Hawaii

Aloha, family!

I went to Hawaii with my travel buddies Ben & Lindsay Schilaty, and Dianna Nichols. Adam came, too. We went to the island of Oahu for a week, and stayed with Kim, a friend of Ben's. 

 

We did a lot on this trip. We all like to do different things, and we tried to pack it all in.

Tuesday, July 12th

Adam and I left my parents' house in Denver at 3:30am. We flew to LAX, had a layover of several hours, then flew to Honolulu. Lindsay and Dianna had arrived before us, and Ben was arriving about an hour after us. Lindsay and Dianna had our rental car and were out doing errands, so Adam and I found a lovely garden within the airport to hang out in while we were waiting. 

 

Garden within the airport!

Once we were all together, we drove to a famous bakery, first getting lunch next door, and then picking up some malsadas, which are some kind of Portuguese donut.  Then we drove to Koko Head crater, which has a defunct tram rail leading up to the summit which people can climb like stairs. I knew I was not going to want to do that, so I took my book and wandered around the park while Ben, Lindsay, Adam, and Dianna climbed. I saw lots of new birds, and also discovered that a colony of feral cats lives there. When it started to rain I sat in the car and read about the feral cat problem on the internet, as I watched a woman walk along feeding all of the cats. Also a lot of mongooses came out to eat, which are also a problem on the island. When it stopped raining, I went to the foot of the stairs and waited for folks to come back down. 

Koko Head Crater 'trail'

I was going to walk up this street, but the feral cats made me think twice

 

When we had all regrouped at the bottom, we drove to Laie, on the north side of the island, where Kim lives. We got to her house about 9pm, which was 1am Denver time, which means Adam and I had been awake for about 23 hours straight- I napped pretty well on the plane, but we were still very ready for bed. 

Wednesday, July 13

I slept so well, and I slept for about 10 hours. We walked a couple doors down from Kim's house to the Hukilau Cafe and got brunch- I got a beef teryaki with rice and potatoes breakfast dish, which really hit the spot. We sat in Kim's backyard and ate and chatted. 

After brunch we headed to Waimea falls. We walked about a mile up through the gardens, which were lovely, to the falls. At the falls, you put on a life jacket, and can swim in the natural pool at the bottom. It was a hot day and the falls were popular. I swam for just a bit. Our group of five walked back down together, and took pictures of the flowers and plants along the way. 

 

We had tickets for a luau at the bottom of the gardens, so we first got to see some 'traditional' Polynesian activities like Poi, coconut husking, etc. They did a traditional cooking demonstration for us, and then we went to our tables, inside a pavilion. There was a greeting ceremony that was kind of fun, and then we were served our meal. I thought it was very good. We had Hawaiian sweet rolls, pork, Hawaiian BBQ chicken, a macaroni salad, fresh fruits which included a coconut gelatin, green salad, and a slice of coconut cake for dessert. After the meal they did a show which had dances and stories from all over Polynesia- Samoa, Tonga, etc. The show included a fire juggling demonstration at the end. I enjoyed the show. When the show was over, we went back into the gardens and wandered around for about another hour. 

Photo by Ben

 

 

Photo by Adam

We went back to Kim's house and then went right out on an evening walk. We went down to the beach by her house, and Ben and Lindsay swam a bit. We watched some local kids bring a tall ladder into the ocean to make a jumping platform. Then we walked over to the LDS temple and walked up the hill behind it which has a good view of Laie. We got caught in the rain for a bit, then walked around to the front of the temple to see it from that side, then came home. 

Observing the sea near Kim's house: Adam, Lindsay, Ben, Kim, Dianna

Photo by Ben

Thursday, July 14

This morning we took an adventure to Goat Island. Kim's son, Kaleb, came to get us and we walked up the beach to a point where you can walk across a very shallow, rocky channel, and come to an island (Mokuauia Islet Seabird Sanctuary).The walk across was pretty difficult, because the rocks are uneven and sharp, and you can't really see that well. Dianna had a very hard time getting across. I did okay, but it was tough, and I did cut my knee once when I fell. When we got to the island, Adam and I explored the beachy part. It is a nesting site for Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, and we saw lots of them sitting on ground nests in the green grassy part of the island, which was amazing. We watched these teeny little white crabs run across the sand sideways, really quickly! We collected some shells and coral and looked at the rocky part of the island. After a while we all went back, which was a little easier this time because I used an inflatable boogie board as my balance board. 

We got cleaned up and drove up to a food truck area nearby. So many choices! Most of us decided to get shrimp from Giovanni's, which is apparently quite a famous food truck. I got half lemon butter and half garlic, and it was delicious. Great decision. After this we went over and got Hawaiian shave ice, also very good! 

