On Day Four of our Hawaii trip, we started the morning off with breakfast from Ted’s Bakery, a popular bakery in Haleiwa.
Ted's Bakery in Haleiwa. They are famous for their chocolate haupia cream pie!
We actually didn't try their famous pie, but we grabbed some yummy donuts to go.
We then drove down to Honolulu (yes, again) to go hiking at Manoa Falls. Since we couldn’t hike Diamond Head the previous day, we were evermore determined to make sure we went on this hike!
Starting our hike at Manoa Falls.
The whole trail was a rainforest with lush, towering trees.
This was my first time in a rainforest!
Me making my way up the trail with my umbrella - that's how wet and misty it was!
Dan under an archway of branches. Almost there!
Manoa Falls in all its glory.
I made it! It actually was not too bad of a hike at all. Easy even for me! haha*
Dan and I at Manoa Falls.
Dan illegally went past the barrier to go right by the falls... tsk tsk. Such a rebel.
After the hike, we were definitely hungry for some lunch, so we drove into the more commercial area of Honolulu to get some food.
Driving through Honolulu.
We went to Goma Tei Ramen Restaurant in Ala Moana Mall.
I had shoyu char siu ramen. YUM!!!
The hubby got spicy miso ramen. Also very good! The ramen definitely hit the spot.
After lunch, we headed over to Waikiki to Ty Gurney Surf School. Located in the heart of Waikiki, right by the beach, the surf school is one of the clients at our web design company. We recently launched their site at the end of the last year, and they were so generous as to offer Dan and I complimentary surf lessons when I told them that I was going to be in town on vacation. The owner, Ty Gurney, has given lessons to the likes of Cameron Diaz, Adam Sandler, and Ray Liotta. Pretty awesome!
Arriving at Ty Gurney Surf School and Board Shop.
Some of the apparel we recently designed for the surf school.
More of our designs on display.
With Hollie, the manager of the surf school. Thanks for the surf lessons!
We unfortunately didn’t get to get any photos of ourselves surfing, but it was an exhilarating experience! Dan and I had both never surfed before, but it was really fun! (I was able to stand up on my board and actually surf!) I got exhausted pretty quickly, though, and called it quits after about forty minutes. Dan was a trooper and stayed out on the waves in Waikiki Beach for a good hour and a half. The surf lessons were definitely one of the highlights of our time in Oahu. 🙂
After the surf lessons, we headed over to Waiola Shave Ice again for a refreshing afternoon snack. We’d already gone once on Day One, but it was so good that we just couldn’t stay away.
Dan at Waiola Shave Ice (again).
He got shaved ice with azuki beans and mochi pieces.
This time, I ordered strawberry and lychee flavored shave ice. Soooo good!
We then drove up to check out the Pali Lookout, where you can take in a breathtaking view of the sweeping landscapes, that seem to stretch up the whole Windward side of the island. You can get a view of the lush vegetation and tropical rainforests of Windward Oahu.
Dan at the Pali Lookout.
The left side of our view.
Central line of sight from the lookout.
The right side of our view.
For the late afternoon, we drove to Lanikai Beach in Kailua to just spread out our beach towels and relax by the beach.
Making our way to Lanikai Beach.
Dan walking along the beach.
A man fishing at Lanikai Beach.
We were pretty pooped after the surf lessons!
Dan attempting to snorkel at Lanikai Beach.
...while I was passed out.
Dan taking photos of me while I was napping.
I eventually woke up to dip my feet in the water.
Lanikai Beach was so beautiful! It made me giddy... haha*
An afternoon in paradise.
After a couple hours at the beach, Dan and I drove back to Honolulu to get some dinner. We took our friend Bryan’s recommendation and ate at Ono Hawaiian Food. (Not to be confused with the California chain Ono Hawaiian BBQ… this is the real deal, canoe-style Hawaiian food!) It was a hole-in-the-wall type of place, but had a line and there was a significant wait before we could get a table.
Storefront of Ono Hawaiian Food
We got the the laulau plate with kalua pig. Everything was good! The only dish I was not a particularly huge fan of was the poi. haha*
Big thanks to Bryan for the recommendation! I’m so glad we consulted people who were from Hawaii before going — we were able to eat some really good food while we were there! 🙂
If you know me, you know there’s always room in my tummy for dessert, so we drove over to Bubbies, an ice cream place known for their mochi ice cream.
Arriving at Bubbies in Honolulu.
Look at all those flavors!
