Six Days in Hawaii

First things, first: No more mai tais! After a week of drinking them night after night, I'm sick of them!

I spent six days (Nov. 22-27) in Honolulu, staying at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki (across from Waikiki Beach). Broken down are some things to try/avoid if you ever head down there:

Travel: Wherever you're flying from, it's a long trip to Hawaii. From San Francisco or L.A., the two closest and most usual layover cities, it's five hours. From Chicago or Minneapolis, add another four-to-four-and-a-half. Thus, bring stuff to do, wear comfortable clothes and stay hydrated.

On the way home, we saved almost an hour (flying eastward is always faster), but we flew throughout the night (left Hawaii about 9:30 p.m., got to Central Time at 10:30 a.m.).

Transportation: Around most hotels by the beach, there are enough shopping and dining places within walking distance. For places a little further away, there is a free trolley and a decent bus system. For anywhere else, you will need to rent a car. This includes places like Hanauma Bay and the North Shore.

Weather: Hawaii has 80-degree weather year-round, and it never gets cold at night. Even with a ocean breeze now and then, it's still pretty mild. So you definitely don't need a jacket or sweater (unless you're one of those people who get cold all the time), and you don't need pants other than for fashion purposes.

It also rains a lot in Hawaii (leading to many days with overcast skies), but usually the rain is just a very light drizzle and never lasts that long, so there's no need for an umbrella.

Food: Besides American food (all the fast food restaurants are there, including Jack in the Box, and some other recognizable places like Outback Steakhouse), there's quite a selection of Chinese and Japanese restaurants. A lot of the Chinese restaurants serve dim sum to some degree along with being a normal restaurant, while a lot of the Japanese restaurants have sushi and sashimi. I even found a Korean BBQ (you grill your own food at your table).

As for native Hawaiian cuisine, you will often find that within American restaurants. For example, at Tikis, they had some Hawaiian appetizers and one entree that included several native items (i.e. pork wrapped in leaves, pulled pork, mashed sweet potatoes, etc.). I did not get a chance to attend a luau, where one might find more of this type of food. One main reason is they are usually for large groups of people, and another is they cost a lot ($60-120 per person).

The pineapple is very fresh, obviously. If you want to bring some home with you, you will have to buy it at the airport, where it's pre-inspected and boxed for your convience (a box of three sells for $22, which is quite pricey).

Most restaurants are casual enough that you can wear shorts and sandals.

Bar scene: Some of the bars off the beach are nice, but in going to those, I realized that I can find most of the same places back home. Thus, when I went out, I mostly went to open bars (as in, not enclosed) near the beach; the ones at the Sheraton and Outrigger Hotels were nice (the former had a huge patio and seemed like you were at a pool party, while the latter was more tiki-style).

Beware: like everything in Hawaii, prices are steep! A draft domestic beer (i.e. Miller Lite) is $4, and a tiny mai tai will be in the neighborhood of $7.

Otherwise, it's easy to pre-bar because there is a convenience store literally every block (sometimes 3-4!) called ABC, which sells alcohol until 11 p.m.

Other things to do: Obviously, there are plenty of beach activities. Surf lessons, including the board, are $35/hr; boogie boards rent for $5/hr; some boats pull up to the beach and will take you with them for a fee (some as low as $25/hr).

Diamond Head, an extinct volcano, is worth a climb. You don't need hiking boots, as normal athletic shoes will do. And for those out of shape: it's not that difficult to climb.

North Shore is about 20-30 min. away from Waikiki, and has some tough waves. You can wade in to a couple of feet and feel the very strong undertow. Word of warning, it's best not to swim there, even if you're an excellent swimmer.

Hanauma Bay is about the best place to snorkel. It's located about 30 min. away from Waikiki, and it costs $5/person to enter. You can rent snorkel gear for a nominal fee if you don't have any. In just a small area (maybe about 1,000 yards wide and 400 yards deep), you can see tons of fish, coral, eels and sea turtles. Definitely bring an underwater camera if you go here.

Pearl Harbor is a must. It's located near Aloha Stadium, about 30-40 min. away from Waikiki (Hawaii has some pretty bad traffic!!!). Check out the 15 min. movies, then ride the boat over to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.

If you want to work out, you can always run on the sidewalk along the beach. Or, there are several 24-hour fitness facilities in Honolulu. They cost $20 for a one-time use; my hotel gave its guests 50% off to use the facility one block away.

Last bits of advice: Bring lots of money, because everything is expensive; add plenty of time for travel, as traffic can be horrendous; enjoy watching people walk around (off the beach) with their surfboard; cell signal (at least for Verizon) is outstanding everywhere; there are a few Internet cafes if you need them, and most hotels charge their guests around $10/day for access; downtown is worth a look, but spend 95% of your time near the beach.

The Vermonster at Ben & Jerry's

Tonight a group of us (six in all: four women, two men) went to Ben & Jerry's to tackle the Vermonster. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, this is a bucket of 20 scoops of ice cream (all your choice), four bananas, three cookies, one brownie, nuts, Reese's pieces, nuts, hot fudge, whipped cream and a giant waffle cone.

We each chose three flavors and then let the employee pick two. It then took another 10 minutes to finish making the Vermonster, as he had to chop the cookies, brownie and bananas.

We took a lot of before and after pictures (one of which, by the way, will be put up on the wall at the store). We dug right in, only to realize that we had a deep layer of bananas and cookies before getting to the ice cream. Each time someone discovered some ice cream, we would all attack it.

In the end, it took us about 30 minutes to polish it off. At first we were worried that most of the ice cream would melt, and then we would have to pass it around like a boot at the Essen Haus, but fortunately this didn't happen. We also got to keep the bucket; we will share it like a traveling trophy, such as the Stanley Cup.

Recommendations: First, the Vermonster costs about $36 with tax. Thus, the cost per person goes way down with more people (we each spent $6).

Second, do this on an empty stomach. Although ice cream may not be the best/healthiest of meals, it still fills you up. Each scoop was 250 calories x 20 = 5,000 + all the other toppings = 6,000 calories total. For our group, we each devoured 1,000 calories (and who knows how much fat!).

Third, don't add fruity flavors to the Vermonter. We had one scoop of strawberry-kiwi, one of mango and one of apple, and they all tarnished the chocolaty flavor of the Vermonster. You'll get enough fruit from the bananas!