25 June 2017
For our final day in Hawaii, we decided to take it easy and spend it at Waikiki Beach. We had a nice dinner across the street from the hotel at The Cheesecake Factory and took our final evening walk. It was to bed early as we had to be up at 4:45 AM for our 8 AM flight.
24 June 2017
Today we revisited Pearl Harbor and some of the state buildings in Honolulu. At Pearl Harbor, we visited the USS Arizona Memorial and the USS Bowfin Submarine.
The whole family was interested in touring the submarine. My son and I went through it twice.
The film they show before the boat ride to the Arizona was helpful to put it in perspective for the kids. In 2015 we visited the 9/11 Memorial which was a reference point for them when discussing Pearl Harbor. I thought the film could have done a better job explaining why Japan shifted from an ally in the Great War to a provoking us in World War II and how Japan and the United States became close allies afterward.
We were surprised to find Moe’s, a family favorite, for lunch. After a quick stop at Target for snacks for the upcoming plane ride, we drove by the Aloha Bowl and headed downtown to see the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (aka the Punchbowl), Iolani Palace, King Kamehameha Statue, City Hall, and Hawaii State Capital Building.
The day ended with dinner, some window shopping, and time at the hotel pool. Tomorrow will be the last calm day before the storm. We leave U.S. soil on Monday.
23 June 2017
Friday it was time to get in the car and explore some of the island. We started at the Dole Plantation where we did the pineapple maze which the kids enjoyed. They made it a competition, girls against boys, and the girls smoked us.
From there we headed to the famed North Shore from the historic Haleiwa up to Turtle Bay. We stopped briefly at Turtle Bay but moved back down to other beaches we wanted to explore further. If we had more time, I think Turtle Bay would be an excellent choice for families. Turns out it is a resort that includes public access. It is a great find for families because it provides resort class facilities for public access cost, free! You can also rent cabanas and water gear, although it costs you more than the paying guests of course.
First stop was at Pupukea Beach which has lousy facilities, limited parking, and almost no sand… but what is does have is clear blue water, rocks and coral for snorkeling which made it quite popular. The kids loved it. If sitting on the rocks was not so uncomfortable, we might have spent the entire day there. The next stop was a famous surfer haunt, the Banzai Pipeline, just south of Sunset Beach. I don’t think this was the best place for a family to play in the surf and sand but we had fun.
Pupukea Beach
Banzai Pipeline
After a long day we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up, ordered some take-out pizza, did some souvenir shopping, and relaxed. Tomorrow, we go to Pearl Harbor.
21 & 22 June 2017
The second part of our migration trip will be spent in Oahu, Hawaii. We had visited Oahu, Maui, and the “Big Island” of Hawaii before kids, so to some degree this is another redo for us. While I try not to repeat too much in our travels, normally opting to see something new, its Hawaii – a pretty easy sell.
Wednesday we travelled from LAX to Honolulu. Other than a short delay in boarding and having to get inventive when packing all our stuff into our rental car, it all went smoothly. Our hotel is perfectly situated on Kalakaua Avenue on Waikiki Beach, where all the action is. By the time we arrived and got checked in, the streets were hopping and most restaurants had waits over an hour so we ended up at another Subway for dinner and a walk.
Thursday we walked from our hotel to Diamond Head State Monument and then proceeded to hike to the top making for a 6-mile plus roundtrip. We did this hike our first time to Hawaii and we remembered it being pretty easy. 15 years later, I’m either much older or that mountain got a lot steeper!
With a break for lunch and a little shopping for beach supplies, we headed to Waikiki Beach to soak up the sun and waves.
We scheduled a luau for dinner at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The kids both seemed to really enjoy the show, especially the fire dancers.
20 June 2017
After a full day at Disney, we took today to relax. Starting with brunch at IHOP, we walked to Downtown Disney and did some shopping. We spent the afternoon at the hotel pool followed by an early dinner at Cheesecake Factory. To complete the day, we spent the evening visiting downtown Anaheim and playing miniature golf at Golfland Camelot, one of the better mini-golf places we’ve been. We enjoyed Anaheim and hope to return again some day.
19 June 2017
Cars Land area of Disney California Adventure Park is the family favorite. We arrived when the park opened and stayed till it closed. The original Pixar ‘Cars’ movie was the first my daughter saw in a theatre. My son had a ‘Cars’ related cake for at least six birthdays. Until recently, his bedroom was decorated with ‘Cars’. To say the least, we are big fans. The recreation of Radiator Springs is incredible. There are only three rides. Radiator Springs Racers is our favorite in the entire park, a nice combination of Disney animatronics and thrill ride. Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree is a new take on the classic teacup ride. Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters is a fun low impact ride that was a pleasant surprise. When the park opened it was Luigi’s Flying Tires which was a real dud. The new ride based on Cars 2 is made up of cars doing a nicely choreographed dance.
