We left Austin at 4:30 in the morning, nearly missed two flights, and arrived 19 hours later in Honolulu. George and I spent all our time in Oahu, the island where Liên and Bill live. Each day we hiked, swam, and still managed to eat enough to gain a pound. That's theoretically 3,500 more calories per day. It's a terrific way to spend the week before getting dressed for a wedding. Liên and I would highly recommend the experience.
Sat 10 Mar 12
In the morning, we went to the farmers market and bought sushi with sea asparagus, a tarot-espresso brownie, a slice of pesto pizza, a bar of Madre earl grey chocolate, a yellow pitaya, a purple star apple, and a honey-cream pineapple. Later that day, we had shaved ice at Uncle Clay's House of Pure Aloha with kalespin, acai, lychee, strawberry, passionfruit, and li hing syrups. Uncle Clay looked into our eyes and held our hands, sincerely explaining his dream of spreading aloha (love) to his extended ohana (family), which is the entire world, until our ice was half melted. It was okay, though. It was Uncle Clay. We later went through a haupia chocolate pie. Haupia is made with coconut milk, and has the consistency of a stiff pudding. And because this was not enough food, George made a tarot-curry pizza with doña hummus for dinner.
Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail
It's a steep climb up 1,600 feet, and takes about three hours. We walked straight into a cloud, which provided a welcome change of temperature. It was my first hike in Hawaii, and my quads were burning.
It's a steep climb up 1,600 feet, and takes about three hours. We walked straight into a cloud, which provided a welcome change of temperature. It was my first hike in Hawaii, and my quads were burning.
Halona Blowhole Lookout
A blowhole is formed when pressure forces water through an upward sea cave. Forty-eight seconds of the Halona Blowhole accompanied by a recitative from Haydn's Creation performed by John Eliot Gardiner with the English Baroque Soloists and the Montiverdi Choir goes like this:
A blowhole is formed when pressure forces water through an upward sea cave. Forty-eight seconds of the Halona Blowhole accompanied by a recitative from Haydn's Creation performed by John Eliot Gardiner with the English Baroque Soloists and the Montiverdi Choir goes like this:
Besides seeing the blowhole, we also swam in the Halona Bay. The waves were violent enough to smash us against rocks if we weren't careful, and I got knocked out of control enough that I made a skinny blonde lady scream.
Koko Crater Botanical Garden
This was a very easy two mile walk with all sorts of interesting plants.
Liên went to her karaoke bachelorette party that night while George and I passed out. I was hoping each day in Hawaii would be that exhausting, and indeed, they were.
This was a very easy two mile walk with all sorts of interesting plants.
Liên went to her karaoke bachelorette party that night while George and I passed out. I was hoping each day in Hawaii would be that exhausting, and indeed, they were.
Sun 11 Mar 12
The culinary endeavors of the day included a finely shaved flavored ice called snow, raw fish and octopus salads called poke, pineapple with a sweet, salty, sour red powder called li hing, a trip to our first raumen restaurant with sesame broth called tam tam, and a second haupia chocolate pie.
Ka'au Crater Trail in the Palolo Valley
This was probably our most dangerous hike. It feels like a rainforest and lasts a good five hours. We saw at least 3 waterfalls, and had to cross one with ropes. Once on the way back, I fell off a ridge and George caught my armpit near the ground. He hurled me up back to my feet immediately. It all happened too fast for me to get scared, but I got a stern talking to.
This was probably our most dangerous hike. It feels like a rainforest and lasts a good five hours. We saw at least 3 waterfalls, and had to cross one with ropes. Once on the way back, I fell off a ridge and George caught my armpit near the ground. He hurled me up back to my feet immediately. It all happened too fast for me to get scared, but I got a stern talking to.
Kailua Beach
This was the prettiest beach we saw. Although it was a little cloudy and fairly windy, the gentle waves remained vividly turquoise. The mud from Ka'au Crater somehow remained on our legs after the swim.
