Hawaii Part 5: Sandbars, Eat the Street, and My Favorite Beach

Most of Friday as spent at Kaneohe Sandbar – the largest sandbar in the world! If you don’t have your own private boat at the He’eia Pier, then Captain Bob‘s is the best way to get there! It was my second time going to the sandbar as I had recently been there in October, but it has easily become one of my favorite activities in Hawaii. You get to visit the sandbar (think standing in the middle of the ocean), go snorkeling, play volleyball, eat good food, and get a tour of some of the sights around the island. The staff is super friendly and I’ve had a fabulous time both times! One of the crew members even brought his ukelele on board and sang some tunes while we ate!

Instagram photo by jann_bam - Signature pose in the middle of the ocean. #worldslargestsandbar #Hawaii #hilife

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Since it was the last Friday of the month, Eat the Street was open. Super crowded, but the food was delicious! Soul Patrol may be one of my favorite trucks there because I love fusion foods. I had the fried chicken jambalaya and my boyfriend was able to snag the last order of crab mac and cheese. HUGE servings, but oh so delicious!

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Also managed to snag some great lilikoi and blackberry lavendar lemonade from Wow Wow Lemonade (probably the longest line there, but I was able to beat it!)

Instagram photo by jann_bam - #Pinterest gal level up - #aloha mason jars with lilikoi and blackberry lavender lemonade. #Hawaii #hilife #eatthestreetWe even grabbed some macarons from Cake Works.

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Our last full day we spent at some of my favorite places in Kailua. First we went chocolate tasting while we waited for our table at Cinnamon’s. We had the kalua pork eggs benedict, the crab eggs benedict, and guava chiffon pancakes (a MUST EAT).

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ImageAnd then visited my favorite beach.

Instagram photo by jann_bam - #tbt to last weekend with my favorite guy at my favorite beach. Also #nofilter could help my dark-ass forehead. #Hawaii #hilife #bringmeback #bf #tanforeheads

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And then for dinner had really awesome Japanese food at Mr. Ojisan. I had my first deep fried soft shell crab and it was AMAZING.

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And then we ended the perfect vacation eating Ono Pops.

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And that’s that! Hawaii Part 5 has come to a close. I plan to FINALLY be caught up with my blog by the end of the week and hopefully plan my next trip to Hawaii by the end of next quarter.

 

Hawaii Part 5: Hiking, Acai Bowls, and Luaus

Despite the short time that my family was in Hawaii, I was able to take them to Diamond Head and go on a short hike on the paved path.

Instagram photo by jann_bam - Samson ladies #selfie at the top of #diamondhead. #Hawaii #hiking

And of course we had to reward ourselves with an acai bowl afterward!

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We were going to go to Hanauma Bay, but because the parking lot was full we ended up just spending the afternoon in Waikiki. However, I did manage to snag a photo from the Koko Head scenic point.

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Since my family had never been to Hawaii before, I had to take them to a luau! Since I had been to the Polynesian Cultural Center before, we decided to try the one at Paradise Cove.

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It’s Hawaii, so of course there was a ton of traffic, but the rainbows made up for it.

You’re immediately greeted at the luau with your choice of beverage (I chose the spirited one of course) and there were tons of activities to do before the actual luau including making head and wrist pieces with flowers, playing games, and enjoying the great views around the Ko Olina area. The food was pretty delicious, too!

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Instagram photo by jann_bam - #Ohana means #family. Mom and @theleannashow's first #luau.

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The show was awesome (I need to learn how to hula dance soon!). And of course my mom bought one of those souvenir pictures in the end!

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Almost caught up blogging with actual life (finally!) but still need to write about Kaneohe Sandbar, Eat the Street, and Lanikai!

Eating My Way Through Honolulu and the North Shore

After my family arrived, we spent a couple hours on the beach and then had dinner at one of the restaurant on my bucket list 12th Avenue Grill. It was delicious!

