2024 Trip 1, Part 2 – Oahu, Hawaii with the Webers

This post covers the last four days of our eight-day trip to Oahu, Hawaii with our great friends the Webers.

Day 5

We woke up to this view from our lanai.

This was significant because it meant the rain had moved on. With the dry weather, Cindy and I went on a 1 1/2 mile walk around the harbor, while Todd did his usual 7-8 mile walk around the city. During Cindy and my walk around the harbor, we found our dream boat. It’s a bit of a fixer, but how hard could it be to fix up?

After our walks, we all went to find a “secret” adult pool on the Hilton hotel property. We were told it was on the fourth floor of the Ali Tower. When we got off of the elevator on the fourth floor, there was no pool, only rooms. We found an employee who directed us to the second floor, where there was a pool. I don’t know how much of a secret it was, but it was not that crowded. And it had some very nice views.

After spending all morning at the pool, we had lunch at the Tropics Bar and Grill on the property. As usual, it was very good. We spent some more time by the main pool, then returned to our room to freshened up. We Uber’ed to the Ala Moana outdoor mall and did some shopping. We finished the visit with dinner at the The Bar by R. Field Wine Company, located inside the Foodland Farms grocery store. Yes, a bar inside a grocery store that you can also eat at. Genius! The girls had some wine while Todd and I tried some of the craft beer.

We started the meal with a charcuterie board that was very good. We followed that up with some crispy Calamari. There were some small deep-fried whole octopus on the tray, complete with tentacles. I was afraid to try them at first. When I finally did try one, it was delicious. That is something I will eat again.

We finished off our meal with some pizza, that was also delicious. We really enjoyed our time at the bar in a grocery store and it earned a link for that fact alone. The delicious food was just a great bonus. We took an Uber back to our hotel and had a nightcap at the Tropics Bar and Grill. We all had some tropical drinks that were delicious.

Day 6

Day six was Saturday, a day Cindy, Edie and I had been specially preparing for during the month before the trip. We had scheduled a hike to the summit of Diamond Head. The hike is only 1 1/2 miles round trip, but there is almost 600 feet of elevation gain in that short distance, and hundreds of stairs as well. We were up early and took an UBER to Diamond Head State Monument so we could conquer our hike. Our driver dropped us off well before the entrance to the park. He said they did not allow Uber drivers inside the tunnel. This turned out to not be true. So we had to walk 1/2 a mile just to get to the start of our hike. Here we are at the start of the hike with our summit goal in the distance.

The hike was steep, but very doable for all of us. We took our time and enjoyed the sights. Here are some pictures of the scenery on our way up.

Here are some pictures of the trail.

We were plugging along and very confident we were going to make the summit when an older Asian man and woman started to walk past us. We ended up talking to them and the man was 84 and his wife was 81. And they were cooking on the trail and were definitely going to summit before us. Then they had to add the kicker. This wasn’t their first time doing this. As a matter of fact, they did it almost every day. That was it. We also kicked it up a notch and even thought the older couple finished ahead of us, no one else did. We summitted with strength. Here are some of the views we saw.

We all made it to the top and were feeling pretty good. Then it was time to head back down.

Once we got back down to the bottom, everyone was feeling pretty good except for my knees. They were on fire. But I made it up and back. We ordered an UBER and surprise of all surprises; he was able to drive into the park and pick us up. Clearly the first driver was a jackwagon and hosed us. Our better driver drove us to Marugame Udan, across the street from the International Market Place. We had to try and get lunch there because Cindy had watched close to a million YouTube videos about Oahu and almost every one of them said to eat at Marugame Udan. We had passed this place a few times earlier on our trip and it had a line around the block each time. When we arrived right after it opened at 10 am, the line was just outside of the door.

We jumped into the line and were inside very quickly.

We were able to watch them hand make their noodles on site and cook them to order. Were they good? No, they were outstanding. Link worthy actually, so use it to get the best Udon noodles you have ever tasted.

You would think that when Cindy insisted on eating here, she would have had the Udon, but she did not. She had the tempura items.

And they were just as delicious as the Udon. This is an absolute must eat at place when in Waikiki. If you do not try Marugame Udon, you are missing out on a great meal. We walked back to our hotel, rested up, then got ready for our first-class sunset dinner cruise. We all got dressed up, and took an Uber to our dinner cruise.

When we were seated, there was a charcuterie board already at our table.

It was delicious. Here is the second best looking couple on the cruise.

