Scenes from a Tropical Holiday
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou = Happy New Year
After the holiday boat parade, the holiday season seemed to whip by, especially since we took ten days over Christmas to visit friends and family in Colorado. Experiencing Christmas and New Year on O’ahu was very different. From Santa appearing in aloha shirt and board shorts to palm trees decorated with Christmas lights to evaluating 20+ different macadamia treats at Costco, it felt dream-like. I missed our usual traditions like cutting down a tree in a national forest and sipping cocoa by the fire, but I treated it all like an exploration, and it was a fun one!
Shopping Breaks at the Beach
Yep, nothing relaxes you more quickly after stressing over Hawai’i shop prices than a no-cost afternoon beach-side. Our two favorite break places – Lanikai and Waimanalo.
Tommy Bahamas with the Kids
Tommy Bahamas got us to visit by sending us $50 off dinner, and the food turned out to be way better than expected (especially the pineapple creme brulee!). We thoroughly enjoyed the open-air rooftop, too. We shared our good fortune with the kids, having a family “holiday” dinner out in Waikiki.
Christmas Card Photos on the Deck
We brought our Christmas hats when we moved and decided our deck was as good a place as any to take our traditional silly hat photos for our cards. We were in a hurry so, you know, facial expressions were what they were 🙂
Airport Stop – Tiki Bar from the 1970’s
An authentic tiki bar that still looks like it did when it was filmed in the ORIGINAL Hawai’i 5-0, La Mariana is close to the airport and a great stopping off point for a final tropical drink (before braving the winter weather of our native Colorado). The interior was quite dark so none of those pics turned out well. You’ll have to go experience the totems, bamboo walls and stuffed puffer fish lamps for yourself.
New Year’s Eve on O’ahu
We were back on-island for New Year’s and it did not disappoint!
We started off with a relaxed dinner at our fave sushi place, Doraku, where I had two of my biggest craves – butterfly saketinis and fried ube mochi.
We heard that people went crazy for fireworks here, and the stories were understatements. The sound and lights of firecrackers and fireworks were pretty much non-stop from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., despite a rare, rainy night.
