Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
I wanted to go to the Honolulu Zoo to see the live Hawaiian music, but we were told that the rain was island-wide. So, we decided to keep it local and took a leisurely drive around the area - stopping wherever took our fancy.
Our first stop: a swim in the saltwater pool of a local condo where Maria has the keys to a place she looks after for a friend. We've been swimming there almost everyday now. Maria does a whopping 60 laps and I potter about with my makeshift "aquarobics" and my head-above-water-so-I-won't-wet-my-hair-crawl. I love swimming - especially in saltwater swimming pools and calm seas - there's nothing else quite like it! I must remember to continue the swimming when I return to London - it's a great way to get daily exercise and destress.
After our swim, we were famished and decided to stop at a local place to eat. I had fish tacos and Maria had a burger. The food was good but the berry smoothie was one of the best I have ever tasted! We took our food across the road to the park and ate whilst watching the waves crash on the shore.
We headed further south to Kualoa Ranch - of the last remaining working cattle ranches in Oahu. They have almost 800 head of cattle but their main earnings are from the various activities they offer to tourists (horse-riding and ATV rides) as well as the money they make from location hire for TV and films. For example, the popular TV series "Lost" was filmed at the ranch, amongst others! I think they offer a tour of the various film sets but our main purpose of the visit was not location scouting but, rather, food scouting as we wanted to see what their canteen was like. We weren't too impressed as it seems to cater towards large groups and bus tours...
Our dinner location of choice was at Haleiwa Joe's Seafood Grill - a great tastefully decorated colonial-style open-air place overlooking a pond below and the towering Pali in tye distance. The guava-based cocktail was refreshing and complimented the prawn puupuus (Hawaiian for snacks or tapas). However, the best part of the meal, yet again, was the Paradise Pie: Kona coffee ice cream on a bed of Oreo cookies, with Belgian bittersweet chocolate sauce and roasted almonds - one of the most sublime desserts I have ever had! Mmmmm...
- comments