Hawaii - Oahu and Maui
In the fall of 2023, my husband and I saw a dream come true by adventuring in Hawaii! We flew into Honolulu after flying from Nashville through Dallas-Fort Worth. Upon arrival at the airport, we were told by the Hertz rental car agent that our rental car had been given to someone else. She then offered us an upgrade to a jeep! We excitedly took it and immediately popped the top to drive around Honolulu! No better way to see the island!
We arrived in the late afternoon, so we checked into our hotel, walked around the downtown and beach area where we were staying, and had dinner. Then, we headed to bed because we were trying to adjust to the 5-hour time difference.
The next day, we drove around the entire island of Oahu. We toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation, drove along the shoreline, and saw incredible sites such as sea turtles swimming in their natural habitat, toured Kualoa Ranch and the Jurassic Valley, where lots of movies have been filmed, and ended our day driving to one of the highest points on the island to see a beautiful sunset.
The following day, we spent the morning touring the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, taking a boat ride over to the USS Arizona Memorial, and learning many interesting facts about the attack by the Japanese. It was a very somber experience. After lunch at Duke’s Waikiki, we drove to the east side of the island to see where my husband’s camp organization had run a student camp for many years. We stopped at many spots along the way on the beach for pictures.
The next day, we hopped on a short flight to the island of Maui. After lunch at the Paia Fish Market and an awesome treat from Tobi’s Shaved Ice, we drove to and walked along the shore at Makena Beach State Park, checked into our hotel, and explored the Ritz Carlton. We left our hotel early the next morning to drive the Road to Hana, the craziest drive we have ever made, but with astounding sites! This gave a whole new meaning to curvy and narrow! W’! We stopped at Aunt Sandy’s along the way for their famous banana bread and stopped at several waterfalls and beaches. At the top, in the city of Hana, we enjoyed lunch and stopped at the Waianapanapa Park to see the black sand beaches and a unique cave and blowhole. The trip took around 3 hours each way. When we returned, we visited Haleakala National Park, located at the summit of the massive volcano, and watched the sunset from there. The drive was a steep, windy drive about 10,000 feet to the summit.
The next morning, we island-hopped back to Oahu and stayed the rest of our time at Aulani, a Disney Resort. There, we learned to play the ukulele, experienced an authentic luau, and had character meals and fun times on the beach. We absolutely loved our time in Hawaii and would love to return to see the other islands! The scenery views are amazing! It is one of the most beautiful places we have ever traveled to.
