A Tale of Two Trips: Disneyland and Hawaii July 2014 Long Way Home: The End 9/13 p.40

[KatMark]

Breakfast looks absolutely yummy and my tummy is now grumbling. But I'm with you, if there's no Mickey or Tigger, that is a steep price for a buffet.

WOW....the fish pictures are terrific. What beautiful colors on some of them. I've never been snorkeling (I'm not a great swimmer and so have avoided it, but I know my hubby would love that).

Oh dar...poor Nate and the two hotels with the same name. I'm glad he finally did find his way to the right hotel.

And I'm with you... Cynthia...I could never do it.

 

[jwwi]

Wow that is a lot of great fish that you found.

 

[natebenma]

Rainbow (Breakfast) Connection

ugh. that breakfast buffet would be something my DS would say, let's do that instead. Needless to say, it would not be good for my family, as DD is not a breakfast person. When we went to the Poly for the character breakfast, my DD had exactly one half a piece of toast and water. Yeah, I paid an adult rate for the kids too. Not again. The spread looked good though.

The breakfast was really good, but I don't think there is any breakfast worth $28 per person!

My oldest son used to be pretty picky, so I know what you are talking about overpaying at buffets for the amount of food actually eaten. But Ben always made up for that! And now Nate has really broadened his horizons about what he is willing to eat.

Oh wow, Mr. Congeniality strikes again!! That's a shame too since you would have preferred the earlier excursion.

Haha, it took me a minute to figure out that you meant the buffet as a whole was expensive, not just the Japanese Station. I kept trying to figure out how they policed that. Oh Lord, I need a nap.

Let's rub salt(water) in your wounds! We really wanted the earlier excursion and to find out there was space for us after all irritated me!

Hope you got your nap! I edited the wording in my chapter slightly from your feedback.

Breakfast looks absolutely yummy and my tummy is now grumbling. But I'm with you, if there's no Mickey or Tigger, that is a steep price for a buffet.

I don't know what I was thinking with that breakfast! I am the one who holds the line on the budget for our family. Mark is "We're on vacation, I don't care what it costs" and the boys just have no concept about what is "too expensive"




Rainbow (Fish) Connection

WOW....the fish pictures are terrific. What beautiful colors on some of them. I've never been snorkeling (I'm not a great swimmer and so have avoided it, but I know my hubby would love that).

Oh dar...poor Nate and the two hotels with the same name. I'm glad he finally did find his way to the right hotel.

And I'm with you... Cynthia...I could never do it.

We love snorkeling and it was great to find so many different things than we were used to seeing in Mexico and the Caribbean.

There are pool floats with clear windows in them so if you are on the water, you can see what swims beneath.

Nate was very insistent on leaving early and not being stuck waiting for us while we snorkeled. Even though he had his book that he could have read while we were out in the water. Maybe the "Falling Rocks" sign concerned him!



I was impressed with Cynthia and Jeff when she wrote about Koko Head, and I am even MORE impressed now that I have actually seen it. Wow!

Wow that is a lot of great fish that you found.

The colors and varieties of fish we saw in Hawaii were just the best that we have seen anywhere. We couldn't believe all of the great things we saw the second we got into the water.

 

[jenseib]

The fish pictures are amazing. Glad you were able to make it there,but what a shame Mr. Wonderful couldn't get you set up for the right time and then tell you! LOL! Poor Nate having to have an unplanned adventure to get back to the resort.

 

[natebenma]

The fish pictures are amazing. Glad you were able to make it there,but what a shame Mr. Wonderful couldn't get you set up for the right time and then tell you! LOL! Poor Nate having to have an unplanned adventure to get back to the resort.

Thanks! I love taking underwater pictures of sea life. There will be lots more coming up on Maui. We were really pleased with the excursion, but yes, I wish we had gone earlier when it was less crowded. I was shocked to hear about the trouble Nate had making it back to the resort. We thought we had it all covered.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Goodness gracious...$28 per person for the buffet? Yeah, that's a little steep. At least the food looked good.

The fish pictures are great! You always take the best underwater pictures. It's too bad that you couldn't find the video because who knows what you unknowning captured on the video. Poor Nate being taken to the wrong resort. At least he had the sense not to get out of the van and to have the driver take him to the correct one.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Ugh had written a long post and its disappeared! Anyhow breakfast looks delicious which is just as well at that price. Snorkeling is still on my bucket list- now more than eve after looking at your photos. Glad Nate survived the journey back to hotel and wasn't persuaded to walk. Life crazy busy so sorry not chatting more but I'm loving reading all your updates

 

[Wood Nymph]

We took our teen daughters on a snorkeling trip in Maui. It was our first time snorkeling and we had a great time. We were on a boat that took us out somewhere. After that experience we went snorkeling every chance we got when we were at the beach.

