The day after S & J’s wedding, we flew to Oahu for the first stop on our first anniversary vacation.  Hawaii was a great domestic option, and one of our choices when we were planning for our honeymoon.

We arrived into HNL around 8pm, picked up our rental car, and headed into Waikiki.  We stayed at the Courtyard Waikiki and were upgraded to a deluxe room on the 17th floor (one below the penthouse floor).

The next morning, we grabbed some breakfast* (and energy for our hike at Diamond Head Crater) from IHOP, which was across the street from the Courtyard.

spinach and mushroom omlet and buttermilk pancakes

The Diamond Head Crater hike is about 0.8 miles one way.  There is a climb of about 560 feet, approximately 280 steps, and a 225-foot long and narrow tunnel.  The 360-degree view from the top was breathtaking.  The round-trip hike, including time spent enjoying the view and relaxing at the top, took us about 2 hours.

view of the inside of the crater

at the top of the crater overlooking Waikiki

After the hike, the Magoo’s Burgers yellow truck parked in the lot was calling out to us.  The fresh sliced pineapple was extremely refreshing on the hot summer day.

Next stop: the Waikiki Aquarium.  It is on the smaller side, but definitely has a great variety of sea creatures.  It is the first aquarium to maintain and breed the chambered nautilus.  They also had unique looking things like the leaf scorpionfish and the harlequin shrimp.

chambered nautilus

leaf scorpionfish and harlequin shrimp

After the aquarium, we drove up the coast stopping along the way at many scenic points and lookouts.  Here is a video from the Halona Blowhole Lookout.

Our last sightseeing spot for the day was Hanauma Bay.  We watched the nature preserve video and then headed down to the beach.  We hopped into the water for some snorkeling.  The water was clear and there were lots of fish.

on the walkway down to the beach

Hubby snorkeling in Hanauma Bay

After a full day of activities (hiking, sightseeing, and snorkeling), we enjoyed a tasty meal at Roy’s Waikiki**.

Appetizer Canoe for Two (crab cake, spring roll, spicy tuna roll, baby back ribs, shrimp sticks)

Charred Japanese Misoyaki Butterfish and Sea Scallops wrapped in Prosciutto

Warm Molten Chocolate Cake and a special anniversary dish

Roy’s was magnificent as usual!  We were exhausted after our jam packed day, so we called it a night.

Diamond Head Crater -  $5/car or $1/pedestrian
Waikiki Aquarium - $9/person (we paid $8/person because $1 off/person coupons are available)
Hanauma Bay - $1 for parking and $7.50/person
IHOP - 2211 Kuhio Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96815
Roy’s Restaurant - 226 Lewers Street, Honolulu, HI 96815

* As you know by now, we are not morning people and rarely eat breakfast.  But, in preparing for the trip, we wanted to avoid any jetlag if possible.  Since Hawaii is three hours behind California, we stayed on our normal schedule just on their time.  At home, we eat lunch around 12pm, so in Hawaii, we ate breakfast at 9am Hawaii time which was like eating lunch at home.  This worked great because we were out and about at a decent time and enjoyed the day before the scorching heat.  I recommend trying it next time.

** I am a huge fan of Roy’s Restaurants.  For our anniversary dinner, I really wanted to eat at the Roy’s in Poipou again.  But, when I went to the website, I did not see any locations in Hawaii and was extremely bummed.  I thought they were closed (like the one in New York).  When we saw the Roy’s in Waikiki, we had to go for dinner.  Turns out, I was looking at the list of locations with online reservations and not all of their locations.  All the Hawaii locations do not accept online reservations.  Everything worked out well because now I have eaten at six Roy’s locations (Los Angeles, Newport Beach, San Francisco, New York Financial District, Poipou, and now Waikiki).