Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Tomorrow is our last full day here in Lanikai and Kailua, so we wanted to spend as much time enjoying the beach as we can. Still windy this morning, but not as much as yesterday. We walked to the nearest beach access in Lanikai beach instead of driving to Kailua Beach Park and ended up walking all the way to the Lanikai Lookout over the beach park. Along the way back we spotted the sea turtle swimming just off the shore. Once in a while he would stick his head out of the water to look around then go under and swim away.

After lunch we went back to just sit on the beach and enjoy the wind and waves some more, read and watch the dogs go by. Tough life.

We went into Kailua to get some things for dinner at Foodland and settled in for a quiet night. Tomorrow we finish off all the groceries, start packing, one last trip to the beach and go out to dinner out in Kailua.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

When we were in Kaneohe last week we saw a sign the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden. We did some research and found that it created years ago by the Army Corps of Engineers as a flood protection area. It's managed by Parks and Recreation and doubles as a park. For details you can find info at Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden, Official Web Site for The City and County of Honolulu.

We stopped at the visitors center for a map and talked to the ranger on duty for a while. There is a "lake" and a dam about a 10 minute walk away, but we passed on that after we saw people spraying bug repellent on their way down. The drive takes you to several areas along the road with vegetation from Hawaii, Polynesia, Melanesia and Africa. Mostly trees and large bushes rather than small flowering plants although some of the trees were in bloom. A quiet place in the shadow of the Pali mountains.

We went to Kailua Beach Park later but the winds were still blowing pretty hard and the beach was posted with warning flags for Portuguese Man of War. Bev found the remains of several washed up on the beach and saw a sea turtle near the shore. We came back to the "Tree House" until dinnertime then went into town to the Big City Diner. Bev is developing a thing for baby back ribs since we've been here.

Only two full days left so we are going to spend it right here in Kailua, weather and winds permitting.

Aloha

September 28, 2009

The quest for Hula took up part of the day. We got into Honolulu in the morning without any trouble. We should have known it was too easy! We did OK at Ward Warehouse and picked up a print by a local artist that Bev wanted, then we had to navigate the one-way streets and construction to get to the downtown Fabric Center where the hula supplies were supposed to be. Turns out there were no hula supplies. But the young Hawaiian (?) guy that works there said to go to "C C fashion, two minutes up the street". He pointed up Kalakau and kept repeating "two minute!".

After circling round and round, up and down Kalakau there was no CC fashions. Plan B was to go Ala Moana mall to walk around and have lunch then find a phone book to check the address. Sounds easy, but getting to Ala Moana isn't that easy with one-way streets, traffic, but we finally made it. We expected to pull in, park and get in the mall. Apparently everyone else in Honolulu had exactly the same idea at the same time. Level 1: no parking places. Leve 2: same story. Finally up to level 3 on the roof and scored a good spot near an entrance.

Down to the food court with just about every fast food you could imagine and all the people parked on levels 2 & 3 were already there eating. Got Bev some Tony Roma ribs and a seat, then went looking for a plate lunch.

We wandered around through an ABC store and picked up a few things, then wandered into a toy shop. Couldn't find any toys to bring home but borrowed their phone book to check for CC fashions. No listing. Little Hawaiian guy is probably still laughing.

We found a listing in the yellow pages for Hula Supplies that sounded like it was close by. The girl working in the toy store said she knew where it was and gave us detailed directions. We followed the directions and got there in about five minutes. Stroke of luck? Not so fast.

Drove by, no Hula Supply. Went around the block, no Hula Supply. Parked at a drugstore. As we walked out Bev asked a lady coming out of the drugstore if she knew where the Hula Supply store was she smiled and said "they moved". Arggggh!

Sure enough, when we got home and googled them there was a note that they had moved AROUND THE CORNER! If they did we sure didn't see them. But according to their website they didn't have what we were looking for so it didn't matter.