We tried (clockwise, from top) the green tea, chocolate peanut butter, guava, passionfruit, lychee, and sakura flavors.
Dan's favorite was the guava mochi ice cream. Thanks Tarrin for the recommendation!
All of the flavors we tried were awesome — my favorites were the lychee and green tea! After we finished our dessert, we drove back up to the Turtle Bay. Our last full day in Honolulu was pretty tiring but definitely memorable and a lot of fun. 😀
Continuing from where we left off, we woke up early on Sunday morning of Day Three to drive down to Honolulu to have breakfast at the famous Leonard’s Bakery.
Starting the day off with Leonard's!
When we were asking around for recommendations on places to eat in Oahu, everyone and their mother recommended this place. They are famous for their malasadas, a Portuguese confection… it was basically an unfilled donut covered in sugar. Crispy on the outside, but very light on the inside. Simple but delicious!
My first time trying a malasada.
We also tried the li hing flavor and cinnamon flavor malasadas, but the original was the best!
We then headed over to our appointment at Masako Formals. Dan and I had never taken Japanese-style wedding photos, but our parents and relatives in Japan had been encouraging us to get some taken for a while. We always wanted to get some taken, but there’s no studio that can do them in the San Francisco Bay Area (at least, non that we know of). So when my friend Yumi told me that the place she bought her wedding dress specialized in Japanese wedding photos, we decided to take the opportunity to get them done there.
Arriving at Masako Formals in Honolulu.
Me waiting to change...
This was actually my first time wearing any sort of kimono. The wedding kimono takes especially long to put on.
Dan getting dressed.
The finishing touches. Looking good, hubby!
Masako Formals took very good care of us and the photos came out pretty good, but we’ll save those for another time. I want to get some photo books made for our parents and grandparents so that they can see them first before we post them online. Stay tuned! 🙂 (Huge thanks to Yumi for telling us about Masako Formals!)
Me very relieved to be out of the heavy kimono and wig.
The photoshoot and all the preparations beforehand took over four hours, so by the time we got out, we were hungry again! We headed over to Shokudo, a Japanese restaurant that our friend Megumi recommended! When she told me to try the mochi cheese gratin, I was skeptical, but decided to give it a shot… and it was actually really good!!!
Mochi cheese gratin!
Who knew mochi and cheese went so well together?
Dan got the yakisoba.
...which was also very yummy.
Apparently the Honey Toast there is also a must-eat, and we saw that every table was ordering it, so we ordered it for dessert. It was pretty amazing….
Shokudo's Honey Toast
Can you tell I am excited? There's always room for dessert!
Thank you Gumi for the recommendation!!!
After lunch, we drove up to Hanauma Bay. Dan had been really excited (and I mean really excited) about going snorkeling in Hawaii, so he finally got his chance!
Arriving at Hanauma Bay.
Palm trees in Hanauma Bay... very pretty!
I passed out on the beach while Dan went snorkeling.
Here are a couple photos Dan captured while snorkeling. To see more, check out the photoset.
A rainbow-colored fish.
Lots of fishies.
Dan with a statue of the state fish: humuhumukununukuapua'a
After spending the afternoon in Hanauma Bay, we drove over to Diamond Head Crater Park, in hopes to hike it in time to see the sunrise at the top. Much to our dismay, when we arrived at the hiking location at 6 o’clock, the park had just closed! 🙁 How are people supposed to see the sunset if it closes so early? We were hella disappointed.
Arriving at Diamond Head, only to find it closed.
The hubby is sad, too.
There wasn’t much we could do about the situation, so we just took a photos of the view from where we were. Alas, we couldn’t fit the Diamond Head hike anywhere into the rest of the trip, so it’ll have to be something we try the next time we’re in Oahu…. :'(
Dan and I at Diamond Head.
Since our hiking plans were foiled, we drove over to Sandy Beach instead to relax and take a nap on the beach while waiting for the sunset….
Our matching beach towels.
Look at those clouds!
We weren't exactly in the prime location to watch a sunset since Sandy Beach is Windward, on the eastern side of the island, but we still got some pretty views of the sky.
For dindin, we drove back down to Honolulu for some more Japanese food at Akasaka, which my coworker and friend Estella recommended! (Estella supplied me with a lot of the fabulous foodie recommendations this trip, so I am very indebted to her.)
Arriving at Akasaka. It happens to be in a location surrounded by porn shops and strip clubs, but don't be turned off by the sketchy area.
