Day 1: We arrived at Kona International Airport from Los Angeles early afternoon. After picking up our rental car, we drove to our hotel for the first night, Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. After checking in, we went wandering along the hotel grounds. The water being very cold for January, we spent a couple of hours by the hotel pool instead. We used our welcome drink vouchers from check-in at the pool bar and took it to our room to enjoy the view from our patio. After enjoying the drinks we left the hotel for dinner. After …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaJanuary 2023 – 3 Days in Big Island, Hawaii
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaJune 2019: Chicago Trip Report
Day 1: We started the day by taking the Blue line from O’ Hare Airport to Clark/Lake station and then transferred to State/Lake station. We had purchased the $10 day pass for the CTA and it served us well throughout our trip. From the station its a close walk to the Riverwalk. There are a lot of picturesque spots along the Chicago Riverwalk. We saw quite a few interesting and notable buildings including the Trump Tower. A few minutes into the walk we came across the Vietnam Veternans Memorial. We walked the Riverwalk to Lower Michigan Avenue and then walked …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMay 2018: Oahu Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Honolulu International Airport around 10 AM on our flight from LAX. After collecting our rental car we drove to Nico’s Pier 38. My wife had watched a Guy Fieri’s DDD special (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) featuring this restaurant so we wanted to give it a try. I ordered the Pier 38 fish burger while she ordered the fish with caper sauce. Both were just meh and bit of a letdown. After lunch we drove to the Hilton Waikiki Village where we were staying for the first 2 nights. After check-in and some freshening up we …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2017: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Trip Report
Day 1: During the Labor day weekend we planned to do a quick weekend getaway to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Its only about a 5 hours drive from our home. We started the day fairly early and made our first stop for lunch at Three Rivers, California. There was about a 1 hour wait to enter the park and after paying the park fees we made our way through the Sequoia park. We had planned on covering the Sequoia Park on our first day so we drove towards the Giant Forest. It was fascinating to drive with …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2016: Maui Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived on our flight from Kauai early morning. After picking up rental car, we drove from Kahului airport to Hyatt Regency on Ka’anapali Beach. After checking in, we drove to the Fish Market in Lahaina. Karen ordered some Shrimp Burrito while I had Pork Tacos. Both were very delicious. After lunch, we drove back to the resort and decided to spend rest of the afternoon on Kaanapali Beach. We walked along Ka’anapali Beach all the way to the end where Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa is located. I had read on various forums that just off the beach …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2016: Kauai Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Lihue International Airport, Kauai around just before noon on our morning flight from Los Angeles. We took the Hertz airport shuttle to the car rental lot and were soon on our way to our hotel. We were staying at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa for 2 nights. After checking into the hotel and freshening up, we decided to go have lunch first. I had read great Tripadvisor reviews of Da Crack in Poipu area in Kauai (very close to the Grand Hyatt). So we decided to go there to grab some lunch-to-go and …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaNovember 2015: Tampa Trip Report
Me and Karen just did a quick weekend getaway trip to Tampa. Earlier this year, Spirit Airlines ran a couple of “hating an airline” promotions such as “Hate Thousand Miles” promotions during which both of us netted over 16,000 miles each. Free Spirit miles expire relatively sooner than all other airlines, and so I used them up for a free one-way flight from Los Angeles to Tampa this November. Why Tampa? Well, its Florida (our favorite vacation destination state in the US) and we have never been here before. We have been to Miami in 2009 before a Caribbean Cruise as well …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2015: Curacao Trip Report
After visiting Aruba during September 2014 (exactly a year ago), we finally made our way to one of the other islands of the Netherlands Antilles – Curacao. Curacao has the same dry, desert climate as Aruba but is a larger island. Similar to Aruba, it is outside the hurricane belt in the Caribbean and therefore a good place to visit throughout the year. Our Itinerary: Flight: Ontario – Phoenix – Miami – Curacao on US Airways/American Airlines 4 Nights at Hilton Curacao Flight: Curacao – Miami on American Airlines and then Fort Lauderdale – Los Angeles on Southwest Airlines Day 1: After a red-eye …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaJuly 2015: Cancun Trip Report with Day Trip to Mayan Ruins in Tulum
Me and Karen have been wanting to go to Cancun for a long time. I had read about its white, sandy beaches for the longest time and finally decided to make it over there during the 2015 Independence day long weekend. Day 1: We flew the Delta red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Cancun and arrived at the Cancun International Airport early morning. I had booked a round-trip airport transfer through Canada Transfers (one of the highest rated airport transfer company in the Cancun Tripadvisor forum). A representative of Canada Transfers was waiting for us when we cleared immigration and …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMay 2015: Portland Trip Report
We spent the Memorial Day weekend over in Portland. We flew in early Saturday morning and were back home late Monday night. Me and Karen had been to Portland before in May 2013 and loved the natural surroundings as well as the large number of waterfalls in the area. This time we wanted to show my parents the area. Day 1: We arrived late afternoon at Portland airport and picked up our rental car and drove to our hotel in east Portland. After checking in and freshening up we decided to visit the Portland Saturday Market. We had some trouble finding …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaFebruary 2015: Whale Watching Trip Report in Point Loma, San Diego
