Let's Start This Off Hawaiian Style

What better way to start documenting my adventures than to begin with a trip to Oahu. As a trip that was mostly business with a side of pleasure, this late October adventure took us mainly to Honolulu and a couple of blocks away from Wakiki beach.

Where did we stay? The Hilton Wakiki Beach served as the base camp. It was the conference hotel, and I'm a Hilton Honors member so this was a no brainer. It was a nice hotel with a 24/7 restaurant known for it's giant pancake stacks. I can't vouch that the pancakes were delicious because sadly (or perhaps thankfully) I was too busy stuffing my face with other local cuisines. Also, I'll note that don't waste time at the bars here. The happy hour specials are much better elsewhere and have more variety than what's available here. I had one Mai Tai cocktail at the bar. It was okay at best considering I don't really like mixed drinks that don't involve bourbon.

What was on the to-do list? Lots! While this predominantly a business-oriented trip, I'm not going to sit inside a hotel conference room the entire time. So, we carved out some extra days to see the sites and experience Hawaii. I had a couple of bucket-list items I wanted to cross-off while in the area including surfing at Wakiki beach and visiting the place where any of the Jurrasic Park movies were filmed. Luckily we did both and so much more. However, there is still so much I would like to go back and do on Oahu and the other islands.

Day 1 Free Time: Well, Day 1 was more like we just had an evening in Honolulu because we spent the other half on planes just getting there. However, we managed to wander to the newly-ish renovated International Marketplace to push off my hangryness. The mall itself is reflective of the area as a whole, where you really won't find indoor malls but rather open-air/space that utilizes the year-round pleasant weather and integration of the elements (i.e. nature!).

For dinner, we settled on pizza and beer. Yes, I know that we were in Hawaii, but after spending 14+ hours just trying to get there I wanted some comfort food. In the International Marketplace on the top floor is a open-air restaurant called Flour & Barley. As one of two locations in the United States, this brick oven pizza place serves up your standard varieties of pizza with some delicious house and local beer options. As pictured below, we got a sausage and pepper pizza and some beer. What beer is pictured? The FB Brew. Not pictured? The random stouts and dark beers that my man-half drinks, and the crazy guy that sat down next to us and ate his pizza with a fork and knife. I mean seriously...what type of person eats a crispy, delicious pizza with a fork and knife? A disturbed person..that's who!

Day 2 Free Time: This was actually a planned day of adventure prior to my work obligations that would start the next day in the afternoon (which also would lead me back to central Oahu locations). We woke up early...like really early. Adjusting time zones meant wake up was around 4:30am. An hour and half later we were sitting back outside the International Marketplace waiting for Kona Coffee Purveyors to open up. We opt for two coffees and a delicious Guava pastry. As a side note about spending time in Honolulu, most folks will say avoid going out very late or very early in the morning. Homelessness is a serious problem on the island and unfortunately so is the drug trade (and activities that go with it). During our short trip there were several murders that occured in or not far from the tourist district. As such, it was not unusal to be out that early in the morning and see quite a few people who were homeless.

Look at that delicious pastry over there...

After filling up on coffee and pastries we wander around until we could get our rental car and head out to see the island. Several stops were on the agenda on this fine Saturday with the first being to Kualoa Ranch. The ranch was about a 45 minute drive from the Wakiki area and took us through the inner island area, which was more like a rainforest and less like the metropolitan center we were staying in. So what is this ranch known for? Well it is the site of soooooo many movies for starters, but this is also a ranch that produces local foods. A win-win if you ask me.

Of all the tour options at the ranch we squeezed in just a singular tour - The Jungle Expedition - since we didn't have much time to see the island in it's entirty. In hindsight I wish we could have done a few more tours, but it is what it is. The Jungle Expedition mixes a combination of seeing movie sites as well as getting a history lesson about the island.

Some of the movie sites includes the Indominus Rex complex from Jurassic World and the helicopter crash from Kong: Skull Island. Between the two films, I am much more of a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise. Dinosaurs are definitely awesome and, overall, the plot lines have been pretty solid. As you can tell me excitement about the complex site was through the roof compared to the crash scene. Why? Well, we had finally watch Kong: Skull Island the week before this trip and it was fairly weak. I'm a solid King Kong lover but the movie was just...terrible. Even Sammie L. couldn't save that movie.

Other sites on this tour include a view of the bay (where CGI magic happened for Jurassic World), a stop at a replica Hawaiin Temple for Lono, and a view from the top. If it wouldn't have rained and if other guests would have slipped in the mud, the tour could have included a short hike. However, inexperience in hiking can lead to messy conditions.

