Month: September 2016

This is it. Our last weekend in Hawaii. Do I tear up when I think about leaving? Yup. But not only is it our last weekend, it’s our anniversary weekend. That means we have to live it up island style! We started with a 5:15 a.m. flight to Kauai. Because nothing says good times like getting up at 4 a.m.

After a quick flight we picked up our rental car at the Kauai airport and headed to Kalaheo Cafe and Coffee Company because priorities. We split a sweet potato muffin that was heavenly and I got my usual eggs-bacon-hash browns breakfast. We washed it all down with their iced coffee that was actually served over coffee ice cubes. It was sooo good!

We stopped by the Lihue Lighthouse; we originally wanted to visit it up close but we couldn’t figure out how to get to it. So we settled for pictures.

Next up we visited Spouting Horn State Park and got to see more chickens than I’ve ever seen in my life in addition to the natural blowhole.

We made our way to Poipu Beach where we saw a monk seal that I originally thought was dead until the volunteer conservationist informed me that seals can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes and they typically nap pretty hard when they come up on the beaches. I feel like I need to reiterate, though, I SAW A WILD SEAL LIVE, UP CLOSE, AND IN PERSON.

After that we went to Shipwreck Beach to hike the cliffs, and every second of it was breathtaking and picturesque.

Thanks to being a millennial asshole on my cell phone in paradise, I received a Facebook recommendation to check out Queen’s Bath, which Mike promptly researched on his phone. Because millennial assholes. LOL

Mike discovered in his research that the hike to Queen’s Bath was quite muddy, so we went to a local Long’s Drugs to buy some $10 water shoes. They were not cute.

We headed to Kauai Beer Company for a flight, T-shirts, snap koozies, and local conversation. We met a guy who spends half his time in Alaska and half in Hawaii!

At this point in our trip we had to exchange our rental car, as it had a turn signal out. We didn’t realize it until Mike flicked it on and it was clicking crazy fast on the dash. After exchanging the car we checked into our Airbnb where Mike realized he left his slippas in the last rental car. So we drove back to the rental shop AGAIN to retrieve those.

 

After our various car adventures we headed to Lava Lava, which Mike had scoped out on a work trip during our first few weeks in Hawaii.

Our waitress was very Irish and she recommended that we head out to Queen’s Bath well before dark to avoid treacherous hiking. So we scarfed down the rest of our delicious pupus and headed out.

When we got to the trailhead for Queen’s Bath there were cars parked in all seven of the available spots so we double parked and crossed our fingers before hitting the trail.The trail actually wasn’t too muddy, but there were a lot of roots and steep drops so we treaded carefully anyway. The path was longer than I expected and not super well marked but there were a lot of other people on it so we were able to find our way without much struggle.

What we first ran into was a very rough inlet getting pretty big waves crashing into it, but we walked on and found the actual Queen’s Bath, which was remarkably calm. We hopped in and made good use of our waterproof phone bags while enjoying the occasional big wave breaking over the wall, new friends, and curious fish.

We hiked back out amongst a few wild chicken fights and stopped by Chicken in a Barrel for some unexpectedly religious barbecue chicken takeout (our server wrote “John 3:16” on our styrofoam container–okie doke!). Back at the Airbnb we scarfed down our takeout with some of our new favorite Korean beverage: soju!

 

On our last full day with our friend before Mike and I go back to our regularly scheduled work life tomorrow, we played ultimate tour guides. I insisted we grab some Spam and egg musubi to go from the ABC next door because I’ve become a little enamored of it.

We went to Shark’s Cove for some snorkeling where Mike and our friend tested out the little dry bags we bought for our phones as I was entirely too skeptical to put my new iPhone 7 Plus into a glorified Ziploc bag. Everyone’s phones fared just fine, though, and they got some great footage and pictures that I’m insanely envious of. I did get this sweet screen grab of me from some of Mike’s footage for your enjoyment.

After snorkeling we stopped off at a little local beach where people say you can see honu sunning themselves on the beach, but I think we were either too early or too late for that because there was nary a turtle to be found. We did go on a little adventure of the surprise variety and I want to toot my own horn here because 1) This is my blog, and 2) I’ve been trying really hard to become a more patient, calm, Zen person and this was my moment to shine…

Mike set the keys on his flip-flops on the beach to snap a few pics and forgot they were there when he grabbed his shoes to walk along the beach, effectively dumping them somewhere in the ocean. We walked up and down the beach for about 10 minutes or so before he realized he didn’t have the keys. He frantically started walking down the beach, asking people if they had seen the keys while our friend immediately wanted to call the rental agency and wait for help. I decided to just look for the keys because the waves weren’t big and they were washing the same bits of shell and stones back and forth so maybe the keys were enjoying the same fate? Lo and behold: I spotted the blue tag of the rental agency bobbing in the surf and snatched them up. It was fun to play hero and even more fun to be in a situation that normally would have caused me to panic and jump to worst-case scenario mode immediately. Sometimes it’s hard to see all the progress you’re making when you’re so close to it, and this made me realize that my efforts are paying off. Super stoked!

