Maunawili Falls Trail 

& 

relaxing island cruise around Oahu…

I'm heading North on Pali Highway. (Pali means cliff.) It's a beautiful drive through the mountains. You pass through tunnels and have no shortage of awesome sights while on this stretch of road. We are headed to hike Maunawili Falls Trail in Kailua, here on Oahu. Grab your bug spray and appropriate foot wear; and let's go!

The trail is located on the Mauka (mountain or inland) side of Kalaniana 'ole Highay. It is not too difficult and is just over a mile long (one way).

Maunawili means twisted mountain.










As I was beginning the hike, I saw a few pairs of abandoned and extremely mud covered shoes lining the trail. It was a bit muddy, but I knew it was likely way worse up ahead. I chose to wear my Keen's because they are hiking/water shoes and very comfortable. I knew we would have to cross the stream several times. When I cross shallow streams, I tend to walk in the water as opposed to the rocks. Wet rocks can be very slippery, plus the water feels good!

And we're off….

  

I love the tropics!! Lush, prehistoric plants everywhere! Check out this tree! It has some weird exoskeleton looking business going on. This trail had an exceptional number of banana plants, guava trees and we even saw some coffee plants. 

The trail became very, very muddy. If you prepare yourself for this, it is no big deal. Walking in mud, in mud covered shoes can get slippery! This trail had a lot of opportunities to get your feet wet and rinse            off some of the mud.

       Be careful! I think IT may be hiding in there!

               

 

There are convenient steps built in throughout the hike in steep areas. Awesome to have when it's muddy. 

We crossed the stream in a few places on this hike.

Today, I decided to wear my swimsuit top, but ha jean shorts on. The bottoms were left in the car. It was my loss. I missed out on the great swim I could have had (too many people around in a small space to go nudie). I did wade and splash around a bit and the water felt great!

Check out that water fall and swimming hole!!

The water wasn't as cold as I was expecting. It wasn't very deep and there a lot of rocks at the bottom. What a great spot for a dip!

It rained off and on a few times while we were hiking. It wasn't a real problem, but we did want to get out cameras into a waterproof bag. The tree canopy shielded a lot of the rain.

After finishing the hike, I took this picture before getting into the car. 

Beautiful!! You can see the rain up in the mountains beyond this huge Cook pine.

These trees are all over the islands. I see fewer of them here on Oahu than I did on Kauai. The botanists  on Captain Cook's second voyage cultivated these trees wherever they traveled to. Cook pines grow really fast, and strait. They were the perfect tree for the travelers of that time. If a ship's mass was broken en rout, it could be easily replaced by wood from the cook pine. 

                                                                     

We were pretty hungry after that hike. We are on our way to The Shack in Kailua. 

The Shack has a full bar and serves bar food. The selection for vegan and veggie choices are kinda slim. They have great salads, but the dressing selection is really poor. They serve some local favorites, Portuguese sausage, kalbi, chicken katsu, and even mac salad! I took my diet off road today, had some mac salad and a chicken wing. If you are a veggie head like me; the wings were good, but not worth an off road diet trip. They have all kinds of hot dogs and other deep fried choices. The salad was HUGE, it was only $10, and full of fresh vegetables. The prices here are great. 

Headed off to Kaiona Beach Park on Kalaniana'ole Highway. Kaiona is the name of the goddess who is said to inhabit the Wai'anae Montains. She offers protection to travelers in need. This area is beautiful…

We have arrived at the beach park. I really wanted to get some snorkeling done today, but it's 4pm already and the air is chilly. This is a good opportunity to take some pictures. The view at this park is really great!

  

You can see Rabbit Island in this last pic. The clouds were amazing today, the view is stellar! I like this beach park a lot. It has bathroom and shower facilities, and picnic tables. The beach is nice and clean. There is reef out here, making it a good place to snorkel.

Well, that's my day!! Time to take a scenic cruise home, gotta go to work in a few hours. I had a wonderful time today and I hope you enjoyed reading. Love you!

P.S. please leave comments, follow and share the experience with others, Mahalo!!

   

Local music…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZngFbI-3Kc&list=RDBToR5_6jKSU

So, love the local music scene. Most songs seem to be about love or making love. This one is a local artist right here on Oahu named J. Boog. It's about doin' it ;) enjoy - love you

Just in case you can't get enough of that sweet, sweet island music. I love this song!! It makes me say oh oh oh…..

http://youtu.be/FCapu1V_ke8

Secret Cave 

in ****** on Oahu

Nope! It's a secret, so I'm not gonna tell you where it is, tee hee. This was such a cool find!! While wandering around ***** beach park, I happened upon this puka (hole) in the volcanic rock……

Wonder what's down there. A dragon? Maybe it's Batman's vacation bat cave? Who knows. I can hear water sloshing around down there though. 

Kept wandering, and stumbled upon this puka. 

