Said goodbye to Kristl's mom and grandma, thanking them for their amazing hospitality and for putting up with me when I forgot my shoes. This is where I switch over to Jason's since Kristl is gonna be busy the following week.
Met up with Jason at his condo, and took off on the H1 east to head up the east side of the island. Stopped at The Queen's Summer House, where we viewed intricately carved and designed furniture and possessions of the Queen, which lived during the 1800s. Kristl played the ancient piano from Dresden, and after a stop to the gift shop, we took off up the east shore on Kamehameha Highway. This was the road traveled last time on the way to the Polynesian Cultural Center, passing lots of houses on stilts, great waterscapes, and two historical landmarks which elude my memory at the moment. One relates to a crouching lion, and another to a Chinaman's hat. Stopped at a lookout point with a hole in a rock and a possibly nice panoramic photo (we'll see when I finish it up) and took off again in search of Giovanni's, the famous shrimp truck on the North Shore. I was recommended Romy's shrimp and prawn shack, but reviews on the web gave it a rating of "not enough flavor." I'm not settling on that one!
Found Giovanni's and ordered three plates of their yummy garlic shrimp, and one garlic hot dog. Result? 20 greasy minutes later, we are totally full of yummy garlicy buttery goodness. Best, biggest shrimp and garlic infused hot dog... evar.
Headed off further north around the tip of Oahu, and then west along the Kam highway. Stopped off at a historical burial site where the ancient Hawaiians would give offerings and prayer. Walking a bit around the small paths that spread from the main area, we find a lookout point overlooking Waimea bay and a great view of the plateaus that surround Waimea falls park!
Searching for the hidden turtle beach, the rain comes pouring down and we realized we passed it anyway. Stop at Haleiwa at Matsumoto's for shave ice and ice cream (Kristl's also came with beans). Guava flavor and vanilla, for teh win!
Now even fuller, we head back on the Kam highway through the center of Oahu this time, and back to Jason's condo, for an attempted nap (failed! Distracted by laptops and photos again) and Sara's arrival.
Seen on the way back home.
You can always see more here.
Off to Tsukuneya's Robata Grill, next to the U of H. Met up with Brandon and Sheri, friends of Jason who play soccer competitively and are generally very chill people. I tried some tsukuneya, which is this kind of ground chicken mixed with yams and about 10 spices to create the most tender and tasty meatball on a stick I have ever eaten. Sara gets some natto (fermented soybean) which causes everyone else at the table to emit gasps of "why!?!" and "gross!" even though it's not as bad as it seems, mainly due to the sauce which does a great job of covering any aftertaste. After a plate of mixed sashimi and rice, we chill for a while, talking about board games and soccer, followed by another token Sara and Jason argument, or maybe mostly Jason argument about board games, and bid goodbye to Sheri and Brandon.
Before heading home though, Sara suggested we check out some places to get a photo or so of the city. Jason points us to a park, I think where his boy scouts would meet, and we climb up the hill to see a pretty good view of the city. Since I am missing my tripod this time, photos will have to wait.
Back home for some photo transfers, and sleep.