Got back to Kailua just ahead of most of the rush hour traffic and back on the beach. But it was windier than normal and cloudy so we walked back, cooked dinner and hunkered down an evening of TV. Two hours of "Dancing With Stars" and two bowls of ice cream. Please let it be bedtime.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

A quiet Sunday in Hawaii. Went out to the Kalapawai Market by the Kailua Beach Park for macadamia nut coffee and a Sunday paper. Beach time, lunch time, more beach time. Lined up a few places to go this week including another trip to Honolulu. Went into Kailua for dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen. Tasty but small portions. There seem to be only two options here for dinner: fast food and upscale food. The deli at the Foodcenter seems to be the best compromise for quality, quantity and price.
We're watching The Amazing Race on TV. Teams have to eat a Wasabi Bomb (a huge roll of rice with a big scoop of Wasabi, Japanese horseradish) in two minutes to go on with race. Yes, we're easy to please :)

Aloha

Saturday, September 26, 2009

We planned a laundry day for today before we left, but you don't need as many changes of clothes so we still have a few left. We went to the beach instead, but it was really windy and the waves were up, so we cut it short and came home about noon.

Bev found a Subway in Kailua for lunch then we drove up to the Pali Lookout for some pictures. For a change it wasn't raining up there but it was still windy. After a few minutes and fifty pictures later we drove back into Kailua to browse through an art shop Bev noticed last year when we were here. Luckily we only left with a dolphin necklace and a bookmark :)

After a stop at Foodland we went back to the beach. The sun was low and the wind died down so we walked up and down and checked out the dogs. We found the one above retrieving tennis balls thrown by his owner (about twenty times) and you can read his collar for yourself: Leroy Brown (he's the baddest dog in the whole *#@& town).

Aloha

Friday, September 25, 2009

Chilled out this morning and went to the beach. The cleaning lady was scheduled for 11 to 12 noon so we sat on the shore at Kailua beach park while she worked. We went into Honolulu late in the afternoon and walked along Kalakau (the main drag in Waikiki), saw Duke's statue, went into the Moana Surf Rider hotel for pictures of their banyon trees around the pool and of course stopped in a couple of ABC stores.

The best parking along Waikiki is near the Zoo and had lots of free spaces. They are metered 24/7 but only $1 an hour. Sixteen quarters later we were set for the night. We met Matt, Bev's former coworker, at 6:30 and had dinner at the Tiki Grill. Good food, small portions. Then we went on to the patio to hear Vaihi play (Bruddah Sam's group). They are actually pretty good and interact a lot with the crowd. A guy in the audience from Estonia sang for us (I am not making this up) and the front table had a big athletic dude who could really dance and did rap rythyms into the microphone. Amazing how much talent a little alcohol will bring out.

The biggest surprise of the evening was that it rained non-stop in Honolulu the entire time we were there. It was the typical tiny raindrops that eventually get you wet if you stay outside for more than 10 minutes, but when we got to the windward side it was dry! Go figure. Anyway, a good time tonight and we have one more trip to Honolulu scheduled next week.

Friday and Saturday look like laundry and beach time, big waves and clouds predicted.

Aloha

Thursday, September 24, 2009

I went to the entrance to Lanakai which is on a hill above Kailua Beach Park at 7:30 am to catch the morning light. I was surprised how many people we out and about. Lots of school kids on bikes, walkers, joggers, and cars. Early morning light makes all the difference for photos.

We went into Kailua to the Big City Diner for the macadamia nut pancakes and then back to the beach. Once you get settled in the sand you just don't want to leave. The water is warm and there is an endless stream of people, children and dogs.

We went into Kaneohe just a few miles north to a fabric store to pick up fabric for Katilyn's hula group's next show. We were planning on carrying it back with us, but the UPS rate was half of the Hawaiian Airline's cost to carry it on board so we shipped it back.

Ended the afternoon back at Foodland to get a chicken dinner for tonight. Tomorrow it's into Waikiki for dinner with one of Bev's friends from the library who is going to school here.