We had been thinking of going for a whale watching trip for a while. An opportunity presented itself when Karen’s niece wanted this for her 18th birthday present. After doing a lot of research on the internet, Karen finally chose the H&M Landing company based out of Point Loma, San Diego. We arrived at the pier on a sunday afternooon and after exchanging our internet purchase receipt with a ticket we arrived at the boat. Our boat captain was Scott McDaniels who also does multi-day sport-fishing trips down the coast of Mexico. He is a very good captain and it made …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2014: Aruba Trip Report
We visited Aruba for a weekend trip in September. I have always wanted to go to this small Caribbean island (located less than 20 miles off the coast of Venezuela). Lying outside the hurricane belt, this dry, desert island is perfect to visit any time of the year. Our Itinerary: Flight: Los Angeles – Orlando on Delta Airlines and Orlando – Queen Beatrix Airport, Aruba on Southwest 2 Nights at Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa 1 Night at Holiday Inn Resort Aruba – Beach Resort & Casino Flight: Queen Beatrix Airport, Aruba – Orlando on Southwest and Orlando – …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMay 2014: Hawaii Trip – Day 5 and 6 – Hanauma Bay, Luau
Day 5: One of the most popular places in Oahu to go snorkeling is Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. Wanting to beat the crowds, we headed out around 8 AM. There is a $1 per vehicle parking fee and a $7.50 per person entry fee. We didn’t wait long to get our tickets but were then ushered into a small waiting area (interesting reading) before going in to see a 15 minute video. The video explains the history and rules of Haunama Bay. Once that is done you are headed down the hill to the beach. There is a rental stand where you …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMay 2014: Hawaii Trip – Day 3 and 4 – Dole Plantation, North Shore, Aloha Swap Meet
Day 3: Wanting to get an early start for this longer trek to North Shore, we checked out of the Hilton around 8 AM. We arrived at the Dole Plantation around 9 AM. Unfortunately, it doesn’t fully open until 9:30 AM. So we roamed around and looked at the Pineapple garden and took pictures. There are a few attractions available: the Pineapple Express (train ride through the plantation $8.50), a Garden Tour (guided tour through the garden so you can learn the history $5), and a Pineapple Maze (wandering through a plant maze $6). Keep in mind you can see …
May 2014: Karen’s Hawaii Trip – Day 1 and 2 – Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head and Manoa Falls
Day 1: Me and my sister Danny arrived at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Waikiki Beach Resort at approximately 2:00 PM. I had booked a resort view room with Hilton HHonors points and the front desk upgraded us to the Rainbow Tower Ocean-view room. The Gold status entitles you to 1,000 bonus points per stay or $10/person per day credit at any of the property restaurants. We chose the credit of course. We headed up to our room to drop our luggage and check out the resort. We decided to grab a quick bite to eat so went to the Pronto …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaMarch 2013: Las Vegas Weekend Trip Report
Even though I have been to Vegas over two dozen times over the past decade or so, I still like to visit this city whenever I get a chance. I had some Southwest vouchers that were expiring in mid-March and this gave us the perfect excuse to plan a weekend trip. We had already attended the Celine Dion concert in our previous trip and this time we wanted to see a Britney concert at the Planet Hollywood. But a few visits to the Ticketmaster website put that notion to rest when we saw how expensive the tickets were !! Finally …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2013: Niagara Falls Trip Report
We reached Buffalo Airport from New York by a late night JetBlue flight. After picking up our rental car from the airport, we drove to our hotel in Niagara Falls (Holiday Inn Express) which was less than 20 miles from the airport. Since it was around midnight by the time we reached the hotel, we went straight to bed. Next morning, after waking up and having complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and drove to the Niagara falls (US side). We used the Niagara Falls official parking which was only $10. Niagara Falls is comprised of 3 separate falls, …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2013: New York City Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived by Amtrak in the afternoon at NYC Penn Station from Washington Union Station. As soon as you get out of the station (which is located below Madison Square Garden), all your senses are like assaulted (in a good way). Yep, you are in New York. Since we were staying close by at the DoubleTree Suites – Times Square, we decided to just walk there instead of taking a cab. We ended up walking a lot during this trip. I would definitely recommend this hotel for its convenient location. After having lunch and taking a couple of hours …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaSeptember 2013: Washington DC Trip Report
We arrived in DC on a Saturday evening after a long Southwest Airlines flight from Ontario, California. My parents had arrived from India a couple of hours earlier. Since we were all pretty tired by now, we headed straight for the hotel. We were staying at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, Dulles Airport. Day 1: After getting up early in the morning and having complimentary breakfast at the hotel, me and Karen went to the Dulles Airport to pick up our rental car. This was the only rental booked without points for this trip. We had booked an intermediate car …
Destination Trip Reports North AmericaAugust 2013: Las Vegas Weekend Trip
During the second weekend of August, we did a quick trip to Las Vegas. We had been wanting to see Celine Dion’s performance at the Colosseum in Caesar’s Palace Hotel for a while as we are both big fan of hers. The opportunity presented itself when I had about $165 of Southwest vouchers expiring by September and had to be used before that. Normally we would drive to Las Vegas as its only about 4 hours from our home but we flew instead. Our Itinerary: Fly ONT-LAS on Southwest Airlines Stay 2 nights at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, …