Week in Honolulu from July 12 - 17, 2008

Haleiwa Town has changed a lot over the years. I used to go camping at the old airstrip next to Haleiwa Beach Park in the late 70's with my family. My dad had a Volkswagon Van with a camper on it and it was a lot of fun in Haleiwa during the summer. There used to be only a few grocery stores and shopping centers back then and there was only one road through Haleiwa Town - Kamehameha Highway. Now there is a bypass road - namely Highway 83 that detours around Haleiwa town and continues on to Waimea Bay. I think that Haleiwa town is a big part of the North Shore. Be sure to stop at Matsumoto's Shave Ice which has been around for a very long time. They have ono shave ice made with the fine ice and delicious flavors. There are numerous grocery stores, surf shops, gift shops, clothing stores, art galleries, and wonderful restaurants in this small town. It still looks rustic and ramshackle wooden buildings line part of Haleiwa Road.

I love this hotel, especially the decor of the room and the bathroom. The room hasn't changed much since I stayed here last year with my family. It is still decorated in light beige tones and the bathroom always looks beautiful. The bathroom is surrounded in marble tiles and the shower has a glass door which I adore. I always tell my husband that I want our bathroom to look like the bathrooms at the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki. Our service was great from the bellmen to the Front Office Cashiers. The bellmen are always accommodating and friendly. They always ask how we are doing since they know my husband, my son and I (we come almost every year). When my husband checked in the Front Desk Cashier upgraded us to a room on a higher floor which was wonderful because our room had an awesome view of the harbor. Our hotel room was in the wing near the pool so we had a great view of the surfing spots from Waikiki to Ala Moana beach. There was nothing wrong with our room so we didn't complain about anything in the room. The housekeeping staff was great and came to our room every morning to clean it. My husband worked out at the fitness center which he said was in still great condition. There is a business center on the 5th floor where the pool is. There is a lovely cafe in the lobby that sells expresso and cappucino beverages. They have a gift shop in the lobby called Lamonts but it is quite expensive so I go to the ABC sundry store across the street. They will soon open a bar and lounge on the first floor in the empty store space directly across the cafe. If you want to go to Waikiki you can catch the hotel shuttle which runs back and forth to Waikiki every half hour free of charge. I would definitely recommend staying at this beautiful hotel if you travel to Oahu.

My son began surfing at Bowls, Rockpiles and Kaisers in front of the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and to the left of Magic Island (near Ala Moana Beach). He got a shortboard from Surf N Sea in Haleiwa on July 12 and wanted to go surfing on the same day. I told him to surf in front of our hotel since the waves were big along the south shores of Oahu. I couldn't believe how many surfers were out in front of the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and to the right of Magic Island near Ala Moana Beach! I must have counted about 40 surfers just sitting on their boards in front of our hotel (The Hawaii Prince Hotel in Waikiki). Anyway he decided to surf at Bowls which is near the left of the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor directly in front of the long breakwater wall. After he returned from surfing he said that he really liked surfing at Bowls except for the fact that it was really crowded. He also said that it was easier for him to duck under the large waves with a shortboard instead of a longboard. Since the waves were really big (4'-6') and hollow, he said that they barreled and closed out really quickly. He told me that he got scraped up from the reef since it was really shallow even though the surf was up. He must of enjoyed it the first day because he went surfing everyday until we checked out of our hotel on July 17th. I would recommend surfing at this popular surf spot which is called Bowls, Rockpiles and Kaisers but the only downfall of this spot is that it is really crowded. The waves are beautiful when they get big because they barrel and they are long (they stretch from one side of the beach to the other side). I got a little worried on the first day that my son went surfing because I saw and I heard a fire rescue truck pull into the parking lot (to the left of the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor) to rescue someone that nearly drowned there. To get to Ala Moana Bowls, drive down Ala Moana Boulevard towards Waikiki and make a right before the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki. Continue driving through the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and make a left after you see the Hilton Lagoon. If you are lucky you might find parking in the small parking lot at the end (it usually fills up by 8:00 a.m.). It might be easier for you to just walk to Ala Moana Bowls from Waikiki or catch a ride there. Also just remember to be aware of your surroundings...I think that local surfers don't like it when you drop in on "their" waves. This is a surf spot with a lot of locals so if you are new to the area, use the buddy system.

I decided to go to Haleiwa's Surf N' Sea surf shop since this place has been around for a very long time. I used to pass by this surf shop when I went camping with my family over 30 years ago. Back then it was a small outfit and Haleiwa Town was not as built up as it is now. My husband and I didn't want to shop for my son's shortboard in town since surfboards in town are very expensive and many shops don't offer used boards.

