Hearts in Hawai'i
Our Trip to Hawai'i (2010)--Day 2
4/19/2010
Sea Life Park
Adjusting to the time zone change (five time zones!) usually leaves us feeling slightly whacked for a day or two. Getting up at 3:30 a.m. on the first full day here was nothing out of the ordinary. Having no toaster (yet), I was resigned to walking down Kalakaua in search of something open early enough to allow me to chow before our trip to Sea Life. Luckily, McDonalds was open before 6 a.m., so I was set. Following a quick walk around Kapiolani Park, we picked up our guests at 8:45 and worked our way east on the Kalanianaole Highway, stopping at a few of my favorite photo locations such as the Diamond Head overlook, Koko Head and Sandy Beach.
Kapiolani Park
Sea Life Park now costs $30 to enter. This is just the basic entry fee and you can spend far more if you partake in one of the programs they offer--the Dolphin Royal Swim, for example, costs $224.99 for adults! If you purchase one of these rather expensive programs, they waive the general entry fee.
The $30 fee allows you access to three main shows; the Dolphin Cove Show, Hawaiian Ocean Theatre, and the Kolohe Kai Sea Lion Show. These are all very nicely done events which everyone should like, especially keiki (children). In the midst of these events, we were able to watch hang gliders hovering over the Makapu`u cliffs, where thermal currents allow them to stay airborne for long periods of time.
After the show, we drove to Walmart near the Ala Moana Mall and purchased the cheapest toaster they had, which we would use for the next week. We then dropped our guests off at their hotel (the Outrigger Reef) where they had a nice room with a view of the ocean and Diamond Head. It's advertised as a Ocean View room. "Ocean View" can be interpreted very liberally by certain hotels, but in this case they had a pretty darn nice view of the ocean! At $229/night, we thought this was a good value. There are three restaurants at the Reef, highlighted by the Shoreview.
Cheesecake Factory
Located in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center; while it's true that this is chain restaurant, this is still an excellent choice for dinner. Their huge menu guarantees that even the most finicky eater will find something they can enjoy. All four of us thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience here; Patty had the Chicken Quesadillas, and I got the Spicy Meat pizza. Dessert was cheesecake, of course! I woofed down a piece of strawberry cheesecake. The tab for four people came to just over $100 with tax and tip. By Hawaiian standards, this is a very good deal.
Afterward, we walked over to the International Marketplace, which has basically a lot of crap. However, I did manage to find a cap and T-shirt for $11. On our walk back to the Park Shore we were treated to one of those wonderful sunsets Hawai`i is noted for.
Still a bit fried from yesterday's travel, we were crashed by 9:00.
Previous: 4/18/2010--Our Trip to Hawai'i (2010)--Day 1
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