Entries Tagged as 'alewa heights'

Family Dinner in Alewa Heights

March 11th, 2011 · 1 Comment


Never can resist taking a photo of the view of Honolulu from up in the mountains.

Sunday nights are family dinner so we stopped at Safeway for some poke and beer and headed up to Uncle Bob and Aunty Helen’s house in Alewa Heights.

Dallas’s Aunty Wendie is half Chinese and surprised us with a whole Chinese spread of food and things that are symbolic of longevity and good luck, like mochi, good luck money in red envelopes, a pyramid of red bean bao, evergreen and pomelo, which is like a giant grapefruit. Along with an array of Chinese take-out favorites, Aunty Wendie also made beef stew with vegetables. So delicious.


Aunty Wendie, Rachelle


Dallas, Rachelle


Dried fruit, pomelo, lucky money, mochi

Dallas’s Uncle Bob and Aunty Helen finished up their round of golf and came home, so we got to visit with them. Cousin Kala is in her first year of college now. Hard to believe! Cousin Quincy doesn’t live at home any more but came over later. And we got to visit with grandma a bit, although she is getting pretty old and isn’t always “there.” Hopefully she still knows we came for a visit. In any case, it was nice to see everyone.


Quincy, Grandma (Photo by Aunty Wendie)


Kala, Dallas (Photo by Aunty Wendie)


Quincy, Uncle Mel (Photo by Aunty Wendie)


Kala, Dallas, Uncle Bob (Photo by Aunty Wendie)


Rachelle, Dallas, Grandma, Kala, Quincy

That night we had to pack everything up in our hotel room because we had an early flight to Kauai in the morning!

[Read more →]

Tags:··············

Dinner With Family in Alewa Heights

June 16th, 2009 · 1 Comment

grandma_dallas
Grandma & Dallas, Alewa Heights, Honolulu

For dinner or first night of vacation we called Dallas’ cousin Quincy to see what was up. Dallas’ Uncle Bob and Aunty Helen were traveling and his cousins Quincy and Kala were up at the house taking care of their Grandma (Dallas’ Grandma) and Grandpa (not Dallas’ Grandpa) who live with them. We were thinking maybe we’d bring dinner over since the grandparents are getting too old to go out. Quincy said that Uncle Mel and Aunty Wendie were coming over to barbecue and invited us over for that. We stopped off at the store on the way over and bought some poke for pupus and some beer. Steinlager is another beer that we always drink in Hawaii. (See also Hinano and Primo.) Steinlager is from New Zealand, so you don’t see it everywhere, but we have occasionally seen it at Jewel in Chicago and they have it at Quencher’s. Something new this time, though. They had Steinlager Pure at the supermarket so we had to try it.

For dinner we had some pretty standard stuff: rice, grilled chicken, grilled steak. The standout for me was the fish. Uncle Mel grilled kumu, a smallish-sized fish that Quincy caught, but not just caught with a fishing pole. He went diving in the ocean and speared these fish! The kumu had a very light, delicate flavor. I could see having some more spices or sauce on them and then grilling them to give it a kick.

[Read more →]

Tags:··············

Last Day in Hawaii

March 31st, 2007 · No Comments

2007_03_spa_olakino.jpg
Spa Olakino, Waikiki, Honolulu

The last day of our trip I got a massage at the spa in our hotel, Spa Olakino. It was a nice spa and everything, but I enjoyed my first massage at Luxe Salon much more. At Spa Olakino, my massage therapist was just doing it too hard and I had to keep telling her lighter and then I felt like a wuss, but the rest of the time I just kept thinking “ow! ow! ow! ow!” and couldn’t relax that much.

2007_03_leonards.jpg
Leonard’s Bakery

2007_03_malasadas.jpg
Leonard’s Bakery Malasadas

2007_03_malasada_drive.jpg
Leonard’s Bakery Malasada

Our main focus for the rest of the day was spending time with Dallas’ grandma and family before leaving. We checked out of the hotel, stopped to get malasadas at Leonard’s (the best!), and then drove up to Dallas’ aunt & uncle’s house. Dallas’ grandma said she hadn’t had malasadas for a very long time, so I was glad we stopped for them, although we couldn’t resist digging into them in the car when they were super-hot and fresh. We hung out at the house for a while, then went out for lunch at CoCo Ishibanya Curry House. Dallas cousin, Kala, needed to be dropped off for her basketball game, so Dallas took the opportunity to drive through his old school, Kamehameha, to show me what the campus looks like before going to lunch.

