Waikiki, Oahu

Waikiki, Oahu

Waikiki, Oahu

Waikiki, Oahu

Diamond Head, Oahu

Honolulu Zoo, Oahu

Honolulu Zoo, Oahu

Kala, Alewa Heights, Oahu

Dallas & Grandma, Alewa Heights, Oahu

One day Dallas and I spent an entire day just hanging around Waikiki.. at the beach, walking around, shopping.

The beach that was across from our hotel was Kuhio Beach, named after Prince Jonah Kuhio, who was prince of the reigning House of Kalakaua when the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in 1893. There were a ton of tourists, for sure, but on the pier there were a lot of local kids hanging out and boarding and jumping off the pier.

For lunch, even though we both prefer In-N-Out Burger as our favorite West Coast burger joint, we had Jack in the Box Sourdough Jacks and it hit the spot. Reminded me a lot of when I lived in San Diego. The first account I worked on when I moved was Jack in the Box. Coming from Wisconsin, I didn’t even know what it was.

See also:
» Waikiki (Kodak Gallery, 35 photos)

Later we walked up and down Kalakaua Ave. and did some shopping. I got some shirts at the Quicksilver store in the International Marketplace and a few other things at Lush.

In the afternoon we walked through the Honolulu Zoo. It’s an alright zoo, not great, but only like $6 (only $4 Kama’aina rate) to get into and worth a stroll around to see the animals and flowers. There was a lot of construction going on at the zoo which might have distracted from the overall ambiance, but probably guarantees that it will be getting better soon!

The thing about Waikiki.. it’s gorgeous and so well manicured and all that but it’s totally created for tourists. And is swarming with tourists. Which sort of drives me a little crazy. There is an ABC souvineer store on EVERY BLOCK. For a relaxing vacation I much prefer Kaua’i. Kaua’i has all of the touristy things that Waikiki and Oahu has, but it’s not so “in your face”. You can hike, you can go on tours, you can rent a bike.. but it’s not there every where you turn. And the beaches and countryside are much more natural, the towns are much smaller, there are way fewer people. Nice and relaxing .. although I think if I had to live there I’d go batty.

For dinner we went to Alewa Heights, where Dallas’ Uncle Bob and Auntie Helen live. Their daughter Kala, Grandma, Uncle Mel and Aunt Wendy were also there. We had local food - lau lau, kalua pig, rice, lomi lomi, poke, purple sweet potatoes, haupea, and lemon cake. It was nice to meet everyone, they’re all really nice, and Grandma said she remembered me from last year.