Our Hawaiian Holiday!--FINISHED About This Page:

[Wendyismyname]

We took this trip in November 2001, so this is a little old, but I thought somebody might find it interesting!

Who? Me 26 at the time
DH 37
DMIL OLD
Niece 21

What? Tour of Hawaii
When? November 11-26, 2001
Why? IT's HAWAII!!

Set up:

In February 2001, we heard about a tour that my grandma, great aunt, and cousins were going on. TO HAWAII!! Woohoo! We learned about the nuts and bolts and decided THIS is what we wanted to do for sure!

The tour was booked thru Your Man Tours and thru the Madison County R.S.V.P(retired seniors voluteer program).

Your Man Tours is an OLD outfit. Their company has been around since 1967, however I had never heard of them of course! www.ymtvacations.com

The tour included 15 days in Hawaii(Oahu, Big Island, Maui and Kauai), all hotels, tours, flights and interisland flights.
The cost: $1750 per person(it's now a little over $2000 a person).

We thought it was a very good deal and if you price these things separately, you'll see my point.

Okay, here we go!
October--we meet our representative and receive our packages including the air tickets.

November 11th, Sunday
We leave for Indianapolis to spend the night since we have an ungodly early flight. Thanks to what happened on September 11, we really didn't know what to expect at the airports.
We stay the night at the Holiday Inn Express at Indy airport. It's a very nice hotel! The lobby is a 5 story atrium and our room had an inside balcony over looking the lobby. My MIL paid for the room since we paid her way to Hawaii, a gift for everything she had done for us.
There was a really nice restraunt there called Chanteclair, very upscale and we watched a wedding party that night. It was hard to go to sleep that night! We were so excited!
Finally we did fall asleep, but only got 2 hours of sleep!

November 12th, Monday

We arrived at Indy airport at 4:10am and there were already people there! We were able to meet some of our fellow tour buddies! The ticket counter opened at 5am and we were checked in and heading to security. We flew United, and were a little bit nervous. But, security was fine, we shouldn't have worried after all but the line was incredibly long. Our flight to Chicago O'Hare was short and smooth. It's amazing how much Lake Michigan reminds you of the ocean. It's HUGE

We were NOT prepared for the size of O'Hare! Wow it's really big! We only had to walk 30 gates, but thankfully, it was in the same terminal. It seemed to take forever! We picked up Mcdonald's on the way. yum! Ben and I were really excited because we never took a honeymoon, so this was kind of it!
We boarded the plane and pushed back from the gate, got in a long line waiting for takeoff and ended up being grounded for about 45 minutes! Seems there was a 'security issue in New York'. Well, that really didn't set too well with people! I don't remember what it was now, and I didn't write it in my notes. But I think it was the plane that crashed in the residential area. Not terrorist related.

Finally we are off to our connection in LA! I had window seats to both Chicago and LA. Nice! I took pictures of the Rocky Mountains and they came out pretty clear!
The flight seemed to take a really long time, but it probably was because we were so excited! It did take about 4 hours and I actually fell asleep but not for long. I'm always afraid I'll miss something! LOL!

Next up-- arriving in LA!

Wendy

[ 09-11-2003, 06:08 PM: Message edited by: Wendyismyname ]

[ProChristo]

Hey girlie, it's never too late for a great trip report! Sounds like a dream vacation.

[Wendyismyname]

November 12th, Monday, part two

We finally see LA from the air! My goodness it's so BIG! I can't imagine why some one would want to live in a city like that, but I come from a very small town, so it's daunting!
It was really neat to see LAX in person after only seeing it in the movies. We have a nice layover, 2 hours, but it seemed like it was 10! Heather, my niece, buys a quesadilla to share and it was really good! My grandma and aunt had found a worker who snuck them out to their smoking area! She was lucky! My MIL, Heather, and myself were wanting one really bad!
But we didn't want to go out to the smoking area and go thru security again. That's when I found out how sneaky grandma was! LOL! Or resourceful!
Okay, time to get serious, we finally board to Honolulu!! woohoo! That was a really long flight! 5 hours! They showed Princess Diaries and I laughed out loud when she said "me a princess? SHUT UP!" but i didn't realize it until people turned to look at me. I was embarrassed, but no one acted mad. I was sitting next to a nice old couple and we were talking. Found out that the wife and I were both celebrating our birthdays on Nov. 18th! That was really neat and I wish I could remember their names. They were so sweet!

We land in Honolulu at 5:30pm local time. It was 10:30pm at home. I made a really quick phone call to my folks to let them know we were there. Woke them up, but they were glad I called. Dad didn't want us to go especially after Sept. 11th. He's such a worrywart!

We were greeted by out guide, Cousin Luca(real name Ruthanne). We then went on a nice LONG walk to get leid! Heehee. Nice leis too, orchids! Purple even! We even got our pictures taken. We had befriended an older lady, bout same age as MIL, and she was traveling alone. We adopted her. Then we walked to get our luggage. Oh, by the way, the price also included tips for the porters. We never had to touch our luggage except to pack and put it outside the door.
MIL, Heather, and I enjoyed our first cigarette after 17 hours! Oh we needed that!
We loaded onto a chartered bus and went to our hotel!
We had a brief tour of Honolulu.
Honolulu is bigger than we imagined. It's home to 80% of O'Ahu's population, over 900,000 people!