Scallop Butteryaki! Delish.
Estella was right, these were some of the best spicy tuna rolls I've ever had!
More sushi from Akasaka. Fish was very fresh!
Dan enjoying a drink with his sushi.
A satisfying dinner to end an eventful day!
That’s it for Day Three of our Hawaii trip! Stay tuned for Day Four, in which we climb treacherous trails to see waterfalls and brave the waters of Waikiki Beach….
We continue with our report of Day 2 in Hawaii! (If you missed Day 1, you can start here.) We had a packed schedule on Saturday, June 12, so we woke up early to get some breakfast — we stopped by the local McDonald’s.
The McDonald's in Laie.
Now before you go and judge us for going to a McDonald’s while vacationing in an exotic place like Hawaii, please take into consideration that the main purpose was to try this:
Spam breakfast from McDonald's.
Only in Hawaii will McDonald’s serve up spam breakfasts. Of course, I couldn’t eat the egg, so I just had a bite of Dan’s spam and ordered a cherry pie instead. The spam was not too bad! We then went on our way to drive over to Kualoa Ranch, where we had made a reservation to go on the super-touristy movie tour! The Kualoa Ranch is where famous films such as Jurassic Park, 50 First Dates, Pearl Harbor, Windtalkers, and Godzilla were filmed (along with a host of others that I can’t remember right now…). It was also used to film several scenes in the popular television show LOST.
Arriving at Kualoa Ranch
The bus we would ride for the movie tour.
Me frolicking while waiting for our tour to start.
Dan and I at Kualoa Ranch
Concrete bunkers that were used in WWII.
At a film location for Pearl Harbor.
They had some photos of Japanese celebrities who had come to visit the ranch:
Apparently Taka-san (Ishibashi Takaaki) from Tunnels had been there there... I am puzzled as to why he is in a bathrobe.
Japanese actor Tamaki Hiroshi, too!
You could see the ocean from the ranch.
Film location for Jurassic Park!
Hurley's golf course from LOST.
Ginormous footprint from the film Godzilla.
Where they filmed a scene in 50 First Dates.
The mountains seen from the ranch were really majestic!
Richard Alpert's home back in the "Canary Islands" in the TV show LOST.
You can see more photos from our movie tour at Kualoa Ranch here. Upon completing the tour, we jumped back into the car and drove down to Aiea, where we visited the historic sites of Pearl Harbor.
Arriving in Pearl Harbor.
The USS Bowfin - we didn't get to go on that tour because we didn't have enough time.
The anchor recovered from the USS Arizona.
We had limited time to spend at Pearl Harbor, but the one thing we wanted to make sure we saw was the USS Arizona Memorial. The USS Arizona Memorial grew out of wartime desire to establish some sort of memorial at Pearl Harbor to honor those who died in the attack, and it is accessible by boat.
On the boat that would take us to the USS Arizona Memorial.
Arriving at the USS Arizona Memorial
The wreckage of No. 3 barbette, one of the only parts of the ship that are visible above the water.
People walking around the USS Arizona.
A Pearl Harbor verteran stands before the marble memorial wall.
The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship's 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. Their names are engraved on the marble wall.
You can see some of the ship wreckage underwater.
Pearl Harbor is definitely a sobering experience, as are most wartime memorial sites, but I am really glad that we went. I’ve always been very interested in American history, and so I was really glad that I was able to see firsthand the site of the attack of the “day which would live in infamy.” It meant a lot for me to be able to actually see the wreckage of the USS Arizona and to pay my respects to those lost. (See the rest of our photos from Pearl Harbor.) After leaving Pearl Harbor, we decided to check out the Aloha Swap Meet, which was also in Aiea. It is one of the largest flea markets in Hawaii.
The Aloha Swap Meet in Aiea.
Hawaiian goods for sale.
Painted coconuts.
The swap meet was interesting to look around in, but there wasn’t anything that was so amazing that we felt compelled to buy. It was definitely a neat place to look around and explore, though. After walking around so much at Pearl Harbor and at the Aloha Swap Meet, we were starving! We promptly headed over to Honolulu to enjoy a late lunch.
Coco Ichiban Curry House in Honolulu.
Dan got the shrimp katsu and stewed shrimp curry.
I got the asari (clam) curry with ebi fry.
The curry was amazing! Thank you Estella for the recommendation!!!
After lunch, we walked around Honolulu to see the area and do some window shopping.
Walking around Honolulu.
