Oahu July 2021 Day 5

Oahu Island Tour Day

Beautiful beach in Oahu

Usually we avoid the big tour bus but this time it's the easiest to see most of Oahu in the Circle Island tour.  The tour brought us up the east side up to the north before coming down south again. Our guide is call Bk and he's pretty nice and informative.

Tour details

Took a total of 9 hours, leaving at 7am and coming back at 430pm. Fortunately it's a well sync group and well organized tour so we enjoyed it.

Tour details with wait at Hilton village bus depot

Blow hole

They provided a poi malasada for breakfast that they hand out at the blow hole. 

First stop: Blow hole with poi malasada

We bypassed the Hanauma Bay as it's closed to big tours now and went to 2nd stop. 

Nu'uanu Pass  

Very windy and great view here at the pass. The guide pointed out the importance of the war at this pass to uniting the islands under one king. 

Nu'uanu Pass sights

Chinaman's hat along the way (imagination required)

Byodo-In temple

This is easily my favorite spot on the whole trip. 

Love the mountain and the temple tucked in the trees. It's not big but i certainly enjoyed the ambience

Spot the temple!

Japanese temple in the mountains

Different corners of the temple

Haleiwa

The tour then went to a macadamia farm but it's so crazy that we didn't stay too long. And after that we stop at Haleiwa which is a beach town near north shore. 

Camaron: Garlic shrimp food truck at Haleiwa.. Yum

We had fun poking our heads into art galleries in the little town and shopping before heading back to Waikiki

cute sightings in Haleiwa

Dole plantation

Yes, tourist trap and we had dole whip. Bill say pineapple ice cream is better  =)

Dole whip in the cheesy dole plantation

Waikiki downtown 

BK gave us a tour of the Iolani palace where the coronation of the first king and queen took place. The palace is now supreme court. 

And there's a church that's a miniature size west minister abbey and missionary quarters. 

We didn't have a chance to go back to visit the places but maybe next trip. 

Waikiki downtown iconic places

How many picture-perfect beach photos can u take in Hawaii???!!! 

Going to the beach! 

Oahu July 2021 Day 3 and Day 4

Chilling in Hawaii

Waikiki Yc Transpac Party 2021

Day 3 is the day that bill and crew got Juno to the boat yard. Our vacation officially started when the boat is dropped off .

We walked to a place that has good musubi take out and enjoyed it at the alcove in Royal Hawaiian hotel. 

If you haven't had a good musubi, find one in Hawaii. It's spam with teriyaki sauce, filled with good Japanese sushi rice and a crunchy seaweed wrap. Comes with other toppings like egg or kimchi etc. 

Good musubi and view from Royal Hawaiian alcove

Its tough to get a good picture of the hotel but the salmon pink is certainly iconic! It's the 2nd hotel to be built on Waikiki, after the SurfRider. 

Then we trek our way through the beach to go back to the hotel. Tons of people along Waikiki  and saw a group of surfers students. Brings back memories! 

Surfing class at Waikiki 

Waikiki YC Party for Transpac

Men of Juno

The Waikiki YC and Hawaii YC both took turns hosting a party for Transpac crew. We only attended the one for Waikiki as we have other plans for Thur night. 

The food at Waikiki is great.. Free flow of appetizers (poke, caprese, cerviche and beef wellington) . And had a good surf and turf dinner with cream sauce Mahi Mahi and prime rib.

Waikiki YC party for Transpac

Night View from Waikiki YC

 

Day 4 with more food =) 

Started day 4 with breakfast at Aloha Kitchen with Marnie and Charlie.

Very crowded place with no reservations allowed. So be prepared to wait for an hour. 

Aloha kitchen kalua pork and souffle pancake

Finally got to try souffle pancake. Heard about it last year but didn't find it easily in San Diego. I got the coconut Macadamia pancake. It's good but I feel like the skin on the pancake gets rubbery with the slow cooking to get the bubbles to stabilize. So i'm not decided if i like pancake made this way yet. 

Bill has a good egg Benedict although the kailia pork is a little too salty. 

That night we walked to mud Hen Water restaurant with a friend and had a really good time. About an hour walk to the restaurant (about an hour) but it's certainly out of the touristy zone and a cute corner of Honolulu! 

