Because travel is better with two - By writer/editor/photographer Melanie Wynne
The ‘Ualaak’a-Makiki Valley Hike
High above the urban sprawl of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu, you’ll find a cool and loamy respite from the city way up in the lush hills and rainforest of Pu’u ‘Ualaak’a State Wayside Park.
Which is, by the way, pronounced: “Poo-ooh you-ah-lah-ah-kaa-ah.”
And yes, that is a lot of apostrophes. It’s the Polynesian way of things.
Frozen-over Lake Mary, one of the Mammoth Lakes, rimmed by the eastern Sierra Nevada
High up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, on the eastern side of Central California, the Mammoth area is like a perfect storm for winter vacationers: enormous mountains, brilliant sunshine most of the time, and relatively mild temperatures. It’s the kind of place where you’re likely to run into New Englanders disappointed by their home-peak elevations and Europeans fed up with the biting cold back on the Continent.
Mammoth is also a magnet for L.A.-area folks who drive here with their SUV trunks full of groceries, hunker down in their condos, and hit the slopes all day. Little has tended to draw these folks and their wallets into town, as Mammoth has long had only a few lodges, bars, restaurants, and shops. City folk and locals don’t tend to engage a lot, and there’s a distinct have/have-not townie vibe.
In other words, it’s a mountain town in California.
Home to some of the most stunning peaks in the state, Mammoth has never been what you’d call a foodie destination. But now that’s starting to change.
The lobster roll at Hinoki & the Bird
Before dining at Hinoki & the Bird, a swanky new restaurant that recently opened in Los Angeles, I’d have thought a culinary journey along the Silk Road was outdated by about, oh…400 years.
After all, by the mid-1600s, most explorers in Asia started calling it a day and sailing back home to Europe.
But after a spin around the menu at this paean to Far East ingredients, I’m happy to report that the spice-laden dream of the 17th century is still alive.
The Shore Bird’s beach-side porch at Waikiki’s Outrigger Reef on the Beach
On my recent trip to the Hawaiian island of O’ahu, I was given the opportunity to travel around the island, and to visit/experience several hotels along and near Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach.
The following are my picks, for where to stay — and not stay — on your own fun, relaxing and/or romantic Waikiki vacation.
Go forth and book responsibly.
Heart-shaped tidepool on the (western) Leeward Side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu
Just got back from the Hawaiian island of O’ahu, and I miss it already.
(Heck, I was already missing it by the time I’d settled into the plane ride home.)
Back here in my regularly-scheduled life, there’s no crash of 40-foot waves in my kitchen, no tropical breeze in my bedroom, no daily flourish of rainbows outside my windows, no lilt of ukelele and birdsong in my ears. Instead, my soundtrack is the far-off squeal of a firetruck siren, the text buzz of my iPhone, and the hornet-hum of a gas-powered leaf-blower.
Having spent a futile half-hour attempting to will myself back to O’ahu, I’ve decided instead to give in to reality and simply share my favorite photos from the island with you.
This way, we can all escape the noise — and feel the love.
