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.
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.
Todd and I had the Oxtail soup, and Edie and Cindy had Cobb salads with grilled chicken.
The food was outstanding and more than link worthy. You know where to find it. This ended our fourth day on the island.
The next post will cover our last four days on Oahu. Stay dry until then.
LINKS