Return to Waikiki

I've been to Honolulu twice before, once for fun and once for work. I returned again this summer for work, for a two day meeting in Waikiki. I kept busy during the day, but had a few mornings and evenings to enjoy Honolulu's amazing food scene with colleagues. I'm a huge fan of Waikiki - it's touristy and over-priced, but also amazingly unique and vibrant with walkable streets and beautiful trees and flowers. Not the "real" Hawaii by any means, but a destination in its own right.

Views of Diamondhead while flying in.

The "Weekend at Burmese" salad at Piggy Smalls. Highly recommend this restaurant. 

Early morning on the sidewalks of Waikiki.

Iced coffee and a ham and cheese croissant from my favorite quick breakfast spot, Kona Coffee Purveyors.

We had a tour of the tsunami warning center.

NOAA's building at Pearl Harbor.

NOAA has a nice museum about their work in the Pacific.

Udon for lunch at Marukame. It always has a line, because it's delicious and cheap.

The view from the restaurant of the Outrigger Reef, where our meeting was held.

Shrimp and avocado salad at Mahina and Sun's.

Nighttime view from my hotel.

Gotta have ramen when in Honolulu! This is from a fantastic new Japanese food court called Yokocho.

Inside Yokocho, with multiple stalls/restaurants serving a variety of Japanese foods.

Daytime view from the Outrigger.

Asahi and a chuhai at an izakaya.

Beer Lab HI had a nice variety of brews.

The shopping areas in Waikiki are all open-air, with beautiful trees.

Tree in the courtyard of the historic Moana Surfrider hotel.

The famous Duke statue!

Pier along Waikiki beach.

View toward Diamondhead early on a cloudy morning.

Did I mention I love the trees?

Lots of tropical flowers around Waikiki as well.

Another weird tree/flower.

A Nene!

More flowers.

These huge canopy trees are impressive.

A tropical iris?

Palm trees and hotels.

The courtyard of the airport.

Even the airport has amazing trees!

Hard to believe this is in an airport.

Until next time, goodbye Waikiki!

Coffee and Beer in Madison

Earlier this year I went to Madison, Wisconsin for work. I've been to Madison before, once for a friend's wedding and another time for work. It's a great college town, with a bit of a "big city" feel in the center since it's also the state capital. Madison has an enviable location, on an isthmus between two lakes. Since I was working, I didn't have time to do anything touristy, but I did have free early mornings and evenings - perfect for tasting the city's coffee and beer! This post is a short tour of the city, the iced coffee, and the beer.

The City

Downtown Madison

You can tell it's a college town. Lots of houses converted to apartments.

The Capitol building.

View of the lake from the conference center, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Downtown Madison.

The Capitol from the conference center.

View of the lake.

Inside the Capitol.

It's a really ornate capitol building.

Looking through an arch on the second floor.

It wouldn't be Wisconsin without squeaky cheese curds!

A view toward downtown from across the lake.

The Coffee

First day - iced coffee at Cafe Social!

Barriques was a neat combo cafe, restaurant, and wine shop. Great breakfast. My top choice!

Colectivo is a local chain, with good coffee and a great downtown location.

Lakeside Coffee House was a bit off the beaten path, just outside downtown. Nice place with a water view.

The Beer

Delta Beer Lab, a new spot in an industrial area Southwest of downtown, was my favorite. It's a chemistry themed gay brewery! Great beer, friendly staff, and a simple but fun atmosphere.

Working Draft was lively (even on a weeknight) and had a good selection of brews.

Surprisingly good tacos at Working Draft.

The beer list at Lucille. Great pizza here too.

My trip to Madison was quick, but as you can see, it was full of great drinks. :)