Aloha

September 23, 2009

Went to the North Shore to check out the surf today. Mountains divide Oahu down the middle putting Honolulu on the west and Kailua on the east, the windward side. We crossed the mountains on the way and ran into a few showers, which is common on the east side of the island as you gain altitude. Unfortunately, a German couple staying on the same property had to leave for the airport (on the West side of Oahu) about the same time. They had A LOT of luggage and were driving a Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible, and they had to put the top down to get it all in the car. I can only imagine how their trip over the mountains went.

We went to Haliewa to browse the tourist shops (Bev's idea) and then had lunch at Haleiwa Joe's on the patio. It's become a tradition for us but mostly an excuse to go to the North Shore. The surf actually turned out to be down today, but the beaches still had red flags and only a few surfers were out there. The prediction is for higher surf tomorrow and Friday.

Even though the Dole corporation is stopping pineapple production on the island, the Dole Plantation Store on the road to Haliewa is still open and has been remodeled and doubled in size. They have a garden, a tourist train and every kind of pineapple merchandise you can imagine plus the ususal hawaiian souvenirs.

Finished the day at Foodland (grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup tonight) and a dip at the beach before settling in for Dancing With The Stars. So much excitement, so little time :)

Goodnight from Lanakai.

Another day in Paradise

Tuesday, September 21

Stayed local this morning, catching up on sleep. Fixed breakfast here then went to the beach for a couple of hours waiting a new rental car. Went in to Kailua at noon and picked up the Dodge Caliber. The Enterprise people are great to deal with. No hassels and great customer service.

We went to Foodland while we were in Kailua, got a newspaper, two mocha lattes, sat outside and enjoyed life for awhile. Foodland is a local chain with a wide selection of groceries, deli, drugstore items, etc. We have their Makai card to cash in on the specials. Slopppy Joes for dinner tonight!

We're staying at a place the owner calls the "treehouse". It's on the second story, above his home and the garage. Sounds tacky, but it's well done as has a lot of privacy. The picture above shows the entrance and from the inside you get a treetop view of the neighborhood with lots of green tropical foliage. A lot different than Phoenix!

One of the big local stories here is the teachers voting on a new contract that gives them an8% paycut and chops 17 school days (all of them Fridays) from the school year. Needless to say a lot of different opinions about this. We'll see how the teachers vote by tonight. By the way, Hawaii's unemployment rate is less than Arizona's: about 7%.

We'll be on the road tomorrow, probably to the north shore and Haleiwa to check out the surf and lunch at Haliewa Joe's. Good eats and scenery at the same time.

Aloha

Arrived in Hawaii

Monday, September 21, 2009

The first full day in Kailua started out at 5:30 am with some rain and a tropical breeze, which is a good feeling because it will get hotter at midday. The place we are staying is just off the beach on a local one-way street and has everything we need: high speed internet, cable TV, fridge, microwave plus beach chairs and towels. And we're only five minutes from downtown Kailua which has a great small-town feel.
The only downside so far is the rental car, a Pontiac G6 (sorry Patrick). It has bad tire noise and the brakes shuddered coming down the Pali Highway. And it's also annoying! The steering wheel squeaks, the doors lock and unlock when you shift and the windshield wipers keep popping on if you bump the the lever as you turn. We took it to Enterprise in Kailua for an exchange, but they were out of anything we liked, so we will pick up a Dodge Caliber tomorrow morning.

We took advantage of the trip to Kailua to stop at the Big City Diner for breakfast where we saw the T-shirt in the picture. A great place with outdoor seating. Going back for the macadamia nut pancakes soon.

Next door is the Foodcenter grocery where we picked up a few things, including a few things from the deli for dinner. And, there is a Coffee Bean and Tea store inside the Foodcenter.

We went to Kailua beach park for a couple of hours and later walked along Lanikai and took some beach pictures. It gets dark in a hurry here at sundown because the Pali mountains block the sun as it sets so we flip on the TV. Caught the Emmys last night, and since tonight is "dancing with the stars" you know mom will be tuned in.