Thursday, July 31, 2025

Hawaii Day 2 & 3: Koko Crater, Kualoa Ranch, Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail, Morimoto's Asia

Koko Crater


Kaiwi Scenic Shoreline
Kaiwi Scenic Shoreline

Kualoa Ranch--where Jurassic park was filmed

Kualoa Ranch (canoe plant with leaves that stick like Velcro)
Kualoa Ranch (canoe plant with leaves that stick like Velcro)
The amazing farms on the ranch
Looks like a scene from Jurassic World, right?


What mom had to deal with the whole trip

Noni fruit. It is supposed to be good for you, but it smells like vomit.
Jurassic World film site
50 First Dates restaurant is behind me
We got to crack our own macadamia nuts, but since I was allergic, I fed them to the chicken 
Kualoa Ranch (yes, where Jurassic World, 50 First Dates & a lot of other shows/ movies were filmed.)
The motorcycle from Jurassic World

Yummy Huli Huli Chicken near Kualoa Ranch. Delicious!!
In front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village
At Morimoto's Asia in Waikiki. . .for a world class iron chef, it was super disappointing. This was the assorted dim sum. 

The roast duck was decent, but the house fried rice was flavorless and the pad thai was just average
A chocolate sphere that they lit on fire with alcohol to melt. It was definitely the highlight. Vanilla diplomat cream, chocolate mochi cake, chocolate ice cream, candied macadamia nuts, fresh berries

The Hilton Hawaiian Village at night


Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail. Dad said it was a light 2.5 mile walk and was handicapped accessible. He didn't mention it was straight up hill the whole way. Mom copped out about 1.5 miles in mumbling about the worst hike ever and only handicapped accessible for wheelchair Olympians. 

To top it off, the trail to the actual lighthouse was closed. Ugh. 

This was as close as you could get. . .not worth the crazy hard hike!

 

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Hawaii: The journey to Honolulu

So the night before our trip to Hawaii, there was a massive earthquake off the coast of Russia, which led to tsunami warnings across Hawaii. Luckily, they were weak by the time we arrived the next night. 

Leg 1: Dayton to Dallas Ft Worth
Vacation time
First Class from Dallas Ft Worth to Honolulu. The seats folded into beds. It was amazing!


Louie has been on every trip with me since I was a baby
Appetizer
Mango ice cream sundae for dessert
Honolulu Airport
Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki. . .this was the view from our balcony

Waikiki Beach in front of the hotel