Now that's more like it. It was about 10 feet down, but totally doable. Let's descend and hope there isn't actually a fire breathing dragon down there.

Nope! It's a super bad ass secret cave!! Sweet, and totally worth scraping up your knees a bit to get down there to see it!

You can swim around down there. I got a bit scared when I got deeper into it (but I'm kinda a chicken). You can really feel the tide pulling you in and out. It felt a bit like being in a washing machine. My tutu wahine (grandma) told me "Don't you be goin' down in those caves Angel Kalani, do you hear me? I mean it! I'll kick your okole (i don't have to tell you what that word means)!!" So anyway, save your okole and don't tell grandma. 

I don't feel that this particular cave is terribly dangerous. If the tide is high, I can see how it could be. You could see that recently the tide was high enough to push small shells and coral up into some of the pukas in the cave walls. You should always be careful exploring Hawaii, people do die here, often. It's important to check the weather report for flash floods, see what the tide and the surf is doing before heading out. Hawaii is also too magical a place to not explore, so I'm going to keep on keeping on!

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "wow! What a ride!" - Hunter S. Thompson 

I agree Mr. Thompson….I agree…..

And with that, I leave you with another song from a local artist. Enjoy! Love you!

http://youtu.be/RuZrDaeJb14

Waikiki,

let's make a day of it….

It has ben chilly here in Hawaii!! I haven't been going out as much. I know, I know, 60's isn't that cold right? Where you live there is ice and snow right? You want to slap me for complaining about it getting into the 60's? Before you powder up that pimp hand, remember, we are acclimated to the heat and sun out here in the tropics. So yes, 65 degrees is a bit chilly. I have been bundled up, watching movies and eating soup the last few nights. It was pretty sunny today, so I decided to head out and play before it got chilly again. 

As you may have seen in my New Years Eve post. There is no place in the world quite like Waikiki. It is a very urban, busy city; right on the beach! How unique is that? I thought you might like to see it in the light of day. Pack your beach bag and lets go. Don't forget your sunscreen! Hawaii is closer to the equator than the mainland, the sun is closer and you can really tell the difference.

Waikiki is a shopping destination for many. Taxes are lower here than many other places, so people come here a lot to shop and save a bit. The shopping here is close to what you might find in New York or Paris. Places like Gucci, Prada, Coach, Armani Exchange & Louis Vuitton line the sidewalks here. I saw a purse today that cost 3 times as much as my car! I'm not much for shopping though, so let's just head to the beach. 

                                                                                               

As you can see, Waikiki beach is SUPER crowded. I came on a week day hoping it may be less, but nope! There are a few lesser known, less crowded beaches here in town, but we will save that for another day. It is still relaxing here, you can hear the ocean and Waikiki is a great place to go swimming. There are few rocks and even fewer waves. It's almost like swimming in a pool here. If you are leery of the ocean, not a strong swimmer, or you want to take keiki (your kid) in for a dip, this is the place for you! 

Remember the Pink Palace from the other night? Here it is in the light of day. It is also known as the Royal Hawaiian. It was one of the first hotels in Waikiki. It opened in 1927 and is a historic site. 

                                                                               

Check out that view of Diamond Head! It was called Le 'ahi by the ancient Hawaiians. Maybe because the shape of the ridge resembles the fin of a tuna. It was renamed Diamond Head in the 19th century by British explorers who mistook the calcite in the rock for diamonds. 

I sat and read for a while on the beach, then decided to take a stroll down the beach, see what I can see, and grab a drink. (I'm walking in the direction away from Diamond head.) There are all kinds of activities here for sale.

                                                    

You can rent flotillas, surf and boogie boards, and stand up boards. You can take surfing lessons, boat rides and canoe trips out to sea with the experts all over the beach. Don't be worried about not being able to find these types of activities, they really are all over the place and the staff is not shy about soliciting you.

And check this thing out!! Some sort of floating big wheel!! I want to rent one of those, but not today.

I stopped in for a drink at Happy's. It's a bar that is located on the beach, associated with a hotel only for military. It is the cheapest place on the beach to get a drink and some grub.

I am a bit hungry, but I will wait. We are meeting my husband for lunch later. I'll just have a beer and watch the water for a while.

 

Heading back, the direction of Diamond Head now…..

Here, we have the Koa Oasis. This is another place for cheap drinks (cheap for beach front Waikiki that is). They boast that they have the "best Mai Tai on the beach". Well, I don't know about that, but I bet it is the best priced Mai Tai on the beach. 

         Taking a picture of you taking a picture of me……

Now that we are back to the Diamond Head side of Waikiki Beach, let's see what we can see….

This is Duke Paoa Kahanamoku.  He was a full blodded Hawaiian, born in 1890 and raised in Honolulu and a surfer. He had an ox named Babe and…..oh wait….that's Paul Bunion, never mind.  But, true story, between 1912 and 1932, he won 3 gold metals, 2 silver and one bronze for swimming. He is known as the "Father of international surfing". This statue is always adorned with leis when I come. 

