For our 10 year wedding anniversary, we decided to take a trip to Hawaii. We wanted a more laid back setting and not a lot of people, so we decided to stay on the North Shore at Sunset Beach. We rented a studio house through VRBO and booked our plane tickets through Expedia. The only thing about Expedia is to watch the layover times, we had a 45 minute layover in San Francisco and our plane from Dallas was delayed, so we missed our connecting flight to Honolulu in San Francisco. United Airlines was awesome and put us on another flight; we arrived in Honolulu 5 hours later than planned, but it all worked out.
DAY 1
We rented a house on Sunset Beach that is located on the North Shore. The closest town is Haleiwa(the W is pronounced like a V). It is a little Hawaiian surf town and even if you do not stay on the North Shore, it is a must visit if you go to Oahu.The Sunset Beach Store is also known as Ted’s Bakery. It is a great stop for breakfast; it is tiny on the inside and there are only about 4 tables outside to sit and eat. It is open daily 7a.m-8 p.m and located on the Kamehameha Hwy on the North Shore.This was taken at Shark’s Cove which is close to the Banzai Pipeline. During Low tide you can walk on the rocks to get a better view of the crashing waves, at high tide it becomes a swimming hole and you can no longer see the rocks.This was taken at Waimea Valley that is located on the North Shore. It is a botanical collection of Hawaii and is about 1.5 miles round trip hiking on a paved path. It is open 7 days a week 9:00a.m-5:00p.m, the admission is $16/person.Chris playing a traditional Hawaiian game at Waimea Valley.Waimea Valley waterfall is inside the park, it is a 45 foot fall. The water looks muddy and murky but it is actually very clear, the volcano soil contains iron-oxide giving it the reddish tint.This is a popular swimming hole right at the waterfall, it is included with park admission. Anyone under 12 must wear a life vest and they hand them out for use. The water is about 30 feet deep.For lunch, we drove into Haleiwa and found this wonderful place, Kono’s! We ended up breaking a travel rule of ours, which is to not eat at the same place twice. We ate here 3 times! The strawberry lemonade is a must.Another must stop on the North Shore is Matsumoto’s. It was established in 1951 and is known for shave ice. In Hawaii, it is not shaved ice, you leave the D off and just say shave ice.Matsumoto’s menu. My advice is to always get the cup holder and definitely get condensed milk on top!This is right off Kamehameha Hwy and is the main street of Haleiwa.We compare the beauty of Hawaii to everywhere we go. There are no words that can describe it.
DAY 2
Surfing is a staple in Hawaii! This was taken at Turtle Bay Resort located on the North Shore, it is where the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall was filmed at.We decided to go horse back riding at Happy Trails Hawaii located on the North Shore. You have to make a reservation, so call ahead. They offer 2 rides to choose from, the 90 minute ride is $79/person and the 120 minute ride is $99/person. We did the 90 minute ride and it was fabulous. It is on a hillside in Waimea Valley that overlooks the ocean.Some of the horses at Happy Trails Hawaii.Along the trail there are 2 great views overlooking the ocean. This is the first one that you come up on. It is absolutely breathtaking.This is the second view, it had just started raining when this picture was taken. The rain in Hawaii is like a mist, you can still do your normal outside activities while it is “misting”Ten minutes later it stopped “misting”, the sun came out and this beautiful horse came out for some sunshine.Eating at the Shrimp Trucks is an experience that cannot be missed. We chose Giovanni’s because it is the one you hear about the most. There is a long wait, so go before you even think about getting hungry. It is about $13/plate and that does not include your drink.This is the jumbo garlic shrimp plate from Giovanni’s, we also ordered the lemon butter shrimp plate. There is a pineapple and smoothie truck beside Giovanni’s where we ordered smoothies and pineapple. In Hawaii they put Li Hing Powder on pineapple, at first I was skeptical, but it does make it taste better so definitely try it.
