Wednesday, April 2, 2014

What Hawaii is Missing

Living on Oahu most definitely has it's perks. The sun, the sand, the water. For yet another year, I got to avoid the season known to most as winter. We're relatively lucky to have been stationed here. There are a few downsides to living in Hawaii though.

For one, the cost of living is rather high. Another drawback is the lack of my many of my favorite shops and restaurants. At other duty stations, you could drive an hour or two and usually find what you needed. If you did that here, you'd end up in the ocean.


For the next two and a half years, I can only hope that some of the outlets that I love so much, might decide to make an appearance here. These are just a few of the places that I miss having access to.
  • Craft Stores: I've touched on this one before. There really isn't a great selection of scrapbook paper or fabric on the island. Sure I can order it online, but those are two types of items that I like to touch and compare and all that. A Jo-Ann Fabric or Hobby Lobby would be ideal.
  • Krispy Kreme and/or Dunkin Donuts: There is nothing like a fresh doughnut when that hot light is on. Occasionally, you can find packaged Krispy Kreme doughnuts around here, but they're not the same. Plus, you never know when or where you'll see someone selling a dozen for $10. I don't exactly like the doughnuts from Dunkin, but their hot drinks are good!
  • Panera: Enough said? I'd kill for a creamy tomato soup in a bread bowl. 
  • Chinese Food: Apparently the stuff on the mainland is the "Americanized" version of Chinese food. The take-out here is really not good at all. Luckily, when I get desperate, I can find a Panda Express or P.F. Chang's. I'd much rather prefer to eat it from my couch though.
  • Olive Garden: I know, I know. Just like mainland Chinese food, Olive Garden is the fake version of Italian food. I can't help but love it. Unlimited salad and bread sticks. Seriously.. What's not to love about that?! They always show the commercials here too, and it's so painful to watch.
  • The Melting Pot: It was Hubster and I's first date. It was also my first time having the Melting Pot. Now, I can't get enough of it! I wish so bad that we have one here, but I do have a fondue pot to make my own version at home. 
There are plenty of other places like Sonic that aren't available here, but I didn't really grow up going to them, so they're not missed. 

Are any of your favorite places missing from where you live?

Love, Alex

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13 comments:

  1. Fayetteville had every single craft store. It was glorious. Granted, that occurred because there was nothing else to do in Fay.

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  2. Living in Canada - we don't have Sonic, or Krispy Kreme, or Panera lol. I miss Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's too. That's why when I come down to visit my sister, I eat as much as I can here and go to all of the craft stores too lol.

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  3. We don't have a Panera here either but thankfully all the other places make up for it. I think the lack of restaurants/shops was one of my reasons for not wanting the orders we had to Hawaii.

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  4. I miss Braum's from when I lived in Kansas.

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  5. We are in the same boat....well you're in a boat and I'm on a snow machine. But we have no donut places here either. And I just read an article yesterday that they are bringing krispy kreme up here in 2015...thats great we will be leaving!!!! And I miss so many food places. There is an olive garden here, but we are italian so we just can't pull the trigger on that one ;) LOL. Oh no sonic or panera here...or many other things.

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  6. We're in the middle of nowhere really ... so we have to drive to Raleigh for a lot of stuff. Surprisingly, we have most of the fast food and chain restaurants, and more starbucks than you can shake a stick at ... but other stuff? Not so much. Food trucks. Farmers Markets. A Barnes and Noble. Man I miss that book store!

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  7. Olive Garden was one of the things I missed most when I lived in Honolulu!

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  8. I really miss craft stores....and Chinese food....and Cracker Barrel. I think they might be in the process of opening an Olive Garden over in Kapolei but I'm not sure when. Maybe within the next few years these places will miraculously add themselves to the island!!

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  9. I was going to tell you about the Olive Garden coming to Kapolei right by Target, but they postponed it indefinitely last month :(

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  10. I hate the no craft store thing. And the restaurants. :( I cannot wait to move back to the mainland. :p

    There's good Chinese takeout near McDonald's in Mililani. The rice is to die for.

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  11. Those were basically all my complaints about living in Hawaii. :P The TJ Maxx that's there now opened right before we moved back to the mainland. And I STILL can't believe there isn't a freaking decent craft store on the island!! It still blows me away. I think I remember hearing that there's a Krispy Kreme on the Big Island...if you ever find yourself there, LOL.

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  12. I'm not in Hawaii, but I can seriously relate to this. I'm living in a small, rural place and they have none of the stores I love without making a 2 hour drive, except bath and body works. The two I miss most are Starbucks and Express.

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  13. Living in Hawaii sounds amazing, but I would definitely miss Dunkin' Donuts!

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