Also of note: This weekend was the first weekend we got such a bargain model car that it didn’t come with an electronic fob and for that I am so, so grateful because if we’d dropped that in the ocean, we would’ve had a much less happy story to tell. hahaha

After our unplanned excitement we headed into Hale’iwa to walk around and shop and grab drinks and basically just do touristy stuff. We had lunch at Kua Aina, where the portions were huge and the food was delicious.

We awoke to a parade this morning! We could see it right from our lanai, in addition to walking next to it most of the way on our journey this morning. I would start every day with a parade if I could. hahaha

Our friend from Philly is a fellow Penn Stater, so we took him to Rivals to watch the game. Unlike last time, which was insanely early at 6:30 a.m., this game started at 9:30 a.m. so we were able to watch it in a nice outdoor patio area behind the bar. The game was an absolute crime scene, but those are always easier when you’re surrounded by your Penn State ohana in paradise.

After the game we headed out to Paradise Cove for their luau. We got there pretty much right as the gates were opening, but I still feel like we didn’t even get to do all the neat stuff they have before the festivities started. We were able to throw spears, watch a guy husks a coconut, and see a guy climb a palm tree without any assistance… but we missed a few other games and pretty much everything at the beach as well as the craft table where they made these awesome leaf headbands.

And if we hadn’t already had enough serendipitous, against-the-odds moments while here: I saw a girl I graduated high school with at the luau! We only had a couple minutes to chat before the festivities, but my brain hurts when I think about the mathematical odds of both of us being thousands of miles from home… on the same day… and at the exact same luau.

The luau itself was so fun. We watched them take the pig out of the underground imu and had a pretty good buffet dinner before the show started. The host was delightful and all of the music and dancing were really good. There was a lot of crowd interactivity and our friend even went onstage to get hula “certified.”

When we found out we lucked into a two-bedroom condo for our time here, we immediately offered it up to pretty much anyone who wanted to come out. This weekend one of our friends from Philly took us up on that offer and paid us a visit.

While our friend was out exploring today, Mike and I enjoyed lunch at Da Smoke House, which is conveniently located next to our favorite nearby grocery store The Food Pantry. The food was good, the drinks were reasonable, and the service was super friendly.

We met up with our friend and headed over to Beer Lab HI, which came highly recommended to us by a friend at last weekend’s beach cleanup after party. I guess this place doesn’t usually make the same beers twice unless they’re fan favorites, so the taps are always rotating out. It was pretty standard, to be honest, but we still had a good time.

We skipped across the street to Tropics Tap House for another round of beers, this time ordering some non-local stuff because I’m fairly certain we’ve tried every beer made on Oahu.

We stopped by Island Scoops, which was oddly quiet for a hot, Friday evening in a college town. I got some anko (sweet red bean paste) ice cream that was absolutely heavenly.

Our last stop of the night was at the Imua Lounge. Mike and I stopped in there a couple weeks ago for a quick beer and the owner was so, so sweet to us that we had to come back. They were apparently hosting a large birthday party that night, but the owner said she had a spare table we could have because hospitality is a very real, very serious thing in Hawaii. The night started off with some karaoke and a free plate of pork chops because the owner’s girlfriend heard us talking about them and I guess she didn’t want hers–so she just gave them to us. It was sliced and in some sort of dreamy sauce with veggies and the three of us scarfed it down like we’d never eaten before it was so good. After karaoke there was a live band who was fronted by the sister of the gentleman whose birthday party we were unknowingly attending. We chatted with several people in the bar–the owner, the regulars, the band members–and I cannot stress enough how friendly and welcoming everyone was. Nights out are so much more fun when everyone wants to have a good time together.

We haven’t had many free Sunday mornings, so we seized today as our day to check out the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. We’d heard from a lot of folks that this is the best place to get affordable souvenirs and we certainly got a lot of bang for our buck. I will say that I was a little disappointed that while there were hundreds of vendors there, it was really just the same three or four general groupings of items–many of which are not even made in Hawaii. Ah well. We did find some gems for friends and family back home, so it was worth the brutal heat. Did I mention that today was one of the hottest days since we got here and that the swap meet is uncovered/outdoors?

To celebrate a morning well spent we treated ourselves to some burgers at Honolulu Burger Company where we coincidentally celebrated National Cheeseburger Day with complimentary fries. I got the Kalua pig burger and it was delicious. After a quick trip to the grocery store we met a friend at Duke’s where we ran into a man who knew Mike’s grandfather when he lived in the Poconos! We ended our evening at Moana Terrace Bar & Grill on top of the Marriott in Waikiki, which has a pretty sweet view.

One of our friends here invited us to a beach cleanup on one of Oahu’s dirties beaches today. Though it’s not a public beach (it’s part of a wildlife refuge), the currents bring literal tons of trash to the beach where animals eat it and die.

