North Shore... Where the Ocean Meets the Sky

Today I got to sleep in as it was Saturday and got up around 8 am, instead of the usual 2:30 am. All were up and about as well - we enjoyed Japanese pastries for breakfast as Team Musubi was making our way north and taking advantage of the day.

Our drive to the north was about an hour and we listened to many of the same songs that we’ve listened to over the past few days. The team often starts to sing together as we reminisce old tunes and rock out to new ones.

Driving along the road and looking at the northern coastline, it was hard to see where the ocean hits the sky. And as this was pointed out to me, my mind was blown (or I pretended it was)….



Our first stop this morning was the Dole Plantation. Although you can pay an entrance fee and sight-see, we opted to only shop for sundries and gifts. We also drove by pineapple and coffee fields as this area is very agricultural.



We then stopped in Haleiwa where we shopped again - a few photos of the shopping experience. I enjoyed the unique Patagonia store here - Pataloha!









For lunch, we went to Kua Aina where we ordered pineapple burgers, french fries, and took advantage of the free drink refills:



The town was very cute and although we could have shopped some more, we rounded the northern shore on our continued adventures.

At Waimea Bay, we stopped at Laniakea beach where we watched turtles eat the algae and come right up to the sand and rocks. There was an attendant making sure no one got too close as there were many onlookers:



Our final north shore destination was the Polynesian Cultural Center. We had reserved tickets to enter and learn about the various islands. The center is actually owned by Brigham Young University Hawaii and 80% of the employees are students who are either getting paid or academic credits. Many are from the various islands and I suspect many are Mormon as well. We heard that many major in hospitality which all makes sense considering how important it is to the island economies.



The islands of Hawaii, Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, and Aoteaora or present day New Zealand are represented here with island villages. It’s essentially a living museum and reminds me of colonial Williamsburg, but island style.



We took a canoe ride so it could take us to the other end of the villages. Our canoe guide was named Chris and he joked he was from the island of California. We forced a few photo bombs of him behind us:







We sat through a few presentations and activities like the one below about Fiji and learned a little Hawaiian hula:





After visiting the island villages, we headed into the theater to watch Hawaiian Journey. The 14 minute film had beautiful and immersive images of the natural beauty of Hawaii. It also offered us a respite from the Hawaiian sun and provided much needed air conditioning!

Part of our entrance fee included a dinner at the Gateway Buffet. We sat outside and had poke and usual buffet foods with an island twist. One of the attendants was totally sweet and a freshman from Indonesia learning about hospitality. She had an awesome smile and was nervous about her English, but her enthusiasm was contagious. A photo of the huge buffet hall:



We then went to the Ha - Breath of Life show. We weren’t allowed to take photos during, so here’s one before the show started:



We were treated to dancing and singing from all the islands, weaving in a story of a young boy and his life experiences. The fire knife performances of Samoa were particularly thrilling and way better than the ones we saw earlier as they were just beginners. The performance also brought together a lot of the activities and stories we learned and heard earlier in the day, so it was a nice closer.

Here’s the souvenir photo from the experience:



When the performance was done, we headed home and did a few quick errands to take advantage of some late night shopping. But what an adventurous and fun-filled day on the northern shore!

Also, a throwback from when my family came to the Polynesian Cultural Center many years ago!

Aloha Friday

Each day it gets easier to wake up at 2:30 am and work east coast hours. But today was a half day because we had lots planned. Friyay!

After some toasted bread with kaya jam courtesy of the Singaporeans, we were off to our hike at Diamond Head which is a famous state park with a crater and beautiful views of the coastline.

The ascent wasn’t too strenuous, but you definitely bake in the sun and our entry was 10 am. The hike was about an hour total and brings you to the summit. Photos of the trek and beautiful views:





















After the hike we stopped by a convenience store and bought jerky and sausage and spam musubi to snack on, as if we weren’t Team Musubi….:



We then headed to Pearl Harbor for our 1 pm entry. I had specifically asked to include this on our trip and to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. I had learned about and seen so many images of this memorial over the years when heads of state of the US and Japan have paid their respects.

Over 1,000 lives were lost when Japan attacked the United States on December 7, 1941 and the attack led the United States to enter the Second World War. What was also interesting to me is that survivors of the attack have chosen to have their ashes brought here to rejoin their fallen brothers and those who had served on the USS Arizona, but were not survivors, have chosen to have their ashes spread here. Some photos of the solemn experience:



















Our original plan was to head to the beach, but we ended up at SALT, a shopping area which our co-host likened to Chelsea Market. We bought a few items and enjoyed some gelato and waffles.



Afterwards some wanted to go back to our happy place of Ala Moana mall and I headed to the building pool to rinse off the efforts of today.

Team Musubi got dressed up for the first time tonight as we had reservations at Prime Steakhouse. We enjoyed the local fireworks which occurs every Friday night and we feasted on steak, butter fish, scallops, and many sides paired with delicious wine:



After dinner we had grand plans to walk around Waikiki, but ended up at home eating mango and kiwi, as some of us were very tired. Nonetheless, we were happy it was Friday and like how we say Friyay, here they call it Aloha Friday!

Manoa Falls

After a day of east coast work, I was scheduled to scuba dive today while the rest of Team Musubi was supposed to hike to Manoa Falls. However, due to lack of people and a missing captain able to man the boat, my scuba dives today were cancelled.

As such, I joined the rest of the group for the hike to Manoa Falls after a fried rice breakfast with egg and spam. But first, we had to run some errands and there was some hanging out in our 8 person minivan. Here we’re having fun waiting with Baro in the car:



We also enjoyed some coffee at Honolulu Coffee. I ordered a Hawaiian latte with coconut and macadamia nut syrup, but the barista called it mac nut. The coffee shop also had a cool vibe and was quite expansive:



We made our way over to the Manoa Valley which was near the University of Hawaii. We started our hike which took a little less than a hour round trip:



The foliage again reminded me of the scenery in Lost…





Here are the falls which didn’t have a lot of water because it’s the dry season. Indeed a stark contrast to Niagara Falls where we had visited for a weekend trip a few weeks ago:



To celebrate the end of the hike, we enjoyed some Dole pineapple drinks from a food truck. It felt very Hawaiian.

Then our co-hosts drove us to the Tantalus lookout which had breathless views of Waikiki, Diamondhead, and the ocean. Baro even enjoyed the view as he hopped up onto the wall:







At home, we snacked on some bread and dumplings with ketchup which were surprisingly good. After resting and washing up, we walked a few blocks to Ichiriki which is our co-host’s favorite shabu shabu restaurant. We enjoyed sake samplers, noodles, extra sausage and tofu. We were told the chanko set was the best and we all shared and ordered similarly.







Then after dinner, most of the group enjoyed lychee soft serve, but I was too stuffed from dinner.

Another Hawaiian day with eating, hiking, and hanging as Team Musubi!