Travel Journal
California and Hawaii
April Trip to Hawaii Itinerary - Fly to San Diego, 3 nights in the Margaritaville Hotel, Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego. Fly to Maui from San Diego. 7 nights in the Fairmont Kei Lania. Inter Island flight to Oahu, 5 nights in the Alohilani in Waikiki. Despite the planned itinerary, we had to cancel the trip to Maui as a Kona low storm was blowing in. We had to make a quick decision about whether to cancel our Maui hotel on our way back from a trip to La Jolla in San Diego. Huge disappointment not to see Maui again but we decided to replace it with a California road trip. Luckily Hawaiian/Alaskan airline allow you to change your flight for free and so we hatched a new plan! New Itinerary - San Diego to Malibu (Malibu Beach Inn), Santa Barbara, 2 nights, Monterey, 1 night, San Francisco 2 nights. Malibu Beach Inn was an absolutely stunning hotel in a prime location on Carbon Beach. The first photo is at sunrise before 7am beach yoga. There is something incredibly beautiful about the light in Malibu - it feels ethereal. Malibu is a quiet place but nevertheless, there is something special about it and I would recommend a visit, especially to this hotel. We drove through Laguna Beach though didn't stop. I would love to go back there next time, it was a stylish, vibrant place and I regret that we didn't stop to see it! Onwards to Santa Barbara. There wasn't much accommodation left when we arrived so we had to just take what was available. I especially enjoyed a bike ride along the bay to Montecito. They also have a Ghiradelli - the sundaes are well worth the calories! Montecito is a refined place, we enjoyed a meal at an Italian restaurant called, Tre Lune. The drive through the vineyards of California was a sight to behold, the lush green rows of vines against the backdrop of the mountains was breathtaking. Monterey was somewhere I had wanted to visit for a long time. It was pleasant and a trip to the aquarium was a fun experience. It was incredible to see the sea otters floating about in the harbour. They are seriously cute. We rather one eating a crab as it floated around on its back. Final stop before Hawaii was San Francisco. The self driving Waymo taxis blew my mind. Nothing prepares you for seeing a car drive past you with no one in it!! Insider tip - if you want to hire one, you need a US mobile number so it might be worth asking someone to help you at your hotel if you do decide to take one. We went back to a restaurant we had visited on our honeymoon (Farallon) with huge hanging Jellyfish lamps but it was not the same restaurant and a bit of a disappointment. I think we should probably have tried somewhere newer. San Francisco has definitely changed 20 years on. It doesn't quite have the same feel. I had heard this and it was such a shame to have this confirmed. It was rainy though which didn't help. Finally we flew San Francisco to Oahu for the last part of our holiday. It did not disappoint. Waikiki has become very high end with designer shops but consequently, some amazing restaurants. Alohilani was a beautiful hotel with uninterrupted views of Waikiki beach. The red sunset picture in the middle was taken from our eighth floor balcony. I would also recommend going for a drink at dusk to Dukes bar on Waikiki beach - it's a local institution and as I sat there with my husband having a tropical cocktail, I had one of those moments where I felt unbelievably happy. There's a coffee shop in the Sheraton Moana Surfrider called the Honolulu Coffee Company which I love and so it was a Coconut and Macadamia Iced coffee pretty much every day. It was a lovely daily ritual. We visited the North shore - banzai pipeline to all of you surfers out there. A beautiful, untouched beach. We made a stop at the North Shore food trucks on the way back for tacos and fried shrimp. Surfing weaves through Hawaiian culture in a way that you can only understand if you visit. I was amazed to see that there are 7 year old kids paddling out for miles and miles on Waikiki beach. Kids finish school and head down to surf in droves. People are out there from dusk until dawn. If there's light, there are people surfing. It's a beautiful culture that makes you wish you lived there. You can see the statue of Duke Kahanamoku as you walk onto the beach (last picture) who is considered to be the father of modern surfing. Also noteworthy is a trip to Diamond Head to get an amazing view of the 300,000-year-old volcanic tuff crater and a panoramic view of Waikiki. Stop for pineapple malasadas (Hawaiian donut) and an iced coffee on the way down. I have loved Hawaii since I visited in 2007 and it was such a privilege to go back and see it again. I cried when I left - that's never happened before!! Hawaii is magical. It's a long way away but absolutely worth the effort to get there. I hope I get to go back again one day. Standing joke in our house - 'shall we move to Hawaii'?