There are many reasons to love Duke Kahanamoku, the father of modern surfing. Watch here as he breaks his own Olympic swimming record in Antwerp, Belgium. Or maybe you’ve seen him in one of his starring Hollywood roles back in the 1930s. Maybe you’ve eaten at Duke’s restaurant, or surfed at Duke’s beach? Maybe you…
Most people head to central Oahu with one thing in mind – Pineapples and the Dole Plantation. Personally, there’s a better destination that I like to stop at – it’s not as old, not as touristy, and is all about one of life’s essentials – COFFEE! Hawaiian Coffee is kind of a big deal. Everyone…
One of my favorite places to take guests and visitors on Oahu is to the world famous North Shore of Oahu. A day up there usually includes visiting the famous surfing beaches like Banzai Pipeline, Sunset Beach, and Waimea Bay – but it also includes stops such as a Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa and…
There are certain foods that you have to eat when you come to Honolulu. One of them, is the famous Malasada from Leonard’s Bakery. A malasada is a doughnut without a hole – a little bit crispy and a little bit chewy. They’ve been in Hawaii since the late 1800s when the Portuguese emigrated in…
When I first came to Hawai’i – I was at the beach in Waikiki and met a couple of locals. They asked where I was from, how long I was staying…the usual questions locals ask people on vacation. It was a friendly talk-story conversation – until they found out that I intended to stay in…
I’m going to start using the Saturday Slideshow to showcase some of my travels to different places around the world and around the USA – but that will be next week. This week – I’m going to share some splashes of amazing tropical flower power to brighten up the cold and rain that I know…
I originally posted this in mid-2008. I miss Obama. I respected him. I would have voted for him if there had been any question of him not winning in Hawai’i. I’m still pretty stoked that his brother-in-law was one of my instructors at the University of Hawai’i and his sister was someone I’ve chatted with…
I’m thankful that I had the chance to live and work in Turkey for several years. On this Thanksgiving, I am in Hawaii, but I look back at Turkey…and all the Trimmings. Happy Thanksgiving from Vagobond! The Blue Mosque Spiritual Center of Istanbul I love Istanbul. It’s big, it’s ancient, it’s filled with people from…
I’ve always thought that the Halona Blowhole, and blowholes in general, are very unfortunately named. They should instead be called ocean geysers or lava tube spouts – but blowhole? Really? Oh well, there’s nothing I can do about it. The unfortunate name doesn’t change the fact that the Halona Blowhole is one of Oahu’s most…
As a guide, one of the top requests I get is to ‘see Diamond Head’ – which is funny, because often when I get the request – it’s in Waikiki where Diamond Head is most visible! Diamond Head is just one of those monuments that people have heard of but don’t really know what it…