Anyway, with everyone off Maui, this trip involved just involved Connie and I, the kids, and my parents. And, with the Maui houses gone, we spent the entire three weeks on Oahu, something we haven't done in a long time (though back then, with more flexible schedules, we tended to stay for a full month or more). Flight options seemed a bit more limited this time around, but over all the trip went pretty well. Matt is still at the age where sitting still for long periods of time is a challenge, but he did a bit better than last year (and didn't throw up) so it wasn't terrible. My parents were already there, both to enjoy the vacation with us, and to start packing up the condo for its eventual sale.

A lot of the trip was spent on pretty normal things such as walking around Waikiki. Matt has been really into stroller walks and most days I ended up taking him out multiple times, sometimes for two or three hours at a time. Unlike Zack at this age, he didn't care so much about finding a place to run around (though he did enjoy the recently expanded playground near Ward), but he recently developed an elevator obsession so I would often have to spend at least some of that time riding up an down an elevator somewhere for 20 - 30 minutes. Fortunately, he also really took to the swimming pool. While he never hated water before, he wasn't a huge fan either. However, after a little bit of time getting used to his new vest and water wings (replacing our old float), he fell in love with swimming so he, Zack, my mom, and I spent quite a lot of time at the pool as well.

We also visited a bunch of favorite restaurants and found some good new ones such as Istanbul (a Turkish place I wish I'd checked out years ago) and San Paolo Pizzeria (a fairly new restaurant that applies the Brazilian steak house model to pizza). Of course, we didn't just swim and eat. We hit up some familiar sightseeing spots like the Polynesian Cultural Center and Dole Plantation that I've already written about a lot in the past so I won't rehash them here. Zack and I also revisited the Aquaventure course at Wai Kai, which had added some fun new obstacles since last year. And we got one really nice beach day at Waikiki. Only one, unfortunately, due to having to deal with a lot of days with questionable or just plain bad weather.

I'll follow this with a handful of daily entries for the new things we did and a final wrap-up for the Hawaii Travelogue series (at least for the time being).

Random Hawaii Comment: Honolulu Year to Year
Visiting Oahu and, more specifically, Honolulu each year, it's interesting to compare and see what has changed and what's stayed in the same. In most ways, this year didn't see any particularly drastic changes. There's still more empty store fronts than there should be, and a couple of places I used to like have shut down. It's always been a challenging business environment due to heavy tourism, high taxes, significant regulation, and the like, but the COVID lockdowns exacerbated all that and some parts of the city still haven't entirely recovered.
On the plus side, they seem to be doing a somewhat better job of keeping the homeless away from tourist and business areas. Though only somewhat. While I didn't see any large encampments, there were still scattered individuals, some of whom were very clearly mentally disturbed. But hey, at least no one started screaming that I was a kidnapper this time.
One other thing I noticed was the growing prevalence of marijuana. Although recreational use is still technically illegal in Hawaii, they've decriminalized it to the point where that doesn't seem to matter, with multiple shops and stalls featuring signs saying that no medical card is needed. I did a lot of walking on this trip and pretty much every time, I'd end up passing a couple of areas and/or people that utterly reeked of the stuff, even in nice, heavily trafficked areas. Personally, I'd mark that as a big negative and something I hope doesn't get any worse. Though I'll acknowledge that there's probably a number of people who view it in a much more positive light.

While there was no beach view, the luau was in a nice spot, surrounded by trees and other greenery. They had the usual pre-show set of ancient Hawaiian games and crafts, along with a handful of souvenir stalls. All fine, though nothing I hadn't seen before. Like most luaus, you get some drink tickets (the number depends on what tier ticket you purchase). I'm not all that knowledgable about alcohol, but the selection seemed ok. The "problem" was that the drink tickets only worked for about a third of the menu. So if you don't want to spend extra, options were a bit limited. Most of the mixed drinks appeared to be pre-mixed as well, so I couldn't just order virgin versions of many of them like I have at some other luaus in the past. Fortunately, the food was very good. The selection wasn't quite as large as some luaus I've visited in the past, but the quality was on the higher end and it had nearly all of your typical luau staples.

