CFB on tour, Vancouver, Waikiki, North Shore, Seattle. All in a single thread March 2023.

[KarenG]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

We would have been looking at a split stay with Maui.. but a DIBBER who reads my trip reports gave good advice against it, suggesting that the N Shore would suit us better! We took the advice.

Aka Moana Park is real nice.. but with a lot of Vagrants living in the grass areas and Banyans. You don’t seem to get that so much in Waikiki.

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I hope the Dibber proves to be right

Agree about the vagrants

[Taffy1959]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

Day 7 A big Volcano and a voyage. Saturday 25 March 2023.. Or ‘Come Sail Away’ by Styx.

An early start today with an 0600 Alarm, a Complimentary Breakfast (mainly Pineapple and Yoghurt mixed, washed down with Orange juice) and we were out for our 0720 pick up, taking us to Diamond Head Crater. This was again on our Go Oahu tickets and the pick up within 50yds of our Hotel Reception.
We were the final pickup point and were in the bottom of the Diamond Head Crater within 15 minutes. We had been given a very thorough briefing by our Driver and were ready to go immediately after taking our complimentary Water Bottles. We were told that the pick-up would be 2 hours hence.

The hike is steady, with sloped concrete paths and where appropriate, steps. The route is tightly controlled and there is no wandering from it for safety reasons and in addition, to protect Flora & Fauna.

Nothing too strenuous, plenty of birds and plants to admire, before reaching the summit, where there was a derelict Military Observation Point.. that observed nothing during the Pearl Harbour attack.
These are the images that we took from the top!

All too soon, it was time to make our way back down, remarkably finding this much easier than going up (strange, I know).

Whilst waiting for our pickup, Mandie found a Cat.

Although I strongly suspect that it is in fact, a Cougar.

We also saw an ITrolley, heavily disguised..

Pickup arrived dead on time and we were back in our Hotel by 1000. Now for the afternoon activities…A Sail on a Catamaran with ‘Makani’, another Go Oahu booking.

Makani Catamarans are based in Kewalo Basin, a pretty harbour, around 2 miles from our Hotel and close to Ala Moana Shopping Center. This can easily be accessed by the nos 20, 42 and in our case, 23 Bus ($3pp of tortuous pain on the buttocks).

An overview of the location of the Kewalo Basin.

A close view of the location of the Makani check in booth.. and Catamaran. Very easy to find.

We arrived early, so it was time to visit the Ala Moana shopping centre Food Hall (huge) and try a large $8.99 Dole Whip (me) and a small £6 Shaved Ice (Mandie).

I have never eaten any Dole Whip before, not being a partaker in anything Disney (and such is the fuss over them on the DIBB, that I naively thought ‘Dole Whip’, a Disney creation).
This was a real one in real Hawaii and my expectations were high! So high that I could not resist a ‘lick’ before photographing it.
It was absolutely, stunningly delicious! 11/10
Mandies Shave Ice? It collapsed before she had time to eat it. To be honest it was no different or better than a Slushie. 4.5/10 at best.

It was now time to walk to Makani
via the Ala Moana Regional Park. I think that you might agree that it was rather special!

On arrival at Makani, we were wristbanded and were soon aboard the immaculate, large Catamaran, along with 30 or so others.
We selected a position on the Web Netting, forward of the cabin area and with a large bolster behind us and this proved a wise choice.
There then followed a comprehensive safety briefing before we departed.

I posed elegantly in the bows of the ship.

But was warned that I would lose my baseball cap, If I didn’t put it on backwards for safety. After my recent loss in Seaworld, I could not let this happen!

Almost immediately, I spotted a magnificent Sea Turtle.. to the utter amazement of the others on board.. other than the three crew, who later told me that there were always a couple of Sea Turtles in the Harbour.

A magnificent Sea Turtle (I promise), in a bad photograph.

Then we were all at Sea.. Sea that was the strangest Turquoise Blue and that through which, we could still see the bottom at 40’.

Another Sea Turtle was spotted (but not by me).

