Island Girl! Oahu Visit

This summer I have been a travelin' fool! And I'm not complaining one bit!!!! My work schedule has had me traveling most of August with only a few days at home. When I said that I needed to get out of dodge I didn't realize that I'd be logging many hours behind a steering wheel or crammed into an airplane seat like cattle. I have loved the change of scenery!

I scheduled work visits in Hawaii for the last week of August. Conveniently, my brother will be getting married in Maui next week. All of my siblings and several cousins and family friends will make the trip. I'm really looking forward to the reunion. They only seem to happen when there is a marriage!

Today, I visited locals in Waikiki and Honolulu. I headed out to The North Shore in the late afternoon to see the sights and eat dinner.

My first stop was at Matsumoto's for some shaved ice. I passed many shaved ice shops on my way to Haleiwa but pressed on to see if Matsumoto could live up to its reputation. Matsumoto serves up over 1,000 shaved ice a day. Now that's a lot of ice!

In line I surveyed the crowd to ask what everyone was ordering. This was my first *real deal* Hawaiian shaved ice and I wanted to do it right.

Inside is pretty old school. And after waiting in a line that wound around the building it felt good to be inside a (relatively) cool building.

The repeat customers all recommended that I have sweet condensed milk on top. It looked a bit odd and was hard to imagine, but I went for it!

Here I am, the dorky tourist, about to taste my creation of sour apple, cherry, and grape with condensed milk on top. And yes, I even bought a T-shirt as a souvenir from the North Shore.

I must say it hit the spot. AND the crash in blood sugar didn't occur until I was just about half way back to Waikiki. That's a bonus.

I watched folks in the bay paddling about (somehow I don't quite think I have the balance to stay upright) and swimming in the ocean.

A bunch of kids invited me to join them to jump off the bridge with them. I declined saying that I don't jump off bridges but would cheer from my nice shady spot on the sand.

There was much Japanese conversation eaves dropping. I even uttered an "Oishii," (Delicious!) a time or two. They looked at me like I had two heads. And that ended my attempt to practice my selective Japanese vocabulary.

I like to call these Hawaiian Christmas trees.

On my way out of town I stopped at the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

I needed some more sugar, you know.

My drive home was delightful until I hit The Honolulu Gridlock. Oh. My. Goodness. I've sat in traffic with the best of them, but Honolulu IS NOT designed for all of the congestion. My nerves were pretty frazzled by the time I rolled into my hotel in Waikiki.

I'm staying in Waikiki. It's pretty noisy, touristy and packed with people. BUT I've got an air conditioned room and a swimming pool a few steps away. And I'm a happy girl.

Tomorrow I'm headed to Kailua. And to find some more shaved ice. God, that stuff is good.