Made it to Kauai

Norm and I packed up yesterday, caught the buses across town to the airport and even got our boarding passes for our flight home in a week. We are set! 

The flight to Kauai was short and sweet. What a lovely island island to see from the sky, steep mountains and so green. 

Brad and Heather met us at the airport and gave us a tour of the local scene as we headed to their place at Poipu Crater. It felted warmer here that it had for the last four days on Oahu. First stop a quick snack of fish tacos (really tasty) and then check out the old town of Koloa. Fascinating information about the sugar plantations that used to be here. We even had dessert (free) at the nut shop where they offer about 20 different samples to taste. 

As we headed to Poipu you could tell that we had left the big city scene and were now experiencing the country. Almost like Metchosin but with a tropic theme! Brad insisted we stop at a road side stand to get some fresh fruit. What a treat! We bought papayas, lingrads and fresh coconut. Uso, the vendor fromThailand. hacked and chopped up the coconut for us to eat. First we sipped the coconut milk and then munched on the meat. It reminded me of when I was a kid and once at Christmas we bought a "real" whole coconut. What fun! 

And now to taste.......

P

I munched on coconut all the way home. We unloaded our stuff, changed into our bathing suits and walked the 5 minutes to the beach. It was very nice with the late afternoon sun, soft sand and moderate size waves for body surfing on boogie boards. It will take a few more days till I attempt the body surfing. But we had fun playing in the waves and trying not to get knocked over if you didn't watch the waves coming at you. At little further along at the next beach we saw a couple of huge turtles resting on the sand and young boy with an octopus he had just caught. We watched the sun set waiting for the supposed flash of green just as the sun sets. No such luck. Heather says you need a clear horizon, no clouds. Next time. Off home for a fresh salad for dinner and to bed. Norm and I were tired after the full day. Unfortunately there is no wireless in the complex so it may be difficult to keep up to date. Will do my best. 

Goodbye to Oahu

Our last day in Honolulu we were up at 6:30am, out the door by 7:15, caught the number 2 bus across town for about 45 minutes to meet at the Museum of Art to catch the bus for a tour of Doris Duke's Shangrila which just happens to be ONE block from where are staying! No exceptions, you can not just meet at the front door of the estate but instead you must start at the museum. But it was worth it! What an experience. For those who don't know who Doris Duke was, she was at one time the richest woman in the world. At 12 years old when her father died she inherited millions that he had made in tobacco and hydroelectric power. Her life story is worth checking out. Here in Hawaii after visiting in 1935 on her honeymoon, she fell in love the place and purchased five acres close to Diamond Head. Here she built her Shangrila. 

Those are 40 ft stone walls she built up from the ocean. She rearranged the coast line so her yacht could be parked there. You can actually see some local Hawaiians swimming in that spot today. We weren't allowed to take any photos inside but here is one to give you an idea of what we saw.

The entire house, all 14,000 sq. ft. is a tribute to Islam. Unbelievable! There are tiles from the 13th century, pottery from the Middle East and India, full rooms from Damascus, doors from Egypt, a mihrab, an alcove in the wall meant to tell the direction of Mecca. Doris outbid the Metropolitan Museum of Art, paying $150,000 for it decades ago. There are only six like it in the world. An amazing piece. There was so much to take in. What was hard to believe that this house is where she actually lived but it shows more like a museum. Not your folksy drop and visit place. In fact guests stayed in the playhouse. See it below.

From the outside you would never suspect that such an estate existed. The surrounding area is totally private with gardens hiding it all. And of course two camels keeping watch. This the front door entrance.

Back on the tour bus to our starting point. A quick look at the art museum, a walk for a bite to eat, coffee and a newspaper and back on the bus home. 

To complete our time in Honolulu we needed one last experience, a picnic on the beach with the setting sun. Luckily the rain held off long for us to just that. We swam, had yummy salami sandwiches, olives, carrots, ripple chips and fresh pineapple and papaya. What a feast. 

Even Yellow Bunny enjoyed her time at the beach. How could you not? 

So now all that was left was for the sunset. Thank you Oahu! Tomorrow off to Kauai. 

How the other half lives

Not quite enough sunshine to hit the beach so we decided to go explore our neighbourhood, called Kahala and filled mostly with expensive homes and just as expensive vacant lots for sale.  Destination for lunch was the Kahala Hotel and Resort, 50 years old this year and apparently the place celebrities stay in Hawaii, even the Queen. The king of Tonga and the emperor of Japan have stayed here too, plus Jim Nabors several times, judging from the wall of celebrity photos in the hotel.

 As we walked along Kahala Avenue it was surprising how many properties were for sale, empty lots and houses. Most start at about $4 million and that is just for the land. Another common feature with many of these places is their use of security companies (we identified 8 different ones, even one called Homeland Security Inc.) and their amazing front gates. Way beyond what you would find in Victoria.

And these are doors for the two-car garage. We tried to take a quick photo so people wouldn't think we were casing the joint. 

Here you can see the front gate and look right through to the ocean. A little bright but you get the idea.

So after this classy home tour it seemed only fitting that we should lunch at the Kahala Resort. While touring the lobby and shops we found at least 100 pictures of famous people who had stayed here. Everyone from Queen Elizabeth to Dustin Hoffman to Jim Nabors to Elizabeth Taylor and even Hilary Clinton. But before lunching on the patio at the Plumeria Cafe we had our "wedding" photo taken on the beach of course. Cute eh! 

This resort is definitely high end. Check out the fish ponds.

I don't think we will ever be able to afford to stay here. However we could handle lunch and it was delicious. Blue crab pot stickers, baked Caesar salad with prawns and scallops and fish tacos and to drink Planters Punch and a peach-pineapple smoothie. 

