Hawaii Day 5 - Diamond Head

DAY 5

 

We wake up to a beautiful day in Waikiki with this panoramic view of Diamond Head and the Pacific Ocean!

 

Diamond Head is a volcanic crater, and the name comes from 19th century sailors who believed the shiny crystals embedded in the rock were diamonds.

The hike to the top of the trail takes about an hour.  It's just under 1 mile each way with many switchbacks and includes 74 stairs, another 99 stairs, 52 more steps on a spiral staircase, and finally 54 stairs to the summit.  I am not used to that type of aerobic climbing, and I like to whine whenever I am outside in the heat.  You can imagine what a joy I was to hike with!!

To make matters worse, we got a late start, and the parking lot was full.  We had to park at street level and walk even further just to get up to the park to start!

 

The walk was hot on the interior of the crater but once we made it to the top, we were rewarded with a cool ocean breeze.



 

 As well as stunning views of Waikiki!

 

Interior of the crater. 

In the middle you can almost see the parking lot that was full, and then the tunnel we had to walk through to get there.  It was a long way down!

Haha!  This jerk read the sign, and then immediately jumped the fence because he wanted to do some off-trailing.

We finally made it back to the bottom... I survived!

 

We worked up quite an appetite for some authentic Hawaiian lunch food.

Pork wrap with mango salsa & chips, plus some lau lau (chicken and fish wrapped in leaves)

in the bowl.

After my strenuous morning, I was ready for some relaxation on Waikiki Beach!

(BTW - it was a rare treat for me to take off my hat and sun shirt.  This was merely a ploy for a good photo, then I went back to protecting myself from crazy sunburn!) 

Canoeing teams practicing in Ala Wai Canal! 

 

We wrapped the day up with a HULA lesson! 

Tarynn goes once per week to hula class, and the instructor let me tag along!  I learned some basic foot movements plus hand & arm coordination, and then we put it all together with music.  Anyone who has seen me try to learn dance steps before (the Hustle, salsa dancing, etc.), can guess that I wasn't very good! 

But it was fun to understand the history behind hula, and that each dancer tells a story with her movements.

Hawaii Day 4 - PCC

DAY 4

Today I get the true Hawaiian experience by visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center. 

 

On the way to the north shore, we stop at Cholo's Mexican Restaurant (thanks to Kelly's recommendation!) for some mahi mahi tacos!

The Polynesian Cultural Center is dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of Polynesia, including 6 simulated tropical villages focused on the Islands of:

Samoa

Aotearoa (a.k.a. New Zealand)

Fiji

Hawai'i

Tahiti

Tonga



KG on the canoe ride through the "islands"

 Fun fact: PCC is a non-profit organization and was established by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).  Nearly all employees are students at the neighboring Brigham Young University-Hawaii.

 

KG and Tarynn get their leis and are ready for the Royal Feast lu'au!

 

At the lu'au we are all treated as "family", and we got to meet "cousins" sitting nearby from Florida and Seattle.  Tarynn was the only person from Polynesia, so she had the honor of explaining all of the new food choices to us! Such as:

"poi" from mashed taro plant root

"lau lau" fish or chicken wrapped in leaves

"poke" raw fish

"kalua pork" keep reading below...

 

Removing the pig from the underground oven, so we can have the traditional Polynesian pork with dinner!

Looks delicious!

During dinner we were entertained by a traditional lone male hula dancer!

 

I loved his outfit--it reminded me of giant, bouncing diaper!

 

Go directly to the blog if you want to catch a short video. 



There was also female hula dancers, which we are much more used to seeing! 

(Spoiler alert: Tomorrow I will go to hula lessons with Tarynn!)

We also watched a Hawaiian Dance Show called "HA: Breath of Life".  It was kind of interesting, but I think the thing that held my focus the most was that we were in the 5th row, and all of the guys were shirtless ;)

Enjoying the tropical grounds!

