Hawaiian Adventures, Part One

Hawaiian Adventures

Part 1

When winter approaches in fall with several feet of snow in Buffalo and temps dipping into the teens in Maryland, it's time to make our escape to the beautiful paradise of Oahu, Hawaii.  Since KO's parents live in Honolulu, we try to make the five hour trek across the continental US and then another five hours across the Pacific to visit them every couple of years.  Travel can be both exhilarating and exhausting.  While I enjoy visiting other places, I do not relish what it takes to get there, the hours in the airport and on the cramped planes and the jet lag that seems to last forever and wakes me up at three am. for a few days after I arrive.

The other difficulty with long distance travel is finding a way to stay healthy with the challenges of unusual foods with unknown ingredients, and trying to keep to a regular schedule.  I always consult happycow.com before I leave home to discover the vegan restaurants in the areas I will be visiting.  I match the restaurant to the vicinity we will be touring in each day of the trip.  It always helps to have a refrigerator in the room, or a small kitchen and maybe some relatives nearby who are macrobiotic too! ( a rare and pleasant find for us!). We stayed at the Waikiki Beach Hilton which had a refrigerator in the room, Hawaiian music in the lobby, and valet parking.  

The highlights of the Oahu branch of this trip are many.  One day we tour the spectacular home of Doris Duke.  At the age of twelve, she became the heiress to the Duke fortune, acquired through the profitable tobacco business. Seeking privacy from the paparazzi, she built a haven in Honolulu which brushes up against the sea with wonderful views of the sand and surf.  At twenty three, on her honeymoon around the world she fell in love with Islamic art and brought back entire rooms from Morocco and reconstructed them to the letter in this palatial home.The wooden floors throughout are from Hawaii, but she planned every other detail including the intricate cut glass windows and the inlayed wooden ceilings from materials she acquired in Iran and other far away places.  She was known for being the first American woman to become an adept surfer as well.  Ms. Duke led a fascinating life filled with mystery, affairs and a love of beautiful things.  

Another highlight was our climb up Diamond Head and our ascent to Manoa Falls.

Diamond Head is an extinct volcano which is 150,000 years old.  A tunnel has been carved through the exterior so the visitor enters into the cavernous center of the volcano.  Along with a multitude of other travelers, at seven am. one morning we begin our climb up ramps, steps and stones to the summit.  It is an arduous climb as the temperature soars into the mid 80's, but the reward is great.  From the top, we can view the entire city and the coastline, as well as the ant like cars below.  It feels quite empowering to add this to our list of accomplishments.  

Manoa Falls takes us to a different climate even though we are still right in Honolulu.  As we enter the area from the parking lot, we can see lush green vegetation and it feels humid.  After walking a ways, the rain begins to fall and the temperature begins to drop.   The trees here loom above our heads and are buried in deep green philodendrons that curl up their trunks.  The sprinkle of rain has made the rocks we must climb muddy and mucky.  One must climb with care so as not to slip.  After a difficult ascent, we are rewarded with a breathtaking waterfall that cascades through a rocky creek all the way down to the bottom of the trail.  Soaked to the bone, we carefully descend through the cool, then humid temperatures of the forest and back to the parking lot.  Hawaiians view this place as a home of the gods and we do detect a serene and other worldly feeling at the end of our adventure to Manoa Falls.

The epicurean experiences in Oahu are plentiful and unique.  First, the influence of the Asian population is apparent everywhere.  Japanese grocery stores and specialty stores, such as Shirokiya, abound.  Shirokiya is a Japanese store adjacent to the Ala Moana Mall that sells everything Japanese and has an eatery upstairs offering Japanese curry dishes, sushi, Nishime, Kinpura, bento boxes, ramen, tempura, rice balls and Mochi.  Sitting at the tables, the language of choice is Japanese and most of the shop keepers are fluent in Japanese.  

The first night KO's parents generously treat us to an authentic Japanese meal at Gazen.  They make their own homemade tofu, much creamier than the store bought type and very delicious, and natto, a fermented soybean dish which provides calcium, but can be unpalatable to some due to its slimy texture.  The udon noodles with vegetables are delicious as is the daikon salad.  It is a real treat to see what real Japanese food tastes like, which is quite different from our restaurants back home.

The KCC  Farmers Market on Saturdays is one of my favorites experiences on the island of Oahu.  People start arriving by busloads at 7 am to roam the booths and to try some of the delicious foods offered here.  Fried green tomatoes, fresh home made natto, Hawaiian chocolate and Kona Coffee, sweet pineapple, Vietnamese street food, raw vegan food from Greens and Vines and many bakeries, including a gluten free, vegan one.  There are clean cosmetics, soaps and scents and fragrant ginger flowers, colorful African Violets and Birds of Paradise.  This "Haole" (a white person) feels very much in the minority among so many beautiful Asian people.  Hawaii is a prime vacation spot for Japanese people as the signs are in Japanese, many speak their language and even though it seems very expensive here for us, it is cheaper here than in Japan so their money stretches in Hawaii and many Japanese choose to have weddings here in Honolulu.

The other places we try are the Downbeat Diner in Chinatown and Nourish near our hotel.  Nourish does a tofu scramble and Downbeat has vegan chili with brown rice. We were not disappointed with either choice.

Finally, having friends or relatives at a travel destination is a real plus. KO's mom has been macrobiotic for 34 years so her kitchen is all set up for us when we come to prepare a macrobiotic meal for all of us.  It feels like home to be in a kitchen again after all these meals out and I am thrilled to share Stuffed Acorn Squash, Cream of Cauliflower Soup, Tofu with Squash and Purple Cabbage and Lemon Bars with them.  KO's mom adds natto and a yummy quinoa dish and we sit down to a home cooked meal.  I feel more balanced and ready to continue our adventure to Kauai, the garden isle, tomorrow.