Travel Catch-Up: Oahu for NYE

December 28, 2023-January 2, 2024

We only had about 1.5 days at home in Sac with the kitties after our Christmas with my family in Austin before we took off again on Thursday 12/28, this time to Oahu for the New Year's Eve holiday. We did manage to find time to go to the CalFit on K Street to join the network since we wanted to take advantage of the deal they were offering to CAC members, which was set to expire on Dec. 31st.

Our early-morning flight connected through Maui, getting us to Oahu by early afternoon. Unfortunately, we had a VERY long wait for the rental car, despite having a reservation. Frustrating! We stopped at the Foodland at Ala Moana Center to pick up some provisions for the week on the way to our hotel, the Aston Waikiki Sunset (where I had stayed during my solo trip last year). We then discovered that one of the elevators at the hotel was out of commission, meaning that we sometimes had rather long waits, which we learned to incorporate into our plans and timing.

We settled into our condo, figured out why the fridge wasn't cold (not plugged in!), unpacked our clothes and groceries, and made plans for the rest of the afternoon. Mr. E went out for a walk while I did my Zumba + yoga workout, and we met up with his family (mom, sister, brother-in-law) in the evening for a drink at a quiet lounge in the "sister" hotel across from where they were staying.

On Friday 12/29, we enjoyed breakfast on our lanai overlooking the ocean and part of Diamond Head. 

Our primary activity for the morning was to visit the Queen Emma Summer Palace, where we enjoyed our self-guided tour and seeing the historic site still decorated for the holidays. We met up with Mr. E's family at Orchids in the Halukelani Hotel for lunch, and had a lovely meal with a beautiful ocean view. Their return flight to Chicago was for early evening, so it was perfect timing to visit with them for a bit before they headed to the airport and we returned to our hotel, doing some souvenir shopping along the way.

The next morning (Saturday 12/30) started off with a scuba diving trip. I had brought my own wetsuit from home as an extra layer, which was VERY helpful! We had two decent dives but only saw one honu even though our boat was anchored at "turtle canyon." Still a great way to get out onto the water and enjoy some beautiful views of the ocean and the landscape.

Later in the day, we took advantage of having the rental car to go back to Ala Moana Center for more shopping, and the timing was just right for me to catch the evening Hula show in the main entertainment area.

On Sunday 12/31, our morning adventure was the Koko Crater Railway Trail. We had talked about doing this hike in the past, but it's not that easy to access without a car, and it's also not necessarily a great destination during warmer parts of the year. I convinced Mr. E to get up early to avoid the crowds and the sun, and we lucked out with shade for our entire hike, thanks to the time of year and the position of the sun still hidden behind other mountains. The hike was definitely strenuous (maybe also because our bodies were still recovering from scuba the day before?), but the views were amazing and well worth the effort. We even got to see a surprise Christmas tree in the platform at the top. That must have been quite an effort to bring up the trail...!!!

 

 

After getting back to the hotel and cleaning up, we went to afternoon tea on the Veranda at the Moana Surfrider. This was our designated indulgence for our New Year's Eve celebration, so Mr. E added the local beer flight to his tea set and I ordered a glass of sparkling wine as an enhancement for my special tea set (pescatarian and allium free).

Mr. E had to return the car by 3pm, and I was able to swim some short laps in the hotel pool before doing my daily yoga practice out on the sun deck, with beautiful views of Diamond Head as a background. 

We made dinner in our condo and were able to see some fireworks from our two-sided windows, although the main fireworks on Waikiki Beach were almost completely blocked by a building in front of ours. Darn!

We slept in a bit on Monday (New Year's Day) but made it to the Royal Hawai'ian Center by 9:30am for the Taiko drumming performance to welcome in the Year of the Dragon. A little more shopping as we strolled along, including several bags of the only-on-the-islands 100% Kona coffee from Starbucks.

Since I'm no longer able to run, I suggested to Mr. E that perhaps we could take a walk around Diamond Head in the afternoon, as that route is typically part of our visits to Oahu. We lathered on the sunscreen and sun hats for the urban hike and finished off with a quick dip in the ocean at Waikiki Beach. For our final evening, we headed down to Kuhio Beach to watch the sunset. 

On Tuesday 1/2, we both worked for a bit in the morning since our return flight wasn't until the mid-afternoon. The direct flight got us home to Sac and the kitties around midnight. They were quite happy to see us and welcome us home with meows and purrs!