Waikiki Ono Grindz

Ono grindz, that's Hawaiian for good food. And ono grindz is in abundance here. You could eat yourself to death -- I at least am appreciating those floral mu-mu dresses, that appear more tent-like than fashion -- having started to eat my way through town. I had mentioned deck dining in an earlier post -- this photo was my $10.50 dinner: chicken katsu, bbq pork, potato salad, broccoli (I had to have something healthy) and two types of kim chee, the spicey Korean vegetables and of course two scoops of rice. Yes, that was my plate; Joel had his own.

Wine, purchased at the local grocery, brought the cost of the meal to less than $35. . .and we've had leftovers for two lunches.

We followed the advice of local columnists at The Honolulu Advertiser (http://www.honoluluonthecheap.com)and/ tried Happy Hour at the Sheraton Hotel's RumFire; a place with million dollar views and great Happy Hour prices ($3 draft beer, $5 wine and $5 mai tai) Pupu's were of gourmet quality and greatly reduced during the 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. daily Happy Hour.

Waikiki's Freebie Finds

Not long ago friends seemed surprised when we suggested they give Waikiki a try instead of flying to an outer island. They questioned cost and what they might find to do. . .hotel prices don't get much better than they are now and as for things to do, the place is abuzz with freebie finds. Friday nights there is a fireworks show out over the Waikiki waterfront that matches those we know as Fourth of July extravaganzas in Seattle. We watched from our room while others gathered along the beach.

Saturday night we caught the tail end of the free hula show that takes place four evenings a week on Prince Kuhio Beach (adjacent to Waikiki Beach)

Sunday we happened to be here during the 25th Annual Ala Wai Canal Canoe Races, sponsored by the Waikiki Community Association. Ala Wai, is two blocks back from Waikiki. At other times it is fun just to watch canoes out on the canal. That afternoon we happened upon a band concert at the Pavilion at Kapi'olani Park, only two blocks from Prince Kuhio Beach.

The local paper, The Honolulu Advertiser, is a great source for daily information on lectures, tours and activities going on about town

On Deck in Honolulu

Our deck, mentioned in yesterday's post, made reference to it being the best dining venue in town. In truth, we are spending most waking moments here when 'in our room' . The sun peeks around Diamond Head about 7:15 a.m. - a perfect scene to start each day. With Diamond Head over our left shoulderas we sip morning coffee (Hawaiian, of course) and read the paper.

The deck provides us a great viewing stand to watch both water and beach activities that take place from morning to night. We have the Marriott to the left, the Catholic Church and Foster Tower to our front -- just slightly interferring with our otherwise panoramic view over Waikiki.

A toast to the tropics. . .

There is something about a glass of wine at sunset in the tropics that can't be matched anywhere else on earth. We toasted our arrival at the Outrigger Canoe Club, a Honolulu institution since its founding in 1908.

Palm trees swayed, the sky moved from its cloudless blue to gold and pinks as we ended our first day on the island. Temperatures have been in the low- to mid-80's with a 'cold spell' expected to drop them into the high 70's today and this evening (I know, none of you mainlanders have any sympathy for suffering through such temperature drops here).

Our room at the Hilton provides a sweeping view from Diamond Head out over Kuhio Beach. We had wondered what a $99 rate would get us: 31st floor, six from the top and our deck provides the best deck dining venue in town. More on that next blog.

For those armchair travelers out there who want to envision yourself here, I suggest you try
KINE FM turn up your computer's sound, stand up and do a little hula.

Heading to Honolulu

It's mid-January in Puget Sound: gray and rainy, most days. And there are good deals to be had in Hawaii. With that combination, it should be no surprise that our bags are packed and by the end of the week we will be in Waikiki soaking up the sun, basking in 80-degree temperatures taking long walks on sandy beaches under a canopy of swaying palms.

As I noted in a November blog (Honolulu: Surf's Up and prices down), Joel, the researcher half of this travel duo, found an incredibly good rate: $99 a night for ocean-front room at Hilton's Prince Kuhio in the heart of Waikiki. The hotel is a block back from the famed beach and two blocks from Kapiolani Park. We noted this weekend the prices have gone up considerably since we booked it.

The good news is that for those who didn't nab a room back then, the deals are still out there. We saw a big spread on O'ahu today that offered Endless Escapes at Starwood properties starting at $119 and a 99 days of Winter sale at Aqua Resorts with prices at $99 or less per night at their participating Waikiki hotels.

