Hawaii

racetravelrepeat
Apr 29
32 min read

HAPALUA HALF MARATHON

Honolulu, HI

The Spirit of Aloha: A Week in Waikiki 🌺

Monday, April 7, 2025

"I could not turn back the time for the political change, but there is still time to save our heritage. You must remember never to cease to act because you fear you may fail. The way to lose any earthly kingdom is to be inflexible, intolerant, and prejudicial. Another way is to be too flexible, tolerant of too many wrongs, and without judgment at all. It is a razor's edge. It is the width of a blade of pili grass. To gain the kingdom of heaven is to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen, and to know the unknowable — that is Aloha. All things in this world are two; in heaven, there is but one." — Queen Lili'uokalani (1917)

This week's attire was Aloha business comfortable! 🌺 I kicked off my vacation in Hawaii with the Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma 23rd Annual Hawai‘i International Summit, which unites multidisciplinary professionals from all around the world in the goal of treating trauma across the lifespan. Our conference theme this year happened to be "The Power of Connection," which could not have been more aptly named considering the word I chose for 2025 at the beginning of the year was "connection." I embraced connection throughout my entire trip in everything I did, from the conference to the magical excursions I went on, and finally wrapped up my trip with 13.1 miles of Aloha at the Hapalua Half Marathon.

This originally was supposed to be entirely a business trip, but when I saw that the race fell on the weekend right after the conference, I knew I had to make a whole vacation out of it. It was my first time visiting Hawaii, and to be honest, I didn't know when (or if) I might have this opportunity again. The time it takes to travel to Hawaii in my situation (one 7-hour flight, and one 2-hour flight, plus layover time) was also a factor in planning — I knew in order to make such a long travel day on both ends of the trip worth it, I'd have to spend at least a week visiting.

Visiting Hawaii from the mainland felt like visiting a different country, especially since we were required to sign a plant and animal declaration form from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture prior to our entry onto any Hawaiian island, and then I had to go through what I call "fruit customs" on the way home and have my baggage scanned for any agricultural contraband before being permitted to go through TSA. My husband laughed when I told him this, because I'd had a run-in with "fruit customs" before when we were visiting Mexico and I got detained by a fruit-detecting K9 because I'd inadvertently left a banana in my bag that I'd taken off our cruise ship. My husband never let me live this incident down, and was laughing so hard when the K9 alerted on my bag, and the customs agent confiscated my banana and scolded me.

My plane touched down in Honolulu at around 1:15 P.M. HST, which was 6:15 P.M. CST for my body and circadian rhythm. Beforehand, I'd asked another runner who had visited Hawaii from a different time zone what she did in order to be at her best on race day as far as the time difference, and she said she'd just stayed on her local time instead of switching to Hawaiian Standard Time. I knew keeping myself 5 hours ahead of the local time would come with a set of challenges, such as meal and nutrient timing, and then the issue of not being able to get my room dark enough in the afternoon to get adequate sleep. I made it work in Alaska, the "land of the midnight sun," during the time of year when Alaska experiences 20 hours or more of daylight. This would be the ultimate Anti-Jet Lag Challenge, and for the most part I was able to accomplish it the entire week by drafting a routine that looked like this:

Wake up: 1:00 A.M. HST (6:00 A.M. CST)

Breakfast: 1:30 A.M. HST (6:30 A.M. CST)

Gym time: 2:30 A.M. HST (7:30 A.M. CST)

Coffee: 4:00 A.M. - 4:30 A.M. HST (9:00 A.M./9:30 A.M. CST)

Lunch: 6:00 A.M. HST (11:00 A.M. CST)

Dinner: 12:30 P.M. - 1:30 P.M. HST (5:30 P.M. - 6:30 P.M. CST)

Bed time: 5:00 P.M. HST (10:00 P.M. CST)

I ensured I remembered that lunch time in Hawaii would be my last meal of the day, and knowing my ideal bed time was around 5:00 P.M. kept me on track, though it was difficult on Tuesday and Wednesday to go from the conference essentially straight to bed after. There were also the "Friday Night Fireworks," which I thought would be problematic on Friday night, but I slept like the dead and didn't end up being woken up by them.

If you are planning a trip to Hawaii, refusing to switch to the local time zone isn't for everyone — my husband and I call this way of traveling "staying on ship time" — nicknaming it after what a cruise ship captain tells us on every cruise, since we are supposed to stay on the ship's time (based on the port of origin) instead of local time when we visit a port stop, so we don't miss the ship's departure. We usually have to program our cell phones to not automatically adjust time zones so we can remain on ship time. If you are a night-life person and want to actually do a few activities at night during your visit to Hawaii... then the way I set my schedule up for this trip probably isn't for you.

I did it this way to ensure minimal disruption to my sleep and health prior to the race. Personally, whenever I don't get enough sleep and I travel to a conference or event with large amounts of people (even if I sacrifice just ONE night of sleep), I always inevitably end up with the crud or the flu or whatever gross upper respiratory illness is going around, and I didn't have time for it this week. Luckily on this trip my strategy worked, however I wasn't so fortunate when I attended a conference AND concert in Denver, the same week as my Colorado half marathon, and ended up bringing home COVID-19.