I decided to go to Haleiwa's Surf N Sea surf shop since this place has been around for a very long time. I used to pass by this surf shop when I went camping with my family over 30 years ago. Back then it was a small outfit and Haleiwa Town was not as built up as it is now. My husband and I didn't want to shop for my son's shortboard in town since surfboards in town are very expensive and many shops don't offer used boards. There were a few used longboards and shortboards for sale on the surf rack outside but the boards looked a bit worn so we continued to look at more boards inside. Wow! There were rows and rows of surfboards inside of the wooden building, some were used, some were new, some had skegs and leashes, some had none, and some were hanging horizontally on racks near the ceiling. They also had racks of surf clothing for shoppers that were just looking for clothes. After looking at some used shortboards near the entrance my son and I went to the back where they were selling used shortboards with skegs and leashes already attached. My husband noticed a beautiful 6'3" HIC (Hawaiian Island Creations) blue fiberglass shortboard next to the green shortboard that my son was looking at. We all admired the HIC blue shortboard so my son asked the salesperson if he could look at it. The salesperson was awesome since he didn't pressure sell any surfboards and he just talked about the one that my son picked out. The salesperson put the surfboard on a rack and explained to my son about the shape of the board and what kind of waves it could handle. They talked more about the board and then proceeded out of the building to the back near the beach. My husband and I were wondering where they were going but soon found out that the salesperson took my son to the beach to let him try out the board in the water. This was great because my son instantly fell in love with the board! I ended up buying the board (about $335) and a travel bag (that was under $50) so that we could take it back with us on the plane (go! airlines charges a $25 baggage fee for shortboards). I would highly recommend shopping for a new or used surfboard at this shop because there is no pressure selling at this store and the salespersons are great. They also carry a large inventory of surfboards, surf accessories and clothing. They let you try out your board in the water behind the shop so that you can get a better feel of the board. To get to Surf N Sea from Waikiki, take the H1 freeway West until you see the Wahiawa/Mililani turn off to the H1 freeway heading North. Get off the H1 West freeway and turn toward the right until you merge with the H1 North freeway that heads toward Wahiawa and Mililani. Continue toward Wahiawa and follow the signs that say Haleiwa North. Continue driving North past the pineapple fields until you see a sign that reads Haleiwa Town. Don't take the Haleiwa Bypass but drive in to Historic Haleiwa Town and continue down Kamehameha Highway. Surf N Sea is located on the makai (beach side) of the highway past Jameson's restaurant (which will be on your right side). You can't miss Surf N Sea because it is located in a bright yellow and brown building that has surfboards lined up on surf racks in front of the store.

Well, I booked reservations online for a one hour ride beginning at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15th. Since we live on the Big Island, we got the special kama'aina rate of $49.00. Well we left the Hawaii Prince at about 6:45 in the morning since we had to be at the ranch at 7:30 am to check in. I thought that it wouldn't be a problem getting there especially if we went there via the new H3 highway. After we got on the H3 highway I couldn't find the road to get off the highway and get on Kahekili Highway which merges into Kamehameha Highway. My husband stayed on the H3 and we ended up going somewhere near the Kaneoha Marine Base which is not where I wanted to go. After stopping at the gas statiion in Kaneohe (or it could have been in Kailua) I got the correct directions to get on Kahekili Highway. By the time we got to Kualoa Ranch it was already 8:15 which was too late! The girl at the check in counter was really nice and said that we might be able to wait for the next ride at 9:30 am to see if there was space available. At about 9:00 a huge crowd came off of a tour bus and settled in the cafeteria area. They came with a tour and paid for a tour of Kualoa Ranch that included 2 or 3 activities (horseback riding, ATV riding, hiking, a Hawaiian bus tour, etc.). After my husband saw the amount of people that came off the large bus he knew that we had no chance of going on the 9:30 am horseback riding tour. Sure enough, the girl at the check in counter called us over and told us that there was no space for the 9:30 am or the 10:30 am horseback riding tour. So she talked to her manager and she told us that we could come back on Wednesday at 7:30 am to do the 8:00am horseback ride. We agreed! The next morning we got up early and left the hotel at 6:30 am and took the Wilson tunnel instead of the H3 highway. We got to the Kualoa ranch at 7:20 am and waited outside the main store with the other riders. At 7:30 am the doors opened to the main store and we proceeded to the check in counter in the back by the stables. Check in was an easy process. We were given our 3 tickets and waited until 7:50 am for our orientation. There was a girl that explained to us the basics of horseback riding (and she explained that Kualoa was not liable for any injuries that we might incur from horseback riding). Then there were other guides that helped us on our horses. My horses name was "Romeo" which was a nice dark brown horse that was just adorable. My husband had "Shortie" and my son rode "Buck" which was a beautiful tan horse with a white tail. The horses knew exactly where to go and they were very tame. None of them showed signs of being wild. First the horses winded their way up the side of the mountains up the ridge where you could see Chinaman's Hat and Kualoa Beach. Then we continued on down into an area with a lot of monkeypod and shower trees which was nice and cool. Since our guides made sure that we stayed together (my husband, son, and myself) we could see each other and each other's horses. It was funny because my horse (Romeo) and my son's horse (Buck) liked to eat plants on the side of the trail, which is discouraged by the guides. My son and I had to pull on our reins several times to redirect our horses back on the trail but as usual they were determined to have their way. The guide that was closest to us talked about the history of the area, the native and introduced plants on the trail, and about our horses. I noticed that the trail horses are healthy and big at the Kualoa Ranch. I used to go on many trail rides on Oahu and some ranches have tired and small horses, some ranches have feisty and naughty horses and some ranches have nice and tame horses (like Kualoa Ranch). I asked the guide if the horses galloped on the trail but she said no because of liability. About 23 years ago I went on a 2 hour horseback riding tour at Kualoa Ranch into Kaaawa Valley which was gorgeous. I remember that our horses galloped really fast and I felt like I was flying! My son wanted a horse that would gallop but I told him that it was dangerous for him to ride a horse that gallops especially when he is a novice rider. Lastly our horses came around a u turn in the trail and headed back to the ranch. They were hot and so were we (my husband, son and I). I enjoyed the ride and so did my husband and my son (even though my son wanted to gallop). I think the price was well worth the ride (don't forget to ask for the kamaaina rate if you live in Hawaii). Book online because the rides get filled up very quickly. I wanted to book the 2 hour ride into Kaaawa Valley but it was all booked for the entire week. I would recommend the horseback riding at Kualoa Ranch because you will ride nice horses on a beautiful trail with fantastic views! You don't have to worry about wild horses trying to buck you (but again, you can never predict a horse's behavior if they are agitated).