Honolulu, HI

Last weekend my wife and I went to the Ala Moana Mall near Honolulu. This is the largest outdoor mall in the United States, and although we have been here many times, we still probably haven’t seen it all. There are literally hundreds of shops and vendors to choose from, in addition to dozens of eateries, from fast food to gourmet dining. Also, it’s a visually appealing mall, with numerous fountains, koi ponds and landscaping throughout.

We headed straight up to the fourth floor where the restaurants are to go to Bubba Gump Shrimp. Yes, it’s a national chain, but the view from the top of Ala Moana is pretty nice, and the open air seating arrangement allows for nice trade winds to blow through. After some tasty garlic shrimp, we headed across the way to the awesome Mai Tai Bar for a couple of drinks. This place really has a great atmosphere with its laid back couches, big screen TV’s playing surfing videos, and the reggae/island music pumping in the background. Sometimes they have live music. They also have these cool mist blowing fans that really cool the place down. After spending some time in here, we were ready to do our shopping, which, today, was going to be pretty routine.
 
 

First we headed down to Long’s Drugs for some everyday items. But they do have some unusual things in here that you won’t see everyday in the mainland stores, such as canned abalone, known as “King Topshell.” Pretty expensive stuff. After Long’s, we headed over to the dry cleaner’s to pick something up. Then, it was into the Sears to pick up an inflator pump for our kayak, and a cordless drill set. You can get pretty much anything at Ala Moana. Other shops which we didn’t go to this time but have other times, include the Gamestop (for video games), the Radio Shack, the Barnes & Noble, the Starbucks, Hilo Hattie, the SBarro Pizza in the Food Court, the Food Pantry, the ukulele store up on the third floor, and the W Hair Salon. Also, it should be noted that although it’s not part of the mall, there is a Wal Mart store within walking distance of the mall, so it is possible to combine your true discount shopping with the mall shopping in one trip.
 

So, the next time you need to buy anything, consider combining your shopping with a little food and drink—all in one place—the Ala Moana Mall!

Getting there from Waikiki:

-Take TheBus routes 8, 19, 20, 23, or 42, (or the F# that says TheBoat)
-Trolley service
-Taxi service: about $10-12
-If driving your own vehicle: mall parking is free