I don't know about *cave* kayaking, but kayaking along Kauai's Na Pali coast would be beautiful in its own right; there aren't many other ways you can see it except hiking from Ke'e (it would be GORGEOUS from the water - it's what they show when they're flying into Jurassic Park). The time of year might be a limiting factor since it's the north shore. A lot of my friends also did the river tubing along the old sugar plantation on Kauai and said it was awesome, and my grandpa always raves about the Fern Grotto. Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but lots of scenic on-the-water stuff.
If you're in Ko Olina anyway and looking for food, there was a nice (fancy-ish) sushi restaurant in one of the hotels - the Sheraton, I think? They had a dessert that was three weird flavors of creme brulee - sesame, ginger and green tea I think. Yum!
Don't plan much else on the day you're doing the ambassador tour at the PCC. It takes a minute. But on the drive there, you'll pass a macademia nut farm on the right side of the road that has free samples of different flavored mac nuts and Kona coffee - it's worth a short stop then or if you do a circle island. Oooh, and if you do the circle island, there's a breathtaking Buddhist temple in Kaneohe; pay the dollar at the gate to go in (it's across the street from a McDonalds and a strip mall; you just see a big graveyard with a gate from the road) and take pictures.
If you end up on the Honolulu side, there's a ritzy neighborhood called Black Point just beyond Diamond Head where Doris Duke's mansion is. A) It's a good, non-crowded lounging beach if you can find a parking spot; B) you can sneak in to the pool if you're feeling mischievous; C) the mansion itself is open for tours and has a fantastic Middle Eastern art collection - if you feel like paying for it. You should also sneak into the Hale Koa pool bar if you're in Waikiki. The Hale Koa is a beachfront military hotel, so it's hard to get into the restaurants and stuff as a civilian - but the pool bar is easy to infiltrate from the beach and has the cheapest and strongest Mai Tais on the island. *wink* The food's cheap, too (meaning closer to Mainland pricing), but unfortunately the restaurants are further on to the property.
While we're on the subject of sneaking, a lot of my friends rave about the Stairway to Heaven hike. I was too intimidated to do it because of how short I am; my friends told me the ladder rungs are a bit of a reach for normal sized people, but allegedly the hike gets the ol' adrenaline pumping and is TOTALLY worth possibly getting arrested on the way in, hahahaha. There's a good write up in the Oahu Revealed book.
Yup -- the cave kayaking is something on the "Big Island" - but lacking that, the scenic one I think we have down on Kauai with http://kayakwailua.com/adventure.html
(Randomly -- before I forget -- I did end up getting reef shoes -- Keen as I wanted the extra toe coverage) :)
The buddhist temple -- YES! I've seen pics of that -- I TOTALLY want to go to that!!! They let folks in, or just on the outside? (and OMG -- totally looking forward to the sushi -- you better believe it!)
The military places, I'm likely to avoid. In my experience, they tend to be drunken cunts and I could do without their bullshit :) -- including my own military buddies I've gone out with in the past, and they're just looking to be asses some of the time. Somehow going all the way to hawaii to play pool in a snuck-in military place strikes me as undesireable :-)
Now this Doris Duke mansion -- I've never even HEARD of that -- it sounds REALLY very cool, and something I'd totally want to hit! Darn you to heck with all these awesome & exciting options!!! :)
Did you happen to get SCUBA certified while you were out there? I'm wondering if that could be done as a "Day" thing
Too -- I'm all about a Lomilomi massage or two while I'm there -- and possibly some ink/tat if you know of any Oahu places to really look out for for that.
Right now you have me craving some POI -- with all this talk of Island food! *drool*
Anti-microbial shoes of any variety are VERY nice.
Buddhist temple is open and I HIGHLY recommend it.
I didn't do SCUBA certification. Jeff got half of his done in a day and didn't get around to doing the other half. I found that snorkeling sufficed - there were too many other things I wanted to do more!
