Being pregnant during the hot summer months, especially in Texas, is no walk in the park but incorporating a “babymoon” into the mix could help, right? After my 20 week anatomy scan, I asked by doctor if I would be okay to take one last hoo-rah family trip before the arrival of our precious baby boy and fortunately he said YES! The one request I was asked though was to travel within the States just in case I had an emergency. I agreed and the planning commenced!
Where to Babymoon?
In the beginning, I wanted to travel to the East Coast like somewhere in South Carolina or Georgia but after several searches and seeing what I could do at 27 weeks pregnant I decided maybe that wasn’t the best fit for me or my little family. After several days of weighing out my options, I decided I wanted to have my babymoon somewhere beautiful, with a backdrop showcasing paradise and above all extremely relaxing. I was finally able to narrow it down to Hawaii. And what a special trip it would be being our first time to visit Hawaii, y’all!!
I had no idea how many options we had when booking an island. I decided to book our flight to Honolulu which sits on the island of Oahu and book our resort on Waikiki Beach. I never knew that Honolulu, Oahu and Waikiki are ALL on the same island!
Departing to Oahu, Hawaii / Day 1
When tickets were purchased to Hawaii, I had the option to purchase our departure flight as a direct flight or have a short layover in San Francisco, CA. I decided at 27 weeks pregnant it might benefit me better to have a short layover versus trying to get to our destination in 1 shot. I planned ahead and brought plenty of healthy snacks for me, favorite snacks for my daughter, (I remembered how horrible airplane food tastes), lots of water, reading material and compression socks. I’ll be honest, we should have just taken a direct flight! I did very well on the first half of the flight and the same on the second…it would’ve have just been so much faster if we had flown direct. After 11 or so hours of traveling, we finally made it to paradise! Upon arrival we proceeded to baggage claim where I had booked a local company to greet us with the most beautiful and fresh flowers to be lei’d! My daughter was so thrilled as was I.
Day 2 – Waikiki Beach & Paradise Cove Luau
We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa which was the perfect location for what we needed: resort style, beach access, great restaurants on site and several amenities. The first morning we all woke up super early. Traveling to the West and “gaining” some hours really messed with our sleep schedule BUT it was great because we got to catch a beautiful sunrise with plenty of time to get ready and grab some much needed breakfast. We went downstairs and had a wonderful and delicious breakfast. I made it a point to have fresh pineapple and their famous Kona coffee! Next stop, the pool area of the resort to rent beach chairs and towels to take downstairs and enjoy the ocean at Waikiki Beach (beach located across the street from resort). It was just perfect and very relaxing!
After a few hours of some fun in the sun we went back to our hotel room and took a much needed nap. This evening I reserved a family friendly night at Paradise Cove Luau.
I’ve always read that if you visit Hawaii you should seek a Luau at least once in your lifetime. After much research on my own, I decided to book Paradise Cove Luau because of the reviews! This particular luau is located on the NW side of Oahu on a scenic beach, although it is one of the largest luau’s it felt intimate, you can purchase different packages for your unique experience and about a 1 hour drive from Waikiki. We did not have a car rental so when I booked the luau I knew I needed to add transportation which worked out great!
We opted for the Deluxe Luau Package and it was well worth it especially because of the Royal Box seating! We got to experience the unique culture and history of Hawaii, visit exciting daytime activities, eat delicious food and watch the spectacular show as the sunsets. There was plenty of food and drinks to go around (I had virgin drinks the whole night). The last act was AMAZING especially with the fire!
Day 3 – Kualoa Ranch and North Shore
Kualoa Ranch is a MUST STOP destination, in my opinion, and let me tell you why. Kualoa is a 4,000 acre private nature reserve where they still have working cattle but is most famously known as a fantastic spot for filming movies and shows like 50 First Dates and my daughters favorite movie, Jurassic Park! The lush vegetation, scenic mountains, Pacific ocean and overall vibe is quite impressive. At Kualoa you have many options of how to make your day super special, you can take a Jurassic Adventure Tour, have a 2 hour UTV Raptor Tour, a zipline experience, go on horseback or take a bus for the Hollywood Movie Sites Tour (this is the one we did). This Hollywood Movie tour is 90 minutes long and you get to ride a big bus to some of the most famous movie sites on the property. Lots of movie sites are still well preserved and so fascinating to see up close and personal! We had a blast and my daughter was in dinosaur heaven!
After a few hours at Kualoa Ranch it was time to head over to North Shore to try the most famous shaved ice in all of Oahu, Matsumoto’s Shave Ice. Thankfully we were still able to catch an Uber and were well on our way. Once we arrived, we grabbed some lunch and then went in search of this famous snow cone. The line was long but it moved rather quickly so the wait wasn’t too dreadful. We finally ordered, hubby and daughter opted for cherry and I chose their Rainbow combination (strawberry, lemon and pineapple). What was the verdict?? It was actually really good! Out of 5 stars I would honestly give it a solid 4. The BEST shaved ice I have ever had in my life came out of Kyoto, Japan. One day I will write about that beautiful experience!
