doryroams

Seattle

I have arrived. Or more accurately, we have arrived. Stan and I got in yesterday morning and Adrienne swooped us up at the airport. After reaquainting ourselves with Sage and Fern (the feline landlords) at Adrienne and Lorenzo’s apartment, we headed out to find some lunch.

We ended up at a little bakery/ breakfast place called the Wandering Goose. I had biscuits and gravy consisting of a biscuit and a half swimming in a bowl of gravy and collard greens which unfortunately turned out to be sweet (dumb west coasty-types don’t know how to make greens).

We walked around the area, stopping by Lorenzo’s workplace, Caffe Vita, a cool coffee shop with vintage circus decor and a big neon sign.

Eventually Adrienne had to head off so Stan and I headed off to a local brewery, Optimism, where we sampled a few of the beers (nothing special to two beer snobs who have been spoiled by the craft beer scene in Cincinnati).

Next we went to the bowling alley and bar next door, Garage Billiards, and bowled a few games. It was a really cool space with lots of skylights and barebones scorekeeping. They had snacks, local beer, and mixed drinks that were served to you at your lane and you paid by the amount of time you bowled which I really liked.

Next we headed to meet Adrienne at our friends house where she was watching their kids. We played with the babies, Corbin and Millicent, their naked cat, Francis, and their other assorted animals until Christal and Sarah got home. We spent the evening eating pizza, drinking beers, and playing games and had a great time.

Saturday

Saturday was a good ole lazy day. We began the days’ shenanigans with a full English breakfast including eggs, beans, mushrooms, hash browns, toast, salad, and several meats.

The meats were the most interesting part of the meal, they were pork belly-meh never my favorite meat, boudin noir- aka black sausage, aka blood sausage, which was okay but sweeter and with a softer texture than I like, and had a bit of a metallic aftertaste which I did not like, and duck sausage- this one was my favorite, salty, flavorful, ducky.

After our leisurely breakfast we roamed around Gastown picking up trinkets and stopping in little shops and galleries. When we felt peckish again we stopped for some more oysters, black pearls this time which were not as good as the Kusshi but still had that distinctive west coast cucumber taste.

Back to the apartment for a nap, then we wandered over to downtown and stopped for happy hour at a speakeasy bar. The wooden door was unmarked and opened into a swanky, if cave-like bar. They had a jazz pianist playing and bartenders in vests and slicked back hair were serving the customers in our horsehair and leather barstools. I had a martini while Stan drank a “Tumeric fizz” made with tequila. We laughed over the outrageously expensive scotch ($3000 for 1oz of a 50 year Glenfiddich) while we sipped our drinks.

We had dinner at a little Japanese place where we shared a sashimi plate, beef is in soup, and a spicy tuna roll. We also drank about a gallon each of the matcha green tea they were serving.

The sashimi was delicious, a selection of salmon, tuna, and tuna belly, and was gone before I remembered to photograph it.

The iron soup was also almost gone before I took a picture. The noodles were chewy and soaked in the delicious broth, and was altogether a nice dish.

The sushi roll was served with with rice and the only spicy sauce I’ve had on sushi that was actually spicy. A stroll home finished us off and we lazed in the apartment for the rest of the night.

Friday

Friday was a glorious day. Well, it was a grey day but we had a great time. We started off the day with some soup dumplings, duck, fried pork dumplings, and home made noodles at a little Shanghai- style Chinese place.

I was very excited to try soup dumplings because I have heard a lot about them and also because I love a good opportunity to burn the crap out of my mouth. Soup dumplings are literally steamed dumplings filled with broth so eating them can be a tricky situation. We chose the pork soup dumplings and ate them with fiber and vinegar for dipping. The wrappers with thin and soft and the broth was rich and salty with some bits of pork inside. The vinegar and ginger cut through the broth nicely and really balanced the flavor.

The duck was excellent, crispy and rich with a savory-sweet sauce.

