Sunday, September 23, 2007
Hawaii
Tricia was born and raised in Alaska. That is about as far as you can get from the surf and sand of Hawaii. We decided to head to the 50th state for one major vacation before Tricia got too big to travel anymore. We decided to head to Oahu and spend a week there.
The flight there was awesome. We managed to get an extra seat and Eve slept all the way there. The jet lag barely affected her. We got to Honolulu early in the morning and headed straight to the beach. It was nice and warm. We hadn't been on a real vacation like this in a long time.
That day we decided to head out to Diamond Head to check out the view. It was a long steep climb but the views were just spectacular. I had Eve strapped on most of the way. When we got back down she really wanted to run and play. We sat under a tree and she chased birds and the wind for a while.
We had heard really good things about some shrimp trucks on the highway that serve prawns in a garlic butter sauce. We drove to Romy's and had the garlic shrimp and the spicy shrimp. It wasn't too bad. I think we make it much better.
We went to Giovanni's on a later date but I personally think the hype kills them. The prawns weren't succulent or very flavorful. The spicy ones were just plain chili paste. It was too hot for me, which means most people would just die.
The next day we spent time at some of the northern beaches like Sunset beach and some little unnamed ones. Eve loved the water and was so happy playing in the sand. Later that evening, we headed to the ABC stores to buy snorkeling gear for Tricia.
On day 3, we headed over to Ala Moana for some snorkeling. It was fun to see Eve watch Trish walk into the water to head out for a swim. Eve would keep saying "Stop mama, stop" and then watch the water carefully to see when she'd pop back up.
Later that evening we found out that there was going to be a cultural show at one of the malls. We headed over to watch the hula and see if there was anything else interesting out there. Now, it was getting a little late in the evening for Eve and I wanted to keep her entertained and both of us decided to make funny sounds. Many people have seen this video and ask us what language we're speaking. Well, the language of fun. We got back to the hotel quite late and headed straight to bed. We were exhausted.
Day 4, we headed off quite early to Shark Beach so Trish could go snorkeling. Eve fell asleep in the car, so I waited and read a magazine to pass time. As soon as she woke up, we headed down the rocky path to the beach where Trish was having a blast in the little cove. I don't think she saw any sharks. Later we headed off to Turtle Beach which was nice before all the annoying tourists got there. There were quite a few turtles there but all the aggressive people frightened them away. It was quite sad. Again we spent most of our day at beaches. In the afternoon we headed over to state beach to take a nap. It was a little cool and Eve snuggled in with Trish and me as we slept under a tree.
On day 5 we headed to another part of Oahu that was supposed to have a very long and a very pretty beach. We first stopped at a coffee shop for breakfast because the stuff at the hotel was just horrendous... stale muffins, soft bananas and watered down juice. The beach was very pretty and had a nice embankment. There was quite a bit of surf though, so Eve wanted to be held all the way through. It even rained for a bit, which was kind of cool. There were quite a few kayakers heading over to this coral island about a mile off shore. With Eve, that was not really an option.
Later that day we stopped for a bit of shopping, which of course made Tricia's day. It rained again making the afternoon very muggy, but that did not deter the dear wife.
Our last day there, we drove to see a few sights we missed and spent time at some of the beaches we really liked.
The one thing I must mention is Ono Hawaiian Restaurant. Holy cow! We had heard a bunch of mixed opinions about Hawaiian food. We had also read a lot of reviews and this restaurant was the highest rated. It was in an odd place not very close to the city on a busy street. Once you enter the place it looks like a dive and quite dodgy. The staff is very friendly and explain all the dishes on the menu. Considering we knew close to nothing, they were very patient with us. The food they serve is very typically "Luau" food. If you go, get the Kahlua Pork and Lau Lau... killer. Make sure you have some Poi. And oh yeah, even me, disliking most seafood loved the Salmon Salsa. It is topped off with this finger lickin' coconut dessert. We went back a second time and were sad that we waited for so long. See how happy Trish looks? She always looks like this after a good meal.
