Yesterday (12/26) it was clear and beautiful. From last night, though, it started pouring. right now (11 a.m.) it is gray and cloudy all over. What a contrast! You can still see the Pacific Ocean from here, though...... :)

Come see the tanman who has just returned from hawaii and met don ho...click below
http://community.webshots.com/album/235662752aSCkpD
http://community.webshots.com/album/235674893VwJsDS

love how this thread developed :>))

Aloha tanman,

OOhhhhhhhh, are you just attempting to make us all jealous????? B-)

Mahalo for sharing... aaahhh the memories... esp. on a 20 degree day in Chicago.

With fond thoughts... ((R))

Great thread, tanman, but reading all these great posts sure makes me wish I was in paradise instead of behind a desk here in "Sin City!"

Why I love Oahu? I love it the moment I set foot in the airport, just stepping into the open air concourse and gettng that first whiff of the unmatched scents of Hawaii. One good, long deep breath and I realize I'm in heaven. The trade winds breezing through and just the electric energy that IS Oahu.

And of course all the rest - the magic I feel when my toes first sink into the warm sand as I head off on my maiden walk on Waikiki beach - looking toward Diamondhead - and heading straight for the Banyon Bar at the Moana!

The amazing ocean with all it's power, beauty and awesome waves. The sunsets that are incredible. Dark blue skies. Welcome showers on humid days. Driving along toward North Shore, usually seeing numerous rainbows on the way, and the deserted beaches we always manage to find.

The smiling faces all around - no where - not even here in the adult playground I live in - do you see such an abundance of smiling, happy faces. I love people watching in Waikiki - both at the beach and everywhere else, especially from a rocking chair on the lanai of the Moana.

I love taking The Bus anywhere & everywhere and talking to the locals who are so friendly and willing to share their time and their stories.

Now you've got me sitting here daydreaming and wishing I could jump on a plane this afternoon!

I am daydreaming also!

My grandson who works in Oahu asked if I could come there in April to visit him. The answer is YES!!!!!

I am another one who loves Oahu. Cannot give a better description then tanman10 did.

Happy travels everyone.

topping... because it's SNOWING outside AGAIN and I DESPERATELY need an OAHU fix...and a Kauai fix...and a Maui Fix...Molokai...Lanai...Big I.s.l.a.n.d....

DAMN...I'm depressed!
((S))((*))

Leaving for Oahu in 3 weeks....

My vote is for Zippy's. Much like Denny's but it has hawaiian-asian flare specialties including scoops of rice which my husband loves ((L))

Don Ho - that guy amazes me, he must be in his late 70's by now still going strong

while scrolling through all these threads I noticed that someone wrote about the Tahitian Lanai being gone.

I have many memories of that place during the 60's when Val the piano player was there and a lot of the local guys would come and sing Hawaiian music.

Anyone else remember that.

One of my favorite memories is working at Queens Hospital - the birds would be flying in out/ some of the patients would have ukeleles and be strumming and singing while we did our work -

My favorite beach is Bellows - spent many a night there also .

Wish I was there now

Sunburn1944 - that was me reminiscing about the Tahitian Lanai earlier. Oh for some pan fried taro, eggs benedict and those banana muffins...
I didn't arrive til 1974 so I don't remember the piano player at TL. But I think I remember that there was a piano bar at Canlis. ((S))((*))

Plantation iced tea! They make an excellent version at Diamond Head Market & Grill on Monsarrat. Speaking of Monsarrat, I also love the Saturday morning farmers market at Kapiolani Community College.

I used to love watching the rain coming down off the Ko'olaus, making it's way to Kaimuki. I got pretty good at guessing how much time I had to grab lunch/get to my car before the downpour arrived.

Thanks to this thread and others like it that extol the virtues of Oahu, I am planning a trip there for next year! Yippee! First time back since 1985!
-Bill

15 years ago I had the time of my life in Oahu....my most memorable vacation.
I still recall the hawaiian music in the Woolworth's store on Kalakaua and the song playing was "the green green grass of home" sung in hawaiian.
It gave me goosebumps then to hear the intoxicating gentle tones of Hawaiian to a familiar song.
Along with the gorgeous sunsets, the tikis, torches, surfers, breezes, waves, blue , blue and blue ocean and palm trees waving, and hibiscus flowers falling everywhere and so many other memories...Here's to you Oahu!
When I'm there in 4 weeks I'll toast you with a mai tai.
Aloha

Many mahalos, kamahinaohoku... you always seem to pull this thread back up when I need it most... this cold weather can't last much longer!

Aloha for now... ((R))

I love this thread!

Makai1 - Mahalo nui loa to you as well. Obviously we both need a big dose of Oahu when the weather is this bad. And it's supposed to be spring! Weather's all kapakahi.
((S))((*))

The sunsets from Magic Island have been spectacular (except last night) this week. Orange orange skies, glassy Pacific Ocean, sailboats on the horizon. Makes up for the cold weather we had had.....the temps dropped down into the mid 50s!!

Another thread with things to do on Oahu:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34652188

Besides the websites listed on the thread that are good for all islands, here's some more for other islands:

Big Island:

www.bigisland.org

Maui:

www.mauihawaii.org

www.visitmaui.com

Kauai:

www.kauaidiscovery.com

www.kauai-hawaii.com

Whatever island(s) you choose, you can't go wrong.

aloha dusty... you seem to have missed the point.. Oahu... why I love Oahu... just thinking about the crashing surf of the north shore makes me want hop on a jet plane... don't know when I'll be back again... ((H))

I love this thread tanman! I love speed walking/running up Diamond Head, going for a long jog along Kahala, rainbows as we head towards Bellows beach, malasadas at Leonards, the views from Punchbowl, hanging out have a plate lunch.

Makai1 - I didn't miss the point. I was reading the other message with the link to this one and when I wanted to respond to the other one I forgot that I had clicked on the link to this thread.

So I screwed up and responded to the wrong one.

But if nothing else, it brought this one back to the top.