Paddling is a sore subject with me… I bought my paddle board with great intentions, but getting it down to the ocean is difficult and finding calm waters is also difficult. This picture makes the water look calm, but in reality it was not easy to paddle. I bought a cart after much internet research, and it was a big fail. I’ve thought about investing in another… but it’s $130. If it works, it’s a useful buy and will help me use it more often… big if. Still contemplating it. For this excursion, we carried them using shoulder straps and it was ok but a huge effort for what it was worth.
ANYWAY. We did manage to paddle all the way to flat island. That first picture will give you some perspective- Lanikai is the pale beach at the end of the land point, and also my beloved mokes. It only took about 15 minutes. The water is super clear and it is outlined by a rocky perimeter which made it hard to explore but we walked a little bit.
Glad I’m conquering all sorts of fears and tackling these fun activities!
I don’t have any evidence of the deliciousness of the food to share, but I went to dinner with a couple friends (Caitlyn and Mindy) to GOEN and thought it was DELICIOUS. I loved the eggplant appetizer and the shrimp scampi I ordered. Both very delicious and had great company!
Biking was hard for me pre-covid, so thinking about going for a ride with my lung issues was completely off the table for a long time. My friend Jess has been itching to get out on the bike and it’s pushed me to get my act together. So I finally got the courage to get the bike ready to go for a ride. With Brian and my friend Pat’s help, they filled the tires and lubed the chains and I was off. I decided to start with the 2.5 mile loop in my neighborhood complete with a bike lane. After doing that twice, I was getting bored and mustered the courage to leave Lanikai. I had scoped out the bike lanes through Kailua and set out to get to the first one! It didn’t take much road sharing before I was there. It was a great cruise through the middle of town, but what I mean by middle is it’s geographically middle however it’s residential, not a crazy busy business section. It was lovely! Then that meets up with a really pretty also residential road. I didn’t like that section as much, it was shorter and there was a long light. Lastly, I wanted to prove to myself I could bike to Jess’, so I did that, (mostly no bike lanes) and explored one more road with bike lanes.
I way underestimated my courage and didn’t put any sun tan lotion on my back thinking I wouldn’t be out long. Thankfully I wasn’t a complete lobster, but I was dangerously close to tomato. I am so glad I went out! I can see how this might get boring, but there is a little loop further out I’d like to try. It’s a great way to get my heart rate up that’s not running (my foot has been bothering me).
I’ve been wanting to knock out this hike but haven’t been procrastinating because on AllTrails it’s only a half mile loop… in fact when I proposed it to Jess I said maybe we can do a couple loops of it.
Well, turns out this is another sleeper hike and there’s a whole extension to it with a pretty great climb! There also isn’t a lot of parking, but we found a couple spots. This is the entrance, and some of the plants have identification plaque along the way.
After about 200 ft of climbing (you drive up a pretty big hill to get there) there’s a really great view and a bench to sit (this is looking out toward MCBH).
This is looking out toward Kailua and my beloved Mokes, plus Waimanalo to the right.
Then, the path continues up and up… like scrambling up… (this next section pictured had ropes to help) and you get pretty much the same views but also a view back toward the H3. It actually wasn’t that bad of a section, it was pretty grippy, but I wouldn’t do it after much rain and sat on my butt a couple spots to get down.
You can barely see the H3 coming around the bend. I’d like to revisit in the morning when the sun is on those mountains, but this shot with the rays is pretty neat. Needless to say, it took about an hour with stoppage to enjoy, and we didn’t even go all the way (we stopped at the top, but it looks like it goes down the other side and dead ends). I think it was 500ft elevation all things considered. Not bad for a Friday afternoon jaunt.
Today we went to Ho’okua’aina, a kalo (taro) farm in Kailua. We helped with weeding the lo’i, kalo fields.
We started with learning abouth the aina (land) and kalo plant in the hale. We sat in a circle and gave our names and which aina we claim as our home. We also talked about why we were there, and my answer was because I wanted to learn more about the land and give back to Hawaiians as a small thank you and out of respect for being able to live here.
Then the work began! The mud kalo mounds are surrounded by moats or trenches. These can get up to waist deep; the ones we were working in made it up to my knee, and thigh for some of the shorter people joining us.
We pulled up weeds and put them in buckets or off to the side as best we could.
There were all sorts of animals… frogs, tadpoles, and ducks were the most common that we saw. I attempted to keep the mud off of things but that became a lost cause in short order. My camera survived, however, and we were fortunate to be able to shower most of the mud off there before getting in our cars.
What a day this was! I gave my camera a good sponge bath after this. I think I’ll go back but more prepared this time for just how fast things get muddy. We have a lot of people who want to go again, so I think there will be more.
