Hawaii Day 3

It makes me kind of sad to think that by the time I get back to Illinois, Autumn will be gone and Winter will be infesting my home, if not rapidly approaching. I spent my last days of Fall in shorts and slippers instead of tights and boots.

For all of those Hawaii readers out there who envy a "Winter" wardrobe, you're probably thinking of Fall. A typical Winter ensemble is usually snow boots (heels and ice don't mix), long underwear under jeans, a thermal, the thickest sweater you can find and the longest coat you have. Not to mention one to two gloves per hand and a scarf, the thicker the better. There is no cute in negative degree weather.

On the other weather spectrum, my friends and I went to the beach today. Thought it may not be the most scenic beach, Ala Moana beach park is easily accessible and that makes a world of difference since I tend to get lost in my hometown.

Bestie and I walking through the park

White feet blend into sand

Stereotypical Facebook beach picture

Naturally, every beach day must include local goodies, so Bestie and I stopped by the local 7-11 and stocked up on the essentials.

Homegrown: Aloha Maid juice, Menehune water and spam musubis

Spam Musubi nomz

Luckily today there were very little people on the beach, probably due to it being a holiday week. One upside to going to a normally tourist infested beach is that it's across the street from Ala Moana shopping center and the bar that's located on the roof, Mai Tai's.

The happy hour specials have changed and it seems like the demographic has shifted, but I come for one thing...

The calamari- $5 at happy hour

I love Mai Tai's calamari. The batter is light and crunchy and they also throw in some spicy peppers along with cocktail sauce and a pepper aioli for dipping. Then there are the cocktails.

Ginger Crush, with two orchids... I feel special

Though I normally steer towards their happy hour martinis, I decided that I didn't want something with fruit juice. Instead I got a Ginger Crush, a mixture of Tyku citrus liqueur, ginger liqueur, and soda. It tasted like ginger ale, sweet but not sugary.

Good day... great day