Oahu wasnt my idea, you know. But hey, when the family from Japan called to meet them there, we were in. It was originally slated for March when Japan was in the thick of the Omicron surge and they made the decision to cancel at the last minute. We had the reschedulable flight so here we are, end of April, with the whole new itinerary.
I had originally planned to do between Waikiki and Kaneohe as I found an Airbnb in Kaneohe; to get away from Waikiki and to explore the unexplored. Beginning of April, I got a text saying that the Airbnb listing is now ceased and desist being outside of the allowed zone. Really?! I was told that it wouldve still been honored but umm, no thanks. I spent literally an entire weekend figuring out the alternatives. Things were getting booked up by then and it was nothing short of a nightmare. Finally, I came across an Airbnb car rental with camping gear. The price to our lodging in Waikiki. I researched camping in Oahu and it seemed doable. I usually dont book Airbnb
anything with just 4 reviews and I was nervous until after the trip but I was just too tired to think anymore. And what if that option slipped away? Click. Booked.
I was pretty nervous flying for the first time since Covid, especially with an unvaccinated toddler. I packed wipes, rapid tests, and loads of masks; N94, KN94, KF94, and surgical. Did I miss anything? Things had been calming down and Hawaii lifted Covid requirements a month before the trip. So glad not to have to arrange tests, phew. But so did the mask mandates on flights a few days before our flight. This was uncalled for, ugh!
I also spent some time and thoughts on entertainment for Y: books, stickers, and a toy train. Since there is no railway (except at the plantation), I thought itd be nice for him to have a train but it only reminded him of home ? Alright, on to the adventures.
I felt like Id been packing for a week but still managed to be stressed upon leaving the house. Still, I consider leaving at 6:15 am to be a win. Its been a
few years since I took public transportation here and the single ride ticket to the airport no longer existed. That was the beginning of of errors. We almost got on the wrong train and took the air tram for no reason because we were at the right terminal, grr. It was crowded at the gate. The Piggyback Rider was already a A flight went smooth as Y was super intrigued by everything that was going on; a little too overstimulated to be sleeping. He was running on fumes but in good spirit.
From HNL, I realized that the city bus would take to Waikiki, no! But Y enjoyed being on the bus for the first time and if he didnt mind, we didnt mind. It was already 2 pm by the time we checked into the hotel. Since we were right in front of the International Marketplace, we made a quick pit stop at MoDo. When this popup came to San Jose, it was a wait fiasco. Here, zero line, winning ✌️Todays plan was to hit Foodland, Target, and Walmart in Ala Moana to get groceries. Ala Moana is a bus ride
and I thought I could order stuff ahead of time and pick up zip. Right. This was a bad bad plan without a car. We struggled from Foodland. We barely made it through Target in the same mall. So glad V made the right call of skipping Walmart. Walmart was the only place I could find but we had no choice. We had been up since 2 am Hawaii time and Y had no nap. He was in good spirit and we really appreciate that but 7 pm was the hard stop.
Y woke up at 4 am! Jet lag, ugh! We ate, got ready, out the door by 6 am. Sun had up. No plan today except for a photoshoot at 10 am. We just wandered off towards Waikiki beach. There was already a sizable number of people surfing, strolling, and jogging. Y was showing his dislike for the beach already and he wouldnt go remotely near it. See, Hawaii wasnt my idea. After a quick pitstop at the hotel, we headed to Hilton Lagoon where the photoshoot was going to be.
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