Next up, our resort,the Ocean Resort, Waikiki.

Wendy

[Wendyismyname]

Thanks Amy!

Still November 12th, Monday!

The Ocean Resort Waikiki is very nice, for an older hotel. After we checked in, which all we had to do was sign since it was a big tour, I realized.....hey! there's no door or windows! How cool is that?!
We were in room 1001, a single room. Nice enough for Ben and I!
MIL and Heather were across the hall in room 1003, theirs had two twin beds! Ours had a queen. Private balcony, (very) partial ocean view.
There are 14 floors in this tower and 19 in the other. We were in the Diamond Tower and the other is the Pali Tower. My grandma and aunt were up on the 14th floor and had a really nice ocean view!

The restraunt is called the Ocean Seafood and Steak and was located in the lobby. They have excellent prime rib and really really cheap, $8.99 for all the trimmings!!
After eating, we were so tired, we went to bed after unpacking. We'll be in Waikiki for 5 days I think. Off to bed at 8pm!

Tuesday, November 13--Waikiki!!!
This is so funny! We were so tired that we went to bed at 8pm right? We woke up at 2:30am! It was 7:30am at home so we called and talked to the kids before they went to school. They were having fun staying with mom and dad and Dexter. I didn't need to worry!

We could NOT go back to sleep so we got cleaned up and dressed and went down to breakfast at 5am. We really needed our coffee. No pot in the room and we didn't think to bring one!
Same restraunt(we ate there the entire time in Waikiki)and had really good coffee and breakfast. I'm not a breakfast eater, except on vacation! I really wanted something Hawaiian--Spam and Eggs! But alas, they didn't have it on the menu(I did have it later thought). After getting our nourishment, MIL, Heather, Ben and I decide to explore the outside of the hotel. It was 6am and believe it or not, we weren't the only people out walking!
We finally saw the ocean! My MIL was starting to have trouble walking. More on her later [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] But we needed to get back for out meeting. We couldn't help but notice all the ABC stores! In Waikiki, they stand for All Blocks Covered, on the other islands it is Always Bring Cash! LOL! at least that's what our cousins(tour guides) told us.
Walking back to the hotel, it started raining, but it was a nice mist!

Next up...still tuesday and our meeting.

wendy

[Wendyismyname]

We met with Cousin Luca in the lounge and then moved to another floor. There were actually two tour groups there and we did do something with them later on.

We met all of our touring buddies, all 80 of them. Average age 65, youngest one there was Heather at 21 and then me at 26! LOL! Oh boy, i hope these old fogies can keep up with us! Boy were we naive! They practically ran circles around us! LOL!

We found out our itinerary. It had changed just a little bit from when we first got it. We also learned about the optional tours. Ben and I were dead set about spending more money on extra tours. We'd be happy with what they included. Well, over $300 later, we had some extras! LOL! Glad we did too!
After our meeting, Ben, Heather and I went walking and MIL stayed at the hotel.

The ocean drew us and made us stand in knee deep water. We couldn't wait to get in! We knew that today was a day of rest and we could do what we wanted to do. After our tour at Pearl Harbor, we plan on swimming in the ocean. We then stopped at an ABC store and picked up pepsis and snacks for the room. We did have a nice dorm size fridge. Okay, time to find one of the pools. Okay, not so hard as our room looked right down on them. Both were right next to each other too. Ready, set go! We jump in and SCREAM! Oh my God! That particular hotel DOES NOT HEAT their pools! We immediatly get out and try to warm up. I got chilled quickly even though it was 80 degrees and went up to get dressed.
We came down and got lunch and then back to rest in the our rooms until the maids came. Oh well, time for another walk.
We found the Honolulu Zoo which was right behind and across the street from our hotel. Nice too, only cost $5 to get in($15 for the Indy zoo).
We made plans to visit it soon. Back to our rooms until 4pm happy hour. Time to try a Mai Tai! Ben had two, I barely drank mine. I'll stick with something lighter. Then it was time to eat again at 5pm. I have to say, the wait staff at that restraunt were HORRIBLE!! Especially one. No personality and he forgets you. Then on the bill, he writes "suggest 15% tip is...." type of thing. He didn't get a single dollar that particular time!
Off to the room and the clothes started flying and jammies started coming on. It was almost 7pm and we had to meet in the lobby at 6:30am to get ready for Pearl Harbor!

It didn't take long for us to fall asleep. Jet lag had set in!

Nextup Wednesday Pearl Harbor/Honolulu city Tour.

Wendy

[MegglesMom]

Great report so far! I've always wanted to go to Hawaii! Can't wait to read more...

[Bert & Sully]

Enjoying your Trip Report thus far.