The pork buns were also good, sort of a squashed fried bun with a ginger-scented pork filling.

The homemade noodles were awesome, thick, chewy noodles with a gravy-like sauce and a variety of vegetables made me feel like I was making healthy choices…or something like that anyway.

After breakfast we went in search of the Vancouver Art Gallery, but we got distracted along the way.

First we stopped at the most pretentious eclair shop I have ever seen. We picked up a cigar-sized passion fruit and raspberry eclair, which we immediately ate on the street like the refined cosmopolitans that we are. Next, Stan had a desire for pie and so we searched out the nearest pie shop.

The pie shop we found was amazing. It is basically the embodiment of everything I want to create with my own shop. There was a small lunch menu with soups, salads, and sandwiches, plus a few other options, a full service coffee bar, and a selection of innovative pies and desserts that were very exciting to peruse.

I went for a slice is raspberry lavender pie which had a raspberry custard on bottom, topped with a light, airy, lavender cream. I enjoyed it with a jasmine tea while Stan opted for an apple-blackberry crumble and coffee.

We finally got back on track and got ourselves to the art gallery and checked out the two exhibits they had up. The first was all the work of one native artist, Susan Point. Her work is all heavily inspired by the art and traditions of her people, the Salish coastal people. She had a lot of screen prints with bold animal motifs and highly contrasted colors that were very visually pleasing. My favorite piece consisted of a series of expanded thumbnails which I found very interesting not only because of the range of color but also styles used in them. Most of her other work is very polished so I thought that getting to see some of her process work was pretty cool.

There was also an exhibit on artists from Hong Kong and it explained how art in Hong Kong has been strongly affected and influenced by the changing political climate there since the days of colonization.

We returned to the apartment for a quick rest before going to explore for a bit in Chinatown. After poking around some of the shops and picking up some tea we had happy hour at the Keefer Bar, where I was pleased they had an Aperol Spritz special.

After changing, we headed out again for a nice dinner. We chose a place called Wildebeest for its selection of strange meats and interesting food combinations.

We started out with some cocktails, I had a gin, cucumber and lavender refresher while Stan chose a bourbon thingy. I liked their odd service method- they said because the cocktails take so long to prepare they give out free tiny beers to keep you occupied while you wait.

The food was great. We started with boar belly that was crisp, tender, smoky, and covered with a molasses-sesame sauce. There was a bit more sauce than was necessary but the meat was good and basically tasted like really good pork belly.

Next was horse tartar, which we first got a taste for in Toronto a few years back. Funny thing, you can’t eat horse in the US, but a majority of the horse eaten in Canada is produced in the US. Anyway, the raw horse bits were served with a hay mayo, egg yolk, pickled celery and carrot, and potato chips. The kettle chips actually went pretty well with the other components and added an earthiness to the otherwise delicately flavored dish.

Our main course was elk tenderloin served with cauliflower 3 ways- pureed, pickled, and roasted, as well as a potato “terrine” which was a rectangular block of stacked slices of potato crisply fried on the outside. The elk was perfectly cooked, imagine filet mignon, and fell apart it your mouth. I liked all three preparations of the cauliflower, particularly the puree which seems to be a distillation of pure cauliflower flavor and was velvety smooth.

We also had Brussels sprout ‘Caesar’ which was good although a bit heavy on the acid. Needless to say, we slept well that night.

Island Life

Today we took Granville Island by storm! Not really, it was actually a very nice, sunny day and we hopped on the ferry over what they call “false creek” to check out the situation.

Granville Island is apparently, in fact, a peninsula, but I decided to let that slide and judge the place based on its merits. The ferry ride was gorgeous with the sun glittering off the water, and was also surprisingly cheap.

