All posts by DaRoad Tripper

Best Beach in Oahu, Hawaii – A-team road trip 2015

June 28, 2015 DaRoad Tripper

We have been here in Oahu for 6 days and have checked out a ton of beaches.
So far, we feel the Kailua Beach / Lanikai is the best beach.

It has very clear water, lots of soft sand, and lots of shade trees in case you need them.
The mountains are right behind you and you feel like you are on the beach in Jurassic park without the dinosaurs, of course.

The water is pretty calm and super clear. Snorkeling was great here. Not a ton of sea life, but very clear water.

Enjoying the soft sand and clear water.

The water really is that blue / green.

From the water, you can see a forest right on the beach with beautiful mountains right behind the trees.
You have lots of shade if you get tired of the sun.Lots of restrooms on site with showers to wash off.

We felt it was a beach just for kids. The three of us were surrounded by lots of other kids.
Football and bbqs were going on all over the beach. We will definitely visit this one again before we have to leave Oahu.

Waimano Falls Hike in Oahu

June 26, 2015 DaRoad Tripper

We got up and my parents went for a run and brought us back some Portugese style donuts called malasadas from a bakery called Leonard’s

Then, to work off all those donuts’ we went on one of the scariest hikes we have ever done, just to get to a waterfall.
We hiked down to Waimano Falls which is a spur trail off of the Manana Trail.
You get to the Manana Trail from Pearl City by taking Kaahele Street from H1.
From Kaahele street, you take Komo Mai Drive straight to the trail head.
There is little parking so be aware of that. You will have to park on the street.
Map of the Manana trail in Pearl City – link

Many websites list the hike as super easy, but that is not the case.
It is well worth the time and effort, but it is a tough hike for sure.

But it was worth it and we went rope swinging and cliff-jumping into a deep pool.

The hike out was very tough and steep but was not quite as scary as the hike in.

once we finished the hike’ we needed to wash off the mud so we went to the beach to relax and build a pyramid

After the beach, everyone was hungry so we stopped at a place called the rainbow drive-in
#1 food stop so far on our trip – Rainbow Drive-In!
You must go here if you are in Oahu!

Then after we went to the rainbow drive-in we stopped at a souvenir shop to get Hawaiian shirts and a hat for me.
We will post a group pic of us with our shirts and Wilverine in his matching shorty shorts that he loves.

We are out the door for more fun in the sun.
Peace out yo.

A-team roadtrip 2015 Hawaii day-2

June 26, 2015 DaRoad Tripper

We woke up in our condo to the sound of jackhammers and left immediately to go to the beach, find some shoes for me, and go try out a place called Mike’s Huli chicken. While we were in target we noticed it started raining and decided we would go to the beach later. So we went to mikes Huli chicken for the best chicken i have ever eaten.

After a bite to eat at the Huli chicken truck we went to a deserted beach on the north shore so the Wilverine could wear his shorts granpa or pawpaw style.

On our way home we decided we were in a mood for shaved ice and stopped at a food truck gathering to try it Hawaiian style. It was a blend of ice cream and shaved ice. Not bad at all.

Huli huli means turn turn. Huli chicken is really good rotisserie chicken cooked over an open fire on sticks that are turned over and over again = huli huli. Local Hawaiian wood is used for cooking the chicken. It is usually lightly salted with sea salt and flavored by the smoke from the wood.

A-team road trip 2015 day 5

June 26, 2015 DaRoad Tripper

We woke up at five just to finish packing and cuz we knew it would take forever to get the Wildabeast moving.

Then we took a shuttle to the airport, checked a few bags then waited in a line to catch a flight.

After the flight, we checked into our condo and headed to the beach.

It was a great first day in Oahu!
We will be posting more cool info from Hawaii.

A-team road trip 2015 day 4

June 25, 2015 DaRoad Tripper

We ate at Krispy Kreme,(again),then headed out to Joshua Tree NP to look for Junior ranger programs and Joshua Trees. Wile and I almost finished the program but the Ranger Station closed before we got there. While driving through the park wile and i worked on our junior ranger booklets and went rock climbing to test out our new GoPro and to let off some energy before the long drive to los angeles.

After we left the park everyone was starving so we stopped at a northern chain restaurant called the in-and-out burger for a delicious burger and shake dinner.

