Day 6 – Instagrammers

I have a love/hate relationship with instagram and its influencers. I adore instagram for keeping me connected to family and friends, for avoiding political b.s. and keeping me informed with businesses. I detest the influencers who damage a beautiful place, are rude, fake humans and who set false realities. So today was a love hate relationship kind of day.

Let me spin the tale of the day, it started with me mockingly exclaiming to Mike, I’m an influencer. Two summers ago I started a coffee with a view summer post and took a photo of my coffee every day over my summer break. I continue it during the summer and our vacations. The photos do NOT have me in them, the importance being the coffee and the view. It might help to explain why most of my blog posts start with a photo of my coffee.

Today I woke up to another friend tagging me in her coffee with a view photo while she was on vacation. I honestly was happy that she thought of me on vacation and I was happy for her that she is somewhere lovely. So therefore because I am not making it about me, I truly can’t be an influencer.

Our day started with my coffee with a view, bananas and coffee!

We packed up our supplies for another day out. Our first stop has not been discovered by influencers and luckily never will be. We went to Friendship Garden in Kaneohe. Mike accidently stumbled on this place while researching what to do today. It was almost a half mile loop and it was a hike, not an easy garden stroll. Parking was limited, as where the views, but the unexpectedness of this place made it wonderful.

Our next spot was a repeat visit for us. We first visited Hoomaluhia Gardens in 2013 before influencers were a thing. Today they populated the Gardens, so much so that signs like this, had to be posted:

A few instagrammers clearly ignored the signs and one caused us to have slight traffic snafu. They were filming, stopped in the road and told us to go around them, but the road is narrow and they did this right in front of a no passing sign. As semi rule followers, this zapped us of aloha and perhaps a few things were said to them. Here are some influencers doing their “thang”.

their tripod is in the road
She had all the moves
scouting locations for his gf

And well Mike had to have his try at looking like an influencer, however he is missing the correct flowing clothes, the cute hat and long flowing hair, that moves just perfectly in the breeze.

And here is what they really missed, some amazing photos that focus on nature.

After this we needed real people to be around so three stops were necessary Costco, Honolulu Cookie Company and Honolulu Beerworks. I love the Cobb Salad at HB so today I went for the food and of course I sat next to one those influencers (sorry no picture, couldn’t do it discreetly).

And this why I love instagram because of finding out about the art of Ka’Kaako Pow Wow and this great little chocolate shop , Lonohana Hawaiian Estate Chocolate, so yum and we each had a free truffle!

And because of instagram I discovered Off the Hook Poke and Choco Le’a Chocolate in Manoa. We picked up dinner at Off the Hook and some chocolates to ship home. This was another great chocolate find.

We returned home to pack our Aloha boxes and see what kind of room we had left to stuff stuff in, only to discover I forgot to get a card for each box. This meant a quick walk into Waikiki for an ABC Store emergency card purchase. Good thing we had a lovely view walking back to the rental.

After our walk back, we rested, had dinner and made our sunset viewing decision. We decided to return to San Souci and hang with the locals.

So take the beautiful photos, post them but be real about it, be respectful about taking the photos and try not to be a copycat, because really we saw a lot of people be wannabees and not thinking for themselves.

April 12, 2019 0

Day 13 – Oops, Busted

Disclaimer: Falls is located on private property, government property and can be considered trespassing. Hike at your own risk or do it the legal way and get a permit from the water department.

So the day started out typical for us, breakfast, coffee with a view, make a plan.

The plan go for a waterfall hike (little advice don’t hike on a social media day called Waterfall Wednesday). We decided on Lulumahu Falls off of the Pali Highway. We packed our gear.

25 minutes later we were at the trailhead along with a group of military moms hiking with their littles and a few other people. The conga line started and we followed.

At the first muddy part, Mike remembered the blog post we read that mentioned a work around the muddy part, but it might involve going on some other government land. Sure no problem, we’ve done some hikes here that are somewhat kapu and this is just a work around. We get to the path below a reservoir when we see a worker in a bobcat, we crouched down pretending to tie shoes, to late, spotted and with a stern hand gesture was told to go back. Oops, we had to go back and continue on the path that led through the mud. Oh well what’s a little mud? Really this allowed the mom’s hiking group to get well ahead of us.

The trail was bamboo forest, water crossings, rock scrambles and mud sliding fun.