Ka Iwa Ridge Trail
We were already exhausted, but decided to take a short steep hike nearby for another beautiful view of Kailua.
This was the prettiest beach we saw. Although it was a little cloudy and fairly windy, the gentle waves remained vividly turquoise. The mud from Ka'au Crater somehow remained on our legs after the swim.
Ka Iwa Ridge Trail
We were already exhausted, but decided to take a short steep hike nearby for another beautiful view of Kailua.
Mon 12 Mar 12
The pie of the day was haupia pumpkin, which became my favorite. We also had Bubbie's mochi ice cream in guava, lychee, passionfruit, strawberry chocolate, mint oreo, peanut butter chocolate, raspberry, li hing mango, sakura, green tea, azuki bean, and chocolate espresso. After Bubbie's, we stopped at the Kona Brewing Company for some samples, but alas. With no driver's license, my aged face and unpleasant disposition are no match for a Hawaiian bartender. She told me that even if I was 85, she couldn't serve beer without an ID. I was shunned, and led Liên and George out the door.
For lunch we ate guava smoked salmon belly. I got very sick and slept for the rest of the day while Liên, Bill, and George had sushi at Morio's. They brought yellowtail fish sashimi home for me, which I woke up to eat.
For lunch we ate guava smoked salmon belly. I got very sick and slept for the rest of the day while Liên, Bill, and George had sushi at Morio's. They brought yellowtail fish sashimi home for me, which I woke up to eat.
Koko Head Crater Trail
This hike is more than one thousand stairs up a mountain. We did it in about twenty minutes, which is normal. However, they really are twenty excruciating minutes.
Dole Plantation
We walked through the Pineapple Garden Maze, which covers more than three acres and was noted in the 2008 Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest maze. George navigated.
We walked through the Pineapple Garden Maze, which covers more than three acres and was noted in the 2008 Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest maze. George navigated.
Waimea Beach & Turtle Beach
Waimea had powerful rolling waves, which felt very different than Halona or Kailua. Down a short stretch of road was a beach full of turtles.
Waimea had powerful rolling waves, which felt very different than Halona or Kailua. Down a short stretch of road was a beach full of turtles.
It was cold and rainy by the end of the day, and I was dehydrated, sick, and nauseous. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to see a bright double rainbow gradually emerge from the dark clouds on the way back to Honolulu.
Tue 13 Mar 12
Breakfast was octopus balls with kimchi from the Japanese food court in the mall. And because three pies aren't enough, we bought another haupia pie and a slice of pineapple cheesecake. We had lunch at a fantastic Japanese restaurant called Your Kitchen. My favorite part was the deep fried panko breaded soft boiled egg. Dinner was hot pot and more snow.
Hawaii Loa Ridge Trail
This one was about four hours, and like every other hike, steep. After one fall, I got a bruise on my thigh three inches long. But they're all worth it when you make it to the top.
Waikiki Beach
Waikiki is the touristy part of Honolulu. I was somewhat lukewarm about spending time around so many people, but excited to try paddle boarding on the beach. Liên was a terrific teacher, and during my second attempt at standing, an overcrowded tourboat drove up and yelled at us. Other than that, it was really wonderful and we stayed through the sunset. People are such awful creatures, but paddle boards make up for it.
My sister loves "FunPix." I don't really want to explain this.
Waikiki is the touristy part of Honolulu. I was somewhat lukewarm about spending time around so many people, but excited to try paddle boarding on the beach. Liên was a terrific teacher, and during my second attempt at standing, an overcrowded tourboat drove up and yelled at us. Other than that, it was really wonderful and we stayed through the sunset. People are such awful creatures, but paddle boards make up for it.
My sister loves "FunPix." I don't really want to explain this.
Wed 14 Mar 12
Have you been paying attention? We really ate four haupia pies, each of which contained over 4,000 calories. They were delicious!