And of course, the best looking couple on the cruise. We heard we were voted the best-looking couple because I wore my SpongeBob Hawaiian shirt.

The food was top notch. We had a steak and lobster combo that was really good. And the dessert bites were very good as well.

After dinner, it was time for the sunset.

After viewing the beautiful sunset, we went back to our table and watched the jazz pianist, singer, and flutist.

On our return to the harbor, this was our view of the city.

We had a blast on our cruise and it more than deserves a link. If you want a great dinner sunset cruise, or a whale watching cruise, check with the Star of Honolulu before anyone else. There is a link below.

Day 7

The day started off as another beautiful rain free day. We got up and while Todd did his usual 7–8 mile walk, Cindy and decided to walk to the point of Ala Moana Park, a place we could see from our lanai.

Our total walk would end up being about 3.5 miles, but we felt up to it. Along the way, we saw all of these people getting into canoe like boats and paddling out into the bay.

From the point of the park, we could see surfers, the ocean, and our hotel.

We even saw a Red Crested Cardinal.

On our walk back, we stopped at an outdoor restaurant area that had a fake wave with a surfboard. Of course, we had to take a few pictures.

Another thing we had come across many times and saw again were the crazy intersections. They were of the type where all the lights would cycle red and you could cross the streets in any direction. It made walking around easier, and the traffic a little slower.

Once back at the hotel, we all put our bathing suits on and headed to the pool. Once we were comfortable, it immediately clouded over and sprinkled lightly on and off for several hours.

The delicious bloody marys we drank made it easier to tolerate the weird weather. We had lunch at Tropics again and it was still really good. The girls returned to our room while Todd and I went to the Enterprise car rental place on the Hilton property to rent a car for the next day. The process was very fast and easy and all we had to do was show up to a certain floor of the parking structure the next day and pick up our car. Todd and I returned to our room and we all had some charcuterie and wine we had purchased at the Foodland Farms grocery store in the Ala Moana outdoor mall. Later that evening, we took an Uber to Uncle Bo’s Pupu Bar and Grill. We had several locals tell us we had to eat at Uncle Bo’s, so we did.

We started with Uncle Bo’s Big Nachos, which was wanton chips covered in ham, kalua pig, onions, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese. It was good, but not the best thing I have ever eaten.

This pretty much described the rest of the meal. It was good, just not great. So, there is no link for them. We returned to our hotel, had some desert at the Tropics Grill and called it a night.

Day 8

Day 8 was a Monday, the day we decided to rent a car and do a self-guided tour around the island. We arrived at the designated floor in the parking structure and there was a line to pick up cars. We were third in line, but unfortunately, there was only one person assigning the cars and it was a slow process. It took about 45 minutes to get our car. That really wasn’t too bad, but it seemed unnecessary since we had already booked and paid for the car. That cost them a link. Once we received our car, we were off to Leonard’s Bakery, famous for their malasadas, a Portuguese donut without a hole, and pao doce, a Portuguese sweet bread.

The malasadas were delicious. We did not try any of the pao doce, but they looked delicious as well. If you are looking for a great place to get some baked good and delicious malasadas, use the link below to get to Leonard’s Bakery. Our next stop was at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. This is a must stop when on Oahu. You must stop here not only to honor our brave soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, but also because it is a beautiful place to visit.

Here is how it is described on their website. “The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is in an extinct volcano near the center of Honolulu, Hawaii. On either side of the grand stairs leading to the memorial are eight courts of the missing on which are inscribed the names of the 18,095 American World War II missing from the Pacific, excluding those from the southwest Pacific, and 8,210 American missing from the Korean War. These names were listed on the Korean War Courts of the Missing at the time of the dedication in 1966. Two half courts have been added at the foot of the staircase that contain the names of 2,504 Americans missing from the Vietnam War. At the top of the stairs is a chapel flanked by galleries containing mosaic maps and descriptions of the achievements of the American armed forces in the central and south Pacific regions and in Korea.”

In case you didn’t do the math, there were originally 28,809 names of missing American soldiers from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. That is a sobering number. The good news is with today’s technology and DNA advancements, they are identifying unknown remains on a regular basis. Here is a wall with unknown soldiers who have been identified over time.

All of the dots are unknown remains that have been identified. Here is another interesting thing about the cemetery; it is full right now, but every time an unknown soldier is identified, the family is notified and if they chose to have the remains moved, that opens up a spot for one of the military personal on the waiting list to be buried there. And it happens quite often. Here are some pictures from the memorial.