Once on the “island” we found breakfast at one of the restaurants nestled between craft shops. It was adequate but not great and we continued on to explore the farmer’s market. The market was a tangle of stalls filled with fresh produce, cheese, meats, seafood, and baked goods, there was also a food court like area with a lot of quick food options from Indian to vegan Vietnamese to gelato and pickles. We had a few samples and went out to explore the shops. The shops were a mixture of galleries, artsy craft shops, full blown tourist traps, and scattered random things like whale watching trip offices and a broom-making shop.

We picked up some souvenirs and got some beers at the local brewery. We agreed that visiting breweries has lost its luster since we are so spoiled in Cincinnati. I also think it’s a sign that this isn’t a craft beer city that a lot of bars serve beer in frosty glasses. The flight we shared was decent though, a hefeweizen and a saison for Stan and an IPA and a maple cream ale for me.

While on the island, I got a call I had been waiting for, with a job offer which I happily accepted. I decided to celebrate with some figs!

After a bit more wandering we took the ferry back and decided to do happy hour at an oyster house. The place was airy and predictably nautically themed with white painted wood and nets and lobster traps hanging from the walls and ceilings. We split clam chowder and garlic prawns and I got 3 kusshi oysters. The shrimp were great and we soaked up the pool of broth they were served in with big hunks of sour dough bread. The clam chowder was also fine after a little doctoring with hot sauce and vinegar. The real stand out however, was the oysters.

The kusshi oysters were small, but packed a lot of flavor. They began slightly sweet and creamy, turning to very briny and finally ending up with a refreshing cucumber finish. I was quite pleased and we walked back to the apartment in the hopes of taking a nap.

Alas, my body would not allow for a nap so later we sallied forth to find some Chinese for a late dinner. We found it, but it is not worth talking about here and we would both rather put it behind us. We continued on, through a sketchy part of town to a hip bar called ‘The Alibi Room’.

We were seated and to my amazement, carded for the first time on this trip (the drinking age in British Columbia is 19, so we are apparently very fresh-faced in the mind of the bartender). The drinks were very good though. I had a bourbon cocktail with cassis, lemon, and bitters which was very nice. A mix of smokiness, tartness, a little tannic touch, and slight sweetness from the bourbon. We ended our night here, proud of staying out an hour later than the night before (11!).

Canadia

We were out by about 9 this morning, our first stop being a Mediterranean brunch spot called Medina. There was a light, misty, rain falling as we walked there that continued throughout the day in typical Vancouver style.

Medina is apparently very popular as we had to wait for table at 930 on a Wednesday! It was very classy inside with tons of yuppie hipsters hanging around and separate bars for coffee and cocktails. HGTV watchers would have approved.

I went with a bloody Mary and a dish of potatoes, short ribs, fried eggs, arugula, cheddar, apple, and radish, all soaking up a savory, spicy tomato chunky sauce.

Canadians do this thing where they put mesquite seasoned salt on bloody Marys…I’m not that into it.

Stan had a similar concoction but with lamb meatballs, poached eggs, peppers, and olives in a thinner tomato sauce.

Both meals were pretty good, a nice combination of richness, tang, and fresh ingredients that started us off right for the day.

Afterwards we walked to Science World, stopping in the collosseum-inspired public library on the way.

In the words of our “president” it was yuuugee

We were probably too old for Science World, but there were some pretty fun interactive exhibits including grip-testing machines (Stan was mad that my grip is as strong as his), a screen that made psychedelic trails around you as you danced, and a sharp shooting game that showed your accuracy (I am still an excellent shot). I only got mad a couple times when children cut me in line, and the ball-shaped building had great views of the harbor.

This is how my cat, Olive stretches after a nap.

A quick train ride back to the downtown area had us eating Japadog Asian-style hot dogs shortly. It was a tiny, grungy, little shop outlet of the mostly cart-driven brand, but the hotdogs were very hot and tasty when they came out.

Stan opted for the original terimayo which has a pork hotdog with Japanese mayo, teriyaki sauce, and seaweed on top. It was savory, juicy, hot, and very well balanced, a tiny bit sweet, creamy, and salty-briny.

