If memory serves, it only took Jen about 25 minutes on the VRBO site to find an outstanding condo on Oahu. Priced at $2300 USD for a week, the 3 bedroom/3 bathroom rental checked all our boxes. The condo was on the west side of Oahu in an area known as Ko Olina. It was located in the Beach Villas Resort, which had it's own pool, hot tubs, tiki bar and easy access to the beach. The condo itself was modern, well-appointed and best of all - it had a stunning ocean view off the lanai. I asked Jamie if he was interested and after an enthusiastic thumbs up we booked it for Nov 29 - Dec 6th.
Knowing one week wouldn't be long enough I decided Jamie, Brandon and I would spend three more days on the island. I ended up booking a lovely condo on Waikiki Beach for us. Now all we had to do was wait nine more months for our vacation to arrive!
Turned out to be a really long nine months but the moment we stepped into our condo at Ko Olina and saw the amazing ocean view, I knew we had made an excellent choice and were about to have a fab holiday! It's hard to describe just how beautiful Ko Olina was. The resort had a large free form pool that was perfect for the kids. It had two hot tubs and a large "quiet pool" for adults that we never got to visit ;-) The resort was beautifully manicured with gorgeous trees/flowers/shrubs and a large koi pond. The best part of all though was its easy access to the lagoon directly in front of the resort. The lagoon was man-made but perfect for us. It had a sandy beach and safe little waves for the kids to play in. The water was warm and you could even snorkel in it as fish sought refuge at the reef in the middle.
I think we would have been happy to spend all our time at the resort but we had rented a van and decided to go on a few little adventures. We picked a cloudy day to go to Wet n' Wild - a water park only five minutes down the road. I found the water too cold for my liking but the boys had a blast with Brandon yelling "again, again" as soon as he hit the bottom of the slide.
On Dec 2nd we drove to the North Shore and spent a day at the Polynesia Cultural Center. This was an interesting place where you could learn all about the history, life and times of the Polynesian people from places like Fiji, Samoa and Hawaii. Around 5pm it was time for a luau at the center. We were greeted with leis as we sat down for a buffet dinner of roasted pig, fish and chicken. As we ate, hula dancers took to the stage to show us their stuff. Not long after dinner, Jamie and I were invited on stage to share an anniversary dance. I don't think Jamie appreciated it but I had fun. Once the luau was done, we shopped until our next show was ready to start. "Breath of Life" was a story told through live Polynesian dancers and it was really quite good. Brandon's favourite part was the impressive work of the fire dancers near the end.
The morning of Dec 4th saw us up bright and early to make our way to Hanauma Bay on the east side of Oahu. Hanauma Bay is a protected park known for it's outstanding snorkeling. The kids didn't want to go in but the adults took turns and it really was nice. Our current was strong that day but there were still plenty of fish to see. I was surprised by the many different varieties of fish - some of them incredibly beautiful.
That evening Jen and Steve agreed to watch B so Jamie and I could celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary over dinner at the Monkey Pod Restaurant (!) We had a lovely meal and topped our evening off with drinks at Disney's Alunai Resort. This resort was huge and reminded me of something you'd find in Las Vegas but we enjoyed our drinks nonetheless while listening to the live music beside the lazy river.
It seemed like our week in Ko Olina was over way too soon. I was actually very sad to be leaving such a beautiful place but it was time to go and explore the world famous city of Waikiki. I knew when I booked Waikiki what I was getting into. It's a big city with lots of restaurants, shopping and activity. For a day and a half we tried Waikiki beach, swam in the condo pool, ate at some wonderful restaurants and shopped at all the high end boutiques (thanks to being beside the Hilton Hawaiian Village). That left us pretty tired and craving the quiet soft sandy beaches of Ko Olina again. That's when I had an idea - why not rent Brandon's all-time favourite car, the Camero, and find a beautiful beach somewhere for our last day in Hawaii?
I managed to get us a convertible Camero for the day and B was over-the-moon excited about it. In fact if you ask him what his favoutie part of Hawaii was, he'll tell you it was the Camero :-) That day we decided to head back to east Oahu and spend time at Kailua Beach. I had read that Kailua was voted one of the world's best beaches and it wasn't hard to see why. The sand was as white and soft as flour and the ocean was the most beautiful shade of turquoise blue. We loved it there and it was hard to pull Brandon away. Along with the car, he often talks about Kailua Beach.
The next day we said "Mahalo" to Hawaii and hopped our plane to Victoria. After a short stay with Mom and Dad we headed home and back to reality.
What a beautiful holiday we had. I absolutely loved Hawaii - the beaches, how green it was, the smell of it, the food and the people. It's my sincerest hope we can return again and feel that Aloha spirit once more. Until that day, I'll be visiting Hawaii regularly in my dreams!
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