Developers and property owners have put more than $2 billion into the Waikiki neighborhood in recent years. The end results are new upscale restaurants, shopping malls filled with high end stores, rennovated historic hotels and a beautiful beach walk. It has become one of our favorite spots in all of the Hawaiian Islands.

If you can't take advantage of the deals, mix yourself a mai-tai, put on a floral shirt and stay tuned. For the next few weeks we will take you with us as we head to our favorite off-the-beaten-track finds. Aloha!

'Snow" Place like Washington

Snow was again falling in Washington State's Cascade Mountains this week. Ski areas are reporting base accumulations of significant depths. I am not into any form of skiing and Joel gave up downhill years ago. I tried snowshoeing once and took a header into a snowbank when I stepped on the left shoe with the right. I've given up on those activities that require skill and coordination opting instead for those old-fashioned, bell-jingling, nose-tingling horse drawn sleigh rides. I wrote about them in an article appearing in today's Seattle Times.

And for those who do ski, the Times has the latest information on conditions at popular Northwest ski areas in Washington, Oregon and Idaho; just to the side of the article under 'snow sports information' link.

Vegas: A 'Wynn-ing' Combination

"Vegas? I went there once. . .

it was, well,

. . .dirty

. . .dark

. . .smokey."

Fill in the blank.

That's the response from three different acquaintences to our recent stay there. Each paused and added though, "Oh, I was there about 20 years ago."

If you've not been there in the last couple decades, you might give Vegas a try. Sure. . .the touts still click their girlie tabs along The Strip at certain times during the day, but you'll likely find that Vegas is a rather classy place these days.

For starters, Nevada has a no smoking law (casinos are exempt, but even some of them limit smoking to areas of play with smoke free corridors). Our Wynn room pictured here was a non-smoking on the 38th floor with wide sweeping views stretching from The Strip over the valley to snow tipped hills in the distance. Smokers have their own floors.

Using our favorite resort as an example of what you will find: we window-shopped in Hermes where a men's leather belt had a $900 price tag and at Rolex where watches in one display ranged from $70,000 to $100,000. In between the two shopping wings housing those stores - and others like them - was the casino where I happily spent hours over the course of our stay at my favorite penny slot machine, betting 18-cents each time and taking home a profit of 53-cents. Developers have created a Wynn-ing combination of extremes for the vastly diverse clientele they serve.

Down the road at Bellagio there's a great display of Dale Chihuly's glass creations adorning the registration area and only a few steps away you can walk through their seasonally-inspired garden that brings squeals of delight from children as animated creatures among the floral arrangement come to life. Bellagio also has an art gallery.

Even the city bus, The Duece, that transports tourists and locals alike between The Strip and downtown's Fremont Street, is a classy, clean double-decker vehicle these days.

We've checked and there seems to be hotel deals to be had this spring even at the 5-star places. To a certain extent all travel is a gamble. . .but we think Vegas is a winner.

More 'Novel' Destinations

I've said before, we think the research is half the fun of the trip, so in preparation of our upcoming trip to Hawaii, we've dug out some of our favorite novels to get us thinking about sun, sand, sea and swaying palm trees. Among our favorite reads: Stories of Hawaii by Jack London, a collection of short stories he wrote as result of his five-month stay in 1907 and subsequent trips in 1915 and 1916.

Another favorite that kept us laughing is Hotel Honolulu by Paul Theroux -- this is one you either love or hate, as this noted writer tells the tale of a down-and-out writer who becomes manager of the fictional Hotel Honolulu (actually it reminds us both of the places we stayed decades ago just out of college).

Last year a wise publisher began re-issuing the six books that make up Earl Derr Biggers' Charlie Chan mystery series, about the charming Honolulu detective who quickly won our hearts after reading the first book. Trying to make them last as long as possible, we are just reading our third, this one, "The Black Camel" - which was made into a movie in 1931.

Honolulu Stories, Two Centuries of Writing, a tome of more than 1,000 pages, edited by Gavan Daws and Bennett Hymer, is both a history book and a collection of beautiful poetry, lyrics, and stories. We found it at a Costco in Honolulu and debated the wisdom of buying such a bulky, weighty book. . .it is such a treasure we haven't regretted succumbing to its call.