Low-key day

Unfortunately, Spencer had a lot to work on all morning, so I took off and explored around Waikiki. It's a nice enough area, but just as I anticipated it is very 'touristy' and lacks a true view of local culture. It's pretty easy to walk through any of the resorts and enter their beach access, so I did some beach exploration. Those areas are much more crowded than some of the other beaches we have seen so far outside of this area. It felt good to just get out and walk for a few hours.

After lunch at the apartment, Spence and I headed to Moana Falls. This is a very short hike,
only ~1 mile each way, but it takes you through a lush valley in rainforest terrain. A very gentle slope starting at 400', ending at only 800'. You follow along a small stream that is surrounded by incredibly vegetation including eucalyptus trees, banyan trees, elephant-eared ape (ah-pay), bamboo, and others I cannot identify. The trail ended at the edge of a 160' waterfall that was really beautiful. Part of this area was used in filming the show Lost. It rained about 85% of the 1.5 hours that we spent there, but in a way, it made it even more enjoyable (though very muddy)- nice and cool at least!

We spent late afternoon on Lanikai Beach for about 30 minutes until the rain caught up with us there as well. But- the beach was really nice and sandy- not as rocky as some on the North Shore. We will definitely come back on a sunny day.

This led us to an early dinner at Helena's Hawaiian Food restaurant. This is definitely not in a tourist area, but it has delicious authentic local food and has been around since 1946. Actually, Spence and I got the idea from one of Adam Richman's 'Man vs. Food' episodes where he visited Helena's. We tried 3 different dishes- Laulau (pork steamed in taro leaves), Kalua Pig with cabbage (pig cooked in an underground oven called an imu, shredded and mixed with hawaiian sea salt), and Pipi Kaula Short Ribs, which hang from the ceiling over the open oven. It was awesome! The Kalua Pig was definitely our favorite. For dessert, we were served haupia, a coconut based pudding with a gelatin texture, surprisingly pretty decent. I'd say this is a definite place to go if you want authentic Hawaiian cuisine- and our total for dinner was $18- what a steal, especially here!