Island Roundabout

Being my first day off from work since arriving and the last day I'll have a rental car, I find myself itching to spend a bit of time touring a large chunk of the island. After looking at my map resources, I decide to check out about 1/2 of Oahu's coast line, plus a good measure of the interior. In addition to using my paper maps on my jaunt today, I'll also be using my GPS-enabled iPhone. I have Google Maps loaded, it behaves just like the PC/Mac version, the only difference is the addition of a blinking blue dot that moves when you move. I have to admit, it's a rather clever application.

Loosely, I plan to drive the southern shores starting in Waikiki, then head north a little ways to see a small portion of the windward (west) coast. I'll then head due west and dive into the island's interior via Pali Hwy (Rt 61), Renee suggested this part, it's a bit of a jungle with lookout points. Pail Hwy will take me back to Honolulu where I'll turn north for a few miles then head due east back into the interior on Likelike Hwy (Rt 63). This will take me back to the windward coast. From there I'll trace the east coastline, then trace the north coast (surfing Mecca), then head south on Hwy 801 / Interstate H2 which bisects the island.

It's a small island, I figure it'll take me about 45 minutes total. Ahhh, just kidding, it'll take me longer. I figure with all the little stops for picture taking, it'll take me a good part of the day to get through it all.



A little ways outside of Waikiki on Kalanianaole Hwy (say that 3 times fast) I get my first good panorama. I'm standing at the southern most part of the island and am looking north. The left most landmass in the left most photo is Diamond Head, a volcanic tuff cone. The center two photos do a nice job of panning over the interior mountains. In the immediate foreground is Kuapa Pond and surrounding communities. Of most interest, at least to me, is the right most photo, it shows the high-side of Koko Crater, another volcanic tuff cone. It's more than 1000 feet tall, and if you take close looksee, there's a trail that runs up its side.


Continuing along Kalanianaole Hwy I encounter more interesting photo subjects. The first is that of Sandy Beach a ways off in the distance, one of the best beaches on the island for bodysurfing, but one of the most dangerous because of wild waves, dangerous shore break, and strong backwash. Tourists line up to witness a natural wonder called Hālona Blowhole. Mimicking the whales' water spout, I wait a few minutes for the right wave action to produce a spout but no-can-do. Conditions aren't right, oh well. Looking down the coastline in the opposite direction we have the 4th photo.


Making my way to Pali Hwy, I continuing on, following the northern swing of Kalanianaole Hwy. As I pass through the little town of Waimanalo, I'm immediately struck by how lucky the residents are. Embedded in paradise, their little hamlet is sandwiched between towering, emerald mountains to the west and picturesque, shimmering blue Waimanalo Bay to the east. Makes me want to move here.

I get a little chuckle leaving Waimanalo, Little Caesar's is out hawking their Hot-n-Ready Large Pizza, Caesar is dressed Hawaiian style. Good marketing plan! Although the person in the suit must be sweating up a storm. Imagine, you get hired to work there, you get assigned to wear the suit on an 80 degree day, you are like the 25th person to ever wear the suit, and the suit has never been dry-cleaned... Yikes!


Okay, enough about sweaty suits, I'm hot enough wearing shorts and a tee shirt. Soon enough I reach Pali Hwy and head west. Up ahead I see a lookout point, I pull in and soak up the view.


The next and final lookout on Pali Hwy is appropriately named, it's called Pali Outlook, located at Nuuanu Pail State Park. To get there I have to pass through the mountain. Here's a view from the lookout. You can see the city of Kaneohe and Kaneohe Bay beyond it.

Pali Hwy finally dumps me into Honolulu, a cemetery and pagoda greet me, I'm not sure if the pagoda is Japanese or Chinese architecture. A pagoda is an Asian temple, usually a pyramidal tower with an upward curving roof. Most pagodas are built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist. I swing around and head due east, back into the jungle, on Likelike Hwy. The highway provides no lookout points, so, it's basically a straight drive through.



I now make my way up the eastern shoreline via Kamehameha Hwy (Rt 83). A quick turn to the right along most portions of the drive would put me smack into the ocean, it's that close to the water. Providing plenty of photo opportunities, a few parks line my drive, the most notable on my route is Kualoa Regional Park. I pull in and take some pictures of the nearby Koʻolau Mountains, the highest, Puʻu Konahuanui, is located somewhere in the interior.