My first meal in Waikiki was at Waikiki Gangnam Style, which is a Korean restaurant specializing in Korean and American fare, open from 7:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. It was super convenient, because it was located at the front side of the building it shared with the hotel where I'd be spending the week, the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Waikiki. Ramada guests can enjoy a discount at the restaurant, though I didn't take advantage of this myself since I decided to grab my meal before getting settled in. I ordered the fried kimchi rice with fried egg, and it was delicious and the portions were super generous.

After my lunch/dinner, I headed down the street to the 7-Eleven and also stopped at the Island Country Markets convenience store/full service deli/gift shop right by the hotel to pick up a few grocery items for my week. Chief among these items was a jar of peanut butter, which would be a central breakfast ingredient. I purchased everything I'd need for a week of having breakfast in my room in the early morning hours, before anything would be open. Before I'd left home, I had also packed a package of bagels in my suitcase, because I didn't know what the bagel situation would be, and I expected my access to them would be non-existent in the middle of the night. Exhausted from the travel day, I was sound asleep by 5:00 P.M., as planned.

Tuesday, April 8 & Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Tuesday, April 8, began at 1:00 A.M. for me, and I woke up well rested and ready to attack my day before everyone else's began. I was super excited to see how much I could accomplish in the nearly 7 hours before I was scheduled to attend my conference. I had a leisurely breakfast in my room consisting of one of the bagels I'd brought with me, a banana, plus the peanut butter I'd purchased the day before from 7-Eleven. I then headed down to the hotel fitness center around 2:30 A.M. for my workout and found the gym gloriously empty. And humid. For Garmin fanatics reading this, I feel the need to take this opportunity to brag that I earned the "I am the Night" Garmin Badge with this workout.

After showering and changing, it was time for coffee, and I knew I would have a beast of a time finding coffee at 4:00 A.M. I'd done some research ahead of time, and there were a handful of Starbucks that opened between 5:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M. all across the island, but I really wanted my caffeine as early as possible, and I prefer to support a small business whenever I can.

Miraculously, there was one locally owned coffee shop that was open that early, and it was Maleko Coffee & Pastries. The tiny cafe is technically located in the same building as the Waikiki Monarch Hotel, but it has its own entrance. There is no seating inside, it is carry-out only, and they have delicious bagels, pastries, and freshly made coffee. I ordered a hot beverage, even though I was already sweating by the time I'd walked the few blocks there. There was one gentleman working the counter and serving the coffees and pastries, and he asked me where I was from and what my visit was for. I didn't go into a lot of detail, but I mentioned the race, and it was my first time visiting. He made a few recommendations of things I should do while I was in town, and most of those things were already on my list.

I had not yet spent even 24 hours in Honolulu, and I was surprised to see how prevalent homelessness and drug use seemed to be on the island. I later learned Hawaii had an unfortunately very high rate of homelessness which was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. When tourists visit Oahu, they are expecting a paradise largely devoid of the same issues that plague some of the largest metropolitan and urban areas in the United States, and many people might be surprised to see as many homeless individuals on the streets of Honolulu as I did.

Data from the National Institutes of Health shows that on a single night in 2020, there were approximately 4,448 individuals experiencing homelessness on Oahu, and 2,010 individuals on the neighbor islands, and approximately a quarter of them were involved with harmful substance use. Fentanyl also continues to be a very problematic trend increasing on the islands. During my Three Hour Sunrise Tour excursion with Oahu Photography Tours, which I will go into more detail on later, my guide explained that one contributing factor to Hawaii's homeless problem is that sometimes when individuals know they are facing homelessness, they buy a one-way ticket to one of the Hawaiian islands to live out their unsheltered situation since the weather is always ideal, the scenery is beautiful, and they can camp out on the beach, which is free to the public.

Considering this, I couldn't blame anyone for preferring to be homeless in Hawaii as opposed to somewhere that gets severe winter weather, such as Chicago, New York, or anywhere in the Midwest. One of my earliest childhood memories is when I attended the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City with my parents when I was six years old, and seeing the homeless sleeping in cardboard boxes lining the streets in the frigid temperatures, which on that morning, had dropped down to 23° F.

While I worried about warming my little hands up in my gloves, I could see the feet of the homeless sticking out of their makeshift shelters, and at that age, I didn't understand what I was seeing. As an adult, having that image permanently cemented in my brain, I know I'd book that one way ticket to Hawaii if I ever had to face homelessness.

My midday meal (midday for me, it was only 6:30 A.M. HST) was at IHOP, since it was practically next door to my hotel and it was something I could quickly eat before heading to the conference to check in early for registration. "Quickly" is not how it ended up happening... the poor IHOP waitress who was the only one working was quickly overwhelmed when guests began showing up for the breakfast rush. Everywhere I went during my trip appeared to be short staffed, yet despite this, I had only good customer service experiences from patient, friendly staff — which was illustrative of the Hawaiian hospitality the islands are known for.

The Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma (IVAT) Hawaii Summit took place at the Hawaii Convention Center, which would also be home to the Hapalua Half Marathon Expo later in the week. I attended conference sessions that included the ethical use of AI in behavioral health care applications such as billing and diagnosis, a session on in-depth studies of adverse childhood experiences, and sessions related to PTSD in military populations. Attending this event and feeling the love, hope, and connection from the presenters and other participants gave me the much needed reminder that my work matters and what I do is important. My work over the past 13 years following my active duty military service has focused on serving victims of violent crimes — specifically domestic violence, sexual violence, childhood sexual abuse, or human trafficking survivors — and the opportunity to attend this conference with some of the most incredible, gifted experts in the world from every professional discipline was an honor.

At 12:30 P.M., we broke for lunch, which was my last meal of the day. I decided on Sunny's Local Grind, a hole-in-the-wall not so hidden gem on Ena Street, which was only a few blocks from the Convention Center. Our lunch break was an hour and 15 minutes, which didn't give us a lot of time considering most restaurants downtown were packed and had upwards of a 40-minute wait to be seated. I lucked out and arrived at Sunny's right before the lunch rush. The restaurant, a beautifully painted locally owned small business, has extremely limited seating and is also extremely popular with locals. They excel at the grab-and-go model, and guests began to line up and wrap around the building to place to-go orders.

I managed to snag a seat inside while I waited for my order, which was veggie fried rice. While they are advertised as an all-day breakfast restaurant, their menu had an assortment of breakfast and lunch items. The fried rice arrived in a to-go container and was the perfect portion for me to devour in a hurry before returning to the conference. I was not surprised that it was some of the best fried rice I'd ever had — it was truly awesome and represented the restaurant's attention to detail with every dish's flavor. If I'd had more time, I would have tried everything on the menu... this is probably Oahu's best kept secret.

In the afternoon, my final session for that day was "Living Aloha: Embracing Wellness Through Cultural Practice," presented by Dr. Dayna Schultz, Vernon Viernes, Dolly Tatofi, and Dr. Jared Yurow, and it was my favorite session of the whole conference. The panelists did a deep dive with us on the connection between cultural identity, healing, and holistic wellness through the lens of Native Hawaiian values. We learned the true meaning of the "spirit of Aloha" and we were guided on a journey of promoting trauma recovery and community wellbeing while also learning important facts about Hawaii's history.

One of my favorite quotes shared by the panelists is related to the "Key Tenets of Aloha," and this wisdom is gifted to us from Aunty Pilahi Paki: "Aloha is the word my kupuna attributed to the Universe. Aloha — the Spirit — is now hidden from us by a filmy veil of Eternity as revered Personalities. For Aloha, as translated and interpreted by my ancestors, was an element of life. It was an element, vital and important to their daily habits in life. Aloha for them was the spiritual essence endowed to man in his and her beginning. Aloha was that tiny glow or spark in life, which enabled man to imply his thoughts, and apply his heart, to the imagination and emotion of his and her Soul."

Each participant was gifted a small bag of Hawaiian sea salt, pa'akai, which was traditionally used in cleansing and purification ceremonies and healing rituals by native Hawaiians. It was a beautiful symbolic gift that represents unity and healing, something all of us need more of. Doing a deep dive on the Aloha Spirit set the stage for the rest of my entire trip, and I left the conference that afternoon feeling like I was walking on air.

The following afternoon, we had our Networking and Awards Luncheon, and it was a perfect last meal of the day on Wednesday before I turned in for the evening. The main course was preceded by a salad with papaya seed dressing, followed by the entrée which consisted of smoked chicken breast and jasmine rice, and dessert was a waialua chocolate cake with kula strawberry puree. My last session of the afternoon was rather late in the day and was scheduled until 6:00 P.M., which I could not bring myself to stay for the entire duration after the participant next to me (presumably also jet-lagged) started snoring loudly. I took that as my cue to bow out, head back to my hotel, and go to bed myself.

Thursday, April 10 & Friday, April 11, 2025

My first excursion of the trip, booked for me by Saltwater Sunsets Travel, was the 3-Hour Sunrise Tour With Malasadas, and it was advertised by Oahu Photography Tours as "for those that wish to have a shorter island tour of scenic spots in Oahu, and those jetlagged from traveling the day before." A tour specifically for jetlagged travelers!? Sign me up! The tour was scheduled to begin at 5:00 A.M., which was perfect for me. I met my guide, Kurt, outside my hotel for pickup at 4:45 A.M., and we made the rounds and picked up the rest of our tour group at another hotel.

Kurt was absolutely fantastic and totally personalized our tour, ensuring all of our questions were answered during the trip. Since our group was so small, Kurt encouraged us to set the pace of the tour of the island and we could request to stay as long (or as little) as we liked at each stop to ensure we got the most out of our excursion. We started the tour at Sandy Beach, which is notorious within the surfing community for powerful, large waves. Kurt showed us how to capture the most stunning photos of the sun breaking over the horizon, as well as waiting for the perfect moment for the waves to crash over the lava rock. With plenty of tips from Kurt, the resulting photos were spectacular — so much so, that a friend of mine even commented they looked "AI generated."

