Thursday, June 21, 2012

Alohaaaaaa.......

Our little family of 4 + 2 set off to Honolulu, Hawaii last week and had a beautiful time. My nephew, Michael joined us and so did our good friend, Heidi. Take a peek at the view from our balcony before we get started chatting.



We stayed at the Waikiki Marriott (www.marriott.com) right in the heart of Waikiki Beach. This hotel is not on the sand but all you have to do is cross the street and you're in the thick of the tide, literally. This locale is a perfect homebase for sight-seeing, wandering, relaxing, and sleeping. Rooms were comfortable and waking up to the sounds and sights of the surf were extraordinary. The weather in Waikiki was typical year-round temps of 85 to 89 degrees with 75 percent humidity during the afternoon. We had rain only one day and glorious sunshine every other day of the week. Hubby and I took an early morning walk each day and weren't too uncomfortably sweaty!


We did many of the touristy things you might want to do in Oahu and I will share those that I can comfortably recommend to you.

We landed before lunch and had originally thought of wandering through Chinatown, but upon arrival changed our plans. I didn't see a lot of places for shopping or dining, so we headed for our hotel and lunched next door at Tiki's Grill and Bar right next door. Great decision - very tasty meals and the wait staff was attentive and knowledgeable. Thank you to our waiter for sending us to RumFire for drinks later that week. Check Tiki's out at www.tikisgrill.com. for menus, location, and hours of operation. Their mai-tais were probably the best we had all week.

Monday ... We stopped into Leonard's (famous bakery) for a malasada. I always say that every culture has some sort of fried dough and this sticky sweet treat is a Portugese-style donut favored here in Hawaii. They come straight up with cinnamon sugar or Hawaiian sugar or filled with custard, guava, lilikoi, or chocolate fudge. Warm and tasty - don't miss 'em. I found Leonard's with the help of my Yelp.com pals and thank them profusely. You can find loads of malasadas and other sugary treats at www.leonardshawaii.com.


Pumped up with sugar we headed out to the Pearl Harbor area; a place I have long wanted to visit. This historical area is an important history lesson for visitors of all ages. Pearl Harbor is a First-come, First-Served National Treasure, so plan your day accordingly. We arrived at 8:00am and received tickets for a 10:00am entry. There is still plenty to see and do if you have to wait, and remember you have to check all your purses, backpacks, and camera bags. At $3, it's not really too bad a deal. We visited the USS Missouri and found it to be a fascinating experience. I've never been on anything other than a cruise ship and the tour below-decks was fascinating. Don't discount this or the Aviation Museum just because they're not as well-known. Your visit to Pearl begins with a lovely video that explains the details leading up to the bombing and some incredible footage. Directly after the video you will proceed to a navy transport out to the actual memorial. Here's a pic of the Memorial Wall located within the memorial.




Lucky for us, we saw a group of people waiting around near the exit and as we peered closer we saw two survivors signing autographs. Here's Alfred Rodriguez signing his name and happy to be doing so ... these men are national heroes!!



Several hours later we headed on over to Hank's Haute Dogs for some of the best hot dogs of our lives. Chorizo dogs, Portugese sausage dogs, old-style Chicago dogs, lobster dogs, chili dogs, and on. You get the idea. I had the Hawaiian dog loaded with mango mustard and pineapple relish. Now, where can I get that here in Phoenix?? My son had the Fat Boy and it was a deep-fried bacon-wrapped tidbit of goodness. Their fries are done up in duck fat (if you choose) as crunchy as you please.

On this particular day of our visit we headed next to Punchbowl, the Cemetery of the Pacific. Call it our World War II day I guess. This gorgeous piece of property has a lovely view and memorials to the veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. It's peaceful and quiet here and a good visit for cemetery lovers. No pics of the graves, but the plumeria trees were blooming everywhere.



Tuesday ... a quick little stop into the Diamond Head Marketplace for a fantastic breakfast. Eggs and bacon and spam and loco moco and ahi with eggs and coconut pancakes and... you get the idea. The grill area is situated next door to a bakery/market with snacks, drinks, and fresh blueberry cream cheese scones that'll rip your arteries to shreds. Try the plantation iced tea with a smidge of pineapple added for sweetness. We loved this place so much that we had to head there after our hike - it was that good and we were that hungry. You will find their info at www.diamondheadmarket.com. When you go there, tell them that their friends from Phoenix sent ya... mahalo. After our first breakfast we drove to the crater that is Diamond Head. This was my favorite thing of our entire trip. Five-hundred and sixty foot ascent with rocky switch-backs and steep staircases to a pinnacle that had an incredibly inspired view of Oahu. Up top was a fabulous old WWII bunker as well that was fun to peek out of. It took me a little over an hour to get up the trail and back down and I was certainly pumping and panting. I'm not in the best shape of my life, but if I can do it... you can too. What a glorious morning. Oh, and Big-time Props to the little lady in her 60's who was hiking the steps up and down and up and down and up and down for exercise without even breaking a sweat. Jeez. Such a great morning deserves a relaxing afternoon and we took it with glee. We spent a bit of time lazing around the pool area, and then headed down to the beach to watch Erin take a surf lesson. One of the best days on vacation... ever.

Take a look at her successes - she was awesome!



Wednesday ... We decided to take a drive up and around to the north shore, encircling the island of Oahu. Stops along the way included the Dole Pineapple Plantation with the world's largest maze; a few small towns with shrimp trucks; the beaches of the North Shore; and an inspirational replica of a Buddhist Temple. Now, the plantation was a ton of fun as we wandered through the maze in a remarkable 37 minutes - Erin was the winner of this race. The place is a bit touristy though but if you're out that way, you should give it a shot. The North Shore was a bit uninspired if you ask me, probably because we were not at the height of the surfing season. The boys loved the garlic shrimp from Macky's though and that was worth half the drive at least.



