Hearts in Hawai'i
Our Trip to Hawai'i (2007)--Day 1
4/23/2007
About These Pictures
The pics you'll find throughout this review were taken with a Nikon D50. Some were taken using a circular polarizing lens. By clicking a thumbnail, you'll access a larger version of that picture.
Restaurants
To view our ratings for the restaurants we visited on Oahu, the Big Island and Maui, click here.
Prologue
This was our fourth trip to Hawai`i, and our first visit to the Big Island. Also included were stays on Oahu and Maui. It was also a trip in which we were (finally) able to use our Northwest Airlines World Perks Points, which had been accumulating since our first trip to the Aloha State in 1996. Finding the opportunity to use these points wasn't easy by any means; if you have a strict timeframe in which you want to travel, you can very well find yourself out of luck. Even with a wide timeframe where we were willing to travel (mid-March to late-April), going to the Northwest website every couple days wasn't resulting in any flights which were open to using our points. Eventually we asked our travel agent's assistance, and she managed to come through with an open flight just one day after we asked! Outstanding.
There was some inconvenience in using these points, however. Our Duluth to Minneapolis flight left at 5:20 a.m., requiring us to be up by 3:00 that morning. Not fun. On the other end, our flight from Honolulu to San Francisco didn't leave on our final day until 10:00, begging the question of what the heck we were going to do after returning our rental car at the Kahului Airport at 1:00 that afternoon. As it turned out, we spent several hours wandering (mostly aimlessly) around the Honolulu Airport. Hey, if you're going to spend hours in an airport, Honolulu is as good a choice as any. 
This website is done in journal style; in other words, formatted in chronological order.
Day 1: Getting There
The flights from Duluth to Minneapolis and from Minneapolis to Honolulu were uneventful. The MSP-HNL flight was on a new Airbus 330 jet, which features individual screens on all the seats (even in Coach class!). You can pass a goodly amount of time (which helps during this grueling 8 1/2 hour flight) watching movies, listening to music, tracking the flight and playing games.
We were in Honolulu by 3:30 p.m.; after retrieving our checked luggage and walking over to the Budget Rent-a-car office, we had our rental car (a Subaru Impreza) and were on the H-1 freeway bound for Waikiki. With music accompaniment courtesy of KINE-FM (The Hawaii Music Station), we were finally taking in the sights and smells of a perfect 85 degree day. Man, what a feeling it is to be here once again!
So much so that getting lost after getting off the H-1 near Waikiki didn't even bother us...much.
Shortly after takeoff from Duluth
Approaching Minneapolis airport
Passing over Makapu`u on O`ahu
Diamond Head
Man-made lagoons at Ko`olina
Approach to Honolulu airport
Queen Kapiolani Hotel
Finding the check-in desk at the Queen Kapiolani Hotel on Kapahulu Avenue is interesting; you have to turn off the main street, take an alley and then wind up in the back of the hotel. I don't recall encountering this at any other hotel we've ever stayed at. Not that this is a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it. But I really like the open-air registration area. Each morning they have complimentary newspapers available for guests near the registration desk.
We got to our room after parking the car in the underground lot. Parking is $15/day, which is what I consider to be a rip-off but it's the normal rip-off on Waikiki...be prepared should you choose to rent a car on Oahu. Renting a car on Oahu isn't necessary, but it does afford you a little extra freedom. We're on the ninth floor with a fantastic view of Diamond Head, Kapiolani Park, the Honolulu Zoo and the ocean. The view ranked up there with what we had at the Park Shore Hotel in 2002. The room is decent-sized. It needs renovation but everything works well. The two full-sized beds were very comfortable. Either bed was big enough for us both to sleep in. There was a stove with two burners (no oven), a small fridge along with a toaster, a microwave, and a coffee maker. There were no pans to cook with but our trip to Foodland solved that minor issue. Counter space was minimal and the kitchenette overall was small, especially if both people were in there at the same time. No screen windows existed in the room, just slats which opened/closed to let in more air, plus any bugs which decided to join you. This wasn't a problem during our stay, however. The closet space and dresser drawer space were good. There was a locked doorway leading to the adjacent room which was a pain because we can hear everything going on in that room. Loud TV fairly late at night came from their room more than once.
Due to its value, this was an easy place to recommend, unless you're looking for perfection. In which case, go to the Hilton Hawaiian Village or the Halikulani and pay $400+ per night.
After doing some unpacking, we headed up to Foodland on Harding Avenue, which I was told later is the busiest supermarket in Oahu. No idea on the voracity of that claim but getting there at around 5:00, finding a parking spot in a small lot was tough. Patty's mom gave us her Maika`i Card to use, saving us early $30 off a $130 bill!
Getting back from Foodland, I decided to take a quick walk down to the beach by the Park Shore Hotel (where we stayed in 2002, 2004 and 2010) to check things out on the Kapahulu Groin. As I took the short two block walk, I find myself relaxing and grinning. We're back here.. in Hawai`i! And with 20 full days ahead of us, I looked forward to an incredible vacation.
Closet area in our Queen Kapiolani room
View toward Waikiki from our lanai
Diamond Head view
First morning on O`ahu
Pool area from our ninth floor room
Teddy's Bigger Burgers
Having put away our stocks of food (space to store food in the kitchenette is somewhat lacking), and making the calls back home to let folks know we had arrived safely, we headed out for dinner. We'd initially wanted to eat at Lulu's (at the Park Shore Hotel, replacing the old Denny's, which I'd loved), but the place was a din of activity and we weren't in the mood for noise at this point. So, we headed a block up to Teddy's Bigger Burgers.
I should probably give Teddy's another try when I’m not fried after an eight hour flight. No atmosphere and I thought their prices were high considering the quality of their burgers. This is a loud family-oriented place.
In bed by 9:30 (remember, our bodies are still on Duluth time, which is 2:30 a.m., so we're pretty beat). An awesome start to this 22-day trip.
Previous: 4/30/2006--Our Caribbean Cruise (2006)--Day 9
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