Diamond Head Beach

Diamond Head is a protected area just a few miles away from Waikiki.
The top of the mountain is a volcano crater.
The base is a a beautiful beach.



The beach is a state park as well as the crater.
This means no giant hotels, condos, boats, docks.
I prefer beaches like this.


While there is no denying Waikiki's beauty, it is just too damn crowded.
You are literally elbow to elbow with people laying out.
There's a busy street nearby emitting sounds of mopeds, honking horns, blaring sirens.
Good luck catching a wave without 6 other people fighting you for it.
Honestly, I'd rather spend a day at South Padre Island than Waikiki.
The beaches of the gulf on the mainland are so wide that you have all the space you could ever want. Take advantage.

The land around Diamond Head reminds me a lot of the Texas Hill Country during the summer. Dry and rocky. Specifically it reminds me a lot of Lake Travis in Austin.
It doesn't rain much in this area. Very hot and dry. I love how it reminds me of Texas in the summer.







There are nice swells on some days if you don't mind paddling really far out. Also the wind is usually pretty strong from the east here, so windsurfing is also an option.
There is some good snorkeling around the reef but you won't see anyone doing it besides me, unless they're spearfishing. The current is quite strong and the reef is very shallow in most spots.
Some mean looking spiky sea urchins call this area home.
There are also many beautiful fish to swim with if you know where to go. Not like Hanauma bay but still amazing for a public beach. The fish aren't quite as used to humans as those in H bay, one little guy saw me approach yesterday and darted behind a rock, only to peek his little fish face out from the side a few seconds later to see if I was still there. He quickly put his tiny fins in reverse to move back behind the rock.

DH is great if you're seeking solitude and peace and quiet. A lot of people come here by themselves to read, meditate and whatnot. The hillside backs up to the beach and features nothing but a couple of showers and a trail. Big million dollar homes are on either side of the beach.
This is where I would go to get away after a day of job hunting in Waikiki and downtown Honolulu.
No noise, no traffic, just the waves. You can hear yourself think or listen to music without loud boats or tour guides yelling out to recruit people. It doesn't seem like many people know about it or care to go.
I've only been by myself. My friends seem to prefer the busier beaches.
Most tourists that come here quarantine themselves in Waikiki beach, which is fine by me. It's nice being able to lay out without them walking by and kicking sand in your face.

If you want to see the rare and endangered Hawaiian monk seal, DH is your best bet. They beach themselves here to sleep. There are only 1300 Hawaiian monk seals remaining.
I had seen the signs warning about the sleeping seals but never saw one the first dozen or so times going there. Then one day right at the end of the path from the street to the beach I saw this guy:

Dead? Nah, just sleeping. 

The government takes their presence on the beach very seriously. It is a state and federal crime to disturb them while they sleep.
If one is spotted, some agency comes up and puts on do not disturb signs as well as a little barrier.
Try crossing this barrier if you dare and the whole beach will yell at you. I saw some guy dumb enough to try to approach the seal and just about everyone yelled at him.

The second seal I've ever seen at Diamond Head. This one was much larger.

The seals hardly move when they're sleeping, you can barely tell they're alive by watching them breathe.
Every now and then they'll roll over and stretch out their flipper.
The one guy in the picture up above was enormous. He had green markings all over his face from munching on algae though judging by his size it appears fish are the main staple of his diet.
If I were a seal, I'd much prefer this life than that of a SeaWorld seal. Swim, eat, sleep on the beach whenever I want, or perform stupid tricks for humans all day according to their schedule?

Local memorial 

Monument dedicated to Amelia Earhart, first person to fly solo from Hawaii to North America in 1933.

There's a jogging trail that runs around the base of the crater at the top of the hill over the beach.
Lots of people make good use of it. Sometimes I skip the bus and ride my bike to enjoy views like this:

Snorkeling in Hanauma Bay

Hanuama Bay is a volcano crater that flooded some 30,000 years ago and now opens to the ocean.

This beach is the epitome of visual paradise.
There is a large living coral reef in the bay and is home to many different kinds of marine life.
Obviously this made for some awesome fishing and because of that led to the area becoming a nature preserve and a marine life conservation district. The reef is very shallow except in the parts that were blown up with dynamite to install a transoceanic telephone line back in the 50's.
One must be careful in shallow reef to avoid spots where the tide rises and falls quickly. At one point you can be 5 feet above the reef, then a second later only an inch above as the tide rolls out.
If you ever get cut by coral, the wounds take awhile to heal since the coral is a living creature and has bacteria on it, the wounds almost always get infected.
The entrance fee is 7.50 to get in, free for locals or military.
You are forced to watch a 10 minute movie on the history of the bay and the do's and do not's of snorkeling the reef.

