Oahu, My Taste of Hawaii’s Tropical Splendor

Wow, what can I say, it’s been a while since I posted. I’ve been super busy and then we went on a wonderful trip to Oahu, Hawaii. The island lived up to my expectations and then some.

We flew into Hawaii out of San Francisco and arrived on the weekend. If your a serious shopper or just want a few good t-shirts the swap meet/flea market whatever you want to call it at the Hawaii Dome where the Rainbows football games are played is the place to be. All around the stadium are packed makeshift tents for the vendors to hawk their wares. You can find everything from fresh fruit to t-shirts(8 for $20) to getting your teeth whitened. We did find some great deals at a fraction of what we saw them at other places around the island.

There are so many great beaches on Oahu, but our first experience was to dig our toes into the powder soft sands of Waikiki Beach. Waikiki was only about two blocks from our digs and did not disappoint. It was a great place to get introduced to the Hawaiian lifestyle. Great water and great beach, though best for people watching and body surfing. Too many waves for clear water and the beach get’s very busy.

I was told before we went that this area is like the Vegas of Hawaii. All along the strip adjacent to the beach are high-end stores and restaurants. You’ll find the local strip mall with local wares dotted around the area as well. It’s an experience for the senses, smell the ocean and food, see the people and grand sites like Diamond Head jutting out to the ocean, and seeing all sorts of people and the beauty that is Hawaii. We saw fish, turtles and even a baby hammerhead shark as we went for a stroll along the beach. If it weren’t for the hundreds of other people on the beach it would of been a scene straight out of Hollywood.

That’s the thing about Hawaii though, it has a much different and calmer vibe than other places, say New York. No matter where we went it felt peaceful to me and even though there were many other people along Waikiki it still felt as if the beach was there just for you.

On Monday we went to Manama Bay. This was something I had researched before I went and something I wanted to experience. The tips are to check for days of operation as they’re closed on Tuesdays and get there early as the beach and parking fills up quickly. One advantage we had from coming to the mainland is that we were used to mountain standard time and so we’d head for the beach each morning between 6 and 7 which seemed to be early enough to get a good parking spot and a nice spot on the beach.

Before you can go jump in the water they have a short introduction movie you’re required to watch. From there you hike down a long ramp to get to the beach. The sand was nice, but not as soft as Waikiki. The splendor of this area was the water. The first 50-100 yards is pretty shallow. In the introductory movie they caution you about killing the coral. The water is so shallow and coral so developed that it’s hard not to touch it. The place abounds with all kids of fish. While the coral isn’t particularly nice to look at it’s a great home for many of the oceans critters. It’s best to get out and away from the beach as much as you can. On two or three spots further out there are buoys that mark a safe channel out the deeper waters. Head for these to get a better experience or you’ll be dragging your belly over coral for a portion of the day. Overall I’d give Manama Bay a 7 out of 10, a definite must experience and good for a couple of days.

Next we had the experience of taking in the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). Rest up because this is a full day of activities! We started this day off by going to the Hawaiian Temple visitors center. It’s a beautiful building and the grounds are just as nice. The temple is currently undergoing renovation so it isn’t quite the brilliant white splendor that it can be but absolutely still worth the trip. It’s just north of the PCC and since the PCC doesn’t open until nearly noon you can blow some time seeing the sites. The north eastern shore is quite different from the city as well, you’ll notice a drastic contrast in the lifestyle of those in the city and those out around the island.

Once we got into the PCC we enjoyed the Hawaiian Bar-B-Q lunch just prior to the first show. The best way to describe the PCC is like Disneyland/Epcot Center. All around the grounds are villages with people from different cultures, Tonga, Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tahiti, Fiji, Hawaii as well as some of the smaller islands. Each village at a preset time has a small show to introduce you to the people and culture of the island. Following each show if you wish they have various activities that are fun for the whole family. If you intend to do any of the activities you’ll want to go for multiple days which some of the passes allow you to do for free. There is just too much to see and do in one day. This is a definite must see if you’re coming to the island with your family. Our favorites were Hawaii and Tahiti. The man they had doing the show from Hawaii had been doing this show for a number of years and was quite comical. In Tahiti you’ll learn the difference between the Hawaiian hula and the Tahiti dancing.

In the afternoon they perform a water parade a la Disney with each culture in full dress and performing various dances. After this we were hot and found refuge in the IMAX theater they have on-site. This is a definite must see as well not only to escape the heat but the show was amazing with great footage on the coral and creatures in the local oceans.

After this we worked up an appetite and had tickets to the nightly luau that they poor on with all the trimmings. They had the burred pork and everyone’s favorite poi. We started the meal off with a specialty drink they sell that’s a smoothly inside a hollowed out pineapple. This was a line item on my things to do in Hawaii, drink a fruity drink with an umbrella. Very tasty and will help quench your thirst as you wait for your turn at the buffet.

