Hawaii Day Three [March 12th, 2010]

Day three began with me checking on getting some kayaks on the ocean, and on my way back, I stopped at Henry's Place for some fresh pineapple for breakfast. The pineapple had a very soft, yet firm, texture, and was very sweet and full of flavor.

After we finished it, we both trekked down to the beach, and rented a two person kayak for an hour. It was very calm, rowing on the waves. Plus, accompanied by the gorgeous scenery, it just felt fantastic.

Me in front of the Hotel Restaurant - our room was up the stairs, and to the right.

No pictures of us on the ocean - after all I wasn't going to risk taking my D60 out on the water...

After we were done rowing (which is quite an exercise!) we decided to head towards Bailey's Antiques and Aloha Shirts to pick up The Husband's mom and dad a souvenir - The Husband had seen it featured on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations.

As we walked to the store, we took in the gorgeous weather and the view of Diamond Head.


After a little bit of walking, we made it!



By the time we had picked up shirts, we were starving (remember, we only had a little pineapple for breakfast!), and we decided perhaps we'd find something nearby to eat. We must have seen twenty barbecue restaurants...and nothing that was sans meat (keep in mind, we're Catholic, and this was a Friday during Lent).

We saw this huge tree...see the man climbing it?

This was also the hottest day we had experienced so far (prior to, it had been hot, but not unbearably or uncomfortably so - this day, was hot), so by the time we had finished walking through the residental areas, we were exhausted, hot, and hungry (penance perhaps?).

Residential Neighborhood

Then, an oasis shone through (or so we thought) in the form of a banner hanging from a second story open air bar stating: MAI TAI'S $3.50

Perhaps it was the heat, or maybe our hunger...whatever it was, we walked in, delusional and unaware of our surroundings.

We took a seat next to the open air windows (which had a fantastic view of Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach) and I went up to the bar, and got two Mai Tai's (I wanted food too, but they didn't serve lunch).

Upon going back to our seats, slowly my surroundings started to sink in.

Disco ball...skinny gel-haired males...male underwear celebrity advertisement?!

Hula's (according to their website) describes themselves as: "Recognized worldwide as a fixture on the Waikiki scene, Hula's is known more importantly as a cultural icon and a welcome refuge for Hawaii's gay community."

We got one more drink so we could cash out (they had a $10.00 minimum for credit card tabs) and we went our way down the road...after all, drinking Mai Tai's on an empty stomach is not the best idea.

We eventually found our way down to Furusato where The Husband got Red Snapper sashimi and I got a spicy ahi tuna tartare over udon and another order of edamame to share. Both of our dishes were extremely tasty. I don't think I will ever have fish as fresh and flavorful as I did in Hawaii - not just at Furusato, but everywhere we went, the fish was all so fresh (imperative when eating it raw, and raw, in my opinion, is the best way to eat fish).

Spicy Tuna Tartare

Red Snapper Sashimi

We walked through the Waikiki International Market Place (where I ended up buying Xave a Hawaiian shirt) and then continued on...after all, the NCAA tournament was on, and we needed to find a place to watch it. We ended up at Moose McGillyCuddy's, where (not quite filled at Furusato) I ordered some fried shrimp and The Husband got some cheese fries. C'mon, you can't always eat exotically! Sometimes there's something to say about good ol' standard bar food.

After finishing up (and watching a stunning WVU win) we decided to digest and figure out what we wanted to do for dinner. The Husband was tired of Asian food (which is something I can never get enough of) so we went to Aracino - an Italian restaurant across from our hotel. The line was very long (since, as you can imagine, there is very little Italian food on the islands), so we went to the beach to see the Hilton's fireworks show (5 minutes, every Friday).


The little Italian restaurant was cozy inside. We were served a small loaf of focaccia bread with olive oil. We ordered a glass of wine and parused the menu. I decided on the linguine with blue crab and cream sauce, whilst The Husband asked our waitress for a suggestion. She told him that the linguine marinara with fresh mozzarella (that's tossed in the pasta in the last few minutes) was the way to go.


I wish I had gotten photos of our entrees but due to having a conversation with the couple siting beside us, enough report was created to make me feel uncomfortable in pulling out my camera! Nevertheless, it was good - nothing I don't think you couldn't get around here (such as the fantastic seafood and Asian food we had been eating) but it hit the spot.

The Husband, with his belly full of pasta (and red wine to boot!), was exhausted and drained - he even had a red eye to drink while I had desert (I can't for the life of me remember what I ate...) and it didn't perk him up!

So, he went back to the hotel, and I walked along the shopping district for a little bit whilst on the phone with my brother. After buying a few things for myself (mostly more silk scarves - I love them!) I went back to the hotel and went to bed.