Up and out early again. 6:30AM seems to be our awake time – here, Hilton Head, where ever. We found a book in the house with 57 Day Hikes on Oahu – so there is a ridge walk in Lanikai that will give us a 360 degree view of the beach, the islands and the mountains. I figure we can do that in the morning – and ride the bikes up there.
We head off, it’s a little warmer today than yesterday, but on the bikes, great little cool breeze. We make it up the hill to Lanikai – phew – then we head up the road to the turn to the hike. No go! I’m just not good with spatial things and the hike description said 500 feet elevation gain. Well, hell, what do I know? I’m looking at the 360 degree view…cool. Uh, no! It’s way high up there! And, well, first thing in the morning with only one of those darn Keurig coffee's in our system? Not happening!
So, we just do the Lanikai loop and had to the Kalapawai market for our coffee and newspaper….yeah….routine…but why mess with success?
Then back home to read the paper (on T’eo is all over the place, obviously, home town boy done wrong), and then freshen up.
Today is sort of up in the air, there’s an Hawaiian craft show in Honolulu but other than that – we’re wide open. We decide to go to the North Shore because the waves are crazy big – approaching 30 feet – beaches are closed all over the islands to swimmers, but the surfer dudes can still go out – but only if they are experts.
Off we go – this time we take the correct highways (until a little gaffe getting off the H1 East and going to the H2 West), and end up in the North shore after only about an hour. The drive is easy – and after the highway (this time a real highway – 60 mph) we traverse little 2 lane roads though the mountains, passing the Dole Pineapple Plantation (which is packed, not a parking spot to be had!) and miles and miles of Pineapple fields – some freshly harvested, some just planted. There are also coffee orchards along the way, it is just amazing the difference between Waikiki and the rest of the island!
We are aiming for Haleiwa, the little North Shore village where so many food trucks have made their home. We are actually going to go to a little luncheon place, the Grass Skirt Grill for Mahi and Ahi sandwiches – instead of our normal food truck garlic shrimp fare. As always, the traffic up here is horrific, 2 lane roads, tons of pedestrians, lots of tourists who don’t know where they are going. But hey, we’ve got nothing else to do – so we persevere. We are lucky to find a parking space in the grocery store lot – and we can walk back to the Grill. It’s a little diner type place – place your order at the counter, eat on the small little porch outside. We opt for the sandwiches as opposed to the “plates” which have rice and stuff – and we splurge on the onion rings. Sandwiches are fine – huge pieces of fish with a great teriyaki mayo – but the rings? Total rip off - fake frozen rings, and only maybe 6? For $3.95? No way –and the picture of the rings they have hanging on the menu wall? False advertising! We’re calling the FTC!
After stuffing ourselves on the fish in the sandwiches – forget the rings! – we wander around the marketplace in Haleiwa, window shopping and taking a restroom break. Then back to the car to head off toward the water to see the waves!
Traffic is still pretty tense along Kamehamha Highway. Basically because everyone is watching the water and trying to find parking spaces. We sit for about 5 minutes on the way to Waimea – but after the jam, find a big wide sandy parking area where we can ditch the car and watch the water.
It is pretty impressive! The huge waves – the beaches closed…
…but the bonus was the Sea Turtles!!! Not only was the beach closed for the high surf, but also for the Turtles! They come up to sun on the beach and we got to see one….
'
…totally awesome! There are also a couple of younger turtles playing in the surf. (good luck getting those pix!) We hung out and talked to the Turtle volunteers (stationed there every day to teach the tourists about the turtles and to protect them from said tourists!), compared these turtles to the HHI Loggerhead turtles and just thoroughly enjoyed the time in great weather, great nature and with great company!
We wander down the highway a bit more, past Waimea Falls, past the beach with no one in the water except one lone surfer who isn’t really surfing, but more lying on the board, paddling. Then finally turning around and heading back into town. What the heck, we’ll hit the arts thingy.
Waikiki….what can we say? It’s a huge skyscraper city on a beautiful beach. Alice (GPS) sends us to the wrong park – I mean really? how many Kapiolani Parks can there be in Honolulu???? – but CPS (me) straightens that out and navigates the old fashioned way – with a darn map. Not to mention, I pretty much know where we are going. it is an easy island to navigate!
Instead of taking the highway all the way into the beach, though, we take the nickel tour and go all the way down King Street – through Chinatown – wow! – it’s really Chinatown with tons of shops and markets and roasted chickens hanging in the storefronts. We’ve never been here – worth visiting again when we are staying longer and can cook! Then we ride through the other side of Waikiki – the business districts, local shopping districts, all those areas you normally wouldn’t see from the beach. Pretty fun – takes a long time – but again – we’ve got nothing but time!
It’s Saturday, so the beach is packed. We get to the park, and circle the parking lot twice without any success. So, then Ed decides to go out on the street and troll for a spot. Good call! there are tons of spots just up the street a bit. We can’t figure out why no one has parked here – the only thing we can think is that there are no parking signs on the sidewalk. But they are for Monday, for the MLK parade, and we guess people just assumed it was for today. Their loss!
The park is huge – and green and gorgeous with a little stream landscaped through the area where the craft show is located. We wander through the 100 all Hawaiian made craft stalls for a little while – but there is nothing of any interest. No surprise really, but we were hoping for birthday gift ideas. Oh well – at least we can say we were in Waikiki!
Back to the car – and back to the Windward side of the island. It’s almost 10 degrees cooler over in Kailua – and we watch the thermostat in the car fall as we go over the mountains and drop down into the East side of the island. The Pali highway in the daylight is amazing. we’re getting to see everything we missed on our night time journey. The mountains and ridges are just extreme – they remind us of the TV show Lost – so we call them “Lost-ish” – those huge green undulating ridges and lush foliage. Breathtaking!
It’s happy hour time – so we ferret our way to The Shack – another great dive bar that will be open tomorrow for breakfast and football. Checking out our options! This place is great- tucked into a little corner shopping center – with a rustic deck out front and great atmosphere inside. We relax over a beer and a wine, checking the vibe – which is good. We’ll make the decision tomorrow on where to watch the games.
Back at the house – we hang out back in the Adirondack chairs, reading and soaking up the sun. Then later – the Kailua Pub and Grill (sort of British pub like) for dinner. They have a bar and a separate dining area – but the bar area is renowned for the music – which is played way too loud. You all know we’re bar people – so we head there first – but – yeah – WAY too loud – so we head to the dining area for a more peaceful meal. I have the very un-British Seared Ahi tuna salad – Fabulous! Ed has the very British Fish and chips – HUGE and fabulous! Excellent meal – and nice volume of sound!
Back home (a 3 minute drive – we are LOVING this side of the island) and off to get ready for the playoffs in the morning!
No comments:
Post a Comment