I had the okonomi or as I like to call it, The Hank special (our cat, Hank, loves bonito flakes), it came with a pork dog, fried cabbage, a sweet sauce, and, of course, bonito flakes. I added wasabi mayo from the squeeze bottles provided which was a smart decision in my opinion.

After our lunch, we walked to Chinatown and went to the Classical Chinese Garden.

They had a beautifully designed main garden, everything surrounded by walls to make a series of courtyards. We got a discount because their water garden is currently under construction and is drained, but it was easy to imagine how beautiful the garden will be once the maintenance is done.

We also got to see a series of bonsai, some of which were over 130 years old, and had some tea while trying our hand at slate painting, a kind of sumi-e style brush painting that uses a specially prepared slate and water. It was a very relaxing experience and the tea warmed us up after walking in the drizzling rain all day.

We headed back to the apartment after the garden experience and got in our swimsuits in order to enjoy the pool, hot tub, and sauna in the building. Because Vacation’s middle name is Luxury.

We got relaxed in the apartment and got ready for our first “fancy dinner” out. We chose a place called Forage that specializes in local ingredients, blah, blah, they have weird things that I want to eat.

At Forage we opted for some small plates including bison tongue ‘frites’, halibut cheek and octopus poke, duck confit rillette, and seafood chowder.

We may have eaten some before I remembered to take a picture.

The tongue was very nice, crisply fried strips of meat which were extremely tender and had an almost liver-like minerality without being harsh or metallic. They also came with a honey mustard and bacon dipping sauce which was tasty but unnecessary.

The poke was also excellently executed, small strips of octopus and bits of raw halibut cheek were paired with tiny cubes of celery root, red and yellow pepper, red onion, shredded seaweed and kale, rice crackers, and a mixture of sesame oil, vinegar, garlic, and honey. The play of earthiness in the kale against the fresh vegetables and briny seafood was really interesting, and the dish overall was reminiscent of the squid salad that is ubiquitous at sushi restaurants. Overall lovely and with awesome textural contrasts as well.

The duck confit was less interesting time although not too shabby. It came with juniper berry gels and ‘beignet’ dough pockets. We combined the three for a sandwich-type situation which worked well but was not particularly noteworthy.

The chowder was extremely rich, consisting of lobster, crab, scallop, and other sea creatures combined with a thick, creamy base and topped with a quail egg and a pork rind. The pork rind added a nice smokiness but was a bit gummy from sitting in the soup. Everything else about the chowder worked though. Every component was done exactly right and who doesn’t like a quail egg on top?

We wondered back over to Gastown, stopping at a steampunky-pub for a drink and a chat with a very friendly and helpful bartender before finishing off the night with a snack.

Lots of people were taking pictures of this clock so it’s probably famous right? It seemed like it might be steam powered based on the clouds of vapor that were streaming out of it.

We chose an impossible to locate place called Guu for some late night (10 is late right?) snacks. It’s a Japanese place that has a couple locations around town, and was recommended to Stan by a coworker.

I got some Yaki-udon noodles while Stan got fried chicken. Both were delicious, another excellent Asian-style fried chicken on the one hand, and mine were a savory, saucy heap of chewy noodles that didn’t disappoint.

Mine came with some bits of beef, green onion, mushrooms, and bonito flakes (I’m turning into Hank). The funny thing was that the bonito flakes danced in the rising heat of the noodles and seemed to be waving each in their own microscopic breeze.

After our food, we decided to call it a night and head back to the Airbnb. It seems like we have not fully adjusted to this new timezone…

Vancouver!?!

It was kind of a bitch to get here. Woke up at 5, got bumped from our flight to Toronto, didn’t have time to eat anything for about 12 hours except for free pretzels and tomato juice, 2 flights, customs lines, and a train ride, but we made it!