We had to rehydrate Dave at the restaurant after the walk =) 

Well executed local dishes by the restaurant

Oahu July 2021 Day 1 and Day 2

Transpac 2021

Juno is the boat that enabled this trip

Another transpac! Bill is sailing again to Hawaii from Los Angeles 10 years later. 

It is our first flight after covid shutdown. We had discussed it for almost a year, between the boat readiness, covid situation and finally we decided to go for it.

Oahu! we are back!

After the trip, my advice to folks is be prepared that people are stir crazy after 1 year of confinment. There will be lines, crowds, airport shuttle that don't even bother to reply. Roll with the tide and know you have to adjust from the "norm". Make reservations early for places that you really want to visit. 

Hawaii does not require quarantine if proof of vaccination is shown. You need to fill out online forms and finish a questionnaire 24 hours before departure. You will receive a QR code that's required to be validated. You get a wrist band if you validate at the departure gate or this piece of paper at arrival gate.

My pass to Hawaii

Bill got in at 1am the day that I flew in. So I was not able to meet him at the dock. But Marnie, Charlie & his sister Jackie were able to do it. 

Juno at the finish line

 And yes, they changed for team shirt to take picture 😁

Our room at Ilikai Hotel that is quite cozy and functional, with a great view.

Room in Ilikai Hotel

Great view from the balcony which we made great use

Spent a lot of time drinking rum at the balcony (sunset included)

As Charlie sailed to Hawaii too on Nereid, Marnie is in town too. So we all met up for lunch and dinner on Tuesday

Lunch at the Hawaiian village with poke bowl and calamari 

Royal Hawaiian Tropics bar Poke bowl and calamari

Uncle Bo's pupu bar is an interesting find by Jackie. Had pulled pork with taro buns, greasy noodles, Steak with cheese bread & mushroom sauce and shrimp dynamite. They also have a great dessert that's similar to beignet with vanilla ice cream and a creamy sauce. yum. 

Family dinner at Uncle Bo Pupu bar 

Canal near Uncle Bo

Trophy presentation at Hawaii yacht club

Renovation in 2020

Renovation in Mexico 

After renovation 

2020 is a year that everyone will remember when the entire world shut down for at least 3 months from Feb to May due to the pandemic. 

This blog is about the renovation that we did in 2020 so that we can improve our getaway. 

After Bill and I were able to go down to check the house, we realized that we acquired a new neighbor (if they ever move in) 

And we also realized we need to do an official survey of the house to confirm the exact coordinates.

Before renovation 

Since we are trapped with no travel during the pandemic, Bill and I decided that we shall add a patio to increase and improve our outdoor area

Final patio 

The whole adventured started with Alex realizing we have to repaint the exterior of the house as the plaster is peeling. 

Before: Removing the plaster from the back of the house

After : When Alex put back the plaster to the house

We decided to also bury the water tank in the ground and use the shed as part of the patio area. So it started with Alex digging a VERY big hole to bury the water tank.

The start of the hole

 

As it keeps getting deeper and deeper ... 

And nestling the big blue tank into its new home

Building a rebar support on top before pouring concrete

He made sure the plumbing works before its encased in a top concrete layer.

As the dirt has to go somewhere, Alex helped to clean up the pickleweed and filling up the drain at the back of the house

Pile of dirt getting accumulated during the digging 

Filling the back of the house with the dirt to create a better walkway

After the water tank is buried, Alex had the concrete poured to form the base for the patios , followed by building the wooden roof

Concrete work 1 

Concrete work 2

Concrete work 3 

Concrete pour of patio is done

We also added planters on the side to keep the succulents away from the raving rabbits.

Adding the side pillars for the planters 

Adding rebar for the planters

Installing the cinder blocks that forms the planters

After installing the sail shade and extending out the roof, the patio portion of the house is done! 

The patio area with sail shade

Alex then proceed to work on the driveway. Our plan was to put geometric concrete blocks with rock pathways in a design that still allows car to drive through. 

Alex doing the groundwork before concrete pour 

Adding reinforced rebar for part of the driveway

Adding outlines to mark the property line 

Concrete galore! 

And we have concrete patterning ! 

We try to carve out planting areas using the concrete pattern too 

Snoopy tree encased in concrete 

3 holes for planting at the front of the house

He also added a stone walkway leading up to the house

End product: a nice patio to enjoy the sunset! 

Sunset in Casa Primavera Torina outdoor patio