Yesterday I got up, caught some breakfast and then decided I was going to go get lost. Sue and Quinn have been so kind (and daring) as to lend me their family minivan on occasion while I'm here. I grabbed a couple books, my camera, and for the first time in a week, my cell phone, and I hit the road in the Isuzu. My goal was to make it up to Kailua on the east coast and then come back down the Pali highway where there are several overlooks worth seeing.
I left at about nine o'clock, and set forth onto H1. I went past a few of the sights I'd seen in previous days, and finally got to new territory on the east side of Honolulu past Waikiki. I could see Diamond Head on my right, and wanted to drive by it to take pictures, but didn't have a full map handy to see how to do so. H1 turns into Rte 72 along Maunalua Bay, and I stopped in Wailupe Beach Park to watch the parasailing off in the distance. Those guys fly a lot higher than I thought. Winding through the volcanic ridges, I stopped at several other overlooks in between Koko Crater and Hanauma Bay. I saw some awesome waves crash over the rocks, and some crazy tourists. I also got a look at Sandy Beach with the famous kiss in "From Here To Eternity"
Setting forth around the eastern most point of O'ahu, I spotted some great corally water that looks like it would be awesome for snorkelling. I'm hoping to give this a try in the next couple days or so.... though maybe not here. I don't know anything about it.
Next stop was Waimanalo Beach Park which was beautiful and mostly unpopulated. There was a lifeguard here, and several locals eating with him on the beach. Somehow, I don't think I would feel too comfortable swimming here though :( After a brief stay and snapping off a few dozen shots, I decided it was time to head up north into Kailua in search of some food and then head back to town. The road along the coast to Kailua is beautiful. You have the ocean/bay on your right and huge steep mountains on your left with some homes and golf courses along the way. Some of the houses on the mountain side of the road looked pretty ratty on the outside, but even the rattiest house in paradise is probably worth relocating. The weather on this side of the island is drastically different than it is in Ewa. In Ewa it's dry and hot. Up here it was a little more moist, salty, and temperate. I felt very comfortable and it was nearing midday. I got into Kailua and saw an Infiniti Skyline(?) and some interesting graffiti of a hula girl. I got lost and ended up at the entrance of the Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Air Station. I did an about face and headed back to town. Since I didn't really have a plan, I basically bailed on lunch and thought I'd head back to Honolulu and grab some grub with Quinn.
The Pali Highway (Rte 61) heading from Kailua/Kaneohe had some AWESOME vistas of the valleys below. One particular "_new">windy one at Nuuanu Pali offered spectacular views, and not just because some tourists with skirts were unaware of the 50mph winds.On the way further down the hill into Honolulu, I saw Magnum P.I. and tried to snap a picture, though it didn't come out so well. I also pulled off at this one place just before the city as it had an overlook, and I needed to call Quinn. When I got there, I noticed there was a japanese style architecture building and graveyard. Quinn was unable to grab lunch (I called kind of late) and so I headed back to the Ewa Beach Rum Plantation (home) for lunch. Three cheers for Loco Moco at Zippy's
After a shower and a babysitter we headed out to Paradise Cove at Ko'Olina with Quinn and Sue. The objective of the evening was to take part in a Luau, something everyone should do while here. I went into this thinking.... ok this is going to be cheesy, and the food will be kind of mediocre because they're feeding hundreds (if not a thousand) people at once. We got there and had a complementary mai tai, which was made more alcoholic via trademarked Carver Sippy Cup Technology. There were demonstrations on how to wear sarongs, how to husk and crack open a coconut, as well as tree climbing. As always there were hula lessons, of which you will not see me attempt. I have no rhythm, much less coordination to move my hips and hands and feet in three different directions at once... However that doesn't stop some people, does it Quinn?
The food at the luau was good, much much better than I anticipated. They had originally pulled a cooked pig out of a pit, but I have a feeling the time it takes to do that and the time we got to eat, it would have been impossible to separate all that meat and make it taste as good as it did. They also brought around some of the food they'd be serving and made some poor sap eat Poi. LOL, his face says it all.The food served was some generic stuff for people with bland palates, (sorry Sue) like Fried Chicken, some pasta salad and vegetable salads. They also had a sweet salmon salad which had pieces of salmon, some tomato and onions... it was a lot like Ceviche, but not quite. They had the pig all shredded up which was friggin awesome, and various other delicious deserts like Haupia. Interestingly, George Takei (Commander Sulu)was sitting one table over from us.
After fire dancing, hula hip shaking, and 3 enhanced Mai Tais... I decided this is a must-do if you go to Hawai'i. Also, the luau at the PCC doesn't have booze, so.... what fun is that?!
We got back to the house and chilled out on the back porch as it started to spritz a little bit. I turned in early and slept until 9am. Today I have been practicing the Zen Art of Wu-Wei. The art of doing nothing. Well not totally nothing, but I sat out on the back porch, finished reading The Catcher In The Rye and drinking lemonade under the tent. Something about sitting around doing nothing in this heat really makes the experience pleasant. Almost too pleasant. Like it's going to be difficult to return home. O:) Tonight we're going to cookout steaks, probably have some tropical drinks, and watch a movie. It's not half bad to be a third wheel if you can put up with all the PDA!!!!!!!!!!
There's other videos on my Youtube Site and pictures at my Picasa Site.
Signing off from the Island,
Scott
No comments:
Post a Comment