"Hey, did you go to Carleton?"

For whatever reason, I seem to hear this question quite often when I am wearing the attire of my alma mater. Karen is amazed at the number of random places where people, seeing me wearing a Carleton shirt, ask me if I actually attended the college in Northfied, Minnesota. The encounters have occurred in many different situations including, while eating lunch in Maui just before exploring a volcano, during a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park on a trip to Boulder, and while seeing the terra cotta soldiers in Xi'an. Of course, there have also been a lot of Carleton call outs during my eight years in the Bay Area, including shout-outs on the streets of San Francisco and a few brief exchanges in various locations in Wine Country. You might think that my entire wardrobe consists of college gear, but, in reality, I only have a t-shirt and a sweatshirt. (Okay, I do have more Carleton shirts lying around, but none that I ever wear; I doubt the '89-'90 Third Myers floor t-shirt even fits anyway.)

Yesterday, while wearing my Carleton sweatshirt, I went over to the Ferry Building's Saturday morning farmers' market in search of some Fatted Calf bacon. While wandering around the stalls, I was asked not once, not twice, but three separate times in the course of an hour if I attended the small liberal arts college. One of the people who asked me, Dave, is actually a vendor at the market. After procuring some bacon, I stopped by his booth, Andante Dairy, to check out his offerings and picked up some butter, which was hand-churned by Dave himself. After trying some of the butter on some crusty bread that I picked up from the Acme Bread Company, I can attest to the quality of this delectable, creamy, high-fat content butter. I'll definitely go back for some more butter in the future.

One place where I haven't gotten a Carleton shout-out is in Europe, even though I've been there almost a dozen times over the past few years. I guess that it's a function of me not really wearing much Carleton gear during my business trips over to the Continent. Perhaps I'll have to include one of my Carleton shirts to wear during one of my forays into Heidelberg after working hours. I'll let ya know when happens.

Hawaii Part IV: Wedding Bells

We would have likely stayed in Maui for our entire trip if not for the Oahu wedding of my sweetie's friend from back home. Indeed, the wedding was the impetus for our trip to the islands in the first place.

Day 7: After a complementary buffet breakfast at the Kuhio Beach Grill in the hotel, we went to check out the USS Arizona memorial. Commemorating the military personnel who perished during the attack on Pearl Harbor, including the 1177 aboard the ship, the white memorial straddles the sunken hull of the battleship. After queueing up for a ticket, we checked out the exhibits that describe the events leading up to the attack and the subsequent effects in the visitors' center while waiting for our pontoon ride to the memorial itself. I have to give major props to my girlfriend, who endured the endless lines and the unbearably long wait for our turn to visit the memorial.

After leaving the memorial, we stopped by Leonard's Bakery for some fresh, hot malasadas, the Portuguese take on the doughnut. We each enjoyed a couple of malasadas, one filled with a creamy custard and another simply dusted with granulated sugar. After polishing off the sweet confections, we hurried back to our room and changed for the welcoming reception at the Hyatt for all of the visiting wedding guests. Despite the heat on the lanai, we enjoyed made-to-order sushi and other finger foods, while we cooled off with some icy cold adult beverages and visited with my girlfriend's twin brother and her other friends from back home in the Poconos. After the reception, we made a return trip to Duke's, where we hung out with some of the other wedding guests until we made our way to the Rock Island Cafe for a late-night snack of "Duke's" pizza and cheese fries.

Day 8: Taking advantage of the wedding event-free day, we decided to take a drive up to the North Shore. Before heading up, we stopped for a late breakfast/early lunch at Nico's at Pier 38, a little eatery nestled between warehouses in the middle of the commercial fishing district. You might expect good fish there. Not only will your expectations be met, you also get the fish at great prices. My girlfriend's plate of furikake pan seared ahi with a ginger garlic cilantro dip and my fried tuna belly set us back less than $20. The fish in each dish was generously portioned and very fresh; I wouldn't be surprised if the fish were still swimming the daylight broke that morning.

We then started our way north on the Pali Highway. Our plan was to meet up with my girlfriend's brother and high-school friend who were playing golf up at the Turtle Bay Resort. We stopped to gaze at the scenic overlook at Nu'uanu Pali, the site of one of the great battles in Hawaiian history, before continuing along the windward shore of Oahu. Just a short distance before Turtle Bay, we saw a bunch of cars parked alongside the highway and a long line of people queued up to a little roadside shack. Naturally, we pulled over as well to see what was going on. It turned out that we had stumbled onto Romy's Kahuku Prawns and Shrimp, a little family owned and operated stand that serves up some of the tastiest shrimp in the area. Though neither of us was particularly hungry, we still wanted to check it out so we split the cocktail shrimp plate. We were not disappointed. The shrimp, harvested daily from the ponds just beyond the stand, were firm, plump, and tender, a perfect delivery device for the spicy cocktail sauce that accompanied the plate. After polishing off our second breakfast, we met up with our friends at the golf course and headed out to the proverbial 19th hole at Haleiwa Joe's for some drinks.

