Terry and Cathye's Blog

Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #37 – Hawaii - Part 1

Note - this post and #36 were done close together, so be sure to read 36 first...

Sunday, September 21^st., 2025…… Busy day today. We leave tomorrow for Hawaii! But we still have a lot of things to do. We are for the most part, all packed but we do have last minute things to put in there. We decided to just take one large check in bag and two carry-ons. We did the last of the laundry and got the packing finished. Later, we headed off to our beginner’s class and after that, it was off to bed. We would be getting up at 4:00 tomorrow morning!

Monday, September 22^nd., 2025…… Yep, it was an early awakening for us! But, I was already awake and shut the alarm off. We showered and dressed and were on the road at 4:30. The drive was ok and we got there in time to park the truck in the long-term-lot and shuttled in to the Hawaiian Airlines check in desk. We got the bag checked (free) and headed off to grab a quick breakfast and then head to the gate. The flight was really nice. Cat always gets us good flights (usually no layovers) and then turns seat assignments to me! For this 5-hour trip, I chose something I haven’t seen before – they have a second exit door (over the wing) and it has two seats and then three seats. I chose 34e and f

If you look close at the map, you can see that gave me tons of space to stretch out! It was great! The flight got in and we called an uber to take us to The Twin Fins Hotel. This hotel is next door to the Marriott where we stayed last time, so we knew the area. We got in super early (11:00am) so we didn’t have a room yet. So, we stowed our luggage with the valet/bag desk, and headed out for a bit. Cat wanted a mani/pedi and we found a place right across the street. I joined her and we had a nice time there and both got treated nicely. We got the works and while we were out several hundred dollars, we had a great time!

We then went back and checked in. Our room was 1901 and we had a nice king bed and a view of the ocean.

The corridor/aisle to our room from the elevator went outside so we also had a nice view of Diamond Head to the east.

We went down the street to Cheeseburgers in Paradise for dinner and drinks, then after that went to the pool and got settled in on lounge chairs.

Cat’s sister Mary and husband Jim were coming in on a later flight (from Tucson via Seattle) and would get to the hotel around 8:00pm. So, we decided to take advantage of a rooftop stargazing tour! The guy was an astrologist and brought up a super huge telescope. First thing up for us to see was a bright light in the NW sky. He asked if someone could identify it. I went first and saw the ring around Saturn! He also showed us scorpion constellation. One of the ladies in our group took a pic through her phone and dropped it to Cat's phone.

After a while, we came back down to our room. Jim and Mary got there soon after and we had a quick visit and we went to bed after a long day!

Tuesday, September 23^rd., 2025…… We met up with J and M upstairs at the breakfast buffet on the rooftop area where we were last night. The buffet was different. They had tables out with fruits and pastries and coffee and juice like a normal buffet, but when you checked in with your room no., they gave you a card that you took to the counter where they always had three specialty items to choose from. Plus you could always choose bacon and eggs and toast if you wanted. Cathye chose the acai breakfast bowl and I got the kalua pork eggs benedict from today’s choices. It was pretty good and the view from the balcony was spectacular!

We talked about our week here. Since this was Jim’s first trip to the islands, Mary made most of the activity arrangements. She and Jim would be going to Pearl Harbor today. We have been so we passed and would join them for a luau on Wednesday and snorkeling on Friday. That left Thursday and Saturday open, so we went down to the concierge to see what we wanted to do. After we were done, I had to make notes to keep our days and tour straight!

