This year has definitely been a year for crossing things off of our must do list! Earlier this year we went to Europe, then we went to Broome and New Zealand. Now, it is Hawaii (and more specifically Pearl Harbour). To be honest, this post probably won't be that long because whilst we like Hawaii, I'm not sure Hawaii liked us!
Because of the International Date Line we actually got to do Saturday 14 October twice. In the first version of that day, we got up early to go and vote in the referendum, then I went to bookclub, then we packed, went to the airport and got on a plane. We flew out of Sydney at about 9.40pm and then arrived in Honolulu at around 11am the same day. We are time travellers.
In the second take of Saturday, we walked along the beach, watched the sunset and then every month they close off the main street of Waikiki and there is a festival where there are all sorts of different stands selling anything from food, jewellery, clothes and all other sorts of things. It was a great vibe. We walked from one end of the market to the other just taking in the vibe. We decided to have barbecue on a stick. This stall was amazing. We ended up getting a mixture of shrimps (prawns), lobster balls, teriyaki chicken, sausages and more! Delicious
The next morning we had breakfast on the 23rd floor of the hotel! What a view!! And that's when it all goes downhill from there as a few hours later I started feeling really unwell. After 2 days of doing not much at all in the hotel room, I finally emerged for a walk along the beach version of caesar. Unfortunately, by this time my husband was also feeling sick
Because we had been feeling unwell, we had to cancel a luau and also move our tour to Pearl Harbour to a different day, so instead of being all nicely spaced out everything was all just crammed into a couple of days.
Despite not yet feeling 100% we did a circle tour of the island tour which wasn't specifically foodie, but there was lots of foodie content! Along the way around the island we started with a visit to a coffee farm where you could see the beans growing on trees and then taste some really interesting flavours
We then visited Dole Plantation where there was so many pineapple related items and I got to try Dole Whip. Who knew that we needed pineapple flavoured soft serve ice cream in our lives?
We also visited a roadside stand where the tour guide recommended the shaved ice (which I didn't try) plus another farm where we could take a turn at cracking macadamia nuts. I will definitely need to try shaved ice the next time we go to Hawaii.
One of the highlights though was eating at a food truck which has previously featured on the TV Show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. It was parked in a car park with 4 or 5 other trucks, and we would never have found it without the tour. I had the Coconut Shrimp and it was so good! I only wish I could have eaten more of it!
We also got to see the big waves on the North Shore and the area where movies such as Jumanji and Jurassic Park were filmed.
Because we had to reschedule the luau, we basically got home from the tour, freshened up and then went to a luau which fortunately was only on the rooftop of the hotel across the road so we got to enjoy the cooler night and an amazing sunset. We really enjoyed the luau experience, which was a buffet style dinner, along with cocktails, although we only had one because, you know, not feeling 100%. The best part of the dinner was the roast beef which was amazing! And there was a coconut cream cake which was one of the dessert options and that was delicious too!
The next day we went to Pearl Harbour. We organised a private guide, who was amazing. Luis was a veteran who loves World War II history which is the perfect combination in a tour guide! This was definitely a bucket list item for the both of us. I will say though, it was hot. It was hot every day but it was particularly hot on this day, or at least it felt like it.
After another big day we wanted to go to Dukes for dinner, which is a pretty famous bar, but there was going to be a long wait so we went to the Cheesecake Factory instead. We hadn't ever been there before and we liked it, but the portions were huge. I think I ate less than half of my Chicken Katsu but it was really good!
Our last day was spent in the water and chilling waiting until it was time to go to the airport ready for this next leg of our trip to Canada. We did manage to have lunch at Duke's which was pretty cool! The fish tacos were delicious!
We are already talking about when we might be able to go back to Hawaii!!
Oh no, no fun being sick! I love Hawaii, we have been there a few times. But roast beef at a luau sounds odd, we always have pork.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Pork probably makes more sense! We are keen to go back at some point.
DeleteSounds like you had a wonderful time despite dealing with a little illness. Your photos are beautiful and all the food sounds delicious. I've never been to Hawaii !
ReplyDeleteWe enjoyed it more than we expected to Judee!
DeleteIt sounds like you made the best of it, despite some sickness. Next time visit the Big Island! No ka oi! The best!
ReplyDeleteAt one point we were planning to do a couple of days on the Big Island but it didn't work out. Maybe next time!
DeleteLoved reading about your trip! I have been to Maui, but Pearl Harbor is one my list, fingers crossed.
ReplyDeletePearl Harbor was very interesting.. Glad we got to see it..
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