Mike
Customer Care Support Team Member
Mike
- Contact Mike Toll Free:
- 1-800-508-5996
- Email Mike hawaiigaytravel@onlinetravel-services.com
- 17 Year Travel Industry Expert who is willing to share his aloha as well as provide insightful advice to travelers.
Mikes Daily Reads
Bio
I was born and raised in San Diego, California and moved to Hawaii over 7 years ago. I've been a travel agent for 17 years and have traveled throughout Western Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. mainland, as well as to all the main islands of Hawaii. Some of my favorite things are:
Restaurants
The Chef's Table, in Hawaii Kai for excellent Austrian food; Zia's Caffe for Italian food in Kaneohe and Kailua; Pyramids Restaurant on Kapahulu Avenue serving Middle Eastern food with a great lunch buffet at a great price and Zaffron Restaurant in downtown Honolulu/Chinatown for award winning Indian food.
Night Spots
Either Chiko's (a neighborhood bar, gay-owned and operated), off of McCully Street and Angles, a great friendly bar in Waikiki.
Favorite retail stores
Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic and The Gap, all at Ala Moana Center. Our first full-line Nordstrom will be open shortly and two Whole Foods Grocery Stores are expected to be opened by the end of 2008, if not earlier and I'll go out of my way to shop at both stores.
Hawaii Only shopping
On Maui there is a store called Home Maid Bakery on Lower Main St. in Wailuku that's not to be missed. It's basically a bakery, but they are famous for their multiple varieties of mochi, which is made from rice. Their chocolate mochi tastes like a rich chocolate brownie and you'd never guess it was made from rice. They also have a fantastic Peanut Butter mochi. I recommend you wash it down with milk and kiss your diet goodbye. Back in Honolulu we have a little hole-in-the-wall convenience store that's famous statewide - Waiola Shave Ice. There are two locations, one on Kapahulu and the other off McCully on Waiola Avenue. Go to the original one on Waiola for ice that is shaved so fine that when the syrup hits it, it takes on a creamy texture that's more like ice cream - unforgettable.
Events
Honolulu's Pride weekend in June, and Halloween in Lahaina, Maui. Maui's Halloween celebration is Hawaii's biggest. Fair warning though: There are contests for kids' costumes during the day, but when the sun goes down, this party gets a bit less kid-friendly.