Life's Little Curves: Hawaii Part 4

Day Six - Monday, April 21st

Monday ended up being the rainiest day yet. Because it was raining so hard in the morning, we decided that we should go to the Dole Plantation to try to get out of the rain. We got there before it was open, so we needed to kill some time. I had read about the beach where the opening crash scene from the T.V. show LOST was taped, so I talked Doug into taking me there. I am a huge fan of the show LOST, in fact I've watched all six seasons twice now. I was watching them when Doug and I first met, and shortly after we started dating, I talked him into watching them with me. I think he really liked them as well when it was all said and done. It's a pretty spectacular show! Anyway, we made our way to the beach to check it out. It was pretty cool to see it. I could definitely see things I recognized and I could just imagine the set being placed there. After walking along the beach for awhile, we decided to head back up to the Dole Plantation. I went to the Dole Plantation the last time I was on Oahu, so I knew what to expect. It was fun walking through the gift shop and seeing all of the pineapple treats they had. We got a Dole Whip, which was basically pineapple flavored ice cream, but oh man was it good!! So flavorful! If I ever make it to the Dole Plantation again, I will definitely be getting a Dole Whip.

While we were at Dole, the race director of the race Doug won got ahold of him and let him know he would be in the area to give Doug his winnings from the race. We waited at the plantation until he showed up, touring through the different kinds of pineapple and finding some treats to take back home with us. The race director finally showed up, and he came bearing gifts for Doug. I can't even believe how much Doug won for winning that race. It was by far the most he's ever won for any race he's ever done. It was pretty sweet and he got some really neat Hawaii and Haleiwa gear!!

After collecting Doug's winnings, we decided to head back to our house to see if the weather up north was getting any better. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't much better, but we decided to go to Waimea Bay since we hadn't been there yet. Waimea Bay has an absolutely beautiful beach and a big black rock that people jump off of. Doug was determined to jump off the rock, so we knew we wanted to hit that beach at least once during our trip.

We made it to the beach and had pretty spotty weather. The sun would shine for a bit, and then it would start pouring, and then the sun would come out again. Finally Doug decided that if he was going to jump, he better just do it. So he made his way to the rock. Just as he got to the top, it started raining again, so I patiently waited in the rain, trying to protect the camera, so I could get some pictures. He found a guy at the top that wanted to do a backflip and get filmed, so since Doug had a GoPro, he told the guy he would tape him. He got some pretty good footage you can see in the video below. (In case you're wondering why I didn't jump, because normally I would be all for that kind of thing, there was a sign posted that said no jumping, and since I'm a rule follower, I opted out!).

After Doug jumped, we decided to head into Haleiwa to see if they had better weather. The weather wasn't much better, so we went to Haleiwa Joe's Seafood Grill for a happy hour drink. I had my first Mai Tai of the vacation and it was delicious, and I got to keep the really cool cup! Doug gave me crap about that, but I love a free cup with my drink!!

That night, we went back into Haleiwa to find some dinner. I had heard of a really great Thai restaurant that I wanted to try, so we headed there. Unfortunately, we found out they were closed on Mondays so we had to audible. We ended up back at Haleiwa Joe's for dinner, which was okay since they had a pretty great location. The food was pretty good and the drinks were spectacular once again!

Day Seven - Tuesday, April 22nd

We decided to make Tuesday, our final full day in Hawaii, a beach day. We packed up our car in the morning and headed to the Haleiwa Alii Beach Park again. It ended up being a beautiful day, with mostly sun, so we got a great final day to play in the ocean and catch some sun. Doug did some surfing, we both did some boogie boarding, and we just enjoyed the Hawaii lifestyle that we didn't get to experience as much as usual on this trip.

After our day in the sun, we decided to head to the Thai restaurant that we missed out on the day before. There was a bit of a wait, so we waited on a bench outside. As we were waiting, we overheard some other customers mention something about Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. We looked it up and it turns out that Opal Thai in Haleiwa was featured on the show. We read some comments about it, most of which were positive, but they also informed us that Opal, the restaurant owner, would choose our meal and that even if we tried to order something else, he would choose for us. I was glad we read that before going in because I would have been a little taken aback as I'm not used to having the cook decide what I should eat.

After we sat down, Opal came over to our table. He asked us if we liked Thai food, and we told him that we did. He challenged us to name five Thai dishes, and we could only name four since he wouldn't take different kinds of curry. After that, he asked us if we liked certain foods. We answered honestly, and he said okay as he decided what we should have. He never did tell us what it was, so we're not completely sure what we had that night. It was all pretty good, but I guess I was expecting better. Next time, I would try to order what I wanted and see if he would make it for me. The food was good, but I guess I was expecting to be blown away, which wasn't the case.

Day Eight - Wednesday, April 23rd

Wednesday was our final day in Hawaii. Our plane was set to leave at 10 pm Wednesday night, so we had a little time during the day to enjoy. We woke up and made our way to Ted's Bakery for breakfast again. After Ted's, we went to Sunset Beach for awhile. The rain kept coming and going again, so we decided we should just make our way to Honolulu to hopefully get some better weather and also be closer to the airport for timing and traffic's sake. We decided to eat lunch at the Yard House again since we had such a great experience earlier in the week, and it didn't disappoint. After lunch, we made our way to Waikiki beach. The weather was great, and we got to spend the afternoon in the sun and surf, which was just perfect. After getting a little hot, we decided to get a happy hour drink at Duke's Barefoot Bar right on Waikiki, which was pretty sweet. A great location and a great drink to end our Hawaiian getaway! After our drink, we spent a little more time on the beach before we had to head to the airport.

We had such a great time and I'm so glad that we went on the trip together. The weather was a little tough, but we made the best of it and definitely enjoyed our time in paradise. We missed our little guy like crazy and it was so fun coming home to him. In the past, I've always had such a hard time leaving Hawaii because I've always felt like I didn't have anything overly important waiting at home for me. This time was completely different, and I was almost a little happy to make my way home and finally get to see my sweetheart! We had a blast, and I already can't wait for the next trip to Hawaii!!

The LOST crash scene beach!

On the LOST beach!

Those trees are so familiar, and I think that's where some of the character's build their shelters in later seasons of the show.

More LOST beach!

The Dole Pineapple Plantation!

Raining again...you can tell by their rain suits, ha!

The Dole Whip....so good!!

Doug's race loot! He really got spoiled!

Raining again!

Here's proof of the downpours....so much rain!

The black rock!

Doug making his way over.

Climbing up.

On top and raining!

Jumping in the rain!!

My Mai Tai and sweet new Haleiwa Joe's cup!

Taking the surf board to Sunset Beach!

Catching a big one!

My surf stud!

Lovin' the beach!

Dinner at Haleiwa Joe's!

The famous Haleiwa sign!

Our cool Jetta and surfboard!

Haleiwa Alii Beach Park!

Doug was out surfing with a five year old that was incredible!

They all caught that one!

Doug surfing and the five year old on the deeper wave!

Doug and the five year old again!

Surfing!

He's a stud!

Caught him in mid-air!

Laying on the beach!

Sunset Beach at sunset!

Dinner at Opal's Thai!

The appetizer...some sort of lettuce wrap. This was delicious, probably the best thing we were served all night!

They didn't have alcohol on the menu, but there was a drug store across the street and they'd do bottle service. Doug bought me this little bottle of wine and they put it in an ice bucket!

Our main dish. The one of the left was a rice noodle dish that was sort of like Pad Thai, but not as sweet. The one of the right was a curry that had pineapple and what we think was duck. It was pretty good, but honestly I've had better curry elsewhere.