Remember the Elvis movie "Blue Hawaii"? The scene where Elvis, having just returned from a military assignment in Paris, brings his girlfriend a French bikini was filmed here.
She gets in the water and loses her top in the waves, a little dog finds it and retrieves it to the beach, leaving the girl afraid to come out of the water without her top on. Hundreds of movies and television shows have been filmed in Hawaii. I'll include the list of each one at the bottom of the page. You'll probably recognize most of them.

Elvis Presley relaxing in between scenes at Hanauma Bay

The land surrounding the bay is said to resemble the body of a lizard. Can you spot its head?

And the tail?

You can pay to rent snorkeling equipment or bring your own. 

I brought my own. Snorkels have come a long way. Remember when they were just large plastic straws with a rubber mouthpiece? They now make them fully submersible with silicone mouthpieces. No more breathing in ocean water. Mine has a little plastic piece on top that pivots closed and seals onto a round rubber piece when submerged. The flippers I bought are a dual composite of rubber and plastic, full foot coverage with vented blades for extra efficiency. 

I swam out and instantly saw some of the most beautiful neon colored tropical fish grazing on the algae. 

The fish didn't seem to mind the presence of humans very much, I guess they get used to them being around 6 days a week. The bay closes every Tuesday to allow the fish a human free feeding day. 

I really wish I had an underwater camera to share with you all the different species of fish I had the pleasure of swimming with. 

Remember "Gil" from "Finding Nemo"? He was there. I hadn't yet seen many tropical fish in Hawaii since most of the beaches I've been too our so tourist heavy and have mostly dead coral. The last time I saw this many fish was off the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica in Manzanillo. I did snorkel Waikiki when I first got here. I saw 2 whole fish swimming together there. I think they were lost. 

I paddled further out over a reef with a steep drop off. Once at the the edge, I peered into a little cove only to spot what I've been looking for since I arrived: A Hawiian sea turtle! There it was just grazing on the algae. It didn't seem to mind my presence so I swam around it pretty closely and observed it for a good 10 minutes. What an experience. I love the way they glide through the water, and maintain their position despite the currents with slight adjustments of their flippers. 

During one surfacing I overheard an Australian couple a fellow snorkeler if they knew where to spot a turtle. 

The guy said he didn't know, but that they were in the area the tour guide told him was best for spotting sea turtles. I hollered to them to come over thisaway if they wanted to see a turtle. 

After surfacing again I noticed a large beak breaching the water about two feet away. I swam over to investigate and there about 5 feet away in a cove was a massive sea turtle. This one was at least twice as big as the first. From flipper to beak he was as long as my torso. His shell was a dull grey and not as green as the first so I'm not sure if he was of the same species. What a beast this guy was. I'm sure he could have fit my whole hand into his mouth if he wanted. His back flipper looked almost as long as my size 13 foot. I noticed a silver metal tag attached to his back flipper, probably a way for marine biologists to identify him. 

After I was done observing him I pointed to the Australian couple to come take a look. 

As I swam back I saw two other green Hawaiian sea turtles, smaller than the first and giant second one. 

I'll get an underwater camera soon and go back so I can share with you all the different species. So many different varieties and colors in one bay. 

These pictures were taken on a day the whole island was overcast. 

Here's what Hanauma Bay looks like on a sunny day: 

Elvis and Priscilla Presley vacationing at Hanauma Bay 

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – 2011

Battleship – 2010

A Perfect Getaway – 2009

Princess Kaiulani – 2009

Avatar – 2009

Forgetting Sarah Marshall – 2008

Tropic Thunder – 2008

Pipeline – 2006

The Big Bounce – 2004

2003

50 FIRST DATES; Columbia Pictures; Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore; Oahu.

50 First Dates

THE HULK; Universal Pictures; Eric Bana; Maui.

EMBRACING MANA; Toho Films (Japan); Iayoko Kawahara; Big Island.

THE UNTITLED HAMBURG PROJECT; Universal Pictures; Ben Stiller, Debra
Messing; Oahu.

2002

THE BIG BOUNCE; Shangra-La Entertainment; Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman;
Oahu.

CHARLIE’S ANGELS II – FULL THROTTLE; Columbia Pictures; Cameron Diaz,
Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu; 2nd unit, Oahu.

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW; 20th Century Fox; Dennis Quaid; Big Island

HELLDORADO; Universal Pictures; Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), Christopher
Walken; Oahu.

TEARS OF THE SUN (formerly the “Untitled Willis/Fuqua Project”); Revolution
Studios/Cheyenne Enterprises; Bruce Willis, Monica Belucci; Oahu, plate
shots on Kauai.

BLUE CRUSH; Universal Studios/Imagine Entertainment; Kate Bosworth, Faizon
Love; Oahu.

FINAL EXAM; Hawaii Filmwerks; Brent Huff, KariWuhrer; Big Island.

