Layovers in Hawaii
After leaving Osaka on June 30th, we touched down in Honolulu on... June 30th, part 2! Crossing the international date line was such a time warp. Despite sleeping on a plane overnight, we woke up on the same date in another country (and continent). Once we arrived, we got some good news, too: our Jeep Wrangler got upgraded to a red Mustang for merely $20! There's nothing quite like driving through a new environment in a convertible. Bliss.
An afternoon in Oahu
Our first stop in Honolulu was the beautiful Hoomaluhia Botanical Gardens. Although I'd visited Hawaii in 2016, I never made a stop here. It is BEAUTIFUL. Imagine being in like, Jurassic Park. The day we went had a majestically low cloud cover, which made the photos even cooler. I bet big hikers were treated to a cloud inversion that day!
A few friends had recently posted the insta shot here (above), so I naturally had to hunt for it too. Little did I know that it was taken at the entrance of the park. There were signs everywhere telling people not to stop, since it impeded traffic. I ended up running to snap a pic and got away with it without getting scolded. We were quick enough, I guess?!
Interestingly, this place seemed to be a fairly popular spot for families and communities to gather. A super nice church group even offered us popcorn in between our excited photo-taking!
Afterwards, we headed to the Rainbow Drive-in for some take-out mixed meat and strawberry floats. The food was good in a hearty, cholesterol-filled way — I wouldn't expect anything less for my first meal in America. The strawberry shakes, on the other hand, were straight-up diabetes in a cup. Side note: I just looked up the diner and realized that the mixed plate included mahi-mahi? If only 2018 Charmaine knew that she'd soon develop a serious allergy to mahi-mahi... :'( SHE DIDN'T RECOGNIZE HER PRIVILEGE.
The good part about this meal was that we DIDN'T eat it at the drive-in or in our car. Instead, we headed over to Hanauma Bay for a picnic! I'd been to Hanauma Bay with my family before, and I recall the snorkeling was a bit lacklustre. This time, we settled for dipping our feet in for free and enjoying the food while hanging out on the beach. I could get used to the island life. :)
From Hanauma Bay, we caught the last glimmer of sunset at Waikiki. The waves were crazy-high at this time. I also saw a man on a Thinkpad on the pier. Dare I call it... foreshadowing my own lifestyle for the next few years? Yikes.
We considered having udon for dinner, but the line seemed a bit daunting. Instead, we ran to a taco truck for a quick appetizer, where we had an awesome shrimp/pork taco and fish taco. We also grabbed bubble tea at Tea Boss, which allowed you to mix multiple flavours. I had the most delightful honeydew-matcha-oreo mix! After filling up a little, we made our way back into line for Murakame Udon. It was exactly as I remembered, aka delicious. While the line will probably be long and daunting, rest assured that it moves fast! There aren't too many udon places back home in Toronto (in fact, there weren't any back in 2018), so it was worth the wait. Jenny was blown away, since she'd never tried udon from an udon shop like this before!
Finally, we closed off the night hunting for washrooms and attempting to go to the North Shore for a stargazing attempt, only to get thwarted by the rain.
Sunrise to sunset in Maui
The big pro of catching another red-eye that night was that we got to witness a stunning sunrise in Maui. I've heard that Maui is famous for its sunrises at Haleakala, but hear me out: it's great around the airport, too! My pictures don't do it justice. Like what even ARE those clouds?!
While we no longer had a convertible, we still had a nice red car (just like the screaming animal sticker on Messenger... iykyk) that enabled us to zoom over to the Iao Needle. As the first entrants to the park, the entrance fee was also waived for us! Who knew it paid to be early?
That's the needle!
From there, we drove over to Lahaina. I grabbed an açai banana smoothie bowl at "Cafe Cafe." Everyone there was part of some hipster co-op? I don't knock the beach bum / basic gal life; in fact, I admire it.
Then we made our way to "Atlantis Adventures" for a submarine trip! It was a bit jarring to hear American voices and experirence Disney-like tourism again after spending so long in Asia. But the guide was so excited about every little thing, which made the passengers even more excited. Do these fish even look real?
Afterwards, we headed over to the public Wailea Beach beside the Four Seasons. This brought back memories: my dad re-proposed to my mom at the Four Seasons in Maui ("Will you stay married to me forever?") as a sweet little do-over to surpass the circumstances of their original engagement (long-distance across the ocean, over the phone). True love is real!
This time around, the best part of visiting Wailea Beach was that it had public outdoor showers, lol. As in, these were the beach showers that people use to dust off all the sand, and that came in CLUTCH since we had slept on planes for the past two consecutive nights. While I was able to power through, Jenny started crashing here and needed a nap. Considering she had been driving the whole time (while I remained a mere passenger), it was completely justified. I sat in the car and read a book instead.
Considering we were in Hawaii, we HAD to stop for some authentic Hawaiian food. We went to a place called Poi by the Pound. While Helena's Hawaiian Food in Oahu remains my favourite, this was still an enjoyable meal. Word of caution, the portions were HUGE. Don't forget that if you're ever in America.
Finally, to cap off our two-day Hawaiian adventure, we stopped by the Maui Tropical Plantation. It was nice and manicured, with a lot more vegetation than expected!
From there, we caught one last sunset at the airport (lol) and hashed out our quarrels in Osaka, alongside some general introspection. I'm grateful to Jenny for a wonderful grad trip — we planned it for eons and executed it grandly. After one more red-eye to LA, then another flight to Toronto, it was time to go home. Now (four long years later), this trip solely remains one for the memory books. Asia (and Hawaii), you're the best!