DAY 3
Kualoa Ranch is a 4,000 acre ranch located in Kaneohe. They have plenty to offer from basic bus tours to ATV tours. We chose to do the basic Hollywood Movie tour and it was very informational and enjoyable. It is $35/person.Chickens are everywhere in Hawaii and they run around free to go where ever they like.Another view at Kualoa RanchA lot of movies and TV shows have been filmed at Kualoa Ranch. This is where Jurassic Park was filmed. In the same area Mighty Joe Young and 50 First Dates were also filmed.A great view of China Man’s Hat also known as Mokoliʻi. It is a 12.5 acre islet and is part of Kualoa Regional Park located 1/3 mile offshore. Marine erosion separated it from Oahu.Sweet Home Waimanalo is an organic restaurant that uses locally grown food. It is open 9:30 am-5:30pm Wednesday-Monday and closed on Tuesday. The Plantation Ice tea is delicious, they also have purple sweet potatoes, do not let the color of them deter you.The Valley of Temples is located in Kaneohe. Park visitation is 6a.m. to dusk daily. This is the Byodo-In Temple and is located in the back of the cemetery. Byodo-In Temple is open daily 8:30a.m.-5p.m. and the admission price is $3/person cash only. This is a smaller-scale replica of a 950 year old temple in Japan that was built in 1968 to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.Bon-Sho is the sacred bell located with the Byodo-In Temple. It is believed that ringing the bell will purify the evil spirits and temptation along with bringing you happiness and a long life. It is usually run before entering the temple.Tropical Farms is a Macadamia nut farm located in Ka’a’awa. In the rear of the building there is a tour you can take of the grounds to learn about the trees and plants of Hawaii. It is $20/person. A lot of the things you learn on this tour, you also learn on other tours, but the tour guide makes this so enjoyable.
DAY 4
The Dole Plantation is located on Kamehameha Hwy in Wahiawa. It is $5/person to take the Garden Tour, $6/person for the pineapple maze, and $8.50/person to ride the pineapple express train. It is open daily from 9:30a.m. to 5p.m.The tour was very interesting and knowledgeable. It takes 18-20 months to grow a pineapple and they are all harvested by hand! Also, Hawaii is the perfect place to grow pineapples because the temperature has to be about 80 degrees year around.We decided to take the Pineapple express train around the grounds. It is an audio tour that explains the history of the pineapple and the growth process. This picture was taken on the train tour.Dole Whip, need I say more! This is the pineapple split with strawberry, chocolate, and caramel toppings and it is $25.Laie Point State Wayside located on the North Shore.Laie Point is a 30 foot jump into the ocean and is the cliff they used in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.The Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Laie. Most of the town of Laie is Mormon and BYU-Hawaii is also located close by.The view from the front steps of the temple.This globe is located inside the visitors center and there are 46 The Book of Mormon lying around it in all different languages. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted at the door and had two “tour guides” that explained the history of the Mormon religion, their beliefs, and how they differ from other religions. The visitor center is open daily from 9a.m. to 8p.m.There are so many luau’s to choose from, but we ended up going to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the Luau. It is cheaper to buy your tickets online, in advance. With your Luau package, you get admission the all 6 villages. I would go early and spend time seeing the shows and walking from village to village. BYU brings natives from Polynesia to Hawaii and while they attend college, they work at the Cultural Center about 20 hours a week teaching about their culture.The Ali’I Luau is the package that we chose. It is $100/person. It is buffet styled and they put on a little show while you eat. After dinner there is a “Ha:Breath of Life” show that is amazing. It is put on by the BYU students. No photography or video taping the show.In between the Luau and the “Ha: Breath of Life” show, we stopped for a picture.
DAY 5
Words cannot describe the feeling that comes over you when you walk into this memorial. The history that surrounds this Harbor gives you so many different emotions at one time.All the names of the fallen on the USS Arizona on December 7th, 1941.The USS Arizona is still in the place it fell all of those years ago. The soldiers that lost their lives that day are still inside the ship. It does still slowly leak oil and you can see it in the water as you are walking over it.This is looking up from the very center of the memorial.The USS Arizona bell that they went down and recovered from the ship. It is free to tour the USS Arizona. I would suggest getting there very early in the morning, the line gets very long, very quickly. You get a designated time to tour the USS Arizona, the further you are in the line, the later the time. About 300 people were in front of us in line at 6:45 a.m. and our tour time was at 9:30a.m. It is open daily from 7a.m to 5p.m. The tour is about an hour long.A survivor from Pearl Harbor that was there signing autographs.Tours are available of the USS Missouri for $25/person. It is open daily from 8a.m. to 4p.m. You can leave your drivers license at the ticket booth and get a huge handheld phone that is the audio tour. It took us about 2 hours to go through all of the decks and stop at all of the numbers and listen.This is located right in front of the USS Missouri.Looking up at the USS Missouri.The USS Missouri was built in 1944 and was in use off and on until 1992. It was opened for the public to tour in 1999 at Pearl Harbor.Japan surrendered to the US on September 2, 1945 to end WWII on the USS Missouri, and this marks the spot there that happened.The view sitting in the Captain’s seat.The view of the USS Arizona from the USS Missouri.Looking at Diamondhead from Waikiki, and it is not everyday you see Santa walking up the beach in May!
