Vacation Highlight Reel: Hawaii

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Where do I even begin with this post? A little over a week ago we returned from a family vacation we won’t forget any time soon: Twelve days in Hawaii. The trip had been something we’d all been fantasizing about for, well, on my end, maybe my whole life. (Or at least ever since I watched the Brady sisters hula-hooping in Waikiki.) Those of you who follow me on instagram probably already know that we spent most of our time in Kauai, but also took two or three-day trips to both Oahu and the Big Island. You probably could also guess that we ate a ridiculous amount of poke and shave ice, hiked enough miles to short-circuit a FitBit, and spent a good portion of the trip asking ourselves Are we taking this for granted? Please let us not be taking this for granted. Out to dinner one night in Poipu Beach, Kauai — over a poke special, natch — a parched and sunburned Phoebe turned to me and said “This island takes a lot out of you.” At first I laughed because I thought she was referring to how psychotic we are about packing things into our vacation days. (Andy’s nickname, if you recall, is My Drill Sergeant of Leisure, with Abby seamlessly slipping right into the role of second in command.) But then I realized what she meant: The natural beauty there was so overwhelming that it demanded our full reverence: Around every turn, a vista of the bluest Pacific (Exhibit A: Kauai’s famous Kalalau Trail, above); on every breakfast plate, tropical fruit that would make our eyes roll back; volcanic landscapes of shiny hardened lava only miles away from lush jungles so green it hurt. It goes without saying, of  course, that we were only too happy to give whatever Hawaii asked of us. Here are our top fifteen -plus (i.e. a not-even-close-to-complete) highlights of the trip.

{Note…This is organized roughly written in chronological order so a quick island itinerary breakdown: Nights 1 & 2: Oahu (we stayed in Waikiki) –> Nights 3-8: Kauai (Poipu Beach) –> Nights 9-12 Big Island (Pahoa)}

The Surfjack Hotel In Waikiki, where we spent two nights, we stayed at the Surfjack Hotel and Swim Club, a relatively new California-style hotel, with its renovated mid-century modern style rooms all built around this gorgeous pool. (The pool has the words “Wish You Were Here” tiled into on its floor.) The vibe was excellent, as was the service (they offered a “hospitality room” to guests whose check-outs are much earlier than their flights), and the cocktails and…

…The Fruit. The restaurant Mahina & Suns is in the Surfjack lobby and though we didn’t go for dinner, we ate breakfast there both mornings. Think local coffee, malted waffles, and an insane banana bread that was more like sticky pudding. But it was the fruit bowl (work of art?) above that we will remember above all else. It was my first official meal in Hawaii and all I could think about while eating it was How am I ever going to not eat this kind of fruit again? And this was Day 1 mind you. Shown here are pineapple, mango, guava, star fruit, star apple (the pink chunks) and banana apple (a smaller, more tart banana, not to be confused with my everyday Chiquita banana). As mind-blowing as it was, I learned pretty quickly is that all the local fruits…

…even a regular old mango purchased at the local supermarket, have the power to rearrange your entire worldview with their intensity and sweetness. Here in the Northeast, it’s a miracle when I find the perfect peach, the perfect plum…there, it was just something you came to expect. (But not take for granted. No way. Never take for granted.)

The Light On our first jet-lagged morning, we walked to Waikiki Beach. Abby jumped right into the water while I experienced my first official marveling moment over the colors and light and lushness of the island. Everything seemed like a painting to me. And this was Honolulu, the city! It was a mere teaser of what was to come.

Lanikai I should stop here to explain something about our schedules. As soon as we booked this trip, back in January, Abby took it upon herself to research all the parks, beaches, trails, poke and shave ice spots, then draw up a fantasy itinerary for herself. (We were welcome to come along should we choose to.) A few times a week all spring long, she’d open up the laptop, log into Notes, and ask whoever happened to be wandering around, “Do you want to ‘do’ Hawaii?” or “Do you want to hear what beach we are going to on Day 2 in Oahu?” We laughed at her at the time, but ended up following her schedule almost exactly, beginning with Lanikai Beach in Kailua on Day 2 in Oahu, above. (It followed a visit to the Pearl Harbor Museum and preceded a hike to Manoa Falls.) How stunning is that water? I mean, look at that beach.