All too soon, it was time to return to port. It had been a great few hours. Whilst the Crew had raised the Jib, they had left the Mainsail furled, due to rapidly changing Wind Conditions.
Only one person had been Seasick and the Ship had behaved impeccably with very little movement, due to the extremely narrow, twin hulls slicing through the waves and in addition, the good size of the ship. (Boats are Submarines).

I must further add that the ‘Sickie’ had clearly been drunk on boarding and had then consumed more Alcohol in the bar, making an utter and total fool of himself in front of his family. Drunkenness is never pleasant.. and he wasn’t even a Brit!

Having landed, we now faced a conundrum.. do we
1. Get a Hawaiian Cultural input with a Poke Bowl from the very nearby Ala Moana Centre, eating it in the sunshine at Ala Moana Park? or..
2. Walk to the Red Lobster and have some Seafood with bottomless Cokes and lovely, delicious, Air Conditioning?

The Red Lobster, it very clearly had to be, with the bottomless Coke and Aircon winning the day as we were both feeling the heat a little. Hawaiian Culture could wait for another time.

I went for the Seafarers Feast, Lobster Tail, Garlic Shrimp, Coconut Shrimp and a Skewer of Scallops with Baked Potato and Slaw.

Mandie went for Skewers of Garlic Shrimp and Scallops. You will note that I slyly got a Photo whilst she was distracted.

3 Pints of Diet Coke each and it was time for the Bill.. $85. In Waikiki terms, a bargain and we were now fully rehydrated!

Then, it was a no20 bus ($3 pp) back to our Hotel. We know how to live!

Suddenly, I had this bright idea! I would put my trunks on and go for a sunset swim😀. Mandie did not agree that it was anything like a good idea, so I went on my own.🙁

Down to the Beach it was then.. where I changed my mind and watched the Sunset instead.

I went out onto one of a few concrete bars that stick into the Sea and presumably limit Sand movement along the shore line and there met a Charming Lady of Chinese Origin. She had moved to Waikiki two years ago and lived close to the Zoo with her husband in a 200’ Apartment. She had previously lived near Presidio in SFO , but had moved out, sickened by the rapidly increasing Crime and effective Decriminalisation of it by a useless, Liberal Mayor who seems intent on defunding the Police and disbanding them. She asserted that after a lifetime in SFO, she now felt unsafe to walk its Streets, once away from the Tourist Areas.
An interesting conversation and a subsequent look at the antics of Mayor London Breed upon my return to the Hotel!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Breed

I take her point!

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Lovely day Hawaii looks beautiful.
Good food choices with a Dole Whip and RedLobster which we also enjoy and I love the Cheddar Bay Biscuits at Red Lobster

[anji]

Just catching up as away for weekend and you've certainly done lots and got good value from your card!

Pearl Harbour must certainly be respected and remembered. That trek upwards looked a lot more arduous from the views than it probably was. Seeing the turtles would have made me cry probably!

You can get Dole Whip in Seattle too. I had my first one also there from the Poke Cafe on the edge of Chinatown, just up from King Street Station. So you can look forward to another one!

[babbymint]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

Day 7 A big Volcano and a voyage. Saturday 25 March 2023.. Or ‘Come Sail Away’ by Styx.

An early start today with an 0600 Alarm, a Complimentary Breakfast (mainly Pineapple and Yoghurt mixed, washed down with Orange juice) and we were out for our 0720 pick up, taking us to Diamond Head Crater. This was again on our Go Oahu tickets and the pick up within 50yds of our Hotel Reception.
We were the final pickup point and were in the bottom of the Diamond Head Crater within 15 minutes. We had been given a very thorough briefing by our Driver and were ready to go immediately after taking our complimentary Water Bottles. We were told that the pick-up would be 2 hours hence.

The hike is steady, with sloped concrete paths and where appropriate, steps. The route is tightly controlled and there is no wandering from it for safety reasons and in addition, to protect Flora & Fauna.

