Our Honolulu trip in May, 2006. Part 1

Our trip was beyond wonderful. We had so much fun. The first day we arrived, we got there in the very early morning of May 12th (you know how we go back a day when going to the US from Japan), It was like 7:30 am, so we arrived very early, which meant the day wasn't a wasted day at all. We hopped the shuttle at the airport to go get our rental car. We actually rented an SUV. We got a very affordable rate, at only $34.00 US a day. And for it being so big and being able to fit all our luggage that was such a great deal. We quickly drove to Jack in the Box and we all had breakfast, even our small little Noah had a good breakfast too. Then we headed directly to Waikiki, and drove to our hotel and got ourselves checked in. Took our luggage upstairs and changed our clothes right away into our swimsuits and walked less then 2 minutes from our hotel which was the heart of Waikiki anyway, to the heart of Waikiki beach. Noah slept in the stroller at first, while Branden and I swam, meanwhile Noboru watched Noah. Then we took turns and I looked after our sleeping Noah. As soon as Noah woke up, we were all able to play in the ocean at the same time. We did keep a very good eye on the stroller with the camcorder and stuff. We played for a few hours. And by this time we were absolutely starved! Isn't it funny how swimming always makes people always feel so starved!




We headed to Bob's BBQ. This is a place that is not anywhere near Waikiki or any tourists. This place serves great food, has cheap prices and the quality is oh so good! And the portions are huge! Noboru and I got a plate of BBQ to go and Branden got a mini bbq, which is a good size for a toddler. Since we used to live in Honolulu, we know where to go to eat good delicious food that will also save us money. It's nice to eat here, where only kama'aina (locals) go versus having to pay triple the price, or inflated type prices like they have in Waikiki. I missed the taste of this place! So we all took our take-out Korean BBQ, food back to the hotel and the drive wasn't longer then 10 minutes and the food was still warm. We all ate while watching TV. And we all fell asleep right afterwards.



We all must have been jet lagged after that because all four of us woke up at 11:00 pm. We all took showers. And then we all walked down about 3 minutes to the 7-eleven. Again our hotel is so absolutely centrally located to everything within walking distance. We grabbed some late night munchies. Grabbed a couple chili cheese hot dogs. Branden got a slurpee, a turkey sandwich and some chips. I got a cranberry juice, Noboru got a beer, I think.We all basically got some cheap eats. Something quick, fast and cheap! And since our hotel was so close to everything, we were in walking distance of everything! Noah nibbled on everything of all of ours, he nibbled some chili cheese hot dog, some turkey from the sandwich and some chips! LOL.

After we all got super stuffed from our midnight type snacks and watched some good American TV, we all fell back to sleep. All in all, we had a great first day to Hawaii!

I wanted to add, that I have so much to say, about our vacation, that I will have to make a couple posts about our trip to Honolulu. Since there's just so much to say and so many fun topics to be discussed. So keep checking back,in a couple days, hopefully by then I should have everything posted and blogged.

Part 2 , the hotel

All about the hotel we stayed at in Waikiki. Now, if you all know me, you all know we've stayed at some of the most expensive and fanciest hotels, such as the Lotte one, we stayed at in Seoul, if you recall my post about it in November. Or when we stayed at the super fancy one in Guam in December (remember we got the rate so super cheap) However, let me be the first to say that fancy shmancy type hotels mean *nothing* really to us as far as hotels go. I mean of couse we like nice hotels but the cleanliness factor is by far more important. The most and main thing that matters to us is whether if it's clean clean clean! And also if the location is centrally located to tourist spots. But the cleanliness is the absolute most important factor for us bar none.

Listen to this horror story if you will, when we were in Denver in March and were heading back to Narita and had a layover in Detroit, we stayed the night at a super expensive and chic hotel, actually in the airport (Noboru gets to stay there for practically free though, since he gets an airline discount that's the *only* reason, we honestly stayed there but anyays) did you know I found a Covergirl foundation makeup kit, under the chair and table area and obviously it wasn't mine since I use MAC, I noticed it when Noah dropped a toy of his on the floor. I can't even begin to tell you how majorly ewww that was for me! Talk about gross, and after I saw some other person's makeup kit on the floor. I began to wonder....if they failed to pick up the makeup kit, did they *seriously really* change the linens? LOL! And we were talking top of the line hotel here! So it goes to show you...top of the line hotel doesn't always mean clean!