KAPU; Hawaii Filmwerks; Big Island

DIE ANOTHER DAY; 20TH James Bond film; MGM; Pierce Brosnan; opening
sequence; Maui.

2001

LILO & STITCH; Walt Disney Pictures; animated; voices of Daveigh Chase, Jason
Scott Lee; Tia Carrere; Kauai and Oahu.

THE TIME MACHINE; Dreamworks/WB; Guy Pearce; Kauai.

DRAGONFLY; NDE Productions; Kevin Costner; Kauai.

PLANET OF THE APES; 20th Century Fox; Mark Wahlberg; Big Island.

FINAL FANTASY; Columbia Pictures; computer animated; produced by Square USA;
Oahu.

PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE; Revolution Studios; Adam Sandler; Oahu.

THE RIDE; Third Reef Pictures; Scot Davis, Sean Kaawa; Oahu.

2000

THE NIGHT MARCHERS; Cousins Brothers Productions; Blake and Brent Cousins;
Big Island.

THE TESTAMENTS (formerly titled Legacy II); Deseret Media; IMAX docudrama
for LDS; Kauai.

WAIKIKI: IN THE WAKE OF DREAMS; FilmWorks; documentary; Edgy Lee,
writer-producer.

JURASSIC PARK III; Universal/DreamWorks; Sam Niell, Tea Leoni; Kauai, Oahu,
Molokai.

WINDTALKERS; MGM; Nicolas Cage, Christian Slater, Adam Beach; Oahu.

TO END ALL WARS; Argyll Film Partners; Keifer Sutherland; Kauai.

PEARL HARBOR; Jerry Bruckheimer/MichaelBay/Disney; Ben Affleck; Oahu.

1999

THE BIG SHOW; Cinequannon Prods.; Japanese musical by Shigeru Muroi; Oahu.

OFF THE LIP; Abandoned Pictures; Robert Michelson, pdcr/dir; Maui.

1998

MOLOKAI: The True Story of Father Damien; ERA Films (Belgium); David
Wenham and Peter O’Toole; Molokai & Oahu.

MOONGLOW; Latitude 20 Pictures; Joe Moore and Milo O’Shea; Oahu.

1997

PANIOLO O HAWAII, COWBOYS OF THE FAR WEST; FilmWorks; documentary;
Edgy Lee, writer-producer.

6 DAYS/7 NIGHTS; Touchstone Pictures; Harrison Ford and Anne Heche; Kauai.

DINOSAURS, Walt Disney Pictures; animated feature; Big Island, Maui and Kauai.

CITY OF ANGELS; Atlas Entertainment; Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan; Oahu.

RETURN TO SAVAGE BEACH, Skyhawk Films; Maui.

GODZILLA; TriStar Pictures; Matthew Broderick and Hank Azaria; Oahu.

LANI LOA--THE HEAVENLY PASSAGE; Chrome Dragon Films; Angus MacFadyen
and Ray Bumatai; Big Island.

SPHERE; Warner Bros., Dustin Hoffman and Sharon Stone; Oahu.

KRIPPENDORF'S TRIBE; Touchstone Pictures; Richard Dreyfuss and Lily Tomlin;
Oahu and Big Island.

RACE TO THE VOLCANO; Angel Grove Productions; Mighty Morphin Power
Rangers; Maui.

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG; Walt Disney Pictures; Bill Paxton; Kauai and Oahu.

MEET...THE DEEDLES; Walt Disney Pictures; Dennis Hopper, Oahu.

1996

A VERY BRADY SEQUEL; Parmount Pictures; Shelley Long, Gary Cole, and Tim
Matheson; Oahu.

BEYOND PARADISE (originally titled KAMA'AINA); Brickwood Galuteria; Oahu
and Big Island.

GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE; Walt Disney Pictures; Brendan Fraser and Leslie
Mann; Oahu and Kauai.

THE LOST WORLD; Universal Studios; Jeff Goldblum; Kauai.

IN GOD'S HANDS; Big Wave Productions, directed by Zalman King; Oahu & Maui.
GANG RELATED; Orion Pictures; Lela Rochon; Oahu.

1995

RACE THE SUN; Tri-Star/Sony; Jim Belushi, Halle Berry, Joseph Cho, Anthony
Ruivivar, Adriane Uganiza; Oahu.

THEN THERE WERE NONE; Hawaiian history documentary; Elizabeth Lindsey,
writer/producer.

1994

WATERWORLD; MCA/Universal City Studios; Kevin Costner and Jeanne
Tripplehorn; Big Island.

UNDER THE HULA MOON; Jersey Born Pictures; Stephen Baldwin, Emily Lloyd,
Chris Penn; Oahu.

OUTBREAK; Warner Brothers; Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman and Rene Russo;
Kauai.

BORN TO BE WILD; Fine Animal Productions/Warner Brothers; Helen Shaver, Peter
Boyle and Wil Horneff; Oahu.