Diamond Head, one of the more popular trails in Oahu with spectacular views of the ocean and Waikiki.

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It was crazy hot and dry on our way up to Diamond Head and we had somehow brought only one 20-ounce bottle of water for the four of us to share. At one point during the steepest climb, someone mentioned the pineapple they saw being sold in the parking lot (very common in Hawaii) and that was all we could think about for the rest of the hike. Perhaps not so shockingly, when Andy took his first bite, he said, “It’s like God himself handed me this piece of fruit.”

Poke Bowls. We ate a lot of poke. A LOT. Abby had compiled a list of recommended places, but it turned out that we found fresh, excellent quality ahi almost everywhere we turned and unlike New York, we didn’t have to be very discriminating about it. Part of the charm was eating our bowls outside on picnic tables straight from the styrofoam containers, like this one at Ono Seafood in Honolulu.

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And this one near Spencer Beach in Waimea (on the Big Island). This is the color palette I’d use to inform my fantasy Hawaii bungalow by the way.

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But just because the poke was good everywhere, doesn’t mean we didn’t have our favorites. Mine, hands-down was this bowl from Makai Sushi in Koloa (Kauai), located inside an unassuming small supermarket. The line was always long, but for good reason. I usually prefer a simple poke bowl — tuna, avocado, light soy and sesame dressing, but this one was topped with spicy mayo, plus a teriyaki drizzle, Maui onions, roe, cukes, fresh and dried seaweed, so you get a little bit of a lot in every bite. Even though we had a kitchen in our condo, we ended up ordering these for takeout three out of the seven nights we were in Kauai.

Road Tripping In Kauai, we stayed on the south shore in Poipu Beach, but knew we were going to spend a lot of time exploring the rest of the island. The great thing about Kauai was that it was small enough so that we’d never be in the car for more than two hours before landing at our destination, but at the same time, it was the actual driving that was part of the fun.  No matter where we were headed, the views out the window were like paintings from fantasy Gauguin worlds. The trees, the lushness of the meadows, rivers and jungles. What shocked me the most was the green-ness of it all. Hawaii green — that neon-y yellow tinted green — is not like any other green I’ve ever seen and nearly impossible to capture in photographs.

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Wailua Falls. You know, just a 175-foot double waterfall. No big deal. (We did not do the hike down to the bottom, by the way, because it looked steep and a little hairy, and we were wearing flip-flops.)

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I could’ve looked at the Wailua river all day. If someone forced me to admit to a Hawaii vacation regret, it would be not exploring this river by way of kayak.

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North Shore. Our favorite destination was, perhaps not surprisingly, the North Shore. Everyone told me before I left that it was the plentiful, bountiful, obscenely clear-water beaches and dramatic Na Pali coast that most people picture when they picture Hawaii. Plus, there were a lot of things that stayed with me from Huraki Murakami’s book about running, but certainly high up on the list was his description of early morning runs in this exact area. A little research turned up that he tends to rent in Hanalei, the town located on the stretch of the coast that his home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Above is Tunnels…

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…this was off the pier in Hanalei Bay. (Or “Hanalei Bae” as we came to write it.) P.S. The fish tacos at Pat’s Tacqueria truck in the parking lot (right near the pier) would’ve been worth the trip alone.

