Hasta La Gadget!

A bird’s eye view of Diamond Head and Honolulu. Hawaii isn’t only for romance. Road trips, hikes, sunset walks, surfing, and delicious dining can be done as one. All photos by Shari Bayer.

By Shari Bayer for Fathom | Not having a travel buddy doesn’t stop Shari Bayer from hitting the road. Our favorite solo traveler went to Spain to eat at the world’s best restaurants, flew from NYC to Napa to have dinner at French Laundry, and showed a bungee cord Down Under who’s boss. On this trip, she went to Hawaii (that supposedly totally romantic island) and had more than enough fun for two.

HAWAII – Forget the notion that Hawaii is only for romance. I let go of the idea that it’s a place exclusively for lovers looking to get away, and decided to take a long-desired trip to the islands on my own. It was amazing.

My vacation revolved around the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, which, since I’m a restaurant publicist, technically made this a work trip. I booked eight nights: four in Maui, the rest in Honolulu, Oahu. It was a ten-plus hour flight from NYC, and the moment I landed in Maui, I started brainstorming ways to open a second office on the island. Convenient, no. Absolutely beautiful, yes.

MY TIME IN MAUI

I rented a car and drove to the luxurious Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, where I got lei’d upon arrival. (I mean, when in Hawaii…) My fresh seafood dinner at Morimoto Maui at the Andaz was served along with my first glorious sunset, which was only rivaled by the Hawaiian sun over the next few days.

The green, black, and blues of Waianapanapa State Park.

I drove (carefully) down the winding Road to Hana, stopping at Halfway to Hana (for homemade banana bread) and at Black Sand Beach at Waianapanapa State Park (for a gorgeous photo op) before turning around. Later, I made way to Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa for the traditional luau feast Te Au Moana. There was a lively hula show in front of the ocean as the sun set, and I ended the night with a walk on the beach under the bright moonlight.

My days were easy to fill. I found fantastic cheap eats, like Ululani’s Hawaiian shave ice. And I explored my adventurous side. I took my first surf lesson with Maui Wave Riders and got up my first time out. (Amazing!) I paddle boarded. I snorkeled with giant sea turtles. Maui was at once peaceful and exhilarating. A companion? I was too busy having fun to notice I didn’t have one.

Shari catching some waves.

OVER TO HONOLULU

I didn’t want to leave Maui, but Honolulu was calling. I took a quick island hopping flight to Oahu and checked into The Modern Honolulu, one of the host hotels of the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival. My penthouse room overlooked the pool and Ala Wai Boat Harbor at the end of Waikiki Beach. I strolled the picturesque sands filled with surfers, sunbathers, and loads of tourists.

When I wasn’t checking out Honolulu’s restaurant scene, I was at festival events like A Lucky Modern Buddha Belly at The Modern. The impressive line-up of chefs and mixologists included Andy Ricker, Nancy Silverton, and Tony Abou-Ganim, and event chairs Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong. It’s always nice to bump into industry friends in a gorgeous setting.

The city vibe and nearby beaches of downtown Hololulu reminded me of my hometown, Miami. I rented to drive the scenic coast to peaceful Lanaikai Beach, which translates as “heavenly sea.” It certainly lived up to its name. Another day I climbed Diamond Head State Monument in the heat for an exquisite view of the island, then raced down to hydrate.

Mesmerizing beauty, divine sunsets, beach fun, and amazing food. Hawaii, you’ve done right by me.

The visual reward from the top of Diamond Head.

Tropical fruit delight at Ululani’s.

MY HAWAII FOOD HIGHLIGHTS

Maui

Ululani’s
It’s popular for good reason: Their Hawaiian shave ice is a must. I was lucky that the line wasn’t too long when I arrived. I ordered mango, coconut, and banana with condensed milk and macadamia nut ice cream from the chalkboard menu. Wowie Maui indeed.

Morimoto Maui at the Andaz
The setting alone made this restaurant special. I ate super fresh sushi on the patio during my first Hawaiian sunset. The perfect combo.

Halfway to Hana
The Road to Hana was so tedious and long. I totally welcomed the pitstop. And a warm loaf of their signature banana bread. Personal fuel for the drive.

Mama’s Fish House
I ate at the bar after my journey on the Road to Hana: a sashimi trio of fresh-as-can-be ono, ahi, and onaga. The water location made for great sunset views, and may explain why the place was packed with well-advised tourists.

808 Deli
The Porkie sandwich from the casual beachside eatery hit the spot after my morning surf workout. I took my sandwich to go and walked across the street to Kamaole Beach, where I chowed down with sand in my toes.

The Porkie with a view.

Fish and egg skillet at Koko Head Cafe.