DON JUAN DeMARCO; Juno Pictures; Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando and Faye
Dunaway; Oahu.

1993

NORTH; Rob Reiner - Castle Rock Pictures; Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood, Jason
Alexander, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus; Kauai.

AIRBORNE; Icon Productions; Marty Thomas, Shane McDermott and Seth Green;
Oahu.

EXIT TO EDEN; Savoy Pictures; Dana Delany, Paul Mercurio, Dan Aykroyd and
Rosie O'Donnell; Lanai.

PICTURE BRIDE; A Thousand Cranes Filmworks; Toshiro Mifune, Yuki Kudoh,
Akira Takayama, Tamlyn Tomita, and Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa; Oahu.

1992

NEMESIS; Greenleaf Productions; Oliver Gruner, Tim Thomerson and Cary
Hiroyuki-Tagawa; Big Island.

JURASSIC PARK; Steven Spielberg - Amblin Entertainment; Laura Dern, Jeff
Goldblum, Sam Neill and Sir Richard Attenborough; Kauai.

SLIVER; Paramount; Sharon Stone and William Baldwin; Big Island. (Hawaii
footage deleted in final edit.)

SURF NINJAS OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA; Katja Motion Picture Corp.; Oahu and
Maui.

1991

WIND; Filmlink International Zoetrope Studios; Matthew Modine, Jennifer Grey and
Cliff Robertson; Oahu.

HONEYMOON IN VEGAS; CastleRock; James Caan, Sarah Jessica Parker and
Nicholas Cage; Kauai.

GOODBYE PARADISE; Latitude 20 Pictures; Joe Moore and Pat Morita; Oahu.

UNDER SIEGE; Steven Segal; Oahu.

HOOK; ILM; Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts; Kauai.

HARD HUNTED; November Down Company.

DO OR DIE; November Down Company/Malibu Bay Films; Drew Sidaris; Molokai.

1990

POINT BREAK; Largo Entertainment; Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves; Oahu.

HAWAII: BORN INTO PARADISE; Hawaii Research Productions; IMAX Film.

WISHMAN; Wishman Productions.

1989

SAVAGE BEACH; Sidaris Productions; Molokai.

FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER; Paramount; Willem Dafoe, Danny Glover and
Rosanna Arquette; Kauai.

LORD OF THE FLIES; Castle Rock Pictures; Kauai.

JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO; Warner Brothers; Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan; Oahu.

1988

FISTS OF STEEL; Sanford Entertainment; Carlos Palomino and Marianne Marks.

POLYNESIAN ODYSSEY; IMAX Films.

TRAVELS WITH SAZAE-SAN; Producer Kiyoshi Suzuki; Keiko Takeshita, Haruko
Kato and Midori Kuichi; Kauai.

1987

NORTH SHORE; Pipeline Productions; Gregory Harrison; Turtle Bay Hilton, Oahu.

THROW MAMA FROM THE TRAIN; Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal; Kauai.

FAREWELL TO THE KING; Orion pictures; Nick Nolte.

HAWAIIAN DREAM; New Century Producers (Japan).

PICASSO TRIGGER; Picasso Trigger (A. Sedaris); Molokai.

1986

ISLANDS OF THE ALIVE; Larco; Mike Moriarty; Kauai.

HARD TICKET TO HAWAII; Hard Ticket Company (A. Sedaris); Molokai.

1985

KARATE KID II; Columbia Pictures; Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio; Oahu.

BLACK WIDOW; 20th Century Fox; Debra Winger; Big Island.

1984

RADIOACTIVE DREAMS; Radioactive Dreams Productions, Inc.; Hawaii.

HANAUMA BAY; Hanauma Bay Productions; Oahu.

1983

UNCOMMON VALOR; Paramount Productions; Gene Hackman; Kauai.

BEHOLD HAWAII; MacGillivray-Freeman Productions; IMAX; Blaine Kia and
Kimo Kahoano; Kauai.

1981

BODY HEAT; Warner/Ladd; William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Richard Crenna;
Kauai.

BUDDY BUDDY; MGM; Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon; Oahu.

1980

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK; Lucas-Spielberg Productions; Harrison Ford; Kauai.

1979

THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED; Irwin Allen, Paul Newman and William Holden;
Big Island.

FINAL COUNTDOWN; UA; Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen and Katherine Ross.
LAST FLIGHT OF NOAH'S ARK; Walt Disney; Elliot Gould and Ricky Schroeder;
Kauai.

"10"; Warner Brothers; Dudley Moore and Bo Derek; Oahu.

ROUGH CUT; Paramount/David Merrick; Burt Reynolds and David Niven.

1978

GOING COCONUTS; Donnie and Marie Osmond.

MAUI; feature film.

SEVEN; A. Sedaris Films; feature film.

INVITATION FROM BEACH; Japanese feature film.