Anyway, as I digress. I've stayed at about 6 different hotels in Honolulu since we moved from Honolulu and have gone back on vacation and all. The one, I really prefer the most though is the one we stayed at this time. It's so clean. Expedia rates hotel rooms by it's customer reviews and this is the only one that absolutely everyone says over and over again, says it's super clean! Yes, reviewers from Australia, Canada and the US all over say this one is not fancy (and they're right it isn't) but it's super duper clean and centrally located to everything! And it's cheap, like under $100. a night!

The first street of Waikiki, the rooms go for $300.00 and can go all the way up to well over a thousand bucks a night! I kid you not! I think if you are on a honeymoon, that is a definite way to go! You know for the sheer romance of it all and stuff. But I think if you want to travel to Hawaii on a budget. Like my family loves and lives to do. And especially if you have a family! Then do yourself a favor and stay a super short block away, and stay here!

Bluntly speaking, you don't go to Hawaii to sit in your hotel room 24/7! You don't fly all the way to Hawaii to care about if you hotel room has that beach front view or not! We go to Hawaii, to be actually *on* the beach! To actually play and frolic in the actual water and on the actual sand. Walk the main street with a shave ice/snow cone in hand! Enjoying the sites and sun! Watching palm trees swaying in the breeze, lol! Cruising in the car to the Dole Pineapple plantation. Buying shitloads of clothes at 60% off at the Waikele outlet mall! Eating hot and spicy shrimp! Eating more seafood at Red Lobster. Etc etc! We are much to darn busy enjoying Hawaii then to stay in our hotel room all day long. Bottom line as long as our hotel room is super clean, then all we really use the hotel for is a place to sleep and shower otherwise most of the time we weren't even in the hotel!

So if you wanna super good hotel recommendation. For a hotel that is super clean. Right near a 1 minute walk from Denny's, 1 minute walk from Subway sandwich, 1 minute walk from Jack in the box and a 2 minute walk to 7 eleven. Mexican restaurant is right across the street. And a Starbucks is right on the corner of the hotel about a 30 second walk downstairs. 1 minute walk from the International Marketplace where you can grab all your touristy aloha type clothes and purses and stuff. Then stay at the Aston Honolulu Prince in Waikiki.

Don't go super cheap and get the one without the balcony. Get the one grade higher like we always do and get the one with the balcony/lanai! And even still it's only like $89.00 or $90.00 US a night!

If you insist on fancy shmancy then this hotel isn't for you, please don't stay here. Hell they don't even got a mini coffee pot in the room. But we figured with the ton of money we saved for staying here, we could walk the 30 seconds in the morning and pick up a Starbucks!

Think this way if you are a family on a budget like we like to do. The average room can be at least $150.00 US to $175.00 US in Waikiki or more. But ours was only $90.00. For staying six nights we saved at least $330.00 US, just for us staying at this hotel! Hell ya! And that money we saved was well spent at the 60% off stuff at the outlet mall. We really saved a bunch of cash on this trip you guys and with all the fun we had, you'd never really know it either!

The room sizes are huge and the lanais are big as well! The room choices are excellent for families! They have two full sized beds or offer a King sized bed. All the rooms also have a pull-out sofa as well. First night we got the two double beds, which was perfect and room to spare actually. But Noboru asked the next morning if we could be switched to the King sized bed, so we could all sleep together and they said, sure! They didn't mind at all! They were very accommodating! And they changed our room, absolutely no problem!

These pics are obviously of our hotel room. Totally a perfectly fine room, huh? Nothing ratty at all. Everything basic, but very clean! And they are also renovating it now. But it's really very nice! The last two pics are of the view from our baclony/lanai. The last pic was a close-up from our lanai. And that is the back end of the International Market Place, so like I said it's really right in the heart of everything. Perfect location and I will definitely be staying at this hotel again and again.

Our trip to Honolulu May, 2006 Part 3.

One of the days. We woke up super early. Got dressed and walked the 1 minute away from our hotel to Denny's for breakfast then we walked the one minute back to our hotel parking lot and hopped into the SUV and headed to the North shore. It's sorta on the opposite side of the island. So the drive was long. We made a few stops along the way site seeing and what not.

Around 11:00 am, we arrived and by that time we were ready for lunch! This is a place we started going to when lived in Honolulu. Mostly kama'aina go there. I think we've only seen a handful of tourists drive here and actually try the place. But it's good eats people! It used to be called Andy's Shrimp shack when the former owner owned it and it was called that because the owner had a cool parrot named Andy, that would sit in a cage near the shrimp truck. She sold the place a few years back to this other lady and showed her all her recipes. In fairness it's delicious still, but it lost a tiny something from when the original lady ran this place, but it's definitely worth the drive! No wonder we keep coming here every time we are in Oahu.

