Yesterday we decided to take a drive around the island. We took the road to Kaneohe first, to see nephew Craig, who works in the education department at the marine corps base there. Many of the photos were taken out the window of the car.
Craig is between lodging at the moment and was staying on base for a week while I was visiting. He moves to his new condo when escrow closes February 1 but is with the parents until then, in his old bedroom – except that I’m there now! He’s staying at “the lodge,” a combination hotel room and efficiency apartment, with a microwave and kitchen utensils. Families can choose to stay here in between postings. It was very adequate for his needs, and he can walk to work! I didn’t take any photos of his place because I didn’t want to invade his privacy too much..
We continued on our way in the H3 highway, also known as Kam highway, named for King Kamahameha, the founder and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii, LONG before it became a state. It’s a beautiful two-lane road with gorgeous views of both the mountains and the sea. We passed Chinaman’s Hat on the way to Turtle Bay at the top of the island, then to the Polynesian Cultural Center and took a short detour to see the campus at BYU on our way to the quaint community of Haleiwa.
Our destination was a new restaurant we’d wanted to try. For years, on trips to the north shore, we’d stop at Jameson’s by the Sea, just on the highway, located directly across the grassy Haleiwa Beach Park and boat harbor. It was torn down and replaced by the beautiful and airy Haleiwa Beach House. We were very pleased with our lunch there.
The building is gorgeous, with lovely art scattered throughout, and a bar space punctuated by a model of a sailing ship.
We three were well fed: Ed loved his chopped salad with sherry vinaigrette, and Beatrice and I split a cheeseburger on a taro bun – yes, a purple bun, which was very tasty – and an appetizer with grilled shrimp and lettuce; the thing to do is to wrap the lettuce around the shrimp. I’m including this paragraph for foodie friends like Vickie and La Verne, especially since this also shows a part of Hawaiian culture. In fact, the cheesecake that we all split had a graham cracker- macadamia nut crust and was festooned with large drops of lilikoa, a Hawaiian fruit that tastes like passion fruit.
We also enjoyed the view across the street, and the art work in the restaurant.
Today we walk Waikiki.
Wonderful!