If you're hungry while visiting the ranch, I'd strongly recommended one of their burgers. The beef is grass fed on site and you may even get to see some of the cattle while on your tour. I'd have a picture of our burger but we ate it so quick that I didn't get a picture. You can also pick up some local fruit like black sapote or lilikoi. Unfortunately, I bought a black sapote that didn't ripen before the end of the trip and can't verify if it would have tasted like chocolate pudding. However, lilikoi (aka passionfruit) is delicious whether its form is raw, buttered, syruped, or pureed. It is just that good.

Once we left the ranch, we headed back south the Byodo-In Temple. This temple is a replica Buddhist temple located in the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park. When you drive to the site you will be driving through a cemetary. We spent about an hour here and it was definitely worth checking out. If you start your visit by going left, you will get a full experience of ringing a bell to clear the mind and follow it with other offerings of the temple.

A couple of hours later we found ourselves sitting at the North Shore watching surfers do their thing. The North Shore was a nice retreat from the city and the vibe of this side of Oahu definitely relaxed. If you manage to find yourself out this direction, one of the first things that you may notice is the lack of development. The beaches are public, the feel is small town, and there aren't any resorts or major hotel chains. It is a quaint and cozy feel even amidst all the tourists (like us.). The pushback against development is embodied by the Defend Oahu Coalition. Driving along we saw several "Keep the Country Country!" signs and general advocacy from large scale development. We also ran across the coalition's work while visiting Old Waialua Sugar Mill. The Sugar Mill itself is no longer operational. In its place is a series of shops and businesses including the Waialua Coffee and Chocolate folks. This shop offers short tours of their coffee and chocolate production with the ability to sample their goods in store. Our favorite sampling: the medium roast natural processed coffee.

During our tour I discovered coffee beans can be explosive. This is my face of excitement after learning this fact.

As a final stop for the day, we swung by the Dole Plantation to get some pineapple whip icecream. I would be back the next day to tour the facility as part of a professional group. I'm not sure I would recommend the tours if you are just a group of adults, but the icecream is worth the stop at a minimum. However, if you opt for the tour the garden offers excellent vista views of the operation itself that you can also see on the train tour. On the flip side, the train tour provides an educational view and history of Dole's production. They aren't just all pineapples.

Early Morning Day 3: Before I was obligated to work, I squeezed us in a guided surf lesson. Placed high on my bucket list was learning to surf at Wakiki Beach. For some reason I always think of those Brady Bunch episodes of Hawaii when I talk about this bucket list goal despite the fact I'm not much of fan of the show.

Surprisingly, I managed to get up on my first try largely in part to our instructor. I found a Groupon deal for Big Wave Dave Surf Co. Their shop and staff were top notch and you can buy pictures they shoot for you. The pictures aren't cheap, but how many times are you going to be able to capture your first time surfing?

After surfing, it was time for business. We did manage to carve out some additional eating and walking around Honolulu before having to head back home. Here are some our other favorable notables of our trip:

Right next to the parking lot for the Waimea Valley Park is a Heiau for Lono. We didn't have time to stop by the Pu'u Mahuka Heiau Historic Site nearby (future goal I suppose) so this was a nice surprise to see the remanents of a Hawaiin temple.

Eat some poke. I'm not much of a raw fish kind of person, but this was definitely an interesting dish to try. We stopped by the Poke Bar. Other places to try would include the Marukame Udon and Musubi Cafe Iyasume. Expect a line at Marukame and difficulty finding a seat. However, it is definitely worth it. As for musubi, this is a grab and go kind of deliciousness. And don't hate on the Spam!

Shave ice. It's a must. We opted for Island Vintage Shave Ice upon recommendation of a local tour guide. The 'Heavenly Lilikoi' seen to the right with the shaved ice, yogurt, pureed fruit, lilikoi drizzle, lilikoi bubbles, and some weird gummies.

Random street market located near the Holiday Inn Beachcomber. Never have I been hustled so hard for some Chinese-made good. Totally worth venturing into this place if you like to haggle. The good news is that if stopping by this place exhausts you, there is the Maui Brewing Company right around the corner. Happy hour promises discounted food, beer, and ciders.

Finally, the random open air food markets are great place. We frequented the King's Village Farmers Market a couple of mornings and then checked out the Tuesday market on the ground floor of the Hyatt Regency Wakiki Beach Resort.

This trip was short and sweet. There is so much more that I would like to do should I ever find myself back in Hawaii. Until then...here's a picture of Duke.