Likes

I like Darlie toothpaste. It's my favorite. I just like how it feels afterwards.

I know it had some racist beginnings as Darkie toothpaste. Truth be told, it's still pretty racist going by its Chinese name, 黑人牙膏. But I still like how it feels.

Reflecting on ethnic influences, I'm realizing that even my favorite soap has something to say about it... Irish Spring.

Again, I just love how it feels afterwards and also how it smells. I feel clean and fresh afterwards, thank you very much! But speaking of influential soaps, I still remember the Zest soap commercials even though I never used it to my knowledge.

You're not fully clean until you're Zest fully clean! By mentos...

Favorite shampoo has probably got to be Pert Plus or Garnier Fructis. I love the after effect feel. I've used Head and Shoulders, which I never liked. Herbal Essence is okay, but I just never developed a strong liking for it. No complaints about it though.

Oahu Day 8

Our last full day in Hawaii. Needed to make it count. The sad not so funny part is that we got off to a bad start. We went to Snorkel Bobs to pick up prescription snorkels. That went ok. Then we went to wait for bus 22, which takes you to Hanauma Bay. Silly me. The bus routes changed since I was last here 3 years before. So we missed the supposed bus stop time and made our way to the proper bus stop. The even less funny thing. When the bus showed up, it was full. The driver PA's "sorry, bus full" and kept on driving. We were horrified. It was fast approaching 11am now. The first bus to Hanauma Bay could have got us there around 9:30-10am. Now uncertain whether we would really go, we decided to pick up some BK and walked up Kalakaua Ave to the first bus stop so as not to miss the next bus. Behold, the next bus is early, and we turn and run with the bus. Luckily, the driver realizes we were waiting for him and running after him, so he arbitrarily stops over for us to board. Let me say this is rare and how lucky we were. He really didn't have to do that, so we were extraordinarily grateful. Thank you kind, sir. As we made our way down Kalakaua, the driver passed over the Kalakaua and Kapahulu stop again because the bus was pretty full by then and there were a good 12-15 people waiting to go to what appeared to also be Hanauma Bay. We realized on the bus that 22 stops along the length of Kalakaua and that because of the bus schedule, people naturally congregate at the Kalakaua and Kapahulu stop. My best advice... DO NOT WAIT AT THE KALAKAUA AND KAPAHULU BUS STOP TO GO TO HANAUMA BAY! Head towards the Kalakaua and Olohana stop. It's a bit of a walk depending on where you are starting from, but it's worth it to secure a seat. There are stops along Kalakaua, but not only are they not guaranteed as you get closer to Kapahulu, but you'll likely get a crowded standing spot. Do yourself a favor. Make the extra effort to go to the KALAKAUA and OLOHANA stop for the 22 bus. Trust me.

That being said, life was nice and pleasant as we waited for the bus. It's still Hawaii afterall.

Seriously though, the bus was getting pretty crowded pretty quickly.

But we ultimately made it to Hanauma Bay. Thank goodness. I had never been before, but was pretty glad to make it happen this time. We were greeted by some aggressive chickens upon our arrival. Be careful when feeding the chickens. Felice threw a small piece of fry for one chicken, only to realized another 4 or so saw and started to approach and stare. It got a bit awkward.

This place really is worth coming to. I think I would visit each time that I'm here.

Note that it costs $7.50 a head for admissions. This on top of the $2.50 for the bus.

And there's a line. And it's a long line. Just to get an admissions ticket.

Did I mention the line? I think it was at least a 30 minute wait. Bring sunscreen. SPF 30 at least. I like SPF 45+. I'll gladly pay for that extra 2-3% cover, thank you very much. Sunscreen does really make a difference. Felice didn't apply it thoroughly and ended up with streaks of sunburn where she missed. So much for that experiment. 

Once you get in, you have to wait to watch a 10 minute how not to mess up the Bay orientation video. Then it's a 5 minute walk down and you're in paradise. They have small lockers available for rent for $7. I recommend it for safekeeping your possessions. There are quite a few people and you really don't want to take chances.

You can also rent snorkels (including prescriptions), fins, and other stuff here, too. There are no boogie boards though. It's a little pricier than picking it up from Snorkel Bob's, but not so much more. I think if a person went to Hanauma Bay really early and got there before Snorkel Bob's opened, that would be okay, too.

I didn't go too far for Felice's sake, but I saw quite a few fish and some coral. The coral isn't as good as in Maui. I even saw a humuhumunukunukuapua'a. Sweet. If anyone and their buddy is a strong enough swimmer with fins and it's the morning rather than the afternoon, I would strongly recommend considering going further along the reef to the first drop off. I think you would see a lot more. The motivated soul could rent scuba gear, as well. I'm sure it would be really rewarding.