In the afternoon we went to Shark's Cove (Pupukea Beach), to go snorkeling. I went with Adam, Ben, Lindsay, and Kim to the deep part while Dianna set up camp under the trees and watched our stuff. I tried the goggles and looked underwater at the fish a couple times, but I didn't like it very much because I was getting slammed into rocks and cut myself again. So I went back to where Dianna was and lay on a towel and read my book. After a while, they came back, and I tried the goggles again in a shallower pool. It was okay, but the pools there were quite crowded with people, and I don't love having my head underwater, so I didn't do too much looking around. We all regrouped, and then the adventuresome Four decided to walk to a place nearby and jump off the rocks, and Dianna and I decided to stay on our towels and read. Another good decision! 

Shark's Cove

 

They came back, we went home and took showers, and then we went to a shopping mall strip nearby for dinner. I got a teriyaki pineapple burger from Seven Brothers, and Ben got a burger there too, where he was recognized by the only other customers in the restaurant, and he chatted with them for a while, as he does with all his fans.

Everyone else got their food from a Chinese place and we ate at some nice tables set outside the strip mall. Then we went over to the Polynesian Cultural Center and got ice cream at a place called Sweet As, which is one of the many stalls and vendors they have outside the PCC in the 'Hukilau Marketplace'. I just got an empty waffle cone. It was bit stale.  

Friday, July 15

Another great night's sleep. I'm sleeping so well here. Maybe it's Kim's huge king-sized bed, or the pillow-top mattress, or the cool air, but it's great. 

I grabbed some French Toast from the cafe and all 6 of us headed to Honolulu. First stop was Diamond Head State Monument, which is a crater you drive into and then hike to the top of. It was hot and there were a lot of people hiking up. The top was cool, very neat views and some WWII bunker infrastructure to walk through. But it was a really hot hike. 

Yay! We did it!

 

A view from the top of Diamond Head

Then we drove to Waikiki and got takeaway sushi and poke bowls for lunch, and sat on Waikiki beach to eat. Lindsay needed to buy closed-toed shoes for the ebike tour tomorrow, so she went to look for shoes and the rest of us visited the Moana Surfrider Hotel, an historic hotel. We looked at their old photos and artifacts, and sat out on the veranda. When Lindsay got back, we drove home, about an hour and 20 minutes. 

Waiting in Waikiki

 

Quick turnaround, and we were off to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Ben got us steeply discounted tickets through a friend that works there. We started by visiting the 'islands' which is a kind of EPCOT type cultural experience. There are islands for Tonga, Tahiti, New Zealand (Ao Tearoa), Fiji, Samoa, and Hawaii.  Each island has shows, activities, and demonstrations, put on by BYU-Hawaii students who come from around Polynesia. 

 

We started at New Zealand and went to their cultural show, which included a demonstration of Poi, the Haka, and songs. It was very good. Also it took place in a traditional meeting hall which had been built and carved in New Zealand and then taken apart, shipped to the PCC, and reassembled. After the show, we went out and participated in a game where you had to hold up a staff, and then let go and grab the one next to you, according to the caller's instructions. They did an elimination game and Adam got to second place! I eliminated myself the first time the instructions included spinning around and grabbing the staff again. 

 

We split up a bit, but I ended up at Tahiti with Kim and Adam and Dianna, and Kim and I got matching tattoos! They were rolled on with a kind of stamp, so it came off in my next shower. But it was cool while it lasted! We went to their cultural show, which was about drums and dancing, and they had the girls stand up and do some hip dancing, and then the guys stand up and do some knee-knocking. 

 

Ben really wanted to paddle his own canoe, so he got in line to do that, and we watched him from the bridge.  

After this we got a special treat- Iesse, Ben's friend who works there, gave us a private flatboat tour around the islands! He did his tour guide spiel for us, and took us around in the canals that surround the islands. It was great. When that was done, we went out to the marketplace and got dinner. Adam and I shared a veggie crepe, and then Iesse's friends who work at a shave ice place gave us free shave ice! 

 

Finally, we had tickets to the show called Ha: Breath of Life. It was another Polynesian Cultural show, featuring dances and stories from the featured countries. It was good, but occasionally was slow, as there was very little English and lots of dancing. 

When it was over we came home and went to bed!

Saturday, July 16

Grabbed some breakfast at the cafe- bacon egg and cheese sandwich. Very good. 

In the morning, the 6 of us took a hike. I do not know where we were- Google maps tells me it is Pu'u Ma'eli'eli Trail; but all I really know is it was by the McDonald's in Ahuimanu.

The hike was pretty vertical, and somewhat muddy. Dianna and I slowed way down from what those athletic, long-legged people were doing, so we sent them on ahead and we made it about 3/4 of the way to the top. It was a pretty hike. 