Here are some pictures from the mosaics of the Vietnam and Korean wars.

Look at the detail that was placed into these mosaics. It was amazing.

Hands down, this is a must stop when on Oahu. Of course there is a link at the end of this post.

Our next stop was at the Ko Hana Distillery, in the center area of the island.

They distill rum from sugar cane that is grown on the island. At their distillery, they have rum tastings, so of course we had to try some. It was top notch rum and not only can we recommend their rum products, but we can also recommend a visit to this distillery via the link below. After our delicious rum adventure, we were off in search of lunch. We ended up at some roadside food trucks that fit the bill. Were they link worthy? Not even close, but their food was fine and it filled us up.

With stomachs full of average truck food, we were off to the North Shore Macadamia Nut Company.

Here you could get your own macadamia nuts and crack and eat them.

They were fresh and delicious. This is a recommended stop so there is a link at the end of this post. Almost across the street was Haleiwa Beach Park, a place we were thought we thought we may see some sea turtles. Even if there were no sea turtles, the view was pretty nice. Here is the view.

The views were amazing, and we eventually saw a sea turtle swimming near us.

We headed up the coast a bit and got to see some sea turtles sunning themselves on the beach.

As we headed back toward Honolulu, we stopped in the town of Haleiwa for some shopping and snacks. Our snack stop was at Matsumoto Shave Ice.

This is a very popular stop and there was a line that was halfway around the outside of the building.

Even though the line was long, it moved very fast because of how organized their system was. There were several menus on the way to the cashier and you were expected to know what you wanted when you reached the cashier. You ordered and paid there and walked by their shave ice “assembly line” where you could watch your treat being made.

At the end of the line, you were handed your shave ice and you left the store to eat it outside. Here I am with my tasty treat and Todd is admiring his behind me.

I don’t know if their shave ice is any better than anyone else’s, because it is basically ice with flavoring on it. Not a super hard or complicated thing to make. But the overall experience was fun, so they earned a link. Use it to try some for yourself. We made it back to our hotel just in time to see another sunset.

We got ready for dinner and headed off to the International Market Place again for dinner at Herringbone.

There were two interesting “puffer fish” trees by the entrance.

The food and service were outstanding. I had the fish special which was a grilled tuna steak on a bed of calamari and asparagus. It was off the chart great. Todd had a grilled fish dish as well and he loved it. Both Edie and Cindy had the lobster roll and once again their meals were a hit.

The Herringbone Restaurant was very link worthy. You know where to find it.

Day 9

After a great trip, it was time to pack it up and head home. We took our shuttle to the airport and after getting through security smoothly, we had lunch at the PGA Tour Grill. They had food with golf related names and the food was average at best. What do you expect at a restaurant in the terminal of an airport. Our flight was fine, but there were a few screaming children near us they were loud off and on. I had my earphones on and really wasn’t bothered by it. When we landed at LAX, it was raining. This was the first time I have ever boon on a plane that landed while it was raining. Luckily, everything when well. We took our shuttle back to the Parking Spot, and Todd drove us all home.

The next posts will cover Cindy and I traveling back to Missouri for a 3 1/2 month stay. Aloha until then!

LINKS

Diamond Head State Monument

Marugame Udan

Star of Honolulu

Leonard’s Bakery

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

Ko Hana Distillery

North Shore Macadamia Nut Company

Matsumoto Shave Ice

Herringbone Restaurant

2024 Trip 1, Part 1 – Oahu, Hawaii with the Webers

This post covers the first four days of our eight-day trip to Oahu, Hawaii with our great friends the Webers.

Day 1

Day 1 is usually our travel day, and this trip was no exception. We all got up early and headed off to Los Angeles International Airport. Todd and Edie now have the pre-check, so we all got to go through the easy line together. At least it was easy for Cindy, Edie, and I. The TSA agent told Todd he had “three random activations.” None of us knew what that meant other than Todd had to go thru several more detailed checks and searches. When they told him the final step was a colonoscopy, I had to laugh while thinking that seemed like a bit too much. Better him than me. Once Todd rejoined us, we were off to our gate. We flew Southwest again and all I can say is I really like Southwest. We had low boarding numbers and ended up sitting in one of the emergency exit rows. This meant we had extra leg room. The downside to the emergency exit row is your seat does not recline, but I’ll give that up for the extra leg room. The flight was smooth and the shuttle we had pre-arranged through Viator was waiting for us. Here is a great tip for travelers around the world. Always check Viator for tours, shuttles, and activities. We have used them several times now and they are a great travel website. I have included a link in the usual place so you can try it out for yourself. The shuttle took us to our check in area for the Hilton Hawaiian Village, and of course we were very early and could not check in.

