Hawaii Highlights

It was a mere 3-hour difference, but coming back from Hawaii screwed me up something fierce. I came back the first night only to stay up till 5am before having to head to work on 3 hours sleep. Ggggaaa. I'm still trying to catch up with my life. Boy, am I a business travel newbie or what??

Well, before moving on to some other topics, here some highlights from my week-long stay in the Aloha State. The week-long stay part is deceiving as I really only had one full day off to enjoy the island so really there's not a whole lot to say.

First Up: Makapu'u Point. Following a paved 2 mile trail up the hill, you can find the Makapu'u Lighthouse, one of Hawaii's most familiar landmarks with a spectacular view of the Windward side of O'ahu. It was a hazy Saturday but allegedly on a clear day you can see the entire coastline and the island of Molokai in the distance. I took the road less travelled(off to the right) and found myself in a scarsely populated cove where it seemed a bunch of local kids hung out. Coolio! Always nice to have a brief respite from pesky tourists, yours truly notwithstanding of course...

Next it was onward to the lighthouse point. Despite the wind whipping the crapola out of my face, I had an amazing view of some of the bluest waters I've ever laid eyes on. And the Makapu'u Lighthouse with its red roof made for the perfect contrast. I was on a bit of a time crunch that day, so didn't actually make it down to the structure itself. This way I've saved something for my next trip!

I was getting hungry and the North Shore beckoned. So I hopped back into the Rental and proceeded to continue my drive north along the coast. I had been told by some folks in the office that no trip to the North Shore would be complete without a stop at Matsumoto's Grocery Store for shaved ice. I'm not a big shaved ice freak but who was I to argue? Not knowing when I'd ever be back, I opted for all the fixin's. So here's my shaved ice: The Hawaiian (coconut, pineapple, and I forget what) with red beans AND condensed milk. Despite D's proclamation that my concoction was "gross", I found it strangely tasty. Nonetheless, once left with a heap of melted ice, syrup, and red beans.. I was ready to toss the last 1/3 of it out. I got the gist of it.

After that it was a 40min drive back to Honolulu and a dinner of Linguini & Clams in a restaurant called Ciao Mein (surprisingly good!).