Musings of a late twenty something still trying to figure it all out. Things I HAVE figured out... food, travel and the Windy City. A recent transplant to Boston, I'm starting from scratch.
Our last morning on the south side of Oahu we spent at Pearl Harbor. There are no words for the organization and execution of this memorial. Arrive early and I highly encourage spending $7 on the audio tour, especially given the museums and memorial are free, it filled the 3 hour gap between our arrival and our ferry time to visit the USS Arizona perfectly. (Yes, three hours from 8:30am until 11:15am. Bring food.)
Sometimes later generations who were not alive to experience the defining moments of their predecessors lives, simply do not have the knowledge to empathize with the feelings these moments bear. It’s always important to take time to remember what you can. Pearl Harbor is an important example of what some generations hold dear and we should too.
December 7, 1941.
USS Arizona Memorial. 1 Arizona Memorial Road. Honolulu, HI.
Pork belly bruschetta, hand cut pasta and pan roasted chicken from Town.
3435 Waialae Ave.
While I struggle to go to the gym, a five week struggle currently if we’re keeping track… I am always up for some beginner mountain (hill) climbing while on vacation. I find you always get the best views, and I get rid of a little of the general vacation guilt I seem to carry around when my only responsibilities are to eat, drink, and sunbathe. As long as crampons aren’t needed, I’m in. We spent the next morning hiking to the top of Diamond Head, a very quick 35 minute climb that gave us some great views of Waikiki Beach and Honolulu. Anyone with a basic level of fitness could handle the walk and get there early if you want to find parking in their lot. After the climb we headed to breakfast at Cream Pot, which turned out to be my favorite meal of the entire trip.
Must order: Souffle Pancakes and Bacon Baked Eggs. If you’re there alone, you’ll have to get both.
I’m sorry.
You won’t be.
And to work off that breakfast we lounged on the beach for a few hours. While you can’t beat the $5-for-two-chairs-and-an-umbrella deals in Rio de Jainero (and $1 cans of beer in a koozy), it was comforting to know there was a low likelihood we’d be robbed at knife point.
Dinner was at a contemporary Italian small plates restaurant called Town. The portions were huge and unfortunately take-out is less appealing on vacation. I still took my homemade pasta back to the hotel with high hopes for consumption, but left it the next morning when we checked out. I just pretended the cleaning lady was enjoying it with the Kona beers we also left thanks to my absent mindedness.
Diamond Head State Park. Diamond Head Rd. Honolulu, HI.
Cream Pot. 444 Niu Street. Honolulu, HI.
Town. 3435 Waialae Ave. Honolulu, HI
After a 9 hour flight from Chicago to Honolulu I arrived famished. I was completely unprepared for the task of feeding myself on the plane and ended up with peanut butter crackers and dried fruit. I mean, I have never in my life been on a flight that long where food was for purchase only! I guess when you’re headed to paradise nobody’s a critic. Luckily, I was seated next to a local who drafted me a list of “Oahu Bests” and I proceeded to hit everything I could until our return flight.
Honolulu turned out to be quite urban and contemporary (I had no idea), the city itself is expansive and you can eat and drink like you’re in Chicago (always a plus). I stayed on Waikiki through the work week and could not get enough of the ocean views, Outrigger Reef was a reasonable beachfront option (comparatively) that I really enjoyed.
Dan arrived midweek and the food frenzy began. I am a huge fan of the Hawaiian approach to lunch- usually a protein, scoop of white rice and macaroni salad. Given my weakness for macaroni salad, I could not get enough. We had Kahlua Pork from Yama’s Fish Market that was pretty phenomenal- unfortunately they were out of Lau Lau by late afternoon, so if you attempt to go, go early.
Our next stop was happy hour at the Moana Surfrider hotel, a luxury property on Waikiki that has alfresco drinking with live music every night. When we arrived there was only one sad table open, fairly far from the water, but after a quick 5 minute wait we secured beachfront seats. I highly recommend checking out this historic hotel.
Dinner was at Duke’s, named for infamous Hawaiian surfer Duke Paoa Kahanamoku. The restaurant was fairly touristy, but the food was great and a giant Tiki Bar anchored the space. I like Tiki Bars even more than I like macaroni salad…
Unfortunately we were still adjusting to the time change (Day 4 for me) and rather than potentially passing out at the Dragon Upstairs we headed back to the hotel.
Yama’s Fish Market. 2332 Young Street. Honolulu, HI.
Moana Surfrider Hotel. 2365 Kalakaua Avenue Honolulu, HI
Duke’s. 2335 Kalakaua Ave #116 Honolulu, HI