This plaque was at the base of his statue. Give it a read through, beautiful!! ALOHA to you!!!

We have reached the end of this particular stretch of beach. So beautiful, and what a good time!!

Let's walk down a little further and cross the street to see what's at the park!

This is a lovely little park and a great place to seek some quiet space after leaving the beach swarming with people. The first sight that I came across was the burial mound. This burial mound was built in 2002. It houses the skeletal remains of 200 kupuna (ancestors) that were unearthed during construction taking place in Waikiki. It was designed with plenty of room for more, should they need it. 

              And don't climb on it!! :)

I found this pretty cool statue of Gandhi
too! He spent plenty of time In Hawaii
and I can see why!!

Check out this amazing banyon tree!! These are all over the islands. They look like many trees, but it is just one. They can get huge and you can almost always wander around inside of them. 

This park also houses the entrance to the Honolulu Zoo. Zoos are not really my thing, so if you want to see it, you will just have to come here and check it out for yourself!

Time to walk my bike back down Kalakaua to the Hyatt Regency to meet my husband for lunch at Seafood Village.  I chose to walk my bike because it is a one way road and the cops here do love to write tickets to people riding the wrong way, or riding on the sidewalk in Waikiki, so DON'T DO IT!! 

It's a super fancy pants restaurant, so I changed into my fancy pants before I got there. There isn't a dress code, that's just how I roll. 

This place is super expensive. If you want a $100 plate, this is the place for it. Looking over the menu, I began to sweat, so I ordered the cheapest thing on it! They did have a good selection of vegan and vegetarian choices (which are usually less expensive at restaurants too). I got the veggie stir fry for $12. Not too bad for a meal at a nice restaurant in Waikiki!  

I ate all that and dim sum…….get it, dim sum, HAHA….oh never mind. But seriously, the spinach dim sum was amazing!! The spicy mustard here was really kicking too. 

I have had a long day and my belly is full. I am ready to head back home. I ride my bike along the Ala Wai Canal when coming home from Waikiki. There is a bike path all along there, and in Honolulu, you take bike paths when ever possible. We have the second worst traffic in the nation, only second to L.A. Plus, it's a pretty nice ride. 

Construction on the canal began in 1921. The purpose of the canal was to direct several small streams into the ocean that used to run into Waikiki making it wetlands. The canal is kinda icky, you wouldn't want to swim in it and one time I saw a jellyfish in it. That was pretty cool actually, I never see jellyfish like that. People do use the canal however for paddling practice. Paddling is a huge sport in Hawaii. I used to belong to a paddling team myself when I lived on Kauai. It was a great way to meet people and get some exercise. 

Speaking of paddlers……..

Wow! Look at them go!!

I'm stopping in at a local bakery, Bubby's. I have been wanting to try their mochi. They have about 20 flavors of it! Mochi is a Japanese rice cake. It is huge in Hawaii, you find cakes, cookies and ice cream filled treats in a variety of flavors all over the place out here. 

MMMMochi!!!

So friends, that was my day at Waikiki. I had fun, hope you did too!! Please leave me comments and follow my blog, ask others to follow too if you enjoy it. Much mahalo. 

I will be posting a very exciting (and slightly scary) adventure in the very near future!! I will leave you with another love song from an artist right here in Hawaii. Love you. 

http://youtu.be/8lKcyooIMkQ

Tori Richards

the quintessential Aloha shirt.... 

Aloha!! I want to take a moment to mention the Hawaiian shirt, the Aloha shirt. You don't see too many of them on the main land. They aren't cheezy or quirky out here at all. They are quite popular and not just with tourists. 

Tori Richards is my favorite maker of these shirts. It is a very local company. It was the first maker of Hawaiian shirts, and is just as popular today as it was when the company started up. They are not exactly cheap, but you won't break the bank on one like you would for a Tommy Bahama shirt. In my opinion, it's a better shirt anyway. Tori Richards shirts are designed and made here in the islands! 

I showed you a picture of the Pink Palace from last night. It made me think of my favorite Aloha shirt, so i thought I'd share a few pics. 

This is my wedding photo. The groom has on a shirt called Boat Day. It is actually a vintage print, from the 50's. Tori Richards has a few shirts that are vintage prints. Boat Day is to commemorate the first cruise ship to ever land on Oahu! The Pink Palace is featured on this shirt. Doesn't he look great in it!!

If you are ever in Hawaii, or if you are just up on the main land in need of an Aloha shirt; check out this company! The shirts are very well made, beautiful, and very Hawaiian. 

I'm going to share another local artist with you. This is a love song and I think it is so cute! Thanks for reading! Love you!!

http://youtu.be/O5XGvDAjOps