Honolulu

Koko Head Cafe
Former NYC rock star chef Lee Anne Wong relocated to Honolulu a few years ago, and I was so excited to try her all-day breakfast restaurant. (Lee Anne actually advised me on all of my Hawaii hotels, so thanks, chef!) When I arrived in the early afternoon, I found her expediting on the line, so I sat at the bar to watch the action. I loved the fruit bruschetta, and one of her signature dishes, fish and eggs skillet. Simply fantastic.

Roy’s Hawaii
A popular restaurant owned by Roy Yamaguchi, one of Hawaii’s most famous chefs. It’s a tourist trap, but the food is good. I settled at the chef’s counter and ate the Beach Walk Trio: hibachi salmon, macadamia nut-crusted opah, and misoyaki butterfish. The butterfish was sublime.

Leonard’s Bakery
Founded in 1952, the Honolulu institution is known for the Portuguese dessert, malasadas — glorious puffy donuts. Sitting on a bench in the parking lot with other tourists, I devoured one malasada puff with macadamia nut custard. No ambience, but what a treat!

Bogart’s Café
I had my very first acai bowl here after hiking Diamond Head in the simmering heat. I could not have asked for a more refreshing, healthy, and delicious meal than frozen, blended acai berries topped with bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and granola.

Alan Wong’s
The original namesake restaurant of Hawaii’s notable chef, whom I met at the Hawaii festival, was a tough reservation to get. But I scored spot at the chef’s counter, only to find out later that I was the only diner at the counter that evening. I ordered the Tasting of the Classics menu, which was excellent. My favorite courses were butter poached Kona cold lobster and coconut dessert.

The Pineapple Room
Alan Wong’s more casual place is located in Macy’s at the Ala Moana Center. My lunch was Kalua pig BLT and caesar salad with thirst-quenching lemonade ice tea.

The Pig and the Lady
The cool Asian-meets-Western spot in Chinatown, one of Bon Appetit’s 50 Best New Restaurants in America in 2014, was on my to-do list. Dining at the bar, I had two signature dishes — Laotian fried chicken with pickled chili, fried shallots, and roasted peanuts, and P&F pho with smoked bacon, twelve-hour brisket, and soft egg. It was too much food for one, but I don’t regret over-ordering.

Read more on Fathom: Fathom Hawaii Guide, I Flew Cross-Country on a Whim to Eat Dinner Alone, I Conquered Spain’s Best Restaurants. All by Myself.

Shari is the president and founder of Bayer Public Relations, which specializes in culinary, hospitality, lifestyle, and entertainment. She is also the producer and host of All in the Industry on Heritage Radio Network. You can follow her on Twitter at @sharibayer and @bayerpr. She travels for the desire to see the world, experience new things, and eat amazing food.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry stepped into contentious territory on Wednesday when he made a critical remark about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judgement record on U.S. foreign policy.

The comments came while Kerry was testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Committee member Rep. Albio Sires (D-N.J.) pointed to Netanyahu’s upcoming address to the U.S. Congress as evidence of the weakness of the deal being negotiated between Iran, the United States and five other world powers over Iran’s nuclear program.

“The Prime Minister was also profoundly forward-leaning and very outspoken about the importance of invading Iraq and George W. Bush,” the secretary of state shot back, referring to Netanyahu. Kerry, who voted for the Iraq war while serving in the Senate, added that Netanyahu “was extremely outspoken about how bad the interim agreement was, calling it the ‘deal of the century for Iran.’”

The secretary of state’s comments were a reference to the temporary deal with Iran that the U.S. and its negotiating partners reached in November 2013. The deal has been extended twice as diplomats attempt to reach a permanent agreement.

“Israel is safer today with the added time we have given and the stoppage of the advances in the nuclear program than they were before we got that agreement, which, by the way, the prime minister opposed,” Kerry continued. “He was wrong.”

Kerry’s comments are yet another indication of the deepening rift between Netanyahu and the Obama administration. In what White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest has described as a breach of typical protocol, last month Netanyahu accepted an invitation from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to speak before Congress, without first notifying the White House. Netanyahu’s address will take place March 3, two weeks before the Israeli elections, and will focus on the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191787#.VO41prPF_3o
” target=”_hplink”>said, “This agreement, if indeed it is signed, will allow Iran to become a nuclear threshold state. That is, with the consent of the major powers, Iran –- which openly declares its intention to destroy the state of Israel –- will receive a license to develop the production of bombs.”

He added, “It is my obligation as Prime Minister to do everything that I can to prevent this agreement; therefore, I will go to Washington to address the American Congress because the American Congress is likely to be the final brake before the agreement between the major powers and Iran.”

The Obama administration has continually clashed with Congress, particularly congressional Republicans, over Iran policy. Members of Congress have called for additional sanctions on Iran, while President Barack Obama has threatened to veto further punitive measures. But even some of those who are skeptical of the negotiating efforts were offended by Netanyahu and Boehner’s defiance of the president. A growing list of lawmakers has joined Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in boycotting Netanyahu’s address.