Instagram photo by jann_bam - Life's a #beach. #Hawaii #hilife

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“The Tourist Trap”

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Shinsato Pork Belly Confit

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Special of the Day

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Mac and Cheese

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Local Vanilla & Orange Braised Big Island Beef Cheeks

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Big Island Nutmeg-House Smoked Salt Steamed Hawaiian Kampachi

And of course I had to make routine trip to Bubbies.

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Multiple Orgasm Ice Cream Cake

The next day we spent the day exploring some of my favorite spots around the island. First we got malasadas from Leonard’s Bakery.

Instagram photo by jann_bam - #Malasada mornings.  #Hawaii #food #foodstagram #foodporn #musteat

After going to the Swap Meet at Aloha Stadium and visited Pearl Harbor.

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We also visited the Dole Plantation and grabbed some Dole Whip. Afterwards we visited my favorite shrimp truck (Romy’s) to grab a garlic shrimp combo.

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Instagram photo by jann_bam - Can't liveee if living is without you. #dabest garlic shrimp in the world. #food #foodporn #Hawaii

We also visited Waimea Beach Park (my sister jumped off the big rock for the first, I’ve already had my share!).

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ImageAt the end of the day we ate at Holoholo.

 

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Sweet Sake Braised BBQ Brisket

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Deep Fried Pork Ribs

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Hot Sushi Tower

Big food and beach days. More sightseeing and luaus to come!

Hawaii Part 5 – Memorial Day and Manoa Falls

Took some extra time to check out a couple of items that have been on my to do list for quite some time. One of which was Teddy’s burgers.

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Afterwards we did the Manoa Falls hike.

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Later we went to to Lantern Floating Ceremony at the Ala Moana Beach Park for Memorial Day, which was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

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Afterwards we had dinner at Town – one of my favorite places to eat in Honolulu. Really fresh and local ingredients. We had the a’u ku, ulu, with okra, cabbage, chermoulah  and the mahi mahi with local veggies, limu, meyer lemon.

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My mom and sister joined us for the rest of the week so lots more food, beach, and photos to follow!

Hawaii Part 5 – Dinner in a Furniture Store, Hawaiian Flavors, and the Lighthouse Trail

Recently returned back from Hawaii (basically my 2nd home by now) and was able to visit some of my favorite places alongside some new ones.

Instagram photo by jann_bam - Home is where the heart is. #Hawaii #hilife #travel #alohavacaypartfive #travel #wanderlust

My boyfriend recently celebrated a birthday so I treated him out to dinner at Stage – one of the places that had always been on my Hawaii bucketlist.

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Pictured above: a glance at the restaurant, an off-the-menu red velvet cupcake with homemade cream cheese frosting, the special steak, the Colorado Mountain Meadow Lamb Chops, a guava sorbet palette cleanser, the Hamachi sashimi, the  Circus Circus cocktail with cotton candy garnish, and a complimentary avocado appetizer

A cool restaurant at the top of a furniture store – the staff was fantastic and polite and the food was delicious!

The next day I was able to walk down all of Kapahulu towards Waikiki and grabbed some of my favorite poke from Ono Seafood. Shoyu and ahi poke are my favorite!

Instagram photo by jann_bam - Couldn't be in #Hawaii for much longer without stopping by for my favorite meal. Shoyu and spicy ahi poke! #food #foodporn

We later walked around Waikiki and had some Hawaiian Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Hawaiian Sea Salt Caramel, Aloha Sunrise, and Lemon Gelato.

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Later that night we grabbed some of my favorite loco moco before heading over to the Ward Center from Big City Diner.

Instagram photo by jann_bam - The best loco moco with kimchi fried rice. #food #foodporn #foodstagram #hawaii #hilife

The next morning we had Sunday brunch at Koko Head Cafe. I was able to taste their Cornflake French Toast and Eggs Haloa.

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Afterwards we did the Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail.

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Great easy, scenic hike (despite all the gnats at the end!)

Still have 7 more days to write about – stay tuned!