Our first full day in Hawaii was PACKED with activities, so its good that we slept really well in our pillow fort in Aulanis high, high bed. Well, except for the time I bolted outta bed with a leg cramp. And when I jolted awake at 4:30am thinking it was time to get up. And when I jolted awake again 15 minutes before the alarm was set to go off. Other than that, I slept GREAT!
Being on LA time for most of the trip turned out to be a huge advantage. We found that most of the historic sites, museums, etc. closed around 5pm, so the earlier you could start your day, the better. We also got to experience several beautiful sunrises (but not at Aulanimore on that later), not to mention the smug sense of superiority early risers feel just by being awake before the rest of the world.
Patrick grabbed these as we left Aulani that morning...
As we walked toward the parking garage, we saw these two critters dash into the bushes and couldnt figure out what they were. They looked like oversized squirrels with tails that pointed down instead of up. Turns out theyre MONGEESE! And apparently theyre about as common as raccoons and possums are where we live! So awesome....
Mongoose!
Planning the Itinerary
Like most people, when I approach the planning of a trip, I start with a list of all the things we want to see and do and try to distribute them over the course of the vacation. But on Oahu, it was like trying to solve a Rubiks Cube, where lining up one activity on one day would push another activity off the schedule. It seemed like half of the sights were closed on Sunday and the other half were closed on Tuesdaynot great when youre only there from a Saturday to a Wednesday and Monday is completely given over to your vow renewal.
For example, the Polynesian Cultural Center, Iolani Palace and Shangri-La were closed on Sundays. Hanauma Bay and Shangri-La were closed on Tuesdays. The USS Arizona Memorial and Hanauma Bay had to be done first thing in the morning to avoid crowds. But we couldnt go to the memorial on Sunday because we had a site walkthrough with our planner. And we couldnt go to the Hanauma Bay on Wednesday because it was 10 days after the full moon, which meant an influx of stinging jellyfish!
Somehow, in the end, the only thing I wasnt able to work in was a stop at the Bishop Museum to see the limited engagement of
an exhibit on Alfred Shaheen and his fabulous Hawaiian-print shirts and dresses of the 40s through the 80s.
Luau Losers
I should probably break this to you now so you arent disappointed later: We did not attend a luau in Hawaiisacrilege, I know. We did attend Disneys sort-of luau, the Starlit Hui, and Ill have more on that later. But the more research I did on Oahus luaus, the less I wanted to attend one.
For one thing, there are only about two on the whole island that take place on the beach like youd think a luau would. The rest are held in amphitheaters, in hotel ballrooms, on parking garage roofs, etc. For another thing, they are almost all HUGElike, 750 people bussed in from all corners of the island huge. The one that was recommended as being the most intimate holds 250 people! They are multi-hour productions that involve waiting in line to check in, waiting in line for your overpriced souvenir photo, waiting in line for the buffet, waiting in line for pre-show activities, and then watching the show from the nosebleed section because you couldnt afford to pay $150/person for the good seats.
Heres a little info on the three I was most seriously considering, in case youre interested.
HA: Breath of Life: This is the luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center, and apparently its quite good. You can tack it onto your admission to the PCC, and since its pretty much on the opposite side of the island from Aulani, youll probably want to spend the whole day out there anyway. Like the other big luaus, it has tiered pricing based on how good your seats are. $70/person gets you admission to the PCC and cheap seats (admission to the PCC without the luau is $50). Its $95 for closer seating and $127 for the closest seats. Because the PCC is run by the Mormon Church, no alcohol is served at the luau, which means that it gets bad reviews from all the barely literate twentysomethings who post on Yelp.
Paradise Cove Luau: This is one of the few luaus thats actually on a beach, and its the one that all the barely literate twentysomethings on Yelp go to for the booze. It also processes 750 guests per night, shuttling them in from Waikiki hotels on motorcoaches. Prices are $88/person for the cheap seats, $119 for better seats and $153 for the best seats and table service instead of having to stand in the huge buffet line. I got exhausted just reading peoples reviews of this show (even the good ones). But its within walking distance of Aulani, so you might want to check it out.
