Hawaii - Day 1

OK, time to see what this island looks like in the daylight. We strap on our shoes and go for a run. It's only 7:30am but it's fast approaching 30 degrees (c).

We do a loop of a big park down the east end of Waikiki where the Honolulu zoo is and pass close by the bottom of Diamond Head. We come back via the beach and the views are great. The clientele is a little sketchy though; we have to run by someone practicing their samurai sword technique with a proper sword - the issue is he looks like the kinda guy who's been up all night at that bench practising his technique... It's another "welcome back to America" moment.

We finish the run and jump in the ocean. The water is beautiful and the gentle waves are nice. We admire the view of Waikiki from the water. Not exactly out style of water front, and a decent gear change​ from the Cook Islands where planning laws prevent going higher than the coconut trees.

We head home and shower and get ready for some breakfast. We head to "The Brunch Spot" and after a 10 minute wait we're in. Courts gets a bagel, Jeff goes the omelette. Both are fantastic. Some secret sauce magic going on, we think.

We pick up our hire car without any fuss. Given Jeff managed to crash the last hire care on Rarotonga where the max speed is 50kmph and there is only one road, we're a little nervous about jumping onto the right hand side of the road in the US again. Although we managed last time OK, but that was almost 10 years ago now.

We head for the main highway which will take us all the way to the North Shore in under an hour. The drive is easy enough and we end up in Haleiwa where it's time for another coffee (Starbucks this time).

Up on this side of the island is where the proper surfing happens. The famous Banzai Pipeline is down the road a bit. We get out and have a look; no surf, no surfers. Bummer. There's nothing that special about the beach itself so we push on.

This area is also famous for its shrimp trucks. There's a few to chose from. We end up at the roadside setup of Romy's. We order the house shrimp special with a side of edamame and of course some pineapple (we'd passed the Dole plantation a few miles back).

The edamame was swimming in garlic and was huge, effectively a main meal. The pineapple was covered in some plum powder which made the whole thing unbearably strong and sweet. The shrimp were of course very tasty, although also rich in garlic. This could come back to haunt us. ​

We are now on the windward coast and can effectively follow this all the way back around to Honolulu. We take our time, taking in all the scenery. The speed limit is never that high, so it takes the pressure off. We ​head past Diamond Head and know we are getting close to home.

We pull in, have a shower and head out again on foot. We aim for the Royal Hawaain (aka the pink palace). One of the nicer and older looking buildings on the foreshore. It was built by a luxury cruise liner company to give the fancy people who took the liner a fancy place to stay when they arrived from the mainland. It's beautiful. We see a hula show in progress but it's a ticketed event. We try and grab a seat and a cocktail but it's golden hour so the only seats are back from the beach and the cocktails are $40USD. We decide to wander up the beach instead and enjoy the sunset.

We spot Maui Brewing Co and realise this is more our speed. At first we think the beer menu is too long and worry it might not be any good, but we're mistaken. The beers are great. The food (pizza and fish and chips) was average, but as expected.

A massive day has left us knackered. We've also got an early morning hike planned tomorrow so we head home to bed.