Hawaii 5-0: 50 Awesome Things About the Aloha State

Rather than write an actual blog, I'm going to list 50 things about Hawaii that I like/reasons to visit Hawaii. It took me several days to write this blog. In no particular order, here we go:

Probably the best view from my hotel room. How can you not want to go to Hawaii?

1. 85 and sunny

2. Fresh pineapple

3. Running views like this:

4. Catamaran trips

5. Hearing waves crash in the night sky

6. Delicious local brew

7. Fruity drinks - not just for women and effeminate men. At least not in Hawaii. Shhhhh....

8. Last in the Union, but certainly not the least

Delicious Kona beer

9. Isolation - all by itself in the Pacific

10. Natives treat you like family

11. Pro sports start at 1pm local time - not sure I'd like NFL starting at 7am though.

Not even 10 mins off the plane and I got leied. 

12. Leis - how can you not feel welcomed after being greeted with one?


13. Exotic animals

14. Whale watching

15. Swimming year-round

16. No snow - ever (this isn't a selling point for me, but it should be for others)

17. Pearl Harbor

And this isn't even the best view

18. Hotel views like this:

19. Polynesian Cultural Center

20. Luaus

21. Hawaiian shirts - usually only associated with festive folks. I once embraced these shirts after becoming great friends with Jeremy Spencer. Now, only one Hawaiian shirt remains in my collection.

22. Being named Chief Bolek thanks to interaction with New Zealanders at #19

Before being named Chief - a dance that us Tango2ers were all in sync for

23. Paddleboarding - didn't do this activity, but I imagine it would be worth living in Hawaii for.

24. Being called "cousin" or "uncle" by people you don't even know. Goes back to #10

25. Running into random celebrities, like Donovan McNabb.

26. Poolside TVs

27. Leaving window open and hearing the waves as I fall asleep

28. Skydiving, 29. Sushi. 30. Snorkeling - I didn't try or have time to consume all of these activities, but all of the co-workers who did seemed to enjoy themselves when they did. I'll have to recommend on their behalf.

31. Leaving the work laptop from arm's length for the most part of the trip - it's so hard to remove myself from all of the technology that I use on a daily basis, especially as it is related to work. I recommend leaving all electronics in your room if you stay in Hawaii if at all possible

32. Making people jealous with continuous photos posted on social networks.

33. What good is a trip to Hawaii without awesome people to hang out with? Again, couldn't have enjoyed Hawaii without the great company of Tango2 folks.

34. No need to wear pants. I mean, still need to wear shorts...so don't get any ideas of turning Hawaii into a European beach.

35. Getting a ride from the cab service to the airport, having him apologize for the weather for the week, when only the initial arrival (a rare rain storm) was remotely bad. If that's as bad as you got, I'd like you to meet Ms. Chicago. Ms. Chicago, meet Honolulu....discuss.

36. Nothing but sandals. Everyone gets to see my unpedicured feet, with ten toes that have way too short of toenails. Too much information...I digress.

37. Time change where you can call your g/f before you go to bed, but after she wakes up from sleep for work. This happened once on the trip.

38. Participating in a volunteering event. We volunteered at a shelter, repainting the building's doors, sanding down tables and powerwashing the outside. The best thing about Tango2 - how we give back to the community.

39. Golf course - again, one of those things I didn't do. When driving by the course, it looked amazing. Perhaps it's my lack of golf playing in the past couple years.

40. Have you made it this far down the list? Gonna have to start making things up. I'll go with "Aloha". It's such a versatile word - "Hello", "Goodbye", "Love" are just some of its many upbeat meanings.

41. Greeted with a smile everywhere. Being on a resort area sure helps, but even off the resort area, people seemed happy. Hard not to be, as described by everything above.

42. The Naked Pirate. It's a drink, not what I'm dressing up for Halloween as (at least not in the plans). If you've never had the drink, it contains gin, rum and pineapple juice. I thought it'd be stronger than it was.

43. Plenty of reading time...in airplanes. There's no short path to Hawaii, so you'll have time to catch up on some book/magazine reading. I was able to start/finish a couple of books.

44. Seeing the oil still bubbling from the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. Over 70 years later. Mind-blowing.

Mitsuo Fuchida

45. This book is worth your money if you visit Pearl Harbor gift shop (or if you want to buy it on Amazon):


46. A nice year-round tan, if that's your thing. Just make sure you carry sunscreen.

47. Tropical, casual clothes to work meetings.

48. Did I mention pineapple already? I did? It's worth mentioning twice.

49. And pineapple.....and....yeah.

and finally 50...something to look forward to when I come back to the mainland: a rose, a pineapple, and a pretty g/f.