Stan and I are staying at a well-placed Airbnb apartment right at the intersection of Chinatown, Gastown, and Downtown. There are a lot of cool restaurants, bars, shops, and hipsters around here so it seems like we are well situated.

We got in and took the recommendation of our Airbnb host, Soroush, and walked to a Cambodian/Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown called Phnom Penh. We shared a two-noodle soup, chicken wings, and dumplings. Naturally starving-Dory worried that it wouldn’t be enough food (it definitely was) and everything was really good. I think my opinions may have been slightly colored by the fact that I hadn’t eaten in so long, but we had an excellent time.

The two-noodle soup had rice and egg noodles prawns, pork, pork innards (mostly liver) and a light, aromatic broth. This came with hot bean sprouts, and hot pepper paste. It us a testament to my hunger that I even ate the liver which is usually something I am not very keen on. Both noodles were good, although I preferred the rice ones, and the flavors were surprisingly light. I feel like you can’t go wrong with a big bowl of noodle soup.

The dumplings were very unusual, a translucent, chewy dough wrapped around jicama, pork, egg, Chinese sausage, and mushrooms. They came with vinegar for dipping and tasted slightly peppery and savory. The outstanding thing for me was the interplay of textures. The chewy dough with the crunchy jicama and meaty mushrooms and pork, with tiny rounds of sausage throughout made for a very interesting, if unwieldy, mouthful.

The chicken wings were really the best thing we got. They were crispy, hot and flavorful. They were marinated in lemon, pepper, and garlic, and those flavors were evident through the meat. The meat was juicy and savory, and the skin was thin and crisp with just a touch of sugar which balanced out the flavors in a very pleasing way.

We walked back to our apartment through Chinatown where the trees were in bloom and Stan napped while I unpacked and started scheming for our evening revelries.

After a siesta, we headed to Keefer Bar up the street from our accommodations. The bar decor and cocktail menu brings to mind a Chinese apothocary/ herbal healing sort of establishment. It was dark with medical anatomical drawings, Asian statues, and jars and bottles filled with mysterious powders and tinctures. We had a couple overpriced cocktails and enjoyed people watching before heading out to find some dinner.

We walked up to Gastown and had some snacks at the Flying Pig. We split what I would like to refer to as “Squid sticks” which are about what they sound like. They were nicely tender and had a good amount of spice, but were a little bit soggy and otherwise fairly bland.

We also had Brussels sprouts and short rib poutine, both of which were middling but adequate to fill our jet-lagged needs. We did enjoy the trendy restaurant and the architecture of the neighborhood as we walked home to watch a little Netflix and catch up on our sleep.

More Canadian adventures to come!

Familiar Faces

Yesterday we got up and had a little coffee and some burekas at the coffee shop down the street.

We lazed around the house for a while after that, relaxing and watching some tv before heading to the main attraction: The Crab Trap. Chelsea and I were very anxious to sink our claws into a big, steaming pile of crawdads and show our parents a good time at the little hole in the wall out on the bayou.

We drove out over the water to the shack up on stilts and decided to take advantage of the nice weather and ample sunshine by sitting out on the porch where we could feel the wind and watch the waters surge on the Pontchartrain. Unfortunately for us we were not destined to eat crawdads that day, but we settled for a mess of crabs, fried oysters, and some cups of soup.

The crabs were spicy and sweet and tender fleshed and left my lips tingling and my fingers sea-scented.

The oysters were crispy and soft and sweet and briny and perfect with a little garlicy remoulade.

Our cups of corn and crab chowder were creamy and sweet and spicy, with large lumps of lightly sauteed crab meat in a spiced sauce. We ate until our fingers were wrinkled and set off for a walk by the water’s edge to check out the scenery.

After a quick look around we headed back to town.

We made our way to the art museum that had some great pieces including a very nice exhibit of the work of a Louisiana native, George Dunbar.

Next we hung around the house and played some games until Fallon came over and we head for dinner at a jazz venue on Frenchmen street.

