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A Day In The Lalz

A DC Based Style and Travel Blog by Lauleh.

Hawaii, Travel, USA

Hawaii Chronicles – Day 21

December 27, 2012

Today Doc & I played tour guide and took Mama & Bro around Kailua!

We started the day with Breakfast at Boots & Kimo’s in Kailua! The crack pancakes were amazing as usual! Mama & Bro loved the pancakes to the point that my bro wanted to buy the sauce and take it back home with him!


Next we went to the Byodo-In Temple. It was rather busy compared to the last time Doc & I went. 

Later we headed to Diamond Head. Mama kept asking if it was a difficult hike or not. Doc & I may have downplayed it because we kept comparing it to Koko Crater. We neglected to tell her about the portion of the hike that involved stairs and tunnels but regardless she was a champ and made it all the way to the top!


After the hike we rewarded them with a trip to the Crack Seed Store for some icees and crack seed! We may have cleared the store out and bought tons of crack seed. The level of addiction my family has to dried fruit is not normal. 


Last stop of the day was Punchbowl. They were taking down the ceremonial stuff that was up for the memorial service for Senator Daniel Inouye that took place on Sunday.

Once we got back to the apartment I passed out however Doc, Mama, & Lil Bro discovered the pool at the apartment and went swimming! They had a blast! Later Doc took a nap – since she was going to work the night shift – and I went to the mall with Mama & Bro and did a little shopping. It was a jam packed fun day with the fam!
by adayinthelalz 
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Hawaii, Travel, USA

Hawaii Chronicles – Day 20

December 26, 2012

I spent Christmas Day with Mama & Bro on the Big Island! The weather was cloudy and it was raining at times – but that didn’t stop us. We started the morning with the trail to the steam vents & sulfur banks. My brother disregarded all the safety signs and walked up to the sulfur banks – he nearly tripped and gave my mother a heart attack!

We drove down Chain of Craters Road. Along the way we stopped at the various stops to see the lava flows. It was hilarious to witness my mom & bro reacting to the lava flow. They acted like children and would jump out of car and start running across the rocks! I could barely keep up with them – I was extremely sore from the Koko Crater death hike – therefore I took a ton of videos and pictures of their craziness. We drove until the end of the road and hiked to see where the lava crossed the road in 2003. My mom lead the way on the hike and was very proud of herself! 

We spent the majority of the morning at the park. Afterward I took them to Punaluu Black Sand Beach. They were extremely fascinated by the black sand!! Unfortunately there were no sea turtles on the beach this time. 
We went to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory for some macadamia nut tasting. Since it was Christmas the factory was closed but the visitor center was open. There were nine different flavors of macadamias nuts – we tried them all. I personally loved the Kona coffee flavored macadamias nuts. We bought lots of goodies and souvenirs! 
At dusk we went back to the National Park to Jagger museum to see the crater. It was breathtaking to watch!

We raced back to the airport to catch our fight back to Honolulu. As we pulled up to the airport I was staring at the window and saw a plane with “United States of America” on the tarmac. It didn’t dawn upon me what I was seeing but quickly I realized that it was Air Force One! To be positive that I wasn’t delusional my brother google searched an image of Air Force One and confirmed that in fact I was not crazy. I got excited and thought that the President was at the airport or on the Big Island! Mama asked the car rental agent if he was on the island and she informed us that he wasn’t – boo. Apparently while the President is in Hawaii they fly Air Force One to various islands as a security measure to throw people off as to what island he is on. Sadly I didn’t get to see the President but I did get an up close view of Air Force One – couldn’t have asked for anything else on Christmas Day!

by adayinthelalz 
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Hawaii, Travel, USA

Hawaii Chronicles – Day 19

December 25, 2012

They’re here!!!!! Mama & Lil Bro have touched down in Hawaii!!!

We started the morning with breakfast at the Hau Tree Lanai in Honolulu. During the hike from hell that Doc & I took yesterday we met an awesome Canadian named Barney who told us about this place. He gave us some great suggestions for places to go and restaurants to try in Oahu. Hau Tree Lanai are famous for their Eggs Benedict & Poi pancakes. The restaurant is right on the beach and it is named after the ancient Hau tree that is in the middle. 



After breakfast we went to ‘Iolani Palace. I was amazed by the access visitors are given at the palace. We pretty much got to roam around where we wanted to and we were allowed to take pictures! With the admissions ticket visitors are given an audio tour which is great because you learn about the history of the royal family, how they were overthrown, as well as the significance of all the various rooms in the palace. 


