HAWAII...HAWAII...HAWAII......My job is forcing me to go to HAWAII

[RICHinNC]

Chepar...yep thats it Peppermill.....thats if they have openings for our time ....wont know for a couple of days. I try to stay as cheap as i can and pocket as much per diem as I can. I am hoping to get my first dive in on the 21st....I think thats a saturday. I arrive Thurs the 19th Jan.....work Friday....hopefully dive Sat.

Thanks for all the input y'all.
rich

 

[ch0ppersrule]

Are they still operating out of the Waikiki location or is it just Hickam now?



They are only on Hickam now (less than 1 mile from my house). They just offer cheaper dives (for military and Kama'aina) is all. I do mostly shore dives. I do maybe 5 boat dives a year (two tankers of course) unless in Cozumel. I think O.C. is the closest though. I am not sure if IDH will do pick ups in Pearl City. Actually I believe they only do pickups in Waikiki.


Melissa

 

[Randy43068]

I know...sometimes life just sucks!!

Anyway.... I am going to be in Hawaii from what looks like 19 Jan to 8 Feb 06 and it looks like I will be staying in the Pearl City area in some apt complex that starts with the word '''Pepper'''.

Do we have any SB member that live in the area and can recommend the closest dive ops to the apt that is decent.....and might like to go diving ???

And, would a shortie be fine there that time of year or would I need a 3mm?
Thanks
Rich

those insensitive bast***** you work for.. why, why, you should just quit!

 

[chepar]

Chepar...yep thats it Peppermill.....thats if they have openings for our time ....wont know for a couple of days. I try to stay as cheap as i can and pocket as much per diem as I can.

Ok, now that you've confirmed that Peppermill's the place - I assume you'll have a rental car for the time you're here. I'm not sure if there's security at that apartment, but I wouldn't leave anything in your car overnight.

I wouldn't go as far to say that the neighborhood is dodgy - but there's a number of cheap apartments in the area and the level of burglary/petty crime might be something to be aware of.

 

[Wildcard]

Chepar...yep thats it Peppermill.....thats if they have openings for our time ....wont know for a couple of days. I try to stay as cheap as i can and pocket as much per diem as I can. I am hoping to get my first dive in on the 21st....I think thats a saturday. I arrive Thurs the 19th Jan.....work Friday....hopefully dive Sat.

Thanks for all the input y'all.
rich

There should be lots of openings as we are laying off 10-12 people that live there.

 

[chepar]

There should be lots of openings as we are laying off 10-12 people that live there.

Have any of them mentioned to you any problems with vandalism/burglary/petty theft in the area?

The family of a friend of mine owns one of those low rise apartment buildings nearby - he says it's an on/off problem that they deal with. Usually the tenants are relatively short term - sometimes everyone's great, then sometimes they just get a couple of bad apples that give the area a hard time until they move on.

 

[RICHinNC]

I have heard a little talk. If anyone knows where we can stay for under $70 a night that has a kitchenette....and is close to the army base.....pls let me know. We have 6 guys coming in over different time schedules....

 

[chepar]

I have heard a little talk. If anyone knows where we can stay for under $70 a night that has a kitchenette....and is close to the army base.....pls let me know. We have 6 guys coming in over different time schedules....

Given this criteria, I think you'll have a hard time finding anything else. But if you have 6 guys coming in, you might be able to negotiate a little with some other places.

I've never stayed at any of these places, I just did a little bit of digging:

Harbor Shores Apartment Hotel - www.harbor-shores.com. This is located in the Pearl Harbor area, so it's close. However, their website seems to indicate they only have 2 bedroom apartments - if everyone is on a different schedule to come over, that might not work. It's only $95 per night, though.

Polynesian Plaza - www.polynesianplaza.com. Located in Waikiki, so it's in town and not close to Schofield. $505 per week, so just a tad over your $70 per day limit. You might be able to negotiate lower if you're trying to book 6 rooms.

The Ohana Maile Sky Court - www.ohanahotels.com - in Waikiki, has kitchenettes. Sidestep.com prices it at around $80 per night, but not including taxes.

If price AND location are the most important factors in where you stay, you probably won't do better than the Peppermill. I think if you're aware and take normal precautions, it should be ok. The fact that you want proximity away from town and closer to Schofield makes available choices much more limited.

 

[JanR]

All/Rich,

My family will be in Oahu during the same time. Fortunately, my sister-in-law (affectionately refered to as "lodging") is getting promoted during this time and my wife's parents (affectionately refered to as "babysitters") will also be there for the duration.

We are taking advantage of this time to get some diving in as well and are very seriously considering getting our AOW (PLEASE, I've read all of the threads on "AOW too early" already). In addtion to that, we are looking forward to some shore diving (a first for us--all of our dives so far have been off of RIBs) in the early morning at Hanamua or elsewhere.

Anyone have suggestions on AOW instructors?? We have also been pointed to either Island Divers who seem to be very reasonable as well as Ocean Concepts.

Besides Hanama (sp) Bay, suggestions for nice shore diving in the area this time of year??

As for exposure suits, I've now heard everything from "t-shirts" to 7 mil full jump suits (interesting, no dry suits mentioned ) We're thinking of bringing 5mm jump suits...would it be better to bring 7mm for this time of year????

Thanks in advance.

Jan

 

[chepar]

Besides Hanama (sp) Bay, suggestions for nice shore diving in the area this time of year??

As for exposure suits, I've now heard everything from "t-shirts" to 7 mil full jump suits (interesting, no dry suits mentioned ) We're thinking of bringing 5mm jump suits...would it be better to bring 7mm for this time of year????

I'm not really a fan of shore diving this time of the year - but besides Hanauma, there are several shore diving sites that are generally considered "diveable" during the late fall/winter. There are the Lanai Lookout/Blowhole dives and Portlock - but given your number of total dives, I wouldn't attempt these.

Electric Beach on the west side is generally diveable year round, but there are concerns with that dive site also - namely, car break ins. If you have someone on the surface watching your car, then it can be a decent dive. It's actually a very easy dive, but I wouldn't attempt it if the surf is higher than 2-3 feet, though - everytime I've dived there in those conditions the vis is crap and there's really strong current moving east down the shore.

As far as your wetsuit - it depends on what you can tolerate, really. Water temps then will probably average in the low to mid 70s - I'm looking for a 5 mil to use during the winter - I still get cold in my 5/3. There is someone I know who dives year round in just swim trunks - don't know how he does it - he's an instructor with a dive op and sometimes does up to 5 dives a day, too.