The town of Laie is my last stop on the eastern shoreline. I was told by a fellow Couch Surfer, Cheri, who I met on www.couchsurfing.com (she lives on Oahu), that the McDonald's in Laie has SPAM on the menu. Wildly popular in Hawaii, SPAM was introduced by American soldiers during WWII to the Hawaiian community. The principal reason for its popularity? It's portable, durable and doesn't require refrigeration. Secondarily, it meshes well with traditional Asian cuisine. Unfortunately, they no longer have it on the menu. By the way, for just a single hamburger (not a big Mac, mind you), they charge more than $3.00, wow!



Empty-handed, but intent on taking something away from Laie, I drive out to Laie Point and snap a few shots. There's an curious arch, of sorts, just a stones throw from the shoreline.

I'm now start to fade now, my energy level is crashing, my remaining tour is in jeopardy. I make my way along the north shore, the surfing Mecca of Hawaii. I periodically nod-off at the wheel but manage to keep myself from falling asleep. I've been burning my candle from both ends since arriving on Monday. Between working, looking for housing and sightseeing, I think I'm cramming too much into too little time. I need to slow down, I'll be here for 3 months, plenty of time to do all that I want. But, here I am, on the road in the north coast. I need to make the best of it...

I quickly swing my sights on the coastal town of Haleiwa, a place where myriad surfers call home. There I'll grab lunch, perhaps that will recharge my batteries. I arrive soon enough, park the car, then set out on food for some food. I decide on Thai, having passed a place before parking. I order yellow curry w/chicked and steamed rice. I like it hot! Yellow curry is my litmas test for any Thai restaurant, today the curry is pretty good.


Dessert soon becomes a priority, and as luck would have it, Matsumoto, world renowned for its shaved ice, is near the Thai restaurant. I shuffle on over to the shop and order me up a large ice covered with a rainbow of flavors, add in a scoop of ice cream and sweet beans at the bottom for good measure. Good stuff!!!

After lunch I walk around a bit, buy some sandals, then make the acquaintance of Bebe from NYC, she's on vacation. I first see her rowing to shore on what looks like a wide surfboard. I inquire about her equipment, she tells me she's taking a lesson, apparently a relative new sport called "paddle surfing" is enjoying a surge of popularity. It looks fun, I'll have to give it a go before I leave the island.

Time to head back home, I drive due south through central Oahu. Traveling through the valley that cuts through Oahu's two mountain ranges (Koolau and Waianae), the area is surprisingly flat, the soil is a rich hue of red. It is here you'll find fields upon fields of pineapples. I pass by Dole Plantation on my way home.

Well, it's a wrap, I hope you enjoyed my little picturesque tour!

Rental Pay Dirt!!!

Since arriving on Monday I've been actively emailing/making phone calls in the search of accommodations for my 3 month stay. I've been rather selective in my search, focusing solely on Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawaii.

Primarily using craigslist.org as a resource, I'm finding a sprinkling of rental ads for rooms, some offering a shared bedroom. Those tend to be a little cheaper, but I think it's worth spending a little more for privacy, I don't want to share a bedroom anyone, let alone a stranger. The cost just for a room (non-shared) in Honolulu runs around $700 - $850. Yeah, that's just for a room! It's pricey here.

My day starts off with Renee, Sean and Tom returning from their golf/camping adventure on the windward side of the island. Renee and Sean quickly clean up then take off for work. I offer to take Tom to Honolulu since I'm heading that way today. We jump in the car and Tom assumes role of navigator and is intrigued by the mapping software on my iphone. It's nice to have a navigator.

We arrive at Duke's where Tom departs for a day at the beach. I, however, get to drive back to Aiea because I forgot to bring my checkbook. I need it to pay for first month's rent and security deposit if I find a place, yes, I have two showings to see today, one at 4pm and the other at 5pm.

Returning to my normal work routine, I find a Starbucks (there are about 7 of them in and around the downtown area), buy a coffee/sandwich, take a seat, then begin my workday. As 4pm nears I stow my laptop and head out to my first showing.

The first showing initially proves to be disappointing but has a sparkle of potential at the same time. The place proves to be clean but a little run down and antiquated. The apartment itself is a 3 bed, 3 bath, each roommate's area is partitioned for privacy, the kitchen is the only shared space.

The large open space could be a living room if only there was furniture. The problem is it feels rather empty and risks becoming unused space. I get a good chuckle out of the bathroom setup, there's a curtain on the toilet but not on the shower, how'd that happen?

Despite the list of apparent drawbacks, I see a silver lining here, in my opinion the apartment is located in the best part of town and is 2 blocks from the beach. From the balcony there's both ocean view and mountain view (both are somewhat limited but hey, I'll take what I can get). It's okay for me to host family and friends overnight, just as long as we respect the peace and privacy of the other two tenants. After some though, I decided to go ahead and grab the rental. The second showing was not in the best part of town, has no ocean nor mountain view, and I can't have people staying overnight.