The best part of the day though was in the Temple of the Gods at the cemetery and Byodo-in Buddhist Temple. Though it was a replica, it was serenely peaceful and a truly spiritual visit for all of us. Gorgeous, right??



Now, I have never ever seen a black swan before so I had to snap a pic of this lovely creature. You can just see the raindrops in the background on the water with the koi fish swimming below.

Thursday ... This day began at Lulu's for breakfast and what a breakfast it was! Exceptional wait staff who are friendly and helpful, with an honestly savory menu. If you're very lucky, they'll create something special for you. Hubby had them mix a bit of spam into his loco moco and they now call it Lulu's Loco Moco. Ask for it if you dare. Hubby finished it no problem - Winning!!!


The eggs benedict with spam was also a taste-treat, as was the french toast and pancakes. The fresh fruit with coconut couldn't have been any fresher. Fresh pineapple... I miss you so much. I cannot imagine a better place to start any day. Maybe the breakfasts are so good here for the local surfers so they can stay out in the water all day. Whatever the reason, I'm in whole-hog. (so to speak.) You can find Lulu's info at www.luluswaikiki.com

Directly across the street from our breakfast at Lulu's is the Honolulu Zoo (www.honoluluzoo.org.) Now, if you've been to the San Diego Zoo or the Dublin Zoo or any other major zoo, you may be expecting something bigger, but that's just not necessary on Oahu. Picture - hilariously wild hollerin' gibbons monkeys, a baby elephant dusting himself, giraffes snacking, big cats, and visitor-friendly exhibits and you've got a great city zoo. If your kiddos are smaller you may spend more time, but we walked the entire place is just about two hours. I can't resist these gorgeous long-necked beasts, can you??


The boys were off to do what boys do, and the girls headed to the Iolani Palace. This beautifully restored Hawaiian palace was the official residence of the Hawaiian monarchy. Who knew there was a monarchy here?? Note to self - pay better attention in history class! Everything you need to know about the palace is on their website at www.iolanipalace.org. Well, almost everything. The parking is hard to find and the ticket booth is around the corner, so keep walking. The lovely ladies of the palace were so pretty and friendly. I loved the little booties we had to wear to protect the floor surfaces of the Iolani Palace. The Koa wood throughout gleams with a magnificent shine and each room was decorated with historical perfection. The basement also houses a few treasures and some before/after pieces of furniture. Be sure to spend a few hours here and marvel at all there is (or was actually.) Iolani Palace is located across the street from other government buildings and a beautiful old Hawaiian church that was built with coral from the depths of the ocean.

As if there wasn't enough goodness at breakfast, Erin and Heidi and I had afternoon tea at the Moana Surfrider Resort. We were calmed by the sounds of the surf and sweet Hawaiian music under an over-sized banyan tree. The chirping birds and the warm summer sunshine on the porch added to the ambience for sure. This was one of the nicest teas I have ever experienced with a choice of eight different aromatic tea varieties to start. Creamy pumpkin soup led the way, followed by treat-sized tea sandwiches of smoked salmon, egg salad, and cucumber cream cheese. The scones were nicely done with lemon curd and devonshire cream, and the petit fours included coconut macaroons, green-tea French macarons, mango cake, and fresh fruit tarts. The lemongrass sorbet that finished us up, truly finished us up. Wow. Make your reservation and find out more here at www.moana-surfrider.com/dining/veranda/. Now, if money were no object (and you know that money is ALWAYS an object) I would stay here at the Surfrider. We came back later in the week for an afternoon cocktail and wandered through the entire place. It has a lovely plantation feel to it and the folks who work here are as gracious as can be. Don't know when or if I'll ever be back, but if I do return.... you'll find me here.

Friday... Our last day took us to Lulu's for breakfast again and then out to the Bishop Museum. This was another historical gem with several buildings on the property. There's a planetarium, sports museum, exhibit hall, and the main building of Hawaiian artifacts. You'll see capes, feathers, crowns, bowls, instruments, and weapons here that are carefully preserved. The tikis (from the 1800's) are marvelous as you can see below. I do love a good Tiki!


We spent several hours here and you might too. The Bishop Museum is also located downtown in a quaint neighborhood. Their website can be found at www.bishopmuseum.org and has info on prices and visiting exhibits as well.

Other highlights in Waikiki... the beach area was really nice and we wandered up and down the strip every single day. Nighttime was a bit kitschy with street performers and a prominent homeless population. We dined at Duke's Waikiki and enjoyed it immensely one afternoon (www.dukeswaikiki.com) dining on burgers, nachos, a terrific plate of fresh ahi, and grilled fish. We also sampled from the Hawaiian Cookie Company each and every day. They have locations all over the island and are almost as numerous as the famous ABC stores, though MUCH tastier. RumFire in the Sheraton Waikiki (www.rumfirewaikiki.com) was one of our favorite evening stops for nicely crafted cocktails. The music was pretty loud here, so if that kind of thing is a bother you may want to get a table further outside on the deck. We also had a great burger at Teddy's Bigger Burger located just around the corner from our hotel. Burgers come in three sizes and several different varieties and were pure bliss. Crowded, loud, limited seating, and kinda dirty, but some of the best burgers around can be found here at www.teddysbiggerburgers.com. We also hung out at our own hotel around the pool area some evenings and loved the pleasant music and accommodating service. What a great week ... Mahalo, Oahu.



Hmmm.... up next I'll be visiting Denver (for the first time) on an anniversary treat with hubby. Twenty-eight years if you're wondering.

Aloha,
:) Deb