A vacation on Oahu may go a little like this: float in the ocean, lie out in the sand, drink a mai tai, repeat. But if going a few days without some form of exercise sounds more like torture than paradise, it's still possible to make like a tourist but play like a local. While a surf or stand-up paddleboard session is a must do when you're on Oahu, here's where the locals like to sweat it out — all conveniently a short distance from tourist-friendly Waikiki!
We're not the only one who loves shave ice, Eatswimshop is crazy about it, too!
We recently went to Hawaii, and during our trip to the North Shore of Oahu we ordered a shave ice. It was a perfect way to cool down while enjoying the beautiful views.
Want to share a favorite dish from your local haunt? Upload it into the Savory Sights group in the YumSugar Community!
Like Leonard's Bakery and Rainbow Drive-In, Matsumoto Shave Ice is a can't-miss if you're visiting the Hawaiian island of Oahu for the first time.
From Honolulu, head up the Kamehameha Highway to the slower paces of the island's North Shore. Eventually, you'll hit M. Matsumoto Store, a general store with an unassuming presence that belies its international frozen dessert fame.
The only thing that might give it away? A long line of hot, thirsty customers, eagerly waiting their turn to order. For a better background on this regional favorite, read on.
When it comes to dining in Honolulu, don't eat on the overpriced, underwhelming Waikiki strip. Instead, take a short drive (or a lengthy stroll) to Kapahulu Avenue, a nearby street dotted with some of Oahu's most memorable institutions, like Leonard's Bakery and Rainbow Drive-In.
The latter recalls a different time: an era when cars, chocolate ice cream floats, and chitchat happily convened in the same parking lot. Today, the takeout joint — open since 1961 and the last of its kind, now that drive-ins have passed their heyday — remains a favorite for locals and tourists alike. See why when you continue reading.
It was the surf and sand that drew me to Hawaii, but one year and two trips later, I can say for sure that it's the food that's gotten me hooked. Sure, New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, and other metropolitan cities are notable dining destinations, but for an entirely enlightening cultural experience, take a trip outside the continental US to visit America's 50th state.
Abundant natural resources and a rich history of Polynesian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean settlers makes Hawaiian food one of the most intriguing cuisines in the world. It's an unlikely mishmash of Portuguese baked goods, Korean barbecued meats, and all-American picnic favorites, which guarantees dining in the islands will never be dull. Here are a few of the state's most iconic bites.
Maybe you're familiar with tuna poke, plate lunches, and other culinary contributions from Hawaii, but have you ever heard of a malasada? I hadn't — that is, until I visited Honolulu and was told that they can't be missed.
Much like a sugar doughnut, a malasada is a confection of fried yeast dough that's been showered in granulated sugar. I enjoyed plenty of them during my stay, but the best were from Leonard's Bakery, an institution known far and wide to have the best fried puffs in town. It lived up to its hype: the hot-out-of-the-fryer malasadas were crackled — almost bruléed — on the outside, and just barely cooked in the center, with a moist, custard-like flavor.
Learn more about the famous fried specialty and Leonard's Bakery when you keep reading.
Go west if you want to be happy, a Twitter analysis found last year. But now a new study says not to stop in California if you want to be the happiest, because the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index named Hawaii the most content state in the union.
Is it any wonder? Hawaii looks like a day at the beach — it kind of is — and not even jobs and day-to-day demands seem to make its residents forget that. Honestly, though, I would never move there. The beach is lovely, but it also bores me. Not to typecast — actually, that's exactly what I am going to do — but I've seen House Hunters, and I know what kind of people move to Hawaii. They are optimists and take life as it comes. Regardless of their economic bracket, work is not why they're there. While, surely, there are exceptions, people go to Hawaii for Hawaii, not for affordable housing, career paths, or tax breaks.
Now that I've made all our Hawaiian readers unhappy, see how your state ranks below.
In less than four months, the state of Hawaii will be shark fin-free, and soon, the same could happen in California. The golden state is currently deliberating a piece of legislation that would ban the sale and possession of shark fins, too.
Proponents of the ban don't just cite the inhumane practice of cutting fins off live sharks, but the staggering drop in ocean shark populations as well: 73 million sharks are killed every year, and populations are just 10 percent of what they used to be. And, argues one San Francisco food critic, there are plenty of viable (and innocuous) substitutes for shark's fin.
But not everyone feels this way. "The practice of shark's fin soup has been in our culture for thousands of years. There ought to be a way to find a balance between the environment and preserving culture and heritage," California state Sen. Leland Yee maintained.
"While we're at it, I'd also ban Caspian caviar and bluefin tuna until their fisheries recover. No doubt, that would raise an uproar in certain other cultural communities," Chinese-American chef Jonathan Wu retorted. Tell me what you think: is banning shark's fin environmentally conscious, or culturally insensitive?
Source: Flickr User closari
The last time I was in Hawaii visiting family, I was invited to be a guest of the Hyatt Regency Waikiki. The idea of playing tourist in my hometown was intriguing, and once I learned about the hotel's fitness programs, I was sold. During my two nights there, I worked out at the gym, took a yoga class, and was treated to a massage at the hotel's spa.
Yoga is offered three times a week in one of the spa's airy studio spaces. The most amazing part of the room is a wall of windows that look out onto the Pacific Ocean — talk about sun salutations! I was nervous because I was the only student, but Pablo, my instructor, said that this sometimes happened. Because of it, he adjusts his classes to the individual needs of his student(s) that day. I told him that I was looking for a rigorous Vinyasa flow class, which focused on my upper body and core. By the end of it, I was sweating and had done poses that I'd never even tried before. He challenged me to try inversions (my first!), and I received the kind of attention (and adjustments) that aren't possible to get in a large group class. Even my Downward Facing Dog improved! I loved the hour-long class and thought that Pablo was an amazing teacher. He pushed me when I needed it and had a calming, laid-back nature that I think is so important for a yoga teacher to posses. I walked away from his class feeling stronger, challenged, and energized to face my day.
To hear about the hotel's other fitness offerings and my spa experience read more
