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Lanikai Juice
Summer has been in full swing the past few weeks here in Southern California and that means hot windless nights and day time temps in the 90s (This week we’ve even been hitting the 100s!). California has turned into an oven and all I can dream about is Lanikai Juice. Sure California has Jamba Juice and Juice It Up! (which I do love) and little local smoothie shops, but since I’ve been back I can honestly say nothing beats Oahu’s Lanikai Juice. Lanikai Juice opened it’s doors back in 1997, serving healthy and fresh smoothies, fruit bowls, freshly squeezed juices, food, and cold pressed juices using local and fresh organic…
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4th of July
Now when I answer the occasional Facebook survey or someone asks me, "What's your favorite holiday?" I'll usually give them the traditional Christmas answer, but when I really think about it, the 4th of July has always given me so much more excitement and joy then most other holidays. And although I know that I have better memories, for some reason, when I think about the 4th, I find a lot of reasons to smile.
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Stairway to Heaven
One of the last hikes I attempted while on Oahu is also one of Oahu's most infamous and talked about hikes. It seems like everyone has heard of, or at least seen pictures of, Oahu's Stairway to Heaven (also known as the Haiku Stairs).
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Where to get the Best Poke on Oahu?
Poke (pronounced POH-KAY) dates back to the ancient Hawaiians who would feast on freshly caught fish massaged with sea salt, seaweed and crushed inamona or kukui nuts. Since then poke has grown and evolved, in some circumstances, drastically. As immigrants from all around the world, and especially places like China and Japan, began arriving in Hawaii, new flavors began to shape poke. While the more traditional Ahi poke is made with tuna, shoyu (soy sauce), sea salt, green onions, Maui onions and limu, visit any poke shop in Hawaii today and you can find a wide array of flavors and options including kimchee shrimp, furikake salmon, miso tako (octopus), pipikaula…
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7 Eleven in Hawaii
It may sound crazy to anyone that has never been to Hawaii, but on the islands 7 Eleven is one of the absolute best places to get a quick, cheap meal or snack. From ramen to sushi, hot dogs to sandwiches, Hawaii’s 7 Elevens have something for everyone and it’s not the lowest quality food you might imagine. I am in no way a food snob and I will proudly say certain gas station hot dogs aren’t bad. I on occasion have even purposely chosen to eat a gas station hot dog, whether it was from the ampm up the road from where I grew up or the 7 Eleven…
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Moss Slides
I had heard about Oahu’s moss slides since I first moved to Oahu. I saw posts about them on Pinterest and Facebook. I heard different people talk about them. I always had an idea of where they were at, but it wasn’t until my last month on Oahu, that I actually set out to find the moss slides and I am so glad I did. Located not too far off the beaten path, the moss slides are a gorgeous, secluded, fun way to spend an afternoon. Including a few detours and the time we spent at the moss slides out entire hike (out and back) was just over five hours,…
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H3 Summit Saddle – Preparing for the Stairs
Stairway to Heaven is probably one of the most popular, illegal, hikes on Oahu and from the minute I arrived on Oahu my husband started harassing me to do this hike. I can’t deny I was drawn to the stairs climbing up the side of the Koolau mountains and would stare at them every time we took the H3 into town, but I heard too many horror stories. To start off, even before I had arrived on Oahu, the neighborhood, where hikers would access the stairs, had hired private security to stop hikers from entering and to report any illegal trespassing. Supposedly the guard is or was easy to bypass…
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Springtime Temperatures Call for Banan
Spring is in full swing here in SoCal and summer is fast approaching and that means the temperature is on the rise. As the days get longer and hotter I find myself craving a sweet treat in the evening, but nothing here seems to hit the spot like Oahu’s Banan. Frozen yogurt, soft serve, I’ve tried it all and yet I still find myself craving the sweet, cool, amazing creation that is Banan. Created by four guys with the idea to turn fruit into ice cream, Banan began selling banana based soft serve out of their roadside food truck December 2014. Based on a simple farm to table philosophy Banan…
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Happy Birthday Teddy’s Bigger Burgers
This week Teddy’s Bigger Burgers turned 21! On April 15th, 1998 the first Teddy’s Bigger Burgers opened up at the foot of Diamond Head on Oahu serving fresh ground chuck burgers, fries and shakes. Today Teddy’s can now be found all across Oahu as well as on Maui, in Washington, Iowa, and even internationally. For awhile there was even one located in Fullerton, CA, not too far from my home town. (Although I never ate at this location, it was always on my list to try.) Teddy’s may not have been my #1 burger on Oahu, but it definitely became a big part of my life on Oahu. Burgers are…
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My Unpopular Opinion – The Pig & The Lady
Years before I even had any inclination that I would ever visit Hawaii let alone live there, I had decided that before I died I needed to try The Pig & The Lady. Known for their amazing Pho, that wasn’t what drew me there. I knew I had to go to The Pig & The Lady because they had a full dessert bar! Now I don’t mean they had a large dessert menu or like a dessert buffet bar, they have a full dessert bar set up just like a traditional bar. You have you’re bar area, with your “bartender”, and stools that you can sit at all along the…
