sgrap
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2012
- Messages
- 2,094
A few people have asked if I will do a trip report, which is something I have never done before! It has been crazy since we got home 10 days ago, including a dead bat in our house and an ER trip and rabies shots for 5! 
But things are finally calming down a tad (1 more round to go . . . ) and I am hoping to manage a trip report a little at a time. Bear with me since I've never done this before! 
This trip was to celebrate my 50th birthday and also our younger son's college graduation and commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. We are so thankful to have him home for a little while before he goes to serve our country. We had our entire family of 6 with us: Myself, dh, ds almost 25, ds 22, dd 15 and dd 13. Our oldest flew home on the 12th to get back to work, but we were glad to have him for a week. As kids get older, you learn it is a rarity to have everyone under one roof for any length of time.
We flew out Monday 6/6 and had a great flight from SeaTac to Honolulu on Alaska. We spent the first 2 nights at the Hale Koa in Waikiki, thanks to our son having military privileges. The location and hotel grounds are very nice, and the rooms were a pretty typical hotel room. Great price, though, so I'm definitely not complaining!
We did Pearl Harbor, Arizona Memorial, U.S.S. Bowfin and U.S.S. Missouri on the 7th. I had reserved 10 a.m. tickets online exactly at the 60 day mark. I was thankful that we chose an early-ish time because everything 11:45 a.m. and on was cancelled due to the winds. It was extremely windy that day. In fact, my son lost his favorite hat off the Bowfin during a wind gust.
We didn't have any major traffic issues getting to Pearl Harbor for the 10:00 time. We left around 8:30 I think and got there around 9:00. Parking was already quite full but we found a spot across the street.
We purchased 4-day Go Oahu cards through Costco and used our first day for the audio tour at the Arizonza, and for the Bowfin and Missouri. We would have done the museum as well, but everyone was exhausted by that point and DS 25 had a bad sunburn (despite sunscreen . . . they think I put on "ungodly amounts of sunscreen" but I don't burn!
).
The audio tour was good, but a bit long for our tolerance level I think overall. We enjoyed the Bowfin, but by the time we got to the Missouri, DS 25 was done. It was kind of a bummer because the Missouri used to be in WA, so we have pictures on it when our boys were little. But it was hot and everyone's tolerance was waning so we went through quickly.
We made a stop at the Pearl Harbor NEX on the way back, thanks again to DS 22's military privileges. We could all get in the NEX with him, but only people with military ID can get into the commissary there. So we sent him in with a list for a few things. Didn't want to get too much because we only had the little frig's at the Hale Koa and we had to transport everything to Aulani the next day. So just did the bare necessities (ha ha): water bottles, diet coke, paper towels, paper plates, etc. He forgot the milk (which is why I don't let the 22 year old grocery shop alone!
).
The night of the 7th we did the crab fest at the Hale Koa, which they have from time to time. It was good, but not fabulous. My stepfather gets fresh crab here at home, so we are a bit spoiled in the crab department. Still had a nice time with the experience, though.
We didn't really do anything else in Waikiki except a little time at the ocean both evenings. Probably would have been good to explore it a little more when we were there.
I will try to figure out how to insert pictures . . . mine are all too big when I try to upload them as a file. Anyone have suggestions?
But things are finally calming down a tad (1 more round to go . . . ) and I am hoping to manage a trip report a little at a time. Bear with me since I've never done this before! This trip was to celebrate my 50th birthday and also our younger son's college graduation and commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. We are so thankful to have him home for a little while before he goes to serve our country. We had our entire family of 6 with us: Myself, dh, ds almost 25, ds 22, dd 15 and dd 13. Our oldest flew home on the 12th to get back to work, but we were glad to have him for a week. As kids get older, you learn it is a rarity to have everyone under one roof for any length of time.
We flew out Monday 6/6 and had a great flight from SeaTac to Honolulu on Alaska. We spent the first 2 nights at the Hale Koa in Waikiki, thanks to our son having military privileges. The location and hotel grounds are very nice, and the rooms were a pretty typical hotel room. Great price, though, so I'm definitely not complaining!
We did Pearl Harbor, Arizona Memorial, U.S.S. Bowfin and U.S.S. Missouri on the 7th. I had reserved 10 a.m. tickets online exactly at the 60 day mark. I was thankful that we chose an early-ish time because everything 11:45 a.m. and on was cancelled due to the winds. It was extremely windy that day. In fact, my son lost his favorite hat off the Bowfin during a wind gust.
We didn't have any major traffic issues getting to Pearl Harbor for the 10:00 time. We left around 8:30 I think and got there around 9:00. Parking was already quite full but we found a spot across the street.
We purchased 4-day Go Oahu cards through Costco and used our first day for the audio tour at the Arizonza, and for the Bowfin and Missouri. We would have done the museum as well, but everyone was exhausted by that point and DS 25 had a bad sunburn (despite sunscreen . . . they think I put on "ungodly amounts of sunscreen" but I don't burn!
). The audio tour was good, but a bit long for our tolerance level I think overall. We enjoyed the Bowfin, but by the time we got to the Missouri, DS 25 was done. It was kind of a bummer because the Missouri used to be in WA, so we have pictures on it when our boys were little. But it was hot and everyone's tolerance was waning so we went through quickly.
We made a stop at the Pearl Harbor NEX on the way back, thanks again to DS 22's military privileges. We could all get in the NEX with him, but only people with military ID can get into the commissary there. So we sent him in with a list for a few things. Didn't want to get too much because we only had the little frig's at the Hale Koa and we had to transport everything to Aulani the next day. So just did the bare necessities (ha ha): water bottles, diet coke, paper towels, paper plates, etc. He forgot the milk (which is why I don't let the 22 year old grocery shop alone!
). The night of the 7th we did the crab fest at the Hale Koa, which they have from time to time. It was good, but not fabulous. My stepfather gets fresh crab here at home, so we are a bit spoiled in the crab department. Still had a nice time with the experience, though.
We didn't really do anything else in Waikiki except a little time at the ocean both evenings. Probably would have been good to explore it a little more when we were there.
I will try to figure out how to insert pictures . . . mine are all too big when I try to upload them as a file. Anyone have suggestions?
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And at the end of the day, it's Hawaii--who cares about the room! 
about the bat!!!