There are also quite a few of other trucks that also sell shrimp along the way. But when we lived in Hawaii all those years back. And the other NWA guys about 12 of them in total. All of them and us pretty much decided this is *the* shrimp truck we liked best! So, anyway if you ever get to Oahu, definitely check this truck out! You won't be disappointed!

It was major yumm!










After getting thoroughly stuffed on the hot and spicy shrimp, we headed to Matsumoto's shave ice. However the line was hellishly long. No worries, because we just went right next door to their competitor's shave ice place, called Aoki Shave ice. It was so good! I had my usual plain lemon! Noboru had the Hawaiian (pineapple, coconut and something else I forgot), Branden got the keiki (kid's) special. Noah had a little bit of everyone's! Oh well, we are a sharing family! LOL.


















By this time we were stuffed outta our brains! However, since we were making a full circle and heading back to Waikiki, the Dole pineapple plantation was still along the way. So we stopped. We walked around. Even though Noboru and I have been here like a billion times before. And Branden has been here plenty of times too, but he was never really interested before now. Since Branden is really into pineapples right now, since Spongebob lives in a pineapple and Branden *loves* Spongebob, in case you haven't noiced. So we stopped, knowing he would love seeing first hand how Pineapples *really* grow. Probably not many people know how they grow you know. Branden loved it. We also, stopped in and had ourselves a Pineapple ice-cream. Oh man, if you've never had pineapple icecream before, please trust me, go have some! Because it's so delicious!





We all drove back to Waikiki after that. The drive was long. We all went back to the hotel, freshened up. And strolled Waikiki. With time to spare to watch the sunset. This was *not* my idea, Noboru is really insistent on ALWAYS us watching the sunset together (when we're in Honolulu, go figure!). Sometimes it gets even a bit mushy for me too. But, hey, at least he's romantic and after all these long 12 years, he's still madly in love with me, so for all that! I can overlook his wanting to watch the sunset every damn time we are in Waikiki. LOL, so we all strolled (with Noah in the stroller, ha ha) to Waikiki and saw the sunset, held hands. And then we walked the main street and shopped for some souvenirs. Bought two Aloha shirts for my dad. Bought Branden two. Bought Noah one (Noah has some of Branden's, he inherited from him already too). Noboru didn't want one. And I bought an aloha Hibiscus backpack. This is my fourth aloha/hibiscus type backpack btw, the other ones are long gone, because I used them too much.

On the way from shopping at the International Marketplace or better known as the #1 tourist trap in Waikiki, lol. We walked a minute on the same main busy tourist street where all the happy vacationers stroll. And we loaded up two giant bags worth of food and inside we got stuff from the duo restaurant place, Pizza hut/Taco Bell. Thank god the two restaurants (who've been owned by the same company forever) sell at the *same* place now.We got three small personal pan pepperoni pizzas, 1 pack of breaksticks, and 4 taco supremes, 1 nachos bellgrande, 2 tacos and cinammon crips for Branden (he also had a personal pan peperoni pizza (yes I know my son *loves* to eat!) 1 taco for Noah and a pintos and cheese for Noah too.We walked back to our hotel and we all closed the curtains, so no lookie loos or nosy people would be looking into our windows, from their hotel rooms lol. And we all sat and watched TV and got very full. You know sometimes with kids Noah's age, eating out can be a total challenge and sorta sucks all the fun out of dining out ha ha ha! Branden's age is totally cool with going to restaurants. But sometimes it's just easier for us to do take-out, you know what I mean? So it was cool, we got to relax and eat and let our crazy 10 month old crawl all over the room with taco meat and beans in his mouth. LOL!

We watched good TV shows while eating. Then I showered both boys, one at a time and Noboru dried off each boy, one at a time. Then I got to shower in peace by myself after that! And then they fell right to sleep. Meanwhile Noboru showered. And then he ran across the street and bought a few beers and two bottles strawberry daiquiris and stuff. The both of us sat on the lanai and drank and got to relax, kid free while the boys slept inside, but we did keep an eye on them and left the lanai door open a crack. To hear them but they slept the whole night through. We sat and people watched from our balcony. And I sipped on the strawberry daiquiri while Noboru had a few beers and it was nice, just real nice you guys!: )

Honolulu Part 4 (shopping) A post about some of the shopping we did.