1977

DAMIEN; PHA; Don Murray, Writer-director; Padre, Humberto Almazan; Oahu.

THE DEEP; Columbia/EMI; Jacqueline Bisset, Nick Nolte, and Robert Shaw.

ACAPULCO GOLD; Mar Vista; Marjoe Gortner; Robert Lansing and Ed Nelson;
Kauai.

ISLANDS IN THE STREAM; Connaught-Paramount; George C. Scott; Kauai.

1976

HOT LIPS AND INNER TUBES; Yuri Farrant; surfing movie.

MIDWAY; Universal; Charleton Heston, Henry Fonda and Toshiro Mifune.

KING KONG; Paramount-Dino DeLaurentis; Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges and Charles
Grodin; Napali, Kauai.

SUNDANCE; Carl Mastalka; surfing movie.

1975

ALOHA MEANS GOODBYE; James Franciscus and Sally Struthers; Oahu.

GOIN' SURFING; MacGillivray and Freeman; Oahu.

1974

CASTAWAY COWBOY; Buena Vista; James Garner and Vera Miles; Kauai.

HE IS MY BROTHER; Cinema Financial of America; Kathy Paulo and Bobby
Sherman.

1973

PAPILLON; Allied Artists; Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen; Maui.

1970

THE HAWAIIANS; United Artists; Charleton Heston; Maui and Kauai.

TORA! TORA! TORA!; 20th Century Fox; Jason Robards, Martin Balsam and Joseph
Cotton; Oahu.

1968

LOST FLIGHT; Universal Studios; Billy Dee Williams; Lloyd Bridges and Anne
Francis; Kauai.

KONA COAST; Warner Brothers; Richard Boone and Vera Miles.

YOAKE NO FUTARI (Rainbow over the Pacific, in Japanese); Shochiku Yukio;
Kauai.

LOVERS AT DAWN; Mirisch Productions; (in Japanese); Kauai.

1967

BIKINIS IN PARADISE; Cinema 3; local cast.

HAWAII NO IKIRU (Life in Hawaii, in Japanese).

1966

LT. ROBIN CRUSOE, USN.; Buena Vista; Dick Van Dyke, Nancy Kwan; Kauai.
HAWAII ESCAPADE; Tiare Wood.

TIKO AND THE SHARK; MGM; Marlene Among and Al Kaue.

PARADISE, HAWAIIAN STYLE; Paramount; Elvis Presley; Oahu.

THE ENDLESS SUMMER; Bruce Brown; documentary; Oahu.

HAWAII; United Artists; Julie Andrews and Max von Sydow; Oahu and Kauai.

1965

NONE BUT THE BRAVE; Warner Brothers; Frank Sinatra and Clint Walker; Kauai.

IN HARM'S WAY; Paramount; John Wayne and Kirk Douglas; Oahu.

OPERATION ATTACK; Selmur Production; Kauai.

ALOHA; Lea Productions; Amalia Fuentes and Romeo Vasques; (in Tagalog).

1964

RIDE THE WILD SURF; Columbia; Fabian, Tab Hunter, Shelly Fabares; Oahu.

1963

DIAMOND HEAD; Columbia; Charlton Heston; Big Island and Kauai.

HONOLULU-TOKYO-HONG KONG

GILLIGAN'S TRAVEL; United Artists; Bob Denver; Jim Backus; Kauai.

YOUNG GUY IN HAWAII (HAWAII NO WAKADAISHO); (in Japanese).

DONOVAN'S REEF; Paramount; John Wayne; Kauai.

THREE GENTS IN HAWAII

UNLUCKY LUCK

ALOHA, THREE GENTS

RAMPAGE; Warner Brothers; Robert Mitchum; Big Island.

1962

SANGA ARI; Shochiku; Hideko Takamine; (in Japanese).

GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!; Paramount; Elvis Presley; Oahu.

1961

SLIPPERY WHEN WET

GIDGET GOES HAWAIIAN; Columbia; James Darren.

SEVEN WOMEN FROM HELL; 20th Century Fox; Denise Darcel; Kauai.

BLUE HAWAII; Paramount; Elvis Presley; Kauai and Oahu.

DEVIL AT FOUR O'CLOCK; Columbia; Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra; Maui.

1960

WACKIEST SHIP IN THE ARMY; Columbia; Jack Lemmon; Ricky Nelson; Kauai.

1958

SOUTH PACIFIC; 20th Century Fox; Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor; Kauai.

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA; Warner Bros; Spencer Tracy; Big Island; Oahu.

TWILIGHT FOR THE GODS; Universal; Rock Hudson and Cyd Charisse; Maui and
Oahu.

SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE; Stanley Warner Cinema; travelogue; Waikiki, Oahu.

SURF SAFARI

SHE GODS OF SHARK REEF; American International; Don Durant and Lisa
Montell; Kauai.

