Kailua and Lanikai

The weekend of December 7th we had decided to rent a scooter and take a trip around the windward side of the island. Unfortunately, the place we went didn’t have any available on Saturday morning and the guy told us that we would have to rent two scooters anyway as you aren’t allowed two people on one in Hawaii. Not sure what the reasoning is for that…turns out it’s cheaper to rent a car.


Sunday morning outrigger canoe race off of Lanikai beach

So after accomplishing very little on Saturday, we decided to take the bus and head out to Kailua and Lanikai on Sunday. The weather hasn’t been great recently and Sunday morning wasn’t an exception. We ended up walking through a very light drizzle over to Lanikai beach as we had heard it was the loveliest beach on Oahu.

The end of Lanikai Beach

After seeing them both, I still think I prefer Kailua, but they are right next to each other, and are both lovely so it’s easy to go backwards and forwards – and the islands off of Lanikai do add another dimension.

Imagine how it would have looked if the sun was shining…

This is Kailua beach (were the Obama family spent Christmas!)

This is the hill that splits Lanikai and Kailua beaches - I just saw the same photo in a tourist advertising magazine...except the sun was shining - it was lovely! You can see the islands in the background

Coming back to Honolulu, we decided to take the longer route around Makapu’u Point. You can catch a bus from Kailua down to Sea Life Park, and then wait for the connecting bus 22 which takes you back to Waikiki via Hanauma Bay. It was a lovely drive and we were able to see more of the island that we hadn’t seen before.

We want to go back and visit the Bellows Beach Park. During the week it’s an army base, but they open up the beach at the weekend, so we are hoping to get back there soon. When the weather improves!

Nick catching crabs on the beach...

These photos are of Makapu'u Beach Park - it is a popular surf spot and the waves just kept on rolling in...

A Sacred Circle at the above the beach

Diamond Head

The day after Thanksgiving, we tried to walk off all the excess of the evening meal with a hike to the top of Diamond Head.

Diamond Head is what remains of one of the original volcanoes which made Oahu. Climbing it doesn’t take too long but it is up: around 1,000 feet above sea level.

We declined the offer of a cheap T shirt and certificate for “bragging rights” for having made it all the way to the top (hmmm, seems like Sunshine and Redcloud are a little higher than 1,000 feet and entail a little more climbing…), but we had fun and the views from the top were great. And it may not be a huge climb, but it sure as hell makes you sweat!!!

Here are some of the photos.

From the top we were able to see a road that led all the way around Diamond Head on the ocean side. We had looked for it before but never been able to find it, but from the top it was easy to spot our way back so we detoured back that way and passed some lovely gardens and beaches on the way back.

This photo is of one of the local bus stops - bit different to the one on Howdale Rd in Sutton!!!

Some views from the top

Cliff top gardens

And bougainvillea. Here it is a riot of color and is absolutely everywhere..I don't think I have seen an orange/apricot coloured one before...























Diamond Head from Kapiolani Park and views towards the Pali and the central mountains on a clear day

Thanksgiving in Hawaii

Thanksgiving in our new “home” was interesting!

We got up early in the morning and went for a run around Kapiolani Park (we figured we wouldn’t make the official 10 mile loop that was going on but we did around 4-5 miles). From there we went to the beach and hung out for a few hours relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. Nick did a little snorkeling – it’s surprising that even at Waikiki you can still find some fish hanging out in and around the coral…from there we had a little lunch at Lulus. I think it’s a Waikiki version of the Avy: popular with locals and tourists; staff can keep their surfboards in the building; football on the TV; decent food, decent prices, and of course Stella on tap! What more can you ask for? We had the grilled mahi mahi sandwich with fries – delicious!

After a couple of Stella’s I decided I needed a walk before I could go back and cook Thanksgiving dinner, so we strolled down the beach walk for a little while people watching and laughing at the huge numbers of people crammed into a tiny space on the beach in central Waikiki.

Back at the condo, we were preparing baked potatoes (no masher), green beans and brussels sprouts with lime, stuffing, gravy and of course turkey. I had been able to find some turkey tenderloins the day before that would perfectly in our little toaster over! We were going to wash it down with a bottle of wine and finish up with the pumpkin cheesecake I had bought (and which cost more than a bottle of vodka for our morning Bloody Mary’s) at the Cheesecake factory.

We prepared the turkey with oil, garlic and onion, started cooking the baked potatoes and got the veggies ready. Then we blew a fuse! Apparently, the condo is all on one circuit and having the toaster oven, microwave, TV (for football!) and air conditioner on at one time was a little overtaxing to the system! No problem said Nick, I’ll find the panel and flip the switch….not so easy. Eventually he had to contact the building managers’ - only to find out that our panel is actually located in the condo next door – and they wouldn’t allow us access! They did give us the number of the guy that lives their though and told us to tell him to come back and let us in…slight problem: He was gone til Sunday…no way were we waiting until Sunday to eat the Thanksgiving meal that was already starting to smell so good!!! Fortunately Gary (our neighbour) gave us permission to go in and flip the breaker. Nick went back to the managers who had said they had no way of getting in and they agreed to open up the unit.

Yeah – back to cooking! Dinner turned out to be excellent and we were glad we had decided to make the effort despite the fact that we didn’t think we could manage the whole thing – just shows what you can do with a microwave, hot plate and toaster oven! And yes, the cheesecake was good, but not as good as the ginger pumpkin cheesecake that I usually make at Thanksgiving!

The end result!

Middle Age...Yikes!

I have to say, the arrival of my first pair of bifocals this week has left me feeling a little vulnerable. It didn’t help that a news item on the TV the other day was talking about middle aged woman over 40! It does help a little that I can actually read properly again now (!), but it has also made us both jump back into running again. Maybe we think that as we run we are running away from middle age…Who knows. The aches the next morning don’t always convince us of that…it does make both of us feel better though. It helps us keep in shape a little, gets us out in the (relative) cool of the morning and gives us a jump start to the day.

Our new routine is actually pretty nice. Up early (ish) to run a few laps around the park before it gets too hot and humid, and then a dip in the ocean to wash off the sweat and cool down before drying off laying in the sun on the beach. A second swim to wash the sand off and then a quick dry off on the lawns of the park before we head back to the apartment for a cold shower. It’s amazing how much you end up sweating on even a short run, and in the end, all the swimming and showering doesn’t do much good - as soon you step outside again you might as well not have bothered. But I guess that’s the price you pay for living in the middle of the ocean…in a warm, tropical, sunny place. Ah, the pain of it. It’s even almost nice enough for me to forget that I am now officially considered to be middle aged!