We were well rewarded once we reached the falls, they were magnificent. We had a good group around us, minus the one guy hogging the waterfall for the mom’s pictures. Once he left,we were left with a respectful group, taking pictures of each other, just enjoying the time there.

After we had our fill and as obnoxious groups started showing up, it was time to head back, following the mom conga line. We spent a total of an hour and half on the trail and it was 2.7 miles.

Once at the car it was time to clean off the massive amounts of mud caked on us and figure out lunch. Well you can guess where we ended up, why do I even bother to mention it, Honolulu Beerworks, our brewery away from home, really we go for the awesome food.

After lunch we stopped at Safeway to get some yogurt and some fried chicken. Advice if you go to the Safeway on Kapahulu Ave, park at the parking garage. The views of Diamond Head are amazing!

Once we picked up our items, we returned to the house to rest, do a little research on next summer’s trip (don’t ask where yet, still trying to figure it out), have dinner and clean up.

Then it was off to sunset watching and Mother Nature put on a very nice display for us. So maybe we got a little stink eye today, but it was worth it. Only one full day left for us…

August 16, 2018 0

Day 11 – Recovery, Limbo and Cashing in Our Chips

Wait a minute, are we in Las Vegas or Oahu? Sounds like we had a wild night last night and continued the party today? But no, it was all about the hike.

Today Mike needed a recovery hike after his race yesterday. The plan called for a short hike, with views and fairly easy. Well we found just the hike, Pu’u Ma’eli’eli Trail in Kaneohe, right across from Valley of the Temples.

Of course, first things first, breakfast of french toast sticks. When we travel, we prefer to eat breakfast at our rental, of course at times it comes with some obstacles we need to overcome, such as having the right kind of pans and bowls. We figure it out and make do with what we have, laughing along the way.

After that we packed up our gear, loaded the car with our supplies and our donor’s thank you boxes. First stop was the post office to mail out the packages (Monica Jo and Mark, if you are reading this, yours aren’t sent yet).

Then off to park in a shopping mall complex to walk to the trailhead. Stunning views of the Ko’olau range as we walked to the trailhead. This trail had some steep sections, with little windows out to see the views. If it wasn’t dry this trail would be a mud fest in wet weather. We lucked out today with a dry trail.

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At times Mike had to do the limbo to get under branches on our way to the trail’s end. Lucky for me performing the limbo was limited, this is the time it helps to be short.

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We reached the end of the trail and took in the views up top of the pillboxes, WWII bunkers built all around the island. It was a bit hazy out, but still the views were stunning.

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The hike was almost 3 miles with a little over 500 feet elevation gain, it took us about an hour and half, including stops to ohhhh and ahhhh.

After the hike we headed down to He’eia Kea Pier to look up to where we hiked and were hoping to eat lunch at He’eia Kea Pier General Store, where we ate at 5 years ago, a few times. Sadly it was closed today, so we had to devise a new plan. Hmmmmm we had chips to use at Honolulu Beerworks for free beer, well that sounds good.

We went back via the LikeLike Highway, the Ko’olau Range is majestic.

First we had to make another cookie stop at Honolulu Cookie Company on Sand Island. We needed more cookies to ship home!

Then we went to cash in our chips at the brewery. We really did have to go to the brewery because on Saturday they released a Pilsner, one of Mike’s favorite types of beers. As we entered the brewery, one of the bar staff remembered Mike had his race yesterday and came over to chat with him about it. Yup we are starting to be recognized, just in time to leave. I was wearing our local brewery, Hanging Hills’ Pilsner tee shirt, so it seemed only fitting I have my picture taken with the Pali Pils beer! After a great lunch, we decided we would need one more return trip to the brewery, so we didn’t cash in our chips, yet.

By this time we were exhausted and needed to do laundry, so back to the house we went.

We put together a quick dinner of Costco quinoa salad and chicken, cleaned up and headed out for the sunset. Once again a huge cloud blocked the actual sinking of the sun, but we did get some nice photos and enjoyed our viewing spot.

So we took a gamble today, that our legs would be up to good uphill hike and the path would be dry. It was worth the gamble and along the way we had a fun day!

August 14, 2018 0

Day 9 – Aloha Nui Loa

Today was the day of our Oahu Heart Walk. Mike and I raised a grand total of $5,160 for the Oahu Heart Association. Aloha Nui Loa to our wonderful friends and family that supported us with money, aloha and making heart healthy choices.

