Seattle 2014: Part 6 - Hawaii and Homebound

Our trip ended with a couple of days in Honolulu on the way home. On the flight there I happened to get chatting to the flight staff and met Yui, who is a vegan and a cat lady. We had a great chat, and she recommended a place for me to have dinner in Honolulu that night. The flight staff also brought me a huge fruit plate to make up for not having any vegan options on the flight, which went nicely with my sandwich and snacks. When we arrived, we caught a taxi to our hotel - The Modern Honolulu. When we arrived they gave use some lovely cilantro lemonade! It was too early to check into our room, so we walked to the nearby Ala Moana Center to look for lunch. The food court was huge, crowded and crappy, but thankfully I discovered that there was a California Pizza Kitchen there. I had the Roast Vegetable Salad, hold the capsicum, and subbing the non-vegan dijon dressing for balsamic vinegar. You can also get some vegan pizzas and soups there, I just really wanted vegetables. I also ordered the strawberry mango cooler drink, which I unfortunately didn't realise was bubbly. Ack!





On our way back to the hotel we stopped by an ABC Store for snacks. Unfortunately at this one there was no sign of vegan sushi, like I found last year, however I was able to find that classic vegan staple: hummus. And some strange baby carrots as well. Hotel room snacks sorted!



For dinner I took an evening walk to Phuket Thai, the restaurant that Yui had recommended for me. They were incredibly knowledgeable about vegan needs and had a wide selection available. Of course I ordered the Pad See Ew, my favourite Thai dish ever. This was HUGE, and a little bit oily. I would have liked a higher tofu/vegetable to noodle ratio. But it was still good. When my bill came it said 'Pad See Ew No Animal', which I loved.



The next morning we woke up and looked out our hotel room to this view. Life can sometimes be hard.



We went to the Hawaii Hiking Cafe, which has vegan options, for breakfast. I got an Acai bowl, but I had to get it without granola because that had honey in it. Still, it was a big bowl of fruity goodness. I also ordered an Almond Chai Latte, however on first sip realised that it was an almond and chai flavoured actual coffee latte, and I can't drink coffee. They asked if there was a problem when I didn't drink it, and when I explained they subbed it for some peppermint tea, even though it was not their fault at all, so nice!



After breakfast we walked into Waikiki and took a little, well-shaded peak at the beach.



The real reason for all vegans to go to Hawaii is to go and eat at Downbeat Diner, a diner where almost everything on the menu can be made vegan. Ashleigh and I went there twice last year, and I was not going to miss another chance to eat the goodies! We caught a bus downtown for lunch. I ordered a strawberry milkshake (my favourite flavour) and a BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Bacon and Garlic Fries. Yes please!





Afterwards we went back to Ala Moana to browse the many, many, many shops and also saw the Hula demonstration.



I had planned to go to Loving Hut for dinner that night, but my feet were sore, so I got a Quinoa Pizza from Hiking Hawaii Cafe, which I also topped with some hummus. It was an interesting pizza, with zucchini, quinoa, chimichurri and mushrooms.



The next morning I was oddly not hungry, and so had some snacks in the hotel room and then we went for a walk down the beach that was next to the hotel. We saw people doing yoga on surfboards in a lagoon! It was amazing. There was lots of shade for me to hide out in as we strolled down, and we got a beautiful view of Diamond Head as well.





When we got back we went to sit in the Sunrise Pool area of the cafe, and I had a lovely iced tea overlooking the sea.



For lunch I walked to Peace Cafe, a lovely all vegan cafe. I had to order the BBQ Tempeh Plate, which also had coleslaw, green salad, brown rice and cornbread. It was so yummy and filling! I washed it down with an iced chai latte - the proper kind of chai, no coffee in sight! I also bought a Popeye Sandwich (spinach, tofu and miso-tahini sauce) to take on the plane back to Brisbane with me the next day.





Peace Cafe is just up the road from Down To Earth, a natural grocery store. I visited here to stock up on Daiya, Follow Your Heart and Field Roast that I was going to freeze overnight to take home to Brisbane with me. They also have a hotbox and salad bar with some vegan options there, and a wide variety of other grocery needs.

Dinner that night was at Z Pizza, a chain that has a vegan pizza that I had heard a lot about. We got the Vegan Berkley pizza, hold the capsicum and add the olives. And the California Salad with Italian dressing and avocado on the side for me (Mum has an intolerance). It was OK, not great. I definitely wouldn't go out of my way again to get it, but good if it is nearby and you are hungry.





Another early morning the next day and it was back to the airport for the trip home. I tried another yoghurt before I left the hotel - this one almond based (strawberry flavour, of course). Another delicious yoghurt!



Right before we got on the plane at the airport, this beautiful rainbow came out.



The flight home was filled with lots of movies (EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! EVERYTHING IS COOL WHEN YOU'RE PART OF A TEAM!) and eating and eventually a happy reunion with the kitties. I had such a lovely time on this trip, especially in Seattle. I have already planned my US trip for next year!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



I met this handsome fellow when I was walking from the hotel to Peace Cafe. I had actually taken a wrong turn and added some extra time onto my walk, and it was hot, so I was a bit cranky. But then I met this boy and he completely made up for it.