Here's Lindsey and I on Waikiki beach at night, but I guess we could be just about anywhere... It was fun visiting Oahu for a long weekend to actually experience some city living again. Always good to have a wide array of restaurants to choose from.
We also went over to Kailua, which is on the other side of Oahu, just for the day. The beaches over there are actually way better than Waikiki and there are not that many people.
Here's me and Aunt Eleanor over at the turtle beach. El flew in to town this past Friday and we've been taken her around to all the Hilo sights. It's been a lot of fun just hanging out and hearing about family history. El has also been to Hawaii about 8 different times, so she knows her way around better than us!
One of my fantasies is to restore historic theaters in small towns...and there's a good one up the coast from us in this little tourist town.
We stopped and got some Kona coffee ice cream and Lindsey got a rainbow ice shave. Hit the spot pretty well on this really hot day.
It's always nice to have visitors because it actually pushes you to do things. We went over to the Mehana Brewery right here in Hilo and did some sampling, then it was off to get Big Island burgers.
We stopped over at the Hilo Chocolate...Store? Factory?...well, the chocolate is super good and you get free samples.
Whoa! back to Honolulu. This is a shot of the high rises right near Waikiki.
Another shot of the beach at Kailua, on Oahu. After this, we had a great lunch at a cute little local place right across the street, then had to catch the bus back to Honolulu to fly home.
While we house sat, we also took care of two sheep and two dogs. I also spent some time battling mice. It was quite the country experience, but it was fun to have a big house to ourselves and also be up in the higher, cooler elevation.
In Honolulu, we went to the Chinatown, but all of the shops were closed...bummer. But, we did stumble upon this great Chinese restaurant and ordered a few of the classic dishes we used to eat weekly in China. It was nice to have some bad Chinese beer, great food, and banter in Chinese with the staff.
Last but not least, the obligatory shot of Diamond Head near Waikiki.