We checked our bags and went in search of lunch. We ended up at the Blue Water Shrimp and Seafood Market within the village.

This was a walk up and order at the counter type of place. After ordering, we found an empty table with an umbrella and waited for our food. Cindy ordered the Coconut Shrimp and I had the special, fried scallops in a special sauce. As we were eating our lunch, it rained pretty hard for about 10 minutes, then cleared up. That table umbrella really came in handy.

The food was delicious and Blue Water earned a link. Use it for a tasty meal. We still had some time before we could check in and passed it by visiting a little hole in the wall bar called Susie Wong’s Hideaway. Todd found the bar on Yelp. He has the incredible ability to find the neatest bars and speakeasys in any area. He has never led us wrong, and this was no exception.

This bar was so cool, they allowed packs of dogs to hang out.

The dogs were well behaved, the drinks were good, and Susie Wong’s earned a link. Use it to visit and see for yourself. After our delicious beverages, our room was finally ready and we checked in. We had a two bedroom that was above the family pool and had a great ocean and harbor view from the lanai.

As we got ready for dinner, it started to storm and rain. The rain was blowing sideways and was really coming down. Our original plan was to walk a mile and a half to the Ala Moana Center. There we could get dinner and some groceries for the rest of the week. But the rain was putting the walking part of that plan in jeopardy. It stopped raining when we were ready to go, so we headed out with umbrellas in hand. The umbrellas turned out to be useful as it lightly rained on us on our way to the mall. We made it to the mall, and it was amazing. Here are a few facts about the Ala Moana Center. It is Hawaii’s largest shopping mall and the world’s largest open-air shopping center. It has more than 340 stores and over 80 restaurants. There are also national department stores like Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom We went for the dining options first and one of our options was to eat at Mr Cow, which was a lot of corn dog type options.

I chose to pass and ate some noodle soup while Cindy had some teriyaki chicken. Todd and Edie ate something different as well and we all got something we liked. After eating, we went to the supermarket, Foodland Farms, and stocked up on groceries. Foodland Farms was the most unique grocery store I have ever visited. In the center of the store is a wine bar that also serves appetizer type foods and pizzas. All I can say is it is about time they put a wine bar in a grocery store.

Ala Moana Center is a must visit when on Oahu. See the link below. We took a cab back to our place and unloaded the groceries. Todd and I headed out to the local bar on the property, Tropics Bar and Grill, for a night cap. We found a place at the bar, and each ordered a Tropical Breeze, a drink with 151 rum, bourbon, dark rum, orange curacao, passion fruit, and angostura bitters. To say it was strong would be an understatement.

We finished our drinks and headed back to our room, ending our first day on the island.

Day 2

We woke up to a beautiful ocean view from our lanai.

After eating some breakfast, we all walked along the beach path until we ended up at the International Market Place. The International Market Place is another open-air shopping, dining and entertainment destination like Ala Moana, only much smaller. They have over 90 stores, and at least a dozen restaurants, several of which we would try on this trip. The landscaping is very lush and almost jungle like.

At one of the entrances, is an iconic banyan tree that is more than a century old.

We stopped at the Liliha Bakery, which is a restaurant and bakery.

They are known for their Poi Mochi Donut, so of course I had to try one.

It looked like a bracelet from the Flintstones, with a purple inside. That would be the Poi. It tasted interesting. I’ll leave it at that. I would not specifically order one again, but if someone gave me one for free, I would eat it. The International Market Place is another must visit so use the link at the end of this post. We walked back to our hotel, a 2.5 mile round trip walk. We all freshened up so we could go to our appointment to visit the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Before we left, we got to watch the fire department take their boat out of the harbor. That was something I have never seen before.

We took an Uber to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center.

We walked around and looked at the displays while we waited for our turn to take the boat to the Arizona Memorial. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained.

The Navy operates the boats that take you out to the memorial.

The USS Arizona sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. The memorial straddles the sunken ship as you can see in this ariel photo.