GHOST OF THE CHINA SEA; Columbia; David Brian.

1957

THE ENEMY BELOW; 20th Century Fox; Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens.

FORBIDDEN ISLAND; Columbia; John Hall; Kauai.

NAKED PARADISE; American International Pictures and Sunset Producitons;
Richard Denning, Beverly Garland and Lisa Montell; Kauai.

VOODOO ISLAND; United Artists; Boris Karloff and Beverly Tyler; Kauai.

JUNGLE HEAT; Bel-Air/United Artists; Lex Barker and Mari Blanchard; Kauai.

1956

THE REVOLT OF MAMIE STOVER; 20th Century Fox; Jane Russell and Richard
Egan; Oahu.

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL; 20th Century Fox; Robert Wagner, Terry Moore,
Broderick Crawford and Buddy Ebsen; Kauai.

THE LIEUTENANT WORE SKIRTS; 20th Century Fox; Tom Ewell, Sheree North
and Rita Moreno; Oahu.

FLIGHT TO HONG KONG; United Artists; Rory Calhoun and Dolores Donlon;
Oahu.

BEACH HEAD; Audrey Schenck Production; Tony Curtis; Kauai.

1955

MR. ROBERTS; Warner Brothers; Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon and James Cagney;
Oahu.

THE SEA CHASE; Warner Brothers; John Wayne and Laura Turner; Big Island.

UNDERWATER; RKO-Radio; Jane Russell and Gilbert Roland; Big Island and Oahu.

THE ETERNAL SEA; Republic; Sterling Hayden, Dean Jagger and Alexis Smith;
Pearl Harbor, Oahu.

1954

THE CAINE MUTINY; Columbia Pictures; Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred
MacMurray and Jose Ferrer; (aboard ship).

MISS SADIE THOMPSON; Columbia Pictures; Rita Hayworth and Jose Ferrer;
Kauai.

HELL'S HALF ACRE; Republic; Wendall Corey; Evelyn Keyes and Elsa Lanchester;
Oahu.

THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY; Warner Brothers; John Wayne, Robert Stack and
Claire Trevor.

HAWAII CHINDOCHU (UNUSUAL TRIP TO HAWAII); Sadao Sugihara/Shintoku
Studio; Chiemi Eri, Yoshio Tabata, Shunji Sakai; Oahu and Kauai.

1953

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY; Columbia Pictures; Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra,
Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed; Oahu.

HAWAII NO YORU (HAWAIIAN NIGHT); Shintoho; Koji Tsuruta, Keiko Kishi;
Oahu; Neighbor Islands.

1952

BIG JIM McLAIN; Warner Brothers; John Wayne and James Arness; Oahu.

1951

BIRD OF PARADISE; 20th Century Fox; Jeff Chandler, Debra Paget and Louis
Jordan; Big Island, Oahu and Kauai.

OPERATION PACIFIC; Warner Brothers; John Wayne and Patricia Neal; Oahu.

1950

PAGAN LOVE SONG; MGM; Esther Williams and Howard Keel; Kauai.

DAMIEN; Hawaiian Productions, Ltd.; Russell Collins; Molokai and Oahu.

1948

MILLION DOLLAR WEEKEND; Eagle-Lion; Gene Raymond and Francis Lederer.

1945

HAWAIIAN MEMORIES; Bud Browne, producer.

1943

THE BIG SURF; Bud Browne, producer.

1942

SONG OF THE ISLANDS; 20th Century Fox; Betty Grable, Victor Mature and Jack
Oakie; Big Island.

1940

SOUTH OF PAGO PAGO; United Artists; Victor McLagen and Frances Farmer; Big
Island.

KARAYO; (in Ilocano); Katy Evangelio and Faustino Gambra; Oahu.

LINGLINGAY; Madolora Cabalora Amusements; Max Velasco, FelisaCatalona, Rose
Labrador. (Musical)

1938

HAWAII CALLS; RKO; Bobby Breen; Maui and Oahu.

HAWAIIAN BUCKAROO; 20th Century Fox; Smith Ballew and Evalyn Knapp;
Parker Ranch, Big Island.

1937

WAIKIKI WEDDING; Paramount; Bing Crosby, Martha Raye and Anthony Quinn,
Oahu.

LOVERS IN HAWAII'S PARADISE; Hoshi Reiko, Sugi Kyoji, Shima Koji

1935

NAVY WIFE; 20th Century Fox; Claire Trevor and Ralph Bellamy; Oahu.

CURLY TOP; Shirley Temple.

1934

FOUR FRIGHTENED PEOPLE; Paramount; Claudette Colbert and Herbert
Marshall; Big Island.

1933

HELL BELOW; MGM; Robert Montgomery, Walt Huston and Jimmy Durante; Pearl
Harbor, Oahu.