As for the show, there was naturally a series of dances from all around Polynesia. Due to the "warriors" theme, there was a focus on war dances, though there were plenty of more sedate dances (like hula) as well. Of course, you can't have a luau show without a fire dance and I have to say, their fire dance is excellent. Probably the best I've ever seen. It made for a great finish to an enjoyable evening.

While the drink system was annoying, overall I would say that Warriors Luau is my favorite of all the Oahu luaus I've been to, though it doesn't reach the level of Drums of the Pacific on Maui.

Anyway, the main focus was the ropes course. There are two levels of the tower that are circled by a series of high ropes obstacles, which you need to make your way around. I've been to a few such towers in the past and, as is the norm these days, you use a set of tethers to work your way across, moving from obstacle to obstacle as you go. I should note that Coral Crater's tower has you following a set route, rather than just free roaming like some others. I kind of like having a proper progression, but it also means you can occasionally get stuck waiting for a while if the people infront of you are slow. The obstacles were fun, with nothing super difficult (being a set route, you don't really want anything that a lot of people won't be able to complete) and Zack and I had a good time making our way through the course. Afterwards, since we paid for the deluxe version, we got to jump off the top of the tower and then spend a bit of time on the climbing wall. Zack made it all the way up the easy side. I tried both sides but could never make it entirely past the overhang (though I did better than nearly all the other adults). When it comes to climbing, overhangs were always my weak point, and having a lower body weight certainly helps a lot (which is why the kids tended to do pretty well). But anyway, it was fun and makes for a nice half-day activity if you're ok with both heights and some physical exertion.

That night, I stayed up late to watch the fireworks for New Year's Eve. The main question was whether to go down to the beach for the official show or, as I've done the last couple of years, hang out on the deck to watch all the illegal fireworks over the city. I actually wasn't sure if there'd be many illegal fireworks this time. The previous year, there was an accident that resulted in a death and multiple injuries. As a result, the state government threatened a major crackdown on the sale and usage of illegal fireworks. Turns out, the crackdown didn't work (past experience has taught me that the Hawaiian state government rarely does a good job at just about anything) and, while maybe slightly less intense than before, the show was still pretty great.

As I remembered, it is pretty great. After a quick practice zip line, you ride ATVs up to the top of a mountain and make your way back down via a series of ziplines, walkways, and a few other obstacles without ever touching the ground. It's a really nice course and very scenic. Unfortunately, we only got through around half of it. While Zack loves ziplining, and was one of the first to go on the first few lines, his stomach started really bothering him later on, to the point where we needed to get a ride down and leave early. Fortunately, after a bit of time and a nap, he felt better. It was a bit disappointing, but we did have fun and at least we got to do the highest and longest zip lines.

While living there did have some notable drawbacks such as the high cost of living, and objectively terrible local government, there was also a lot of great things about it. And, when it comes to a vacation, it's pretty easy to avoid or overlook most of the negatives. In one way or another, Oahu has been an important part of my life for 14 years. I still feel very at home there and was really glad that, after moving away, I was able to return so regularly. But now, that's all over. I'm sure we'll go back eventually, but without the condo as an anchor, we'll likely be exploring lots of other winter travel options over the coming years. That will be fun. And I'm sure, if we go the tropical route, we can find some great beaches, awesome resorts, and the like. But I doubt there's anywhere that has all the natural attractions, fantastic shopping and dining, and massive variety of indoor and outdoor activities all in such a small and easily accessible area. Not to mention the familiarity. I'm glad that Zack has a lot of great memories there (and I'll sure he'll be disappointed when he realizes that we won't be going back next winter), but I'm sad that Matt won't really have the chance to form his own. Honestly, I'm a bit sad in general. While I'm very aware of Hawaii's problems (and realize they may very well get worse over the coming years), I'm also aware of how much it has to offer and I'm really going to miss it.

So aloha, Oahu. Thanks for everything. I'll be back someday...