Hawaii for the Holidays

To be completely honest with you, Cheryl and I were still kicking the Jamaican sand out of our Sandals (no pun intended) when we decided to take another tropical vacation - this time, to Oahu, HI.  Kenji and Liane, both very good dental school friends of ours, were engaged and planned to have their wedding in Hawaii; A great choice since Liane was born and raised on Oahu and some of Kenji's family planned on flying over from Japan. They planned a smaller, more intimate wedding and Cheryl and I were honored with an invitation to join in their celebration.  Time to grab another bottle of sunscreen :)

At LAX preparing to head into the terminal.

Once we landed in beautiful Oahu, Cheryl and I picked up our rental car and started our Hawaiian adventure.  Thankfully, our car came equipped with a GPS at no additional cost and having been to Oahu once before, I knew that a great place to start would be Pearl Harbor.  I punched in the address and off we went.

The USS Bowfin shot through the recovered anchor chain of the USS Arizona.

USS Arizona Memorial Site

The USS Arizona wreckage.  Nearly 60 years after the battle of Pearl harbor and it is still leaking oil.

This trip was made possible through the generosity of John and Valerie Fu, friends of ours who are living in Oahu while John is on a 1 year residency.  They had an extra bedroom and were kind enough to offer it to us while we were in Hawaii.  Since they live in Waipahu (Pronounced Why-Pa-Who), which is very centralized, Cheryl and I had no problem making day trips to various parts of the island - starting with Ko'Olina Lagoons.

Located near the Southwest point of the island, this series of 4 man-made lagoons are surrounded by stunning 270 degree view of the ocean and incredible resorts.  The weather was absolutely perfect and Cheryl and I quickly learned that it would be in our best interest to always travel with our swimsuits and towels.

After relaxing at the beach for a bit, Cheryl and I headed back to home-base to rest before heading east to Waikiki - or as the locals call it "town".

A stunning shot of the infinity pool and ocean at one of the resorts along Waikiki beach.

The famed Duke Kahanamoku Statue in Kuhio Beach Park.
Know as the Hawaiian Ambassador of Aloha and the Father of Modern Surfing.  

The Moana Surfrider Hotel

Another "Must-Do" in Oahu is visiting the Dole Plantation.  Cheryl and I got an early start on the day and took two of the tours that were available for that day.  A little train ride around the plantation and the walking garden tour.

Cheryl looking beautiful as always.

I said little train ride didn't I?

The dirt was so rich and red that with just a little water,
you could stain a shirt, call it a dirt shirt, and sell it to tourists :)

Aloha!

Baby Pinapple

Some absolutely gorgeous flowers that grow naturally in Hawaii.  

Pineapples, once the ONLY export, is now joined by sugar cane, coffee, and believe it or not, flowers!

After a little time, and a couple of purchases in the Dole gift shop, Cheryl and I jumped back in the car and headed to North Shore.  After-all, we were halfway there.  We stopped in Haleiwa to grab some lunch before we explored a bit more.  What caught my eye was a vintage VW Bus covered in tinsel and a wreath.  So I guess this is how they celebrate Christmas - sunshine, sand, and waves.
Hang Loose.

We decided to eat at the Grass Skirt Grill, a quaint little restaurant with delicious fresh fish menu items caught daily in Haleiwa Harbor.  I had the Ahi Burger and Cheryl had the Mahi burger - both were delicious.  

Up next, dessert...

Enter Aoki's Shave Ice located just up the street from us. LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS CONE!

The closest Cheryl has felt to heaven.
P.S.  It was amazing!

On our way to Shark's Cove for some snorkeling (NOT WITH SHARKS), Cheryl and I saw some cars parked on the side of the freeway and decided to stop for some pictures.  Not labeled on any map but fondly referred to as Turtle beach by the locals, this spot was an absolutely gorgeous place to take some pictures.  Click here for a longitude/latitude of the exact spot.  Needless to say, the pictures of us were taken by a gentleman with much better camera skills than myself.  I only hope he looks back at the pictures I took of him and his fiance with as much joy as I do the ones taken of us.  

Thanks bro, whoever you are.

Next up, Sharks Cove.  Although we found the experience amazing, we ran into one little problem.  We needed to carry all of our gear from the parking lot down to the cove, which is fine, but who was going to watch our stuff while we were in the water?  Just as it seemed that we would need to alternate snorkeling, Cheryl had an ingenious idea...

...carry all our stuff out to a tiny little island in the middle of the cove.  Brilliant!  We had so much fun looking at all the fish that were stuck in the cove until the tide rose again - at which point a new batch of fish would get stuck the next day!

To complete our northern trek, we dried off and headed to Turtle Bay Resort.  A stunning Resort located at the most northern tip of the island - a real treat for those who want to get away from the hubbub of tourism and just relax under the swaying palms.

As the sun began to set, Cheryl and I decided to make a mad dash back to "Turtle beach" to get some epic sunset shots.  Perfect timing!

One of my favorite pictures of the trip.
Notice the silhouette of some people fishing in the background :) 

What a wonderful memory.

Saturday and there are wedding bells in the air.  Congratulations Kenji and Liane!

A beautiful ceremony fusing both Japanese and Polynesian culture.