Animated remote controlled characters
Radiator Springs
Cars Land Rides
19 June 2017
Monday was fantastic. We have been to both Disney parks in California and three of the four in Florida. All are nice but one is our clear favorite, California Adventure Park. While the parks in California are smaller we really enjoy being able to walk from our affordable non-Disney hotel to both parks, Downtown Disney, restaurants, and shopping. In Florida you’ll need to take multiple modes of transportation just to get into a single park or stay on a Disney property which can be extremely expensive. We especially love California Adventure Park because it has Cars Land, but more about that in the next post. California Screamin’, Soarin’, Toy Story Midway Mania!, and Silly Symphony Swings were some of the family favorites.
18 June 2017
On Father’s Day we wanted to do something different. We drove to Santa Monica, the end of old Route 66, and turned north up the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) to Malibu. For lunch we found ourselves at Duke’s, a very popular seaside restaurant recommended by good friends. The place was jumping but we got lucky and a table with a fantastic view of the ocean, including a group of dolphins.
We continued as far north as Point Dume, which was overly congested, before taking the scenic route back. We picked a random canyon road and followed the twists and turns through the Malibu hills to Topanga and finally descended to Woodland Hills in The Valley. The famed Ventura Boulevard led us to Studio City nearly completing the circle we started earlier before heading south to Anaheim and our next hotel.
Anaheim is another rerun from our 2013 trip. We enjoyed Cars Land so much that year; I knew I wanted to bring the kids back one more time before they were too old. In fact this was the main motivation to stop in Southern California instead of catching a connector flight straight to Honolulu. After checking in to the same hotel, freshly remodeled, we walked around the Garden Walk area and had Father’s Day dinner at PF Chang’s, one of my favorites.
What’s better than Star Wars or AC/DC? Stormtrooper Angus Young!
17 June 2017
With a rough night behind us, a hotel breakfast in our bellies, and the sun and excitement that is Hollywood on display, we headed out on foot.
We were here 4 years ago during our 2013 “Big Trip” across America so we took fewer pictures and did not revisit many of the same sites. There was such a feeling of déjà vu, down to the small details. From our room 4 years ago we could see a huge billboard for ‘Despicable Me 2’ and Minions, characters from the movie, where splattered all over Hollywood. This time, in the exact same location, was ‘Despicable Me 3’ and Minions were again everywhere. On Hollywood Boulevard they were promoting the opening of Cars Land at Disneyland in 2013. In 2017, they were promoting the ‘Cars 3’ movie.
In keeping with our Shake Shack obsession, we found one in West Hollywood for lunch – that makes New York City (Dec 2015), Austin Texas, London, DC, Baltimore, and now Hollywood in less than 2 years.
After our stroll around Hollywood including the stars of Hollywood Boulevard and Capital Records Building, I could not wait to visit Amoeba Music again, one of the last truly great record stores. One of these days, I hope to dedicate an entire day. If you are a music geek like me, you’d understand.
Next we drove through Beverly Hills. We spent time driving up and down narrow winding streets to see the mansions in the hills. I find them interesting but must say it is not the lifestyle I would want if we had the money to support it.
We stopped at the Farmers Market in The Grove for fresh fruit and some supplies. While waiting outside a fruit stand with my son, a woman who said she was in “child talent” approached us and wanted to know if he’d be interested. She said he had the “perfect look” and “great teeth”. It was nice to hear but I told her we were not interested. She immediately tried to go over my head to his mom, who was busy, so she finally gave up. His new nickname is “Hollywood”.
We returned to the hotel and got Subway for dinner. The kids swam in the evening while we dried and repacked our clothes in the hotel laundry room. It was a long day but we had some fun, my son got a new nickname, and our clothes are dry so it feels like we are back on track! Time will tell if I end up eating these words.
16 June 2017
If there is a consistent theme in our travels, it is the first day never goes as planned despite months of planning. Today was no exception.
Our goal was admittedly ambitious – to be moved out of our house and ready by noon, relax at my brother’s place, takeoff at 7 PM, arrive in Hollywood at 1:30 AM EST / 10:30 PM PST, and sleep off the jetlag for 9 hours till 8 AM. None of that happened.
We worked in a controlled panic up to the last minute but did make it to the airport on time for our 7 PM flight. The day had not gone as well as I hoped. Collapsed over in a vinyl seat at the gate waiting to board, I took a breath to relax, looked around and thought “we made it”. We hadn’t.
The problem became weather. After we boarded, a lighting storm hit and kept us sitting on the tarmac for 3 1/2 hours; all this time American Airlines left our luggage out in the pouring rain. When we finally arrived in LAX at 3 AM EST / midnight PST, much of our luggage was soaked. After taking the wrong rental car shuttle, we eventually found ourselves standing in line at Randy’s Donuts in nearby Inglewood at 1:45 AM PST looking for our first “meal” in over 12 hours. When we finally went to bed at 6 AM EST / 3 AM PST, we had been awake for almost 24 hours. Unable to sleep late, we were up in 5 1/2 hours ready to take on Hollywood, a little hungry, damp, aggravated, and tired. We wouldn’t have it any other way, no matter how much I try.
Excitement before the storm. What kind of parent has there kid at Randy’s at 2 AM?
American Family Travels 
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