Aloha, Hawaii! --- Part 1

As I will probably be the only one awake for a while (my body still isn't used to the time change), I'll use this time to cover the 1st chunk of my Hawaiian adventure!

Being a fairly lucky duck when it comes to travel, this is my second time to come to Hawaii. My first trip (1986) ended with very fuzzy memories, the most prominent one looking something like this:

I stepped on a thorn on the the beach, and that is what I took away from all that Hawaii had to offer.

Twenty-six years later and fully aware of the dangers of pointy objects, I feel I am more qualified to appreciate island paradise. My trip began with 9 collective hours on a plane with multiple children looking much like the kid above. The Dallas-Honolulu leg had a toddler that screamed continuously for the entirety of the 8 hour flight... I played through many imagined scenarios, most of which included me telling the mom and dad what horrible parents they were for 1) having birthed that child, 2) thinking the constant screaming was funny, and 3) for taking a child of that age and that level of behavior on a plane with people that did not pay an incredible amount of money to listen to a child scream to the point of hoarseness. The other passengers would then cheer that I had said what they were all thinking, in my imagination of course... Instead, I gritted my teeth and watched an episode of Around the World in 80 Plates I had downloaded to my iMac.

I was met at baggage by my brother-in-law and his two kiddos with the most delicious smelling leis! Truly, is there any other way to be met at an Hawaiian airport?

Even before heading to the condo, we stopped at Shokudo's for an early dinner (I was starving) of seriously weird sushi (spicy tuna on top of a rice tater-tot with pickled jalepeno), DELICIOUS ramen, some other strange rice-based dish with yummy beef pieces mashed against the walls of a super hot bowl, and, the crowning glory of the meal, honey toast. :) That stuff is delicious!

A few minutes drive and we were at our condo on Waikiki Beach - home for the next 2 weeks. After surviving the toddler from hell I figured I earned an adult beverage and satisfied that need with a Lava Flow, basically a pina colada with some strawberry stuff. No paper umbrella... We watched the sun go down, made some attempts at capturing the light, and headed back upstairs where I managed to stay awake until 9:30 before crashing.

Hawaii has daylight from about 6am-7:45ish. I woke up Thursday morning to pre-daylight, while the clouds still had some color to them. The clouds, which lingered all day, were high and dark with some wind behind them. It was, in fact, chilly all day, at least to my Texas-acclimated body. Kim and I walked to Cream Pot, a fru-fru brunch restaurant that is entirely out of place but heavenly in Waikiki. I indulged both my tastebuds and my wallet for amazing strawberry soufflé pancakes and Kona coffee.

me & a bombax tree

For my first day in Hawaii, we spent a good deal of time just scoping out a good bit of the island while I got my bearings. First on the agenda: Queen's Medical Center. Odd place to visit without knowing a patient? Only if you know nothing of the history behind the place. In a nutshell, the Hawaiian Queen Emma insisted on making the grounds of her namesake hospital as beautiful as the gardens she loved tending. The resident physician was also a noted botanist who was interested in rare trees. Together they obtained and planted a number of truly exceptional trees on the property. I can't tell you how cool these trees were! We also got in trouble for taking the pictures.... something about patient confidentiality... whoops!

There were also baobab trees on-site, but as they are incredibly slow growing/long living trees, they were still pretty small and less impressive.

me & a banyan tree

Nawa canopy

Following my botany excursion, we drove up to Kailua on the East coast. Lunch at Bob's Pizzaria, shave ice at Island Snow (an Obama favorite), and then it was off to a powder sand beach that really was super awesome under your feet. :) We didn't swim; it was just a sight-seeing day. A bit on the beach and then we started the drive back to Waikiki following the coast line. The weather was atypical but created some great pictures.

Anthony Bourdain approved Hula Dog for dinner!

 And thus ended my first 36 hours on Aloha Time. Unfortunately, no paper umbrellas yet...