We are heading to the other side of the island today! We actually found a relatively reasonable rental car – albeit a Smartcar – but one that didn’t cost upwards of $200/$300 per day. What the heck. We’ve always love the look of those little cars, so now we will get to experience one. It works.

We arrive at the rental office early (a Stevens trait) and wait for the agent to open (after dealing with a European couple who can’t understand why cars are so expensive to rent – oh, you really didn’t do your research did you?), then sign all the paperwork to get our little car and go. We had booked a car with a sunroof, but they don’t have one available, so the agent upgraded us to a convertible. That will be nice to cruise around Hawaii! Transaction complete, we go to the portico area to wait for the car. And wait. And wait. And wait. The couple after us gets their car first. The couple after them gets their car. And still we wait. Ok, we are patient, but this is ridiculous. We were ready to leave at 10 minutes after 8 – it is now almost 9 – and no car. This is not going well.

We decide if the car doesn’t appear soon, we are canceling the whole thing and just hanging out here today. But, the next car up is ours – and oh, it is a doozy. Yes it is a convertible, but it has definitely seen better days. There are too many dents and scratches to even put down on the form they give us. The guy who brings us the car tells us that the car has “a mind of its own” and sometimes won’t go into drive or reverse, so just turn it off and try again. It will eventually work. Really? Well, at this point, it’s do or die – so we take the poor little thing out on the road and just hope for the best.

Because we are later than anticipated, the traffic is heavier than we had hoped (there is always traffic here, but getting to the H1 is just incredibly torturous. Once on the highway though, things are smooth. The little teeny car handles well, and as Ed said, he had concerns about driving something so small on the highway, but it really isn’t an issue. It feels far bigger than it actually is, and while the small wheel base makes for a bumpier ride, it is still pretty decent ride.

We make good time to the East Side where we are planning to hike around Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden, one of our favorite botanical gardens. We’re lucky to get here relatively early (although not as early as we wanted!) and there are still parking spots available in the main lot.

After hitting the bathroom, we head out to the lake which is so gorgeous in the vacillating light coming from the passing clouds. There are quite a few people around – the ubiquitous selfie takers, “I’m a model” (not) photo takers, locals setting up their paint easels and other various folks in chairs by the lakefront. But this place is so big, you barely notice they are around.

We head down to the lakefront, intending to walk all the way around as we have done in the past, but which is no longer an option. The path is closed and there is a bunch of earth moving or farming equipment on the other side of the lake. So, we content ourselves with hanging out on this side of the lake, snapping shots up the Pali cliffs and generally just enjoying the scenery and the weather.

Reversing our course, we circle the lake in the opposite direction, finding the path that climbs up the hill to an overlook and then out into the parking/camping area 2 lots down from the main lot. The views are fabulous (if you look beyond the power lines!), and the hike nice and easy through the forest surrounding the lake.

Back on the main road, we walk back to the car, snapping a few photos across the road – and getting “chastised” in a very sweet way by the botanical garden guy for taking pictures on the road (there are signs everywhere to NOT take photos of any kind on or around the road). I thought I was safe, way off the road, but he sweetly told me I could go across the street, behind the house and I’d be closer. Got it!

Retrieving the car, we head out to the far end of the park, hoping to walk a little bit more, hopefully on a paved, or at least dry path. The gardens actually have the road closed before the end, so we could only stop in the lot at Kahua Nui for photos.

It is time to head to the North Shore, now. We get some great vistas from the convertible top, but unfortunately, it doesn’t last long. We stop at Kahua Kukui to see if there are any good paths, and when we go to push the button to close the convertible top, it totally breaks out of the dash and falls into the center console. Oh crap! We spend a tense couple of minutes retrieving the damn button, pushing it to ensure the freaking top closes, and then setting it back into the console, never to be touched again. So much for the convertible. Sheesh. But the photo opps were great while they lasted!