On Wednesday, Kerry warned lawmakers against judging an agreement that has not yet been reached. His entreaty was largely ignored by some members of the committee, including Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who told the secretary that it is a matter of “when,” not “if” Iran cheats on its obligations under any nuclear deal that is agreed to.

Sires urged Kerry to recall his days as a senator and to understand that it is difficult for Congress to quietly wait to be handed what he called a “fait accompli” on Iran’s nuclear program.

In an effort to give Congress more input about a final agreement, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has introduced a bill that gives Obama three days to submit the text of any negotiated deal to Congress for a 15-day review period. If Congress doesn’t approve of the agreement, the bill calls for the reimposition of any sanctions on Iran that have been lifted.

Although the subject of Wednesday’s committee hearing was the State Department budget, Kerry ended up fielding more questions about the nuclear negotiations with Iran, as was the case with his testimony Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

I was very contemplative on my recent flight home from Colorado, traveling back from a week with my Mom as we try to manage some challenges that often go along with a vibrant life that is in it’s eighth decade. There were many poignant moments and beautiful sunsets in our time together this trip and I sat on the plane with a bittersweet feeling of love and concern as I took in this vivid sunset through the tiny window.

When I landed, I received a call from a Flawless Foundation board member with shocking news. The girls in the latest headlines who had been murdered in Westchester County, New York by their father — a retired local police officer who then shot himself — had attended school with her son. Another horrific tragedy had hit close to home. As we talk about these terrible events and serious issues all the time in our work, this conversation was frank, direct and action focused. After we took a moment to share the shock and sadness, we turned to the urgency for our mission in prevention and awareness while brainstorming possible ideas to help the school community with our resources. In the face of one more incident of the unnecessary loss of lives, we felt more determined than ever that if our work could save one family from, such a tragedy, then it was all worthwhile.

The news reports this time were like so many of the others we see too often: “Hochman had no known health or psychiatric problems that would have been a factor in the case” “This came from nowhere.” “He snapped.” “No one saw this coming.”

These familiar descriptions may be literally true, but so often there are signs, and much of the challenge we face is that even when there are signs, our system ignores them. Our brain health and the brain health of others is something that we are so often unconscious about — that is, unless we are being judgmental about someone acting “weird or crazy.” But as these tragic cases repeatedly show us, we must take our heads out of the sand as these disorders, left untreated can not only damage people’s lives but also impact the lives of so many others around them.

Last week, as my sister and I reflected on the pattern of our mothers’ recent challenges we realized that these issues started many years ago before we gave them any attention or treatment. How could it be that I advocate for more awareness around brain health but didn’t see the signs myself? I am sad to admit that a few years ago, there was some tension and judgement from me about my dear Mom’s behavior that was all due to a lack of understanding about a change in her brain function which now finally makes sense to me, at least in retrospect.

The point is, none of us is immune from the challenge of recognizing and responding to mental health issues before they become even bigger problems. So where’s the education we all need? Where’s the philanthropy and investment that’s called for? Where’s the brain research? Where’s our pink ribbon to raise awareness and engagement?

I don’t have a pink ribbon, but I do have a pink sunset.

This early morning I had a rising sun as I got in my car to drive to Oregon State University to spend the day with mental health advocate, Ross Szabo who was training student affairs staff and student leaders in his mental health curriculum. Ross has brought mental health education to over one million students through his public speaking. As I headed out into the “sunrise” to hear him speak, this pink sky represented hope to me through Ross’ work as we balance the grief this week also with the golden light which was shining in repeated bursts during the Oscars on Sunday night.

When you think about it, the Oscars was one of the greatest consciousness-raising moments we’ve had for improved awareness of brain health in years, between the films and artists who were honored, covering issues ranging from Alzheimer’s and ALS to veterans with PTSD and teens contemplating suicide. To be sure, we have so much more to learn and understand as a society if we are ever to deal effectively and compassionately with the range of brain health issues that affect us and those we love. And yet the center of our mainstream popular culture had used its moment of glamour and public attention to make a difference, call us to action and suggest the possibility of what it might mean for us to be truly informed and aware. So I”m going to embrace it as a symbolic sunrise — and a new opportunity for us all to seize the day we’ve been given in building a society where we can truly see the brain health challenges people face and respond with both the love and support that are long overdue. It’s time to stop the judgement and come together to take action, it’s time for understanding and compassion, its time to see the perfection in every person.

“Teen Mom” star Jenelle Evans spent an hour of her Tuesday behind bars in South Carolina … busted for driving without a license.

The Oscars had a lot going on, and we’re not only talking about the beauty of John Legend and Common’s moving performance or Lady Gaga’s triumphant tribute to Julie Andrews.