No visit to the North Shore would be complete without some shave ice. So after hanging out for drinks, we figured that we would head down the highway another few hundred yards to sample some shave ice at the famous Matsumoto's. In business for more than 55 years, this little store turns out over 1000 servings of shave ice on a warm summer's day. After splitting an icy treat, we doubled back to Waimea Bay Beach just in time for sunset before heading back to Honolulu. Once again, we were treated to a spectacular Hawaiian sunset:



After getting back to Honolulu and picking our friends up from the airport where they dropped off their rental car, we decide to grab a small dinner. After getting completely lost on some residential neighborhoods, we stumbled onto Ezogiku Noodle Cafe, where we each enjoyed a nice bowl of ramen (with curry and miso-flavored broth) and gyoza before heading back to the hotel for a good night of sleep before the big wedding day.

Day 9: This morning, we woke up and grabbed a quick breakfast at the Kuhio Beach Grill. As a little surprise for me, my sweetie had set up a massage session for the two of us in the hotel spa. The massage was fantastic; it really helped work out the knots in my back and was thoroughly relaxing. After going back to our room and cleaning up, we changed into our far-too-hot-for-the-weather wedding attire, we headed over to another hotel just further down Waikiki Beach to catch a bus that would take us over to the wedding. Even though the walk was only three blocks long, I was feeling quite overheated by the time that I boarded the bus. Luckily for all of us, the A/C on the bus was working quite well.

After a beautiful and short ceremony at church, we boarded the bus once again and were given a short tour of Honolulu while the wedding party was busy with photos. We drove over to the Punchbowl National Cemetary of the Pacific, before heading over to the State Capitol and the 'Iolani Palace, with the entire tour narrated by our hilarious driver who kept telling us that he really just wanted to take us to the liquor store. Eventually, we made it to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel back on Waikiki Beach for the wedding reception. By this time, the temperature had subsided, which made for a very pleasant evening cocktail hour out in the reception area overlooking Waikiki Beach. Dinner was also fabulous: we started out the meal with a tasty lobster bisque en croute (which was unfortunately not the best choice for this hot weather), followed by a crab and seafood salad. The main entree was grilled filet and garlic prawns with assorted vegetables. For dessert, we were treated to a guava sorbet with fresh fruit as well as wedding cake. All in all, it was one of nicest weddings that I have attended.

Day 10: We had an early flight back to the mainland, so there wasn't anything really too exciting that morning. I will mention that we had breakfast at the nearby Cheeseburger in Paradise, a place that I wanted to check out in both Lahaina and Honolulu. Unfortunately for me, I found out that "Cheeseburger in Paradise" = "Overcooked Food" + "Crappy Service". I'm mean, how can a place that purports to specialize in cheeseburgers cook a beef pattie so long that it is literally crumbling from the dryness?? After the disappointing breakfast, we headed for the airport.

Though by this time I was looking forward to going home, sleeping in my own bed, and finding some less humid weather, I found myself thinking about and looking forward to my next visit to the Islands. For those of you who have never been to Hawaii (like me prior to this trip), I recommend that you give it some serious thought for your next getaway. It is a fantastically beautiful place where you will experience some unforgettable memories.

Hawaii Part III: From Maui to Oahu

Day 5: Seeing that this was our last full day in Maui, we decided to head out to the beaches once again. We had read some really nice reviews about Kapalua Beach, so we decided to check it out. We actually had no idea where the beach was located other than that it was somewhere in the Kapalua Resort, so we ended up driving around for a bit until we saw a pristine strip of sand behind the Ritz-Carlton. After parking the car and trudging across the expansive resort with our beach chairs and snorkel gear, we realized that we weren't at Kapalua Beach after all, but rather, we had arrived at D. T. Fleming Beach. As it turned out, it wasn't a problem at all, as we enjoyed the sun and sand as much we did at any of the other beaches we had visited earlier in the trip. One of the nice features of Fleming Beach is that the surrounding palm trees provide a good deal of shade, of which I took advantage while I read a book in my beach chair. After a few hours of lounging around, we started getting hungry and went in search of some nearby eatery.