Betty, the owner and individual showing the room can't read or write English. She immigrated from China many years ago but never learned. She asks me if I can write up a lease contract, something simple. I go ahead and write something up, read it back to her and she signs it. Wow, she's a real trusting soul. I actually like that, I think she'll make a good landlady.

Now that I have my rental contract in hand, I decide to do a little touring of my neighborhood. As you can see, the area is a little touristy, but still nice, don't you think?

I wait around to catch my first Hawaiian sunset.



After nightfall I go back to Renee's to deliver the good news! She gets her bed back, I no longer have to surf at her place. Renee and I go grab some dinner to celebrate. When we finish up, I realize time has run out for me to move into my new place, it's late, so Renee lets me stay a 4th night, how nice of her. I'll officially move into my new pad tomorrow.

Sightseeing & Sundries

Up and at'em at 7am, I have a full day ahead for me, filled w/work, rental hunting, and a bit of sightseeing thrown in for good measure if can fit it in.

So, off to work I go, there's a Starbucks near by, I can actually see if from the 20th floor of Renee's apartment. While working I multi-task searching for rentals. I'm strictly using craigslist.org as my resource, I'm focusing on downtown Honolulu/Waikiki area, I wish to rent a room that'll run me between $800 and $900 a month. And that's just a room, mind you. If I wanted to rent an apartment, I'd be spending a whole lot more. Renting a room will work well for me, I'll save money and it'll be month to month. I plan to just stay 3 months. That fact works against me though, but I'm pretty persistent, something will come up.

At around 3pm I call it a day, jump in the car, then head up the leeward coast (west) of the island. Leeward meaning the side opposite from the prevailing wind direction. I learn something everyday, didn't know that term.

I quickly find that navigating Hawaii is a little confusing. It appears practically all names (street, cities, towns, etc.) are all Hawaiian in nature. It's all about vowels, you always stress the vowels when you pronounce Hawaiian. Here's a sampling of what I see as I tour up the coastline: Kamehameha Hwy, Moanalua Rd, Kapolei Regional Park, Ko Olina Golf Club, Waianae, Makaha, Ka'ena Point State Park. I think it's a great idea to use Hawaiian, but it's a little hard on the tourists I think, myself included. I'm not complaining though, it's a small price to pay for paradise!



As one would expect, beaches line the coast as I make my way northward. I stop into Ma'ili Beach Park to snap a few pictures and step into the Pacific. The beach is clean and inviting. Mostly deserted because it's a weekday and later in the afternoon, I spend a little time soaking up the scenery.



Back in the car, I continue northward. As I drive on, I notice the existence of more and more "tent" cities along the beachfront, apparently the homeless inhabit this part of Oahu. Along with the tent cities, I see piles of rubbish, old tires, discarded, broken furniture, bags of trash. People just pull over and shovel out their junk. Abandon cars line the road in a few sections, some of them partially stripped. I'm rather amazed by it all, not something that I would have expected. In Detroit, yes, but Hawaii?

In short order (because it's a small island, after all) I reach my northern most destination, Ka'ena Point State Park. It is here that the paved road ends and an unimproved road begins. I walk around a bit, snap some pictures, enjoy the scenery.



It's growing late, the sun is low in the sky, time to head back. I reverse my route and head south. 1/2 way home I decide to grab dinner at a Taco Bell. Have you ever gone through a drive-thru, placed your order, pay at the window, then leave? Leave without your food? Ha, well I did. What a moron. It must be the whopping 2 hour jet lag that's affecting my state of mind, eh? So there I am, a couple of blocks away, considering whether to just keep on driving or face the gauntlet of laughter and finger pointing if I go back to Taco Bell to retrieve my forgotten food.

I'm hungry, I'm tired, I shamelessly go back, retrieve my food, then get the Hell of of there.



Well, that's pretty much it for today. I head back to Renee's, kick back, relax, do mostly nothing. I have the place all to myself, woo hoo! Renee and her friends are off golfing/camping on the other side of the island.

Just before going to bed I decided to surf the Internet. I run across a website showing pictures of people with odd colored eyes, one eye is a different color from the other. This condition is called Heterochromia, quite fascinating, actually. Looking at the detailed eye imagery, I wanted to take a picture of my own eye. After some trial and error, my final shot was using the flash, big mistake. I end up creating a "dark" region in my lower peripheral vision. First there's forgetting my Taco Bell take-out, now there's hopefully just temporary eye damage, what's next, they say bad things happen in three's...