Friday, January 27, 2012

Hawaii Day 6: Loco Mocos, Lanikai Beach, Nu'uanu Pali Lookout and Korean BBQ!

We went light on dinner the night before, so when we woke up on day 6, we were HUNGRY BEASTS. 

Fortunately, help was (literally) just around the corner. 


Good to Grill serves up some serious breakfast fare at pretty reasonable prices.


The Kalua Pig Breakfast Tacos were absolute perfection- crispy potatoes, soft, fluffy eggs and the most savory, tender pork you'll ever bite into on a grilled flour tortilla. 


This behemoth is called a Loco Moco, and it's a truly formidable breakfast opponent, even for the hungriest diner. Fried rice topped with an egg, two char-grilled hamburger patties and gravy. I didn't care for the gravy, but everything else in this dish was spot on. Joe and I split the breakfast tacos and ate 1/2 of this beast before wrapping it up to bring home. 

The hubs had been feeling under the weather, so Inga and I deposited him at her apartment and headed out for some thrifting!


I'm sure you're not surprised, but if you're ever looking for a TRILLION used Hawaiian shirts, thrift stores in Hawaii are where it's at! 


Hawaiian shirts, sun dresses, sandals, flip flops and a fur lined coat. ...wait a second... One of these things is not like the others...

Matt picked Inga and I up after our shopping trip (I didn't end up getting anything) and we grabbed Joe and headed to the gorgeous Lanikai beach


The waves are gentle, the sand is white and powder soft, and because it was a bit overcast when we went, the water was pretty empty. Neither Joe nor Matt nor Inga were up for a swim, so I went in alone! :)

PSA: No matter HOW certain you are that your quadruple-lined white swimsuit will NOT be transparent when wet, test it in your shower before you leave home. Seriously. I discovered my bottoms were see-through while in the water, alone, out of shouting distance of my friends. I had to flag Joe down to bring a towel to the water, and since he wasn't swimming, he lent me his trunks!


Crisis averted!


And back into the water I went!


Swim trunks are fun, ya'll! And comfy. WHY do women wear bikinis, again?


Though they refused to go swimming with my, my enthusiastic cheering section fully supported my water-frolicking (ignore Inga's expression- I swear she was having fun). 


Poor Joe- such a trooper. He put on his game face, but he was feeling pretty icky. You could probably tell that from the double-sided nasal tampon he fashioned for himself out of a tissue to keep his nose from leaking all over his face. I wish I could say this was the first time he's done this. Or the second. Or the tenth. 


Even on a windy, overcast day, this beach was a pleasure to visit!



On our way home, we stopped at the STUNNING Nu'uanu Pali Lookout


Breathtaking, literally. In 1795, Kamehameha I's army conquered the island of Oahu by driving 400 of Kalanikupule's soldiers off the edge of this 1000ft cliff, uniting the Hawaiian islands under his rule.


It's really quite enjoyable, when you're not being pushed over the edge. 






We spotted these crazy roosters as we left the lookout. The seemed to be looking for a fight, so we drove away...


Every cloud has a silver lining, and every overcast day in paradise has it's rainbow!


We showered up, made ourselves presentable and headed to dinner. 


Forgive the phone pictures- I left my memory card in the card reader. 


Sidorak is a Korean BBQ known for their $19.99 all-you-can-eat BBQ special. 


I take the "all-you-can-eat" offering as a personal challenge. That's probably not the healthiest way of looking at it, but there you go.


All of the banchan were bangin'. Fresh and tasty.


The meat was the main event, though. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality across the board. We tried EVERYTHING. Literally. Short rib, ribeye, seasoned short rib, tripe, brisket, tongue, bulgogi and BBQ chicken. I'm pretty sure we ordered seconds of almost everything. Joe tagged out first, followed shortly by Inga. Matt and I ran in the last leg together, finishing almost an entire round by ourselves. 


Team big kids, FTW. 

My clothes STILL smell like BBQ, but it was so, so worth it. 

Comments (21)

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Looks like a wonderful trip.
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
Thank you, Amber- we had a blast! :) The best part was staying with friends!
looks like an awesome time
I soooo want to go now
4 replies · active 687 weeks ago
Tara- you should! You would LOVE it! There's as much (or as little) to do as you can imagine! :)
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! FF group vacation to somewhere TROPICAL!
that would ROCK...to have FF trip there! oh and Keelie I love swim trunks/shorts over bikini...can be more active & no worries! lol
I have really enjoyed reading your recaps! I am seriously writing places down to visit :)
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
Awesome! I'm so glad you like them! I've got one more recap coming up for our last day! :)
My mom and sister went to Hawaii while I was taking final exams in college. I have never forgotten that. I SO want to go! Thanks for sharing your pictures!
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
LOL- that reminds me of my mom taking my youngest sister to Disney when I was in high school and leaving myself and my middle sister at home (when NEITHER of us had ever been to Disney)... LOL... UNFAIR!

I'm so glad you enjoy the pictures!
I came across your blog the other day and it's great. I started reading your posts about Hawaii and started to miss it so very much! We went last year around this time and it was fantastic. I look forward to reading more about all the great food and great beaches. Have you discovered lots of SPAM like we did?
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
Aw- thanks Ross! Glad you enjoy the blog!

Did you stay in Oahu or did you visit other islands too?

I avoided spam like the plague- it was hard because it was everywhere, but it was the ONE thing I wasn't too keen to eat! :)
That breakfast looks extra delicious (except for the meat). Now I really want breakfast. You look really cute in hub's shorts. I had a swimsuit one once that I made - I am NOT a seamstress. It "broke" when I was water skiing. I let go and waited in the water until my friends stopped laughing and helped me w/ a towel. It was high school, so fairly traumatizing.
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
LOL- OMG! Traumatic! I'm sure you quadruple check swimwear now!

I used to compete in pageants and one year all of the contestant's swimsuits had these shiny chain-link attachments instead of strings for the neck and sides of the bottoms... my sister put hers on and the whole side of the bottom snapped open!

Seriously- I think I'm going to start wearing boardshorts ALL the time. :)
Beautiful photos! looked like an amazing time. thanks for sharing with us. the last time I have been to Hawaii was about 6 years ago!!! I need to go back :)
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
How fun! Which island(s) did you visit?
LOVING this recap!!! I'm from Maui but just relocated to Seattle, so reading this & marveling at your photos took my right back to the warmth:)
1 reply · active 687 weeks ago
How wonderful! Maui is on my list of places to visit for sure! :) So is Seattle!
Hi Keelie-
My name is Jane and I'm with Dwellable. You are a wonderful writer and I'd love to have this post featured on our site. Shoot me an email if you're open to it and I can fill you in a little more.
jane (at) dwellable (dot) com
Really hope to hear from you,
Jane
Beautiful and attractive locations. Nice post

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