SPARK! A trendy clothing boutique my friend Tarrin recommended for their vintage clothes. There was a lot of cool stuff here! It's frequented by Japanese celebrities, too!
In the late afternoon, we headed over to the Kahala Hotel & Resort for the main event of the day, and one of the prime reasons we scheduled our Hawaii trip to be in mid-June: to attend our friends Yumi and Mark’s wedding. 🙂
Arriving at the ceremony location for Yumi and Mark's wedding.
The beautiful ceremony location: a gazebo by the beach.
Dan and I waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Unfortunately, there was no photo-taking allowed at the ceremony, so we snuck in a few right after the ceremony, when the bride and groom were taking group photos.
Yumi made a gorgeous bride!
Yumi and Mark's families
Lovely place setting - the plumeria was a pretty touch!
The bridal party kicking off the reception.
The bride and groom during the toast.
Amazing prime rib.
The dessert was almost too pretty to eat! But I still ate it... and it tasted just as good as it looked!
Cake-cutting time. They are so photogenic!
The sweet first dance... one of my favorite parts of weddings.
Bouquet toss!
The bride and groom at their sweetheart table, looking great!
Congratulations, Yumi and Mark!
We had to retire a little early and couldn’t stay until the very end of the reception, because we had to make the drive all the way back up to the Turtle Bay in North Shore, but we had a wonderful time and were so happy to be able to attend our friends’ big day. (More photos here.)
Cheers to their happily ever after! 末永ããŠå¹¸ã›ã«ï¼ï¼ï¼
We just returned on Sunday morning from our vacation in Hawaii! We actually hadn’t taken our honeymoon when we got married almost two years ago, and we’d always wanted to go to Hawaii since we had both never been. We took a little over a week off to finally go on a real “honeymoon” vacation — we thought it would be appropriate to go now, right before we hit the 2-year mark since our wedding and graduate from our newlywed status. We went to two islands, Oahu and Kaua’i, and we’d been diligently researching and planning all the things we could do for a couple months, collecting recommendations on places to go and things to eat from our friends. Thanks to their help and all the planning, we had a truly amazing and memorable trip!
Because we took so many photos and did so many things, it’s impossible to cover everything in one blog post, so we’re going to try to do this by each day… and Dan will most likely have some video footage to share here and there, too. 🙂 So here’s Day One!
We left San Francisco Airport in the wee hours or Friday morning on June 11th, and arrived in Hawaii in the late morning — there’s a three hour difference between California and Hawaii, which worked in our favor the way there (but of course, we lost three hours on the way back).
Flying into Honolulu Airport.
After landing and picking up our rental car, the first thing on our minds was lunch! We were pretty hungry from not eating anything on the plane, and we were ready to start getting our grub on with all the good food that we heard was in Oahu. We headed over to Andy’s Sandwiches & Smoothies, which my coworker-friend Tarrin had recommended.
Andy's Sandwiches & Smoothies in Honolulu.
It was a small eatery with a hole-in-the-wall atmosphere, and they are known for serving up fresh sandwiches and fantastic smoothies! They are especially known for their avocado sandwiches, but as I’m not a fan of avocado, I got the turkey sandwich without avocado.
My turkey sandwich!
Dan had an avocado sandwich, since he LOVES avocado.
Super hungry and ready to eat!
Both the sandwiches and the strawberry smoothie we had were delish — big thanks to Tarrin for her recommendation. 🙂 But as if that were not enough, we decided to try some of the shaved ice in the area, too. Everyone who we’d talked to who really knew Hawaii well or had lived there in the past had recommended Waiola Shave Ice in Honolulu. Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa is of course the famous one that all the tourists go to, but they all told us Waiola was where it was at! So of course, I couldn’t wait to give it a try….
We got our shaved ice! (No worries, one of those is for Dan...)
I got the Obama Rainbow -- what the President himself ordered when he brought his kids to Waiola Shave Ice -- lemon-lime, cherry, passionfruit!
When I hear about shaved ice here, I’m usually very skeptical because I expect the rock-hard snow cones that are typically served here in the U.S., as opposed to the finely shaved ice that I grew up on (our family had a Japanese shaved ice machine that we’d bust out every summer). But the shaved ice in Waiola was the most finely shaved ice I’d ever seen! It was seriously the best shaved ice I’d ever had — I was blown away by how good it was! The flavors were great, too!
