Not just comfortable shoes, but also: don’t bother with a roller suitcase, use a backpack instead.
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That’s a great place to go! We loved visiting it.
@cheem, if you want to hike there’s a great trail in the mountains above Pupukea on the Northshore. It’s called Kaunala Trail. It’s at the end of Pupukea Road (east of Waimea Valley) and it was super quiet when we hiked it in 2013. It has beautiful views and you forget that you’re on Oahu. [Part of the trail is a well-maintained closed paved road. I think someone said that it was created after WWII in case they have to mobilize troops in the mountains.]
Another long haul hike is to Ka’ena Point Trail. It’s at sea level, but it’s rutted by 4 x 4s so it’s hot and tiring. Take LOTS of water and sunblock.
Lots of great trails on Oahu. Note that the travel advisory says to keep all valuables with you and do not leave anything in cars, including inside the trunk.
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I’m not sure what you’re into but I’ll just throw some touristy things out there. The Civil Rights Museum is worth going (if you’re in the mood for it, as you’d imagine it’s not smiles and sunshine). Gus’ Fried Chicken is the best I’ve had anywhere. Better zoo than you’d expect. BBQ, well people will argue about that all day and the number of good places has exploded so honestly just pick one and you’ll probably be fine. Stax Museum is good. Now I’m realizing I never actually made it to Sun Studios! Bummer. You’ve already heard of Graceland, I’ll just say when I finally had to go I was pleasantly surprised but I certainly wouldn’t judge anyone for skipping it. Beale Street is pretty much the same as any other city’s party street but it does have history so YMMV. Memphis does have a bad crime problem, don’t be fearful and please enjoy yourself but also don’t be lackadaisical about safety and your belongings.
If you have any interests that are more specific, ask and I’ll try my best! Lived there a while back.
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I apologize if everyone is already familiar with this site, but I often use Wikivoyage in the early stages of travel planning to get a broad sense of must-see sites as well as how to get around in general. (Some of you may also be familiar with Wikitravel, but Wikivoyage is the site that split off from Wikitravel when Wikitravel went ad-based.) It is an invaluable resource, though it tends to have a lot of information that is out-of-date, especially since the start of the pandemic. I would not recommend using it to look for specific places to eat and drink (or at least make sure that these places still exist before you go), but it can give you a good lay of the land, so to speak.
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Do you fly fish? There is world-class bonefishing in Honolulu and nearby.
The artificial bays on the SW side of the island by Ailani (the Disney resort) have really nice swimming and decent snorkeling when the ocean is too rough for going to the more exposed reefs.
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Thanks! Much of that was already on our list, though we’ll skip Graceland. I do love me some Memphis-style BBQ, and I’ve got a pin stuck in Gus’s for sure.
Turns out I have a friend-of-a-friend who’s a fairly big-time record producer and will give us a tour of his studios, and whose wife is a performer at a Beale Street back-door club.
The Peabody Ducks – worth a visit, or a stupid tourist trap?
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Depends how much you like ducks ;). And how your timing works out. Most of the time they are just hanging out like any other ducks-in-a-pond; it’s fun to see them march to or from the elevator, but it only happens at certain times, if you happen to be around it’s fun but I don’t know if it’s worth planning and waiting around jockeying for a view for 30 seconds of duck waddling.
That’s great that you’ll get a bit of a personal touch. If you’re interested in that kind of stuff Ardent Studios has a lot of cool history (but I doubt they do public tours, if that’s the one you’re seeing that’s awesome!), also Goner Records is a good independent (and record store).
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I believe that is indeed the one! Cool
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My husband has seen them a few times and he just loves watching them and the duck master do their thing. He said that the last time he was there, it was pretty crowded. If I ever make it to Memphis, it will be on my list.
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Our friend-of-a-friend formerly worked at Ardent but now freelances out of this place and gave us the after-hours tour.
Amazing place.
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My family went to Kauai when I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to go back and (until I at least went there again) never had much interest in exploring the other islands (but this could be a huge blind spot/ignorance on my part). Even as a kid I knew that place was gorgeous.
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If you go to Kauai, there is one helicopter tour company that I would recommend — Safari — because it employs retired Air Force pilots and they don’t take risks with the changeable flying conditions that can happen there. So, for example, if you pay for it most helicopter tours will touch down in the area of the waterfall from Jurassic Park, but most of the time the weather makes that extremely risky. If the weather has shifted from the previous tour, they’ll reroute on the fly(!) rather than put the helicopter and people in danger. You still get to see the Waimea Canyon, don’t worry about that!
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Hawaii (the island) is incredible and is very different from Kauai. The kona side is arid volcanic landscape in contrast to Kauai’s humid jungle. The plus of the dryness is the clarity of the water. Snorkeling is a whole different experience there. The water is often as clear as air. You can see amazing distances underwater.
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I just couldn’t pass them up.
ETA that I think Memphis is way cooler and more interesting than Nashville. We rocked both these cities hard.
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The wilderness not far from my hometown getting a nice plug from the BBC.
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OK I gotta post these photos because this place (Sam Phillips Recording) was so freaking cool.
Studio A, where many great songs were recorded – but the only ones I can recall at the moment are “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and “Train Kept A-Rollin’” by The Yardbirds. I believe the Cramps also recorded here.
The board originally came from Stax:
The place is full of vintage recording stuff, like this Spectra (1964) V610 Complimiter, with its ridiculously funky typography:
This couch was reupholstered for Jerry Phillips (Sam’s son) by Jack White, who used to be an upholsterer before (and after?) he became famous:
A small bar with fun wallpaper, with cigarette burns allegedly made by Johnny Cash:
The (non-functional) Neumann lathe used to cut Booker T’s “Green Onions”, along with many other tracks:
The legendary Ampeg B-15N Portaflex:
A poster of the somewhat less legendary Sputnik Monroe, a friend of Sam’s:
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