Hawaii is the 50th state of the United States and it is MY 50th state! I finished all fifty states at the age of 49. I love my country, its diversity, its food, its people, its determination and hope for happiness. I am proud to be an American who has visited all 50 beautiful states. Below is my travel diary for Hawaii. Paul and I visited it for our 15th Wedding Anniversary trip!
Monday
Arrived in the afternoon, checked into the Maui Beach Hotel, and ate at a Korean restaurant. Found a cool Asian grocery store and bought sake, Hawaiian rum and fruit rind candy. Went to our hotel room and crashed.
Tuesday
Got breakfast and other fun finds at 7-eleven and then drove to the blowhole near Lahaina. We took photos and videos all over the cliffs and then walked the shops of downtown Lahaina. We found lunch at the Cool Cat Cafe and the burgers were so delicious and we had an open view of the Banyan Tree Park across the road. We ate our first Dole whip and it was delicious! Paul went for a hike and I went swimming and organized our room to fit our suitcases. We had dinner at Ale House.
Wednesday
7-eleven breakfast and then we headed to the Road to Hana. We stopped to watch people surfing for a few minutes and then made our way along the many curves of the way to Hana. We hiked a short hike and then a longer hike (that I couldn’t finish) at Haleakala National Park. We stopped for a delicious lunch at a food truck park and had pad Thai, garlic shrimp and an unforgettable papaya salad. We bought some snacks at a cute general store near the food trucks. We then toured the lava cave nearby and the black sand beach of ? When we got back we ate at Zippy’s! (Pacific Islander ihop?) The omelette I ordered was delicious and comforting with vegetables and Portuguese sausage. We also ordered a whole papaya to share.
Thursday
This was an especially fun day because we went on a boat to a beautiful crater and snorkeled!! We saw fish and sea urchins underwater. We saw dolphins swimming along with the boat. We found a Dole whip with pineapple and raspberry swirl. We ate dinner at Maui Tacos and tried all the salsas on the salsa bar. We also had a wiki wiki chicken salad with all kinds of fresh fruit and yummy rice. We drove over to Kihei to look around and found Kraken Coffee where I bought a cute tee shirt. We walked around the market of downtown Kihei and looked at the stalls and restaurants. There was also a giant whale statue that chickens were walking around.
Friday
On our own day! A thoroughly educational and very pretty day tour of Oahu. I took a 6am flight to Honolulu to take a bus tour of the entire island. On the tour we saw different neighborhoods of Honolulu, visited a beautiful Buddhist temple, the Dole Plantation store, the North Shore where I finally saw sea turtles, a coffee and macadamia nut souvenir store and other beautiful ocean views. This was a very long tour. I’m glad I went but I was frustrated by the other tourists who would not get back on the bus on time after every stop. We arrived back an hour later than we were supposed to. I truly wanted to spend more time shopping in Honolulu but I had to fly back to Maui. I made it to 88Tees at least. I met Avian from Terrace House! She was so beautiful! We had a great conversation and I told her Terrace House was one of the reasons I wanted to go to Japan. She smiled with her eyebrows the same way she smiled on the show! The show was truly one of the reasons I understood so much about Japan before I arrived.
Saturday
We went back to Lahaina where we ate at a brewery and I went in various shops for final souvenirs like a Hawaiian shirt, wooden bead necklaces, more coffee, two very cute Maui dish towels, and a couple of stuffed animals for friends. Paul drove us to Wailea to see other mountain and beach views and then back to Kihei for dinner at Black Rock Pizza. This was really delicious pizza, I mean the sauce on that pizza!!
Sunday
We drove to the cute town of Makawao in the upcountry. We found a cute grocery souvenir store that had beautiful fruits and vegetables. On the counter there was a cardboard box with a fluffy sleeping cat in it. For lunch we returned to Kahului. We had conveyor belt sushi at the Japan chain Genki and it was the best!! Paul tried Spam for the first time in a sushi roll and I tried fried soft shell crab for the first time. We both chowed down on plum rolls and they tasted just like the onigiri in Japan! I can’t wait to eat at another Genki!
Paul took one last hike and I took a nap, a shower, and went to Target. We ate at Maui Tacos again and then on to the airport. This was a truly amazing trip!