The hotel we were staying in while we were in Oahu was all the way up in the North Shore, so for the first day, we decided to drive along the Eastern side of the island and take in the views, randomly stopping here and there. It was a gorgeous day, which made for some breathtaking views and several stops along the way….
This was near Hanauma Bay...
Gorgeous blue waters and a beach in the distance... the photos don't do it justice.
The Halona Blow Hole
Waves crashing against the boulders.
Our silhouettes in the sun.
Random artsy photo of necklace and dress.
Driving with the windows down, enjoying the warm Hawaii breeze.
Such lush, green mountains!
I believe this was Punalu'u Beach...
After a couple hours of driving (it took us a while since we were driving up the Eastern side of the island instead of cutting through the middle, and because we kept making stops), we finally made it to the Turtle Bay Resort, where we would stay for the next five nights.
The road into the hotel, flanked by palm trees.
Finally arriving at the Turtle Bay Resort! This is where they filmed the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
After checking in and settling into our hotel room, we were hungry for dinner so we decided to eat dinner in the local area of Kahuku… at none other than Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck!
Giovanni's Shrimp Truck in Oahu.
We saw a lot of shrimp trucks in the North Shore, but apparently Giovanni's is the best!
Waiting for our order to be called. If you know me, you know there are few things in the world I love more than shrimp. I was super excited.
The hubby is excited, too.
Shrimp Scampi from Giovanni's Shrimp Truck. SO GOOD!!!
Dan decided to get something different and went for the lemon butter shrimp. The shrimp scampi was definitely better. Still good, though!
This was actually the only shrimp truck we went to at the North Shore during our whole trip. We wanted to try some of the other ones that are supposed to be good (like Macky’s, and Romy’s…), but we were down in the Honolulu area most of the time, so we never got the chance. I definitely could have gone for more shrimp during our stay! Thank you Estella, Megumi, Bryan… everyone who told us about Giovanni’s! It was so good, I am drooling now just thinking about it.
After dinner, Dan spotted a roadside fresh fruit stand on the way back to the hotel, and he was seduced by the big fat Iced Cold Coconut sign. Dan loves coconut! (Me? Not so much.)
Dan getting his coconut from the fruit stand in Kahuku, on Kamehameha Highway.
Dan with some young coconut! He can now die happy.
We returned to the hotel for the evening, taking dips in the pool and just relaxed. The Turtle Bay Resort was right on a beach, so we had a gorgeous view not only from the pool area but from our hotel room as well!
Relaxing by the pool at Turtle Bay Resort.
The sun setting in the distance.
Only Day One, and we already ate so much good food and saw so many beautiful sights! We were definitely excited for the days to come. Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Hawaii!
Sometimes, it’s the little things that help alleviate the stress of the daily grind. Life has been pretty draining and taxing on the nerves lately with the moving, being overloaded with client work, and just being my usual worrywart self. I have to keep reminding myself to think positive in times like these and appreciate the fact that I actually have so much and am really lucky to have wonderful people in our lives. Sometimes those reminders come in the simplest of forms…
The past couple weeks have been completely occupied with moving (which we will update about later), but we took a break last Sunday to meet up over dimsum in San Francisco with my friend Stephanie and her boyfriend Danny, who were visiting the Bay Area from DC for the weekend. I hadn’t seen Steph since last summer, so it was nice to catch up with my lovely friend after not seeing her for nine months! I wish they had been staying in the area longer, but I was grateful for the time that we could meet up, even if it was only for a couple hours.
I’ve made some great friends here in California in the past two and a half years, but inevitably I really do miss my friends from back East and am sad that I only get to see them once or twice a year. So it’s always really exciting when they are ever in the Bay Area to visit, even for a short time. It’s difficult to keep in touch with friends and family who are far away when you’re buried under projects at work and the menial tasks that end up taking over virtually all of your free time, but I’m determined to be better about it this year. I’m excited about the upcoming weeks because I just found out more friends will be coming into town, as well as for last minute opportunities that cropped up to fly out to see other dear friends that I haven’t seen in a while.
We also just booked our flight to Hawaii in June! Our friends are getting married in Honolulu, and since Dan and I both have never been to Hawaii and have not yet gone on an official honeymoon, we figured we’d take the opportunity to extend our stay there for a little over a week and just enjoy it and relax. We’ll be going to Oahu first and then flying over to Kauai for the second half of our stay. So excited! 😀 If anyone has any tips or recommendations on places to go, things to see, where to eat (you know us foodies), we’d love to hear them!