We did manage to finish and complete buying our boys their spring/summer wardrobe. Honestly? I thank god that's over and I don't have to think about that for a very long time! Everything of Branden's was bought in 5T so that way he won't outgrow things in just 3 month's you know! This way mostly everything I bought for him, he can even wear things next Spring/summer if he chose to do so. Since he is still just 4 and a half and won't even be 5 until the very end of October.So, in that respect I am glad I got his stuff nice and roomy and comfy so he can wear things whenever and won't outgrow them in a New York second.

And with Noah's, well half stuff I bought in 12 month's and half stuff I bought in 18 month's. That way if we jet off in December to a hot climate like we are planning to do, they will still have clothes that fit. Even a couple overall's and stuff for Noah I bought in 24 month's. I'm just glad I thought ahead.

Also, I wanted to say that we don't live to shop or anything either. We buy their clothes in bulk yes I admit that, when we go to the US since clothes are too expensive here in Japan unless you count the Baby Bunny store. If I lived in the US, I'd probably never stock up on clothes since I'd have access to them easily, you know what I mean? However since I live in Japan, it's sorta a stock up on clothes or else type situation. Ha ha ha! Seriously!

And one more, thing, we bought all our clothes for this trip and whatever else we bought for this trip with cash! Not that it's really any of your business or anything. But we don't really use credit cards even though we have plenty of them! I understand some people usually give theirs a workout, but we rarely use ours. We figure if we don't got the cash for it, then we better not buy it! So, honestly yes, we buy all our stuff with cash! Not that I care if or judge how any of you guys buy your stuff. But, I just wouldn't want you all thinking we use our credit cards for our purchases because we certainly do not. Not that it's any of your business like I said, anyway! But yeah, I'd gladly take pictures of every single receipt because we certainly don't use credit cards. Only time we use our credit cards is when we buy stuff online and that's only a couple times a year. Think of it this way, if we were *not* wise with money, we wouldn't be living in this gorgeous home we just had built! Because in Japan, they just don't give bank loans for houses to everybody you know! : )

So here I will try and show you things as quickly as possible. And hey if you don't wanna look at the pics of my kids clothes or whatever else we bought, it's cool, then just please skip this post and the rest about shopping and move on to the next post, no worries yo! : )

Gap kids

Branden didn't need anything from Gap but I had been looking for a pair of swim trunks for him for next year, in 5T. And I looked at Old Navy and Local Motion, just everywhere. This season they all had horribly ugly swim trunks for boys or something. I was about to give up, until I saw this pair! And would you believe this was the very last pair of 5T in the entire Gap in the Ala Moana shopping center? I snatched them up so fast. I love the colors of this and think it will go great with my Branden's golden surfer boy skin coloring!




Here's the stuff Noah got from Gap. Nothing major or a lot. I just got Noah two Gap shirts, one says Gap and it's cute and if you recall I didn't buy him but 1 shirt from Gap in Denver, bck in March, since they had almost no shirts in his size, remember? And the fish polo was too cute, so I bought that. Lastly he got a pair of swim trunks. He has a whole bunch of trunks of Branden's he can have, but I sometimes worry if him being a second child, will mean he gets secondhand everything. Not that I mind too much, but I thought some new swim trunks that were especially for Noah was a good idea. I bought them in sizes for this year and also for next year! The color was nice especially for his pale skin color and I loved the fish on them!

Osh Kosh

This is what Noah got from Osh Kosh, again he also didn't need much from here either. I didn't see the point of over buying, because that would just be overkill, you know what I mean? So I just got Noah two Osh Kosh shirts in 12 month's, same type his brother got. And I also got the size for next year too. Also Noah got a pair of overall's for this summer and a pair for next summer as well. Again, I kept things quite simple and just grabbed the basics.




Branden didn't need much from here either. Just two shirts. These Osh Kosh shirts in Japan are like 4,000 yen! Isn't that absurd? $40.00 for one shirt? Shoes yes I have no problem spending that on because, I can see it because my son can wear them for month's on end. But for 1 shirt, I wince at the thought of paying that! Hence the reason for me buying two at the outlet at only $7.00 US each! And the size 5T was roomy enough that he will no doubt get to wear this all the way until probably next August! Seriously. So I will no doubt get my $7.00 bucks worth! Ahhh no wonder I prefer to shop in the US. I also got him a pair of sweatpants in 5T, so he can wear them this coming winter (yup good thing I thought ahead) and I got him a pair of shortalls in 5T for next year too. Again, I didn't over buy I just got the basics.