Fia Fia Luau: This is the one we would have gone to, because its the smallest and gets great reviews. Its also close to Aulani, down at Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club at the other end of the four man-made coves of Ko Olina. Its only held on Tuesdays, so they encourage you to book ahead of time, especially if you want seats toward the front (all seats cost $90).
In general, Im just not that into stage shows of any variety, and paying for a mediocre dinner when we could be trying one of the islands top-notch restaurants seemed like a big waste. As it turned out, that night we had an AMAZING mealprobably one of the best Ive ever had anywhereat Alan Wongs restaurant in Honolulu for about what we would have paid for one persons deluxe admission to Paradise Cove, and that made me very happy.
But lets start at the beginning.... Pearl Harbor, here we come!
We got to see a beautiful sunrise as we headed toward Honolulu, and it started in this guys car!
I loved the rays of light shooting out like in a painting!
We made good time at that hourI think it took us about half an hour to get there from Aulani. There are actually four different sights to see at Pearl Harbor...
OK, five...
The main draw and Oahus biggest tourist attraction is the USS Arizona Memorial, which floats over the battleships remains. You can also walk over to the USS Bowfin Submarine and tour it, or take a shuttle to the Battleship Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum. Each has separate admission (the USS Arizona is free, but its audio tours cost $7.50), or you can buy one ticket that gets you into multiple sites.
We decided wed see the place where WWII started for the U.S. (the Arizona) and the place where it ended (the Missouri, on whose decks the peace treaty with Japan was signed).
Everything Id read told me over and over to get to the USS Arizona EARLY, because tour times sell out or you get a ticket but you have to wait 2 hours before you can use it. They also told me to make my reservation online instead of waiting til I got there (for a $1.50/ticket fee). So I reserved our tickets online AND we got up super early to be at Pearl Harbor in time for the first tour, at 8am. However, now Im pretty sure that by getting our tour ticket online, we could have just showed up at whatever time was on our tickets and not had to wait.
This design echoes the one out on the memorial itself
If you do get tickets for the 8am tour and also purchase the (excellent) audio tour, I recommend getting there at 7am so you have time to listen to the portions of the audio tour that apply to the visitors center area and view the exhibits there before starting the guided tour. Plus, youll need time to check any bagsno purses, hip packs, backpacks, camera bags etc. are allowed inside the memorial, which is kind of a drag. You have to check everything at this portable outside the main entrance.
We arrived about 20 minutes before our tour, so we only had time to listen to the introduction before we dashed off to join the line for our 8am tour. The way it works is, your group is ushered inside a theater to watch the introductory film, then escorted to the dock to catch the water launch out to the memorial. Heres the part I didnt understand that really disappointed me: They say that transport to and from the memorial occurs every 15 minutes, but what they dont make clear is you only get to STAY 15 minutes out at the memorialyou cant stay longer and wait for the next boat. And unfortunately, the way theyve done the audio tour, 15 minutes is not enough time to hear all 3 segments and listen to whatever the live tour guide is telling the rest of the group before you leave. I felt really rushed, and we ended up having to play catch-up once we got back to shore. But let me back up a bit...
Im not sure what I expected, but the film they show you first is fantastic. For one thing it contains actual footage of the attack, including the explosion that sank the USS Arizona. The film does an excellent job of explaining the historical context of the attack on Pearl Harbor while humanizing everyone involved so that you feel the loss acutelythese are not just numbers of dead and wounded or even names on a wall. They were real people. I was already sobbing by the end of the film, and that was just the beginning.
Next, the group is escorted aboard a U.S. Navy water launch for transport to the Memorial.
your reports! You've had me cracking up already at day #1! Can't wait to read more!
So sorry you got a room without a view. I know you aren't always in your room but it would be nice to look out at the water or pretty gardens.
Love your TR's !
