O’ahu, Hawaii. We landed before lunch with an appetite and knew exactly where we were going. First up, though, we had to get our rental car and make our way through Honolulu. This is like driving through an outdoor Forums Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. If you’ve come to Hawaii to shop, this is certainly the place to do that. This hustle and bustle are not for us; we are heading off the beaten path. Away from the glitz, we were looking for Da Ono Hawaiian Food, a joint of a restaurant. Nothing fancy here, but the food is said to be amazing. In just a few minutes, we are squeezed into a small table, and the menu is dropped in front of us. We drool at the options and decide to share a pork lau lau (steamed pork in taro leaves), kalua pork (pork roast in Hawaiian yumminess), butterfish (not exactly what you might think), and some purple yam. If only we could come back one more time before the end of our stay on O’ahu!

Time for us to put even more distance between us and the tourist rat race as we head for the hills. During our visit to the islands back in 2006, we only afforded O’ahu a few hours stopover after hearing that serious travelers and Honolulu are incompatible. We had circumnavigated the southern end of the island, passing through Diamond Head and making our way about halfway up before cutting over Highway 83 to return to the airport for our flight to the Big Island. Today, we are traveling in the opposite direction and will drive north after reaching the eastern shore. The photo above is our first stop at the water’s edge. No tourists, no shops, nothing but a picnic table and some trees up against the ocean. On that trip half a dozen years ago we ended our vacation in a similar manner compared to how we are starting today. Back then, our last stop was on Kauai at Poipu Beach at a picnic table under the trees, where we had breakfast and bid Hawaii adieu. Today, we are full of aloha to be so fortunate to have returned.

Last year, at the Interactive Sites Christmas party, the place Caroline works, she was the grand prize winner of the big giveaway. That prize was for five days to be spent at Turtle Bay Resort on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Guess where we are? A big warm MAHALO to Mike and Paul for sending us here; they are the bosses, and their generosity is super appreciated.

Checked in and ecstatic, we head to the beach. Lava rock and sand, yep, we are in Hawaii. The water is crystal clear and beautiful, but the sun is disappearing fast. The long days of summer have passed, though we aren’t complaining; we wouldn’t know how as we are so high on the fact that we are here standing at the ocean’s edge on the north shore. Along our walk, we spot snails, crabs, small fish, anemones, sea cucumbers, broken corals, small peculiar-looking plants that look like ears, some small birds, and not one other person. For this sunset the day after Caroline’s 45th birthday that fell on 12-12-12, we are together with this stretch of beach all to ourselves. What a great gift and day it is.

We weren’t quite done yet, though. No, we didn’t dine at a fine restaurant at the resort, no candlelit meal for us in view of the sea. In keeping with our take-it-easy approach to things, we wanted local funk, and that’s what we got. Down the road we’d come upon earlier, we had passed Kahuku Grill, now known as Seven Brothers in Kahuku at The Mill, and that is where we were going back to. Not that our decision was that easy. We looked around for some local grindz (Hawaiian for grub), but pickings were slim, so we just kept on searching until we had gotten as far as the Kahuku. Lucky us. Like a lighthouse beacon grabbing a sailor’s attention, it was the Fire in Paradise Burger that arrested ours. Wow is the only thing we could utter as we fell in love with their grilled pineapple and a jalapeno burger. The place is popular with the college crowd, so be prepared to wait, but it’s so well worth it. Back in the room, we opened the balcony door wide to go to sleep to the sound of the crashing surf below.