Our first stop was at Leonard's for hot malasadas, a Portuguese donut. (Look, Leonard's is even mentioned on the Wiki!) They come in original (sugar), cinnamon sugar, and filled with different flavor custards – I had a chocolate, but they also had vanilla and haupia, among others. Like any other donut, I think they're just a very good excuse for having fried carbohydrates and sugar.
This is La'ie Point just outside of La'ie, where the Polynesian Cultural Center is located. That island in the background is notable for the hole in the center, which was created when a tsunami wave (from our Aleutian Islands) hit it on 01 April 1946.
That's Moku'auia/Goat Island in the background. On a good day, it's possible to wade out to the island in chest deep water and have the beach there, protected in a kind of crescent moon shape, mostly to yourself (during the weekday). But because of the wind, the water was too choppy and the currents probably a little too strong – so we had to view it from a distance...
...and play in the sand and water on Oahu.Kohuku is known for their fresh shrimp, usually sold off trucks, so we stop at a place called Romy's Shrimp Hut for their sweet and spicy shrimp platter. For the squeamish, they were kind enough to cut off the eyes, but they left enough of the head for those who like what's inside that part. :)
The wind turned out to be a good thing, even if we had to forgo the "private" beach part: the waves were happening out at Sunset Beach, and in particular at Banzai Pipeline. There must have been about a hundred spectators when we pulled up, some with those large telephoto lens cameras, and about 50 surfers out on the water. I don't think it was one of those perfect-conditions kind of days, but that wasn't going to stop them from trying.
This was one of two guys that we saw walking away with a broken board.A little further down the beach, we stop at Shark's Cove. Back in the day, this is where they hung out, but now it's just in name. There's a natural tide pool here with some great summer snorkeling. Before we came, Drew bought some snorkeling equipment hoping he'd get a chance to use it, and unfortunately this was his only opportunity and for a very short time. Because of the waves in winter, it's maybe not the best place to be since, as Drew tells it, your chest is literally inches from the coral. As it happens, he decided to get out of the water right before this huge wave washed over the wall of the tide pool causing little swells.
The appropriately named Turtle Beach actually delivered. Turtles collect here for sunbathing(?) and apparently are known for cutting swimmers off on their way to and from the beach. I'm not sure what this one was doing, but there was a crowd of onlookers and two women with a red rope trying to make sure no one got too close. We didn't stay long since we were parked illegally. But after driving away, we decided to turn back since this was going to be our last look at sand and sea – we were headed inland back towards Honolulu and our plane – and G wanted to play some more.
We stop in Hale'iwa for killer tacos at Killer Tacos; and shave ice at Aoki's. As we were sitting outside at the former, we happened to strike up a conversation with a local and her granddaughter, who was a little younger than BB. The grandmother had been there all her life, the child of Japanese immigrants, and it was interesting to hear how things had changed during her lifetime.
Before this trip, I didn't know that you couldn't actually drive all the way around Oahu. There's a portion in the upper northwest corner that is accessible only with 4WD and only to a certain point. So from Hale'iwa, the fastest route back to HNL is through the middle of the island, which takes you passed the Dole Plantation near Wahiawa. (Also see the official website.) Though they don't grow pineapples commercially here anymore, they're known for supposedly the world's largest maze, which we skipped. The Rs made a trip here earlier in the week and recommended the train ride so that's what we did.
It's just one of those little kiddie rides, but it was quite informative. For one thing, you ride passed all these different crops like cacao, lychee, longan, carambola, and papaya, all of which I didn't known grew on trees/bushes. Of course the highlight is their bit on pineapples. Did you know that pineapples are planted by hand and hand-picked even now? Them are some spiky plants esp up close so workers have to wear some heavy and thick clothing even in the hot summer months. What was fascinating to me though was that a skilled worker can plant over 10,000 pineapples a day, which is about either 1/8 or 1/4 of an acre, I can't remember. The gift shop is quite impressive as well. Just about everything pineapple including pineapple cutting demos. I managed to hold myself back since there was the already bursting luggage to consider.Before going to the airport, we stopped in Pearl City, just north of Pearl Harbor to get gas for the rental and maybe find some dinner. We tried our luck at the Pearlridge Shopping Center, but as it turns out, it's one of those places that you don't really want to stop at after it gets dark. So we changed into our Alaska clothes in the parking lot – lots of dried sand stuck everywhere – there and headed for the airport.
Do you like the plumeria lei that Drew bought me (at the Dole Plantation)? Unfortunately I couldn't keep it because it was making me sneeze. And I wasn't sure I could guarantee its survival on the plane ride home. (Whenever the girls handled it, handfuls of petals would get ripped off so I'm not sure it would have looked this pretty after 6 hours.) An interesting little tidbit about Hawai'i: You can't transport any plant or animal in *or out of* the state. Maybe I'm out of travel-practice, but is this true for international travel as well? I thought it was okay to take, say, fruit out of the country, or in this case state, as long as it was consumed by the time you landed. But maybe they're worried about having the genetics of their flora and fauna "stolen". To prevent such things from occurring, they have a kind of customs station that you have to pass on the way into the airport – and you have to make and sign a declaration before you land in Hawai'i.Anyway by the time we get seated at the gate, I'm hoping and praying that the girls fall asleep quickly because I'm just exhausted! Mercifully, all four of us are asleep even before takeoff. I have a vague recollection of BB going limp in my arms only moments before I go limp myself. And the next thing I remember is waking up midway through the beverage and snack announcement.
