Professional Tourist

I just had two days off in Hawaii. Paid. The first day I was driven around the island of Oahu by one of my hotel contacts. She was kind enough to point out all the main beaches and many of the cultural attractions of the island. I was eager to make it to the North Shore to see the legendary surf beaches. Once in the North Shore we made a pitstop in Haleiwa at Matsumo’s for some shave ice. From Haleiwa there is a tour called the Shark Encounter where they drive you three miles out to sea. They put you in a cage with some snorkel gear while twenty or thirty great whites swim around you. Unfortunately it was sold out. The next day I rented a convertible and drove around the island on my own. I stopped at Pipeline and went for a swim and a bit of body surfing. In about a month the waves will easily be twenty five feet and the ground will shake from pounding surf. If I’m lucky I’ll be here when some of the surfing competitions are on. I also made it to Sandy Beach which is known for its boogie boarding and its nasty shore break. Another VRX photographer, Ronan, is here so we met up later for dinner and beers. Nice.

Waikiki

Breakfast in America

I arrived at the Sheraton Waikiki a half hour before midnight. I was determined to have a Mia Tia at all costs. I really had no idea where I was but my sixth sense for finding good restaurants and bars did not fail me. It lead me to Duke’s. I also had no idea that Duke’s is the best Tiki bar in Honolulu complete with flaming torches, a thatched roof, and huge palm trees. The patio is right on the narrow beach and the waves were coming in almost at my doorstep. And yes my Mia Tia was mighty fine.

In the morning I decided to order room service. Instead of the usual crap I decided to go for the Japanese breakfast. By eight thirty I was eating miso soup, salted broiled salmon, a fish cake, a small omlette, natto beans, ume, daikon, rice, fruikake, half a papaya with lime and green tea on a balcony that overlooked the morning surfers. Breakfast came with a raw egg so I asked the Japenese room service dude what to do with it. He explained that I should mix the mustard into nato beans and then mix in only the egg yolk. After that stir in some soy sauce. The gooey string mess was a little bizarre but not too bad. The rest was fab. $23.50 plus various taxes and delivery charges.