We bookended the trip in Franklin, TN with Paul’s parents. It was so generous for them to babysit our Chihuahua Benny! This was the best 15th Wedding Anniversary trip we could have!!
Monday
Arrived in the afternoon, checked into the Maui Beach Hotel, and ate at a Korean restaurant. Found a cool Asian grocery store and bought sake, Hawaiian rum and fruit rind candy. Went to our hotel room and crashed.
Tuesday
Got breakfast and other fun finds at 7-eleven and then drove to the blowhole near Lahaina. We took photos and videos all over the cliffs and then walked the shops of downtown Lahaina. We found lunch at the Cool Cat Cafe and the burgers were so delicious and we had an open view of the Banyan Tree Park across the road. We ate our first Dole whip and it was delicious! Paul went for a hike and I went swimming and organized our room to fit our suitcases. We had dinner at Ale House.
Wednesday
7-eleven breakfast and then we headed to the Road to Hana. We stopped to watch people surfing for a few minutes and then made our way along the many curves of the way to Hana. We hiked a short hike and then a longer hike (that I couldn’t finish) at Haleakala National Park. We stopped for a delicious lunch at a food truck park and had pad Thai, garlic shrimp and an unforgettable papaya salad. We bought some snacks at a cute general store near the food trucks. We then toured the lava cave nearby and the black sand beach of ? When we got back we ate at Zippy’s! (Pacific Islander ihop?) The omelette I ordered was delicious and comforting with vegetables and Portuguese sausage. We also ordered a whole papaya to share.
Thursday
This was an especially fun day because we went on a boat to a beautiful crater and snorkeled!! We saw fish and sea urchins underwater. We saw dolphins swimming along with the boat. We found a Dole whip with pineapple and raspberry swirl. We ate dinner at Maui Tacos and tried all the salsas on the salsa bar. We also had a wiki wiki chicken salad with all kinds of fresh fruit and yummy rice. We drove over to Kihei to look around and found Kraken Coffee where I bought a cute tee shirt. We walked around the market of downtown Kihei and looked at the stalls and restaurants. There was also a giant whale statue that chickens were walking around.
Friday
On our own day! A thoroughly educational and very pretty day tour of Oahu. I took a 6am flight to Honolulu to take a bus tour of the entire island. On the tour we saw different neighborhoods of Honolulu, visited a beautiful Buddhist temple, the Dole Plantation store, the North Shore where I finally saw sea turtles, a coffee and macadamia nut souvenir store and other beautiful ocean views. This was a very long tour. I’m glad I went but I was frustrated by the other tourists who would not get back on the bus on time after every stop. We arrived back an hour later than we were supposed to. I truly wanted to spend more time shopping in Honolulu but I had to fly back to Maui. I made it to 88Tees at least. I met Avian from Terrace House! She was so beautiful! We had a great conversation and I told her Terrace House was one of the reasons I wanted to go to Japan. She smiled with her eyebrows the same way she smiled on the show! The show was truly one of the reasons I understood so much about Japan before I arrived.
Saturday
We went back to Lahaina where we ate at a brewery and I went in various shops for final souvenirs like a Hawaiian shirt, wooden bead necklaces, more coffee, two very cute Maui dish towels, and a couple of stuffed animals for friends. Paul drove us to Wailea to see other mountain and beach views and then back to Kihei for dinner at Black Rock Pizza. This was really delicious pizza, I mean the sauce on that pizza!!
Sunday
We drove to the cute town of Makawao in the upcountry. We found a cute grocery souvenir store that had beautiful fruits and vegetables. On the counter there was a cardboard box with a fluffy sleeping cat in it. For lunch we returned to Kahului. We had conveyor belt sushi at the Japan chain Genki and it was the best!! Paul tried Spam for the first time in a sushi roll and I tried fried soft shell crab for the first time. We both chowed down on plum rolls and they tasted just like the onigiri in Japan! I can’t wait to eat at another Genki!
Paul took one last hike and I took a nap, a shower, and went to Target. We ate at Maui Tacos again and then on to the airport. This was a truly amazing trip!
We bookended the trip in Franklin, TN with Paul’s parents. It was so generous for them to babysit our Chihuahua Benny! This was the best 15th Wedding Anniversary trip we could have!!