel tip:
Hotels, lobbies, some cafes, and yacht clubs etc all have a ‘swap book area’. You can leave your used ones, and replenish your supplies. An ideal way to save $$ and not to carry extra items once finished with.
When you get to Pearl Harbor, you book your tour as you have to go by boat to the site where SS Arizona sunk. You are taken into a picture theatre before that. There, we watched a movie and learnt a lot. Our friend’s 4-year old knows so much about Pearl Harbor. So he teaches my son.
Pearl Harbor with kids is at it is a great time to learn about both history and respecting the past, we walk around the memorial it is very sobering and quiet.
It is amazing to see tiny drops of oil still bubbling to the surface. They say this is the sea crying for the dead. This is a really memorable moment in our travels – right here.
We are dropped back with our bags and need to pack for mainland USA. We decide to head to Waikiki to see the sunset. Some guy puts his South American birds on me on the street and takes a photo. I tell him to get them off as my shirt is wet at the back – poop!!!
As we walk back, my son strips off and runs through the synchronised fountain. Of course, the Japanese love this and stop to take his photo. It is lovely, as people smile as they see his joy. Oh to be free as a child!
We finish up with dinner at the Big Kahuna. I don’t personally recommend the food but maybe we just had a bad night, but it was a great place to just sit by the windows and watch people. It is iconic for Hawaii so the overall experience makes up for it? Maybe…