 

[natebenma]

Goodness gracious...$28 per person for the buffet? Yeah, that's a little steep. At least the food looked good.

The fish pictures are great! You always take the best underwater pictures. It's too bad that you couldn't find the video because who knows what you unknowning captured on the video. Poor Nate being taken to the wrong resort. At least he had the sense not to get out of the van and to have the driver take him to the correct one.

I am still cringing over the price of the buffet!!! And I know that the place Cynthia recommended had some fantastic choices at much, much better prices.



Taking pictures while snorkeling is one of my favorite things to do. All of the point and shoot cameras I have are rated for underwater use, but it appears that one of them, my Lumix, lost the underwater capability on the Hawaii trip. It is still taking regular pictures, though. I have two Fujis that can still swim with me.

We thought that as long as Mark got Nate onto the van, he would be all set.

Nope!

Ugh had written a long post and its disappeared! Anyhow breakfast looks delicious which is just as well at that price. Snorkeling is still on my bucket list- now more than eve after looking at your photos. Glad Nate survived the journey back to hotel and wasn't persuaded to walk. Life crazy busy so sorry not chatting more but I'm loving reading all your updates

I hate it when that happens!

You are right. At least breakfast was good. If we paid $28 per person and it was just adequate, I would have lost it!



We love snorkeling and we were looking forward to the Maui portion of our trip since we planned to do that a lot there.

Poor Nate- but that is the price he paid for not sticking it out with us.

We took our teen daughters on a snorkeling trip in Maui. It was our first time snorkeling and we had a great time. We were on a boat that took us out somewhere. After that experience we went snorkeling every chance we got when we were at the beach.

I was not introduced to snorkeling until Mark and I went on a cruise about 25 years ago. I was afraid I would be too uncoordinated to manage it, but as soon as my mask hit the water, I was hooked!



I snorkeled for HOURS on that trip, and learned a very valuable lesson- always make sure you wear a long t-shirt, one that covers your butt, if you will be snorkeling for any length of time. I not comfortable sitting for a couple of days



Ben likes to snorkel, but Nate isn't that interested. He actually doesn't even like to swim that much, so I guess that shouldn't be a shock.

 

[natebenma]

No Drinks at Dukes, Mai Tais at Margaritaville


When we had all returned from our snorkeling tour, we were hungry and decided to order a couple of pizzas from Round Table Pizza in the marketplace area at the resort. The pizzas were not cheap (medium Kahlua Pig and Pineapple, $22.00 and medium Thai Chicken, $25), but they were very good and we had a few slices left over for later.


Surprisingly, I don’t have any pictures of our pizza, but we did enjoy them in our room with the backdrop of our gorgeous view with the added bonus of a rainbow.









The boys were perfectly content to hang around in the room and read after our late lunch, but Mark and I wanted to enjoy a walk on the beach.









We thought we would celebrate our 28th anniversary with a couple of drinks at Duke’s Beach House, a famous Waikiki restaurant/bar (and incidentally, one highly recommended by Cynthia and some of my other friends)


We arrived at Dukes and it was packed!

There were no open tables in the bar area, and if we wanted a seat, we would have to wait around and grab a table as soon as someone got up to leave. A band was playing outside. The people at tables looked pretty comfortable, nobody looked like they were leaving any time soon, and even if they did, there were a lot of others hovering around waiting for tables too. We didn’t really feel like “pouncing” on a table when (if) one opened up, so we moved on.





It is a shame, because the view from Dukes is just spectacular!






Not far from Dukes, across the street, is Margaritaville. Being the Parrottheads that we are, this seemed like an appropriate place to commemorate our anniversary.






We sat at the bar, ordered a couple of Mai Tais (Happy Hour Special, $5 each) and enjoyed each other’s company for a few minutes.






Cheers! To many more Happy Anniversaries!


We didn’t want to leave the boys alone for too long, so we headed back and got ready for dinner- you may recall, we had reservations for…


Red Lobster!




Continued in Next Post

 

[natebenma]

Continued from Previous Post

We walked to the restaurant and took a couple of pictures along the way.











We were seated pretty quickly. Everything went pretty well at first- the waiter came over to take our drink order, brought our drinks and took our order.




After that, things went very slowly. The restaurant was crowded and there were a lot of families with unruly kids. It was loud. For long stretches of time our waiter could not be found.