2007_03_curry_house.jpg
CoCo Ishibanya Curry House, University Ave, Honolulu

CoCo Ishibanya Curry House is a national chain in Japan and has 5 locations on Oahu. It was strange, because their menu was in English, but there were certain things still only in Japanese. And there were posters on the wall that were all in Japanese too. Because Dallas’ grandma is Japanese, we asked her what they said, but the only word she could make out for sure was “curry.” Great help grandma! She’s so cute.

2007_03_curry_house_chicken.jpg
Chicken Cutlet Curry With Cheese, CoCo Ishibanya Curry House, University Ave, Honolulu

2007_03_grandma_dallas.jpg
Grandma & Dallas, CoCo Ishibanya Curry House, University Ave, Honolulu

Ordering is pretty easy. I remember there were a lot of photos on the menu so you could see what you were getting. Basically, all they have is curry. An you can choose whether you want it hot or mild. Then you pick what sort of curry you want – pork cutlet, seafood, ahi cutlet, chicken cutlet, beef, etc. (photo of the menu here). Finally, choose if you want any add-ins. Gyoza, kimchi, and other meats and vegetables were some of the add-ins available.

2007_03_quincy_jessica_grandma_dallas.jpg
Quincy, Jessica, Grandma, Dallas :: Alewa Heights, Honolulu

After lunch we went back to the house and hung out for a while with Dallas’ cousin Quincy and his girlfriend, his grandma, and his aunt’s father who lives there too. And his cousin Jessica dropped by, so we had to take a photo together with their grandma. When we left, we stopped to do a bit of shopping at Ala Moana and then headed off to the airport.

[Read more →]

Tags:···················

Dinner With Family in Alewa Heights

March 26th, 2007 · No Comments

2007_03_alewa_heights_view1.jpg

2007_03_alewa_heights_view3.jpg
View from Uncle Bob and Auntie Helen’s, Alewa Heights, Oahu

Dallas’ grandma lives with his Uncle Bob and his Aunt Helen in Alewa Heights, along with their kids and Auntie Helen’s father. We went up to their house to have dinner and visit. It was good to see Auntie and Uncle and everyone again, but mostly to visit with Dallas’ grandma. She is so funny. She loves her game shows and American Idol and crosswords! I kick myself for not taking a photo of Jordan, Caroline, Dallas and Grandma. It’s not often that they’re all together!

Later on we went with Caroline and Jordan and all their friends to see a band play at Mai Tai Bar. An after that we went to some special club area that was inside D&B, which ironically was the same skydeck area that Kristin and Cousin and I had drinks on years ago. Who knew that it turned into a crazy locals nightclub at night. Dallas, Allison and I didn’t stay out as late as everyone else. We dropped Allison off at her hotel and then had a latenight binge at Jack In The Box.

[Read more →]

Tags:·············

Waikiki & Alewa Heights, Oahu

July 21st, 2005 · 5 Comments


Sheraton Moana Surfrider


Statue of the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku


Statue of the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku


Statue of the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku


Statue of the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku


Banyan Tree


Rachelle & Banyan Tree


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


Makua & Kila statue


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


Diamond Head


Kuhio Beach/Waikiki


ABC Store


Jack in the Box


Jack in the Box


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


Honolulu Zoo


View from Alewa Heights


Dinner in Alewa Heights


Kala


Dallas & Grandma


Rachelle, Caroline, Kathy, Dallas, Grandma


Dallas, Kala, Caroline, Grandma


View from Alewa Heights

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.

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 Wendie were also there. We had local food – lau lau, kalua pig, rice, lomi lomi, poke, purple sweet potatoes, haupia, and lemon cake. It was nice to meet everyone, they’re all really nice, and Grandma said she remembered me from last year.

[Read more →]

Tags:·······································