Hearts in Hawai'i
Our Trip to Hawai'i (2007)--Day 4
4/26/2007
Diamond Head
The Diamond Head hike is an activity I recommend for everyone. It's not that difficult; I accomplished this five years ago while a three-pack-a-day smoker! However, if you have problems with your knees, the two long staircases encountered during this hike (76 stairs and 99 stairs) will probably give you some grief. For others, it's just a good cardio workout. Some people actually run up and down this trail regularly.
Patty came along on this hike. I'd told her about the 99-step stairway but had "forgot" to tell her about the other one. Oops! Anyway, we both made it to the top with little trouble other than profuse sweating. Believe me, the view from the top is worth it. To the east, you have views all the way to Koko Head. To the west, all of Waikiki is in view and you can also see the Waianae Mountains to the west of Honolulu. This is a fantastic photo opportunity!
It's $5/car to enter the crater (a roadway leads through a tunnel into the crater area and the parking lot), and on this day there was a guy positioned in the bunker at the top of the hike who was selling "certified" documents showing you made the hike for two dollars. Do this hike early in the morning before the heat of the day sets in. Rating: 9
Starting the hike up the trail
Great views on the way up!
Looking down towards Diamond Head Road
Hotels near San Souci Beach
Diamond Head Lighthouse
Hotels of Waikiki
A happy (and sweaty!) couple at the top
Patty's smiling because we're on the way back down
Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park
We've been to two other water parks during previous vacations (Noah's Ark in Wisconsin Dells and Wet-n-Wild in Orlando); Hawaiian Waters isn't nearly as large as the other two but you'll still have a very good time if the park isn't too busy. We were lucky today; being mid-week and during the school year, the park was pretty sparsely attended, and wait lines at the rides were extremely short.
As I said, it's a relatively small waterpark (25 acres, compared to 70 acres at Noah's Ark and 30+ at Wet-n-Wild). There are a few decent tube rides and a couple of great bodyslides (which I don't do because I'm chicken  ), but their wave pool is much better than at either of the other parks we've visited. Our two favorite tube rides (Waianae Coaster and Big Kahuna) were fun but only one of these rides was open at any given time. For a half hour, one would open and the other would close. I don't know if this is typical of Hawaiian Waters or if it's because they're short-staffed due to it being a quiet time of the week, but it was a slight inconvenience.
Locker rentals cost $5. There were plenty of chaises near the wave pool for you to relax and take in the sun, dry off, whatever. The wave pool was also closed for periods of time because they were having boogie board lessons. That was unusual and a bit of a pain in the buns, especially since none of them seemed to be doing anything during the class. Or maybe they were just very unskilled (was this a Beginners class?).
Overall, we had a pretty good time, but I made the mistake of not using sunblock on the top of my head. The ole hairline isn't where it once was and I ended up with a nasty burn on the top of my head along the part line. Ouch!
Round Table Pizza
We selected Round Table Pizza on Kuhio Avenue for dinner tonight, based mostly on recommendations of staff at the hotel. Really good pizza can be hard to find in Honolulu. Round Table makes an admirable effort, and the results are decent, not great.
Afterward, it was time for one more walk around the park in an attempt to offset the caloric intake before heading back to the room.
Kapiolani Park
At the Kapahulu Groin
Waikiki hotels
Jumping off the Groin
Another gorgeous Waikiki sunset
Previous: 4/25/2007--Our Trip to Hawai'i (2007)--Day 3
Index of Blog Pages
last updated november 12, 2021
|