We were still a bit full from the pizza earlier, so we ordered a few things to share-


Mark got a clam chowder. Or maybe lobster bisque. Our receipt says clam chowder but that is not what it looks like.





We ordered steamed mussels as an appetizer. No picture???

We ordered one Rock Lobster, Crab and Shrimp dinner and a dinner of 1 pound of Snow Crab Legs.






The meals weren’t good. Not in a “you are going to be out of commission for days with food poisoning” way, but in a “what the hell were you thinking?” way. We are from New England, land of delicious freshly-caught seafood. We ordered food that had obviously been frozen, and not heated up very well.


We were at the restaurant for a really long time. We were so exhausted that we didn’t even order dessert, which is really a first for the boys!


This was a very disappointing meal for us and service was not good, but it was not the worst dining experience we would have on this trip (that will come much later)


We got back to our room after dinner and packed as much as we could as we would be leaving for Maui the next morning.


Next Up: Aloha Oahu and Aloha Maui!

 

[saintstickets]

Great pics along the beach and the rainbow from your room! Every time I see Hawaii pics the theme song from Hawaii Five-O pops up in my head! Sighhhhh

This was a very disappointing meal for us and service was not good, but it was not the worst dining experience we would have on this trip (that will come much later)

Oh no!! Looking forward to more of your TR .... well, maybe not the worst dining experience part!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Love the fact that you hot to grab some time alone together to celebrate your anniversary. Gorgeous beach and the view from your room is just beautiful. Shame about the meal at Red Lobster and I dread to think what coming next but hey at least the pizza was good

 

[Wood Nymph]

That would have been nice to have had your Mai Tai's at Dukes with the beautiful view. I guess too many other people had that idea, too.
By the way, I recently discovered that I like Mai Tai's and the Captain's Mai Tai at the YC/BC is my favorite - so far. I'm not much of a drinker and prefer my drinks fruity. Sunken Treasures are out because I don't like coconut rum.

Mark got a clam chowder. Or maybe lobster bisque. Our receipt says clam chowder but that is not what it looks like.

We ordered one Rock Lobster, Crab and Shrimp dinner and a dinner of 1 pound of Snow Crab Legs.

The meals weren’t good. Not in a “you are going to be out of commission for days with food poisoning” way, but in a “what the hell were you thinking?” way. We are from New England, land of delicious freshly-caught seafood. We ordered food that had obviously been frozen, and not heated up very well.

Lobster bisque is usually a pale reddish color. The soup Mark ordered actually looks like chicken soup.

I'm very envious of the fresh seafood that you have at home. We live in the Midwest and most of our seafood is frozen,.. If we want fresh fish it has to be local, which means it would have to be things like perch, walleye and other freshwater fish. I've even had some Asian carp. When we go to Hawaii I usually get Mahi Mahi, which is their local fish.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Oh my Dee, the rainbow pictures are so beautiful. Just wow.

Aww that's too bad you didn't get to stay at Duke's. It does look like a lovely spot. Margaritaville is not a bad consolation though. And being Universal folks, somewhat appropriate. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (then).

Ugh, so sorry the dinner was so bad. Of course I'm glad no one died as a result, but still, not good.

 

[eandesmom]

Oh Dee. I remember the red lobster fiasco from FB but round table too? And the in hotel breakfast buffet? Sadness!!!!!

Very sad about Dukes but yeah, the place is insane. On my last work trip I only snagged a table one night after 3 previous attempts and that was due to the fact it was raining! Tips for future visits for you. Lulu's which is upstairs from dukes has a lovely bar, it's set back but still has a view, has live music and the best HH Mai tai and bar menu I think. Dukes has a killer breakfast buffet for $16.95 each.

The coffee house does have the menu posted outside so you can look at it first.

I am glad you enjoyed Haunauma bay. It was magical when I first went a couple of decades ago but it is true that it's been quite damaged since then. Like you we were there in the afternoon and the wind made for cloudy water and not as clear fish viewing. I am really undecided if we will take the boys there or not.

Love the rainbow!!!

I will not be making them do Koko head though but we will be hiking

So lovely to get caught up here this morning, exactly what I needed. I really am impressed with all you were able to do with your Oahu time and a drink at margaritaville (which is kind of a cool bar set up even if it misses the view) is not a bad thing at all and very appropriate for you guys.

I am thinking CJs is looking like a more and more viable lunch option on our arrival day though!