Tantalus Road is the best way to see Hawaii at sunset. It is off the beaten path, 11 miles of a curvy road, but worth the drive.The View from Tantalus Road. Instead of turning around and driving back down Tantalus Road, keep going to Round Top Drive and come down that way. There are some wonderful views on that road, as well.
DAY 6
Diamondhead is a volcano, located in Waikiki, that has been inactive for 150,000 years. It is a fairly easy walk on a concrete path. I would suggest getting there early before it gets crowded.Diamondhead is free to the public and open from 6a.m. to 6p.m. There is about 175 stairs to climb and a tunnel to go through.One of the views from Diamondhead. You can see the old bunkers left from WWII, they were used as lookouts.The view from the top of Diamondhead.Aloha Tower was built in 1926 and is one of the most recognized building in Hawaii. It is free to take the elevator to the top for a 360 degree view of Honolulu. It is open daily from 9:30a.m. to 5p.m.It is very expensive to park in Honolulu, everywhere you go it is about $18 to park, so we decided to leave our car at Aloha Tower and walk around Honolulu. The first thing we came upon was Honolulu Cafe which offers Gluten Free food and amazing coffee.Iolani Palace located in Honolulu and was the official resident of Kamehameha III,IV, and V. It was made into a museum in 1978 and you can take an audio tour of the palace Monday -Saturday between 9-4 for about $15/person.The architecture inside the palace was absolutely gorgeous. The audio tour explains a lot of the history of the palace, the Queen’s Imprisonment inside this palace, and about the architecture.The statue of King Kamehameha I located in Honolulu. He united the Hawaiian islands into one kingdom in 1810.The famous statue of Duke Kahanamoku located on Waikiki Beach. He is known for making surfing a popular sport.Halona Blow Hole is located in KoKo Head park off of Kalanianaole Hwy. It was formed from molten lava tubes thousands of years ago. It sometimes shoots water up to 30 feet in the air. When we were there, the highest that we seen was about 10 feet.A great way to end the day is to walk out the back of the studio house you rented and see this!
DAY 7
KoKo Crater, there are no words that can prepare you for this hike! It is 1050 railroad ties straight up. About half way up there is an area that is open to the ground, on the way up I took the side trail but on the way down I got on my hands and knees and crawled over this spot. This is one of the most challenging things I have ever done.Stopping about 10 times on the way up for breaks we finally made it to the 1000 step! Once you see this, it’s like an adrenaline rush and the last 50 are way easier.This is the view about 2/3 of the way up.WE MADE IT!!! The views from the top are breathtaking. As much as I dreaded this hike, this is the one thing I tell everyone about. It feels like you are on top of the world!The view from the top of KoKo Crater.I LOVE this picture. We sat on top of the bunker and put the camera on a metal brace to get this picture.Going down those 1050 steps was way harder than going up! Your quads are already burning and shaking from climbing up and now a different set of muscles have to work going down. I felt very unstable going down.My suggestion is to not do the Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trail right after you climb koko crater! This is exactly what we did, it is about a 3 miles hike round trip and we physically had a hard time making it. It is about a mile up the highway from koko crater, so we only rested about 20 minutes before this hike. It is a really easy paved path and free to the public, it would have just been easier on a different day.
DAY 8
Anahulu Bridge,known as the “Rainbow Bridge”, was built in 1921 and restored in 2006. It is a famous landmark in Haleiwa. Many locals like to jump off the side of the bridge into the water below; it is also a popular spot for kayaking and paddle boarding.Laniakea Beach, also known as Turtle Beach, on the North Shore is known for green sea turtles. There were so many sea turtles right up at the shore! Some were sunbathing, some were swimming and playing. It was amazing to see.A Beautiful flower right outside our house.The North Shore Soap Factory is a local business located in historic Waialua Sugar Mill. When you walk in there are glass windows where you can see the soap being made and there is a small store to buy soaps and lotions. It is 100% natural ingredients and are all handmade.This is located at the North Shore Soap Factory. It is made from wax!Delice Crepes is located on Kamehameha Hwy in Haleiwa. It is Gluten Free and they are savory sweet! They are open daily 10am-6pm.Apple bananas, I think I miss these as much as I miss the clear ocean! They have a candy-sweet flavor that is way tastier than a banana or an apple. It’s the perfect mix! The one thing we learned is they are not like regular bananas, you cannot eat them if they have any tint of green. We bought some that were green and they were so sticky and hard they were not edible. Wait until they are a nice yellow color before attempting to eat them.This was the last sunset of our trip. We were already planning a return visit before we even left the island.
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