We chose to add a zipline tour as well as a tour of the Dole Plantation and Haleiwa. Those tickets were paid for and we received them immediately from the desk. Since Mary booked all of the tours for both of us through a travel agent friend, we were told we needed to find a Pleasant Holidays desk to convert our printed vouchers to actual tickets. Our concierge told us Pleasant Holiday Tours used to be the biggest on the islands but has greatly downsized since covid. He didn’t even know where to find a location now. We asked and finally found one in the Sheraton Princess, about ¾ of a mile away from our hotel! When we were done with that, it was time for them to board the bus for Pearl Harbor. We decided to walk the ¾ of a mile to the hotel to get our tickets taken care of. It was a long hike up and back but we got our tickets! They would not accept Jim and Mary’s confirmation numbers so they would have to go there as well when they got back. Once we were rested, we changed and went down to the pool to swim and relax. I must say – this was one of the nicest pools and bars around! The water was great and it was shaded for most of the morning. We moved around from the shade lounges to the ones in the sun. We ate lunch down there and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon when they got back from their tour and joined us. Later, we went down to the Tiki Lounge for dinner. We heard about their tour. They said they didn't get to get off the tender onto the Arizona Memorial but only cruised around it. They were disappointed! BUT - I found out later that on that particular day, they had a crew of divers who were interring the last survivor from the Arizona into the memorial to be with his fellow shipmates. After that, I wouldn't be disappointed because that was a one in a lifetime event!

Wednesday, September 24^th., 2025 …… Our luau was not until 5:00pm so we had the day to ourselves. We chose to go hit the beach. We found a nice spot in the sand with some shade for the palm trees, and settled in for a few hours. The water was great and we relaxed on the beach as well. Later, we moved straight across the street to our hotel pool and spent the rest of the afternoon there.

Later, we went up and showered and changed for our evening out. The bus would pick us up at 3:45pm for the drive to Paradise Cove for the luau. We didn’t know where this was and it turned out that it would be quite a drive (through rush hour) on H1 all the way to the west end of the island and went by slowly. But we got there before the evening festivities started. Our bus group was given our own table and we were free to roam the facilities before the dinner was served and the show started. We chose to have a group pic with the birds. We each got one for the photo and they printed out a copy right there.

Then we went on a canoe ride in the lagoon.....

That was cool since we’ve never been. Then, we found the bar and ordered our ‘Blue Hawaii’s’

and went through the buffet. We had Kalua pig (that was cooked in a pit that afternoon), beer battered island fish, lomi lomi salmon, several salads, sweet potatoes, taro rolls (purple and delicious!), rice, pineapple, and various desserts. The shows were very well done and depicted tribal dance and music from several Polynesian neighbors. Our bus got us back home around 10:00pm and we went right to bed after a long day! Here are pics from the evening.....

Thursday, September 25^th., 2025…… After breakfast, we gathered our stuff and went down to meet up in the lobby. I got us and Uber ride from our hotel to the pickup point at Ross store in downtown Honolulu. We made the 1 hour drive to our destination for the day. We are at CLIMB Works Keanu Farms Zipline Tour on the North Shore. Cathye and I went to the other zipline on the island (Coral Crater) last time we were here but we heard this one was better and it was available this time. Spoiler alert ! - we would not be disappointed! Our bus tour had 10 of us (2 single ladies and the rest couples) and we all got instructions and got harnessed up. The weather said rain in the area and there were dark clouds over the mountain peaks. We brought raincoats but decided they would be in the way and left them in the lockers. Bad choice – more later! The course included 8 ziplines, 2 walking bridges, and 2 rappels. We started off on a test line to see who needed any extra help. Turns out all of us have been before and we were comfortable with everything. We got into one of three side-by-sides and headed up the steep mountain roads. All of the lines were doubles and you went down together. Our first line was short and sweet and everyone got the hang of it. No self-braking and they did the hookups for you. Just relaxing and go! The lines got longer and faster and by the end, we were on one that was over 2500 ft. long! That’s almost a ½ a mile. So far you almost couldn’t see the other end! On the route, they provided you with water and snacks – cherry tomatoes and apple bananas. These are my new favorite. About half the size of a normal banana, they really do taste like apples! As we made our way through the course, it started to rain. Easy at first but we had bursts of rain that got us all soaked. Remember – our raincoats were back in the locker! The last couple they encouraged you to do tricks. You could go normal (using the trolley handle), go ‘no hands’, or you could ‘invert’, your choice. Cathye played it safe. Not me! We hit the last one in the full rain and it was kind of stingy on your face as you sped down the cable! But all said, looking back, I found this was my favorite activity of the trip! Here are pics from the day….