Sorry this is so disjointed, if I post from my phone I can't make edits anywhere but the end of the post! Unless I go into preview mode and even then it's wonky. Very glad the right Hilton was found and directionally challenged teen found his way. Fun on the army museum. I forgot about that, Jeff would likely enjoy it but right now I don't think it's on our list.

 

[jenseib]

Oh that really sucks about Red Lobster. Now in Ohio we don't have any great sea food places but our Red Lobster is hit and miss...sometimes really good and other times not so great.

 

[jwwi]

Sorry you weren't able to get a drink at Dukes, we had dinner in the bar area on our trip. It was good, but not outstanding. It was a rainy evening, but the tables near the beach looked nice. We stayed at the Beachcomber Holiday Inn, so Margaritaville was in our hotel, we did have a nice dinner there one night too. Do you have a favorite drink or meal when you go there? I loved the decor, very festive! It was a busy bustling area, and was perfect for our two night stay on Oahu How many Honolulu Cookie Co stores did you stop in to sample? Please tell me you found these. Too bad about Red Lobster, the food looked ok in the pictures......

Maui is my favorite island, it will be fun to see all your pictures, and hear about your stay there.

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Dee! I just had a marathon catch up session... I hadn't commented since your DL part of the trip so forgive me as I walk down memory lane going waaaaayyyy back......

As for the DL part of the trip:
I adore the Hungry Bear with the Mark Twain riverboat going by and the canoes. But more than the scenery is those awesome lemon cupcakes. Delish!

Sorry you missed seeing "Joe" and family your last day but it sounds like you'll have some serious interaction with Ben's upcoming 8th grade trip. You know they'll want to recruit you for future trips even after your youngest is graduated due to your knowledge and expertise.

Rancho del Zocalo - their carne asada is yum, yum, yum. One of my favorite places to eat in DL - especially if you sit right where the trains end their wildest ride in the wilderness.

Onto the Oahu part of your TR:
I've obsessed over a HI trip but keep going back to WDW so you see my priorities. Although I have priced a package with Hilton Hawaiian Village in the past. It's quite the popular place. And it's good to know that it is in proximity to so many things to see and do. What a view from your room! Glad that it as on floor 20 and not 2! Makes it so much easier to see the ocean from higher up.

Back to food commentary (you see my priorities here) ....Any place that offers a breakfast menu all day sounds like my kinda place. I'd put CJ's on my must do list. I do have to admit that the pineapple macadamia nut pancakes at Kona Café have my heart.

I'd love to visit the Pearl Harbor memorial with my family. What a great way to remember that tragic event. Wow! Your dad's tragic but touching past with the Thresher. So glad you shared a photo of you and your dad - you obviously adore him - that is so sweet.

Seeing the Mighty Mo and Arizona… so sobering to know the number of lives lost. Visiting those memorials is better than any history lesson you could get in school.

Back to a food comment...I love anything teppan but why have I never seen a chopstick stand made out of paper? That's clever. Makes me wonder why it would be necessary like is the table not clean? Ha ha ha!

Seriously some beautiful sunset photos after your Benihana dinner. That's what I picture when I think of a tropical sunset.

Whoa! That's a lot of steps at Diamond Head. But those views… awesome.

Oh man! That was one creepy taxi story for sure. Wow. Glad you survived.

Glad that Spamalot was as success!

An afternoon to relax alone reading on the balcony while Mark and the boys went to the "I know too much about guns" museaum. Yes please!

With the fireworks on the beach at the HHV were you humming any tunes along with the 5 minutes firework show? Assuming there wasn't any background music.

Side note based on your US (aka dark side) trip... I'm inserting an admission for the MIB ride. I had no clue what to shoot at. We were the only ones in the car and just kept trying to shoot at anything. Loved the spinning though.

Such a pity about that rainy day snorkeling at Hunauma Bay for your 8am tour where you wouldn't see any marine life!! Wow. Talk about a sleezy salesman. I was secretly hoping to see a dramatic scene where you would go into the Thunderdome with that tour guy but I suppose it is better just to see things go the way you expected. Awesome snorkeling photos. I have no clue one fish species versus another. At least you didn't see anything that had a big jaw with jagged teeth.

Poor Nate with the taxi dropping him off at the WRONG Hilton. Wouldn't you think they would confirm better. Are the two Hiltons close together?

Oh sorry your Red Lobster meal was memorable for all the wrong reasons. I do like their biscuits. I don't recall anything too exciting about the food. At least you had a memorable 28th!

 

[justafigment27]

I am really enjoying your trip report! We were in Hawaii around the same time last year ... so it's fun to see what you did!