After my parents divorced when I was 10 in 1978, my mother went back to work as a travel agent. An opportunity came up for her to bring a tour group to Hawaii on vacation. So, in November 1979, she headed off to Hawaii. While there, she met a most interesting British man at the
Marriott hotel at Waikiki Beach in Oahu. They danced, chatted and had a great time! He was on vacation, but she was working. So, she had to leave with her tour group as her tour was due to go to Maui, Kaui and Hawaii. He followed her! When she told me, I was enraptured by the romance of a man chasing down my mother from island to island!
That man is my stepfather!
It's funny! As a woman of the same age my mother was when she met my stepfather, and I being in the same place she was when she met him, I recalled her story again. What seemed romantic in the 70s, seemed scarily like my beloved stepfather was some sort of stalker! Now, anyone that knows me knows that I love him dearly...I'm just saying, if you did not know him, and my mother told you that she met a man that followed her island to island...what would you think? Good thing they met in the 70s!
We arrived on Wednesday night and had a quick bite to eat at
Moana Terrace. A simple place of sandwiches and salads. This was perfect as we were so tired, we would not have appreciated anything new or exciting.
Thursday, David had to go to work, so the boys and I spent the day at the beach and the pool. We even went for a walk to look for the Aquarium. As luck would have it, Hawaii does not have very good skills at labeling their important buildings! So, we ended up not finding the aquarium. We did discover some
great flowers, leis and more, and these colorful birds. There are many lava rocks on the beach. The kids have had a great time finding different shaped ones and comparing them to the other's findings. Also, Justin made friends with three white
doves. He fed them some chips and the were trying to take the pieces of his hand. One even jumped up on his chair to try and get a better piece. He was thrilled. Dinner was at
Arancino di Mare. No kids menu, which was a bit of a hassle. Delicious, nonetheless.
Friday, David had the day off and we went to
Pearl Harbor. Strange as it was, they had no electricity, so we ended not really seeing anything. We decided to drive to the
North Shore, known for their surfing waves. The waves were spectacular, and we saw numerous surfers trying to catch the waves. We stopped for lunch at the
Botanical Gardens. There, I had a
Kalua Pork Sandwich with Grilled Pineapple and Maui Onion on a
Taro Bun. It was delicious! We continued down the East Shore. We saw these spectacular mountain ranges. The island is so very green. We also saw numerous farmer's markets. Each one selling mangoes, papayas, avocados, pineapples, coconuts and macadamia nuts. On this road trip, we saw a
pineapple plantation and
sugar cane fields. When we got home, we decided to eat at
Sansei, a Japanese restaurant. The tempura was great, as was the sake.
Diamond Head is a spectacular site too. It is within walking distance and we can get a perfect view of it from the beach.
The water is warm and a light green which you can see through.
Each morning, we drank coffee on our balcony and watched the surf. Also after dinner. We could see surfers, cruise ships, sail boats, as well as busses (we were on a busy corner street)! Across the street, at the next hotel, I swear they had someone singing songs using a ukelele and a lady doing the hula. The grace in her dance was amazing. So delicate, flowing and natural. I am sure if I tried the hula, I would look like some sort of ox with bold gestures that would rock the ground.
The pineapple here is fantastic. It puts to shame the fresh pineapple in the grocery stores.
On Saturday, we hung out at the beach. The boys built sand castles. We fed the fish, otherwise known as Hawaiian Flat Tails. We sat on the Wave Breaker Wall, as the waves crashed on us. It was great! Dinner was at
D.K.. The food was delicious and the service was excellent.
On Sunday, it was another morning at the
beach, but in the afternoon, we headed to the
Waikiki Aquarium. It is small, but does highlight Hawaiian sea life. The boys loved it and even asked to return the next day. Eventually, we made our way to
LuLu's. The atmosphere was laid back, and I decided to eat the Hawaiian version of Mexican fajitas. They were surprisingly good!
Monday was our last day. We had lunch at
Wolfgang Puck's Express, went to the beach to collect the rocks, as well as swim. Then, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our flight.