When we got back to Ross, J & M walked back but we Ubered it home. We got changed and went down to the pool for swimming and lunch. Later, we went back to CIP for dinner. First time for Jim and Mary. We stopped at the ABC store and bought two decks of playing cards. Back to the hotel and to the Tiki Bar for drinks and a teach of Swoosh for J & M. They picked it up quickly and we would play several more times as the week progressed.

Friday, September 26^th., 2025…… Today was snorkel day! We dressed in our swim gear and hit the buffet and then went down to call an Uber to take us to the port at the Hilton Hawaiian hotel for our snorkel adventure. This trip included a lunch and drinks and a 40 minute snorkel at Turtle Canyon. This place is known for the local green sea turtles and the snorkeling boats surround the area each day. Our captain gave us a safety briefing and got us suited up. And we were off! Ok, not me! I have claustrophobia and over the years I have issues with breathing through the snorkel tube with my face in the water. The others ventured over to the canyon and saw and interacted with the turtles while I hung out closer to the boat. There were still tons of fish for us (there were others there too) to see, so it was still enjoyable. After everyone was back on board, they broke out the sandwich wraps and chips and drinks (Cat chose a non-alcohol smoothie and the rest of us chose the excellent mai tais! Here are pics from the snorkeling day...

When we got back we Ubered back to the hotel and rested for a bit. Tonight, we chose to dress up and go over to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel for dinner. We went when we were here before and Cathye loved it enough to try to find it again! We Ubered there and went looking.

We didn’t find the exact restaurant but found The Mai Tai Bar at the hotel. This one is right on the beach. We were hoping to be able to see the fireworks at 7:30 but we were told that from around here you would need to out on the jetty to see anything. Oh well! We were seated right on the edge in the bar. The problem was it was very loud! Our server wasn’t the best and we didn’t care for the food. So, this will be on our ‘do not return’ list for the future!

We walked from there to The Cheesecake Factory and got a couple of pieces to take back to our rooms. We walked back on the beach and got some photos in on the way. One of these was of a site for a marriage proposal. We missed the people but got the lights and the decor…

Once we got back, we were in for the night! Everyone was tired from the swimming and the walk!

Saturday, September 27^th., 2025…… Last tour of the trip. Today, we had booked a bus tour to The Dole Plantation and also to the island town of Haleiwa. Lucky for us, the pickup point was at the Marriott, just across the street from our hotel. Our driver was early and was waiting for us and actually called Mary to see if we could make it there quickly. We were just down the street walking there so we made it and got going a bit early. The driver wanted to do the ‘city tour’ part of the tour on the way out but there was a local parade going on down the main street in Waikiki. He would have to improvise and drove slowly out to Dole, which was maybe 40 minutes away. Problem was he would be early. So, he drove reaaallly slooww! We got to the Dole Pineapple plantation right when they opened and got on the first train tour. The little train takes folks around the fields and shows all of the crops - including pineapples – grown on the property. After that, we were given time to walk around the place. We hit the store and bought a few things. On the way out, we chose the corn on the cob from the local food truck just off the parking lot. It was really tasty!

Next stop was about 10 minutes away. Our driver dropped us off in a tour stop in Haleiwa. We would be here for 90 minutes or so. We went off and found Jorge’s just in the parking lot. We ordered chicken tacos and drinks. Jim ordered shrimp appetizers and we all sampled those. They would end up being mine and Cat’s favorite dish of the trip! We walked around some more and then went back to the bus to rest and wait for the others. Our driver made his way back to the city and gave us the tour. We saw the govt. offices and the queen’s royal Iolani Palace, and other places of interest. We saw some of the areas where Hawaii 50 was filmed (both old and new series) and also the port where the USS Minnow left for “A Three Hour Tour”.