Spring Break Honolulu-Style

Two weeks?!! For real? Spring break is two whole weeks!! That's right, in Hawaii... spring break lasts 2 whole weeks. Oy vay! Obviously, a mother didn't decide this! While 2 weeks can be a long time for any sane mother, on the other hand...it does lend to some creative travel time...IF one can afford it. 4 days and 3 nights (at the end of the 2nd week) in Honolulu cost us about $1000 and that was in one of the more economical hotels.

Upon arrival (a short jump...20 minute flight from Kauai) we shuttled ourselves to the National Car Rental (where we had earlier placed a bid on a mid-sized car http://www.priceline.com/ and had it accepted for $16/day) to pick up our anticipated lemon of a car. It's only a coupla days, we don't need anything very special. After the completion of the paperwork, we were offered a purple but very stylish....... Cadillac SRX SUV!!! We were astonished!! After picking our jaws up off the asphalt, we applauded our great fortune and jumped in the SUV. With leather lumbar seats adjusted to our spines and sunroof opened to the skies, we cruised east toward the Waikiki strip to check into our hotel for the evening. We were greeted upon arrival at the Alana Doubletree Hotel with huge, warm, fresh chocolate chip cookies. Nothing special to note about the hotel otherwise...it was nice and clean with a pool, and 2 queen beds in our room did the job.

Day 1

Hawaiian Waters Water Park...Kapolei

An awesome outdoor water park equivalent to that of the one in West Edmonton Mall but over a greater sq. ft. area and under a full hot sun. Oh and palm trees...the real kind. Our only major complaint was that the admission was $35.99/adult and $25.99/child for only 5 hours of pure unadulterated good clean fun. The park opened at 10:30am and closed at 3:30pm. Who closes a water park in the middle of a spring break afternoon? Especially in Hawaii??!!! Really big bucks for really short bang. Also no outside food is allowed into the park which means loooong lines and sloooow service. All in all we got in only about 8 rides during the day. Three before lunch, an hour or so to wait in lines for lunch and then eat, and then about 4 or 5 rides after lunch before closing. Fun...but definitely a rip-off. And worst of all...it got a F- for celiac friendly eats.

Day 2

Sea Life Park...Makapu'u

Oahu's equivalent to Florida's Sea World...just a wee bit downscaled and no...sob, sob...Shamu. But plenty enough to keep us entertained!! $15.62/ adult and $12.50/child...kama'aina rate. That's the local rate for residents. The park offers a variety of activities to participate in and of course...the interactive big sells were extra...swim with the sea lions, turtles, dolphins, sting rays...blah, blah, blah, whatever... for a mortgage refinancing type of price. We opted out of the pricey perks and headed straight for the "freebie"(already paid for) sea turtle, sea lion and dolphin exhibits. (Cheap Mennos!) Also included in park price were the sea lion, dolphin and sea life shows in the outdoor theatres. Under a hot and sunny sky, we sweltered, but the shows were fun and the kids really enjoyed them. The Kapolei sea life parkis located on the NE side of Oahu and boasts the one and only known "wholphin" in the world.

The wholphin is the result of a killer whale breeding with a dolphin, which apparently isn't supposed to happen...but on a starry moonlit sky with romantic music in the open ocean, who knows what can happen. Worth the money as it was fun, interactive without being too pricey (except the blah blah promotions) and educational...but again, a big fat F- for celiacs. But then...what did I expect? I need to carry a personal chef in my back pocket!!

Day 3

Honolulu Zoo...Waikiki, Honolulu

Our last and final day in Honolulu... sleeping in, swimming in the hotel pool, brunch at Denny's and a trip to the local city zoo. The orders for the day. Ahhhh, a nice relaxing way to end a short 3 day vacation. Honolulu Zoo, located at the end of the Waikiki Beach strip, has a reputation for being a fairly nice zoo and at $10/family (local kama'aina rate), I'd say the price was very nice indeed. Now...keep in mind that my biggest zoo adventures have occurred at the Winnipeg Zoo...but I'm telling you, this is one fabulous zoo!!! (especially for the price) Polar and black bears are replaced with hippos, rhinos, giraffe, alligators,and zebras all in a natural savannah-like setting. These bad boys are living the good life. Their habitats are a very lush and realistic, comfortable and natural setting reminiscent of the back 40 in Africa. It's so real that there was no...and I mean no... barrier between us and the rhino except a ditch, which I might add (from our viewpoint) didn't seem all that deep considering the size of the guy. And everywhere, there are these signs... a little disconcerting...after all, where DOES one go when there's a jailbreak and a rhino is hot on your heels??!! Not alot of barrier between us and the giraffes either. I'm thinking if they wanted out, they get out...nooooo problem. Offering us oodles of giggles, were the chimpanzees who seemed riled up about something. A lone male stood on the top of this huge rock. His cell mate didn't really like the looks of him and instigated a riot among 2 other chimps to take him off his high "horse". The instigator signalled the other two and synchronized an attack throwing him off the rock and chasing him around the compound in a chattering flurry of excitement. It was quite the show and interesting display of primal relationships.
The zoo took much more time to walk through than we had an anticipated but the savannah was an amazing journey through Africa (for those of us who will probably never get there) and it completed our little vacation. It was definitely an outing where there was something for everyone. And although Ben got very tired of walking, he was very brave and only complained near the end. A short stop for a bite to eat and then off to the airport to catch a home flight to Lihue, Kauai. After just getting started, our little time here is all done. : (