We had a few great cocktails, my personal favorite was made with brandy, pear liquor, and orange zest, and had a dinner of tapas, including some charcuterie, olives, mac and cheese, eggplant bruschetta, and lamb sliders.

The band was excellent, a small ensemble of bass, banjo, piano, saxophone/clarinet, and a woman playing trumpet and singing (alternating, obviously) who was amazing. They also had a man playing washboard join them for a few songs.

We enjoyed that for a while before heading out to find more music elsewhere. We heard an amazing voice from the street and made our way into the bar only to realize that it was the same band that had drawn us into a bar back in March!

It is a great funk band called In Business which includes an outstanding vocalist, a horn section of three saxophonists, a guitarist, a basist, and drummer. We enjoyed their music for most of the night before going back home.

Mixed Results

We started our first day back in style, walked to the French Quarter picking up a muffuletta and some bloody Mary’s along the way.

My mom was jonesing for some beignets so we ate our meal at Cafe Du Monde with a pile of beignets and a couple chicory coffees. We soaked up the sunlight and ate our sweet and salty meal before taking a walk around.

We strolled up the river walk as jazz floated down the river from a lone saxophonist
and the water sparkled in the sunshine.

We walked around Jackson square enjoying the weather and people watching.

We checked out the 1850 house which has been historically restored to represent what a house from, you guessed it, the 1850s looked like.

I always think it’s interesting to see how people from different times lived and it makes it easier to imagine how the city looked an what the people were like in bygone eras.

We continued on to a couple art galleries and ended up at the Carousel bar which Chelsea and I were anticipating trying out the revolving bar but maybe unsurprisingly it was not as great as we imagined.

We both felt a bit seasick and quickly dismounted to join our parents on a non-revolving couch. After an elder flower and cucumber scented cocktail we headed off to get some oysters and picked up Fallon along the way who is also in town for a concert.

We then had a run in with a bird, Fallon was on the receiving end of a bombing, and we all downed some oysters and walked back to our airbnb.

We hung around and I had a quick nap before we headed for our fancy dinner at Herbsaint, a place recommended by Anthony Bourdain. I have to say that for the first time, Anthony Bourdain has let me down. We started with three small plates of gnocchi with broccoli, pancetta, and parmesan, Sicilian beef with potatoes, anchovies, and olives, and fish and shrimp ceviche with cucumbers and pepitas.

The starters were good, the gnocchi was our surprise favorite, perfectly cooked and the flavors were extremely well balanced. For our mains Chelsea and I both selected the fish special of cobia with butter bean risotto and radish. Here is where we ran into trouble.

The fish was crispy and delicious, perfectly cooked with lemon coated arugula and radishes offsetting the richness perfectly. The risotto however, was undercooked to the point of being crunchy and stuck in my teeth very unpleasantly. I had our dishes sent back and they returned about 10 minutes later, the manager insisting that the risotto would be cooked perfectly this time. While it was hotter and more thoroughly cooked this time, I would not have described it as “perfect” and to add insult to injury, this time the fish was under done. The waitress, witnessing our struggle, came over to inform us that cobia is supposed to be cooked to medium but, condescendingly offered to get us something else if we preferred. By this point I was more than a little peeved and not at all hungry. Now I don’t want this to seem too whiny so I won’t go on for much longer but I just want to say that cobia is a fish that should cut easily with a fork, flaking, the proteins should not fight you and fray unappealingly. Also when your meal is $30 at a restaurant that has a James Beard award, properly cooked risotto and accommodating service shouldn’t be too much to ask. Ugghh enough of that, a disappointing meal is such a bummer and put me in a sour mood. We all just went home and had an early night in the hopes that tomorrow would be a better day.