PS – there were no good paths at Kahua Kukui, at least none that suited us, so we decide to hit the road – top up! Driving out, we are so happy we got here early (even though delayed) and are leaving now. The cars are pouring in. There isn’t a spot to be found in the main lot, and the ancillary lot is almost to capacity. Crazy busy! As always, no one can get their act together to move out in the mornings which makes our strategy work quite well!

Back on the road, we hit the free way that takes us up and around the North Shore – with gorgeous vistas at the Kualoa Ranch (big tourist attraction, Jurassic park rides, horseback riding, ATV, etc. – but still pretty – above the parking lot)….

….and fabulous vistas out along the coast. Unfortunately, the waves aren’t huge today, so no Pipeline viewing for us – but maybe that’s a good thing, because it’s pretty darn crazy, crowded as it is, can’t imagine if the Pipeline was running!

Making our way to Laie, it is about lunchtime, and we were thinking about Seven Brothers, which has huge awesome looking burgers. Unfortunately, though, we manage to miss it – because it was in the strip center with Foodland, and I didn’t expect it there. So we continue up the road, and stumble upon this huge food truck lot at The Mill (the site of the old Kahuku Sugar Mill). Huli MIke’s is there and I had really wanted to try their chicken, but sadly that was not to be! While they were in the truck – the owner of the lot had not paid the water bill and they had no water in the entire complex, so they couldn’t open. Bummer!!!

Well, there are plenty of other options. We wander around a bit, looking at the taco place, the poke place that normally opens at 11 (it is 11:30) but isn’t open until 12:30 today (pooh!) and various other things that really don’t strike our fancy. But, as we are heading across the parking lot toward the sugar mill we spy none other than Sevens Brothers!!! No way! Totally cool – it is Seven Brothers at The Mill! Perfect! We order a Deep Blue burger with crumbled blue cheese and bacon for Ed and a Teri Samoa burger dipped in teriyaki with pineapple, bacon and cheese on top. Decadent! But oh so very good!

Oh boy – we are so done now! And, as usual, we got here at the right time! While there was a family in front of us who took for freaking-ever to order, there was only one other order in front off them. When we left? The line was almost wrapped around the deck. Timing is everything!

Off we went, circling the North Shore to head back to Honolulu. We thought we might stop in Haleiwa to wander, but oh no. Talk about packed! That place was crawling with people, and not a place to park, even for our teeny weeny car! Onward ho! We’ll just head back to Honolulu, stopping at the Dole Plantation to wander around a bit and try free samples of Pineapple and candy and such. Um, no, sadly, not to be. There was road construction on the way to Dole, and the traffic was backed up forever. We didn’t want to run the risk of getting stuck in the lot and not getting out – event though there was a traffic light there. It just wasn’t worth the hassle for a time waster to stretch our legs.

Back to the city, with a quick stop at Costco for gas. We dropped off the car, letting the agent know how disappointed we were with everything. He understood, certainly, and we asked for some minor compensation for all the issues. We’ll see how that goes! (Spoiler: It doesn’t. No response from either what we told the agent nor the email we sent to the owner. Don’t rent from 808 Smart Cars in Waikiki).

Walking back to the condo, we decide to stop at Waikiki Brewing Company for a quick afternoon refreshment. Hanging out here on the outside deck in the shade with a great breeze, good music and totally friendly service, is a great way to unwind from the hectic driving/traffic of the North Shore and Honolulu. It’s happy hour, so the beer and wine is discounted, and we splurge on loaded tots – dripping in beer cheese and loaded with Kalua pork, BBQ sauce and pickled onions – so bad for us, but oh so yummy! Add to that, we have a friend who joins us at our table, and, well, it’s a great way to decompress at the end our little Smartcar adventure.

Later we take our typical walk around Ala Moana park, this time sticking to the water side of the park (learned our lesson) and walking all the way around Magic Island which is lovely and has great views out to Diamond Head.

Back at the condo, tonight is light dinner night! We just hang out on the huge balcony, reading and snacking on our garlic bread, salami and sausage. Makes for a nice light evening before our last full day on Oahu.