day 5

we decided to walk a few blocks this morning to see more of the waikiki area, and to grab breakfast at mcdonalds.  there was an incredibly long, slow line there, so we pivoted and picked up a few snacks at the abc convenience store.

today's adventure was the kualoa ranch movie sites tour in kaneohe.  we arrived at kualoa ranch around 9am.  it was a short 25 mile drive from the hotel.  we had some time before our 10am appointment, so we explored the grounds of the visitor area while we waited.  there were lots of things to look at.

we loaded the tour bus, which was basically a converted school bus with no windows.  we were ready to sit back and relax.

the first stop on the tour was an old abandoned military bunker that was now a sort of makeshift museum of memorabilia.  it was neat to see the many movies that were actually filmed in part in this area.

and i thought this was just funny.

there were also stunning ocean views just across from the bunker.

we again loaded the bus and continued driving around the grounds, with the bus driver telling stories of what movies had been filmed where. much of the scenery looked familiar and made us what to rewatch several movies just to be on the lookout for these backgrounds.

the biggest stop we made was a field of props from movies like jurassic park.

the tour wrapped at about 11:30am and we hit the souvenir shop on the way out, of course.  our next stop was to find lunch.  we decided to try yummy huli huli chicken, which was only about 3 miles away.  it was an interesting roadside setup with outdoor picnic tables.  it was also our first experience with hawaiian macaroni salad.  the girls were not fans – which left more for me & daddy!

next it was time for us to explore some nearby beaches.

we followed the coastline and ended up at kailua beach.

daddy & the girls walked barefoot while i was content just taking photos.  they stood in the waves and we watched some little kids boogie boarding nearby.  then big sister felt something get wrapped up around her ankle, and then the pain came.  she got stung by a free-floating tentacle from a jellyfish.  ugh.  so we made our way back to the van and went looking for a pharmacy or grocery store for some relief.  and that was the end of our aimless exploring.

it did not take big sister long to feel better, thanks to some benadryl and anti-itch ointment.  we had spotted the hard rock café honolulu on the drive back to the hotel, so that was our destination for dinner.

by pure luck, we were seated right next to memorabilia from daddy’s absolute favorite musician:

there was also a pretty cool guitar display that wrapped up the wall and over the ceiling of the staircase we used to enter the restaurant.

big sister did some souvenir shopping and we made the leisurely walk back towards our hotel. and we proved that no matter how tall we think little sister is....she is not taller than a palm frond!

we had resisted ordering dessert at dinner, knowing we were planning to stop for something sweet (yet again) at the cheesecake factory.  not a bad way to end another day in paradise.

today’s step count: 11,484
miles driven: 64