After sunrise, Kurt showed us Makapu'u Lookout, which presented wonderful opportunities to capture the sweeping landscape of East Oahu. Each photo I snapped was worthy of a National Geographic spread, especially the photos I managed to capture of some of the "Hawaiian lions," as cats are affectionately known on the island. Kurt pointed out each significant landmark around the island from the lookout, and we were able to view the general direction of where the military installations were, Manana Island, Black Rock Island, and most of the eastern shore of Oahu.

Kurt then brought us to the Halona Blowhole Lookout, which he explained is typically super busy in the afternoons and especially popular with tourists, however we were there early enough that we could enjoy the serenity of the beautiful seascape below. There were a few people down below on the shore at Halona Beach Cove (also known as Eternity Beach) enjoying the quiet, and I imagined they felt like they had their own private island, if not only for another hour or so. In popular culture, Eternity Beach served as the set for the beach scene in the 1953 film "From Here to Eternity."

Before returning to Waikiki, Kurt treated us to a local favorite. We each got to sample a malasada of our choice from the Leonard's Bakery food truck, and they were incredible. Leonard's Bakery, which has an actual storefront in Honolulu in addition to the food truck, was founded in 1952 by Leonard Rego, the son of Portuguese immigrants. According to their timeline, Leonard's is Hawaii's first official malasada bakery. Malasadas are a Portuguese donut without a hole, coated in sugar. Malasada means "poorly cooked," in Portuguese, and these delicious treats were popularized in Hawaii when Portuguese immigrants arrived on the islands in the 1800s to work on the sugar plantations.

On that particular afternoon, Leonard's had several different malasada varieties to choose from: original sugar, cinnamon sugar, sweet and sour sugar, custard filled, chocolate filled, or coconut cream-filled. My tour companions chose one custard and two chocolate-filled, and I picked the cinnamon sugar. A cattle egret with an eagle eye was very interested in sharing our treats, and while our group ran over to Starbucks across the street to get our coffee fix, Kurt guarded our malasadas from this dapper-looking scavenger.

After we were sufficiently caffeinated and fed, this concluded our tour. Mahalo, Kurt, for such an amazing experience and showing us the beauty of the island before the rest of Waikiki woke up! With the rest of my afternoon free, I wanted to explore Ala Moana Center, which claims to be the world's largest open-air shopping center with over 350 shops and restaurants. It was three stories, and shopping alfresco in this mall was fascinating to me. We were in the open air, but the corridors of the mall were covered, so when the intermittent rain showers happened throughout the afternoon, guests stayed dry. The downside to being "outside inside" was it made for an extremely hot and humid shopping experience except for when I was inside each shop or department store.

I visited two notable restaurants Thursday morning and afternoon, which were Aloha Kitchen Waikiki, and Rock Island Cafe. Aloha Kitchen is another treasure on Ena Road, just down the street from Sunny's. I showed up at 9:30 A.M., following the Sunrise Tour, ready for lunch. Aloha Kitchen is an extremely popular spot with a delicious breakfast menu (from the looks of other people's plates I saw while I was seated), but because it was lunch time for me and I wanted something savory, I decided on a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel with a side of avocado and potatoes. It was approximately a 30 minute wait to be seated, but things moved pretty quickly and efficiently, and I was able to enjoy my sandwich without feeling like I needed to rush out of there.

Rock Island Cafe was my dinner pick at around 2:00 P.M., after my long afternoon of shopping. This restaurant was fascinating for several different reasons, most notably because the owners collect retro memorabilia and collectibles from different eras in popular culture, and everything in the restaurant is for sale and the decor changes based on what is sold, and newly acquired. The restaurant bills itself as "Hawaii's premiere old fashioned diner, memorabilia shop, and bar." I ordered a classic cheeseburger with fries, and enjoyed watching clips from late 1980's and early 1990's TV show jingles, which made my dining experience nostalgic and memorable. The staff was excited to welcome me into the restaurant, and treated me like I was an old friend.

On Friday, April 11, I embarked on my second excursion, a tour of the North Shore Dole Pineapple Farm in Wahiawa, and learned all about the cultivation of pineapples grown in Hawaii, from planting and harvesting to processing and packing. The North Shore Dole Pineapple Farm Tour is a locally guided tour of Oahu’s North Shore, courtesy of Roberts Hawaii. Having spent an entire day learning about Hawaii's history and the pineapple industry, and seeing the farm in action, I am filled with even more gratitude for where our pineapples come from.

Our tour began early that rainy morning, and I met our tour shuttle in front of Goofy Café & Dine, where I planned to have lunch the following afternoon. I was the first guest on the shuttle, and I was introduced to my guide for the day, Cousin Lisa, who was beyond amazing. She embodied the spirit of Aloha and the definition of Hawaiian hospitality, and took "treating guests like family" to the highest level, referring to me as "Cousin" and the other two guests in our group as "Aunty" and "Uncle" during our trip, a sign of respect and endearment. Her sense of humor kept us laughing the entire 7 hours we spent together, and she regaled us with captivating tales of Hawaiian history and legend while showing us the island.

