After my mileage run to Kona – several people inquired why I didn’t just stay longer. Not really the point of a “mileage run” but I did take it to heart and booked a longer holiday to both Waikiki and San Diego.
Sadly, an early departure for San Diego, then a layover, then onto Honolulu. Small benefit, nice sunrise:
And there was the added bonus of being in the pointy end of the plane:
I really love the Honolulu airport for it’s mixing of outdoor and indoor spaces:
Ubered to the condo, the Wyndham Royal Gardens, where I’ve stayed before – and sweet-talked myself into a upgraded room with a lanai (that’s Hawaiian for balcony).
One of my rituals in Waikiki is a breakfast at the IHOP down the street.
Followed by some pool time…
Nice views from the room, even if the room is only on the 5th floor…
I’m 8 blocks from the beach (in the lower photo) and half a block from the canal (in the upper picture).
Another pastime while I’m vacationing is taking “owner updates” from either Wyndham or WorldMark properties (Wyndham in this case). Fortunately, the sales center is very close to Tommy Bahama’s restaurant/bar where there is a great happy hour from 2-5pm.
The presentation center is above the Galleria which has been closed since the pandemic when Japanese tourist stopped coming. They are slowly coming back, but three are no plans to reopen the Galleria (which is right next to the Louis Vitton store). My informal survey of Waikiki shows about 25% of the businesses didn’t survive.
Some interesting artwork in the hallway – corrugated aloha shirts!
A decent views of the Pink Palace and the ocean…
I set a new record for in and out of a presentation – 25 MINUTES. In is always at least an hour stretching to 1.5 hours. For my time I got 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points, used correctly, $390 value. 30,000 will get you one night in Wyndham’s top end properties, two nights in La Quinta-type properties, or FOUR nights in their bottom-end back-woods properties.
But it’s time for a cocktail and some appetizers at Tommy Bahama where the happy hour prices are reasonable…
And then of course, much later, dinner at the Waikiki Brewing Company, which was WAY TO NOISY.
That was the Portuguese Sausage with all the sides. Picked something that would reheat well!
Another lunch I was off to Siam Square for Thai food, next to one of Waikiki’s gay bars:
But really, I spent a lot of my time like this:
Before long (3 nights) it was time to head back to the airport for another upgraded flight, and some time in the lounge:
And back on a plane with a POGmosa (Pineapple, Orange, Guava juice and sparkling wine).
And more food…
Before long I was in San Diego for the next stage of the holiday!
And the view of Balboa Park across the street….
Had a number of meals here. Decent, and cheap, and across the street!
Spent a bunch of time on the rooftop deck reading….
If you watched carefully, you could see jet on their final descent – wasn’t lucky enough to get a picture.
Did I mention this was in the gay neighborhood?
And a good thrift store….
And yes, I did ANOTHER presentation for ANOTHER 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points. Yes, I’m a points whore.
Soon enough (another 3-night stay), time for the lounge and the plane home…
Another holiday under the belt.
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