On our way back, we saw a rainbow. Perfect. Reminds me of the song... somewhere over the rainbow by IZ.

We even finished our last full day with a sunset on the beach. Some people were even cheering. Um, people, it's the same sun from back home.

We walked through Waikiki at night. It does look kind of like Las Vegas but in Hawaii.
Some finishing touches as we had dinner once again at Duke's with a sequel to the Lava Flow with a Volcano (aka virgin Lava Flow) and Hula Pie, part 2. Great way to end the trip.

ABC stores. Yeah, not sure why we took this photo last... They're everywhere. Pricey though. I never bought anything from here this trip. It's a convenient convenient store though and also good for those looking for souvenirs. Walmart is cheaper though if you can make a trip out there early on though. Again, umbrealla, reef shoes, cushy comfy sandals.

Oahu Day 7

2nd car trip day came with news that it was going to rain. We were a bit concerned. Driving along the west or was it east? side of the island, there is much more rain. I think this is supposed to be normal. It is the same route as going towards the polynesian culture center. 

We stopped by a beach (don't remember the name) and saw some really smooth waves. There were many surfers lining up. You can see their heads popping out from the water.

Don't remember what this is called, but it's a famous place and is beautiful.

Macademia farm! There are so many flavors. Caramel, honey roasted, maui onion and garlic, cinnamon, you can try them all until you find something you like. Very unique and fresh tasting macademia nuts.

Those coconut shells, I saw grant eyeing them I think he secretly wanted a pair.

They call these coconut postcards.

An original surfboard?

Pineapple snow. We were told these were amazing. People like using them as their wedding souvenirs. Did they live up to their reputation?

Big bball shoes. We found out you could get pretty good deal shoes at Ross. The supersize ones have more choices, but we couldn't fit them. 

Hawaii has a disney store! Grant was really entertained watching rex and the toys from toy story jumping up and down in a bathtub and partying.

Nemo touching the boat!

Oahu Day 6

We rented a car the next two days using our $150 credit from the timeshare presentation. The next few places were farther out and you'd likely make many trips in between so renting a car would be a good idea. First stop, dole planation for dun dun dun....DOLE WHIP!!! Authentic version vs disneyland version. Yes...the disneyland version one tastes similar to the real one, although Grant thinks otherwise, yet he refuses to even try the disneyland one.  Though I do admit, the Hawaii is a bit more fruity and fresh if i recall correctly. Plus the lines were better.

This is nice. They offer many options. We decided to go with the one with fresh pineapple topping which was really tasty. There was also dole whip float, banana split dole whip, and a few others I can't recall right now.

Yes they even have spam flavored mac nuts... Its normal to see spam in quite a few places.

A pretty rainbow colored tree at the dole plantation.

Cute baby pineapple. There were quite a few other nice picture opportunities including standing in a big pineapple (it feels like you're spongebob) and also those cutouts where you can put your head in it, so you become a pineapple head.

That was a great weather day... probably the best on the trip

Matsumoto's! That line was really long but the place is famous for it's shaved ice. It's worth waiting for but we hear that Aoki's just down the street is really good as well. It's probably worth trying both places if you have the opportunity.

The lychee, papaya, pina colada with condensed milk tasted really good.

There was a thai mobile truck restaurant nearby. We tried some pad thai and green curry. The pad thai was really good.

Shrimp truck. We tried to look for something on the menu but couldn't find anything veggie friendly as expected. They could probably easily make a veggie friendly version with substitute shrimp.

The north shore was really pretty. We dropped by a couple beaches. These are the first few....(grant add here)

This one is ehukai beach with the pipepline. We decided to first take a nap. It was very blissful laying on a nice beach mat (also good idea to get one of these made of bamboo fibers), feeling the nice warm sun, and hearing the peaceful sound of the ocean. After our hour long nap, we took a walk along the beach. More towards the left side of the beach, there were less people and the waves were bigger. There were life guards warning people because there were sudden drops in sea level on this beach. You could start at feet level, then walk in a few feet and already be at waist level.

We drove by this tidepool place a couple times and decided to drop by and check it out. It was unique. The water was a bit murky in some areas due to the lava rocks, which can be quite sharp. Be really careful. I was wearing flip flops and cut my foot on a rock. It would definitely be smart to invest in some water shoes at the start of the trip. When stepping on rocks also be careful because some can move. More towards the center, the water was clearer and people were snorkeling. There were a few small fishes.

A james bond pizza? Other than having 7 toppings, we didn't really see how this was related to james bond.

Lava flow round 2 at a diner cafe. It was pretty good. We realized lava flow tastes best without the rum.