It rained on and off all throughout our excursion, especially in the morning, when we picked up Rick and Nora, the only other two guests who accompanied me on this journey. They were a sweet couple visiting from Maine, and having spent an entire day together we definitely bonded. Rick was also a veteran, who served in the Navy during Vietnam. Our shared experience of active duty service automatically made us family, and I felt compassion and an instant connection. Lisa shared fun facts about the island with us in between each stop, and we had plenty of time to ask questions and discuss all of the things we learned.

I took a few notes of things that stood out to me, such as most of the current agriculture and animals in Hawaii — the plants, tropical fruits, land mammals, etc. — are not actually native to the islands. There are no native land mammals to Hawaii, except for the Hawaiian hoary bat. All of the current flora and fauna we see in Hawaii today was introduced over the centuries by missionaries, colonists, and immigrants who settled on the island, most notably the Polynesians, Europeans, and Japanese. The first Hawaiian settlers brought pigs and chickens, spices, and sugar cane in 1778, and then Captain Cook brought an English sow and boar to Niihau on his first voyage.

The pineapple, the fruit Hawaii is most famous for, originated in Argentina, and was introduced to the islands in the early 1800's. During the sugar plantation, the Portuguese introduced malasadas to Hawaii, and also the ukulele — which was one of the most surprising things I learned. The Library of Congress calls the ukulele the "Portuguese Gift to Hawaii," and today it's an instrument known for its distinctly Hawaiian sound and influence on Hawaiian culture and music.

Lisa also shared some current Hawaiian facts with us, such as the state flower, which is the yellow hibiscus🌺, and the significance of which side a woman chooses to wear the flower on. In the Hawaiian culture, if you wear a flower behind your left ear, you are married and/or unavailable. Wearing a flower on the right side signifies that the person in question is single and possibly looking for love. On our way to the pineapple farm, we drove by the hospital President Barack Obama was born in, the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, founded by Queen Kapiolani as the Kapiolani Maternity Home in 1890. We also passed the Baskin-Robbins where President Obama worked while he was a teenager.

Our first official stop on the tour was Green World Coffee Farm, where we got our fill of coffee and pastries. I ordered a pineapple juice and a lemon bar, and they were phenomenal. Lisa walked us through the coffee farm and shared facts with us about the cultivation of coffee and its history on the Hawaiian islands. The cute coffee shop had plenty of souvenirs and postcards for sale.

From the Coffee Farm, we headed to the main attraction of the excursion, the Dole Pineapple Farm and pack house. When we arrived, we watched the tractors and farmers loading pallets of pineapple with a forklift, and the harvested pineapples in the process of being washed before moving up the conveyor belt into the warehouse. It was fascinating seeing all the fresh pineapples up close and personal moving up the belt on their way to be packed. From there, we got on a large tour bus, and Lisa took us through the working fields to see the planted pineapples at their various stages of growth.

Pineapples take approximately 18 months to grow, and the seven (yes, SEVEN!) current pineapple farmers plant and harvest every single fruit by hand across 4,000 acres, for wages far less than what they deserve. Despite the conditions they work in, they never stopped smiling and were happy to share their experiences with our group. After touring the warehouse, we visited the gift shop, where we were treated to fresh pineapple juice and chunks of pineapple, plus a sampling of Waialua chocolates.

As a souvenir of our visit to the pineapple farm, we were each presented with a boxed pineapple. There was some lighthearted joking about how we would transport our pineapples home, and in my case, it ended up being my "personal item" in addition to my carryon, and it rode home in the overhead bin above my seat on the plane.

Lisa treated us to a wonderful picnic lunch at the exclusive North Shore Beach, and we camped out at a secluded picnic table in the shade with a spectacular ocean view. I learned that many scenes from one of my favorite TV series, Lost, were filmed on the North Shore, precisely at the location where we were having lunch. It has been 20 years since Oceanic Flight 815 crashed onto a mysterious, uncharted island, and I had the chance to stand in the exact spot where the plane crashed in the pilot episode of the series.

I also found out the Hawaii Convention Center had been turned into the Sydney Airport during the filming of the series, and it was pretty neat looking at the Convention Center in a whole different way after learning this fun fact. I am now in the process of re-watching the entire series for fun to spot some of the locations I visited. On our way to our next stops, we spotted a monk seal, napping peacefully on the beach. Next, we stopped at the historic Old Haleiwa Town and checked out the boutique shops. There was a shaved ice shop, which came highly recommended, though due to the length of the line and the short time we had, I decided I'd have to try it out on a trip back to Oahu.

Lastly, we visited a macadamia nut shop before making our way back to downtown Honolulu, and we sampled different flavored macadamia nuts. I picked up a bag of coffee glazed roasted macadamia nuts, which were phenomenal based on my sampling of them, and a jar of guava jam. I find guava jam extraordinarily hard to find anywhere under normal circumstances, so there was no question I had to bring some home, since it's one of my favorites. Before parting ways and saying goodbye to our amazing guide, Lisa took us past the King Kamehameha Statue and one of the most famous filming locations from Gilligan's Island.