Mexico Lindo is kinda underwhelming from the outside (I wish I had a great picture but I don’t.) It’s in a strip mall, corner section. I had gone one night because it was the only thing open after I had been running errands and I had no food to eat at home. Things seem to close early in Kailua, especially weekdays. The first time I went I got the fajita salad as takeout, it was amazing.
The second time I went with a friend and ate outside. The margaritas everyone has look very appealing, but I’ll be honest I’m not the biggest marg fan. I did try one though, the lilikoi I think?
I chose the straight fajitas this time and they were equally delicious. Everything is insanely flavorful.
I had a day last week I was feeling pretty low, but I still try really hard to push myself to get some fresh air. So I decided to take my camera and walk around “downtown” Kailua before grabbing food at the Thursday market. I have to say that Hawaii does a great job of making things “pretty”, or visually appealing. You’ll find mosaics scattered every where.
Here’s a fun directional sign.
And here’s Whole Foods.
I appreciate the tropical feel of our little town.
I’ve had an emotional few days… there are a lot more politics involved in this Navy life than I could’ve ever imagined. A lot of not knowing who to trust, who’s got who’s back… it gets confusing and frustrating, honestly. We’re all supposed to be in this together. Everything is fine, no one is in trouble or under any harm, but even the smallest things can seemingly explode! I will add that it has made me vehemently opposed to staying in longer than Brian’s retirement. Usually, Brian’s here to talk me off these emotional ledges… but alas, here I am ready to jump!
Anyway, a particularly difficult communication issue is that I’ve heard three hundred different dates for Brian’s homecoming. They are anywhere from the beginning of one month to the beginning of the next… I really want to tell people to take me off the return homecoming date rumor mill train and just let me know when I need to show up to pick him up. It makes things really hard emotionally and rollercoastery…. will he be here for this event? He asked me to make reservations again somewhere… should I push those back?
I think being far from family and having no kids has thankfully put me away from being pestered about when he will come home (I mean my family never pesters anyway 😉 ) Which is good, because most often I’m not thinking about it… I’m just thinking about what I can do to make my day go faster and feel less lonely. But the answer, anyway, will almost always be “I don’t know”. And probably for the better, because as we know the Russians are always listening. “loose lips sink ships”.
I’ve been desperately trying to find a substitution to my Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate bar, and I might’ve found it… at quite the price. The Manoa Chocolate factory is near the market I went to and happened to open at 10am. I had some time to spare and have very little willpower against chocolate, so I stopped in quickly. I met a very nice woman who happens to be from Connecticut originally, because of course. They give tastings on a walk in basis, and tours every day at 3pm.
This is made from cacao grown in Hawaii. I couldn’t walk out without buying a couple bars… for $12 a pop. Woof! It is ABSOLUTELY delicious, though. I’ll have to continue to ration my Trader Joe’s stash and keep this in the rotation as a special treat. I also bought a chocolate macadamia nut spread, think Nutella but macadamia nut, and honestly wasn’t as much of a fan as I thought.
With low capacity and staffing shortages, tours are capped at 8 and Saturdays are booked through November. I am thinking of trying to coordinate with one of my officer spouse groups, but it’s getting complicated. Anyway, I’ll find a time to get there for an official tour and tasting.
Lokahi Kailua Market is a Sunday market I’ve been itching to go to. Lōkahi is the Hawaiian term denoting harmony, unity, and balance. The market hosts mostly niche arts and crafts with food options sprinkled here and there.
My favorite shop was this woodworking shop that reuses wood to create something new. As the sign says, none of it is painted! It’s all salvaged wood from neighbors. I definitely want to buy something, but want Brian’s input first.
Just a couple more pictures of various vendors, including a flower market and some art.
There’s also a group collecting cans to fundraise for college, so I dropped them off some. I don’t see myself coming back to this weekly, but I’d definitely take Brian or even visitors for some authentic, fun Hawaiian souvenirs.
This is on Brian and I’s bucket list, but they don’t take reservations and we’re a bit snobby when it comes to that, and also just generally against eating indoors if we can help it. They do have some picnic tables off to the left hand side you can bring takeout… but for a place this nice it seems a bit odd. Anyway, one of the families I took pictures for recommended specifically the furikake ahi tuna dish. I was hesitant based on the description, but in the vein of trying new things I went for it and got take out. It was PHENOMENAL. The flavoring on the fish was great and the dipping sauce that went with it, SO GOOD.
Of course the problem with this is now it’s the only thing I’ll order there. I think this is my first report of truly delicious food here. There you have it, found some!
