How A Hurricane Impacted Travel Plans In Oahu

I don't even know where to start with this trip from Texas to the magical paradise of Oahu, Hawaii.

My wife and I have been to Oahu several times, but somehow Hawaii keeps finding new ways to completely blow us away. This time we stayed in Ko Olina, and over the course of the trip we managed to cram in about as much Hawaii as humanly possible, while still finding plenty of time to sit by the lagoon, have a few drinks, and do absolutely nothing.

And I wouldn't change a damn thing.

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Sharks, Jurassic Park and a Secret Beach

We went shark diving off the North Shore with North Shore Shark Adventures, which was every bit as badass as it sounds, made our way to Waimea Falls, and spent an incredible day at Kualoa Ranch, including the Jurassic Adventure Tour.

Then there was Secret Island, where we paddleboarded, kayaked, and took an outrigger canoe out on the water with those ridiculous mountains surrounding us. Seriously, sometimes Hawaii doesn't even look real.

We also hit the Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout, cruised around the North Shore, snorkeled, swam, ate way too damn good, enjoyed a few adult beverages, and watched some absolutely incredible sunsets from Ko Olina.

ʻAuana Was Something Completely Different

Another highlight was seeing ʻAuana by Cirque du Soleil in Honolulu. We hit Tiki's first after an awesome limo ride from Kawika's Limousine. (Big thanks to Christian!) Then settled in to see 'Auana. The show combines Cirque's insane acrobatics with Hawaiian music, culture, history, and humor, and it was unlike anything we'd seen before.

Then Hawaii Decided We Weren't Leaving

The final chapter of our trip got interesting when a hurricane approached the islands right before we were supposed to leave.

The storm crossed the Big Island before weakening to a tropical storm, but Oahu still dealt with some nasty rain and wind, flooding, downed power lines, and uprooted trees in different areas. We were extremely fortunate in Ko Olina and didn't see much of the worst of it, although heading toward the airport later, we definitely saw some wicked aftermath.

Our flight ended up getting delayed, and our vacation was unexpectedly extended a few days.

Stranded in Hawaii?

I've had worse problems. But joking about getting a couple of bonus days in paradise aside, there were a lot of people across the islands who weren't getting an extended vacation; they were dealing with the storm for real.

My thoughts are especially with the folks on the Big Island who took the brunt of it, along with everyone on Maui and across the islands who dealt with flooding, damage, power outages, and everything else that came with the storm.

We were visitors who got to go home. This is their home, and after spending another incredible week surrounded by the beauty of Hawaii and the kindness of its people, that wasn't lost on me.

As for our trip? Sharks, mountains, Jurassic Park, Secret Island, ʻAuana, sunsets, family, food, drinks, laughs, and one hell of a tropical-weather finale.

One hell of a trip. And I'd go back tomorrow.