This morning, we woke up to a charming little rainbow over the city and decided to walk to Rainbow Drive-In for lunch. Sharing a mixed plate and a pork cutlet plate was such a treat – delicious and so satisfying.
Later, we strolled over to Waikiki and watched the kids riding waves on their boogie boards. Our flight back to Maui was in the afternoon, so our time on Oahu was short but sweet. Oh, and I’m still feeling sore from the massage we had earlier – definitely a sign it was amazing!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/22, 1/100 sec, ISO2000 “Sunset” Big Island, 2024
Today we went on a fantastic trip to the summit of Mauna Kea with Mauna Kea Summit Adventures. It was so good. We were picked up in Kona and driven in a nice new van up to the summit, while the driver (Arthur) told us a ton of interesting facts about the Big Island. At the summit we enjoyed a beautiful sunset, and then returned to the visitor center where our driver set up a telescope and we spent a couple of hours stargazing. It was pretty great! Highly recommended.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 20.5mm, f/13, 1/100 sec, ISO800 “Distant Haleakala” Big Island, 2024Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO3200 “Mauna Kea Sky” Big Island, 2024
It was travel day today! After watching our last amazing sunrise over Diamond Head, we checked out of the Park Shore Hotel and caught the bus to the airport. Again, the fare is only $3 per person, compared to $35 for a Lyft of Uber. What a deal!
Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO32 “At the Airport” Honolulu, 2022Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/14900 sec, ISO32 “Bye Oahu” Hawaii, 2022
It was a short island-hop over to Maui where my nephew picked us up and brought us back to the house in Wailuku. Our house was designed and built by my grandpa in 1956, and has been in the family ever since. It holds so many memories for us, and I’m looking for more memories to be made there! :)
Mariko and I settled in and then went out for some food at Tin Roof. I haven’t eaten there before, but everyone has good things to say about their chicken sandwich, so I had to get one! We also ordered some saimin, then took the food to the beach and ate at the picnic table behind the canoe club building. The sandwich was really tasty, but the chicken was a little dry (which seemed to be an anomaly). We did enjoy the crunch and flavor, though, and it’s really high on my chicken sandwich list, for sure. The saimin was also yummy and made for a perfect first meal on Maui.
After that we did a little grocery shopping at Foodland, then went back to the house to relax with a couple beers with my nephew and watch the baseball game. Welcome to Maui! :)
Today we went on a “circle tour” around the island of Oahu. The mini-bus picked us up at about 7:30 am and took us east to see the sights before heading north and continuing counter-clockwise around the island. Mariko and I had both driven around the island before, so we’ve seen most of the sights before, but it was nice to hear the tour guide talk about Oahu and some of the local history. We also stopped by Fumi’s shrimp restaurant and had a delicious plate of spicy garlic shrimp. Yum!
The only bummer about the tour was that there was a traffic jam in North Shore because of construction, so we were stopped for a hour or so and the air conditioning wasn’t the strongest… it was pretty uncomfortable! All-in-all though, I enjoyed the tour. It was $79 per person, and since it lasted about 8 hours, I think it was a good deal.
We exited the tour bus in the heart of Waikiki so we could stroll back to the hotel, do some souvenir shopping, and get some fresh air after spending so much time in the mini-bus. I really enjoy being in “tourist mode”!
In the evening, my cousins took us out for dinner at La Ciccia for some delicious Italian food. It was actually sort of Japanese/Italian, with dishes like mentaiko pasta, kumamoto oysters, and other delicacies. Really yummy, and it was fun to catch up with my cousins, a couple of whom I haven’t seen in 15 years or so!
After dinner, it was back to the hotel and some much-needed sleep.
Today, Mariko went out to breakfast and shopping with her friend, so I had some free time before meeting back up with her in the afternoon. I of course put on my running gear and headed out for a run, this time heading farther east towards Diamond Head and just continuing around it counter-clockwise. When I got to the entrance of the state park, I decided to get some hill-work in and ran up the entrance road, then through the tunnel, and into the crater itself. You need reservations to enter into the actual park, and since I didn’t have any, I just turned around and went back down to the road that circles Diamond Head and continued on my circle path and back to the hotel. It was a great run!
Back at the hotel, I looked out at the beach and the blue ocean and thought I might as well take advantage of the awesome location (and free beach towel) and go for a swim. The water felt so good! It was the perfect temperature – not too warm, but not chilly either. The relaxing swim was great after a sweaty run and I felt refreshed and ready to go!
After a quick shower at the hotel room, I was feeling pretty hungry and I looked at a few options nearby. There were a couple ramen shops, but Rainbow Drive-In was calling my name! The legendary plate-lunch place wasn’t very crowded at 11:30 so I was able to order right away and enjoy my mix-plate at the picnic tables in the back. Just 15 minutes later, a long line had formed so I guess I had perfect timing. :) The mix-plate was pretty huge but I was so hungry after running and swimming that I finished it no problem. That morning exercise really keeps my appetite going.
I still had an hour before meeting back up with Mariko, so I strolled around Waikiki, got a coffee at Kai Coffee (and the barista spelled my name correctly on the cup!) and people-watched for a bit. Ah, vacation is great!
Soon I met Mariko back at the hotel, and then her friend and her friend’s husband picked us up and we drove out to Waienae for dinner at The Beach House by 604, We munched on appetizers, enjoyed beer and tropical drinks, and then watched another beautiful Oahu sunset. It was so fun to meet new friends and chat about work, kids, family, and life in general. Shiawase!
