My mom came out to visit for about a month and I decided I needed to blog about a few of the places we visited. She has done all of the touristy stuff (I have written about those on my Things to Do on Oahu tab) which include snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, visiting Waikiki, the Pearl Harbor Memorial, several beaches, and a lot of great hiking trails. If I forgot to write about a couple of those....you have the idea now to go google them.
In addition to all of those great things, here is a list of a few other fun things we enjoyed!
1. Visiting Haleiwa
Okay so this is still touristy, but its a great little town. There is a bunch of art galleries and tons of food- Matsumoto's Shave Ice is a landmark. We ate at the Seafood Grill and it was fantastic (Bob's Pizza is also really good.) But the most important part of Haleiwa is the food truck congretation. My mom is obsessed with Giovanni's shrimp truck- I personally love the crepe truck. Something for everyone!
Yay food trucks!
2. Lania Kea Beach/ Turtle Beach
While we are on the topic of North Shore, there's a lot of great places to go to the beach. (Waimea Bay is popular, so is the Pipeline or surfing) But we really enjoyed Lania Kea. It is just a small strip of beach that is just past Turtle Beach. At the time there was plenty of parking across the street because a lot of people continue up further.
Lania Kea. There were a lot of people surfing and it was fun to watch!
Turtle Beach! Unfortunately we didn't see any turtles this time, but it made for a beautiful sunset.
3. The Coffee Farm
This has become one of my favorite places- I would visit every morning if it were closer. This little place is on the way towards the Dole Plantation. Inside the shop is coffee galore- flavored coffees, samples, jams, honey, etc. But even better is the little cafe that is always full of fresh coffee and pastries. You can enjoy it inside or out under a tree in a colorful Adirondack chair!
I look a little like a goober haha but enjoying a delicious coffee and pastry!
4. Visit Kailua for Crepes!
If you can't tell, I really like crepes. Kailua is a fun little place to visit on its own, but this crepe place is the bomb. It's called Crepes No Ka Oi- they have a crepe of every type and so many delicious teas! My favorite is the eiffel tower crepe (it's brie with apples, honey, and cinnamon. yum!) They have both sweet and savory options. Behind the crepe place is a cute little dog boutique and there's several shops close by. (Including a consignment shop where I tried a pair of $700 Valentino shoes. They were so pretty and the most expensive things I've ever worn!)
After our crepes we hit up the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and went on up the rode to Lani Kai beach. Makes for pretty much an awesome day!
5. Rainy Day Shopping
Since a grand portion of the time my mom visited it was pouring rain- it is hurricane season after all- we had to self entertain indoors. Which was no problem because the Ala Moana mall is amazing. You can spend a whole day in there easily- its huge. But if you don't want to battle traffic down town, the Pearlridge mall in Aiea is also pretty great (and has a few more stores in the affordable, normal people price range.) There's still a bunch of great shopping. I introduced my mom to the book off- most books are 1-5 bucks and we went a little crazy. Plus they have a Jeans Wearhouse and Aloha Salads.
