Hawaii Day 3 (Honolulu, HI): Workshop Day

Workshops were held at Kako'o Oiwi again this year. I spent most of the morning with the halau and headed out with one of the hula parents to get lunch and saw a couple of sights. 

Kako'o Oiwi is a non profit that's goal is to restore agricultural and ecological productivity through cultural, educational and ecosystem restoration programs. They grow crops like ʻulu (breadfruit), kalo (taro). They also mill poi, make kulolo, and steam luau leaves.

For lunch we grabbed food from the food court at the near by mall. My mom got beef luau Waiahole Poi Factory and I got garlic shrimp and steak at Blazin Steaks. It wasn't too bad for mall food. Nothing to write home about but good enough for a mention. 

While the halau was rehearsing we went out to the Nu‘uanu Pali look out. The Pali Lookout is where the Battle of Nuʻuanu happened King Kamehameha I won the battle and united Oʻahu under his rule. During the battle, many solders were shoved off of Pali’s cliffs.

Before everyone left the rehearsal site the halau's set up for the party tomorrow. Oh yeah, tomorrow we're going to a birthday party!

Hawaii Day 2 (Honolulu, HI): Bishop Mueseum

We're going to the Bishop Museum today!

We had most of the morning to ourselves so we went to the Forty Niner walk up counter for breakfast. There's 2 Forty-Niner restaurants out here, a stand alone walk up counter and a walk up counter at the Island Colony Hotel. The stand alone cafe has a full menu and the walk up counter has breakfast items and closes at 2pm. My mom and I split a loco moco and an uncle boy waffle. The loco moco was really good and the uncle boy waffle had bananas, berries, and macadamia nuts, a haupia sauce. The waffle was good too.

The Bishop Museum is Hawaii's museum of natural history, built by Charles Reed Bishop in honor of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. This museum was built on the original Kamehameha School that was built by Bernice Bishop for native Hawaiian children. This museum has one of the most extensive collections of Hawaiian books, periodicals, newspapers, scientific papers, genealogical records, and memorabilia. Some papers were written and donated by Hawaiian royalty and also has papers written by Bernice Bishop herself. The museum also houses an active entomology research facility, Pauahi Hall, which houses the third largest entomology collection in the nation and the eighth-largest in the world.

There's also a hands on science center on campus and right now there's an Aloha Bricks exhibit that features the people, places, plants, animals, and stories of Hawaii.

After the Bishop Museum we had dinner at Marugame Udon again, I went back to the room and my mom made lei and had rehearsal with the halau.

Tomorrow is a workshop day!

Hawaii Day 1 (Honolulu, HI): Aloha!

Today we headed back out to Hawaii. We arrived earlier than we normally do so we had a lot of time to explore. 
After we settled in we went straight to my mom's favorite spot on the island, Marugame Udon. It was just as good as it always was. Can't go wrong!

After we ate I feel like we walked every square inch of Waikiki. I even found a few streets that I haven't been down. Who would've thought I would've found something new after all these years?

Before we headed back we had to hit the beach so we went to the beach near Fort Durussy. Apparently my mom hasn't been that far down the beach before.

Tomorrow we head to one of my favorite museums, The Bishop Museum. Last time we went only two of the buildings were open. Hopefully I'll be able to explore the third building and have something interesting to report.  
 

Hawaii Day 9 (Honolulu, HI): The Last Day

Today was our last full day out here.

We started out with breakfast at the hotel and then we went out to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet one last time.

After spending most of the morning at the swap meet we went to went back to the hotel to drop some things off and went back out to Maragume Udon.

We wondered around Waikiki for a bit after that and went to that hotel market again. It was the same as when we went a couple of days ago.

I feel like I’ve done a lot more running around this trip than I have on other trips out here. We didn’t do any museums, exploring or tours this time. Hopefully we can do more of those next time we’re out here.

Tomorrow we head back home.

This trip has been so much fun and I really enjoy every minute on the island.

Welp, it’s getting late and I still have to pack.

Until next time Hawaii,

A hui hou

Hawaii Day 8 (Honolulu, HI): A Fabric Supply Store, Costco, and Back to the Mall

Today we went to a fabric supply store near the Dole Cannery, Costco, China town and the Ala Moana Mall.

After breakfast at the hotel we headed out to Pearl City. Today’s breakfast was a lot better than yesterdays. Today they had actual food— bacon, eggs, pancakes and fruit. Yesterday it was just pre made jimmy dean sandwiches. Not a fan of those at all.

On our way to the fabric store we went to a high end thrift store. They had a lot of premium stuff there. Some of it was a bit over priced but it’s it was there and available. There’s another one of these second hand stores at the Ala Moana Mall.

Last year there was a cute, yappy dog named MoChiChi at the fabric store. She had the day off today. I didn’t have much interest in this store so there’s not much to report. My mom and her hula sister got a few things.

After the fabric store we went out to Costco. I wondered around for a bit and got a hot dog. Little did I know this hot dog would throw my eating schedule off for the rest of the day. There are a few snacks that are unique to Hawaii at this Costco but that’s about it.

There was a store that we was highly recommended to us but was closed last time we were in China town so back to China town we went. We didn’t spend much time here this time. I swear I’ve been up and down all of China town but I find a new street that I haven’t been to each time I go.

Before we headed back to the hotel we went back to the Ala Moana Mall. This time it was mostly to kill time but everyone was exhausted. We got some food at the Foodland here. Word on the street is they have the best poke on the island. It was pretty good.

It’s been quite a trip, tomorrow is our last full day before we go home

Hawaii Day 7 (Honolulu, HI): Don Quijote, Ala Moana Mall and a Night Market

After breakfast at the hotel we headed out to Don Quijote, Ala Moana Mall and a market at a hotel.

Don Quijote is one of our favorite spots out here. It’s a Japanese market with a catchy theme song. Look it up if you’re bored, thank me later. It’s a pretty big store with anything and everything Asian- food, toys, appliances, etc.

I spent so much time at Ala Moana the first time I came out here that I thought I could go the rest of my life without going there again. I was wrong. I made a few short stops into a few of the stores that turned into more than a few stops. Long story short I spent most of the day there with out knowing it. Welp… Back to the hotel we go.

After we got back we dropped off our stuff and headed out to a market at a hotel we stayed at a few times before. It was the same as every other time we’ve been here so there isn’t too much to report on that.


Tomorrow we’re heading out for more shopping.

Hawaii Day 6 (Honolulu, HI): Forty Niner Walk Up Counter, Kahala Mall and Marukai

Today we got breakfast at the forty niner walk up counter again. This time we got a loco moco. I really liked the patty.

We left one hotel for another, dropped our stuff off at our new hotel and headed out to Kahala Mall. My mom’s hula sister likes this mall better than the Ala Moana Mall. It’s a lot smaller, less crowded. I like Ala Moana better.

For lunch we went to Marukai. I think this grocery store is part of the same chain as Don Quijote. I feel like Marukai is focused more on the local market— simple, functional, no frills, and Don Quijote is focused more on the tourist market. It has a lot of the same products, design and signage. I even saw a couple of product bins with the Don Quijote penguin on it hidden away behind some shelves.

After we got back we unpacked at our new hotel, lounged around for a bit and headed out to the strip. On our way back we grabbed Marugame Udon for dinner. It’s one of our favorite spots out here.

I felt like I walked a lot today. Tomorrow we’re planning on doing more shopping.