Kaukau Time!

With all the exercise/ physical outdoor activities one can get hungry! So this blog post unintentionally will be focused on all the yummy foods(kaukau) we have found the past week or so as well as more adventures!

We stopped at Laniakea beach on the North Shore because it's famous for sightings of giant green sea turtles (honu) coming ashore. We found three or four basking in the sun on the beach and a few more in the water peeking their heads out at us. It was one of my favorite beaches because not only was it beautiful, but because it was also in a sense a nature preserve. There were members of a wild life organization there teaching people about the preservation and care of the sea turtles. Just down the road we also stopped at sunset beach, a very popular spot for local surfers! The surf was high so we were able to see some amazing surfers taking on the wave! One of our favorite towns was the famous Haleiwa on the North Shore...

<<CLICK TO SEE OUR NORTH SHORE WAVE ADVENTURE!!>>

Haleiwa is home to Hawaii's speciality... shave ice! We stopped at the shave ice shop with the title as the best shave ice in all of Hawaii, Matsumoto!! We have tried a few on Oahu and on the big island when we were on our honeymoon... and none compared. It was served in a bowl and topped with your choice of flavors, almost 50 to choose from. Hawaii shave ice is very different from a snow cone. Good shave ice does not require chewing but instead shaved enough it just melts in your mouth, and this did! Under the mountain of shave ice was a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Matsumoto shave ice is located in one of our favorite spots on the island, Haleiwa. Historic Haleiwa is know for it's surf, it's shave ice and an all around laid back community where people drive down the street with three, four or even five surf boards strapped to the top of their cars. Everyone you meet seems to be so happy and I can understand why. With one turn of the head you are watching the most beautiful sunsets in all the world, and another turn of the head the most breathtaking mountains as far as the eye can see. We found huge waves one day as well as professional surfers challenging the water. Just seven miles north of Haleiwa is home to the banzai pipeline, some of the best surfing waters in the world. It almost seemed like a different world from Honolulu, but only a 40 minute drive from our apartment.

Matsumoto Shave Ice!

After checking out some more North Shore beaches we stopped at a fruit stand down the road.. You could almost smell the fruit as you drove by! We bought $15 worth of fruit which bought us; kiwi, pineapple, papaya, pomegranate, rambutan and guava! The last two need a little more talking about however.. I suppose I'll save my favorite for last... Guava was the one fruit we were drawn to because of it's amazing aroma! It smelled like absolute heaven but was actually really quite bland and the seeds were very crunchy. Rambutan on the other hand is my new favorite! It has a red pointy coating almost like something that would be found in a fairy tale as a poison berry. The inside once you break it open hold a white fruit (which looks and feels like a eyeball). Sounds appetizing right, haha! But taste wise imagine a green grape without the skin but more flavorful... that would be the rambutan. Plus it's fun to walk down the street eating one to get reactions out of the tourists!

Rambutan fruit





We didn't try this...but it sure looked cool; Jackfruit.

Next stop... farmers market in Waikiki! Obviously we loaded up on more fruits and veggies but on to the good stuff... baked goods! My new favorite the Hawaiian sweet bread.. yum. Also the famous coco puff! It reminded us of a cream puff.. but only better. The outer 'bread part' was a crisp yet doughy pastry and filled in between chocolate! My mom also tried the raspberry.. which was heavenly! With all this yummyness it's a good thing we will be walking everywhere and doing lots of activities! :)

One of our recent adventures was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay! It's one of the best places on the island to snorkel and we sure were able to see some colorful fishies! After you pull into the visitor center you are on top of a huge hill looking down at the scenery. It's breathtaking. They also give you the option to take a tram up and down (for $2). We were to cheap and wanted the exercise so we went for it.. going down was easier than coming back up :) It was a great place for snorkeling but on the busy end. We like to find more quiet beaches with less people to explore but it was great playing tourist!

                                                   

A few days ago we made another stop to Kualoa Ranch... this time we took a jungle tour. This tour like the last, showed us a few sites from past movies including one of our favorites; 50 first dates! We also learned the new Jurassic Park is being filmed here, even though they are trying to keep it quiet. 
At one of our stops on the tour we came in contact with sleeping grass (also knows as touch me not). We reached down to touch the leaves of the plant and instantly the plant withered up and looked almost as if it were hiding.

<<CLICK TO SEE OUR JUNGLE TOUR ADVENTURE VIDEO>>

We also visited the beautiful Bydo-in Temple at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains. What a beautiful and calm area. The temple itself sat on the foot of a mountain range which made for almost a picturesque view. As you walked up to the temple there was a meditation area next to a waterfall... as you got closer there was a koi pond all around the temple in the shape of a koi fish which was amazing. The temple itself was beautifully constructed, it felt almost as though you were in another country all together. On the grounds of the temple, all faiths were buried which we loved. It was such a open and non judgmental area for all.

Took this for Mark <3

<<CLICK TO SEE MARK SOUND THE GONG!>>

When we first got off the plane two weeks ago and started driving to our hotel into Waikiki at 11:30pm we both were extremely scared and shocked by how large Oahu was! But more and more we are finding our place here. Hawaii has some of the nicest and most genuine caring people I've ever met (obviously not everyone, but the generally speaking)! They call it 'The Aloha Spirit'! Treat each and everyone like they matter and are family, which we have found to be true with most people we have gotten to know! Sitting on our lanai with the smell of salt water in the air .. Waikiki is one of the craziest places ever (in a good way)! It's smack dab next to a huge city with tons of excitement and plenty of activities but far enough away we can almost hear the waves crashing into the shore and the sky filled with stars. Plus it's not to shabby the thought that I get to wear shorts to work all year long. :) Now we are just waiting for our mainland visitors! Your air mattress is waiting ;)

                                                       Me Ke Aloha! (With Love..)
Mark & Jen