Finally, we head off to Waikiki where we will be true hotel tourists for the next 4 days!

Hawaii Day 3 - Horseback riding

DAY 3

Kicks off with a trip to the Gunstock Ranch.  Meet my horse companion, Dante!

This was Tarynn's first horseback riding experience, and she is riding with Cowboy!  He was super slow... always poking along causing the group to have to stop and wait.

 

Take note of the ocean view in the background!  So pretty!

Also, notice my hungry horse.  Dante didn't like posing for pictures.  He preferred to stop and eat any chance he got (or even in the middle of the trail). 

 

KG pets Bullet, the ranch's resident jackass.  He loves attention!!

 

Lunch at a roadside shrimp truck on the North Shore.  I am told this is a staple to any visit to Oahu.  The line was long, but the food was yummy!

Most folks come straight from the beach and show up in just their swimwear.



 

Ready to dig into my garlic shrimp and rice. 

(Surprisingly, these shrimps were not peeled!  I prefer not having to work this hard for my food!)

 

Shave Ice is a Hawaiian hot topic. 

Many locally-owned shops serve this refreshing treat.  You can order an assortment of fruity flavors and even with ice cream, azuki beans, or condensed milk in the top.

 

Tarynn's favorite is Matsumoto's on the North Shore. 

I got Matsumoto flavor (combo of 3 syrups) + ice cream!

 

Next we went shopping at Ala Moana mall.  It was pretty much the same as every other mall, but I liked the food court ceiling.

 

We were at the food court because I wanted Japanese curry for dinner...

Yay for Coco Ichiban!  I have been craving this thick gravy-like treat for many, many months!!  So delicious with fried chicken cutlet on top.

 

We also made a quick stop at Wal-Mart, where we had to park in a parking structure and walk down the stairs to get to entrance of the store.  I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the TAXI stand!  Only in Honolulu would folks regularly take a cab to Wally World!!

 

Since we didn't have enough sweets yet today, we ended with Snow Factory.

It's not ice cream, it's not shave ice, instead it's fluffy snow. 

Mine is on the right; strawberry served with condensed milk, strawberry balls, and tapioca balls.

Tarynn's is on the left.  It's taro and green tea flavor with condensed milk, red azuki beans, and tapioca balls!

10 Days of Hawaii

HELLO Family and Friends! 

The blog has been quiet for so long because it was waiting for me to report on a really sweet adventure.  I recently took a 10-day trip to Hawaii, and with sights so gorgeous & awesome, I can't imagine not sharing my experience with everyone!

 

Let's kick off the summer fun...

 

DAY 1
After a 5 hour flight to Los Angeles, another 5 hour flight to Honolulu, and gaining 6 times zones, I have finally arrived in Oahu to visit my friend, Tarynn.  As you may recall, Tarynn is no stranger to the blog.  She and I met in an English-speaking volleyball club in Japan, and we took many weekend trips together back in 2010!

 

My arrival day was also Tarynn's birthday, so I was greeted "Aloha style" with a fresh flower lei, and then we met up with a friend at a beachside restaurant to celebrate her big day!

 

So many reasons to celebrate with a Mai Tai, which is pretty much the official drink of Hawaii!

 

DAY 2

We went to church in our swimsuits and cover-ups (that was a first for me), so we could immediately head for the beach when it was done.

 

Welcome to Hanauma Bay!  It's a Nature Preserve and a Marine Life Conservation District with 400 species of fish and sea turtles. 

 

Panoramic view from above with the reef in the shallow water, which is great for snorkeling.

 

 

 

 

Blue skies and palms trees every where you look

 Kerri and Tarynn having fun snorkeling

 Snack time on the beach was SPAM musubi, which we purchased at 7/11 after church.  This is a great snack since it doesn't require refrigeration. 

(I even bought a musubi mold so I can make this delicious treat back in Michigan, too!  It is just SPAM, rice, soy sauce, and seaweed wrap.)

