I'm not going to lie. My favorite place in Hawaii was this pool at Turtle Bay Resort in the North Shore of Oahu. It's such a fun pool. It was always warm, there was a fun waterfall and slide, it was never too crowded and it was just terrific! We spent a lot of time here and I wish we could have spent even more.
Turtle Bay has one large swimming pool, one smaller one with waterfall and slide, one kiddy pool and a couple of jacuzzis. So if you love to swim like I do, you had lots of options.
We ate a few times at Hang Ten which was an outdoor bar by the Turtle Bay Resort pools.
Our favorite drinks were their Lava Flows which had Pina Colada Mix, Rum and Strawberry Puree. We also ate their Nachos plates a couple times which were okay and made for a quick lunch after a morning of swimming. Mynah Birds were notorious for stealing food so if you ever eat at the Hang Ten bar make sure you never leave your food unattended!
We found ourselves at nearby Haleiwa, Oahu on various occasions looking for non-Resort eateries. Thanks to Foursquare, we found Luibueno's Restaurant & Bar. It's a Latin restaurant but serves a lot of local fish too.
I had their special which was pricey but worth it. Pan-Seared Fish, Orange Caper Burre Blanc, Sauteed Vegetables, Manchego Cheese and Rice. So delicious! They gave you a choice of three local fishes and I opted for the Opa.
It was as delicious as it looks. A work of art. If it wasn't so pricey (I believe it was over $30 a plate), I would have gone back for more.
Carlos had a burrito and some Mexican beer. Here is taking a picture of me taking a picture of him. Very meta!
One of our tourist stops was at the Dole Plantation in Wahiawa, Oahu. This is where they grow their delicious Pineapples. It was great driving by this place on our way to Honolulu and smelling the pineapples as they ripped under the sun.
We had a coupon for the Pineapple Express at the Dole Plantation so we decided to try it. That's a really good tip if you go to Hawaii. Get as many coupons as you can. Search for them in your Visit Hawaii brochure or ask your hotel concierge. You'll save a lot of money that way.
The train was fun but the music and pre-recorded narration they had for the trip was just plain annoying. I would have preferred to have the train conductor talk to us over the mike.
We saw all sorts of pineapple plants as well as banana, coconut, coffee, sugar cane, ginger, tea, etc. We learned that the soil is very red from volcanic lava and that they use black plastic mulch to retain moisture.
The Dole Plantation had Garden Tours and a Giant Maze but we just stuck to the Pineapple Express.
Carlos is Angry Hula Dancing Pineapple.
If you visit the Dole Plantation, you must have the Dole Whip! It's pineapple flavored soft-served ice cream that you can order plain or topped with crushed pineapple. It was so good. But boy was the line to order one long! Dole Plantation also has a huge gift shop with loads of tchotchkes, souvenirs and treats. Do not be hypnotized by the gift shop! I bought a box of Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts there for $11 which I could have gotten at the local Foodland for $3.99. Go there strictly for the Plantation fun and the Dole Whip and nothing else.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of my Honeymoon Eats series!
2 comments:
I miss Hawaii! The pineapple plantation looks fun! Didi yuo guys try any of the shrimp trucks? I really wanted to but we weren't on the North shore.
Megan - Yes we did visit a shrimp truck! It'll be featured in a future post. Why didn't you guys go to the North Shore? It's only a 45 min - 1 hour drive from Honolulu. We traveled all over the island because it was so small and we could get anywhere in a short amount of time. If you go again, spend some time in the North Shore. It's so beautiful! I loved it more than Waikiki and Honolulu.
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