The Quest for Salad or something.

Salad. You don't need no stink in' salad!

 Dipping Cup of Veggie Stuff from Food Land.

I have set the standards really high here, folks. 

Ok, so it isn't officially a salad.  But for on-the-grab-it-and-go scale, it isn't bad.  You get a cup with some celery,cucumber,a broccoli floret, some carrots and a small tub of Ranch dressing.
When you are done with it, place the empty tub that held the dressing inside of the larger cup that held the veggies--then hold it up to your ear--and honest-to-gosh you can hear the ocean!

Please note the pack of fluffy powdered sugar donuts next to the healthy snack.  This is my humble,yet misguided, attempt at achieving balance.  The yin and yang sort of speak.  Chocolate mini donuts would have been over the top.  

Jack in the Box Chicken Club Salad

Here is a photo of a salad from Jack-in-the-Box.  Pick up a tablecloth from Walmart and enjoy.  The Jack-in-the-box salad tastes great...well the grilled chicken was sort of salty.  Why,oh,why...we will never know.  Cucumbers, tomatoes, assorted greens, cheese, and real bacon bits (no doubt leftover from the Breakfast Bun with Bacon from the morning menu).     Hawaii price $6.99.   

Is Macaroni Salad really a salad?   

Folks on the island love macaroni salad.   Elbow macaroni actually comes from the acaroni plant that is often used today as a decorative shrub and, amazingly enough,is a distant relative of the pineapple tree and one of the few plants left by the Italian explorers.  

 Years ago,before Hawaii was a state,small Hawaiian children were employed to pick the little elbows from the Acarina shrubs,their tiny fingers perfectly suited to the task in these days before automation. The harvest of elbow macaroni would then be shipped by rail to the mainland over the great Akewome Bridge. 

 (What was a station for the bridge can be seen on the east side of the island.  Old ruins mark the spot). This amazing feat of engineering is lost to time.  Often train cars were filled to overflowing and when the train rounded the infamous Miliki bend, elbow macaroni would spill to the ground.  Happy families would gather and collect this spilled treasure.  As cheese for macaroni was in short supply, they would gather maise from the Mayo tree and create Macaroni salad.  A true and authentic Island treat.  Honest they would.  Really.  

Top ten things to do on Oahu

Top Ten Things to see in Oahu.  

Not your run of the mill list with the usual sights, but heck, there are plenty of those.

10: Local breakfast at McDonalds. 

 Spam and rice and eggs.  Just kidding.  No really.  

9: Dog the Bounty Hunter retail store.  

A small shrine to ego run amok.  Grab breakfast at the cafe next door.  Overpriced but not a single photo of a reality show star in the place--the cafe, that is...

8: Flea market at Aloha Stadium.  

Purchase cheap t shirts for the blood sucking leeches back home. Seven for $20.  Plenty of key chains, too. Oh and cheap luggage to fill with souveneers that you simply must have.   Just a dollar to get in.  

7:Free Friday Fireworks show in Waikiki.

 Happens at 8 pm or so.  Great for people watching as the masses make their way to the show...it's like two shows for the price of one...but it's free.  

6: Elvis statue at the Neil Blaisdell center.

 Just off ward ave between the arena and the convention space.  Not as photogenic as The other King statue, but more fun.  Elvis never killed anyone for getting in his shadow,so bonus points there, unless you're into that sort of thing, which would be creepy.  

5: Tuna Rolls at 7-11. 

 What?  Yep, the tuna rolls at that icon of Big Bite hot dogs with free chili sauce are amazing.  Not so much for the taste, instead for the nifty roll-your-own packaging that keeps the seaweed separated until the very last moment--to maintain a crunchy fresh sort of experience in your mouth-- even though it was made the day before in some mysterious factory somewhere.  Crunchy. Ricey. Seaweedlishious!

4:Japanese Tourists. 

 Fashion forward.  Always polite.  And the language barrier keeps you on your toes.   Great people watching.  Extra points for cos-play wonderfulness!

3: Paradise Cove Luau.  

They say Las Vegas is the ninth island of Hawaii and there is simply no better evidence of this than the Paradise Cove Luau show.  It is Las Vegas in grass skirt and shows more skin than the show at the Polynesian Cultural Center...oh and they serve alcohol.    Just kidding...do you think I'd include a Luau?   Number 3 actually goes to the

Shrine to Spam selection at Walmart.  

