Hawaii recap

A while ago, I wrote an outline of my Hawaii/LA experience before the memories got too mucked up in my mind. I was hoping to flesh out everything, but I think an outline with pictures is good enough. I'm still trying to decide on which photo service to go with (any suggestions on that are welcome!) so that I can post all the pictures.

Day 1

• Fly to LA and meet up with Dear's cousin for lunch and short tour
• Eat at Cholo's (Mexican food)
• start with fresh tortilla chips (still warm!) and cool guac
• sweet corn tamales
• Dear has chicken chimichangas
• Tour Venice and other parts of LA by the shore
• Dear's cousin goes back to work and we sit in airport for a few hours to wait for next flight
• Land in Honolulu dead tired b/c awake for 24 hours (surprised and disappointed by the humidity that hits you as you walk out of the airport)
• Take Robert's Hawaii shuttle to hotel
• Stay in Executive Suite (got upgraded for some reason) of Hilton Prince Kuhio in Waikiki but hardly get to enjoy it because we check out less than 24 hours later
• Take shuttle to airport and driver asks if we're on honeymoon -- we say yes :)
  

Day 2

• Have haupia (coconut)-flavored cream puff at Beard Papa's for breakfast
• Take bus to Chinatown for $2 per person, each way
• Look for good dim sum and settle on Golden Palace Seafood Restaurant (disappointing but seemingly larger portions than in NYC)
• Buy bag of fresh lychees (so sweet and juicy, with a small pit)
  
• Fly to Kona on Hawaiian Air
• Pick up rental car and on way to hotel, eat at Denny's because everything else is closed (10pm)
• Try moco loco (Hawaiian specialty of hamburger patty and egg on top of rice, covered in gravy) -- surprisingly good
• Check into Kona Tiki Hotel

Honolulu's Chinatown

Fresh, juicy lychees that we enjoyed on our lanai (patio) in Kona

Day 3

• Have fresh papaya, banana, pineapple for breakfast at the hotel; POG (passionfruit, orange, guava) juice
• Visit farmer's market up the road
• Buy sweet, crisp mountain plums, green apple bananas (that never ripen), lillikoi (aka passionfruit)
  
• Plums are rare in Hawaii because they need frost, hence they only grow on the mountain
• Plums were about the size of large cherries
  
• Dear suckered into buying sandals b/c the ones he brought from NYC feel loosey-goosey
• Go to Wal-mart to get snacks, beverages
• Visit Costco and have lunch there; they offer coffee smoothie but regretfully we do not try
• Drive past lava rock terrain on way to Hapuna white sand beach
• Dinner at Big Island Grill for dinner
• Big bowl of saimin (ramen-like noodles) with shrimp tempura (lots of thick batter)
• Dear has mixed plate of fried seafood; comes with potato salad and rice
  
• Walk around touristy parts of Kona
• Snack: Scandinavian Shave Ice with macadamia nut ice cream

White coral graffiti against black lava background of North Kona Coast

White sand of Hapuna Beach

Day 4 (July 4)

• Visit Puuhonua O Honaunau NP
• See sea turtles and explore tide pools in lava rock
• Park exhibit is a bit boring but scenery is nice
• Eat lunch bought from KTA supermarket at picnic area overlooking ocean
• Fried chicken with Spam musubi
• Attend luau -- big disappointment because felt like a very touristy, historically inaccurate dinner show
• Tried poi (taro paste), lau lau (meat wrapped in ti leaf), kalua (Hawaiian roast) pig, poke (marinated, raw fish) for first time
• Drive to old airport to watch fireworks in the rain (bummer for the convertible)

View from Puuhonua O Honaunau

Firethrower at commercialized luau

Day 5

• Drive to Hilo, passing Waimea, cowboy country, and scenic mountain passes
• Explore Hilo Farmer's Market
• Buy fresh, cheap lychees and sweet, juicy mangos with little fiber and small pit
• Search for recommended sushi restaurant and shave ice place but everything closed for July 4 long weekend
• Exchange cars at airport because trunk won't close
• Settle for local lunch place recommended by guide: 1lb. beef and pork lau lau -- stuffed!
• Find Two Ladies Kitchen by accident and get freshly-made mochi with traditional fillings like red bean and also non-traditional fillings like chocolate, peanut butter, and candy
  
• Pick up dinner from KTA supermarket
• Eel over rice
• Dear has seaweed salad and something I don't remember
• Drive to Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station, up steep, desolate road with moon-like terrain on either side
  
• Mountain is probably 20 degrees cooler than ground level and we put on long pants, jacket, socks, closed toe shoes
• I put on additional 2 layers of long sleeves and still feel a bit cold
• We eat part of our dinner with the convertible's top down as the sun sets
• I fall asleep during astronomer's presentation but wake up in time to get a piece of a meteorite he found
• We wait for sky to darken to stargaze -- we see Jupiter and the moon through the telescope
• Drive down dark (unlit but for moon), windy, steep road down the mountain in low gear but brakes still overheat
• Drive unlit, windy 2-lane Saddle Road back to Kona

Soft mochi from Two Ladies Kitchen

View of top of clouds from Mauna Kea at 9000 ft

Day 6

• Head to Volcano NP
• Stop at Tex Drive-In for malasadas (very light, filled donut-like treats) and buy lunch to go
  
• Eat lunch at Akaka Falls SP in convertible
• pineapple burger
• Dear has shrimp burger
• Short walk to Akaka Falls, take pictures and head out
• Pass through Hilo with a quick drive by the shave ice place, with no luck
  