DoD photo by: PH3(AW/SW) JAYME PASTORIC, USN

The ship is the final resting place for 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. From the memorial platform, you can see several parts of the submerged vessel.

It is a very humbling experience, but amazing at the same time. Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial are must visits when on Oahu, so use the link below to plan your visit.

Our next stop was lunch at Salt at Our Kaka’ako. Cindy and I were under the impression Our Kaka’ako was an artsy neighborhood with shops and restaurants, and Salt was one of the restaurants. That was not correct. The artsy shopping area was called Salt at Our Kara’ako.

We ended up eating at Butcher and Bird, which overlooked the main plaza area shown above.

I had a pastrami and sauerkraut sandwich with chips and pickles. Everything was made in house and was delicious.

While this is not a must visit, you should try and visit if you are not pressed for time. It barely earned a link that is in the usual place. We walked back to our hotel, rested and got ready for dinner. Before we left, we watched a beautiful sunset.

After a full day of walking, we were all walked out, except for Todd. We took an Uber to the International Market Place for dinner. The marketplace was just as interesting this time.

We had reservations at Eating House 1849, a Ray Yamaguchi restaurant. This was supposed to be a big deal and an outstanding restaurant with mostly farm to table entrees. Here is how they describe themselves on their website. “THE EATING HOUSE 1849 PAYS HOMAGE TO HAWAII’S VIBRANT CULINARY HERITAGE, USING WHAT WAS AVAILABLE FROM LOCAL FARMERS, RANCHERS, FORAGERS AND FISHERMEN. IT’S HERE THAT AWARD-WINNING CHEF ROY YAMAGUCHI BLENDS THESE TWO WORLDS: THE EASY AMBIANCE AND SIMPLE FLAVORS OF A PLANTATION TOWN WITH BOLD MODERN CUISINE.” We would see.

The meal started with steamed and seasoned edamame. I had a drink named, “The Friendly Fire.” It contained Tanteo Jalapeno Tequila, fresh lime juice, cucumber, with a smoked salt rim. The edamame and drink were outstanding.

It was on to dinner. I had the Plantation Style Paella Rice Stew. I have always wanted to try paella and this was it. It had lobster, Portuguese sausage, chorizo, shrimp, and clams in a rice stew.

To say it was delicious would be an understatement. I loved it, as did everyone else with their meals. Cindy had the 50th State Fried Chicken, Edie had a grilled swordfish steak, and Todd had the Fried Mahi Mahi.

This is an absolute must visit. It would have earned two links, but you only need one to find it and visit yourself. This amazing meal ended our second night on the island.

Day 3

Todd and I golf almost every Sunday, and a few weekdays here and there, when we are both in California. We talked about golfing when we were on the Big Island, but it never happened. That made us determined to golf on this trip. We ultimately chose Hawaii Kai Golf Course, on the eastern point of the island. We chose Hawaii Kai because they provided rental clubs, were not outrageously priced (but still not cheap), were close to the ocean, and a reasonable distance from our hotel. We took an Uber to the course and were early for our t-time. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They loaded our rental clubs onto our cart and the clubs were brand new Calaway clubs, a pleasant surprise. The course was very nice and a few of the holes had views of the ocean. It seemed like a lot of locals played the course, with very few tourists. Here are some pictures from our round.

After our round, we ate lunch at the cafe at the course and the food was pretty darn good. We had a really good time at the course and can recommend it. There is a link in the usual place. If you are interested in golfing in Hawaii and want to golf at one of the ocean front high end courses, be prepared to pay up to $500 a round, before rental clubs. Also make sure your course has rental clubs, or you will need to use an off-site club rental company. After lunch, we returned to our hotel and met the ladies who were lounging by the pool. We joined them, had a few drinks, and eventually made our way back to our room to freshen up for dinner. We had dinner reservations at Monkeypod, which was less than a mile walk from our hotel.

Our table was in the middle of the restaurant, but we could still see the ocean.

The service and views were outstanding. It was going to come to the food to see if Monkeypod earned to coveted link. I had the house special of the day, Deep Sea Tacos. It was three fish tacos, one Mahi Mahi, one Hapu’upu’u (sea Bass), and one Ahi Tuna, all grilled with fresh pico de gallo. Cindy had the Kalua Pork & Pineapple Pizza, which had Kalua Pork, macnut pesto, roasted pineapple, jalapeño, and green onion.

