Frozen Yogurt…My Weakness

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Now that I work in Kailua, I find every excuse to venture to Yogurt Mama for frozen yogurt…it is two minutes from where I am working.

Being Touristy with Emel – Day 5

Posted on March 14, 2013 by sandersnm

Emel and I started our day with a trip to Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona Memorial. We spent a few hours there (it was my second time visiting Pearl Harbor and my first time going since moving here). After that, we headed to eat Shabu Shabu for lunch and have some mochi ice cream for dessert. Then I headed to work and Emel went to get bubble tea and be a tourist on her own for the afternoon! I met up with Josh and Emel for Emel’s last night in Hawaii and we ended our week long tour of food with some delicious sushi! She also brought home a surprise dessert of some amazing cupcakes!

USS Arizona Memorial

Memorial Entrance

The oil was really bad this time. It was everywhere ont he water’s surface and smelled awful.

THe shrine to those that lost their lives.

The flag.

Map of the USS Arizona before it sank and after.

Emel and I at Pearl Harbor.

Shabu Shabu for lunch!

Mochi Ice Cream for dessert!

Sushi for Emel’s last night!

Surprise dessert from Emel!

The list of everything we did this week!

Being Touristy with Emel – Day 4

Posted on March 13, 2013 by sandersnm

Emel and I started our day with a quick hike to Manoa Falls. It was a great day and not too muddy (much better than the last time I hiked it). After that, we headed to Josh’s base so Emel could see what a military base looks like. We met Josh for lunch and had some pretty fantastic sushi and treated ourselves to Starbucks before our base tour (efficiently led by Josh). Then she headed to the beach and I headed to work.

After work, we attempted to have a healthy dinner (after all of the food we had been consuming) of Asian chicken salads…we then ruined them by finishing off the malasadas (still just as good the next day). Tomorrow is her last day…I will MISS her!

Emel in the tree arch on the way to the waterfall.

Manoa Falls!

Emel and I at Manoa Falls.

I have missed this!

A delicious Asian Chicken Salad (and healthy)!

Being Touristy with Emel – Day 3

Posted on March 12, 2013 by sandersnm

Today, Emel and I headed to the East side of the island in the morning to hike the Makapu’u Point Lighthouse Trail. It was a gorgeous day and a great day to see some whales! We saw tons just hanging out swimming along. Incredible. After we finished there, we headed to Spitting Caves and it was the calmest I have ever seen it. We again saw more whales, one which jumped completely out of the water so very close to the rocks! I’m so glad the whales have decided to show off for Emel while she has been here! After that, we headed back so I could go to work and she ventured to Leonard’s Bakery and brought back some of the most delicious things I have ever had in my life (see pictures below). Malasadas..aka Portuguese donuts (unfortunately for Josh and I) have now been introduced to our lives. To end the day, we went to Chinatown to the Little Village Noodle House for some delicious Chinese food. I love having visitors!

Emel and I at the top of the lighthouse hike.

It was so calm at spitting caves today!

Pan Friend Beef and Grilled Chicken Wings

The amazingness from Leonard’s Bakery.

SO GOOD.

The delicious malasada.

Being Touristy with Emel – Day 2

Posted on March 11, 2013 by sandersnm

For Emel’s second day, we headed to the North Shore of Oahu. It was POURING (typical), when we left but cleared up nicely to a light drizzle by the time we got to Giovanni’s for some shrimp. Our first stop was to get some Baja Corn (so delicious). Then we ordered our shrimp (this turned out to be an entire day of eating). After filling ourselves with some pretty fantastic food, we headed up to Haleiwa and stopped at a beach along the way to watch some surfers. We stopped in Haleiwa to have, not one, but two desserts and wander around all of the shops. Our first dessert was the açai bowl (açai blend, honey, granola, apple bananas, coconut flakes). Then we decided to try Matsumoto Shave Ice for the first time. This a really famous shave ice stop for tourists and the line is always ridiculous and out the door, so Josh and I have never been patient enough to try it. Today, we got lucky with the lines and decided to see what all the hype was about. It was incredible! We all split a shave ice with cherry, papaya and lychee flavors, which sat upon a scoop of vanilla ice cream and was covered in condensed milk. DELICIOUS. After our dessert tour of Haleiwa, we stopped in a few of the stores. Emel found some pretty artwork to take with her and Josh and I found a few small canvases of some of the cool places on Oahu that we could decorate our apartment with. Then we headed back to Honolulu to relax a bit (still raining). After our day of eating, we made a healthy dinner to cap off Emel’s day 2!

Emel and I with our delicious baja corn!

Emel and her shrimp!

Açai Bowls!

Our shave ice before the condensed milk.

Our shave ice after the condensed milk.

Our healthy dinner after our day full of eating..veggies and chicken with whole wheat pasta.

My Favorites!

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Josh brought home my two favorite girl scout cookies :).

Being Touristy with Emel – Day 1

Posted on March 10, 2013 by sandersnm

For our first day of Emel‘s vacation we planned an incredibly full day of fun! We started with the Kuli’ou’ou Ridge Trail hike. It was raining for a bit but turned out to be a pretty day, so the view at the top was definitely worth the hike up there. After that, we headed around the east side of the island where we saw TONS of whales. We captured a few pictures of the baby whales jumping out of the water (so incredibly cute as they didn’t make it very far out). There were also two swimming SO close to the shore…I was super happy she got to see them! We stopped and had the best fish tacos on the island and some veggie nachos at Surg’s and then headed to Bellows for some beach time. It was a beautiful day to hang out and relax after our hike! After that, we wandered around Kailua and got some frozen yogurt and toured the beautiful Lanikai houses and stopped at the famous beach, then headed back to Honolulu to get ready for a fun night out. We decided to head into Waikiki (so she could see all of the tourists) and had dinner with a few friends. Then we ventured to Duke’s for some of their famous Mai Tais. It was a jam-packed day and I’m SO excited she came to visit!!

Emel and I at the top of Kuli`ou`ou trail.

Josh and I at the top of Kuli`ou`ou trail.

Emel taking pictures of the beautiful windward coast.

All of us at the top of the trail.

The baby whale! It was so small (only a few tons). There were tons of them.

The two whales close to the shore. SO close!

Fish tacos and nachos. SO good!

Emel in the ocean at Bellows beach.

Mai Tais at Duke’s!

Emel and I at Duke’s enjoying our drinks.

All of us at Duke’s!

Beach Love

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Emel Is Here!

Posted on March 8, 2013 by sandersnm

My first visitor in Hawaii arrived today…Emel!! I am so excited for our fun week ahead!! We went to one of my favorite restaurants to kick off the week (Soul de Cuba) and celebrated her arrival with dinner and drinks! Then we headed to Du Vin for dessert. Welcome to Hawaii Emel!!!