After a short drive, we found a restaurant, the Sea Horse, at the nearby Napili Kai Beach Resort. As luck would have it, we noticed a sign indicating coastal access as we drove around looking for a parking spot. Could it be? Yes! We had found Kapalua Bay! Wanting to take advantage of our good fortune, we stopped for a quick bite at the Sea Horse, splitting a cheeseburger and small sampler platter, and headed over to the beach. The Sea Horse was on a nice beach as well, but we opted for our original destination. By the time that we had arrived at the beach, it was already getting late in the afternoon, but the sun was still warm and the water inviting. Unfortunately, the afternoon surf had kicked up a lot of silt into the water, so snorkeling wasn't ideal, but we were still able to see a lot of fish in the offshore coral reefs. We hung out at Kapalua Beach for a while, not leaving until the sunset. Unlike the day before, the skies were mostly devoid of clouds so we were treated to a spectacular Hawaii sunset.

After cleaning up back at the B&B, we pondered our dinner options. We had heard from some of the other guests that there was a small hole-in-the-wall place nearby that had great food, so we figured that we would give it a try. This little restaurant, Honokawai Okazuya and Deli, turned out to be a gem. Located in the less than appealing AAAAA Rent-A-Space Center, Honokawai Okazuya was off of the radar of most visitors, but it was definitely known to the locals, as the line was nearly out the door as we arrived. The original owner was formerly a chef at Mama's Fish House, the award-winning restaurant in Central Maui, and he developed the menu and recipes that are still being served today. It was hard to choose a dish as the menu, located on a plastic board behind the cash register, had so many delicious-sounding choices, but my girlfriend settled on the teriyaki steak and panko encrusted mahi-mahi, while I picked the mahi-mahi sauteed with a butter caper sauce. Both dishes were simply outstanding. The sauteed mahi-mahi was one of the best cooked fish dishes that I had eaten in a long time. As one of the other B&B guests had said, that dish would be a $30+ item if you put it on a fancy plate in a fancy restaurant, but it only cost $12 at Honokawai Okazuya. Of course, it was served in a styrofoam box instead of a fancy plate, but that was just fine with me. After finishing our delectable meal, my sweetie was in the mood for ice cream, and not just ordinary ice cream, but Roselani's, which is made locally in Maui. We drove over to the Lahaina waterfront in search of ice cream. We walked up and down the main street and found several ice cream shops, but not one of them featured Roselani. Disappointed, we stopped in one of the shops and got some Lappert's, another Hawaiian-made confection. As we walked down the street, we eyed yet another ice cream shop and saw they were, in fact, a Roselani vendor! Not ones to waste good ice cream, we finished off the ice cream in our hands and headed off for seconds. It was a very sweet end to a sweet day.

Day 6: As we were scheduled to fly from Maui to Honolulu in the late afternoon, we decided to pack up and head back toward Kahului. We stopped off for another plate lunch at Da Kitchen and planned out the afternoon. Over chicken katsu and Kalua pork, we talked about driving out on the road to Hana for as long as we could before turning around to catch our flight. We drove about 20 miles or so before we saw a pack of cars parked on the side of the road. We stopped the car and saw a sign indicating that there were a couple of waterfalls a short hike away. We exited the car and wandered down the trail that led into the thick tropical forest. Eschewing the closer (and smaller) waterfall, we worked our way deeper into the wilderness until we saw something off in the distance. We had found our waterfall! Unfortunately, I was not wearing the proper foot attire to slosh through the foot-deep water to take a closer look at the waterfall, but luckily my sweetie was better prepared. This is what she saw:



After lingering for a while at the waterfall, we headed back to the car and decided to start driving back toward the airport. We still had a bit of time to kill, so we stopped on the way back to check out the ocean at the couple of spots along the shore. We had hoped to see some surfers out catching some waves, but we must have been there at the wrong hour. We headed back to the airport, dropped off the rental car, checked in, and sat through an uneventful half-hour flight to Honolulu.

Making our way from the airport to the hotel turned out to be an irritatingly long and slow drive. Who knew about the crappy traffic in Honolulu? After checking in to our hotel, we decided to check out the famous Waikiki Beach locale where we were staying. First, we wanted to grab some food and recalled from our dining experience at Sansei a few days earlier that there was a sister restaurant in our hotel. Neither of us were up for an elaborate dinner, but we decide to head there anyway. We must have been thinking on the same wavelength that evening, as we both ordered ramen soup dishes. My girlfriend went with the dungeness crab ramen and I picked the Sansei special ramen. Of course, being in a sushi restaurant, we also ordered a couple of pieces of sushi: the Sunshine Surprise and unagi rolls. Both of the ramen bowls were delicious. I noted that the broth in the crab ramen has a buttery finish to it, which was confirmed by our server who said that it was finished with truffle butter. Very luxurious!

