Last weekend was Easter weekend for the Orthodox Church, and we had plane tickets, hotel reservation and a trip planned to go to Oahu, mainly for church services, but we managed to do some sightseeing on the beautiful isle of Oahu.
We have booked our airline tickets with Mokulele airlines for the first time, and I would definitely use them again for inter-islands' travel. They provided great customer service and competitive prices. The short(twenty minutes) flight from Maui's Kahului's airport to Honolulu's International airport was uneventful. And we were very impressed with the less then five minute waiting time for our suitcase. (I had to check it in because I had some liquids that were not in the approved size containers).
Unfortunately, getting the rental car from Dollar was not as fast. We waited in line for about forty minutes to get our car. We had a package deal from our hotel for a room and a car, and the price was great. The compact car we got was a blue Dodge Caliber.
The drive from the airport to the hotel was okay. A minor traffic jam, a missed turn and two hours after landing, we were checking in at the Pagoda Hotel. The hotel is outside the famous Waikiki area ,where most of the resorts and hotel are. The location was great for our purposes, and the rooms were spacious and clean enough. We mostly saw locals from other islands and very few tourists at the hotel. It is an old,no frill hotel, but the parking is free and the price is great. Overall, we were satisfied with our stay.
View of Diamond Head from Pagoda Hotel
We attended the Lamentation Liturgy on Friday evening, and the resurrection liturgy on Saturday night at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church. I was surprised to see the size of the church, it is bigger than I had expected, and as usual, a very pretty church. I have noticed that church members and attendants were from from various Orthodox groups, and the services were in English, Greek and some Russian.The services were beautiful, moving and long.
One of the major highlights of our trip was getting to meet fellow blogger girasoli. Girasoli, we loved meeting you, and appreciated all the information you have given us about Oahu ,both before and during our visit.
Upon girasoli's recommendation, we had a lovely lunch at Kua Aina Burgers in Haleiwa. It was my first meat meal after a six week lent, and it was delicious. All three of us really enjoyed our food. Wrapped up in conversation and good food, I forgot to take photos of our meals. I had a Teriyaki chicken burger, Bill had a turkey burger and girasoli had a wonderful looking salad.
During our weekend, we visited some of the major attraction on Oahu, and some of the hidden gems. It was amazing how a ten minute drive, took us from crowded places to almost empty grounds. Over the next couple days, I will be blogging about some of the things we have seen and done on Oahu.We loved our weekend there.
Comments (13)
Candi, first of all, Happy Easter! Sounds like your weekend was wonderful in so many ways, that's great! Great that you got to attend the services. And that your first meat meal was satisfying!!
Posted by Chiocciola | April 20, 2009 7:42 PM
Posted on April 20, 2009 19:42
Everything sounded wonderful. What a nice getaway and how lucky to meet Girasoli. Weather looked lovely.
Posted by Barb Cabot | April 21, 2009 12:35 AM
Posted on April 21, 2009 00:35
Chiocciola, thanks. My first meal was absolutely delicious and very satisfying. And you know, it is weird because when I got home, I was craving fried chicken. Yes, fried chicken and I hardly ever eat any, I never make it at home, and maybe have it as an appetizer every blue moon, but that is what I was craving,and it is what I had for dinner on Sunday night when I got home:)
Barb, the weather was great, could not have asked for better weather, and meeting girasoli was the icing on the cake.
Posted by candi | April 21, 2009 5:26 AM
Posted on April 21, 2009 05:26
Hi Candi, sounds like you had a very enjoyable weekend attending a very beautiful church service. And getting to hang out with Girasoli sounds like a lot of fun too.
Glad you had a great weekend and I'm looking forward to reading more about your trip! Thanks for sharing and posting some of your weekend photos Candi. (BTW, too bad you didn't get a shot of your teriyaki chicken burger, because it sounded delicious) :)
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | April 21, 2009 6:24 AM
Posted on April 21, 2009 06:24
Sounds like a wonderful time and I'm looking forward to hearing more about Oahu. How lucky to get to meet Girasoli too!
Glad you had a nice Easter and were able to attend the church services.
Posted by Annie | April 21, 2009 9:54 AM
Posted on April 21, 2009 09:54
Candi,
Sorry I did not comment earlier. I crashed Sunday night and had a bad migraine last night. It was wonderful meeting you & Bill and so much fun hanging out together up on the North Shore.
Of course the highlight was the silly tourists in the flippers/masks. I decided against posting it but will keep the video to watch when I am having a bad day. I laughed so much once again when I watched Sunday night.
Where did you take the bridge picture? I am having a difficult time figuring out what it is? I love the bug. Did you take that in Kailua?
Thanks again for great company and especially for the deeelicious treats!! YUM!!!!
Posted by girasoli | April 21, 2009 12:05 PM
Posted on April 21, 2009 12:05
Kathy, thanks for your comments. And I am sorry about the burger shot too, it was delicious! Now I have to go again ans get the same burger and remember to take a photos:)
Annie, it was a lot of fun meeting girasoli, and we loved Oahu, definitely a change from Maui.
girasoli, I had to laugh at your mention of the silly couple at turtle beach.Too funny.
I am sorry you had a migraine Sunday night.
The bridge photo I took in Pearl Harbor, while in the boat to get to the memorial, a shot of town behind me.
And the VW photo, Bill took in front of the health store before visiting the plantation on Sunday.
And I am glad you enjoyed the treats:)
Posted by candi | April 21, 2009 1:30 PM
Posted on April 21, 2009 13:30
Candi, this sounds like so much fun! I'm very envious, Oahu must be very beautiful.
I'll be watching for more pictures and stories from your visit there.
Posted by sandrac | April 21, 2009 7:50 PM
Posted on April 21, 2009 19:50
Loved reading about your fabulous weekend and meeting up with Girasoli. Happy (belated) Easter.
Posted by María I. | April 22, 2009 8:22 AM
Posted on April 22, 2009 08:22
Sounds like a truly lovely way to spend your Easter - how nice to meet up with Girasoli, too.
I know what you mean about Pearl Harbor - when we chaperoned our daughters' soccer teams for a tournament in Honolulu several years ago, the one thing I insisted on was taking everyone to Pearl Harbor - it was quite an experience.
Posted by Marcia | April 22, 2009 12:50 PM
Posted on April 22, 2009 12:50
Sandra, Oahu is very beautiful. It is amazing how all the Hawaiian Islands are unique in their own ways.
Maria, thank you. And meeting girasoli was great.
Marcia, how great you took the team to Pearl Harbor. It was an experience.
Posted by candi | April 22, 2009 4:06 PM
Posted on April 22, 2009 16:06
Candi, it sounds like a great get away. I love your photos. Isn't it fun to meet people in person that you have come to know on Slow Travel?
Posted by sheri | April 23, 2009 5:50 PM
Posted on April 23, 2009 17:50
Sheri,
Thanks. It was a wonderful weekend. Meeting people I have come to know on ST is new to me, it is amazing. And it is also amazing how much in common we have, and there was not a full moment.
Posted by candi | April 23, 2009 11:43 PM
Posted on April 23, 2009 23:43