Up early to eat some breakfast, then walked over to the park to begin the fun. We went into the VIP tent, had a smoothie and waited for the walk to begin. We did the 5k course up to Diamond Head Beach Parking and back down. It was an upbeat time with a few hundred walkers.

After the walk, we returned to have a bit more food and headed out for the morning to hit up a farmers market and pick up some more food. Of course we had to stop at Ahi Assassins for more poke. We got into the poke place just in time, there was a line as we left.

Then we had to stop at Pipeline for their cake bombs. While we in the neighborhood, we stopped at Sprouts to pick up sandwiches for our afternoon adventure.

Returning back to the house, we deposited the goods and headed off to Lanikai Brewing in Kailua. Three years ago we stopped in, when it was fairly young. The taproom back then was in the brewing facility. Now it is a fancy store front location, just serving beers. We plopped down at the bar, ordered a beer and had our lunch. Good beers but the crowd at the bar, weren’t for us, not social and a bit stand offish. We each had a pour and a half and left. We get the message island, Kailua isn’t our town.

Once home, we rested, packed the donor’s thank you boxes, helped a friend plan an impromptu trip here next week, ate our dinner of poke and headed off into the sunset. Tomorrow is Mike’s big race day, a 15k around Diamond Head, early to bed tonight!

So it is with aloha nui loa we say thank you to everyone that gave, cheered us on and supported us! Please keep aloha in your heart for Mike’s race tomorrow. He runs at 6 a.m. pacific time, noon eastern.

August 12, 2018 0

Day 8 -Just Another Day

As I neglected to write yesterday’s Day 7 on its actual day, I was up early to write it, writing on day 8 about day 7 was the start to the day. Mike made a nice cup of coffee to get my brain cells moving and then fueled me with a sugary malasadas. Eventually eggs and veggies were cooked to sustain the writing.

Once I hit the publish button it was time to decide on today’s activities. I googled “easy hikes in Oahu”. Mike is still training for Sunday’s race and we both are walking the 5k Heart Walk on Saturday, so an easy hike seemed a good bet. We settled on hiking the Makiki Valley Loop Trail at the Hawaii Nature Center. Most things we read stated dry trail, go left when starting the hike, only 2.5 miles and oh remember that word easy.

First off, we went to the right because a gaggle of kids with a “teacher” was on the trail and they went left, the kids were all over the place and loud. We did the very steep side first, I think I ignored the word “steep” when I read the description.

Halfway up the steep section was the view out. We ended up tripping over another group of kids clogging the path. We got past them and kept going up.

Once up at the top, another group greeted us, they were running all over, screaming and ignoring the teacher. I was ready to take over the control of the kids, but Mike quickly grabbed me and pointed to the new trail to follow and told me to move.

Down we went into a mud filled trail, it stayed this way the entire time. I only went down once, perhaps a record for me on a muddy trail.

Remember the descriptions said “easy”. Yesterday’s hike in the valley was easy, this wasn’t difficult or technical, but it was a step above easy, but below difficult. It was fun and jungly and really that is what matters We had to stop at the clean off station to wash the mud and seeds off of our shoes and legs. Boy did I have a lot of mud caked on me. And this trail wasn’t 2.5 miles, both of our phones pedometers had it at 4 miles.

Hunger set in and we had to pick up Mike’s race number at Boca Bike Shop which happens to be next to…can you guess it? Honolulu Beerworks. So of course we stopped for brews and lunch. We ended up sitting next to a Navy guy who is hoping his next transfer will be to Groton, CT. He is ready to leave Hawaii and head closer to home, he is from Pennsylvania. Our conversations included the bartenders and the next thing you know we are given chips for a free pint.

We finished our lunch, Mike picked up his bib number and off we went to our next destination, coffee, chocolate and a boutique store.

We picked up another coffee for the house at Downtown Coffee in Honolulu, a small roasters. Next stop was Madre Chocolate for me and the gift boxes. Madre Chocolate was next to a little shop selling Hawaiian goods, Owen & Co. I’ve been wanting to go here for a while, so it was nice to finally visit.

We had one last stop to make, Costco. We went to the crazy, hard to park, wedged in Costco, which is always an adventure. We picked up our needed items and headed home.

Once home around 4 p.m. rest time for an hour was demanded by my body. We cleaned up, had a small dinner and headed off to sunset viewing. It was a busy sunset viewing on the beach time tonight. Mike splashed around and I tried to navigate taking photos around people, not easy. Sunset was very lovely, but alas the sun sank and we meandered home for dessert and the writing of the blog.

