Aaron's dad is from Hawaii, so I've always been envious of his frequent trips there. Sixteen years after I first told him he needs to bring me to Hawaii, he did! š I've also now officially been to all 50 states, so this trip has been a win in more ways than one! (Like infinite ways, honestly, but I digress).
Sunday, June 7, 2026 // Day 0
It is rare that I am not taking a crack-of-dawn flight when traveling, but in this case, 10:25AM was the only direct flight to Honolulu. We were packed up and in the car by 5:15AM and on the road to MSP soon after. Park and Fly was quick (like seriously I think they know which parking spot I’m going to choose before I do, because before I even had the car in park they were ready with the shuttle doors open behind my car.) The TSA Pre-check line was quick as always, and we had plenty of time to sit down for breakfast.
I chose to eat at The Cook and the Ox because I had wanted to eat there before our flight to Punta Cana but since it was 4AM they didn’t have a cook in yet. I had the lemon ricotta pancakes with lingonberry jam. They were pretty good, but the syrup tasted odd (one menu said maple syrup...I realized later than another menu said pistachio syrup. Turns out I don't like pistachio!) and I would have preferred more jam. Also, they had an early riser menu that lasted until 8 and we were seated at 8:01 which, despite giving us this early riser menu, they wouldn't honor it and it meant our meal was now double the cost. Fair, since it was after 8, but also why give us the menu then?? That was a bummer, but I always say money and calories don’t count when you’re on vacation!
The flight was long, but uneventful. I slept a little, read a little, watched Legally Blonde and some SVU. Even did an hour or two of ELA mapping for next year! (I know, I made it two days into summer before working on school stuff. Pitiful.) It felt like they were feeding us every three minutes! They came with drinks, then snacks, then our meal (cheese ravioli for me and chicken mushroom gravy with potatoes and green beens for Aaron), then more drinks, then another snack (cheesy pizza hot pocket thing).
Once we landed, we trekked across the airport to pick up our luggage, then dragged that to Alamo to pick up our rental car. After we loaded our bags, we headed first into Waikiki to see my parents and brother to share the news of our engagement, and then to Aaron’s aunt’s house where his parents had already arrived, to spend the night. I did manage to sneak in my first Dole Whip between seeing my family and then going to Aaron's aunt's! (Fun fact: my dad ended up chatting with the guy who owned the stand where I got my Dole Whip later in the trip and learned that he had gone to second grade in Winona!) We tried our hardest to stay up despite the time change, and did manage to be awake until the 8:00 hour!
Monday, June 8, 2026 // Day 1
“If you look up there, you’ll see the pink hibiscus…and if you look down there you’ll see the pink low-biscus..”
- Dylan, our tour guide for the day
I started my day driving into Waikiki from Aaron’s aunt's house and parking at the Sheraton Waikiki where we would be staying for the remainder of the week. I parked the rental car in the garage and went off in search of an aƧaĆ bowl, which I swore I would eat every day for breakfast for the duration of my time in Hawaii. Unfortunately, it was only just after 6AM and the couple places I had pinned in Google Maps didn’t open until 6:30 and 8. I happened to see a little coffee stand - Honolulu Coffee Co. - right outside the Sheraton that just happened to serve aƧaĆ bowls and was open! I went with the Hawaiian bowl this morning - aƧaĆ topped with banana, coconut, macadamia nuts, and granola. It was every bit as delicious as it looked!
I met mom, dad, and Ike at Duke’s Landing where they were getting breakfast to go, and we walked to the Ross Dress for Less, as that is where our shuttle was picking us up at 7.
Dad had booked the Grand Tour Around the Island so we could get a feel for what we might want to see more of, and it was the perfect choice. Our tour guide’s name was Dylan, and our driver was Uncle Neil. On an air conditioned coach bus, along with 36 other tourists, we set off to circle the island.
We started by driving through some very pricey neighborhoods - houses that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but sit vacant 11 months of the year. Our guide pointed out Jackie Chan’s house, and the Kennedy’s land. He showed us where Bill Gates lived, specifically mentioning all the windows on his house, and questioning his obsession with windows. (HA!)
Up on the mountain we saw the mansions belonging to Oprah, Keanu Reeves, Dwayne Johnson, and Shaquille O’Neil - in a neighborhood with armed security at the entrance to the neighborhood at the bottom of the mountain, and $2400/month HOA fees.