Saturday morning kicked off my big rest day before race day, and after a spectacular lunch at Goofy Café & Dine, I picked up my packet at the Hawaii Convention Center, which was the very last thing on my to-do list for the weekend. Goofy's was right across from my hotel, and I wish I'd visited sooner, because it was probably my favorite meal of the whole trip. I made the right call showing up 25 minutes before the restaurant opened to put my name on the list, because this is definitely one of the most popular spots and there was as line wrapped around the building the minute the restaurant opened.

Goofy's is an alfresco dining experience with a nice view of Ala Moana Boulevard below, and while I had my lunch there was a beautiful, calming Hawaiian breeze. I ordered the Cinnamon Lovers Big Island Bread French Toast with a side of bacon and sausage, plus a guava juice. It should come as a shock to no one that my French toast came loaded with pineapple (which belongs on everything). Service was quick and friendly, and I learned later on from another out-of-state visitor that this restaurant went viral on social media at one point, which catapulted its popularity with guests visiting from other states.

Packet pick-up opened precisely at 9:00 A.M., and it was nothing spectacular, but there were a few local vendors selling merchandise (I bought a couple of tank tops) and also official race merchandise. I went to try on a couple of my new tank tops in the women's restroom and found one of them ran small, and thankfully, the vendors were understanding about making an exchange for a larger size. No refunds, though, so keep that in mind if you're someone who is not 100% ready to commit to an Expo purchase and you're on the fence.

Something I'd read about from another reviewer was that in previous years of the race, the race organizers printed special T-shirts with the names of all of the female participants, and a separate T-shirt for the men with their names on it, and since I knew they'd go quick, I made sure I got one. I also picked up a moisture-wicking towel with all of our names, and found my name on it, which made for a nice novelty swag item.

My day ended with pizza at Monkeypod Kitchen, which is a beautiful beachfront restaurant located in the OUTRIGGER Reef Waikiki Beach Resort. In keeping with my tradition of trying pizza in every state I visit, there was no question my dinner would be the Kalua Pork & Pineapple Pizza. I would rate it a modest 10/10, because those grilled pineapples were out of this world... and how could I not have authentic Hawaiian-style pizza in Hawaii?

Happy Hapalua: Medals and Malasadas After 13.1 Miles of Aloha

Race Day: Sunday, April 13, 2025

Hawaii's largest half marathon is the Hapalua, and according to various sources, there were over 10,000 participants this year. "Hapalua" means "half" in Hawaiian, and this was my 21st state for my 50 states half marathon challenge, bringing me almost halfway to completing my goal. I might have saved this state for 25, so it would more accurately reflect true "hapalua" in relation to my goal, but you already know my travel plans had other plans. After spending the past week in Waikiki, I hoped I was adequately acclimated when race morning arrived.

I got out of bed around 2:30 A.M. on race morning, and had my "first" breakfast consisting of the Starbucks protein box I picked up the morning before, and a banana. Knowing I would need the extra electrolytes given the humidity, I hydrated all morning with LMNT in my 32 ounce tumbler. I'd like to say everything went according to plan and I was also able to eat my bagel with peanut butter, but the remaining bagels I'd packed and brought with me had gone bad, which I figured out after the first bite. Instead I ate one of the snacks I'd hoarded from my Southwest flight and hoped I wouldn't be sick later.

I packed everything I needed for the race into my CamelBak, which was filled with a supplemental half-liter of water, and made the 1.2 mile trek from my hotel to the start line on Kalakaua Avenue near the Duke Kahanamoku statue. The ground was wet from a midnight rain shower, and the air was heavy with humidity. The streets were devoid of any people at that point, even though all week I'd seen cyclists and runners out as early as 4:30 A.M.

The walk was a good warm-up before the race, but it really sucked walking that 1.2 miles back after the race. At the end of the day, my Garmin informed me I'd spent a total of 17 miles on my feet. I was far enough out from the start line that I didn't see other runners on my walk until I got within a couple of blocks from the start. Within feet of the starting line was the Honolulu Police Department Waikiki Station, and a bank of public toilets in the building next door, which many of us took full advantage of to avoid having to use the portable toilets.

We were treated to a spectacular view of the full moon peeking out from the palm trees on Waikiki Beach — which was gloriously devoid of tourists crowding the beach that early in the morning. I planned to return to that same spot in the afternoon to take a contrasting photo of all of the beachgoers enjoying the sun, but in that moment I had so much appreciation for the serenity of the quiet beach before the race. We took turns taking photos next to Duke, the "Father of Modern Surfing."

I ran into three other Team RWB Eagles from all across the country, which is always a highlight for me when I travel for races. Team Red, White and Blue is a non-profit organization and America's premiere fitness and wellness community for veterans and active duty service members, and I am part of the team to continue to raise awareness of the greatest needs of our warriors — especially physical wellness, and treatment and healing for PTSD. Our group parted ways and we wished each other good luck as we navigated the crowd of tens of thousands of runners to find our designated pace groups. Our magical moonlit start to the race commenced at precisely 6:00 A.M., as we rolled through the start in a controlled release of assigned "waves."