WHITE HEAT; Seven Seas (J.D. Trop); Virginia Cherrill, Mona Maris, Hardie
Albright, David Newell; Kauai.

1932

BIRD OF PARADISE; RKO; Dolores Del Rio and Joel McCrea; Oahu.

1931

THE BLACK CAMEL; 20th Century Fox; Warner Oland, Bela Lugosi and Robert
Young; Oahu.

1930

FEET FIRST; Paramount; Harold Lloyd and Barbara Kent; Oahu.

ALOHA HAWAII; Lawrence Barber, Libby Keanini, Winona Love; Big Island and
Oahu.

1929

HIS CAPTIVE WOMAN; First National Pictures; Milton Sills and Dorothy Mackaill;
Big Island.

THE KAMAAINA; Junior League of Honolulu; Kinau Wilder McVay, Jack Walker
and Harold Dillingham; Oahu.

1925

DANGEROUS INNOCENCE; Universal; Laura La Plante and Jean Heersholt.

1923

VENGEANCE OF THE DEEP; American Releasing Corp.; Richard Arlen; Oahu.

THE WHITE FLOWER; Famous Players-Lasky; Betty Compsen and Edmund Lowe;
Big Island and Oahu.

1922

THE BONDED WOMAN; Paramount; Betty Compson, John Boles, Richard Dix.

1921

PASSION FRUIT; Metro Studio; Doraldina, Edward Earle, Stuart Holmes; Oahu.

THE BLACK LILY; Hawaiian Motion Picture Co.; Peggy Aldrich and J.J. Banks;
Oahu.

1919

A FALLEN IDOL; Fox; Evelyn Nesbit, Thelma Parker.

1918

THE HIDDEN PEARLS; Paramount; Sessue Hayakawa; Big Island and Oahu.

1916

KAOLULOLANI; Aloha Film Co.; Ned Steel and Helen Holmes.

1914

THE NATION'S PERIL; William Crawford and Marie Walcamp; Oahu.

1913

HAWAIIAN LOVE and THE SHARK GOD; Universal; Virginia Brissac and James
Dillon; two 1-reelers; first Hollywood production in Hawaii; Oahu.

immature puns and jokes

There are a lot of Thais here, but hardly anyone wears one.
Waialae? Because I don't want to tell the truth. (pronounced why-ah-lie)
Won Hung guy owns the Chinese restaurant down the street.
Waikinki.
Haolewood.
iHaole.
There is a restaurant here and their food is To Thai For. 


Tenacious
English: Persistent or stubborn
Filipino: Tennis Shoes
"Oi boy, bepore you go out to play you must tie your tenacious."


Sea Shore
English: Sea Shore
Filipino: Seizure
""Oi, is dis dee 911 num-bare? You must hurry dee ambulance.. my wife.. .chicken nut bread and she iss having d' sea shore!"
Translation: She cannot breathe, and is having a seizure.

Q) What do you call a haole trying to talk pidgin?

A) A training bra!

some pictures

Was planning on writing the entry on Diamond Head tonight but feeling under the weather so it's gonna have to wait a day or two. In the meantime here's some pics I took at Lanikai beach on the windward side yesterday.













That picture was taken at a table in a restaurant called "Buzz's" in Kailua. While eating 4 firetrucks sped time, one with rescue jet skis in tow and the other with boat.
I was too tired to ride my back buck up the hill to Lanikai and investiage and till haven't found out what happened.

California nightmares

I'mma try to make this short and sweet. I've been holding it back for awhile now but can't any longer. I try to not write personal stuff. This is an exception.


The haole population on Oahu's West Coast is mostly from California or the West Coast(Seattle, Portland, etc). After meeting many of them in the over the month I've been here, I have concluded:
They generally don't like us.
They generally look down on us.
They generally think we are a bunch of close minded rednecks.
They generally think they are much smarter and advanced than we.
Not all CA citizens are like this of course, but the vast majority I've encountered are.

A typical introduction goes something like this
Them: "So where are you from?"
Me: "Fort Worth, Texas"
Them: "(smirk/snicker) I love Texas, but (insert dumb stereotype here)"
Man are we some dumb folks! I never knew. So glad these citizens of the bankrupt state of California are willing to enlighten me.

A lot of the time they reply with the most pretentious, condescending statement you will ever hear in your life, and you'll think it's satire. It is not.
They truly believe image and material possesions mean everything. Thinking it was satire/sarcasm at first, I laughed.
Then when strange looks darted my way I realized they are serious. The South of the Mainland is under-represented here. Every haole i meet is from the west or east coast. I feel i can match wits or intellect with any one of them, however, when you're outnumbered there's little one can do about it. What's funny is most of these west coasters have only been to Dallas or Houston.
Little do they know Austin, our state capital, is one of the most liberal and open mined cities in the country. It's funny, how open minded they are until you disagree about something.
Certainly not the California the Mamas and the Papas were dreaming about. a> /end rant. Next entry will be on my favorite beach in Honolulu.