Nothing too strenuous, plenty of birds and plants to admire, before reaching the summit, where there was a derelict Military Observation Point.. that observed nothing during the Pearl Harbour attack.
These are the images that we took from the top!

All too soon, it was time to make our way back down, remarkably finding this much easier than going up (strange, I know).

Whilst waiting for our pickup, Mandie found a Cat.

Although I strongly suspect that it is in fact, a Cougar.

We also saw an ITrolley, heavily disguised..

Pickup arrived dead on time and we were back in our Hotel by 1000. Now for the afternoon activities…A Sail on a Catamaran with ‘Makani’, another Go Oahu booking.

Makani Catamarans are based in Kewalo Basin, a pretty harbour, around 2 miles from our Hotel and close to Ala Moana Shopping Center. This can easily be accessed by the nos 20, 42 and in our case, 23 Bus ($3pp of tortuous pain on the buttocks).

An overview of the location of the Kewalo Basin.

A close view of the location of the Makani check in booth.. and Catamaran. Very easy to find.

We arrived early, so it was time to visit the Ala Moana shopping centre Food Hall (huge) and try a large $8.99 Dole Whip (me) and a small £6 Shaved Ice (Mandie).

I have never eaten any Dole Whip before, not being a partaker in anything Disney (and such is the fuss over them on the DIBB, that I naively thought ‘Dole Whip’, a Disney creation).
This was a real one in real Hawaii and my expectations were high! So high that I could not resist a ‘lick’ before photographing it.
It was absolutely, stunningly delicious! 11/10
Mandies Shave Ice? It collapsed before she had time to eat it. To be honest it was no different or better than a Slushie. 4.5/10 at best.

It was now time to walk to Makani
via the Ala Moana Regional Park. I think that you might agree that it was rather special!

On arrival at Makani, we were wristbanded and were soon aboard the immaculate, large Catamaran, along with 30 or so others.
We selected a position on the Web Netting, forward of the cabin area and with a large bolster behind us and this proved a wise choice.
There then followed a comprehensive safety briefing before we departed.

I posed elegantly in the bows of the ship.

But was warned that I would lose my baseball cap, If I didn’t put it on backwards for safety. After my recent loss in Seaworld, I could not let this happen!

Almost immediately, I spotted a magnificent Sea Turtle.. to the utter amazement of the others on board.. other than the three crew, who later told me that there were always a couple of Sea Turtles in the Harbour.

A magnificent Sea Turtle (I promise), in a bad photograph.

Then we were all at Sea.. Sea that was the strangest Turquoise Blue and that through which, we could still see the bottom at 40’.

Another Sea Turtle was spotted (but not by me).

All too soon, it was time to return to port. It had been a great few hours. Whilst the Crew had raised the Jib, they had left the Mainsail furled, due to rapidly changing Wind Conditions.
Only one person had been Seasick and the Ship had behaved impeccably with very little movement, due to the extremely narrow, twin hulls slicing through the waves and in addition, the good size of the ship. (Boats are Submarines).

I must further add that the ‘Sickie’ had clearly been drunk on boarding and had then consumed more Alcohol in the bar, making an utter and total fool of himself in front of his family. Drunkenness is never pleasant.. and he wasn’t even a Brit!

Having landed, we now faced a conundrum.. do we
1. Get a Hawaiian Cultural input with a Poke Bowl from the very nearby Ala Moana Centre, eating it in the sunshine at Ala Moana Park? or..
2. Walk to the Red Lobster and have some Seafood with bottomless Cokes and lovely, delicious, Air Conditioning?

The Red Lobster, it very clearly had to be, with the bottomless Coke and Aircon winning the day as we were both feeling the heat a little. Hawaiian Culture could wait for another time.

I went for the Seafarers Feast, Lobster Tail, Garlic Shrimp, Coconut Shrimp and a Skewer of Scallops with Baked Potato and Slaw.

Mandie went for Skewers of Garlic Shrimp and Scallops. You will note that I slyly got a Photo whilst she was distracted.

