Gentleman's Vacation in Oahu. Day 1

A very good friend of mine is tying the knot. So originally we had planned to go to Vegas for his bachelor party, but his fiance had already planned the same weekend. We decided to do it in Oahu, Bro style. Let the party commence. 

All of the guys were coming from all over the place. So everyone had different arrival times. Some were staying for the whole trip and some were just there for a few days. My brother, John and I took the first flight out at 10am. One of the things that I enjoy when flying out west is that you gain time on your trip. We had about a 5 hour flight. Left at 10am and landed at around 12:30 pm Hawaii time.

I usually snap a picture of the cover of the SkyMall magazine, but there wasn't one, So I snapped a pic of HanaHou.

I have never seen these before, Nutella snacks! Complements of Nichole.


For lunch we got served salad, pasta with marinara, and a macadamia nut shortbread cookie. They also gave us a complimentary white or red wine with our meal. Fancy... Funny thing is a few of my other friends flew in from Oakland with the same airline, but they didn't get a meal or wine. All they got was cheese and fruit and it wasn't just one person. Another friend who flew in a few days later from Oakland got fruit and cheese also. Not sure why.

Couldn't sleep on the flight. Was too excited. Haven't been back to Hawaii since 2010. Watched movies on the plane the whole flight.

The first sight of land!





Maybe because I don't live on the island, but I think it's silly to have a waterpark in Hawaii when you have such nice beaches surrounding you.






Some of the guys had already arrived an hour ahead and were waiting for us. Hopped on the rental car shuttle to get our ride for the week.

By the time we got the car, Brandon had just landed so we rounded back and picked him up.


We rented a waterfront vacation home, but check in wasn't until 3pm. So we headed off to our favorite Ramen joint. Tenkaippin Ramen

Some beer to start the vacation.



Fried rice




My favorite is the Kotteri Ramen.

After lunch we headed across the street to Safeway and stocked up on supplies. It was finally time to check into our accommodations. As we were driving to our vacation home there were a lot of really nice houses around the area. I'm talking really upscale homes. Our home unfortunately was not as modern or contemporary as the surrounding homes, but the view and location is to die for.

This was our back yard.



Looking down into the water you can see fish, crab and other sea life. There was this huge puffer fish that was swimming around the area. That thing freaked me out. Also there was an eel living in the rocks.


The home was nothing fancy but it fit the bill. The home really felt like a beach cottage. It had a great location about 8 miles from Waikiki, a supermarket, 7-Eleven, Gas station and McDonald's all within 1 mile of the home. All of the rooms had individual air conditioners so sleeping at night was very comfortable, but the backyard is what sold us on the home. The only thing I was bummed about was the fact that the wave break was about 1/2 a mile out. I was looking forward to falling asleep to the sounds of waves, but the waves broke way to far out to hear. Oh well can't have it all.





The home slept comfortably 13 people and had plenty for parking space.


A quick video tour of the home.

I hate beer. Never really acquired a taste for it, but this view just made me want a Corona really badly. I guess those commercials are working for them. LOL.

Hey look a coconut tree.

We hung out at the home for a bit longer, we had another person landing at 5pm. After picking Nam up from the airport we headed out for dinner. The man of the hour wasn't arriving until 8pm.

Last time we accidentally stumbled upon this Taiwanese Hot Pot place. It was good, but the thing that hooked us was the free desert they gave. It did not look appetizing at all, but it's delicious. Brandon had missed out on it last time, but he wasn't going to miss out this time. We were there on a Tuesday night and we had to wait over an hour for a table. The place is called Sweet Home Cafe

You order your flavor broth, and some raw meats. If you want more stuff you just go to the refrigerator and they have an assortment of goodies for you to hot pot. Spam wontons, fish cake wrapped in bacon, tofu, and other stuff. They also have a sauce bar full of dipping sauces.



And the main thing that I was waiting for the desert. Everyone that dines there gets a free desert. It's shaved iced with a bunch of puddings, jellies, and tapioca. It doesn't look appetizing, but trust me it's good. My favorite is the mocha custard.

By the time we finished the man of the hour had finally arrived to the house.


Here he is getting some McDonald's in his stomach to hold him over for the night that is to come.

How convenient the poison help line.

First round of shots!

We met up with some of Phillip's friends that live on the island and they took us to a local bar.

We hopped around several bars. This one was particularly interesting. It's called Seven. It's pretty much a big room with 7 bars inside all owned by different people. I guess I forgot to snap a picture of the inside.

After that we headed to another bar down the street.

and ended right back at Seven.

Then we ended up back at home.



Day 1 one has been completed and Phil looks tired.



I don't know where Phillip got the pizza from, but thank god it was there.

Brandon decided he wanted to sleep outside.


but mother nature decided otherwise cause it started to sprinkle so we woke Brandon up and herded him inside.

That's it for day 1. Not bad for a first night. We still are missing a few other guest. They arrive shortly in the coming days.