Beside the resort is a lovely park for the common folk with sandy beaches and green fields. Here we attempt our first selfie. I think it needs some work.

On our way back home again stopping by Whole Foods (whole paycheque) we found a bust of a famous Hawaiian hero, Jack Lord, the original Hawaii Five O boss. Norm says soon no one will remember him just like they won't recognize many of the famous people on the walls at the resort like Bob Hope and Andy Griffiths. I think Norm is showing his age:) 

North Shore adventure

A cloudy day had us deciding to go for a bus trip around Oahu. So again we headed to Ala Moana centre to catch the bus heading to Haleiwa, the north shore. As we headed out of Honolulu, a fellow passenger commented what we were seeing is not found in the tourist brochures. He was referring to the Correction Institution with its high walls and barb wire. But the scenery improved as we got closer to the north shore passing Dole's pineapple plantation. It was past lunch time by the time we arrived in Haleiwa so we looked for a healthy spot to eat. Waialua Bakery was kind of a hippy, surfer casual place. 

Norm decided we should check out the entire town which isn't very big. We found lots of surf shops and food trucks selling everything from tacos to shrimps. And the chance to see more of those feral chickens, so cute.

The excitement of Haleiwa is the beach where a few days before the waves were over 25 feet high. Today there was a warning for surfers to do so at their own risk. The wind was wild and the waves unpredictable. And still there were a couple of guys surfing. Crazy! Several men stood at the surf's edge with little nets, ready to scoop desirable seashells. Hey, when a necklace of little shells can sell for hundreds of dollars here, we should all be out there in stormy weather.

Note the warning flags. Good thing Norm didn't try surfing today.

Back on the bus to continue our trip around the island. The wind kept blowing and the rain starting falling. Yellow Bunny almost got blown away as we passed by the famous Waimea Bay beach.

Sunset Beach was pretty wild too.

The bus trip back to Ala Moana took almost 3 hours. We passed by Turtle Bay Golf Resort at the upper right hand corner of Oahu, Polynesian Cultural Center, lots of beautiful beaches even in the rain and across the island through a couple of tunnels to Honolulu. Too bad they kept the air conditioning on all the way! Brrrrr almost felt like Victoria. Yellow Bunny was glad to stay snug inside.

Total cost for a full day bus trip around the island cost the two of us $10.

Rainy day in paradise

It was a perfect day to sleep in, a day off so to speak. We had light breakfast then decided that Norm should experience the famous pancakes at the Diamond Head Market and Grill. We had less than a half hour to make about 1 1/2 km. We got there at 10:30 and were the last customer to be able to order breakfast. Unfortunately there were no more pancakes and Norm had to settle for French Toast. Not quite as good as he hoped. We then headed off to find a book store and some groceries. Found the groceries at Whole Foods but the bookstore, Barnes & Noble had closed. Norm is convinced that bookstores like newspapers are disappearing. Hope not! As we headed home, the rain got heavier and heavier and we got soaked. Kind of put a damper on the plan to swim. But check out our livimg quarters. 

This is the mail box hidden in the flowers at our place. Yellow Bunny likes it. 

Here is the entrance to the house. And below, the back yard. 

Inside it is cozy, eating area and sleeping.

Norm without his New York Times Sunday Times is not a happy camper and finding one was not easy. So we decided to hop a bus and head to Ala Moana shopping mall. What an experience! We found both books and a newspaper and left after Norm checked out the taro pie at McDonalds. 

Kind of a pale purple with little chunks, and a bland flavour. Only a dollar though. 

We headed home again by bus but started off heading the wrong way. Oops. And now home, we had a  yummy dinner of pasta, salad, bread and wine followed by Downton Abbey and Sherlock Homes. 

A day of culture

This morning we decided to visit the Bishop Museum, a good 1 1/2 hours away by bus. Our plan was to get there at 10am for the first tour. We left on time but on the way we came across by accident an amazing market near Diamond Head in the parking lot of a community college. It was too good to pass up. There were crowds of people and vendors selling only food, flowers and vegetables. 

Norm could not resist the temptation of spam. Here is his breakfast of French Toast, scambled eggs and fried spam! 

Is that happiness or what? 

So needless to say we didn't make it by 10 to the museum but still got there in plenty of time to tour the Hawaiian Hall, learn about the early beginnings of the Hawaiian people, their gods, their royal chiefs, and their way of life. A special exhibit gave a rare glimpse into the shell leis from the island of Ni'ihau, next door to Kauai, our next stop. We later saw a shell lei in the gift shop for $12,000! We had just enough time to tour the native Hawaiian gardens before watching a planetarium show on Wayfinders: Waves, Winds and Stars. I now know how to sail from Tahiti to Hawaii using the night sky. 

Norm hiding in the garden and checking out the bread fruit tree below.

Time to get back on the bus for Chinatown. Celebrating the Year of the Horse meant excitement on the streets there. We managed to have an excellent and tasty meal of Wonton soup and Gee (pot stickers) soup. Ate it before we remember to take a photo but you can see the passion orange drink and the action happening near by. 

We continued on through Chinatown catching the parade as we travelled. I decided to experience a truly Chinese cultural taste and had a Jin Dui, a deep fried coconut, brown sugar and chop suey dumpling like item. One was enough. And I passed on the sushi spam, musubi. 

But the parade was great fun.

Leaving Chinatown we headed for the next party scene, Kalakaua street along Waikiki where the Pro Bowl street party was setting up. What a crazy happening. Many people, seven stages with rock bands, vendors everywhere and lots of action. We passed right on through and walked home to relax and put our feet up.