Ethan was upset about the take off, so he curled up into a little ball and fell asleep before we even backed out of the gate. 5 hours later, he woke with a start and kept telling me, "Don't forget to tell me when we take off!" I told him that we already did. Shocked, he insisted I did not understand and asked me to tell him when we get into the air. When he finally understood that we were already in Nevada, he was SO excited.
During this time, Justin decided to sleepwalk. Lucky for the passengers, he was still buckelled up! He kept trying to stand up, he tried grabbing the passengers as they walked by, then he sobbed in his seat, until I coaxed him back to sleep.
Then, still no sleep for me, we start to land. Just as the wheels hit the tarmac, Justin puked all over the place! We had to try and clean him up in the bathroom of the plane before we left. Then, we found Jeeves, and had him wait until we got Justin changed into fresh clothes!
The Hawaiians were so friendly. My first reaction would be that they are paid to make us like their home, but most of the houses I saw were sadly run down. But they are a proud people definitely into the beauty of their island. Most of the islanders took a shine to my blond boy and my red-head. These boys are a rarity in these parts! If I took them to Ireland or Scotland, no one would look twice at them!
We also many tourists from all parts...Japanese, Chinese, Australian, British, American, French, Scandinavian, Indian, and Italians. All of the female tourists bought themselves their Hawaiian mumu complete with a hair ornament shaped like a hibiscus or orchid. Some men wore Hawaiian shirts, but not a lot. I do give everyone credit. I saw all shapes, sizes and ages at the beach wearing bikinis and speedos and no one even blinked an eye. I was relieved as I expected to come to a place with skinny dark Polynesian ladies, and dark Polynesian men with rock hard abs...and I thought I would look like a white beached whale! But thankfully, it did not matter. Everyone was there to enjoy the surf, and that is what we did. Many people dressed only in their bathing suits. And yes, I did see the occasional lei. Beautiful and delicate, also pricey. But worth it if you can splurge to get the aroma of fresh flowers all day!
We had the breakfast buffet every morning at Kuhio Beach Grill. The buffet was spectacular. It was great to see that outside of the usual options of eggs, fruit, bacon, potatoes and toast, they also had a Miso Soup bar for the Japanese tourists.
Frequently, we visited the
ABC Store for our drink, snack, souvenir and sunscreen needs. These store were on every block! Whomever owns this chain is rich rich rich!
It was a great trip. There was so much to see and do and yet, we only had a nibble of it. We were very sad to leave, but I plan to utilize my senses and turn that towards my recipe developing and work for with the Hawaiian flavors. Check out these cookbooks:
Hawai'i Cuisine: A Sampler of Favorite Island Recipes by Sam Choy and
Tropical Taste by Sonia Martinez. And, in the meantime, here is a traditional English scone made with Hawaiian flavors.
Hawaiian Scones
•1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
•2 teaspoons baking powder
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon ginger
•1/2 teaspoon lime zest
•1/3 cup unsalted non-hydrogenated non-dairy butter, chilled
•3 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey)
•3/4 cup low-fat coconut milk
•1 cup pineapple, chopped
•1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, ginger and lime zest with a whisk in a large bowl. Add cut up butter and mix with your fingers until they look like bread crumbs.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the coconut milk and agave nectar until frothy. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and mix in the coconut milk until the mixture just starts to come together.
4. Stir in chopped pineapple and macadamias. Mix gently until combined.
5. Form the dough into a round circle. Flatten to 1/2 inch. Using a sharp knife, cut the circle into 8 wedges. Place each wedge carefully onto an ungreased baking sheet. Put it in the oven and bake for 18 mins or until golden brown on top. Do not over bake.
6. Slide them on to a cooling rack gently and immediately and store in a air tight container when cooled for breakfast or light snack. Serve warm or at room temperature with jam or powdered sugar. Also, may be stored in the freezer for a month in an airtight container.
Yield: 8 scones
Tropical Scone Photo by
Lori Maffei.
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Jennifer.
All recipes and articles are copyrighted:
©2009 Jennifer A. Wickes