Back in NOLA

Well it seems it couldn’t be avoided. I’m back in New Orleans for the second time in a year. Honestly if it were any other city I might be a little annoyed that I’m not exploring a new place but there is something about New Orleans that is just so enticing. Is it the seafood? The to-go drinks? The laid back atmosphere? The strange and wonderful infusion of cultures? Yeah, I think that might have something to do with it. But there is some intangible quality that New Orleans has that I can’t resist. Some invisible energy that pulls you in and tells you “relax, I got this” and I can just see where the day takes me without worrying that I’m missing out on something better.

Okay enough with the waxing poetic on the city. Let’s get down to the brass tacks. We left Cincinnati yesterday with weather there in the single digits and I have to say it was very satisfying to watch the temperature gauge creep up as we inched father and farther south.

We stopped at Waffle House in Tuscaloosa for lunch and I have to say that I tried their steak and eggs for the first time and wow. Who knew Waffle House could do steak? This just goes to show that trying new things can really pay off even at the most unexpected of places.
We made pretty good time getting in at 430 local time and I was able to turn in the last of my assignments for school by 630. The airbnb we are staying at is super cute and very nice. We have a house in the Marigny and there are plenty of bars and restaurants within the few surrounding blocks.

We walked to a place down the street and had some oysters and corn and crab croquettes along with a few cocktails (I had an aperol spritz because I felt like celebrating).

Next we walked to another place and got escargot which I was very pleased with. They were fairly large, tender, and had a delicious earthiness to them. Of course they were drenched in a garlic butter and white wine sauce so how could they be anything but awesome?

For dinner Chelsea and I split a crab cake BLT and some shrimp and grits. The sandwich was delicious, came with thick cut bacon, fried green tomatoes and huge lump crab cakes. The shrimp and grits I liked less, the sauce over the top was quite sweet which I am not a fan of, but it did come with mustard greens and the shrimp were perfectly cooked. All around, not too shabby for the first night in!

Hawaii

So here is all about my time in Hawaii and visiting Hannah! My longest (time, not body length), and best friend Hannah moved to the North Shore of O’ahu last November to work at a YMCA camp out here. I came to visit and stayed with her in her little cabin at the camp which is sandwiched between some gorgeous mountains on one side, and the beach on the other (freaking beautiful).

I arrived in Honolulu at night where I was greeted by the lovely Hannah who even brought me a lei! (Btw- it smelled amazing). We drove back to Hannah’s abode all the way to the northwest of the Island, about an hour from Honolulu.

The next morning we picked up my rental, and decided to go for a light lunch of 7-11 sushi. I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not as sketchy as it sounds, plus it is very affordable, especially by Hawaiian standards. I got a spicy tuna handroll and spam misubi. The spam misubi is served hot and the spam is generally marinated in some kind of sauce and cooked. It was actually pretty delicious and I was quite happy.

Next, we tramped down to Honolulu, planning to hike the iconic Diamond Head trail, but it was raining so we went to the Iolani Palace instead. This was where the Hawaiian royalty lived in Honolulu before the US completely disregarded their right of sovereignty and took over (typical, right?). It was really interesting to learn some of the history of the royal family, especially as this is not an area in history that I know much about. The palace was also interesting because it was really reminiscent of the palaces you see in Europe, although on a smaller scale.

After the palace, the rain had let up so we decided to try Diamond Head, which is a hike to the caldera (top, crater-y part) of the inactive volcano in Honolulu. The hike was fun, and a refreshing mist started falling as we reached the top. The rain felt great, but made for limited photo-ops so you will just have to imagine what it looked like. We quickly descended before it rained too hard, and left for our next adventure.

This is a view of the Diamond Head volcano from the Bishop Museum

We spent the evening at a small brewery in the University area called Brew Lab where we split a flight (not bad) and then had Chinese for dinner (also not bad).

The next day, we headed to Waimea valley, which is a historic and spiritual place for Hawaiians, and is also a gorgeous botanical garden. We hiked through the valley, where Hannah gave me a tour in Spanish (not sure how much she made up 😉) and then we cooled down in the waterfall at the end of the trail!