The temperature at the start of the race was an extremely muggy 73° F, at 80% humidity, with intermittent breezes topping out at 18 mph. Mid-way through and by the time we finished the race, the temperature had climbed up to 78°, which rivals my race in Colorado (my first DFL) for hottest temperature I've raced in thus far. The difference between this morning and my race in Colorado is in Hawaii, the temperature didn't make me nervous, and I also didn't have elevation to worry about. My mantra became the words of wisdom offered to me by my fitness and nutrition coach before the race, which was, "Literally just enjoy the scenery, you're in Hawaii!" This gave me permission to not worry about my watch, stay present, and actually enjoy the scenery.

We headed west on Kalakaua Avenue, and as my watch chirped indicating we'd reached the 2 mile mark, I started getting nervous about there being no aid station. I apologize to the couple running beside me who I shouted at, "Where is the... why is there no aid station!?" You knew it was coming up, and this crazy lady was next to you acting like she was dying of thirst. I was glad I'd brought supplemental water in my pack, which I don't do for every big race, and at that point I was almost out of water. We turned left on Atkinson Drive, past the Hawaii Convention Center, where I'd spent a good deal of my week, and ran past the Ala Moana Shopping center on Ala Moana Boulevard, which I'd explored on Thursday.

All along Ala Moana Boulevard we could smell fried rice and breakfast food from the local restaurants. The first aid station finally appeared at Mile 2.3, and I took 2 cups of Gatorade and 2 cups of water and felt my dehydrated body come back to life. We continued west on Ala Moana Boulevard, and onto Aloha Tower Drive, where the second aid station and scores of volunteers greeted us at Mile 3.9. It was at this point that the weight of the heat had become unbearable for me, and I looked up at the partly overcast sky, seeing benevolent dark rain clouds hovering in the distance over the mountains, and said a silent prayer for rain. Come on, Hawaii, you've been raining on and off all week this entire trip. Please do that again today, I begged. I prayed to God, the Universe, my ancestors, angels, the Hawaiian gods and goddesses, anyone who would listen.

I never wanted rain so badly in my life. Miraculously, the sky answered with a light rain shower right at that moment, and it lifted my spirits for the rest of the race and the rest of the day. We enjoyed refreshing scattered showers on and off for approximately the next 30 minutes to an hour of the race, and for me, that meant around Mile 7, the sun came out and there was no more rain until later that evening. Miles 4 through 6 completed our first out-and-back loop that wound us around a turn by the Aloha Tower, taking us on Aloha Tower Drive on the ocean side before we continued back onto Ala Moana Boulevard.

Heading in the opposite direction on Ala Moana Boulevard back into Waikiki, we ran past my hotel which was on my left, with Goofy Cafe on my right. I made sure to snap plenty of photos while the ocean was in view. We were treated to another aid station at mile 5.5, and the next one from that point was only less than a mile up the road.

Meanwhile, after the rain had stopped, Waikiki locals came out of their homes along the suburban neighborhood stretches to offer us juice and water, and spray us with water from their garden hoses, which felt amazing. We graciously accepted any shower we could. Mile 8 had bags of ice, and there were ice bags set inside a cooler and on a chair and we all eagerly grabbed a bag. For the next couple of miles we stuck the rapidly melting ice in our shirts, balanced them on our heads, and poured the melting water on our faces and necks as we ran. I was so thankful and happy for my emotional support ice bag, especially because the last 4 miles of the race were by far the most hilly, hot, and humid.

We passed the Honolulu Zoo and then turned right on Paki Avenue on the east side of Kapiolani Park (getting glimpses of the finish festival waiting for us), and Mile 9 began the arduous climb on Diamond Head Road. The hill did not let up until we crested the summit at Mile 11. Yes, it was a 2-mile long hill, which admittedly, most of us who were not elite runners were walking. I kept glancing over to my right to see the runners who'd made the loop pass us in the opposite direction, going downhill, and I was looking forward to that downhill once I made the loop.

To be honest it was not the worst hill I've ever experienced in a race, it was only difficult because of the heat index. The Route 66 Half Marathon in Oklahoma had far more formidable hills, and I would probably rank the hills of Lexington, Kentucky as my biggest challenge to date. So this Hawaiian hill was nothing compared to those... I was just sweating a lot more.

Something else I observed was this was the largest field of walkers I've ever experienced in a larger race, everyone was enjoying the atmosphere and because there was no time limit, it made for a very relaxed experience for back of the back runners. I never felt alone on the course, and I was always accompanied by at least two hundred runners at any given time on the course. Had the streets been narrower, we would have been competing for space, but I never felt crowded even with the incredible turnout. One runner, who was a local, summed it up perfectly as she ran alongside me for a little while up the hill: "We are just slow and late... like everything here in Hawaii. We can stay on Hawaiian time!" As long as Hawaiian time still got me a malasada at the finish, I was okay with that.