Who needs rice when you have bubbles to blow at the bride and groom.

We were able to enjoy the ceremony with our good friends Jacque and JP  (who are engaged).
Hawaii 2011 anybody?

After the ceremony, we all headed over to Waikiki to have the reception at the beautiful Hyatt Regency.

Cheryl and I with Mr. and Mrs. Kenji Sakai

As the dancing began, the bride and groom were asked to come onto the dance floor and perform the equivalent of a money dance.  I grew up going to weddings that gave an opportunity for people to give money to the bride and groom in exchange for a little dance time.  Apparently these people kicked it up a notch.  You basically walk-up to either the bride or groom, shove a wad of bills in some pocket, fold, or "inner-lining" and stand back and watch the other party try and remove the bills with their teeth.  AWESOME!  After a couple of minutes of semi-inappropriate but entirely entertaining locations (think cleavage and waistlines), it was my turn.  Wanting to turn the tide in a better direction, I chose a clean crisp bill, folded it up tightly and placed it between Kenji's teeth.  All the guests erupted in applause and cheers as Liane french kissed Kenji in an attempt to get the money.  Brilliant.

After a wonderful evening, we all headed home to rest up a bit before heading back to Waikiki for some after-hours cocktails and hanging out at Tiki's bar and Grill.  Little did we know that today would be the last time we would see the sun while we were in Hawaii :(

The next morning we awoke to heavy cloud cover and scattered showers throughout the day.  No problem, the rain doesn't bother you if you already plan on getting wet.  So we changed our plans to include a water activity - like snorkeling in Hanauma Bay! One of the most popular locations for snorkeling, even during a downpour of rain and murky water there was fish to see.

Unfortunately, we were told by the lifeguards on the beach that due to the heavy rain and erosion that they were going to close the beach.  Bummer.  10 minutes after we got into the water we were heading back up the hill to our car.  To salvage the trip, we all headed over to Kona Brewing company for a pint of beer.

Here are all our friends who met up in Hawaii for the Wedding.

A few years ago, I purchased a small frozen package of gourmet ice cream individually wrapped in a gelatinous layer of pounded rice cake.  I know, it sounds weird, but at that very moment - I fell in love with Mochi.  The ice cream was rich and decadent, and the outer layer was soft and sweet - all in a little neatly wrapped package.  Now, here I was standing at the counter of Bubbies gourmet ice cream in Oahu, staring at a exhaustive list of some of the most delicious sounding Mochi flavors imaginable.  What flavors, how many?  Thankfully they made it easy on me and offered a "Any 6 for $" deal.  Sold.  Now which flavors...

Here are the flavors I ordered:  Clockwise starting with Green tea (green), Chocolate Peanut Butter, Passon Fruit, Chocolate, Sakura (Japanese Cherry Blossom) and Ultimate Vanilla (middle).  All of them were amazing although I did get a bit of a sugar rush afterwards.

The next day, Cheryl and I decided to take a trip along the island's Windward side.   This side gets the most rain and is likewise the lushest (is this even a word).  We heard from the locals, John and Val, that we had to head to Boots and Kimo's located in Kailua and try their pancakes with macadamia nut sauce.  I won't deny it, I have no problem letting food be the reason for a trip.  So sue me!

There are two things you can do in the rain: Snorkel and Eat.
Since we already tried snorkeling, all that was left was to eat.

Here we are in Boots and Kimo's after a pretty long wait for a seat.
Hope the food is worth it.

OH MY ...
Note: If I drowned in this sauce I would at least die with a smile on my face.

To round out our trip to Hawaii, we booked a Luau at the Polynesian Culture center - which is essentially a tourist trap funded by Mormons.  No matter, we were with friends and out of the rain.  Let the festivities begin.

Notice the group of people in ponchos. 

Everything is so much more fun with friends.

The Polynesian Cultural Center was set-up next to a Brigham Young University in 1963 to help students work their way through college by sharing their Polynesian culture through handmade crafts, food, and performing in shows.  You want your education for free ... DANCE MONKEY, DANCE!

Did I mention tourist trap?

All in all, the show was pretty spectacular and very well done. 

Our last morning in Hawaii and we were tempted with a cloudy, yet still very beautiful sunrise.  

We wish we could stay...

...but since we can't, let's eat some more before we leave!  

YAY! MALASADAS!

We saw this truck in the parking lot of our neighborhood shopping complex and vowed to get some before we left.  Wikipedia should just change their definition to "Best damn thing you'll ever put in your mouth".  Needless to say, we got three:  1. Standard Cinnamon and Sugar 2. Coconut custard filled 3. Chocolate sauce filled - God Bless the Portuguese!  No offense, but if I lived on this island there is no doubt that with a little sun and a lot of this food I would soon begin to look like a traditional polynesian...

R.I.P Israel "IZ" Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole
May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997

P.S.  Did I mention that somewhere within this past week Cheryl and I also made it to Liliha Bakery for their famous cream puffs.  Thank God for our amazing metabolisms and the opportunity to enjoy yet another tropical destination in 2010.  What a great way to end a great year.  

Congrats Kenji and Liane - Mahalo for the invite.

Aloha!