For Christmas Eve dinner we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a Luau dinner and show Ha Breath of Life. It was our first Luau experience! There was so much food! OhEmGee. We started eating from 5pm until the show started at 7:30pm! Even though Doc & I saw the show before while bestie was visiting – I felt that they hyped it up and added a couple scenes because it was Christmas Eve. Mama & Bro enjoyed the show and claimed to have enjoyed their first night in Hawaii!



Merry Christmas! Sending warm wishes to all of you this Christmas from Hawaii!

by adayinthelalz 
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Hawaii, Travel, USA

Hawaii Chronicles – Day 18

December 24, 2012

Today we decided it would be a great idea to hike the Koko Head Crater Trail. The trail is 1.5 miles round trip, 1028 steps, and 1200 feet elevation. The trail used to be a railway tram track that was used during WW2 to haul supplies to the military bunkers on the top of the crater. The people on the hike range from grandma/grandpa to small children and even mothers carrying their infant children. It took us and hour to get up and hour to get back down. Going up was HELL. My asthmatic, unfit, skinny self had a very difficult time getting through this hike. At some point there is a part of the trail where the track turns into a bridge with no bottom. It was very scary & dangerous at the same time. Going up this bridge was easy but on the way down I had no shame in crawling back down. People judged me and some guy even took a picture of me – which I’m sure will surface on the Internet at some point and I will become a laughing stalk – but I don’t care. It was terrifying. All this said the view at the top was breathtaking! I would definitely recommend everyone to do this hike – except bring lots of water, do it early in the morning, and don’t wear a lot of layers. At the top you get to see Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, as well as a 360 degree view of eastern Oahu and the Pacific.     



While we were at the top of the crater Doc spotted four jets. She took a picture but at the time we had no idea what was going on. Later we saw on the news that it was the four F-22 Raptors from the Hawaii Air National Guard which flew over the service at Punchbowl for the late Senator Daniel Inouye.



After the hike we rewarded ourselves with Li Hing Icees from the Crack Seed Store. Li Hing is a red powder that is used for flavoring on top of pretty much anything. It was delicious and it tasted really good especially after our intense hike! I’m going to stock up on some Li Hing powder and bring it back to MI!

Afterward we did some grocery shopping in Chinatown. At the apartment Doc cooked as I cleaned the apartment for Mama & Lil Bro when they come tonight! I’m super excited for their arrival! This will be the first family vacation – as in all 4 of us together – since going to Spain in 2010! Can’t wait for the fam bam to be together!!!

by adayinthelalz 
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Hawaii, Travel, USA

Hawaii Chronicles – Day 17

December 24, 2012

Saturday was an uneventful day. Doc worked a 12 hour shift therefore I used to time to catch up on grad school applications….and share pictures like this one.

Tomorrow we are going hiking at Koko Crater Railway Trail. Apparently people have been air lifted from the hike yet we are still going – I have no idea why we are doing this. HELP.
by adayinthelalz 
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Hawaii, Travel, USA

Hawaii Chronicles – Day 16

December 23, 2012

Friday night we finally made it to a Hawaiian sunset!!! We went back to Ala Moana Park to catch the sunset before heading to dinner.



I insisted on going out to dinner to celebrate the fact that the Mayans were wrong and the world did not end!! We went to Town in Honolulu. I found it online while googling for the best restaurants in Oahu. Apparently Town was ranked Top 5 restaurant of the year by Honolulu Magazine. For those of you who are live/from Ann Arbor – the Town reminded me very much os Sava’s. It is a very modern restaurant with fresh ingredients and small but yet filling portions. 

Arugula Salad, which consisted of  kabocha, fennel, pickled onions, almonds, and parmigiano. Doc got the ahi tartare with risotto cake & balsamic vinegar.
Risotto with grilled eggplant, mint, & pecorino. We went all out – since the world did not end – and even got dessert. For dessert we had the “milk and honey” buttermilk pannacotta with nalo meli honey. It was divine! 

When we got back to the apartment we were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of Santa Clause and got candy canes from the elves!!

by adayinthelalz 
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About

Welcome to A Day In The Lalz! My name is Lauleh. I hail from the Midwest, have Persian roots, and currently live in the DC area. I started this blog in December 2012 while I was living in Hawaii for a month. I have a passion for travel and obsessed with all things fashion!

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