Hawaiian Vacation Part 1

I promised everyone pictures of the trip to Hawaii to see our son get married. I had never been to Hawaii before so it was very cool to get to go. Good job, Jesse and Satomi for choosing Hawaii for their wedding.

Here is Cy looking very satisfied with his convertible we rented for the trip. You have to rent a convertible when you go to Hawaii, right? We came a week early and stayed in Kailua, which is a beautiful bedroom community NE of Honolulu. If I was moving to Hawaii, I would move here in a heartbeat, I felt right at home immediately. We had a cozy studio exactly 1 block from the beach, so every morning of course we had to walk down to the beach. You would walk down the road where there were all these people running and walking their dogs, and there were little access pathways to the beach which is public between the million dollar homes on the beachfront. Something for everyone! Several mornings we saw the crews of the outrigger canoes going out for a run, and once we saw a couple getting their wedding photos.

Of course the first thing we do in Kailua after our walk and a hearty breakfast of pancakes with macadamia nut sauce, is check out the antiques stores. Yes, there are a few antiques stores on Oahu. Here we are in Heritage Antiques a font of traditional antiques. The owner is holding a pair of beautiful prints from the '30s.

Among my favorite things we found were these traditional poi bowls made of Koa wood.

Who knows how this carving of a buffalo landed up in Hawaii, wish it would have fitted in my suitcase.

Lots of stuff in this store. This is where we found the stone fruit, and well, a few vintage Tori Birch dresses for me.

More typical wares. Fun for your kitchen.

Next day the drizzle started, but we headed out to the Ahoha Stadium Flea Market anyway. Of course I had to buy a cute umbrella in a Hawaiian print. Here we just had to stop for a fresh coconut.

This is how they cut them open. How come they don't cut their hands off? Skill and talent I guess. After you drink the coconut water, they scrape out the soft coconut meat for you to eat.

Muumuus!

Rainy the next day so we decided on a field trip up to the North Shore to see the surfers.

A fun Mexican restaurant on the North Shore.

And we just had to stop at the best shaved ice place on the island. Here is the young man above making the icy treat.

Cy looks happy. Who cares if its raining.

Yes, rainy again. We drove to the east coast of the island, and during a letup in the rain, went to a beautiful botanical garden built in a volcanic crater not too far from Diamond Head. This side of the island is quite dry, so the plantings reflect that.

So pretty here.

 I think this was my favorite place. I wish I could remember the name. A small botanical garden on the south side of Kailua using native plants is being planted on a native Hawaiian spiritual place, it looks across the largest marsh on the island. So peaceful here.

We took advantage of a break in the weather, and took a drive out to an overlook where you can see whales. Well, maybe a stop for ice cream. Here is my green tea and coconut ice creams. Yummy!

Here is where you start your hike up the hills. Hope the rain holds off!

Here's the view part way up.

What a view huh?

Well get out your magnifying glass. There are whales out there. We saw a momma and baby and a single male. Well parts of them anyhow. Hey, a flipper is good!

Well, we couldn't leave Kailua without a visit to Pinky's Puupu bar. I had my first MaiTai and some Puupus (appetizers). Tomorrow we're off to Waikiki, where the wedding will be. Stay tuned for Part 2 of our trip.