And this is Ke’e beach. The only thing that got more air time in our car than Chance the Rapper was the game “Rank your favorite beaches,” and Ke’e was always my top choice, mostly because it was the one we hit after finishing the famous Kalalau trail along the coast. (Shown in the opening picture; the shot of Ke’e above was taken from the trail.) When I posted a photo of the hike on social media, many people chimed in to say things like “My marriage almost broke up over that trail” or “I had a huge fight with my kids right where you’re standing.” The views of the coast along the 4-mile trail were easily the most spectacular we saw but we really had to earn them. It was a long, windy, very steep climb up and down and the day we went was hot. All this to say, the trail starts and ends at Ke’e beach, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget how good it felt to soak our weary bodies in that water when we finished. (Recalling Phoebe: “This island takes a lot out of you.”) I like to think Murakami would agree with me on that one.

Na Pali Boat Tour. I did not take this picture. On a boat tour of the Na Pali coast — probably the highlight of the trip — our phones and cameras were bundled up in waterproof bags. (It got rocky and it got wet out there.) All the better to be present and properly reverent in the face of beauty this majestic.

Shave Ice. You didn’t think you’d get through a post about Hawaii without seeing this shot, did you? I think for the girls, it was as much about the colors as it was about the flavors. Shown here: Hawaiian Sunset.

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Our local shave ice joint in Koloa, right near Poipu Beach.

As long as we’re talking Koloa, this is was where we got our coffee. (Also loved nearby Aloha Roastery.)

Cocktail Hour This was the view off our balcony in Kauai and was the only place I wanted to be come cocktail hour. If we strained our necks a little to the West, we could make out hints of the famous Hawaiian sunsets, but I’d say the basic Palm-tree framed ocean view also sufficed. (It actually hurts me to look at this picture right now I miss it so much.) Note: We rented our condo in Poipu Beach through the Parrish Collection, which offers a massive range of options.

Vacation Pantry What? Just because we are in Hawaii doesn’t mean the core components of the Official DALS Vacation Pantry is any different. (Not shown: Tons and tons of Gatorade.)

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On The Big Island, we flew into Hilo and stayed in an airbnb in the Puna district, about 45 minutes south of the airport. Let me tell you, this was not Kauai, which was a big part of the reason we chose it. The coolest thing about the Big Island was how varied the landscapes were — one minute we’d be driving across the desert-like center of the island that felt like the moon itself, the next through a lush, Kauai-like jungle, and the next on a black sand beach like Kahena above. (BTW Kahena was also nude, much to the horror of our children.)

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The most dramatic landscape was what you are looking at above, hardened lava flow that made up much of the coast on our side of the island and nearby Volcano National Park. On our first full day there, we rented bikes (there are several bike concession stands in the Kalapana entrance to the park) so we could ride down to watch the lava flowing into the ocean. What they don’t tell you at the bike rental place, by the way, is that the eight-mile round-trip ride is entirely uphill on the way back and against the very strong wind. It was maybe the most rigorous bike ride of my life and definitely not something for young kids. (Are you picking up a theme here?) Two days later, we drove the striking, if sometimes harrowing Chain of Craters road through Volcano National Park from the main entrance in Volcano.

Ahalunai State Park This was my favorite spot on the Big Island and if it weren’t for my peripatetic family, I would’ve floated on my back here for the full three days we spent on the island. It’s an ocean-side man-made, walled-in pool that is volcanically heated. Like 80 degrees heated. Waves from the ocean periodically spill over the wall meaning you are treated to schools of tropical fish, a random refreshing cold current, and, of course, crystal clear brackish water.

Naturally, in the parking lot at Ahalanui, you could find an array of just-picked fruit being sold from the back of a pick-up truck. Phoebe bought a mango even though we didn’t have a knife, and ended up peeling it with her teeth and eating it like an apple.

Rainbows On one of our morning runs (pre-season for the girls starts in just over a month ) THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED. Not posed, not filtered, not fake news. And the thing is, it happened more than once, and even though we came to expect it, we were sure to give the proper reverence. Always.

Thank you Hawaii, we miss you so much!

P.S. If you are traveling to Hawaii and would like a more detailed day-to-day itinerary — there were several hikes, drives, food trucks, and markets not included in this round-up believe it or not — please get in touch: jenny AT dinneralovestory.com.

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