The Hale Koa pool bar is a barefoot bar at a hotel swimming pool (but I find that the military lifestyle does turn me into a drunken cunt, so there ya go), nothing to do with cue sticks! You can walk up from the beach if you're in Waikiki anyway for snacks/drinks as opposed to getting robbed at a tourist trap (don't make a special trip or anything). The problem with it as far as military was the occasional presence of kama aina (people who live in Hawaii a while) military wives and their bratty kids, who are extremely effective birth control. It's a similar experience to going to the Royal Hawaiian barefoot bar for a mai tai, only considerably less expensive with stronger drinks. But the Royal Hawaiian rules as far as historic significance and all-out cuteness.
I wanted to get some ink when I was there, too, but never did it! I knew a few people who got gorgeous tattoos by a local in Wahiawa, but I don't recall his name or the shop. Wish I could be more help! If you figure it out and end up in Wahiawa, definitely go to Maui Mikes for chicken. It was about a mile from our place and freakin' delicious. (Holy crap, how did I not end up 100 pounds heavier?)
The mansion and temple (along with aaaaaallllllll) else -- I think we have a winner! (Hope the military cunt comment didn't offend! I've observed it from the outside, and been embarassingly involved from the inside)
*YOU* have been sucha major major excellent help -- all of your information was REALLY appreciated! Thank god I have 7 more months to "Tweak" this vacation -- I'm going to get a few of those chalked up as "possibles" -- the Buddhist temple is now really really high on my list.
Too -- I was thinking about the ink -- and considering how much time I'll be spending in water, the fact that I'd want a back-piece, AND the strong desire to get Lomilomi massage, it sounds like it'd be a hinderance more than anything else!
(as for not gaining a 100Lbs! jeebus -- just go back and look at your old posts living there! you were FOREVER hiking and being active!!!)
Yeah, the swimming and sunshine and all the active-ness were the exact reasons I didn't end up getting a tattoo! And, man, I miss exercising in ways that don't feel like exercise, *sigh*. That does it, I should end up somewhere mountainous and tropical.
Most of the things I've been telling you are spur-of-the-moment, "Hey that's kind of neat" stuff, so don't worry too much about tweaking. Just drive around, and if you see this or that, you'll know some things are cool and some are kind of a waste. Like, you definitely wouldn't have to plan to go to the Buddhist temple if you do a circle island drive, which you definitely should, because it's on the way and an easy stop. We didn't really ever plan around destinations; they just kind of ended up along the way.
If you're in Ko Olina anyway and looking for food, there was a nice (fancy-ish) sushi restaurant in one of the hotels - the Sheraton, I think? They had a dessert that was three weird flavors of creme brulee - sesame, ginger and green tea I think. Yum!
Don't plan much else on the day you're doing the ambassador tour at the PCC. It takes a minute. But on the drive there, you'll pass a macademia nut farm on the right side of the road that has free samples of different flavored mac nuts and Kona coffee - it's worth a short stop then or if you do a circle island. Oooh, and if you do the circle island, there's a breathtaking Buddhist temple in Kaneohe; pay the dollar at the gate to go in (it's across the street from a McDonalds and a strip mall; you just see a big graveyard with a gate from the road) and take pictures.
If you end up on the Honolulu side, there's a ritzy neighborhood called Black Point just beyond Diamond Head where Doris Duke's mansion is. A) It's a good, non-crowded lounging beach if you can find a parking spot; B) you can sneak in to the pool if you're feeling mischievous; C) the mansion itself is open for tours and has a fantastic Middle Eastern art collection - if you feel like paying for it. You should also sneak into the Hale Koa pool bar if you're in Waikiki. The Hale Koa is a beachfront military hotel, so it's hard to get into the restaurants and stuff as a civilian - but the pool bar is easy to infiltrate from the beach and has the cheapest and strongest Mai Tais on the island. *wink* The food's cheap, too (meaning closer to Mainland pricing), but unfortunately the restaurants are further on to the property.
