Day 4: Aloha Adventures [Oahu 2018]

Welcome to the daily recaps from our Oahu trip. Each post will include highlights of the day, followed by a summary by Melody (age 11), then photos by Joyce (mom) and Norm (dad) with captions by Emily (age 9 (age 8 during the trip)). We will be sharing reviews to the places and restaurants we visited after the recaps are all done. Enjoy!

Day 4 – Friday, May 11

– Breakfast from McDonald’s
– Kamaka Ukulele Factory tour
– Lunch from Hula Dog
– Beach time
– Dinner at Duke’s Waikiki at Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort
– Aloha Friday Fireworks!

Summary by: Melody
Captions by: Emily
Extra comments (in italics) by: Joyce (mom)
Photos by: Joyce (mom) + Norm (dad)

Note: Some links in the post will direct you to our reviews of the places. Links to all related/previous posts are at the bottom of this post.

Today we ate McDonald’s for breakfast. Some of the foods are not like like we have here.

The Kamaka Ukulele tour part one was done by Fred Kamaka, Sr. He’s ninety-three years old, and his brother is ninety-five years old. So he told us a bunch of history like the TV was invented in 1948. You’ll see how it relates to his story if you go on the tour. He also got drafted in the war.

Kamaka Ukulele tour part two was done by Fred, Jr. through the factory. He explained to us how to make a ukulele. It takes a lot of work. We saw the repairers, the cutters, and so many more workers who are important in the crafting of each ukulele.

We had Hula Dog for lunch. There was a mix-up in our order, but everything was so good! We all got to try different relishes, sauces, and mustards that we don’t eat here – pineapple, lilikoi, guava, and more!

Then, it was off to the beach, which is just downstairs. It was great but it felt a little hotter than the other days we’ve been here. Afterwards, we walked down the beach to Duke’s Waikiki. It was about a mile walk. I tried a pasta and also Volcano Coconut Cream. And grilled cheese with fries. It was a busy time at this popular restaurant.

Now we just finished watching fireworks and part of a show. The show had some dancing and music done in the middle of where the pools are located. We watched right from our lanai. They have it every Friday and it’s called Aloha Friday.

So now I’m just typing but to get ready for bed after this and I hope I sleep this time.

Breakfast from McDonald’s

The McDonald’s had a screen where you can order and they bring it to you. We were hoping to get a few more items that we don’t have at our mainland McDonald’s but it looks like others were thinking the same and they were sold out of some of them. Bummer.

The food was yummy. I like the spam and the everything.

Kamaka Ukulele Factory tour

He is showing us the pineapple ukulele and the traditional shaped ukulele. This is Fred Kamaka, Sr. He is the son of the original owner. Get ready for some history and a great story. It’s not a huge shop area and they never know how many people will come for the tour, so just a heads up it may be crowded in the small front area and you have to stand.

This is the workshop in the back and they are working on making the ukuleles. And there are different types of wood. This was a great tour with lots of info about every steps of the creation of the ukulele and adds to the story of how they came to Hawaii and the history of the factory.

This is a guy that was marking them so they know where to put the pieces. That’s the front of the ukulele.

Fred, Jr. is showing us how to make it so it’s flat or curved. He is one of the grandsons of the original owner.

Lunch from Hula Dog

It was a really yummy place. It was hot and Melody had the lilikoi lemonade. We had to wait there awhile. Like Melody mentioned above, there was a mix-up with our order, but I’m kind of glad they did because the girls were able to try out flavors they wouldn’t have otherwise chosen on their own. It was hot out this afternoon so we weren’t going to wait for them to redo the whole order, especially since more customers started arriving.

We went back to our hotel room. This is what the inside of the hula dogs look like. We also got some Fritos and Cheetos. Everything was so good. I wish we had these closer to home.

Beach time

At the beach! We tried to recreate our photo from last time but it was actually rather hot out (I’ll have a PSA on sun protection and discussion on UV levels vs. temperature later on) and we aren’t as young as we were 3 years ago, so we didn’t stay out as long as we wanted. :p

We were sort of building a sand castle.

We were heading toward Mommy and Daddy. For real, we are old and lazy so we made the girls come back to more quietly let them know there was a guy (late 40s?) who kept going behind him on a floatie thing over and over again while his wife? mom? was recording from the sand area. We didn’t want anyone to run the other over. 😐

We saw Diamond Head. Maybe one day. We know so many people who LOVE to hike and do the nature thing, but not 100% our idea of a restful vacation. I’d love to find out from others who do those things on their vacations, what their itineraries would be for an Oahu trip! I think I mentioned somewhere that I saw a family post only of fishing spots they went to on their Oahu trip, so I love that people have different ideas for relaxation.

Dinner at Duke’s Waikiki at Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort

This is the Royal Hawaiian. There is really fine sand here. We were told to pass by here and since it was on the way to our dinner spot, we did just that!

We had really yummy food at Duke’s. This is a great meal spot, but definitely figure out when the crowds will be there and avoid them! We luckily got a table. There are reservations at the regular restaurant, but if you want to do this little beachside thing (it’s just the other side of the building), it’s a free for all. A few people waiting behind us had quite a few drinks while waiting and waiting.

The band was outside where people were eating.

We were walking toward the sunset after dinner. Such a beautiful view!!! I don’t think I can live at the beach, but this is nice from time to time!!!

Aloha Friday Fireworks!

We were still walking. It was a mile from our hotel to Duke’s. A great walk after a very filling dinner.

It’s so calm and beautiful.

The fireworks were amazing. Love that we got to see this from our room. We saw them setting up for this (part of the beach was closed off) and it looks like people were saving seats and sitting out for 2 hours before these went off.

There were loud fireworks, big fireworks, and sparkler fireworks. And some looked like they were close to the hotels.

Related Posts: Oahu Trip 2018 Recap | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Have you been to Oahu before? What were some highlights from the trip? Do you have any travel tips?

Click on the link to view some more photos from DAY 4.