[AKLRULZ]

Better late than never is what I always say - thanks for posting!

[ProChristo]

Wow, it sounds like you had a great time. Traveling with the in-laws is interesting, huh? I'll be looking for the next installment.

[Colexis Mom]

Thanks for sharing Wendy [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img] Looking forward to more [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Wendyismyname]

Thanks FLSharon! Welcome to the boards!!

I'm still working on this. I have to call in reinforcements(i.e. my dh and niece) to help me remember. I know that as the days went by, my note taking got less involved. We really want to go back and booking thru YMT is a great way to go. The hotels are not the nicest, but they are clean and don't smell.

Wendy

[statelady01]

Just caught up with this- thanks so much for doing it!

[FLSharon]

Thanks so much for writing and posting this.. I love Hawaii. Looking forward to the rest of your trip.

[Wendyismyname]

November 14th, Wednesday. O'ahu

This morning, we awoke at 4am. That is so early, but we're not minding a bit because we're in Hawaii! It's so beautiful. The sky is so blue, the ocean is so blue and massive! Makes you feel really small!
We went to breakfast at 5am when they opened. We all had to meet at 6:30am for our tour of Pearl Harbor and the city of Honolulu.
We got to the visitors center at the military base. We went thru the the museum part and waited for our boat over to the memorial. We were shown a movie, which was pretty new, that had actual footage of Dec. 7, 1941. When the film was over, not a peep was heard, no one moved. It was awestriking. Then almost as one, we got up and walked to our boat. I have to admit I was really nervous about being on a boat and being on the ocean. It's just not my thing. Another thing, this is done by the US Navy and they don't mess around!
Oh that ocean! So Blue! There are actually 11 or 14 memorials set up, but the Arizona Memorial is the only one you can go into. The others look like big cement blocks sitting on water, but they mark the place where that ship was sunk.
What can I say about the Arizona Memorial.

Well, I still get teary eyed. It was awesome. The water is so clear, you can see the ship very well. The names carved into the marble wall honoring all the men who lost their lives and who are still under water. The names of the men who have had their ashes spead over the Arizona.
You could clearly see the oil in the water.
You're only over there for about 20 minutes, but the first 10 minutes, people were nice and quiet. After 10 minutes, we started hearing louder chatter and saw a few people putting their hats on. They were very disrespectful, but I think that they actually forgot that this is a graveyard, and there are over 1000 people buried under water! The Navy man came in and reminded people to be quieter and to please put their hats back on when they get outside.
We went back over to the visitor center and bought a few souvenirs. A couple of coloring books for the kids(not of the Arizona Memorial) and a couple of books about Pearl Harbor. Ben and I have both said, that just the fact that the tour of the Arizona Memorial is part of the price, it's worth it and then some.
I did take a whole roll of film while there.
Off to tour Honolulu. Well, it's a busy city much like any other, traffic, noise. However, it's Hawaii! It also has alot of history! We drove by Iolani Palace, which looked really pretty as we passed by. We saw a really big statue of King Kamehameha. We drove thru a rain forest up to Pali lookout(the view was breathtaking). Hawaii's water comes from the rain forest. It is pure filtered rain. You'll never taste something so good as this water! We saw Punchbowl Brater where the National Cemetary is. We saw the grave of Ernie Pyle, native Hoosier from Dana, Indiana. I think he was a journalist?
We stopped by Hilo Hattie on the way back. Hilo Hattie is Hawaii's big chain store, it reminded me of Kmart, only higher prices. Still, I bought my mom and kids t-shirts. On the way back to the hotel, we passed by the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, which is three blocks long and that's where the upscale stores are.
We arrived back at the hotel at 1pm and Heather and I walked to the ABC Store for sandiwiches. Then we rested until 3pm and decided we needed to get out and walk and enjoy Hawaii! You don't go on a tour like this, to someplace you might never get back to, and sit in your room !! No way!
We walked to the International Marketplace, which was about 6-8 blocks from our hotel. You have seen this before if you've ever watched A Very Brady Sequel, while the kids are looking for their mom, they go to an open air place and holler 'mom' and a bunch of women say 'yes", well that's the International Marketplace.
Ben and I picked out a pearl from those little kiosks, Pearl Factory. I received a gorgeous pearl, it's black! I got it set in a ring and I still need to get it appraised! We bought several more things for Christmas gifts and we plan on going back tomorrow after our Circle Island Tour. We hope to be dragging the MIL for this trip.
It's not everyday that you can walked along the ocean, at least not for us landlocked people. I think we enjoyed the walks and people watching the most! There are some street performers, we watched a couple people become statues. We also saw some panhandling.

Next, Thursday, November 15th!

Wendy

[ 09-11-2003, 03:32 PM: Message edited by: Wendyismyname ]

[chezp]

Wendy, I'm so enjoying your trip report - Pearl Harbour sounds like a truly humbling experience, a bit like the battlefields in Belgium we visited a couple of years ago. Reading this is so making me want to visit Hawaii - bring on the next installment! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]