After dinner, we wandered across the street and found ourselves walking through the white sands of Waikiki Beach. We took a nice, late night stroll along the beach. There were still a lot of people out, including a number of people still splashing out in the warm water under a moonlit sky. We walked for a while and decided to stop off for a nightcap at Duke's. We found a beachside table, sipped on a stream of mai tais, and enjoyed the sights and sounds of Waikiki until last call.

Hawaii Part II: Haleakala or bust

Continuing the story of our adventures on Maui...

Day 4: Today, we decided to take a break from beaches to check out Mount Haleakala, the massive shield volcano that makes up the eastern three-quarters of Maui. Many people head up to Haleakala (or "house of the sun" in Hawaiian) to catch the sunrise. However, this would have required us to get out of bed and hit the road by 3:30am, so that was out of the question. Instead, we decided to take a leisurely drive up to the summit, stopping at a few places along the way. Our first stop was Makawao, one of Hawaii's last remaining cowboy towns, where we checked out some boutique shops and art galleries, including a glass-blowing shop where you can watch the artisans ply their craft. After walking around this small town, we were getting a bit peckish, so we decided to head off to lunch at the nearby Hali'imaile General Store. Operated by award-winning chef Beverly Gannon, the General Store is well-known for its innovative Hawaiian cuisine. On that count, it did not disappoint. We started our lunch with Bev's Famous Crab Pizza, which was quite delicious. We then split two plates; one was a macadamia nut encrusted mahi-mahi filet with curried mashed potatoes and the other dish was a Kalua pork enchilada pie. Both dishes were quite interesting and very tasty. However, we were a little disappointed with the subpar service that we received, though admittedly we did hit them during their lunch rush. However, what really irritated me was that my Diet coke with two refills cost me nine dollars. That's nine dollars for a three glasses of fountain soda, three glasses that were mostly full of ice to start with! In my opinion, that's a ridiculous markup, which our server conveniently neglected to mention to us. I don't think it's unreasonable to charge for refills, but c'mon, this was silly. This time, we calculated our tip on the bill less the cost of the soda.

After lunch, we decided to check out the Ali'i Lavender Garden on our way toward Haleakala. This garden, located on the uplands on the way toward the volcano, features 45 different types of lavender. If you are a fan of lavender, this is the place to visit. At the gift shop, you can buy all things lavender, ranging from soaps and candles to food items, such as lavender chocolate brownies and lavender pepper seasoning. By the time we left, I must admit that I was a bit lavendered out. Our next stop: Haleakala.

The road to Haleakala is winding and full of switchbacks, though fortunately it is wide with hard shoulders and guardrails, so it is a long but reasonable drive. The twenty or so miles from the main highway to the summit takes about an hour, but your patience will be rewarded. Once we poked through the cloud deck on our way up to the summit, we were treated to some spectacular views:







We hung out at the summit for a while and even ran into another couple from the Bay Area who was staying at the same B&B where we were staying - small world. We lingered at the top for a while, taking many photos of the rugged landscape surrounded by pillowy clouds. We had thought about watching the sunset from the summit, but not willing to wait two hours, we started to head back to the valley. The drive down Haleakala takes as long as the drive up, so by the time we got back to the main highway and found a gas station to fuel up our gas-starved car, the sun was making its way down toward the horizon. We found a nice little park with a view of the ocean, but the evening clouds prevented us from seeing the sun actually set, though the sky was tinted with beautiful shades of red.

By this time, we were also starving. As we headed back, we decided to stop off for dinner at A Saigon Cafe, a little non-descript Vietnamese restaurant in Wailuku. It is so non-descript that our directions to the place told us to drive around a sleepy little neighborhood until we saw a glowing neon "Open" sign. Both of us were a touch under the weather and were looking forward to a warm bowl of pho, a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup. My sweetie chose the Mi Won Ton (Won Ton Egg Noodle Soup) while I went with the Pho Tai Bo Vien (Rare steak and meatballs). The soup and the summer rolls that we split were very filling and definitely hit the spot. After dinner, we started on our way back to the B&B, ready for a good night of slumber after a long day.