He also pointed out Barrack Obama’s childhood home, as well as the one he owns now. There is a flag for the Nation of Hawaii flying near his home that people keep upside down to show that the nation is in distress.
Our first official stop was the Halona Blow Hole. Even with the waves not being strong at the moment, we saw the water push through and shoot up.
On the other side of the blow hole look out was a little beach with beautiful blue water that mixed in swirls with the sand. This beach was featured in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity.
As we continued the drive, Dylan pointed out various beaches and what they were known for. For example, Sandy’s Beach is used for surfing, as the waves are huge. On really big waves, Queen’s Hospital keeps an ambulance posted up there because it’s not if someone, gets hurt, it’s when. Someone leaves there with a back or neck injury frequently.
Our next stop was a little shopping area in Waimanalo where some people ate breakfast. There was a man set up selling pineapple there, so dad got some sliced pineapple with some kind of plum seasoning on it called "Li Hing powder" and it was the perfect paring! (I made sure to buy some from the ABC store later in the week to bring home).
Stop three took us to Byodo-in Temple, which is a smaller-scale replica of the Byodo-In Temple in Japan. In order go into the temple, you had to buy a ticket for $10. There was a pond filled with bright orange koi fish that you could buy food to feed. We each rang the bell, which meant we were being blessed, and walked through the temple.
Our fourth stop was at Kualoa Regional Park. This is where scenes from Jurassic Park, Pearl Harbor, and other movies were filmed. Dylan took a drone video out to Mokoli'i Island (affectionately known as Chinaman's hat - for obvious reasons) and back to us on the beach and airdropped it to all of us on the bus.
We next went to a roadside shop that had a food truck outside called Shrimp the Bomb. They didn’t have shrimp tacos (and that is the ONLY way I will eat shrimp), so I had the huli huli chicken with rice and salad. Huli huli means to turn over and over, aka, rotisserie.
After lunch, we went to a macadamia nut farm where they had a shop, a fruit stand, and some other goodies. The bus parked there for an hour and a half, and we walked over to Hale’iwa Beach to attempt some snorkeling. Dad and Ike enjoyed it, though we didn’t see much other than sea urchin everywhere. The water was pretty murky. We did however see a couple sea turtles in the water while we were standing on the beach! We changed back into clothes in these stalls back at the farm which was a whole experience. If I would have stood by the wall of the stall, I would have been able to see the person in the next stall over the top, and I’m not a tall person. Also, they were dirty and cobwebby, so it was an act of acrobatics to try and dry off, change, and stay clean all at the same time.
Our second to last stop was at the Dole Plantation. This was one of my two MUST DOs while in Hawaii. I LOVE me a Dole Whip. I bought some pineapple pancake mix in the shop, then Ike and I demolished a couple bowls of pineapple Dole Whip. Delicious!
We made one last stop at a coffee farm before heading back to Waikiki.
My family made the trek with me from our shuttle drop off spot to the Sheraton for the room reveal. Aaron had spent the day with his family, and so he had checked in while I was out. However he refused to send me snaps of the room, declaring I must see it in person. He was right! The bedroom closed off from the rest of the suite with sliding doors. There is a balcony off the common area, AND one off the bathroom. Which has a bathtub/shower room, a toilet room, and just the double sink area. Looking back now - I took zero pictures of the room (though lots of the view!)
When my family left, I showered the salt water out of my hair and Aaron and I went for dinner. We ended up going to Duke’s Waikiki where I had the fish tacos (cajun mahi mahi, flour tortillas, tomatillo sauce, pico de Gallo, fresh tortilla chips) and Aaron had the ribs and chicken plate (compart family farm pork ribs, mango bbq sauce, all natural hula hula chicken, steamed rice, macaroni salad, pickled cucumbers). Oh my goodness. I'm a little worried we started with this dinner because the fish tacos were so top tier I'm not sure they can be beat! For dessert, upon recommendation from a friend back home, we ordered the Kimo’s Original Hula Pie (chocolate cookie crust, macadamia nut, ice cream, hot fudge, toasted Mac nuts, whipped cream). Thankfully we split it, as I probably could have eaten it all myself - it was delicious!!
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