Bryan and Katie wrote this blog together! Bryan's writing is bolded, while Katie's is in italics!
Day Six: Kualoa Ranch & Hālona Blowhole
On Saturday, May 14th, we headed to the Honolulu Swap Shop, a huge flea market set up outside of Aloha Stadium, where the University of Hawaii football team plays and where they used to host the NFL Pro Bowl. We got there around 9:00 am and made our way around the stadium to check out as many vendors as possible.
While the Kimble parents wandered off in search of Hawaii Five-O tshirts, the Johnson parents joined us for coffee tastings! We may have each walked off with a few bags of fresh Hawaiian coffee to take back home with us! (We are saving ours for the next cold, rainy day in Japan- you know, when we need some sunshine and warmth in our bellies!)
After spending a couple of hours at the market, we headed to lunch at Big City Diner. The service wasn't very good and the food was okay, so nothing special to write home about. I will add here, that I had the WORST garlic fries of my life at this diner....soggy fries doused in garlic...it was awful.
Now we're off to the eastern shore and Kualoa Ranch!
Before we made our way over to Kualoa Ranch, we stopped across the street at Kualoa Park to grab some pictures by the beach. The bright blue sky, crystal clear waters, and amazing company made this the perfect time for a photoshoot!
After spending a few minutes admiring the view, we made our way over to the Ranch where we checked in for our Hollywood Movie Bus Tour. Kualoa Ranch has had numerous blockbuster movies filmed here including Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, 50 First Dates, and Jumanji, as well as numerous TV shows such as Lost, Hawaii Five-O, and Magnum PI. We had a few minutes to spare so we stopped to grab some pictures, walk through the shop, and check out a couple of the small exhibits they had. We then made our way onto the bus and began our tour.
We quickly discovered that our tour guide talked way too much and used the phrase "too as well" approximately 500 times in the 1.5-hour-long tour (you think I'm kidding, but I'm not. He said "too as well" so many times). I will concur- too as well- that our tour guide- too as well- said "too as well" nine billion times- too as well- during our tour. (Yeah, it was that bad.) He talked so much that it gave the six of us a headache and almost made us not enjoy the tour. At least we were able to see some of the movie sets and some really nice scenery. The tour was the best when we were able to get off the tour bus (and away from our- too as well- guide for a few minutes of peace and quiet!)
The first major stop along the way was in an abandoned bunker at the top of a hill. During World War II, the US Army took control of Kualoa Ranch and put numerous bunkers on the property; they did this to defend themselves in case there was a Japanese amphibious invasion of the east side of Oahu. Following the war, Kualoa Ranch converted the inside of this bunker into a mini-movie museum, filled with multiple movie posters and props from many of the films that were located on-site.
Our parents were most excited about the Hawaii Five-O props, while my mom was most pumped about the Elvis posters showcasing his movies that were filmed here! Seeing all these props was a pretty cool experience! Bryan and I even added some new films to our to-watch list!
As we continued on our tour, we made it into Jurassic Valley, where we spent most of our time on our Hollywood Tour. It was cool getting to see where so many films were made and to see some of the cool props used on set. The coolest props were the huge skulls and bones left from Kong: Skull Island and the log where Dr. Alan Grant and the Murphy kids hid from a T-Rex in Jurassic Park. Mom and I were amazed that the Kong: Skull Island props were all made from styrofoam! That's right- anything that looks like bones in the below pics is simply painted styrofoam!
We also learned about some of the huts located on the property. Truthfully, I don't remember much about them because I was too busy trying to translate out all the "too as well's" from our guide's description of these things. Anyway, here are pics. Too As Well.
Following our movie tour, we made our way over to Hālona Blow Hole in the southeast corner of the island. This natural-made blowhole is the result of waves hitting the cliffs and forming a hole in the rock's edge. When waves hit at the right angle, the ocean water is forced into the small opening and is shot straight up into the air!
Check out the video of water blowing out of the Blow Hole!