Hawaiian Cuisine

Alright so let's talk about food. Let me preface this by stating I don't have a kitchen and have been regulated to eating out. There are all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables here you can get at your local street market: pineapples, guava, avocado, passionfruit, papaya, taro, mango and more.
The funny thing is that they cost more here than they do on the mainland. A pineapple grown in Hawaii but shipped and sold in Texas is cheaper than the same pineapple sold in Hawaii.

You're not going to go hungry in Hawaii but you may go broke.
If you're eating for under 10 dollars, you're eating cheap. Kids meals are usually around 6 dollars.
A McDonald's combo is around 7 dollars.

Honolulu is an oriental food lover's dream.
There are all the Sushi, Korean BBQ, Vietnamese Pho, Chinese cuisine joints you could ever want.
The sushi here is actually pretty reasonably priced, usually cheaper than in Texas and much fresher of course. I've eaten at a restaurant owned by the son of the 'Benihana' restaurant founder, and my yellowfin tuna roll was only 6 dollars. I left satisfied.
I've also eaten at a conveyor belt style restaurant called 'Genki Sushi'. The plated sushi moves around the restaurant on color coded plates that identify the price and you just grab whatever you want. The darker the color the more expensive.

Genki Sushi Conveyor Belt in Kauai, Hawaii from Chuck Lasker on Vimeo.

I'm a big guy and a big eater. Trust me when I say the portions are sufficient, unlike Costa Rica where I would sometimes need a magnifying glass to find the meat on my entree.

The local dish is called a plate lunch. Plate lunches consists of a large portion of meat, usually fish, pork, or chicken, along with macaroni salad and a pound of white rice. It reminds me of the casados in Costa Rica that consisted of grilled chicken, white rice, lettuce, and plantain.
Plate lunches generally range from 7 to 10 dollars. Some places offer two sizes, mini and regular. If given the choice I always get the mini and I've never left hungry. Portions are huge.
The macaroni salad is not the kind that you get at a BBQ buffet in Texas that comes premade out of a carton. The macaroni salad here is usually homemade and absolutely delicious.



My favorite local joint is a place called "North Shore Grinds" right down the street on 10th avenue.
It's a small mom and pop hole in the wall type place. "Grinds" is pidgin for food.
This place has some of the tastiest seafood entrees I've ever had the pleasure of eating.
Favorite so far is the mahi-mahi in a garlic cream sauce, phenomenal and only 8 bucks.
I also highly recommend the seared ahi(tuna) in a cilantro pesto sauce, better than a 5 star restaurant.
In the mood for a burger? Try their teriyaki burger. A true Hawaiian burger has a slice of pineapple along with teryaki sauce and although it sounds funny it is actually quite good.






On your next vacation to Honolulu, make the 5 minute drive from Waikiki to Kaimuki to eat at North Shore Grinds. You won't regret it. The wife takes the orders and the husband cooks. Very nice people. Good luck getting a smile out of the wife though.

Onto the dark side of Hawaiian cuisine. If there is a good Tex-Mex restaurant here, I have yet to find it.
I've tried three. I give them all one star. Not one of them had QUESO DIP. NOT ONE! If you know me, you know that Jeff Smith loves queso. The first time I asked for queso and they didn't have it I gave the waitress a look of horror and disgust and nearly left to try the restaurant down the street. I stayed, but it turned out the other restaurant doesn't know how to melt cheese either.
I haven't had one dip of queso since I landed and I'm having severe withdrawals.
The enchiladas, the quesadillas, even the rice and refried beans are all lacking a key element of Mexican food called flavor.
Nothing like back home in Texas.
Oh, and if you want the goodies like guacamole, sour cream, cheese, tortillas, chips, expect to pay extra.
Yes, I said tortillas. Isn't that sad? Two corn tortillas for $1 and a buck a piece for flour.
Also, tortilla chips and salsa aren't endless. The first tiny basket is on the house, a buck fifty for another.
I will say the salsa was pretty descent.

The other negative is Italian food. You can find good pasta but it's rare.
Good pizza? Good luck. There is Pizza hut and and Papa John's but if you want some fresh local pizza, I haven't found a place yet. I live right next to a local parlor but it's nothing special, compared to Mama's and Bosses or even Joe's pizza back home in Texas.
The joint next door makes their dough fresh, and it is good, but they skimp hardcore on the cheese and toppings.

So there's my experience thus far with Hawaiian cuisine. Due to the big portions here my weight hasn't plummeted like it did Costa Rica unfortunately even though I am just as active.

Oh, and one more thing, very important. Spam is a huge deal here. It's found everywhere, on menus at nice restaurants and attached to rice patties at convenience stores. They even have a spam festival every year.
I don't get it.