Honolulu, Oahu – Day 2

Due to the time difference, we got a great nights sleep and were up pretty early (around 8am). We started the day by enjoying the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, which was great; coffee, pineapple juice, granola, yogurt, fruit and baked goods. After fueling up, we walked to the Diamond Head Crater for our first official hike of the trip. This 1.5 mile round trip was a decent hike, all fenced and some of it stairways, but was still pretty rigorous. It is good we got a relatively early start, as this was a pretty popular tourist spot. When we got to the top, we were rewarded with fantastic views of the crater itself, the Diamond Head Lighthouse, and Honolulu and the coastline.

 

  

When we got to the bottom, since it was hot out and I felt I deserved it, I grabbed our first Shaved Ice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we got back to the hotel and cleaned up, we took a stroll through the Waikiki area, where there are tons of shops/markets and eateries. We stopped in the International Market Place and saw some really cool shops. We even had a psychic reading from a woman named Sheila Feigin. Not to be the pessimist, but I was not impressed with her skills.  

 

 

 

 

I read in our guide book that the Banyan Veranda at the Moana Surfrider was a great place for sipping a Mai Tai and watching the sunset, so sure enough this was our next stop before continuing on to dinner at the Hula Grill, right next door.

 

The Hawaiian Ceviche is what drew me to the Hula Grill, it was ok though, had mango in it, which made it fun, but I think I prefer the Mexican and Cuban versions of ceviche that i have had. The entrees were awesome though.

We were exhausted by 8pm, still jet lagged, so grabbed some major z’s back at the hotel (of course I stopped at the hotel bar (which apparently is gay friendly…sweet) to cash in on my complimentary beverage, I chose a Manhattan, which my newly made friend (wink-wink) / bartender poured with a nice Woodford Reserve).