After finding a parking spot, taking a few videos from on top of the cliff, and ignoring the danger signs, we made our way down to the cove to check out the great beach and get a closer view of the blowhole!
With some good timing, we were able to get some awesome pictures with waves crashing mere inches from us, and of us in front of the blowhole! What an adrenaline rush!
We were also lucky enough to encounter a Monk Seal as he took a nap on the small beachfront near the blowhole! Bryan and I have photos with a pair of Monk Seals from our first trip to Hawaii, so experiencing these wild animals again was pretty amazing! Mom and I chatted with an older lady who volunteers every day to drive around and find this guy's napping place. She says she does it to keep the seal safe and to keep the curious tourists at bay!
After our adventurous day, it was time for dinner! Bryan and I have been craving good Mexican food, so the Johnsons found Surf 'n Turf Tacos for dinner- and boy, did it hit the mark!!! Similar to, but better than, a Moe's or Chipotle back in the states, this Mexican restaurant allowed you to build your own burritos, tacos and Mexican salads from their abundance of delicious toppings! While this dinner was amazingly good, it was a little sad knowing it was our last meal with the Johnson parents...
Day Seven: Turtle Bay
Today is the day, I've been dreading for a few days now, saying goodbye to Mom and Dad. Given Japan's extreme delay in opening its border, I'm not sure when I'll get to see them again. It was hard, but I know they were excited to go on their Alaskan Disney Cruise and I'm just happy we were able to meet in the middle in such a wonderful place.
Dang, we look great when we say goodbye...Enjoy this pic until Jennifer or I change our mind and the group pic comes down!
With the Johnsons on their way to Canada for their Alaskan cruise, the Kimble parents were ready for a big Hawaiian finale! But first- COVID testing....
Now, Bryan's one job for this trip was to figure out our COVID testing procedures for our return to Japan. Luckily the rest of the gang didn't have to test in order to return to the States, but Japan hasn't changed its rules. I did all the trip planning, organizing, scheduling...everything...and the COVID testing location Bryan *thought* we could visit didn't allow for travel tests...after an hour of driving around, Bryan begging two different base locations to test us and me sitting *not so quietly* in the passenger seat fuming....we got our tests and were cleared to fly home the next day, Lesson learned- boys just aren't good planners...thank God the men have us women to keep them straight!
I would like the record to show that the Medical Clinic at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam was significantly less than helpful; although I have my gripes with the shore clinic in Sasebo, at least they are open for COVID testing seven days a week. Why does the Navy pretend to have someone on "duty" if that person doesn't actually do anything?!? Anyways, enough about that, it worked out...even though I cried a little bit from all of the stress of it.
After our little COVID-test adventure, we were more than ready for a good brunch- so we found this tiny hole-in-the-wall place called Rise and Shine Cafe! This place really added the "shine" back to our day!
After a quick breakfast, we headed back up the North Shore. We made a pit stop for THE Hawaiian Shaved Ice location in all of Hawaii- Matsumoto Shaved Ice! The Hawaiian shaved ice was awesome! It was super cool too because it was started by a Japanese native who came to Hawaii to make money and support his family back in Japan! Katie and I split a Yuzu (a citrus fruit similar to lemon) and Sour Green Apple, while the Kimbles split a Grape, Orange, and Peach shaved ice.
With extra full bellies, we were off again to our final destination for the day: Turtle Bay! Located at the northernmost point of Oahu, Turtle Bay is home to two top 100 golf courses. And Dad and Bryan played one: The Arnold Palmer Course!
I have played golf a couple of times in Okinawa since moving to Japan, but I haven't improved much! I am really bad, but it was nice having my own personal golf pro there to give me some tips along the way. I only swung and missed a couple of times, significantly less than normal, and by the end, I hit a couple of really good shots. Richard and I played captain's choice, and a couple (I actually mean two in this instance, maybe three) of my shots got picked! Anyways, we had a good time playing golf, I'm still really bad, but hopefully, I can play a couple more times before we meet again and I can have five of my shots get picked!