3 Pints of Diet Coke each and it was time for the Bill.. $85. In Waikiki terms, a bargain and we were now fully rehydrated!

Then, it was a no20 bus ($3 pp) back to our Hotel. We know how to live!

Suddenly, I had this bright idea! I would put my trunks on and go for a sunset swim😀. Mandie did not agree that it was anything like a good idea, so I went on my own.🙁

Down to the Beach it was then.. where I changed my mind and watched the Sunset instead.

I went out onto one of a few concrete bars that stick into the Sea and presumably limit Sand movement along the shore line and there met a Charming Lady of Chinese Origin. She had moved to Waikiki two years ago and lived close to the Zoo with her husband in a 200’ Apartment. She had previously lived near Presidio in SFO , but had moved out, sickened by the rapidly increasing Crime and effective Decriminalisation of it by a useless, Liberal Mayor who seems intent on defunding the Police and disbanding them. She asserted that after a lifetime in SFO, she now felt unsafe to walk its Streets, once away from the Tourist Areas.
An interesting conversation and a subsequent look at the antics of Mayor London Breed upon my return to the Hotel!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Breed

I take her point!

See more...

Sounds like a fab day, I've just caught up with your travels. I thought for a minute at the end you were going to get a skinny dip in! I bet you sleep well after this day.

And I'm very glad you now understand the fuss about Dole Whip - Dole is the make, so it will be the same as served at the kingdom of the Mouse - even better as a float on pineapple juice!

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by anji

Just catching up as away for weekend and you've certainly done lots and got good value from your card!

Pearl Harbour must certainly be respected and remembered. That trek upwards looked a lot more arduous from the views than it probably was. Seeing the turtles would have made me cry probably!

You can get Dole Whip in Seattle too. I had my first one also there from the Poke Cafe on the edge of Chinatown, just up from King Street Station. So you can look forward to another one!

See more...

I will be a Dole Whip veteran by then!
This is todays!

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by babbymint

Sounds like a fab day, I've just caught up with your travels. I thought for a minute at the end you were going to get a skinny dip in! I bet you sleep well after this day.

And I'm very glad you now understand the fuss about Dole Whip - Dole is the make, so it will be the same as served at the kingdom of the Mouse - even better as a float on pineapple juice!

See more...

Hi, Babbymint.

We are having the most wonderful time!

That eating Dole Whip as a Float sounds awesome.

I have also been having Pineapple 🍍 with Vanilla Yoghurt on top.. with Granola and dried Cranberries on top of that for Breakfast.

Pineapples are becoming a bit of a theme!

[cornishfrogboy]

Post no 10 is now ready for a read.. Catamaran Sailing, a Luau and the best Pizza ever!

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

Day 8. A further voyage and a Luau with food and.. stuff. Sunday 26 March 2023.

Well it was up early once more and a no20 bus to Ala Moana Beach.. with our pre purchased Hilo Cards at $9.50 each from the nearby ABC Store.

There then followed, a gentle stroll to Kewalo Basin where we were to once again sail with Makani Catamaran.. after a Dole Whip at $6 and a Slushie.. sorry! a Shaved Ice at $6 from a food stall right next to Makani.
At this time, Mandie realised that she had lost her Holo Card.

The 2 hour trip, commencing at 1100, was even better than yesterday.

The Wind was steady and the Sails were soon up. This was thrilling.. and pretty fast.

The two hours rolled by and at 1300 we were stuck at Kewalo with nothing to do before our Luau appointment at 1645.
The luau was to take place at the Aloha Tower.

The walk took us half an hour, through an increasingly seedy district with an ever increasing number of vagrants. To be perfectly honest, I was underwhelmed.

We arrived at the now derelict Hawaii Maritime Center, a former Museum.

Next to it was a former Tall Ship, the Falls of Clyde.

That had clearly seen better days!

