At
5:30, we were at Waiola Shave Ice sampling theirs, and immediately I knew I
had found my dream shave ice. Their ice was as fine as sand, and with half guava,
half lilikoi syrup and sweetened condensed milk, the bowl of shave ice was the
best ever. The double rainbow in the sky over Waiola simply added to our enjoyment.
For dinner, we went to Genki Sushi, with one of those color-coded plate systems and a conveyor belt. Genki apparently means exciting, or energetic, in Japanese, but from their little angry-faced sushi logo, we kept thinking it meant angry or mean. In any case, it was great, cheap, fun sushi, and we also had a malasada from Leonard’s for both an appetizer and dessert.
After dinner, we drove over to Kapiolanai park at the end of Waikiki Beach to see the last two-thirds of Tombraider 2, Saturday night’s free outdoor movie on the beach. There was little drizzle, but we had a lovely last night in Hawaii.
On Sunday, we got up at 7:00, dressed, packed, and sliced the last of our mangoes into a plastic container. We went to the original location of Waiola Shave Ice—on Waiola Street, in a residential neighborhood—for a breakfast shave ice (lilikoi and haupia with mochi and milk). From there, it was straight to Sam Choy’s for their breakfast buffet. We were there by 9:00, and we enjoyed the ribs, the banana bread pudding, made-to-order kalua pig omelets, and a long chat with the omelet guy.
At the airport, after returning our car we relaxed on a bench outside the terminal and ate our Pirie mango slices luxuriously, flaunting our fruit in the very face of the airport’s “no fruit on flights to the mainland” rule, and letting our suitcases be screened for fruit knowing in good conscience that they were safe. We had a good flight back, with no delays, and our week in Hawaii was a truly out-of-this-world vacation experience.
(not in order, because we really can’t decide)
1. Eating poke from fish markets and supermarkets (everywhere)
2. Enjoying Waiola Shave Ice in Honolulu (Oahu)
3. Hiking at Pe’e Pe’e Falls and Boiling Pots (Big Island)
4. Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay (Oahu)
5. Shopping at the Hilo Farmer’s Market (Big Island)
6. Walking through the Lava Tube at Volcano National Park (Big Island)
7. Eating freshly made mochi from Two Ladies’ Kitchen in Hilo (Big Island)
8. Dining at the chef’s counter at Alan Wong’s (Oahu)
9. Swimming in the hot pond at Ahalanui Beach (Big Island)
10. Walking through the Honlulu Maritime Center (Oahu)
11. Driving Chain of Craters Road in Volcano National Park (Big Island)
12. Seeing tropical fish in mall ponds, harbors, and fish markets (Oahu)
13. Going beach-hopping around the island (Oahu)
14. Walking through Lava Tree State Monument (Big Island)
15. Eating huli-huli chicken by the side of the road on the north shore (Oahu)
16. Eating really cheap sushi at Aloha and Genki (Oahu)
17. Experiencing all-Japanese department stores and malls (Oahu)
18. Surviving our hike down to Green Crater Lake (Big Island)
19. Seeing a movie on Waikiki Beach at night (Oahu)
20. Having malasadas for appetizers and dessert at Leonard’s (Oahu)
21. Eating ice cream mochi at Bubbie’s near the university (Oahu)