While we're on the subject of sneaking, a lot of my friends rave about the Stairway to Heaven hike. I was too intimidated to do it because of how short I am; my friends told me the ladder rungs are a bit of a reach for normal sized people, but allegedly the hike gets the ol' adrenaline pumping and is TOTALLY worth possibly getting arrested on the way in, hahahaha. There's a good write up in the Oahu Revealed book.
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(Randomly -- before I forget -- I did end up getting reef shoes -- Keen as I wanted the extra toe coverage) :)
The buddhist temple -- YES! I've seen pics of that -- I TOTALLY want to go to that!!! They let folks in, or just on the outside? (and OMG -- totally looking forward to the sushi -- you better believe it!)
The military places, I'm likely to avoid. In my experience, they tend to be drunken cunts and I could do without their bullshit :) -- including my own military buddies I've gone out with in the past, and they're just looking to be asses some of the time. Somehow going all the way to hawaii to play pool in a snuck-in military place strikes me as undesireable :-)
Now this Doris Duke mansion -- I've never even HEARD of that -- it sounds REALLY very cool, and something I'd totally want to hit! Darn you to heck with all these awesome & exciting options!!! :)
Did you happen to get SCUBA certified while you were out there? I'm wondering if that could be done as a "Day" thing
Too -- I'm all about a Lomilomi massage or two while I'm there -- and possibly some ink/tat if you know of any Oahu places to really look out for for that.
Right now you have me craving some POI -- with all this talk of Island food! *drool*
Reply
Anti-microbial shoes of any variety are VERY nice.
Buddhist temple is open and I HIGHLY recommend it.
I didn't do SCUBA certification. Jeff got half of his done in a day and didn't get around to doing the other half. I found that snorkeling sufficed - there were too many other things I wanted to do more!
The Hale Koa pool bar is a barefoot bar at a hotel swimming pool (but I find that the military lifestyle does turn me into a drunken cunt, so there ya go), nothing to do with cue sticks! You can walk up from the beach if you're in Waikiki anyway for snacks/drinks as opposed to getting robbed at a tourist trap (don't make a special trip or anything). The problem with it as far as military was the occasional presence of kama aina (people who live in Hawaii a while) military wives and their bratty kids, who are extremely effective birth control. It's a similar experience to going to the Royal Hawaiian barefoot bar for a mai tai, only considerably less expensive with stronger drinks. But the Royal Hawaiian rules as far as historic significance and all-out cuteness.
I wanted to get some ink when I was there, too, but never did it! I knew a few people who got gorgeous tattoos by a local in Wahiawa, but I don't recall his name or the shop. Wish I could be more help! If you figure it out and end up in Wahiawa, definitely go to Maui Mikes for chicken. It was about a mile from our place and freakin' delicious. (Holy crap, how did I not end up 100 pounds heavier?)
Reply
The mansion and temple (along with aaaaaallllllll) else -- I think we have a winner! (Hope the military cunt comment didn't offend! I've observed it from the outside, and been embarassingly involved from the inside)
*YOU* have been sucha major major excellent help -- all of your information was REALLY appreciated! Thank god I have 7 more months to "Tweak" this vacation -- I'm going to get a few of those chalked up as "possibles" -- the Buddhist temple is now really really high on my list.
Too -- I was thinking about the ink -- and considering how much time I'll be spending in water, the fact that I'd want a back-piece, AND the strong desire to get Lomilomi massage, it sounds like it'd be a hinderance more than anything else!
(as for not gaining a 100Lbs! jeebus -- just go back and look at your old posts living there! you were FOREVER hiking and being active!!!)
Reply
Most of the things I've been telling you are spur-of-the-moment, "Hey that's kind of neat" stuff, so don't worry too much about tweaking. Just drive around, and if you see this or that, you'll know some things are cool and some are kind of a waste. Like, you definitely wouldn't have to plan to go to the Buddhist temple if you do a circle island drive, which you definitely should, because it's on the way and an easy stop. We didn't really ever plan around destinations; they just kind of ended up along the way.
Reply
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