After the buffet you have time to waddle around the shops before the nightly show. The night show is the culmination of everything you saw and experienced during the day. We went on the second-to-last night before they were introducing a new show. The show we saw was complete with dancing, hula girls, fire walking, fire twirlers, music, comedy and more. This ended somewhere around 9:00 and found us dead on our feet for the ride back to Honolulu where we stayed.

The next day was a day to rest and relax from our busy day. We went with some amazing friends, Jon and Jeena. Since they had already been to the PCC they had scoped out the places for us to see the next day. They found a diamond of a beach in Waimea. During the winter months this is supposed to be an excellent surf beach, but whereas we went in July the water was calm and clear. As we walked up to the sand my wife commented on how the sand on each beach we had been to had a different feel.

Waimea was beautiful for snorkeling. It was almost like it was set up to be a post card. The beach was nice, the water crystal clear, lush green mountains to our back and a sailboat anchored out in the bay. Not only was the beach picturesque, but that day we saw dolphins swim into the bay with their young. You could see them breaching the surface and swimming around as well as hear the clicking in the water. While there isn’t a lot of coral or rocks for that matter in the main area of the bay we stil saw fish. You’ll want to go to the rocky areas to the north and south of the bay to see more fish. I must say however that while there weren’t as many fish in the open areas I did swim into a large school of fish that swarmed all around me. As I was chasing them almost mesmerized by the large mass shimmering and abruptly swimming side to side up out of the deep end of the ocean comes swimming a sea turtle. One of the coolest experiences of my life! This is a place I would come back to time and time again if I visited this island again.

It was hard to imagine this day getting any better, but we trudged on anyway. By trudging I mean we drove along the North Shore looking for one of the fabled shrimp shacks/trucks. We found one with large and tasty shrimp. No self respecting American would finish a meal off without a desert, so we headed off to Matsumoto’s for one of the famous shave ice treats. They have various flavors with various concoctions. We had the shave ice with the ice cream in the bottom. Delicious! The shaved ice flavoring mixed with the vanilla ice cream make for a creamy treat.

The next day was a bit stormy. One of the amazing things about Hawaii is that while parts of the island had storm clouds caught up on them every morning the outlying towns and beaches were fully sunny. On this day though it was overcast and rained a bit. It was so much of a rain but rather a misting. We explored the south-east side of the island this day and found a nice beach where we just relaxed and felt the sporadic mysting. They were doing some work on the beach so the bulldozer had caused the waters to be murky but our friends had a turtle pop up near them to give them an aloha.

The next day we felt we’d just been away from Waimea for too long and returned for another blissful day. This was a great day as well as I think my wife discovered the love of snorkeling that I’ve had for so long. Shed cut her teeth on snorkeling in the Caribbean but somehow something in Hawaii just clicked for her and she loved Waimea as much as I did.

My wife and I have had a fascination as of late with sailing and wanted to see what it was like to go on a sail boat. Along the way we’d picked up a little coupon book and found one for a catamaran sail with a company called Mai Tai. We scheduled a sunset sail with the fireworks show. Apparently on Friday nights the local Hilton has a firework show for all those around to see. So we boarded the catamaran and powered out to sea with the rather comical captain and first mate. Feeling the wind and being at sea was grand and the firework show was a nice touch. I saw some fireworks that I’d not seen before in my lifetime. After the show we sailed down the western coast to Diamond Head and from there back to Waikiki Beach. The whole thing cost about $50 and was worth every penny. I’d highly recommend the captain and his vessel for those wanting a taste of sailing. This was a relaxing and somewhat romantic setting if you don’t count the 20 or so other couples aboard with you.

The next day it was hard to believe that our week in Oahu was coming to an end, but we had one more day before we left and we saved that for Pearl Harbor. I thought I knew about Pearl Harbor from the research I had done. What I had not planned on was how it would affect me. Prior to going out to see the Arizona Memorial you watch a short film that chronicles the time around this infamous day. It hit me like a ton of bricks and was rather sobering. The park guide instructs you that this is a cemetery and to behave appropriately. He’s right, there’s a feeling of respect and reverence about the place that’s very powerful.

We learned about what the call the book ends. While the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona started the war, just beyond there rests the USS Missouri where the peace agreement was signed to end the war. For a fee you can take a self-guided or guided tour of the ship and really get a feel for the various nooks and crannies of the ship as you traipses through the bunk area, galley, bridge and get to climb up and down the ladders where the actual men and women who served on this ship lived.

Tags: Misc