Tag: travel

I started the day off with an early-morning run along Kalākaua Ave east, passing by shops and other tourists who were also jetlagged. On the flight over, I watched the documentary Waterman – Duke: Ambassador of Aloha, which was the story of Duke Kahanamoku, so I had to stop by his statue and take a photo. I then continued running past the zoo and then looped around Kapi’olani Park and made my way back to the hotel.

After cleaning up, we went to Halepuna’s sister hotel, Halekulani, and enjoyed a yummy breakfast at the House Without a Key buffet, then bought a couple of Holo cards so we could buy daily bus passes. For this trip to Oahu, we decided not to rent a car and just get around by bus. Fare costs $3.00 for one ride, but if you buy a Holo card (for $2 at an ABC Store) you can add day passes which is a great value. It’s $7.00 for unlimited rides per day, and I think you can get a small discount if you buy multiple days.

Riding the bus is super-easy. We just used Google Maps and chose bus instead of car. It tells you walking directions to the bus stop, which bus to take, what stop to get off at, and then walking directions to your destination. It also has information such as if the bus is on-time or late, how many stops the bus will make, and any alternate routes or transfers. It’s really easy!

For our first ride, we went to Ala Moana Shopping Center to check out my favorite store, Uniqlo. This particular Uniqlo had some really cool tshirt designs featuring local brands like Hawaiian Sun and Leonard’s Bakery. I ended up getting a Hawaiian Host shirt since my grandpa drew the original tiki design that is featured on many of their boxes. And I also got a nice button-up shirt, and two pairs of nice shorts, which meant I could finally replace my very old shorts. In fact, later that afternoon, I changed into the new pair of shorts and threw away my old ones in a hotel restroom.

After Uniqlo, we shared a spicy ramen from Ramen Bario. It was yummy! We were still kind of full from the breakfast buffet, but we’re on vacation, which means try all the delicious foods. :)

Next on the agenda was another one of my stops: a visit to Kamaka Ukulele. Kamaka is the grandfather of all ukulele companies, so it was really cool to visit their store. It’s actually very small, but I got to try out a couple of nice models including this long-neck soprano pineapple. It was a beauty! I’m thinking of getting a nice ukulele, and Kamaka is on the list. My dad has a Kamaka at his house, so it would be neat to get one too. I’ll think about it!

Two very nice vacation destinations down, and it’s still early afternoon. Now it was time for one of Mariko’s stops, which was for a foot massage. We went to Dynasty Foot Massage and I ended up getting one too. Why not, right? It was my first foot massage, and I really enjoyed it. Maybe it will help me run faster. :)

As I mentioned in one of my Indy blog posts, Mariko and I really like visiting local breweries. And there are several in Honolulu to try. The first brewery we went to was Lokahi Brewing Company. I really liked the location and the beer, but the selection was a bit small, which is understandable because it’s a small brewery. Worth a visit, though.

After that, we hopped on the bus for a short ride down to Hana Koa for a couple of flights and pupus. The selection was large and varied, and it was lively but not too crowded. Just right!

Mariko had an appointment at Soho Hair Salon for a cut so we took the bus again back to Waikiki. While she was at the salon, I listened to some live music at the Ilikai Hotel patio and enjoyed the view of the marina. When she was finished, we watched the sunset while we waited for our dinner reservation at Pesca.

The restaurant is on the top floor of the hotel, and Mariko reserved a table so we could watch the Friday fireworks. It was a pretty show, and paired with the yummy seafood, made for a memorable dinner.

After that, we walked along the beach path back to our hotel, and retired for the evening. What a long day!