It was our last day before the wedding. Liên, George, and I split one "plate lunch" and a shaved ice at a Hawaiian fast food place called Loco Moco. Apparently, one plate lunch is two bowls of rice, eight deep fried pieces of meat, and one bowl of macaroni salad. If that didn't mean anything to you, I would guess it has the calorie content of five big macs. Later in the day, we split a bowl of cold soup at a Korean restaurant called Ireh. That evening, we went to the farmer's market and split a mahi mahi melt, gumbo with fried chicken, Vietnamese beef in grape leaves, two Japanese pancakes, a guava smoked pork burger, a slice of raw vegan lasagna, fried plantains with potato, sushi sliders, and a plate of Indian lamb and rice. We brought along one of Liên's friends and probably grossed her out.
Have you been paying attention? We really ate four haupia pies, each of which contained over 4,000 calories. They were delicious!
It was our last day before the wedding. Liên, George, and I split one "plate lunch" and a shaved ice at a Hawaiian fast food place called Loco Moco. Apparently, one plate lunch is two bowls of rice, eight deep fried pieces of meat, and one bowl of macaroni salad. If that didn't mean anything to you, I would guess it has the calorie content of five big macs. Later in the day, we split a bowl of cold soup at a Korean restaurant called Ireh. That evening, we went to the farmer's market and split a mahi mahi melt, gumbo with fried chicken, Vietnamese beef in grape leaves, two Japanese pancakes, a guava smoked pork burger, a slice of raw vegan lasagna, fried plantains with potato, sushi sliders, and a plate of Indian lamb and rice. We brought along one of Liên's friends and probably grossed her out.
Mariner's Ridge Trail
This one is only two hours. Liên had never been on it before; otherwise, she never would have taken us on a hike that easy. We actually took a little longer because we did a little exploring when George had me "lead the way" back to the beginning. It was very pretty the entire time, with frequent views.
This one is only two hours. Liên had never been on it before; otherwise, she never would have taken us on a hike that easy. We actually took a little longer because we did a little exploring when George had me "lead the way" back to the beginning. It was very pretty the entire time, with frequent views.
Hanauma Bay
My only snorkeling experience before this was in Vietnam after a storm in muddier waters. I was amazed at how well I could see and how many fish were there. The tide was very low, which made us even closer to the fish and the coral. The blue parrot fish were quite a spectacle, and I cut my foot pretty deep trying to swim in such shallow waters. It was beautiful.
Visiting Liên and Bill was terrific. We hiked enough for me to fall down fourteen times. I was sad when we had to stop all the fun to go to their wedding.
Liên and Bill got married in Oxnard, California at Aunt Patti's fancy beach house. The beach was cold and windy, but very pretty nonetheless, and I was glad to have a chance to see more of my family. I also enjoyed meeting Bill's family, who are a very welcoming and generous bunch of people. I hope some of them can stop through Austin one day.
Austin's clean and well organized airport made me feel at home again. The warm air felt nice after taking on California in Hawaii clothes. Our roommate Emily picked us up late on a Sunday night and fed us home made banana bread. You really couldn't ask for more.
My only snorkeling experience before this was in Vietnam after a storm in muddier waters. I was amazed at how well I could see and how many fish were there. The tide was very low, which made us even closer to the fish and the coral. The blue parrot fish were quite a spectacle, and I cut my foot pretty deep trying to swim in such shallow waters. It was beautiful.
Liên and Bill got married in Oxnard, California at Aunt Patti's fancy beach house. The beach was cold and windy, but very pretty nonetheless, and I was glad to have a chance to see more of my family. I also enjoyed meeting Bill's family, who are a very welcoming and generous bunch of people. I hope some of them can stop through Austin one day.
Austin's clean and well organized airport made me feel at home again. The warm air felt nice after taking on California in Hawaii clothes. Our roommate Emily picked us up late on a Sunday night and fed us home made banana bread. You really couldn't ask for more.