No catchy title, because today was just a day that happened and we took in every moment of it.

August 11, 2018 0

Day 7 – Island Treasures

It was such a wonderful day on Thursday, I couldn’t begin to put it in words yesterday (hence writing Thursdays post on Friday). We found some island treasures and ended the day learning about a musical treasure sitting in front of us.

The day started with Mike having his run and meeting me at the beach, as I sipped my coffee, listened to music, and watched the morning unfold. After his float, we returned to the house.

Breakfast was made of french toast sticks smothered in fresh bananas and lilikoi with a side of fresh mango.

We plotted out the rest of the day. Over the years we’ve done the must see sights and aren’t ready to repeat them yet, so off we went to find more off the beaten path treasures on the island.

We started the unintentional treasure hunt at Moanalua Gardens. We walked around the small garden and summer home (not allowed in) of King Kamehameha V. This garden is known for its Monkeypod trees and one of them is the symbol for the Hitachi Group.

Our next stop was for a hike, The Moanalua Valley Trail. Due to Mike’s training schedule, we haven’t hiked here or at home in a while. We picked an easy trail, one we could turn around at any time we wanted. We did part of the Valley Trail, so no steep sections. This trail actually leads up to a ridge trail to the backside of the top of the Haiku Stairs. We hit a turn around point at the 1.5 mile mark, due to rushing water. A couple was crossing it, but with a walk and a race scheduled for this week why chance it? This was a great little easy hike and the hidden treasure was a rock with petroglyphs and the ruins of an old settlement. It rained, it misted, we got soaked but loved all of it. One of the plaques described how this is a dry summer streambed in summer months, well not this summer.

Returning from the hike, we had to go home to change into dry clothes before heading out to lunch. We decided to visit Salt at Kaka’ako block to find food. This is the up and coming area for Honolulu. We ate at the Moku Kitchen. This was a hipster joint, with slightly overpriced food and hugely overpriced beers. The food was good, I had fish tacos and Mike had a chicken with salad, we started with a ginger poke salad. Would I return, no. It was good, but it wasn’t us.

In this complex was a beer tasting room, so before we totally dismissed this block as not a place for us, we gave The Village Tasting Room a try. Phew, we fit in and had a few half pour beers from around the world. Small crowd, knowledgeable people and a place we fit in.

I also spied a chocolate shop, Lonohana Estate Chocolate. Small samples of their amazing chocolate was available to taste. It was a tasting treasure, but I did control myself. Picked up a few things for the Oahu heart gift boxes.

One last stop before we made it home, Pipeline Bakeshop for malasadas. OMG these are the best malasadas ever and we’ve had Leonards and the lady in front of Kmart Kauai, two of Oahu and Kauai’s best malasadas makers. Pipeline, Pipeline, Pipeline is the place., such a treasure treat to eat.

We made it home a little after 4, to rest and I needed to put my shirt together for the Oahu Heart Walk. Donations are being accepted till 7 p.m. Pacific time, August 10th.

Then it was time for the big concert at the Waikiki Aquarium at 7 p.m. The Ke Kani O Ke Kai.

It started with Hula Olana coming on to perform. This first performance moved me to tears. It was hauntingly beautiful.

The first group up was a trio, Keauhou. They performed traditional Hawaiian music.

The next performer,Natalie Ai Kamau’u, was soulfully moving and for me the highlight of the night. She broke down crying because her Auntie Nina was there, she was nervous to sing in front of her and had to change her entire set list when she found out Auntie Nina was there. You see Auntie Nina is a Hawaiian treasure. We quickly googled her and found out she is Nina Kealiiwahamana, very influential for Hawaiian female singers. Next thing we know, Natalie’s daughter is on stage, dancing the hula and the set ended with Natalie’s mother dancing the hula (she opened one of the famous Hula schools) and her father playing the ukulele, singing with Natalie. It was a beautiful moment to witness. The respect, honor and love in the air could be felt, tasted and absorbed.

Grammy winner,Kalani Pe‘a, finished off the night. I have been following his career for the past year, so it was fun to see him in concert. He performed two songs in Hawaiian, but has a love for old school bluesy/jazzy music, including singing some from the Carpenters. He is a funny guy, who puts on a good show.

We walked home, in awe of the day overall, but especially the concert. Today we were given the gifts of small treasures in the forms of nature, food and people, what a blessing.

August 10, 2018 0