Halfway up, Dianna and I took a break and formed the Gentle Hikers Club

The view from halfway up is still pretty good

 

Then we went straight to our ebike tour at Kualoa Ranch. This is a huge ranch (cattle ranching) that has been the site of many movie and TV locations. LOST filmed here, and Jurassic Park. Our tour guide Robert, had lots of interesting information about the history of the area as well. We really enjoyed the bikes, they were super fun. It rained on us quite often, but it's more of a heavy misting and it's warm, so you just kind of ignore it and keep going. 

Laura, Adam, ebikes, Ocean

Dianna, Ben, our guide Robert, Lindsay, me, Adam

 

We had a lot of fun putting dinos into our pictures

We got to mess around with the set of some King Kong movie that was filmed there!

We looked around the ranch a bit at the end; got some souvenirs and snacks, went to their farmer's market. 

Back at Kim's house, we rested and Kim made curry for dinner. I made a fried egg and had rice and chicken with it. 

Kim also made us cookies and I made her a photo with a Kangaroo

 

Sunday July 17

Day of rest! Everyone else went to church and Adam and I had a lazy morning; had cereal and leftovers for breakfast, and sat around reading. 

When everyone got back, Adam, Ben, Lindsay, and I walked up to the nearby Malaekahana State Recreation Area to look for a letterbox, (found it!) and walked home along the beach. Dianna was feeling very sick and stayed in her room most of the day.

After lunch, Ben, Kim, and I went to the Laie Temple visitor's center. We watched a history of Laie video and looked at the information. Some fans of Ben talked to him and got their picture with him. 

 

In the afternoon, Kim had a party for Ben to meet all her people- her kids, their spouses, guys from the church. She made great Hawaiian food!

Food:

Musubi casserole- rice, spam cooked in teriyaki sauce, furikeke seasoning (made of seaweed, salt and sesame seeds). Scoop up spoonfuls of this and wrap it in small seaweed leaves. This Musubi is usually made as a sushi kind of thing, stacked with rice, spam, veggies, wrapped in seaweed. 

Kalua pork- made in crock pot imitated of the ground cooking of pig. Pork butt, liquid smoke, hawaiian salt (rock salt), cooked 8-10 hours.Hawaiian sweet rolls to make sliders. pulled pork.

Fresh pineapple with li hing mui powder, which is like a plum powder, or a hawaiian tajin

Ulu (breadfruit) cooked in coconut milk and onion and baked it. (Iesse made this and brought it)

Mochi which is sweet rice flower, coconut milk and sugar, baked. Kim's was blue. Also Brownies. 

Adam and I enjoyed the food, but we sat in the backyard so the Mormons could all socialize in the house without us. 

After the party, Ben went up to BYU Hawaii to give a talk; Kim, Lindsay, Adam and I walked up there. The ladies went to the talk, and Adam and I walked around campus for a bit and then walked home. 

The view of the road up to the Laie temple

BYU Hawaii

 

Ben's talk went well and they brought people home to play games- so I ran a Disney Trivia game for them from my Games Magazine. Everyone enjoyed it. 

Monday July 18

Dianna was still not feeling well today, and so she and I decided to stay home and do a jigsaw puzzle while Kim, Ben, Adam, and Lindsay did another hike and another beach. When they got home, we went (minus Dianna) to the food truck place for lunch. Adam and I got Thai. 

Next we went to Pap'loa Beach, which is an almost secret beach that Lindsay and Ben knew about where you could see sea turtles!! A lot of the edge of the beach is a rock shelf, and the turtles just float around in the waves there. It was amazing! Some came so close to us! Those that went swimming actually swam next to one, but even Adam and I, standing on the rocks, had one wash up next to us and then go right on back into the water. Part of Lost was also filmed here, so Ben enjoyed that. The sand was nice, too, and we lay around for awhile. Seeing the sea turtles was really so cool, definitely a highlight of the trip. 

 

After coming home and cleaning up, we went back to the Polynesian Cultural Center and got a letterbox, then got some snacks/dinner at the marketplace. We also went to Longs Drugs to pick up some macadamia nuts and stuff like that to take home. 

We went back to Kim's and ate a quick dinner, because Ben wanted to go out to Laie point to catch the sunset. Laie point is a rocky outcropping that was very pretty. Also extremely windy! I was actually cold, I wish I had brought a sweatshirt. We didn't really catch the sunset, either we were too late, or on the wrong side, or whatever. But we looked around and got some pictures and it was pretty. 

Laie point. Photo by Ben

 

Adam working on capturing that same shot

Tuesday July 19

Flying home! Kim graciously drove us the hour+ to the airport very early in the morning (5am) and Ben, Adam, and I caught our flights back to the mainland. Nothing much to report about the trip, got home about 11pm. I enjoyed our trip, and it was nice to have a place to stay with a local. I didn't love the humidity!