While the guys were off playing golf, mom and I found the Turtle Bay beach access and made a day exploring, snorkeling, and salt scavenging! Mom even made a little friend:
You are probably wondering what "salt scavenging" is, and mom explains it here! There's never a dull moment with that woman!
I definitely inherited my mother's love for the sun, so spending a day on the beach, tanning, snorkeling, napping, and laughing was the perfect way to end an amazing week together.
After scraping up our feet on the volcanic rock while scavenging up all the natural sea salt, it was time to cool down in the water and snorkel! I was surprised when we found sea cucumbers and sea urchins along with all the coral and small, colorful fish!
Eventually, the boys finished their round of golf and decided we girls were worth picking up! For our final Hawaiian dinner, we hit up Waikiki Brewing House, where the food was "meh," but the free drinks were "heck yeah!"
Our server sucked, but he did give us free drinks (I think as an apology.) Since I have deeply adopted the Japanese lifestyle of no tipping, I was able to talk Bryan into stealing a glass for our collection. Since my dad has not adopted the Japanese tipping culture, I figured my glass was technically paid for. (Bryan was feeling extra ambitious, and even "permanently borrowed" a glass for mom too! win-win!) Katie makes it seem like I'm a kleptomaniac, even though I've only ever stolen brewery glasses. <-- This is what he tells himself to help him sleep at night.
Day Eight: Heading Home
The dreaded day; time to return home and end this amazing trip. After checking out of our hotel, we were off to the airport! Dad had the great idea of checking into our flights and dropping off our luggage before grabbing a bite to eat and returning the rental car....and it worked out for mom and dad! Bryan and I arrived at the JAL check-in counter to find out we were on the first flight of the day, and that the counter wouldn't open for another 2 hours...
So we packed everything back in the rental van, grabbed a quick bite at Mcdonald's (since we were running short on time), and then returned the rental car! Since Mom and Dad had a later flight, they hung with us as we checked our bags, showed our military papers & negative COVID test, and were given our tickets for our flight back home!
That was a tough goodbye...with Japan's borders still closed for tourism, Bryan and I don't know when, or even if, family will be permitted to visit. It's those goodbyes that make being a military-dependent tough, but at the end of the day, we focus on all the good that comes out of it. Plus, we have some amazing family that supports us and our life adventure!
We boarded our flight out of Honolulu at 11:55 AM, bound for Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. Katie had the left aisle seat and I had the middle seat next to her in the center section near the back of the plane. Katie and I spent the nine-hour flight watching movies, and my favorite one was definitely Dune. I now want to read the books and can't wait for the next couple of movies to come out!
We landed in Tokyo around 3:30 PM and went straight through the quarantine/testing stations at Haneda; the last time I had to go through something like this was back in June 2021 when we moved to Japan. Fortunately, it was way more efficient this time than the last time. We went through each of the sections, including a spit COVID test where we were assigned a number. After a couple more sections, we made it to a waiting area with a TV screen that displayed a bunch of numbers. Whenever your number is posted, you go to a desk and they tell you whether you tested negative or positive. This was the longest 30 minutes of our lives; we absolutely could not test positive and quarantine for 10 days in Tokyo, leaving our babies alone down in Sasebo. Fortunately, we tested negative and we were allowed to transfer to the domestic terminal and head onwards to Nagasaki. Homeward bound!
After grabbing our luggage and making our way over to the domestic terminal, we checked in our bags for the next flight. Katie and I were quite hungry so we found a Japanese curry restaurant where we ordered from a touch screen outside of the store; pretty cool! We then headed to our gate, where we boarded our last flight at 7:35 PM. We landed in Nagasaki around 9:30 PM, got in our car as quickly as we could, paid for parking, and made the hour-long car ride back home to reunite with our puppies! We had an awesome time in Hawaii and reconnecting with our parents, but after nearly 16 hours of travel, we are happy to be home!
As we drove home from the airport, we realized that this trip was *technically* our first international trip outside of Japan. Funny how that sounds! Hopefully, this summer is filled with other international travels!
Until the next adventure,
Mahalo,
Bryan and Katie
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