After lunch and some famous Matsumoto Shave Ice it was time to get back to Waikiki! The time was about 3pm and I started looking for Uber’s but nothing was available. I thought maybe it was a fluke so I kept trying but after about an hour of trying I started to panic. Both my husband and I tried Lyft and regular taxi’s but NOTHING! We started asking locals from the nearby shops what we could do and they said the best option was to take a bus back to Waikiki. They were actually super impressed we made it this far, from Kualoa Ranch to North Shore, because most Uber’s never go that out of the way. After a restroom stop and my husband trying to figure out the bus situation, it was only a short walk (10 to 15 min) to get to the nearest bus. By this time it’s about 4:30pm and the bus is set to take off at 5pm so we are determined to make it that bus! I’d like to add that I am almost 7 months pregnant, fast walking, get sticker burrs all over the bottom of my dress and think I’m about to pass out…we made it with 5 minutes to spare.
If visiting North Shore from Honolulu be sure to have your own transportation! I was not aware that leaving North Shore (at 3pm) to Waikiki would be such a hassle. Lesson learned and thankfully public transportation is superb!
The bus ride was actually a great little adventure! We passed by the Dole Pineapple factory, saw a rainbow in the distance, went through beautiful neighborhoods, met a nice family from Houston and still had plenty of time to spare once we arrived to our destination. Needless to say, we made it safely back to our resort with a fun story to tell!
Day 4 – Waikiki Beach “Take 2” and a Family Photo Shoot
As I mentioned before, this family vacation was truly a vacation for major R&R. On day 4 we spent the entire morning/early afternoon at the beach taking in the sun, cool breeze and a virgin pineapple drink. My daughter learned how to use her boogie board and even caught a very tiny wave! My husband and daughter swam in the clear blue water, splashed around and looked for shells. They tried building a sandcastle but mommy forgot to bring the pails and shovels which our resort offered for free. No worries, next time I will not forget! As I sat there observing the world pass by, my husband ordered us non-alcoholic drinks and I couldn’t help but think this will be our last beach together as a family of 3. In just a few short months we will be a family of 4. I am already praying hard that our newest little addition will enjoy traveling just as much as the rest of us!
After lunch, we went back to our hotel to rest before our family photo shoot. If you have followed most of my adventures you will know that I am a huge fan of taking professtional family photos while on vacation. Hawaii would not be spared and we needed to look the part, LOL! I’m talking Haku’s (flower crown lei) for the ladies and a traditional Kukui Nut Lei for the hubby. On this special trip, I decided it would be fun to also include my maternity pictures in the package because why not??? The tummy is quite large and needs to be showcased! Our photographer was on board and suggested we take our pictures near Kualoa Ranch because it truly exemplifies the beauty of Hawaii and we absolutely agreed. The photo shoot was fantastic and we could not be happier with the pictures we took. We will cherish these photos forever!
Day 5 – Prenatal Massage and Pearl Harbor
After 4 days of bliss in paradise, a prenatal massage is just what this momma needs. At our resort, Honolulu Resort on Waikik Beach, I was able to book a fabulous massage at the Na Hoola Spa! The best part about this is that I was able to roll out of bed, throw on a robe and take the elevator up a few flights and BAM I was there! Let me just say, a 90 minute massage went by way too fast. After a relaxing prenatal massage, it was time to head back to my room to get ready for Pearl Harbor.
My husband is a huge history buff and for years he has wanted to visit Pearl Harbor. I promised him that we would and little did I know that it would be very difficult to secure tickets. At this time, the only way to purchase individual USS Arizona Memorial tickets (and not be charged an arm and leg) was to reserve the spot one day in advance during a specific time of the day. For the first 3 days we tried to reserve tickets but had no luck. I am not even exaggerating but after 30 seconds of the window being opened to purchase the tickets they would be completely SOLD OUT! Day 4 rolls around and I know this will be the last possible time for us to visit the Arizona so we needed to snag these tickets somehow. As the time came to “purchase” the tickets we were refreshing and refreshing the page until FINALLY we both secured 3 tickets!! As my husband is ecstatic and jumping around that he got 3 tickets, I was like great…let me jump off the site but then something inside of me told me to wait and not jump off yet. As he was attempting to pay for the tickets he kept getting an error message. I said hold on let me try on my end and guess what?? Mine went through! After several more attempts my husband got pushed out of the site and the tickets he had secured were sold out. Thank goodness I waited to just a little longer!!
We arrived at Pearl Harbor the next day and what a beautiful, sad and educational experience it was for the 3 of us. As we toured the Arizona and listened to the audioguide you could not help but get emotional. My daughter and several others just cried and cried. We finally soothed our daughter and explained what happened and how the fallen soldiers were being honored through this beautiful memorial. This experience will be one she will never forget.
After touring Pearl Harbor we got back to Waikiki to do a little more shopping and then dinner. We witnessed our last sunset on the beach of Waikiki and it was just breathtaking. Now it was time to head back to our hotel to pack and get ready for our voyage back to Texas!
Day 6 – Back to Texas We Go
Getting to the airport was very fast with lots of time to spare. Just know if you want to purchase fresh pineapples from Hawaii, you can do so at the airport. In the older section of the airport there are a few stores that sell pineapples boxed up so you can take onto the airplane. Just know, if you are in the newer portion of the airport there are no pineapples to purchase, at least I could not find any. Be sure to visit the older section if you want to take home a pineapple.
In Conclusion…
Hawaii is the epitome of paradise. As a 7 month pregnant woman traveling it was the best spot for me and my family to enjoy and feel relaxed. Creating the itinerary and having only 2 major activities per day really helped slow us down to have some major R&R. We truly enjoyed the full experience and already making plans for a second trip with baby in the future!