Hawaii Part I: Maui

I just got back late last night from my trip to Hawaii. My sweetie and I had a great time lounging in the sun and sand and enjoying some great food. Here's a synopsis of the first part of our stay in Maui:

Day 1: We arrived at Kahului after an early morning departure from San Francisco. After the long flight, we found our way to Da Kitchen, a Hawaiian plate lunch place conveniently located just a few blocks from the airport. My girlfriend ordered the Hawaiian plate lunch consisting of pork lau lau, Kalua pork, chicken long rice, and lomi lomi salmon, while I opted for the loco moco. Of course, both plates came with the obligatory two scoops of rice and a scoop of macaroni salad. Each plate was enormous, with easily enough food for two people.

Sated with our plate lunches, we made our way to Lahaina, to the bed and breakfast where we were lodging during our stay in Maui. We chilled out for a while after our long journey before we headed into town to check out the local trinket shops and art galleries prior to our dinner at the aforementioned David Paul's, located in the heart of Lahaina waterfront. We were tempted by their tasting menu, but after a long session of hemming and hawing, we decided to order a la carte. We started out dinner with a couple of appetizers: the crispy blue corn crusted chile relleno and the Cake Walk, a trio of little bites of Kona lobster cake, Louisana rock shrimp cake, and seared ahi cake. Both the chile relleno, which was stuffed with prawns, scallops, and cheese, and the Cake Walk were excellent. The presentation on the Cake Walk was particularly impressive, drawing comments from the couple sitting at the table next to us. For our entrees, my sweetie had the Maui onion and sesame seed crusted ahi, which was a bit underwhelming, while I went with the Kona coffee roasted rack of lamb, which was excellent, even though the coffee flavor really didn't come through. Overall, dinner was good though it was quite expensive.

Day 2: We started out the day by driving down to Makena and having the Sunday champagne brunch at the Prince Court at the Maui Prince Hotel. The buffet was very good, with a nice assortment of sushi and sashimi to go with the traditional brunch buffet fare, which included made-to-order omelettes and roasted meats from the carving table. After brunch, we headed out to nearby Big Beach, where we sat out and soaked in some rays and played around in the warm ocean water. It was very relaxing. After a couple hours of sun, we headed back to Lahaina so that we wouldn't be late for dinner at the Old Lahaina Luau. The ocean-side luau, considered by many to be the best and most authentic on the island, features an all-you-can-eat menu of traditional Hawaiian foods, such as Kalua pig, poi, guava glazed chicken, and taro salad, all of which you can wash down with a never-ending stream of drinks from the open bar. After dinner, the luau puts on its nightly entertainment program of song and dance, presenting the history of the Hawaiian people and culture, which both of us thought was pretty cool.

Day 3: After a quick breakfast at the B&B, we again made our way to the beach, settling this day at Black Rock Beach at Kaanapali, where we relaxed under the warm sun. I also gave snorkeling a try for the first time, under the guidance and watchful eye of my sweetie, who made sure that I did not get myself into any trouble. The water was very clear that morning so we were able to see several varieties of fish swimming in the waters near the beach. My girlfriend also saw a sea turtle, which ventured into the rocks near the shore after which the beach is named. After being thoroughly exhausted by the sun and the snorkeling, we headed for a quick lunch at the Aloha Mixed Plate, where we enjoyed another plate lunch, though one that was much more reasonably sized than our meal two days earlier. The shoyu chicken, for which the restaurant is well-known, was especially good, both flavorful and juicy.

We headed back to the B&B for some rest before heading out for dinner. That day, we were celebrating two years together :-) so we wanted to try out someplace nice, though neither of us were up for anything too formal or elaborate. We settled on Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar. The restaurant had relocated and opened in a new location just a few days earlier, so we had a little adventure finding it, driving around the Kapulua resort several times before my eagle-eyed girlfriend caught its new location next to the Ritz-Carlton resort. We settled down at the sushi bar and both quickly decided on the omakase menu. The omakase dinner started with a nice bowl of red miso soup, followed by ten pieces of nigiri sushi, ranging from baby yellowtail to o-toro, all of which were very good. While enjoying our dinners, we engaged in a nice conversation with the sushi chef, who really hooked us up by sending out an extra full order of o-toro nigiri and some ahi poke - both on the house! We finished off our dinner with some deep fried tempura ice cream, which we both really liked. It was a very nice conclusion to an excellent day - a great day on our anniversary.

Next up: Our last two days in Maui before moving on to Waikiki Beach.

Off to Hawaii

As I mentioned earlier, I haven't been posting much as of late due to a busy work schedule and everything else going on in my life. Well, it's time for a break. Tomorrow, my sweetie and I will be jetting for a little vacation to a warm and sunny place - Maui.

Of course, I will report back on our eating adventures. We've already booked a dinner date at David Paul's Lahaina Grill, as well as a luau the following evening.

So, stay tuned and keep on truckin'.