I dunno where that is, but I doubt if I saw it. We stayed in Oahu. Our hotel was an outrageous 5-star job right on Waikiki Beach. First-class all the way, from the valet to the conceirge to the wait staff. Exceptional, I'd recommend the Sheraton Moana Surfrider to anyone.
We mostly stayed in the Waikiki Beach area, since the weather was stunning and the beach was tempting us to be beach bums. I did go to Kapolei and play golf at the incredibly beautiful
Ko Olina Golf Course. Click on the link to see their website. It was sure something to be playing golf on November 30th while wearing shorts and a polo shirt.
We also hit "Sea Life Park" which is outside Honolulu. Driving down route 72, we saw several scenic overpass areas. Lo and behold, I got to see an area that they simply MUST have filmed some scenes from "Lost". It was a bit disconcerting, actually. Felt like I'd been there before. Unfortunately, the weather turned a bit South that day, and it rained as we were heading to Kailua Beach. I had overheard someone in Sea Life World talking about Kailua Beach as the #3 beach
in the world, so we took a drive there. Even in the rain, the beach was magnificent.
We hopped back on 72 and cut through the mountains of Oahu. The mists shrouded the tops of the green mountains, and it was truly breathtaking.
One of the things that was so striking about Hawai'i is the fact that everything revolves around nature and the outdoors. When they build, they build
around nature, rather than destroy it. They incorporate 5,000-year-old Banyan trees into the hotel. Everywhere there are natural and man-made lava reflecting pools. Everyone just seems so happy and carefree. And why wouldn't they be? It's always 85 degrees and sunny. What's not to love.
We even got to eat authentic Hawai'ian food, at a hole-in-the-wall joint called
Ono's. Fantastic, although I'm not a big fan of poi.
FYI, those colorful shirts are called "Aloha Shirts",
not "Hawai'ian shirts. And they are as formal in Hawai'i as a dress shirt and tie are on the mainland.
I was also impressed with the level of support that the University of Hawai'i sports teams recieve. Granted, there's no pro or minor-league sports teams there, but it's impressive nonetheless. My only regret is that I didn't get to see a waterfall. Next time for sure. We did see several rainbows. I'll post some pics later this week.
The ONE pet peeve I had was TOO MANY JAPANESE TOURISTS!! I kept turning to my (Japanese) wife and asking, "We ARE in the United States, aren't we?" Hey I love visiting Japan. But if I wanted to be surrounded by smoking, rude, weird Japanese people, I would have
gone to Japan.
Overall the trip was fantastic, one the best vacations we've ever had. It was great seeing my Father-in-law, he really doted on my son. The weather was phenomenal, the state was gorgeous, and the golf was awesome. We'll be going back just as soon as we can! I recommend a visit to Hawai'i to anyone, you'll love it!