Dinner was Hawaiian specialty "saimin" noodle soup, which was very similar to the ramen I enjoyed in Japan.

After my first full day I was starting to realize the food in Hawaii looked very similar to the food I had in Japan.  In fact, we even found some red bean ice cream bars at the grocery store.  I took a pass on this treat stuffed with Azuki.  I have already eaten my fair share of this "sweet bean paste".



Wrapping up the weekend in style

The last day on our NYC trip, we decided to take in some history (and avoid the crowds in Manhattan).

Here we are riding the ferry to Liberty Island. 

If you look closely, you can see the Statue of Liberty behind my head!

Normally I like to ride on the top deck of the ferry, which is open air, but today we stayed safely inside!

KG & Debra with Lady Liberty! 

I just found out that they have reopened Lady Liberty's crown to visitors! 

(After Sept 11, 2001, they locked it down.)

You have to have a special pass because just a limited number of people each day (like 150) get to ascend the 20 flights of spiral staircase up the top.  However, starting in October 2011, the entire interior of the statue is closed for renovations.  Maybe next time I will get my crown ticket, and THEN plan a trip to NYC!!

Here's the skyline of lower Manhattan and one of the new World Trade Center towers in progress.

The towers are, once again, going to literally tower over the Empire State Building (which is also pictured on the left side of the photo).   

Enjoying the view of the city.

In case you're wondering, the temperature was cold.  And it was windy. 

Not great weather for strolling around an island...  But on the upside, it wasn't busy there (like the rest of mob-scene Manhattan), and we always had a warm seat on the ferry!

Our second destination for the day was Grand Central Terminal, and since I was missing the public transportation systems of Japan, we decided to take the subway!

Everything was going well... until we ended up in Queens!! 

Oops!  We crossed one too many rivers, but at least we weren't in a hurry.  We just got off at the next stop and then got on the subway car heading back into the city!

As our weekend was coming to a close, Debra and I reflected our the more bizarre incidents of our trip.

My top wacky NYC moment was when I tried to throw something away in a public trash can only to realize that a man (presumably homeless) was currently peeing it in!! 

Ewww... I darted away and decided to find another rubbish bin!

Debra's top wacky NYC moment was seeing a man with a goat on a leash stroll through Times Square at 11 o'clock at night.  Although I am used to seeing farm animals, one does wonder where in the heck this man and goat were heading in a city like NYC...

We also saw Spiderman walking around, and he was really friendly.  He loved giving high-fives and getting his photo taken. 

(Some other characters will only let you get your pictures taken with them after give give them money!!)

Don't forget about the Naked Cowboy!  He was indeed wearing just his tighty-whiteys, cowboy boots, and cowboy hat while playing his guitar in Times Square!  I give him major credit considering Debra and I had on about 4 layers of clothing each and were still shivering!!

Finally, Debra and I had a good laugh about our dirtbag hotel in Times Square. 

We decided to save a few bucks and spend our money on delicious food, cool souvenirs, and sightseeing.  The hotel still ended up being our biggest expenditure (even more than my flight)!

Some of the quirky things about this hotel include:

--no daily service for cleaning or new towels

--no hair dryer

--bad tasting water

--no pictures on the walls, just peeling paint

--a constant 88 F degrees and no temp control in the room

(For real, we were so HOT all the time.  We had to sleep in our underwear.  It was a huge contrast from outside.  We hated getting all bundled up and then having to trek down to the lobby to get outside.)

--the constant noise of what sounded like a bowling alley above us all day and night.  It sounded like pins crashing, pins resetting, balls slamming into the wall, and then getting returned back... we eventually figured out that it was the rickety elevator near our room that was making this non-stop noise!!

But that junky hotel gave me extra money to spend, and that's a good thing since I bought so much stuff, I also had to buy a new suitcase to haul it all home in!!

Here I am with my brand-new yellow hard-sided suitcase!

(And many thanks to Debra and her great price negotiation!  She got me $80 off this baby!)