Big Wave Surf Shrimp

There is an abundance of food trucks dishing out shrimp plates on the North Shore, but if you're looking for one that also offers other types of food, check out Big Wave Surf Shrimp!

Spicy Shrimp

Fried Chicken Wings

Steak Plate

They offer all types of shrimp plates (garlic butter, lemon pepper, spicy), as well as fried chicken wings, steak, fish and chips, and even spring rolls.

Each place comes with rice and salad for a complete meal.

Big Wave Surf Shrimp
66-521 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712

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Brunch + Bubbles at Deck.

Complimentary Meals were provided by our sponsor. All opinions are my own.

Oahu diners have a lot of options when it comes to where to go for Sunday Brunch, and now there is one more - Brunch and Bubbles at Deck., located on the third floor of the iconic Queen Kapiolani Hotel. 

The hotel itself recently underwent a complete renovation, including the restaurant and pool deck area where this brunch is located. 

This open air buffet has it all - fresh and modern decor, tasteful brunch pickings, a live DJ, friendly staff ...

and the most breathtaking, unobstructed view of Diamond Head. 

The buffet line starts with a nice selection of fresh cut fruits, bagels, croissants, ahi poke, fruit, oysters in half shells, and shrimp cocktail.

There was also yogurt and granola - which is always a nice way to start off a meal in the morning.

The ahi poke was delicious - the sea asparagus really made this dish.

Pescatarians will rejoice at the sight of the oysters and shrimp cocktail.

Being that I am a carb-lover, I loved the lox n bagels station and the basket of croissants - the chocolate croissant being my absolute favorite!

I really wanted to eat two of the chocolate croissants, but decided to hold off since there was so much more to devour....

likes hash browns, bacon ...

 

Portuguese sausage and ham.

I wasn't expecting to find fried chicken, but it was there, crispy and hot. My sons kept asking for more pieces of fried chicken! 

These crab cakes were another one of my favorite items of the meal.

 

 The prime rib was well-seasoned and roasted perfectly.

They sure do not skimp on the portions - just look at this enormous cut of prime rib, perfectly pink.

Also available, but not pictured were eggs your way made-to-order, beef curry, and brown rice.

The dessert selection was slim pickings for Hawaii buffet standards, but I doubt anyone will complain, since most will be full by the time they're finished with the main portion of their meals. 

  

Music by Aloha Got Soul.

Brunch and Bubbles is scheduled for the second Sunday of each month from 11 am - 3 pm.  The brunch starts at $55 per person. Add-on forever Mimosas for only $25 more. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling (808) 931-4449 or by booking online.  For more information, click HERE.

Brunch and Bubbles at Deck.

Queen Kapiolani Hotel, 3rd Floor

150 Kapahulu Avenue

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A Morning on the North Shore of Oahu

It was just me and the twins on Prince Kuhio Day (a State of Hawaii holiday), so I packed up the truck with our beach gear and headed north to the North Shore of Oahu.

On the drive over, we knew it was going to be a great day. Just look at the blue skies!

First stop - Paalaa Kai Bakery for snow puffies ...

The twins didn't want to try the snow puffy, so I bought one for myself ...

and bought a malasada and donut holes for the boys.

We normally go to the mini-mart next door (Paalaa Kai Mini-Mart) to buy spam musubi and fried chicken, but to our dismay, we discovered that the store is closed on Tuesdays. 

After a brief pit stop in Haleiwa town for coffee and spam musubis, we headed to Ke Iki beach. We found a nice parking spot right on Ke Iki Road, and walked a short ways to the public access point to the beach. 

The beach was pretty empty when we arrived shortly after 9 am. 

The boys wasted no time looking for shells.

Here's some of what we found. We need to get some help on how to find the nice ones.

Thanks to the surf, there was a small pool of ocean water that formed on the beach, making for a safe place for the boys to get wet without entering the ocean.

In the mornings, there is a lot of shade at the top of the beach - great for taking it all in without getting burnt from the sun.

After a couple of hours, the twins were ready to go. One had a bucket of shells, the other - a coconut.

The twins noticed a bike path near our parking spot and wanted to explore it, so we did. It's part of the North Shore Bike Path (Ke Ala Pupukea Bike Path) which is a great way to explore a stretch of some of the world's most famous surf breaks.

We stopped at Log Cabins and watched the surfers. I wish I had brought my DSLR to take some photos of the surf. These were taken with my iPhone...

By now, it was after 1 pm and we were all thirsty and in need of something to cool us down, so of course, we stopped at Matsumoto's Shave Ice. They have a really efficient system for taking and fulfilling their shave ice orders, so don't be discouraged by the line if you ever come here. It moves relatively quickly.

Can't wait to take another trip out to the North Shore, and hopefully we'll go on a day when Paalaa Kai Mini-Mart is open!

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Atlantis Adventures Undersea Adventure

Disclosure: Complimentary admission was provided for review purposes.  All opinions are my own.

My son has been a fan of submarines and marine life ever since he rode the Submarine Voyage ride at Disneyland this past May, so he was ecstatic when I told him that I would be taking him on an adventure aboard one of Atlantis Adventures' submarines in Waikiki.

We arrived at the Hilton Hawaiian Village thirty minutes before our scheduled tour time, and checked in at the kiosk located on Waikiki beach in front of the Hilton's Ali'i Tower.  

After we received our boarding passes, we headed out on the walkway to the Hilton Port where we waited to board the Atlantis Discovery shuttle boat.

The Discovery had an upper level and lower level. My son preferred to sit on the lower level, which was nice as it was cool and spacious (most people sat on the upper level). 

During the ride out to the submarines we enjoyed the views of Waikiki and Diamond Head. Midway to the dive site, my son got hungry, so we purchased a bag of M&Ms and a fig bar from the snack shop on the lower deck, which were reasonably priced! 

After a short ride, we arrived at the dive site. The passengers that held tickets for the "Premium Submarine Tour disembarked first aboard the Atlantis XIV, which is a larger and more luxurious submarine (larger view ports, individual seating with seat backs).

Less than 10 minutes later, we arrived at the Atlantis IX submarine and made our way down the steep steps into the submarine.

 Each view port has earphones (for non-English speaking passengers) and an a/c vent!

This particular sub had a 48 passenger seating capacity, and as you can see, every seat was taken. 

We were lucky to get seats close to the front of the submarine, so we got a good view of the controls and of our narrator, who did a great job of educating us on coral, reef life, and the submersible. 

Throughout the tour we came across a number of man-made, artificial reefs that were installed by Atlantis with the assistance of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and UH's Sea Grant Program.  

Pyramids

Airplane

Sunken Ship

If you look closely at the picture below, you can see see two turtles!

My 4 1/2 year old son loved this experience from the moment we checked in.  He loved riding the shuttle boat out to the dive site, and had an even greater time on the submarine once we started seeing the fish swimming past our view ports. For me, I enjoyed learning about the self-sustaining habitats and the importance of stewardship and protecting Hawaii's marine environment. 

If you are a Kama’aina, don't miss out on Atlantis' September Kama’aina promotion: 

For the Atlantis Undersea Adventure 48 passenger submarine, get one free Keiki ticket with each paid $30 Kama’aina adult ticket! This offer is available during the month of September in celebration of Atlantis Adventures’ 30th anniversary. Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Note: keiki (children) must be at least 36" in height for safety reasons.

For more information on the Atlantis Adventures Submarine Tours, or to book a tour, click HERE. 

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