Both dishes were outstanding. Todd also had the Kalua Pork & Pineapple Pizza, and Edie had a grilled Swordfish. Their meals were equally outstanding. Use the link below and make a reservation to eat at Monkeypod. The reservation is necessary, trust me. On our short walk home, there was a group of bicyclists who had neon on their bikes. It was fun to watch them ride by us.

We finished the walk to our hotel and went to bed early because we had to get up early the next day for a 10-hour guided tour.

Day 4

We got up early for a 10-hour escorted tour around the island. It was the All Inclusive Ultimate Circle Island Day Tour with Lunch and Waterfall and we booked it via Viator. They already have a link below, so use it to book your own tour. Our tour was on a bus of about 50 people, which I did not know and would not have been my first choice. I prefer the smaller tours of 20 people or less, We were picked up in the middle of the pickup route, so we still had a decent amount of people to pick up. Once it seemed all of the pickups were done, we headed off toward our first stop. Our tour guide was a post graduate college student named Brandon who had a master’s degree in microbiology, and was working on his doctorate. He was an outstanding tour guide and made the trip very enjoyable. We started by driving by several movie star homes. After about 15 minutes, we turned around because they forgot 3 people. So, our tour had a very slow start. We were finally really off and our first stop was at the Halona Blowhole on the east side of the island. When we arrived, the scenery was beautiful.

Unfortunately, it was low tide and the blow hole was not blowing. That was the bad news. The good news was not only did we get to see whales swimming off the coast, several of them breached. It was amazing and Brandon said he had spent his entire life on Oahu and that was the first time he had ever seen that from the shoreline. I couldn’t get a picture of the breaching, but got a few of the whales.

Our next stop was the Nu’uanu Point lookout. It overlooks the areas of Kāneʻohe, Kailua, and Mokoliʻi.

Stop three was at The Byodo-In Temple. It is a Japanese non-practicing Buddhist Temple that welcomes people of all faiths to worship, meditate or simply appreciate its beauty.

There was a Buddha statue in the main building where you had to take your shoes off to enter.

We bought some bird food and I fed the birds.

Yes, I’m the bird whisperer. And the guy with bird poop on his hand. Next, we rang the Bon-sho (Sacred Bell).

When you rang the bell, you gently pulled the rope and released it to make the bell make a soothing “gong” sound. Cindy, Todd, and I all did a pretty good job. Edie was a little overzealous and really smacked the bell. I believe the entire west coast of the US heard her “gong.” The next stop on the tour was for lunch at Tanaka Kahuku Shrimp on the north side of the island. We ate garlic and spiced shrimp that were still in the shell. It was a bit on the messy side, but was pretty good. Not link worthy mind you, but pretty good. With semi full bellies, we went to our next stop, a short (about 3/4 of a mile each way) hike in the Waimea Valley to see the Waimea Falls. As we got off the bus, it started to lightly rain. We all had raincoats and Cindy and Edie had umbrellas, so we were fine. On the hike to the falls, it was a little cooler than it usually is in Hawaii. Somewhere in the low 60’s. With the rain added to that, it was a little chilly, but bearable. We finely made it to the falls and they were beautiful.

You will notice in the above pictures, people are swimming in the pond at the base of the falls. Cindy and I did that the last time we visited several years ago. Our tour guide warned against doing this as the ponds beneath waterfalls collect a lot of microbes and contaminants from upstream, let alone all of the contaminants from the swimmers. Yuck. Thanks for ruining that for us Brandon. Here are Cindy and I in front of the falls right before it started to rain really hard.

As the skies opened up, Cindy grabbed her umbrella, mumbled about seeing a coffee shop near the entrance, and was off down the trail, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. Todd, Edie and I did not see her again until we found her near the entrance drinking a cup of coffee. It continued to rain at the entrance, but at least we were under cover and stayed dry.

The Waimea Valley is definitely worth the visit, and you could easily spend half of a day there. It costs $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and students, and $15 for kids up to 12. If you need more information, you can use the link at the end of this post. Our last stop was at the Dole Plantation. This is everything pineapple you can imagine. I got a pineapple whip, which is a dairy-free soft serve frozen desert that was very good. They also have a lot of outdoor activities and tours that we passed on since it was still raining. While the Dole Plantation is not a must stop, it is still a fun stop and very family friendly. Use the link at the end of this post if you want to check it out for yourself. We were returned to our hotel where we changed for dinner. We took an Uber back to the International Market Place and ate at the Liliha Bakery. They are not only a bakery, but a top-notch restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.