Diana and I went and saw a free public performance of hula at the Hula mound on Waikiki beach. Why yes, of course there’s something called a “hula mound” in the heart of Honolulu. Diana, my friend visiting (was my MOH at the wedding) is a big fan of dance so I wanted to make sure we got a performance in. The hula mound is right between the big banyan tree and Waikiki beach. Everyone sits on their blankets with the sun setting behind them to watch a hula performance. It was about as crowded as you’d expect for a free public performance in the heart of Honolulu, but we were fortunate to find spots sitting on a rock wall.
There were all types of performers and groups. My favorite was the almost 100 year old “Auntie” still killing it on the dance stage in her mu’umu’u.
I’m glad we went but I like the feel of actual luau’s better. The public wasn’t super respectful of the performance. There wasn’t much teaching about actual hula at this… but as they say, if it’s free it’s for me!
Tantalus is a set of trails in the back woods of Honolulu. Surprisingly I haven’t checked them out until I was over in the area the other day and I had Jess meet me to explore. We could only get a couple miles in, but it was a great exploration adventure!
First of all, you drive up these switchbacks and end up at a lookout with an amazing view of Honolulu and Diamondhead. It’s a little paved path out to this lawn area and overlook.
It happened to be raining so I got a couple epic rainbows
We had just enough time to fit in a small loop so we took Uala’ka and nearly got lost a bunch of times because there a few off the record trails. We got two miles in before the sunset though.
I didn’t want to spend too much time lallygagging but here’s a really beautiful tree. Pictures never do these justice.
This is one of those things you just go to experience once… well, for me at least. Essentially the tradition started at the Moana Surfrider hotel to drink tea and escape the sun in mid afternoons. So now you can reserve a spot at a table to eat finger sandwiches, drink tea (or cocktails), and enjoy time with friends. I thought the experience was good to do once, but “not my cup of tea”. We were there from 1pm-4pm and the food was just meh, especially for the price ($80 including one cocktail). I drank a little bit of tea, but I’m not a huge fan. Lots of sweets. Again, glad I did it, but probably won’t go again… there are plenty things I’d rather do/spend that money on. I was glad to have carpooled with someone from the group who I got to know better. We also stopped and shopped quickly after and I was reminded why I think Waikiki is so crazy… it’s so busy! I got another sun shirt this time with manta rays on it… I was excited about that because I didn’t buy any souvenirs from our manta ray scuba at big island.
Duke’s is a pretty famous restaurant in Waikiki. It sits right on Waikiki beach and in homage to Duke Kahanamoku.
Duke Paoa Kahanamoku was born August 24, 1890 in Honolulu, Hawaii, the first of six sons and three daughters of Duke and Julia Kahanamoku. He grew up in carefree Waikiki with the ocean as his playground, doing what he loved – mostly swimming, surfing, canoeing and bodysurfing.
At the age of 21 he won his first Olympic gold medal, then went on to represent the United States in the Olympics for 20 years, winning not only medals but the hearts of people all over the world. He is remembered as a swimmer not just for remarkable speed, but for his grace in the water, his good humor, and his sportsmanship.
Brian and I are very fond of eating at restaurant that sit on the water, and this restaurant has a ton of great reviews. The reservations also book THREE months out… I originally reserved it for August, but as we know shit hit the fan and Brian left. So I booked for after he was supposedly getting home. Correction, I booked for three weeks after he was supposed to be getting home to “play it safe”. Well, you guessed it, they were delayed by a full four weeks… BUT thankfully I ALSO booked one for four weeks after he got back, just in case. This ended up with me having back to back weekend reservations for Duke’s (How lucky!). I invited my friend Jess to join with me and she graciously accepted.
Jess and I’s experience was FANTASTIC. We went early to walk around Waikiki and stumbled upon a Hawaiian show, which I want to make a point to specifically go see sometime.
We roamed around Waikiki, got caught in an anti vax march (if you see pictures and we’re in them, we’re just trying to get through, I swear!!) and ended up at Duke’s. We had an amazing table in the corner of the patio over looking a smaller small bites bar and live band patio. Our waitress was great, she was attentive but not overwhelmingly so. She asked if I wanted my cocktail (guava jamz) on the rocks or slushy (on the rocks was my choice). I got the macadamia nut crusted fish. It was an amazing night.