We reached the lighthouse and were treated to gorgeous sweeping views from Diamond Head Road, and our final turnaround point was at Triangle Park, taking us back along Diamond Head Road, back down Kalakaua Avenue. As we ran through downtown Honolulu once again, the smells of breakfast food and fried rice were heavy in the air and followed us all the way to the finish. I suddenly craved a huge plate of fried rice. We headed directly into Kapiolani Park where we crossed the finish line. I could see the finish line when we were within a quarter of a mile, and the road was lined with thousands of cheering spectators who never let up on cheering even as we crossed the timing mat and exited the finisher's corral. In the corral, we were given our medals, bottles of water, and were escorted into the finish festival by volunteers. Wonderful volunteers showered us with drinks, snacks, and post-race food, and the Hawaiian hospitality didn't let up until we left the park. I loved the shaded area in the park that was chosen by the race organizers, I couldn't have imagined a better place to recover after the race in that humidity and heat.

I sat on a shaded bench and ate a banana-based chocolate ice cream bar from Chee Hoo, and then a friendly, sweet volunteer approached me with a giant box of malasadas and offered me one. Then she said, "Little cousin, take two! You're going to need it!" I almost cried tears of happiness because I was so hungry and she was so thoughtful and kind giving me two malasadas. She went around to every runner who crossed her path, making sure we were fed and had plenty of pineapple juice to go with our malasadas.

After I had my fill of post-race food, I exited the finish festival and headed across the street to Waikiki Beach, where only hours earlier runners were basking in the dark, quiet solitude of the empty moonlit beach. Predictably, the beach was packed with visitors, locals and tourists alike. They were swimming, surfing, and sunbathing, and I snapped the contrast photo I'd planned earlier that morning. I also took the opportunity to capture my "Medal Monday" photo, a close-up of my medal with Waikiki Beach as the backdrop, which is featured at the top of this page. I then pulled up Google maps and navigated to Lulu's, which, thankfully, was only one block up and across the street from the finish festival.

By that time it was around 9:30 A.M. HST, which was 2:30 P.M. CST for my stomach. I was delighted to find Lulu's was not crowded, and a bit surprised that such a highly rated, popular restaurant was not yet packed with hungry runners. To enter the restaurant, I had to climb a flight of stairs, which for my tired quads and calves was excruciating. The climb was worth it and I was seated by the hostess almost immediately, in front of a spectacular alfresco view of the beach below. It turned out I had impeccable timing and some good luck, because within 30 minutes, scores of runners and their supporters began ascending the stairs, clamoring to get on the waitlist.

Lulu's is known for being "a slice of tropical paradise in the heart of Honolulu," and was established to share the magic of Hawaiian hospitality with locals and guests from all over the world. Their menu features all-day breakfast items, plus lunch and dinner options, all made with fresh ingredients with a tropical vibe and a "dash of aloha spirit," according to the intro cover on their menu. I ordered a small coffee to stave off a caffeine headache, and then there was no question my meal would be spam fried rice after craving it for 13.1 miles. I strongly considered one of the pancake options — until I saw the fried rice and decided I really wanted savory instead of sweet — and I saw the pancakes being brought to another table and they looked like they were incredible. I don't think I could have made a mistake.

After my meal, it felt like all I accomplished was walking back to my hotel, and it was already time for dinner. The nearly mile and a half trek was brutal, and took me at least 30 minutes. Walking at a delicate pace with my sore muscles, and certain I had a blister, I took my time getting back. During my walk, it began to rain, and I ended up soaked again and could feel everything chafing. After I showered and changed and spent some time packing and organizing my room, I made my way to Barefoot Beach Cafe at Queen's Surf Beach.

Barefoot Beach Cafe, a cute little outdoor oceanfront restaurant, is right down the road from Lulu's and directly across from Kapiolani Park. I could have walked the mile and a half back to Kapiolani Park from my hotel, but I didn't want to, so I took a Lyft to and from the restaurant because 17 miles was all I was mentally prepared to travel on foot that day. Before heading to the restaurant, I looked out at Kapiolani Park, where just hours before thousands were gathered in celebration at the finish festival, and now the tents and equipment were all being disassembled by the volunteers and the last finishers had long departed.

Barefoot Beach Cafe was voted the #5 restaurant on Oahu in 2024 by readers of Hawaii Magazine, and it more than lived up to its reputation with its simple and delicious made-to-order menu and beautiful specialty smoothies and drinks. I decided on the Hawaii BBQ Chicken Sandwich with seasoned fries on the side, and the food was amazing. I chose a table with a partial ocean view and enjoyed the breeze while I ate my last meal in Waikiki.

At the conclusion of each of my "racecation" trips, I vow to come back to each destination if I've had an exceptional experience, but somehow this felt different and special. The pull of the ocean was restorative and healing, and I'm going to need more of that. One last thing... my pineapple made it safely through "fruit customs." We went through the Agriculture Inspection checkpoint when it opened at 4:00 A.M., and then my pineapple and I enjoyed one last coffee together in Hawaii before heading to the mainland. Mahalo for the adventures, Hawaii!