From Here to Eternity

 Pella in Paradise

Day 3: Thursday, October 5, 2023

Sightseeing on Oahu

Our goal for today was to watch the sunrise from the beach.   We woke up early and walked a few blocks to the beach, where there were already other people aiming to do the same.  Some people were doing yoga, which is awesome.  Maybe I'll do that the next time I'm here.  I guess I could have done that at the time, but I was too excited to take photos and stuff.  V was also excited to take photos and walked much farther than Bro and me, as we stayed close to our stuff and went into the nice warm water.  

First shot

At one point, Bro realized that he was standing on a coral reef, and there were little fish swimming around it.  We also enjoyed watching the dogs having fun on the beach, like one that was digging into the sand, and a Greyhound greeting a Labrador very excitedly.

Bro testing the water

Beautiful Sunrise 

It was so nice in that water that I was willing to stay in it all day long.  But we were hungry and we had other places to see!  On our way back to the house, I saw this nicely decorated tree.  

I bought this coverup at the Aloha Swap Meet.

Finally!  A hibiscus flower sighting!

Also:  Bananas!!

After we took our showers, we headed out for breakfast at Le Crepe Cafe.  As we waited for our food to be prepared, we sat at a table outside, right next to this sign.

I really like the corners on the tabletops!

Our coffee was kind of fancy looking, and the crepes were delicious.

Bro's Mango Passion Fruit crepe
with Strawberries and Vanilla ice cream

We had parked in the Foodland parking lot, and decided to go inside to get some more snacks.  We saw this guy there, but did not feed him.

I take pics of animals in parking lots.

I bought some specialty chocolate there, which had bits of banana in it, then we went home to reset before going sightseeing.

The first place we stopped at on our sightseeing drive was the Halona Blowhole Lookout.  When the waves crash on the rocks, there is an airpocket that provides an after-effect of mist that resembles a whale using its blowhole.  Here's a video.  Wait until the end for the full effect!

While we were there, I received a message from my toy pusher.  I mean, Collectibles Dealer.  I mean, Enabler.  I had won a kuji prize and she could not stop laughing when I joined her online show.  Everyone wanted to trade me for my new Vampire Mickey boxer shorts.  I loved them too much to give them up.  Meanwhile, Bro and V decided to hike down to the cove below.  I did not want to hike back up, so I stayed at the lookout area and took photos of them taking photos.

If the cove looks familiar to you, you may have seen it in a movie, maybe "From Here to Eternity" for that iconic kissing scene.

They did pose for me later,
 but did not reenact the kissing scene.

See those rocks?

See why I didn't go with them?  
They're at the area in the middle of the photo above this one.

I'm glad that Bro left the car keys with me, because it was quite warm and I was able to enjoy sitting in the shade of the lifted hatchback.  

We then drove to Makapu'u Lookout, where, if we had waited another month, we would probably have seen some humpback whales.  I think that the big rock formation actually looks like the shape of a whale. I just noticed that as I'm writing this 8 months later.  I'm a little slow.

Whale, right?

Bunker from WWII

We passed Buzz's on our way back but couldn't get dessert because it seemed very crowded.  So we snacked on the dragonfruit that I had bought at the swap meet.

Whole Dragonfruit

First Cut of Dragonfruit

Look at that beautiful color!  It was not very sweet, but I felt good eating the superfood.

As we were relaxing, I checked social media, and saw that JT had been AT THE BEACH WHERE WE WERE THAT MORNING!  I shouted such to Bro and he immediately grabbed a towel and made his way down to the beach.  V and I caught up with him shortly after, but we didn't see JT.  I messaged him to tell him to join us, but he had already left the area hours before.  Aw, bummer.  But we did get to see the remnants of a wedding on the beach:  someone had made a pathway bordered with petals.  I think Bro saw the end of the ceremony before we got there.

Awww....cute.

V and I lagged behind as usual, and V saw that the wedding party had set their leis aside, maybe to go swimming or something.  We looked around and didn't see anyone eyeing us, so we, um, borrowed the leis for this photo.  Because why the heck not?

I mean, look how beautiful they are on us!

So this whole thing about maybe seeing JT would have been so nice because we were originally scheduled to see Rockapella in Waikiki that day, but the show was canceled, so we (Rockapella and us) had a free evening on our hands.

The three of us decided to dine at Nico's Kailua.  I had a delicious Furikake-encrusted Ahi with white rice and steamed veggies, and a Lolosbunz drink.  Yeah, like "Lolo's Buns".  Like Grandpa's Derriere.  I don't know why it's called that, but it was YUMMY.  It was made of El Jimador Tequila, Fresh Lime Sour, Guava Puree, and Lychee with  Ai Li Hing Mui Rim.  So, um, yeah, we're coming back here next time we're in Hawaii.

LYCHEE!!!

Ahi

Mango Passionfruit Cheesecake

Tropical Cheers!

When we got back to the house, V and I watched "THX 1138" because we realized that neither one of us had actually seen it.  I think we both fell asleep during different parts of it, thanks to alcohol and an active day.

Palm Tree Swaying at Nico's

Next up:  A Rockapella Day!