Exploring the north and west side of the island

Our first full day on Oahu!

First, we did our only run of the trip. A quick 3 miler along the beach. It was a nice way to start the morning.

Next up was a stop at Liliha Bakery for their famous cocoa puffs. I'm not sure they are all that delicious, but the poi doughnuts were definitely interesting. We were in a hurry, so we got everything to go. But it was cute in there so you could sit and eat your pastries there.

Then, we were on our way to Kualoa Ranch for the Jungle Jeep Expedition tour. They film all kinds of movies here most notably the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movies. I was expecting to see lots of good movie stuff. We saw some good stuff, but not a lot. I guess it was a pretty drive through the ranch and some great scenery, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Our next move was to drive along the shore and see lots of great beaches and have garlic shrimp. So, we headed out on our journey. First stop was Kahana Bay Beach Park. Nothing too exciting here, so we continued on. The drive itself was just so beautiful, we were happy to keep driving.

Then, we came upon Giovanni's Shrimp Truck. We got a plate of garlic shrimp and it was delicious!

Next up was a bit more of a drive and then a stop at Turtle Bay Resort and Kuilima Cove. We did a bit of snorkeling here and that was nice. Lots of sea urchins and plenty of fish...but the water was not as clear as our snorkeling trip the other day. We spent a bit of time enjoying the sun and then headed on our way.


Then, after struggling to find parking, we stopped at Banzai Pipeline to watch the big waves and surfers. Good stuff!

Then we stopped at Laniakea Beach. There are supposed to be sea turtles hanging out on the beach. We saw no signs of such turtles. Maybe we were too late in the day? Whatever. Onward.

Next up was a stop in Haleiwa for shave ice at Matsumoto. We both got our own this time. :) I had watermelon, raspberry, and peach. And Mike had sour apple, watermelon, and coconut...with ice cream. Good, but not our favorite.

More driving and then our next stop: The Dole Pineapple Plantation. Main goal: do the awesome maze. Mike killed it and finished the maze in like 20 minutes. Alison got lost once and took more like 30 minutes. Good times overall though. We also got some pineapple whip ice cream (yum!) and strolled about the gardens a bit. A fun stop.

Then, we stopped at Beerlab on the way back into the city. We had dinner at a sports bar with really good food (Home Bar and Grill). I think I ordered way too much food, but this meant Mike had leftovers later...so that was good. We had a poke flatbread, macadamia nut shrimp, and pepperoni truffle fries. Delicious!

Then, we tried to go to this beer release party at Maui Brewing where the guitarist from Metallica and the head brewer from Stone Brewing were going to be. It was crazytown in there, so we walked around, saw the guitarist, the crazy lines and left. We ended up at Tikis bar in the hotel next to our Airbnb and I was able to see a replay of the Kentucky/A&M game...so that was fun.

Another world on Oahu

Another early morning for the Grishmarrs (but not as early as the previous two days). We got up early to finish packing, eat the remaining banana bread and goat cheese we’d purchased over the last few days and then headed to the airport. We enjoyed our quick Hawaiian airlines flight over to Oahu and once we got our rental car (decided to upgrade to a convertible because we so loved our Maui convertible experience), we headed to Koko Head Cafe for brunch. This restaurant is home to chef Leann Wong from Top Chef....another one of our favorite contestants. The food was delicious. I had the cornflake French toast and Mike had the Koko Moco. We also got the dumplings of the day. And a spiced mimosa. All of it was yummy. A great way to start the day.

We headed to our Airbnb and did a quick walk about Waikiki before checking in. What a difference an island makes. This place is crazy busy and so much more commercial than Maui. It’s a bit overwhelming. 

After our check-in, we headed to the southeast side of the island to check out the Halona blowhole (a total bust). It was pretty, but no blowhole action. Unless you count the whales we saw off in the distance. In that first pic there is totally a whale tail! :)

Next up was a sweet, crazy hike up the Koko Railway Crater. Insane. But, amazing views at the top. Definitely a workout for the day. 

Then, we stopped at Hanauma Bay for snorkeling. We found it odd that we didn’t have to pay the entry fee when we arrived, but did the trek down to the beach anyways. It turns out we only got about 30 minutes on the beach before they closed. :( We saw a few fish, but nothing like we saw in Maui. We’d likely come back here early in the AM if we were ever on Oahu again.

We were ready to head back into the city when we noticed a traffic jam, so we found Kona brewing and stopped in there for some snacks, a drink, and a chance to watch some of the Alabama/Clemson game. Great stuff.

We stopped at Rainbow Drive-in on the way back in for some loco moco to go. We ate that at our Airbnb and got cleaned up for our evening adventures. First stop: island vintage shave ice. Yummy! It had soft-serve and boba, so this was likely my favorite. So good.

Then, we headed to Waikiki Brewing Company for some beers. A good way to end another busy and successful day.