Hawaii-bound this Friday!!

Neener neener neener. :) This will be my second trip.
I spent a week on Oahu and Maui about 5 years ago.

So last week I was thinking I bet the folks on TC would have some good suggestions as stuff to see/do, but like a good newbie I hit up the search feature first and found the "Hawaii Vacation Trips" post which contains more info/ideas than we have time for, so I'd like to say thanks to the contributors of that post....it made planning our trip much easier.

So here's a rough itinerary, open to suggestions.

We (my girlfriend and I) fly from LAX to Honolulu this Friday, landing @ 7:45pm. Get the rental car and pick up my parents and aunt who land at 9pm. Once we get checked into the Breakers, we will be off to find La Mariana.

Gecko you out there? I know I'm a new guy and all, but it would be cool to meet up with a local. It might be 11 by the time we get there, but we will get there!!

We are staying at the Breakers because that is where my mom and dad stayed when they were on Oahu last...in 1965.

Saturday breakfast at Dukes or ?
The rest of the day will be at the PCC. After the Horizons show I'd like to hit the Tiki Bar & Grill and the Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian, and perhaps back to La Mariana...

Sunday:
Leonards for breakfast? Probably hang out around Waikiki for the morning, with an outrigger canoe ride, maybe a surf lesson, and walk around some hotels. My parents fly to Kauai @ 1pm so we have to drop them off at the airport. Then my girlfriend wants to hit some sites on the north shore, like Sandy Beach, Black Sand Beach, and the Blowhole. Dinner and drinks back in Waikiki somewhere...Chuck's, Neptunes Garden, House Without a Key, Mai Tai Bar...

Monday morning I'd like to check out the Bishop Museum on the way to the airport, but there may not be enough time since it opens at 9am. We fly out at 12:30pm and join back up with my family on Kauai. We are staying at the Marriott Beach Club until Sunday. Since we have 5 full days on Kauai there should be plenty of time to see all the well known sites. I'll be on the hunt for tiki.

So I do have a few questions...

1. Is the International Marketplace gone now?

2. If we only have an hour or so is it even worth going into the Bishop Museum.

3. Is there a Bishop Museum Store at the mall next to the Royal Hawaiian?

4. Should I plan to spend most of my "tiki budget" on Oahu because I won't find much on Kauai, and what I do find there will be pricey?

I always take lots of pics so when I get back I'll post some on here.

Aloha, John

John,
Some of the marketplace is still there. Well worth a visit to track down some of the tikis there.

La Mariana is a must. Make sure you get directions, it ain't eay to find.

Get up to pipe on the Northshore if you have a spare few hours. Especially if the surf is pumping.

Eat at the Tiki Grill and Bar, the food is fantastic.

And Mai Tai's at the house without a key at sunset are a must too!
have a blast, I was there around this time last year and I loved every minute.

Here's a treasure hunt for you.
Scroll down this page and find the topic of my trip to Oahu and Hawai'i.
Open it.
Scroll down the thread a bit and you'll find weirduncletiki's link to another old great thread about all kinds of stuff to do and places to go in Hawai'i.

Have Fun!

Thanks guys....I can't wait!!

Pablus: that is the post I found on my search. I already printed out 17 pages of it for ideas! Half the locations on my Oahu intinerary came off that post. Thanks TC.

John