If you recall, Jess came with me to celebrate my birthday as well, and I had prefaced to her that the place we bought the cake from we’d only need one slice. So when we went to get the Hula Pie at Duke’s (10/10 recommend), I told our waitress the other cake story and had just though hula pie would be a lot smaller size, so I said Jess and I should get our own pieces. I talked about it with such confidence that the waitress thought I knew what I was talking about, except that I didn’t at all. When the pie arrived, it turns out it was HUGE and Jess and I could’ve totally split a piece. This is why I’m laughing so hard in this picture. The waitress said “Well, it’s mostly whipped cream” (spoiler alert, just LOOK at it, it’s NOT mostly whipped cream).
Regardless, we both did a solid amount of damage to our individual slices which come with a specific plate and fork/shovel (it’s a big spork) engraved with “hula pie” on the spoon. I know some people in the family who could finish this on their own, for sure. It was incredibly delicious. It’s macadamia nut ice cream, an oreo crust, fudge, whipped cream… my mouth is watering again.
Anyway, I’ve been learning that my second time around experiences have not been as great as my first round. I’m not sure if it’s beginners luck or what. But I returned the next week with Brian. We had a seat a row back and on the pool side… so while I was trying to take pics of the sunset there were half naked old men (Nothing against them enjoying their lives but they don’t make good picture aesthetics). Then the band was there again, but they were really loud so I was also kinda glad we weren’t near them, but it was that or screaming kids at the pool. My waitor didn’t ask if I wanted it on the rocks, so it came as a slushy… I ordered the slow roasted prime rib instead of the fish, and I wasn’t all that impressed. I did get a free hula pie because I mentioned I was there celebrating my birthday in the reservations. Brian got a Mai Tai.
Anyway, I thought round one was a way better experience for a lot of small reasons, I guess. It’s been hard having multiple experiences of things, because I’m finding the next sets aren’t as good as the first for one reason or another. It’s very weird. Maybe it’s a sign I should stop experiencing things without Brian, but I don’t have much of a choice. Maybe it’s the magic of experiencing things the first time? Anyway, more posts to come about this.
I convinced Brian to walk around after a bit to let our stomachs settle. We went back to the Royal Hawaiian Center and were treated to their Christmas decorations.
I would definitely go back to Duke’s and know better what to choose and make sure happens I guess. Idk that we could really pick our table… The food in and of itself was enough to bring me back.
After about a 30 minute walk we arrived at Tiki’s. It was worlds different; so much busier. We had reservations and sat right down.
Brin bought another design tiki glass for our collection and I bought one as a prize for a Officer’s wives club bingo I’m going to.
For dinner I got guava glazed ribs and Brian got the prime rib. Both good, but we’re here for the souvenir glasses and sunset. Unfortunately we were kinda tucked behind some palm trees, so we left to watch the sunset.
I really felt like the scenery and colors weren’t working with me that day, but I tried.
Finally a couple pictures from the darker walk back. ABC stores are a Hawaiian chain convenience store kinda, but we haven’t gone in one yet. I just liked the look of it.
And finally some cool lit up palm trees.
Brian and I have decided we probably won’t be going back to Honolulu much during peak tourist season. Phew.
Our experience in Waikiki was a HUGE difference between when we were there in May. Here are some (ok, a lot) of pictures I took during our walk to the restaurant from the convention center. We walked down Honolulu’s version of Newbury street, Kalakaua Ave. I won’t bore you with a million photos of expensive stores, but here are a couple.
There are opportunities to cut through to the beach along the way and plenty of board storage we are assuming is public.
In this picture I am about 20 feet away from four homeless people. You can see one barely on the right. It’s a significant issue in Honolulu.
We walked by a lot of fancy hotels, including the Surfrider.
This post is getting to be very lengthy, so I’ll break up Tiki’s and walk back into a second post. I’ll end with this quintessential picture of Waikiki. First of all, these trees are the coolest. Banyan trees can walk. The cars are meant to give you perspective to just how big it is. Second, you’ll see kids in the back of a pick up truck. In Hawaii, Hawaiians can travel in the back of trucks. Third, this is a roundabout of sorts, and you’ll see people packing their boards on top after a day of surfing. And last, you can see the hoards of people walking to the beach (Still… at 5pm on a Saturday.)
