Hawaii 2026

Departed Charlotte 2:33 PM · Arrived Honolulu 10:09 PM
Checked into VRBO apartment (booked by Nat).

Started at Denny's, then hit the beach behind the Outrigger in Waikiki for a few hours. Swung through Goodwill Hawaii, then stopped at Makapu'u Lookout to watch paragliders soaring the coast.

On to Lanikai Beach for hours — turquoise water, white sand, Mokulua Islands in the distance. Drove back over the Ko'olau Mountains and ended the night at Beastside Kitchen in East Honolulu. Loved it. (Yelp 4.5 ⭐)

Brought Nat & Jennifer to the airport for their Kauai flight, then headed to Waimea Bay and Turtle Beach — sand, waves, turtles.

The big surprise of the day: reunited with Tuul, George, Mooji (16), and Titus (7) — friends we hadn't seen in 7 years since Vermont. Dalai and Titus hit it off instantly.

Evening at Sean, Tsogsoo & Adam's house. Dinner on the patio, that sunset, good conversation. Dalai played Minecraft for the first time with Adam. Travis smoked a cigar with Sean.

Started the day with a great morning work call with Jeff — mountains visible in the background, one of those calls that just felt good. 🏔️

Spent hours at Papa'iloa Beach on the North Shore — the filming location for the TV show Lost. Travis taught Dalai how to snorkel for the first time. 🤿

Stopped at a famous sugar mill in town — ube smoothie and passion fruit shaved ice. Then incredible Hispanic food: tacos, quesadilla, and a massive burrito.

Headed to the Dole Plantation with Adam and rode the train through the pineapple fields. Back home, hiked to a dragonfruit tree.

Dalai got Minecraft downloaded on his Nintendo Switch. Ended the day eating outside and watching the sunset — long conversation with Adam.

Travis caught up on work in the morning while the others headed to the farmers market.

Afternoon: Pearl Harbor and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum — WWII planes, the USS Arizona exhibit, and the full weight of that place. Travis was moved by the original bullet holes still in the hangar windows — left there intentionally, unrepaired, as a permanent reminder. Tunga became Rosie the Riveter at the museum photo booth. Dalai explored the ship models and exhibits with wonder.

Then over to a house on base — hosted by Luckma, Nanda & Mina. Tuul, George, Mooji & Titus joined. Mongolian traditional food, good drinks, and six hours of the kind of catching-up that only happens with people who really know each other. Lots of laughter. The girls especially loved it.

Travis drove everyone home in the van at the end of the night. 🚐

Morning with Sean, Tsogsoo & Adam. Wandered into the local town and hit the gift shops — Travis picked up a brown Australian sun hat. 🤠

Then a mission: drove all the way back to Honolulu to rescue Dalai's forgotten stuffed tiger. 🐯 Worth every mile.

Straight from there to the airport to pick up Nat & Jennifer, back from their Kauai detour. Full crew reunited.

Drove up to PARC — Pililaau Army Recreation Center and checked into the beachside cabin. Right on the water, 40 minutes from Honolulu.

Dinner out with Sean, Adam & Tsogsoo — Chinese food. Then sunset on the beach, a grocery run, and ended the night at the beach bar with Sunday sangrias. 🍹

Dalai napped on the drive up — then absolutely ripped through the night with energy once he woke up.

Checked out of PARC in the morning — 5 nights on the beach, done right.

First stop: Kahuku Farms on the North Shore — Sean's recommendation. Fresh smoothies, played soccer in the fields. The kind of place you only find if someone local knows about it. 🌿

Then a full day at the Polynesian Cultural Center with Sean and Adam — walked every village, watched the demonstrations, took it all in. Stayed the entire day.

Evening: the dinner buffet, then the Ha: Breath of Life nighttime show. One of the most celebrated Polynesian performances in Hawaii — fire, dance, the full story of a young man's journey to manhood. Incredible way to end the last full night out. 🔥

Stayed at Sean's.

Nat and Jennifer headed out on their own — hiking at the point, then Waimea Valley, then the Dole Plantation. Good send-off adventure for the two of them.

The rest of the day was about people. Sean, Adam, and family — just hanging out, the easy kind. Tunga got ukulele lessons 🌵 — sitting in the living room, learning from Adam, both of them playing.

Out to the outlets with Luckma and Amira. Dalai and Amira got corn dogs at Mr. COW. Picked up notebooks and pens. The rain was already starting — everyone walking out of Kate Spade with one umbrella between them.

That night: the tropical storm arrived. 🌧️

Rain and wind all night and into the morning. The tropical storm hit hard — power knocked out at Sean's for the day, maybe longer. Time to move.

Left early and drove to Luckma's house to wait it out near the airport. Made a stop at the baby exchange, then settled in and spent time with her family. Good unhurried afternoon despite the weather outside.

The standout of the day: a long conversation with Dad — one Travis genuinely enjoyed. They talked about YourAI and what Travis could learn from how Norton built his education and security work in the early days of personal computing — the playbook for establishing trust and authority in a brand-new category.

Departed Honolulu 10:30 PM · Phoenix layover · Arrived Charlotte 3:47 PM Mon, Aug 17

13 days. Mahalo, Hawaii. 🌺