Then we went to LA and set up at our hotel realizing that I had left my Moms $150 sleeping bag and my $200 camera at our last hotel, luckily the hotel shipped them back to our house instead of keeping them. So we thanked them and packed for our trip toHawaii.

A-Team road trip 2015 day 3

June 25, 2015 DaRoad Tripper

We left El Paso after eating at Whataburger and retrieving lost swim trunks that we left at our Double Tree hotel.
We seem to be leaving lots of stuff this year. Not sure what is going on.
Once we got on the road every one had to use the bathroom every 25 minutes.
We literally stopped at every bathroom for 100 miles after we left El Paso.
Mom and Dad were so proud of us. Our hydration technique is clearly working.

Then,we stopped for a picnic at Catalina SP in Arizona.
Here is a little traveling tip, check the weather / temp before stopping for a picnic in Arizona.

IT WAS REALLY HOT,but…there were some really cool Saguaro Cacti that we got some pictures of.

Cactus

After our scorching picnic, we took a 2 hour detour to check out an Oasis.
We found the Oasis and then found the road back was out so we had to drive another 2 hours.
Fun family time in the car. You cannot beat good quality time with your family.
12 hours in the car in one day is great team building.

Afterward, we ate at the San Tan Brewery in Chandler, Arizona.
The food and beverage selection was awesome.
Dad needs some cold liquid after the 12 hour car ride.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Chandler, Arizona.
Thanks to the great staff at the Hampton Inn for finding my camera and my moms sleeping bag.
I was is so much trouble for leaving those items behind.
Thanks for saving me from impending doom.
Mom was going to hurt me.

A-Team road trip 2015 day 2

June 22, 2015 DaRoad Tripper

We left for Krispy Kreme at 8:45 am. We ordered 12 donuts and got five free. It was a good breakfast. Afterward, we got lost for an hour trying to avoid a major accident and the traffic that it caused on I-10, then we drove to El Paso. Do you know how boring I-10 is through this part of Texas?!? On the way there, we spent our time programming in Scratch and I created a game. Then we took a tour through the Franklin Mountains SP. We hiked up a cool trail to an even cooler cave, then drove back to El Paso. After that, we ate more Mexican food at the L&J cafe. I highly recommend the tacos picadillos or tacos deshabradas. This place has been around since 1927 for a reason, folks! My little brother loved the sopapillas, too.

A Team 2015 Road Trip Part 1

June 22, 2015 DaRoad Tripper

We got a late start to our roadtrip.We took a 3 to 3 1/2-hour drive to Sea World, San Antonio to check out some whales and ride some rides. Sam and my mom rode The Great White once, and rode The Steel Eel 6 times before getting kicked off because Sammy’s peace signs looked like double barrels. (Their camera really timed it perfectly; his peace signs were on their way up.) We also saw two pretty cool whale shows, Azul, and “The Sham-Smash”. Azul was all about synchronized swimming, and “The Sham-Smash” was all about the whales. The second was better. Afterwards, we finished the day with gourmet Mexican food from La Margarita at Market Square. What better way to finish off day 1!

2014 Road Trip – White Water Rafting – New Mexico River Adventures

May 30, 2015 DaRoad Tripper

To end our 2014 Road Trip, we went white water rafting in New Mexico with New Mexico River Adventures.
They are the best rafting outfitter in New Mexico.

We rafted the racecourse section which is smaller than the Taos Box. Our little Brother Wile went with us and he is not big enough for the Taos Box. We will come back later for the bigger water. We also want to come back do a multi-day trip on the Rio Chama.

Along the way on our racecourse trip, our guide brought snacks and stopped off so we could have a picnic with chips and salsa and cantaloupe. She also let us put our heads in front of the raft on the big rapids. At the end of our rafting trip we were allowed to jump off of rocks jutting out of the water. During the trip, our guide told us geological stories about the features around the river. She was the best guide ever!

Here are some really cool pics from our trip.

Check out my pics on Yonder. Look for pics by BenHornSheep.

2014 Road Trip – White Water Rafting – Canon City, CO

May 27, 2015 DaRoad Tripper

We love white water rafting and there are few better places than Colorado and Canon City.
We always raft with Echo Canyon as they do the best job and make the trips fun.

Here are some awesome pics from our trip in June of 2014. We went on the Big Horn Sheep Canyon Trip and as you can see from the pics, it was awesome.

All of us were able to raft even our 4 year old brother Wile. Wile is riding in the front in the middle in the princess seat. He loved it and cant wait to go back.