A final entry about our trip to Oahu, then we’ll be done!
Saturday morning after breakfast, we set out for a drive around the island. We headed southeast from the hotel, past Diamond Head and onto Highway 72. It is a beautiful drive with lots of points where you can pull off the road and take in the magnificent views.
Despite the barriers and warning signs, nearly everybody (including Tawn) decided they needed to climb down the rocks and get closer to the waves that were crashing ashore. I stayed back and caught some pictures of Tawn trying to protect himself from the spray.
After you drive around the easternmost point of the island, the spectacular views continue. We ended up driving all the way around the north shore to Waialua, then drove straight down the middle of the island back to Honolulu. Honestly, I think we would have been fine to have turned back at Kailua, seeing only the southeastern quadrant of the island. The views north of that point were nice, but most of the time you couldn’t see much from the main road.
There’s lots of free culture available in Honolulu. Every Friday night at 6:00 you can enjoy classical Hawaiian music performed at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in the heart of Waikiki. There’s also a free torch lighting ceremony and hula shows four nights a week at nearby Kuhio Beach Park.
On Monday and Friday evenings, browse the farmer’s market at King’s Village shopping center, also in Waikiki. While the selection of produce is limited, there is still a lot to see.
Among the attractions are fresh baked goods including (left hand side) malasadas filled with a variety of flavors. Feeling peckish before dinner? A stop here will tide you over!
Sunday morning we headed to the outdoor restaurant at the New Otani hotel, where we stayed. With a view of the beach just beyond, it is a enjoyable place to start your day.
Special item from the menu: macadamia nut French toast. Seemed like the right way to end our trip.
One last picture of the two of us at the tail end of our ten days in Hawai’i. I hope you’ve enjoyed the many entries about our time on the islands. Now we’ll get back to the mainland and, eventually, back to Bangkok (where I’ve actually been for more than two weeks now!)
christao408 
I have to put Hawaii on my to-do list. It really seems to be unique.
It has all looked fabulous.
There are so many beautiful sports on the Island. And the French Toast is to die for
It figures! Only the first pic showed up for me. Thankfully, I have a vivid imagination. Did you hear about that fella buying the island of Lanai? Reckon I just hang with the wrong crowd.
@Kellsbella – Nah, I don’t hand with that crowd, either! Ha ha…@Fatcat723 – I can see what locals like that stay there.@amygwen – Thanks.@beowulf222 – It is very interesting from the standpoint that it is America, but is very different from the rest of America. Locals hate it when mainlanders say “back in America” when they mean “back on the mainland,” but I can understand how the toungue can easily slip. It does feel like another country.
Love a farmers market. I can imagine one in Oahu is amazing. Looks like so much fun. thanks for the pictures. So beautiful.
That drive on the east side of the island is amazing and was one of my favorite parts of my trip. Beaches are definitely much better than that on Waikiki
These posts male me dream of Hawaii! Wonderful good times… makerme wish I were there!
I thoroughly enjoyed all the pictures you posted. What is the stuffing I notice in the macadamia nut french toast?
It’s nice to know that you had a lot of fun. We decided to not get a car for our Honolulu stay, but might have to hire one for a day to drive around. Those baked goods looked very tempting!
I thought feeling peckish meant something a bit more romantic. If I saw that surf while driving, I would have ran down there and joined Tawn.
Brings back memories—I grew up in Honolulu
what a beaut that view. and i LOVE farmer’s markets. can’t get enough of them.
I enjoyed your posts about the trip and going over the food pics as well! I have a high school classmate who now lives permanently in Hawaii and reading this made me realize more why she loves the place so much.
Awww!!!Boy, haven’t heard of the place Kailua in awhile haha… Brings back memories!
Sorry for the delay in responding to your comments!@Ikwa – Well, this particular farmer’s market was not that big, but there is one down near Diamond Head on Saturdays (at some community college, I think) that may be larger.@n_e_i_l – Oh, did you? How long have you been away?@rudyhou – It is a nice way to buy your food, isn’t it? Have some sense of connection with the people producing it.@icapillas – Perhaps you need to visit that high school classmate? Ha ha…@ElusiveWords – No, that’s not what “peckish” means… =P@whyzat – You really could survive without a car in Honolulu and the public bus system seems to be very well-oriented for visitors. The only part you might miss out on is driving along the coast.@ZSA_MD – Actually, it wasn’t stuffing but just the way the egg batter pooled on the griddle a bit. I had to go back and look, though, to be sure!@murisopsis – Hawaiian dreams are always pleasant ones!@Roadlesstaken – True, sadly Michael was holed up in the hospital while we were there. Did stop by to visit him but wish he had been out and about so we could have spent more time together.