• Arrive at Volcano NP and attempt to hike Kilauea caldera before noxious gases make us head back
• Ranger Joe teaches about Ohia trees and ferns
• Ranger's monitor goes off and we feel burn of sulphuric acid in our lungs
• Drive to lava flow about 1hr away
• See town covered in lava
• Wait for hours to watch glow of lava flowing down the mountain and gushing into the ocean
• Leave right after dusk and walk over lava rock in dark
• Sight to see line of flashlights of people leaving behind you
• Traffic jam to leave and only place left to eat when we return to Kona is Denny's

Malasadas from Tex Drive-In

Akaka Falls
Waiting for dusk on hardened lava trail

Watching lava flow at dusk

Day 7

• Do laundry at grungy-looking place down the road but get a good bit of reading done
• Eat lunch from Ba Le (Vietnamese) by hotel's pool
• pork sandwich
• special sandwich w/ pate
• Snorkel with SeaQuest tours by Captain Cook's monument
• great guide taught a lot about history of the island and showed us a lot of neat stuff
• hard-bottomed raft -- really fun to go at fast speed and to see gorgeous scenery by water
• see spinner dolphins (about the size of a dog!)
• Visit marketplace in Keahou and try shave ice there -- friendly woman gives it to us for free because we're last one there
• At sunset, light 7 tiki torches at Kona Tiki hotel while Dear blows on conch shell
  
• Dinner at Huggo's (expensive and not that great)
  

Following tradition, I light tiki torches after Dear blows conch shell

Day 8

• Visit Kona Joe coffee farm, where they grow coffee on trellises like grapes for wine
• Eat lunch at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue (local chain)
• lau lau w/ kalua (delish but couldn't finish huge portions)
• Dear disappointed by bbq sampler mix plate because he was expecting Southern U.S. bbq, not Asian bbq
  
• Visit Hamakua Macadamia Nut Factory (a bit lame, but got to crack a few nuts and bought nuts)
• Finish souvenir shopping and even stop by a sewing store to get recommendations on sewing machines
• Dinner at Kenichi in Keahou disappointing and way overpriced; realize you don't go to the Big Island for food
  
• Get dessert from KTA

Day 9

• Fly back to Oahu very early in the morning
• Surprised how many birthday messages I get -- maybe I should always travel on my birthday! :D
  
• Deja vu: take shuttle to Waikiki; drop off luggage at hotel
• Walk to Eggs N' Things for brunch
• Mozzarella omelette with side of pancakes
• Variety of syrup: pineapple, coconut, boysenberry, maple
• Dear has eggs and hash; declares best meal he's had so far in Hawaii
• Try surfing in Waikiki
• Dinner at Sansei
• Omakase menu was delicious from beginning to end
• White tuna sashimi and a half-price roll
• Service was stupendous: waiter not intrusive but very attentive, had recommendations like he really knew the menu
• Only regret: not that hungry after the huge brunch

Various pancake syrups at Eggs N' Things, plus salsa for hash

Resting in the waters of Waikiki -- surfing is hard work! (I am in red)

Day 10

• Take bus to Pearl Harbor (takes forever, but just $2)
• Do self-guided audio tour while waiting
• Run into Dear's co-worker on his honeymoon
• Take long bus ride back to hotel
  
• Walk to Waiola Shave Ice (yummy goodness that makes my mouth water as I think of it)
• 3 flavors: lillikoi, melona, mango(?) with condensed milk on top
  
• Dinner at Hakone
• Australian Kobe beef
• fresh AYCE sushi

Day 11

• Finish fruit from farmers' markets for breakfast, except for unripened bananas
  
• Lunch from Me Bar-Becue
• bimimbop
• Dear has beef ribs, I think; he likes the pickles
  
• Flight to LA delayed; 3 remaining plums and bunch of bananas confiscated
• Arrive in LA and it is actually cool and a jacket would've been nice
  
• Pick up ghetto rental car
• Dinner at McDonald's in San Gabriel :(
  

Started second box of mochi from Two Ladies (small, candy-like and unfilled) while waiting in airport

Day 12

• Meet up with Dear's cousin again for dim sum at huge restaurant in San Gabriel
• Target stop to get drinks
• Attend friend's Wedding

Day 13

• Lunch from In N' Out Burger: each get Double Double, and share strawberry milkshake and fries
• Everything is made to order, so it's very fresh and yummy
• To boot, it's pretty inexpensive
• Fries could use a double-fry
• Return to heat and humidity of NYC
• Dinner at Georgia Diner (options limited at 1am, but at least there are options past 10pm!)

Numbers

It's been TWO months since I've written anything. That's what happens when you're on TWO softball teams, go on a TWO-week vacation, followed by a TWO-night trip to Cape May, go to TWO weddings (with TWO more to go), and overall get bogged down with the TWO busiest months of the year at work. So instead of the fancy post about Hawaii that I imagined this would be, I will blog/brag about my health report.

After TWO years of not seeing a regular doctor for an "annual" physical, I finally went to the health center at work since I got a letter about qualifying for a free one. And I'm glad to say that even after eating massive amounts of seafood and bacon (my two favorite food groups), everything is normal. I can continue eating with reckless abandon! But I suspect that like everyone and everything else, unhealthful eating will eventually catch up to me, just probably slower than average people. I have a theory (that I don't know how to prove) that I actually age slower than most people. I am always mistaken for being younger than I actually am, once in a while even passing for high school age. At the age of 25, I felt like I finally turned 18. I felt like I was 16 for the longest time, except when I was actually 16 (I felt like I was maybe 12). Right now, I feel like I just turned 25.

To quote Monk, It is both a blessing and a curse.