There were a couple, sitting by the entrance of the Museum and feeding some Zebra Doves. Every so often, they would catch one. They then unravelled human hair from around their claws, pointing out other Doves that had lost some toes, due to the hair restricting blood supply and eventually causing those toes to fall off.

A pair of Zebra Doves.

They then took me to a tree and pointed to something very rare indeed.. A White Tern sitting on its egg.

A White Tern does not build a nest, laying its single egg in a depression on a tree branch. It then carries out an amazing balancing act through incubation.

This is an unashamedly borrowed image, showing a White Tern and it’s egg.

That is my Ornithology Lecture for the day!

It was time to eat and we located an Irish Pub called J Doran’s in a rather seedy, run down shopping area with numerous closed shops. Our expectations were low, but we ordered a Coors Lite, a Bottomless Diet Pepsi and a 14 inch Pizza, half Scampi and Half, Pepperoni etc

It was absolutely fantastic! I like my Pizzas more than most and this was off the scale.
The Bill was $35! It was so good that I gave the (lovely) waitress a $50, such was the quality and value of what we had eaten.. a 45% tip!
A later look at J Doran’s on Tripadvisor showed that we should not in fact have been at all surprised by what we had eaten. On to the Luau.

We were an hour and a half early, in the rough area of Honolulu Docks, albeit we were on what passed as part of a University Campus. We had clearly messed up!

We hung in grimly and eventually things cranked up with more people arriving and the check in of guests commencing.
We had a cheap bead thing placed round our necks before we were sat at our table.. with 6 people who had been on our Makani Catamaran trip, the day before.
In addition and not to far away was the drunken sailor and his family, again all from yesterday.
The Luau began at 1730 with a Coconut Tree Climbing demonstration.

The climbing was followed by the Show itself.The show was a series of Dance Routines reflecting the Cultures of various Pacific Islands. Although our seating position was lousy, it looked pretty good.

There were Hawaiian Cowboys (which was rather broke back Mountain and confused me a bit)

Some hot girls that I never once noticed.

And some fire dancing that was difficult to photograph.

DRINKS.
We had two vouchers each for Beer or Simple Cocktails. More complex cocktails had a $10 supplement…

Like this one!

FOOD.
The buffet was of Chicken, Maui Maui and Pork. IMHO it was dry and unpleasant.

The show finished at 1945 and we all left. Most got onto Coaches.. but being Go Oahu tickets, we had no such luxury. We had to catch a bus.
The area was dark, squalid and had plenty of vagrants in the area. We had to walk out of the area and onto a main road. To be honest, it was very unpleasant. Would I do this attraction again? Not on your life. It is simply in very much the wrong place.

Eventually and after half a mile of walking, we got onto a main road, where we caught a no20 bus, back to our Hotel.

Tomorrow, we leave Waikiki for North Shore.

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I thought for a minute I might see you climbing up the coconut tree
Nice to see you loving the Dole Whip 😋😋
Your pizza looked yummy, never heard of scampi on a pizza before, what a great price in an unassuming place, great find
I must admit I usually go on Trip Advisor first
Happy Monday

[snowbelle]

CFB & Mrs CFB
Loving the trip report so far, Vancouver is a particular favourite of mine and if you return, the sea to sky highway up to Whistler through Squamish is breathtaking.
Vancouver Island is also worth a day or two, they have a fabulous museum of cultural and native significance.
Nice to see you got a locals perspective of Vancouver.
My sister visited Pearl Harbour 20 years ago and like you, said how sobering it was,I like to think I have a fair interest in history but had no idea the amount of lives lost.

The Luau would probably not be our thing but glad to see you stuck it out, we also have a tendency to end up in dodgy areas!
Shame that you had to have a drunken sailor on the cat trip, I can't get my head around paying out for a trip and being too drunk to enjoy it but hey, ho horses for courses!
Have a lovely rest of your trip, and thanks for taking the time to do the trip reports, They are super helpful and you always add good points I have'nt always thought of.

[TheHughesCrew]

Loving the Bird Lesson! I find these little snippets fascinating.
Glad you made it back safely after the show 😳