Overall, we were happy to have taken a vacation. We would have been happier to have headed to Europe and in particular Schaffhausen, but 6 days just aren't enough. Soon...
The flight there was awesome. We managed to get an extra seat and Eve slept all the way there. The jet lag barely affected her. We got to Honolulu early in the morning and headed straight to the beach. It was nice and warm. We hadn't been on a real vacation like this in a long time.
That day we decided to head out to Diamond Head to check out the view. It was a long steep climb but the views were just spectacular. I had Eve strapped on most of the way. When we got back down she really wanted to run and play. We sat under a tree and she chased birds and the wind for a while.
We had heard really good things about some shrimp trucks on the highway that serve prawns in a garlic butter sauce. We drove to Romy's and had the garlic shrimp and the spicy shrimp. It wasn't too bad. I think we make it much better.
We went to Giovanni's on a later date but I personally think the hype kills them. The prawns weren't succulent or very flavorful. The spicy ones were just plain chili paste. It was too hot for me, which means most people would just die.
The next day we spent time at some of the northern beaches like Sunset beach and some little unnamed ones. Eve loved the water and was so happy playing in the sand. Later that evening, we headed to the ABC stores to buy snorkeling gear for Tricia.
On day 3, we headed over to Ala Moana for some snorkeling. It was fun to see Eve watch Trish walk into the water to head out for a swim. Eve would keep saying "Stop mama, stop" and then watch the water carefully to see when she'd pop back up.
Later that evening we found out that there was going to be a cultural show at one of the malls. We headed over to watch the hula and see if there was anything else interesting out there. Now, it was getting a little late in the evening for Eve and I wanted to keep her entertained and both of us decided to make funny sounds. Many people have seen this video and ask us what language we're speaking. Well, the language of fun. We got back to the hotel quite late and headed straight to bed. We were exhausted.
Day 4, we headed off quite early to Shark Beach so Trish could go snorkeling. Eve fell asleep in the car, so I waited and read a magazine to pass time. As soon as she woke up, we headed down the rocky path to the beach where Trish was having a blast in the little cove. I don't think she saw any sharks. Later we headed off to Turtle Beach which was nice before all the annoying tourists got there. There were quite a few turtles there but all the aggressive people frightened them away. It was quite sad. Again we spent most of our day at beaches. In the afternoon we headed over to state beach to take a nap. It was a little cool and Eve snuggled in with Trish and me as we slept under a tree.
On day 5 we headed to another part of Oahu that was supposed to have a very long and a very pretty beach. We first stopped at a coffee shop for breakfast because the stuff at the hotel was just horrendous... stale muffins, soft bananas and watered down juice. The beach was very pretty and had a nice embankment. There was quite a bit of surf though, so Eve wanted to be held all the way through. It even rained for a bit, which was kind of cool. There were quite a few kayakers heading over to this coral island about a mile off shore. With Eve, that was not really an option.
Later that day we stopped for a bit of shopping, which of course made Tricia's day. It rained again making the afternoon very muggy, but that did not deter the dear wife.
Our last day there, we drove to see a few sights we missed and spent time at some of the beaches we really liked.
The one thing I must mention is Ono Hawaiian Restaurant. Holy cow! We had heard a bunch of mixed opinions about Hawaiian food. We had also read a lot of reviews and this restaurant was the highest rated. It was in an odd place not very close to the city on a busy street. Once you enter the place it looks like a dive and quite dodgy. The staff is very friendly and explain all the dishes on the menu. Considering we knew close to nothing, they were very patient with us. The food they serve is very typically "Luau" food. If you go, get the Kahlua Pork and Lau Lau... killer. Make sure you have some Poi. And oh yeah, even me, disliking most seafood loved the Salmon Salsa. It is topped off with this finger lickin' coconut dessert. We went back a second time and were sad that we waited for so long. See how happy Trish looks? She always looks like this after a good meal.
Overall, we were happy to have taken a vacation. We would have been happier to have headed to Europe and in particular Schaffhausen, but 6 days just aren't enough. Soon...
