Executive Chef Exited
Seemingly a great location in Kailua, it was not. The Executive Chef that opened on Kailua Road in late 2011 is now closed. I’m not certain when they closed but driving by, you’ll see emptied spaces.
Life
The Changing Face of Ala Moana
Ugh, I can’t say this is a positive change for Ala Moana, but I guess it is necessary. With all the construction and expansion of the shopping center and nearby buildings, safety for the shoppers is paramount, and all of this helps protect you and me.
But where is this in Ala Moana? Can you guess?
Hiked the Lanikai Pillboxes
After reading this Exploration Hawaii post about 5 Great Kid Friendly Trails on Oahu, our family decided to hike the Lanikai Pillboxes of Kaiwa Ridge. Though we’ve been Windward residents for years, we never hiked the Pillboxes with our young kids, instead sticking to the paved ways of Diamond Head and Makapuu Lighthouse.
Parking is tight since you’re in the cramped Lanikai area. There are a few parking stalls nearby the trail entrance, and we lucked out with a spot as hikers continually come and go. The trail entrance is nondescript, just looking like an opening between fences. Going up the Pillbox entryway is what you can expect from the rest of the hike. No paved walkways, no handrails, just dirt, rocks, and trees. Kids have a little bit of difficulty making it up, but it is very doable. Once you make it up to the landing, you’re greeted with an open view of Lanikai and the Mokulua Islands.
After admiring your first visual vista, it’s time to go up. There’s no real main path, just a general direction that all the hikers take. Some parts are wide enough for groups to pass. Other places are narrow with one lane of traffic in each direction.
On the way to the first pillbox, you have two great views. On one side, you see the Mid Pacific Country Club and on the other, Lanikai, its beaches, and the blues of the Pacific Ocean.
A word of caution. It can rain on your hike and with the wear and tear of the trail, it’ll get slick and easy to lose your footing. There was a passing drizzle on our morning hike that brought some heat relief and of course, a rainbow.
At the first pillbox, the Mokulua Islands are in clear view as well as the neighborhood of Lanikai.
The path to the second pillbox seemed more craggy and closer to ridge lines. While general caution will keep you safe, you can definitely injure yourself if you don’t respect the terrain and cooperate with fellow hikers.
From the second pillbox, you can see the entire stretch of Bellows in Waimanalo.
Sitting atop the pillbox is a great place to snack, rest, and reflect.
And of course, the panorama of the Windward coastline is just awesome.
While there are more pillboxes, the general public turns around at the second one since hiking to the others is more challenging. All in all, the hike with kids and stops along the way took under 90 minutes. After this workout, don’t forget to head to the nearby Island Snow shop for a cool, refreshing snack.
Then share your Lanikai Pillbox hike experience online with Dwellable’s #GetYourGlassOutside contest.
The Mokulua Islands while hiking Lanikai Pillboxes @Dwellable #GetYourGlassOutside pic.twitter.com/PIJbcPo0wl
— Gee Why (@geewhy) July 10, 2014
Please retweet the above tweet to help my contest entry. For a few more pictures, check out my Flickr album.
Return of the Watermelon Eating Champion
Over the weekend, the sports world learned that LeBron James was coming home while Carmelo Anthony penned, “My city, my heart.” Lost among this NBA hoopla was the return of the champion, the Hawaii State Farm Fair Watermelon Eating Contest champion.
In 2009, the champ took stage and demolished his watermelon ahead of his competitors. Since then, the champ’s been away unable to defend his title. Until now. 2014. July. Hawaii State Farm Fair at Kualoa Ranch. Eight competitors. One winner.
Here’s the action (including a GoPro closeup view).
It was a close contest with bite-to-bite lead changes with Jake, the 2013 champ. But in the end, 2014 mirrored 2009.
Congratulations to the Farm Fair 2009 and 2014 Watermelon Eating Champ!
Backed Robotech Academy
After binging on backing Kickstarter projects, I made an effort to stay away to keep the cash flow incoming and not outgoing. But there are always exceptions. With a nod to nostalgia, I had to kickstart the revival of the classic Robotech series.
As many others in my generation would agree, Robotech was the show. Yeah, it was an amalgam of three different anime series, but the stories of the Zentraedi and Invid doing battle with the mechanized Valkyries, Cyclones, and Alpha fighters provided indelible memories. Can new memories be forged with a new Robotech series? The only way to find out is to back Robotech Academy.
Some inspiration for you…
Threes! Starbucks App of the Week
The premise of the game is simple. Maneuver numbered tiles and add up pairs to get bigger and bigger numbers. It’s a great mind challenger, and in my opinion, the gameplay is more understandable than the similar 2048 game.
I Need a Bigger Cup Holder
This new, large size Starbucks Iced Coffee is now available at grocery stores. And yes, you need a bigger cup holder in your car to hold this 48-oz container. I mean this is a one-time drink right? Like a super-sized iced coffee?
This iced coffee comes in three flavors, unsweetened, lightly sweetened, and caramel and is 50-60 calories per 8 fl oz (depends on the flavor). As a size comparison, here is the iced coffee bottle next to a Starbucks refrigerated latte boxed drink.
The oddest aspect of this bottle is the girth of the cap. It’s huge, or so you think. When you unscrew the cap, you might be underwhelmed with its actual size.
Peets Kailua Now Open
Peets Coffee in Kailua is now open for business. Announced in September 2013 but not pau in January 2014, I was fearful the Peet’s entry to the Windward side petered out. But when I passed by this Fourth of July weekend, the store was finally open (and supposedly has been open for a few weeks).
I had already gotten a coffee so I didn’t buy anything this time, but at least I know there’s yet another option for caffeine in the 96734. There are a few seats inside but the push is for the plentiful outdoor seating.
Belkin Orla Kiely iPad Mini Cases on Special
Normally, these cases are $50. Many are currently discounted to $10. For whatever reason (July 4th special??), when you checkout, you get an additional 75% discount applied. So the reduced $10 price comes down to $2.50! Okay, the catch is, for Hawaii at least, that standard shipping is around $7 so the total goes back up to about $10 for the case.
This Belkin case reminds me of the Dot Cover which I originally had and am satisfied with. Although the fold over magnetic tab is slowly ripping off due to wear and tear, the case has survived bumps and drops. While there are better, tougher cases out there, I can’t dispute the $10 price tag.
Tivo Has No Free Shipping to Hawaii
Aww, that’s a real bummer. Tivo has a promotion to upgrade existing customers to their new Roamio platform
And you can order a bigger drive to replace the stock drive while shopping at Amazon. Seems like the WD Green
The Tabasco Man Wuz Hea
Hmmm, I think the Tabasco Man visited our workplace refrigerator after posting my pet peeve. Remember his solution to my pet peeve was to eat the poke? Notice the now-missing poke. Of course, the mustard would remain if you think of the Tabasco Man’s namesake.
Starbucks Endcap at Safeway Kailua
As the remodeling of the Safeway in Kailua makes progress, a recent addition was this new endcap display. It’s all for Starbucks.