One thing I’ve never been able to wrap my brain around is littering. Not only are you making the area you’re currently occupying dirtier–you’re making it dirtier for others and harming the local flora and fauna. Furthermore, while I get that in gross places like Baltimore (sorry not sorry) it may not seem like as big of a deal–why on earth would you look around somewhere as gorgeous as Hawaii and just throw your trash on the ground? I understand that it isn’t all litter that’s washing up on these shores; a lot of it gets blown off of trash heaps at dumps or the backs of trucks and the like. But still. If you litter: KNOCK IT OFF!

We probably only spent about two hours cleaning up, which doesn’t seem like much when you consider the sheer volume of garbage that was everywhere. We filled our bag with mostly chunks of plastic and helped someone drag a giant ball of netting/rope in from the shoreline. I saw people bringing in all kinds of crazy stuff from the beach, but the majority of it was fishing industry waste (nets, rope, buoys, etc.) and busted up pieces of plastic.

Afterward we hung out with some friends in the area and called it a day. It’s definitely a bummer that garbage is such a big problem, but it’s encouraging to see so many people (like the ones at Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and Plastic Free Hawaii) fighting it regularly.

Having been on Oahu for more than a month at this point, it dawned on me how ridiculous it is that I haven’t had any legit Hawaiian food yet. Granted, it’s a little harder to find than I originally anticipated. A lot of places around here have some local dishes on the menu, but I have yet to eat somewhere that offered lau lau or poi. Tonight we remedied that at Highway Inn and it was absolutely delicious.

Starting top left and going clockwise: side salad, Okinawan sweet potato, haupia, poi, and chicken lau lau. You already know I love salad and sweet potatoes, so those aren’t anything to spend time on, but the haupia is something I didn’t think I would like because it’s dangerously close to a pudding/whipped cream/Jell-O hybrid. Turns out its flavor was delicate enough and its consistency firm enough that I ate almost all of it. Poi is another dish I was thinking I wouldn’t care for because everyone has told me that it’s bland and paste-like; however, the poi here has just enough tang to it that it functions really, really well as like a Greek yogurt/sour cream type of sauce for the lau lau and sweet potatoes. Lastly, the lau lau was wonderful. The chicken was tender, the leaves weren’t tough–it was just good. Coupled with the very friendly and attentive staff, this is probably one of the few places I liked so much I’d go back for a second visit.

Today was my favorite day on Oahu thus far. We got up crazy-early to drive the rental to Diamond Head. Despite arriving before the park even opened, we sat in a line of about a dozen vehicles waiting to park… some of which were large buses full of Japanese tourists. So even though we were at the park before it opened, our hike was downgraded to a slow march behind people taking selfies. You can’t win ’em all, I guess.

At the recommendation of a new friend we stopped at Diamond Head Market & Grill for our first Spam and Egg musubi and a blueberry/cream cheese scone. Both were so, so delicious. Who would have guessed I’d love something that was made of Spam and rice?

After our breakfast stop we had the energy to tackle a second hike: Manoa Falls. We ended up getting there early enough that nobody was collecting parking fees so we scored some sweet free parking. I love, love, loved this hike. It wasn’t long. It wasn’t particularly challenging other than a few muddy spots. But the falls were gorgeous and the hike was relatively quiet and secluded and the flora was unreal. It was like being in a rain forest.

Our last activity of the day was a catamaran tour. Mike bought our tickets on Groupon before we even left for Hawaii so this was something we’d been trying to factor into our schedule for a while. If there’s a heaven, part of it includes a Waikiki catamaran. The tour was 90 minutes, the weather was gorgeous, the water was calm, and it was pretty much unfettered bliss as we sailed along and I forgot about everything that wasn’t the ocean.

 

Last weekend we were on the Big Island so we missed the first game of the season. Determined not to make it a habit to miss the games, we found a local bar that opens up at 5:30 a.m. so those of us who want to watch East Coast college football have a home. We got to Rivals a little after kickoff and we were the only people in the bar save for employees!

People trickled in gradually. I imagine they get a better crowd for night games, but we had a good time. We had breakfast and iced coffee before enjoying any beer–I like to drink during football as much as the next American, but 6 a.m. is a wee bit early, even for me. The game was incredibly exciting and our little group at the bar was really fired up and into it. Clearly a win would have been nice, but there is something so, so good about watching a game with other Penn Staters. There was a very palpable ohana vibe, even so far from home. That’s probably my favorite thing about the Penn State community… that it can make you feel at home regardless of how far you are from Happy Valley.

We were supposed to help with a beach cleanup on the North Shore after the game, but I neglected to realize how long of a drive that was so we missed it. We were able to make it up there for a barbecue that a few friends were having, and it was nice to get to hang out and meet more cool people.

 

I guess it’s only appropriate that the day we reached our halfway point (Hawaii Four-Oh?) is the day we finally got to see the fireworks that the Hilton puts on every Friday night. We decided that after two failed attempts to watch them, we were most likely to see them if we just went to the Hilton. To our surprise and delight, they also put on a mini luau show before the fireworks! There was a nice fire dancing display before they played Iz’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow and shot off about five minutes of fireworks. It was such a great way to start off the weekend. I’d love to go back earlier and see about scoping out a seat for the show; we arrived minutes before the fireworks started so everything was naturally quite full.