In fact the Hawaiian Aisles (pun intended) at Walmart are filled with all sorts of stuff from China...just like the Walmart back home.    Be sure to check out Macadamia Nut Land at Walmart, too.  

2:  The streets of Honolulu. 

 Now granted you could pay money and go to the world's largest maze at the  Dole Plantation, but when the mystery of urban street planning in Honolulu is so close at hand, why bother?   When you can see tourists, maps in hand, trying to decipher where they are and where they want to be,it is living proof that city planning can be both entertaining and fun!    Rumor has it years ago, before animal rights became a concern, the city planners put down a large mat made from palm fronds in the shape of the island in one of those extinct volcano things.  They then dipped a couple dozen Mongoose into different colored paint and set them loose.  The resulting chaos was then used as a reference to build actual highways.  Yes, I'm making this up!

1: The beach.  

Just pick it.  Heck, blindfold yourself, spin around a few times and throw a flip flop up in the air and travel in the direction the toe points toward.  You will find a fantastic beach.  I am not kidding about this.   They will not have a beach like it in Modesto or New Mexico or Texas.   The worst beach here is a million times better than the best beach in Chicago.

So, there you have it!   I'll be making more Top Ten Lists with things to do in Hawaii.  Until then, Mahalo.

Where have I been? Putting together lots of stuff. Check out a music video I helped with. it's at Dmanti.com it's called "Lets Just Dance" Top 5 on the billboard dance/club chart.

Evening view. Just one of the things to do in Oahu.

Evening view.  just one of the things to do in Oahu.  

Ocean Kayaking on the other side of the island

So, today turned out to be a great adventure!   I met two lovely people from San Francisco via India, here on vacation.    He kinda sorta could swim.   She couldn't at all.   But to show what sort of folks they were, they were on an Ocean Kayaking adventure.  That takes all sorts of brave and they have my total admiration.  
I taught her how to float on her back (wearing a life jacket).   And showed them both how to scull the water with their hands so they could control where they went.   I have never seen too more completely happy people.  They were in heaven.   Mind you, all of this floating took place above a sandbar located about half a mile off the coast.    

Mahalo,
Chet

The beach from "From Here To Eternity"

You know the famous scene with the longest on-screen kiss with the couple rolling about in the surf?   Well, OK, it's from an ancient black and white film.  I 'm sure you could find longer kisses on video on the Internet, but this is rated PG-13.   So, anyhow, it's an old movie, but the stars were good and the acting relied on story and dialog and not just special effects.  Yes, the waves crashing on the shore are real.   The sand in the bathing suits is real.   And if you know where it is, you too can roll about in the sand kissing that special someone.  Heck, it might even be a YouTube hit.    But enough of this blather....

The thing is, the "From Here To Eternity" beach is called "cockroach beach" by the locals.  It is a wild place to swim.  The currents are strong and the waves pound against the rocks just outside the cove, sending tons of water ricocheting from one direction to another and finally onto the small beach.
Where is this crazy place?   From Waikiki, take the Beach Bus (22) to Sandy Beach, one of the most dangerous beaches in its own right, and hike back up the road to the blowhole lookout.   After you watch the blow hole do its thing, go to the side of the parking lot towards Waikiki and look over the guard rail.   If you want to go down to the Beach, just go to the edge of the parking lot entrance near the guard rail.   Scramble down the rocks and there you are.

Warning: this beach has no lifeguard.  You are on your own here.  Beware of sharp rocks that will cut you.  Beware of cuts because they will get infected.   Beware of strong currents that can suck you out to sea.   Other than that, have fun.   Oh, and be sure to take your trash with you as there are no trash cans.

Mahalo,

Chet

Things to bring:
Sunscreen
Bathing suit
Towel

Shower after your swim down the road at Sandy Beach.  (That's also where the nearest bathrooms are).

Finally, it's Friday.
Should I:

1. Go camping and watch the waves wash against sand?

2. Go on a quest to get some good snorkeling photos?

3.Go on a quest to get good footage of turtles basking in the sun?

4. Climb up KoKo head to take photos using the kite cam?

Of course, I could just sort of do whatever.
What do you think?