Despues de waterfall, we crossed the street to Waimea Bay Beach where we relaxed, read, and swam in the ocean. It was a beautiful, sunny day with cooling winds and fairly energetic surf, and we both got a bit too much sun (ouchy).

After our swim, we stopped at the Waimea farmers market and got lunch (avocado and shrimp spring rolls, and guacamole for me, and fish tacos, kombucha and a cupcake for her). I also picked up some ginger juice and pineapple for later.

That night, we met up with Hannah’s friend Harry and his family who were in Hawaii on vacation and we all had dinner together in Waikiki (tourist central). It was a really nice time and they were all very kind and interesting people. Hannah and I even got leftovers for breakfast the next morning!

I slept in the next day while Hannah worked in the morning, and then we went to the Dole pineapple plantation (on a side note, it turns out that a certain Dole was instrumental in overthrowing the last queen of Hawaii, Lili’oukalani). We got dole whip which is a pineapple-sherbet type dealy with more pineapple on top. We explored the area and found some pineapple plants (imagine that) and some of the wild chickens that roam around everywhere on the island. We went to town afterwards and shopped around a little before heading home to wash up.

For dinner, we went to an amazing Thai restaurant in Haleiwa called Opals. It’s byob or byo-wine in our case, and extremely popular. The owner comes to your table and interviews you about what you know about Thai food, and what you have eaten recently and if you have any dietary restrictions and then he just sends out whatever he thinks you should eat. We had what I assume was a pan-fried, saucy-spicy radish cake, which was crisp on the outside, and creamy on the inside, with a much finer texture than I have experienced with Chinese versions. Next, there were pork salad wraps (spicy, salty, and juicy) and for the main we had a wide-noodled dish with duck (I think it was drunken noodle) and a coconut-creamy, spicy green curry with shrimp. We were almost done with the meal before I thought to document it, oops. This is possibly one of the best meals of my life, though, and we left happy and full.

Saturday Hannah had to work, and I was left to my own devices. I had a very pretty breakfast of Poke, which is a Hawaiian dish of raw fish, salted and spiced, this one mixed with cucumber and something called sea asparagus which a very juicy and salty-sour.

Thus fortified, I went down to Honolulu and to the Bishop Museum which is a big complex of museums really. I spent almost the whole day in the Hawaiian Hall though, which had three levels- the first was devoted to theology and Hawaiian deities, the second was on native life and living on Hawaii, and the third was on the royalty and political history of Hawaii.

I drove back home when the museum closed, and walked on the beach by Hannah’s cottage for a while. After Hannah got off we hung out and chatted before going to bed.

Sunday- mother’s day we had brunch in town and spotted a hen with a bunch of adorable chicks, super appropriate for mother’s day.

We headed to the exact other end of the island, Makapuu point, and hiked along the shore and down to some tidal pools. There were some really clear pools and a few blow-holes which were pretty cool to watch (think like a geyser).

Afterwards, we grabbed some shave ice (pineapple, guava, and passion fruit, which is called lilikoi here). It was not too sweet, fresh, and light, even over vanilla ice cream, and they used real juices, not syrups which I really enjoyed.

The next day Hannah had to work again, so I procured a kahlua-pork burrito (kahlua pork is a really popular dish here) and had a nap.

Once I was energized, I went on a hike near Hannah’s camp. The trail was called the Kealia trail, and it starts behind an airforce base. The trail leads up a mountain and into the nature reserve that borders the camp on one side (the other side being beach). There were great views of the coast from the side of the mountain, and the trail was rocky and steep in parts. There were also a lot of plant and animal life, including some Laysan Albatrosses, identified for me by the only bird expert I know, Tyler Imfeld.

After the hike and a shower, Hannah and I had camp dinner (for free!) And relaxed around camp before bed.

Now I’m waiting at the Honolulu airport for my plane to board so I can get home! Well that’s it for now…