Hawaii anyone?

[Moonliner]

Well ain't life a strange place. Just yesterday I was lamenting the fact that the only "vacation' I had planned for the next year was a trip to help fix up my Mother-in-laws house but that was yesterday. Now it looks like I'm off for Honolulu come the first of August.

Pearl Harbor, Diamonhead, Hanauma Bay, and of course that bastion of swank the Dole Plantation (you can get whipp there right?). After which I hope we'll hop over to the big island for a little volcano watching.

Does anyone have any Hawaii travel tips to share?

[Alex]

Yeah, don't go to Waikiki. And don't eat the custard filled malasadas you can get in the Ala Moana Shopping Center food court; they're really gross. Matsumotos Shave Ice at the North Shore is good but is very touristy, you can get good authentic shave ice all over the place and some of the best ones are hidden away in residential neighborhoods around Honolulu. If you won't be getting out to Haleiwa try to look one up.

If you do go to the Ala Moana Shopping Center you'll see a round, 20-story apartment building a couple blocks away. Wave at it and know that you're in the presence of one of my former homes.

If possible bring me back a chicken curry manapua from 7-11.

[scaeagles]

My wife, who was in Hawaii with her dad a scant two weeks ago, has informed me that the Dole Planation has a very short lifespan remaining. Pineapple production is so much cheaper in the Phillippines that they will be shutting their doors and most likely selling their land to developers.

I don't know the exact time frame, but it is good that you will be visiting hem soon.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

Yeah, don't go to Waikiki. And don't eat the custard filled malasadas you can get in the Ala Moana Shopping Center food court; they're really gross. Matsumotos Shave Ice at the North Shore is good but is very touristy, you can get good authentic shave ice all over the place and some of the best ones are hidden away in residential neighborhoods around Honolulu. If you won't be getting out to Haleiwa try to look one up.

If you do go to the Ala Moana Shopping Center you'll see a round, 20-story apartment building a couple blocks away. Wave at it and know that you're in the presence of one of my former homes.

If possible bring me back a chicken curry manapua from 7-11.

Chicken curry eh? Tempting.

I did see pipeline beach on the map and thought about a visit but what I've been told is that the superbig curls are more of a winter thing. In the summer it's just another beach. Is that correct?

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

My wife, who was in Hawaii with her dad a scant two weeks ago, has informed me that the Dole Planation has a very short lifespan remaining. Pineapple production is so much cheaper in the Phillippines that they will be shutting their doors and most likely selling their land to developers.

I don't know the exact time frame, but it is good that you will be visiting hem soon.

The reviews I see say that in this case "plantation" is just another word for "gift shop" they don't grow pineapples there, you can't visit the fields or processing plants just a small patch out back where they grow a smattering of pineapples. But they do have every pineapple trinket known to western culture.

[scaeagles]

Ahh....perhaps my wife was misinformed and this has already happened.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Chicken curry eh? Tempting.

I did see pipeline beach on the map and thought about a visit but what I've been told is that the superbig curls are more of a winter thing. In the summer it's just another beach. Is that correct?

Pipeline is disappointing in the summer, looks nothing like you would expect.

[Alex]

For quite a while the Dole Plantation has been a "working" plantation in the sense that they do actually grow pineapple there but mostly as a tourist attraction. The actual financial incentive to grow pineapple in Hawaii is small (same with sugar, of which not so much is grown in Hawaii any longer).

As far as big waves at the North Shore it is true that winter is better for the big waves but if you want to watch some surfing that is where you'd head any time of the year (on the Honolulu side of the island the surf tends to only be a few inches). And keep in mind that in Hawaiian parlance the height of waves is about half of what it would be labelled anywhere else.

I don't know how you and your family like to tourist. If you like to experience nature more there is some great hiking available and a good lazy drive around the island on the King Kamehameha highway is worthwhile to get a sense of the island away from the tourists.

[Gemini Cricket]

This Hawai'i Boy has a lot of advice for you. Let me compile some stuff and I'll get back to this thread. Before August, I promise.

[BarTopDancer]

Snorkling! It is beautiful. Banana boat rides are fun too. Find a traditional luau to attend.

And don't walk through the International Marketplace at 3am. Trust me (and Erica) on that. But if you heed Alex's advice and avoid Waikiki then you won't have to rememeber that.

Pearl Harbor was so.. I can't even describe it. Haunting is the best word I can come up with for it.