Just got back from a 4-day whirlwind tour of Oʻahu island, which was my first-ever visit to the tropical awesomeness known as Hawaii. I knew it would be fun, but now I understand something I never did before: Hawaii is where otters belong. Here's why:

1) Real Hawaiian shave ice. I thought I'd had shave ice before, but I was wrong. The stuff you get in California is a snow cone, just a wad of crushed ice bits with flavor syrup on top. In Hawaii (and especially if you go to the Waiola shop in Honolulu), it's a cup of powdery smooth ice dust with the texture of fine sugar served over a scoop of vanilla ice cream and smothered in three kinds of syrup. Add mochi balls and condensed milk and you're in for a creamy, fruity delight guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

2) Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. Imagine floating gently through warm, turquoise waters over a labyrinth of coral, surrounded by a confetti rainbow of tropical fish (including the awesomely named humuhumunukunukuapua'a, Hawaii's state fish). Now imagine how much spiffier it'll be when you round a corner and find yourself swimming with not one but two green sea turtles, who float placidly past your face as they nibble lazily at the coral. Also, you will find an octopus, because hey... octopus.

3) Poke. This is a salad made of glistening crimson cubes of fresh raw ahi tuna marinated in shoyu, sesame oil, crushed red chili, sea salt, green onion and (if you can find it) minced limu kohu seaweed. I'm not going to say that it's the most delicious thing ever... no, scratch that. It's the most delicious thing ever.

4) People are nice in Hawaii. It's a stereotype to suggest that everyone on the islands lives in a state of perpetual laid back bliss, and I'm sure there's plenty of drama in Hawaii if you go looking for it. That said, coming from California it's hard not to notice the casual smiles, polite exchanges and helpful attitudes you run into everywhere you go. Heck, even the roads seem less stressful. Traffic in California is often best described as "I'm cutting you off, and that makes me mad." Traffic in Honolulu is more of a random jumble of cars just sort of... going places. I don't recall even hearing one horn.

5) Spam musubi. Spam is everywhere in Hawaii. You hate it now, but you'll come to love it, especially if you start your day with a delicious brick of warm sushi-grade sticky rice topped with a slab of salty, lightly grilled Spam, all held together with a strip of dried nori seaweed. If you're really hungry, head over to Da Kitchen Cafe in Honolulu for a plate of deep fried musubi drizzled in teriyaki sauce and minced green onions. Your mouth, as they say, will love you for it.

6) Fresh fruit. At the Aloha Stadium swap meet (biggest dang flea market you'll ever see, where you can buy cheap but stylish aloha shirts, kukui nut necklaces, luggage and tropical perfume), I bought a ziplock bag filled with fresh cut chilled mango spears that I ate with a plastic fork while I browsed the goods. Sweet? It was like eating mango candy. Also, pineapple in Hawaii is so succulent and sugary that it will ruin you... nothing else is going to taste as good, ever.

7) The weather is beautiful. Granted, I visited after the really broiling hot days of July and August were over, and it was still plenty warm... but that's fine. I like warm. There are sunny blue skies, puffy white clouds, dark rain clouds and warm drizzle, often all at once, and none of it is unpleasant (true, I didn't see any real tropical typhoons or massive rainstorms while I was there). Any place where rain can be considered comfortably refreshing gets a vote in my book.

8) It's a birder's paradise. I'm a big fan of birds, and there are birds everywhere. Herons, frigatebirds, sandpipers, zebra doves, parakeets, cuckoos, nightjars, mynas and red-crested cardinals... you'll start to see them as soon as you get off the plane (or boat, if you're on a cruise), and many of them are tame enough to let you get in for a photo or two. There are also pigeons in the food court at the Ala Moana Makai Market shopping mall, perhaps attracted to the Yummy Korean BBQ meat jun plate, kalua pork manapua buns and delicious Dole whip pineapple cone I was having for lunch.

9) You're surrounded by beaches. I'm not knocking the colder, grayer beaches one finds on the mainland (actually I rather like that foggy New England lighthouse kind of ambience), but there's really nothing to compare to a long strip of powdery white sand flecked with coral and black lava rock being gently licked by warm azure saltwater. You can wade, you can snorkel, you can scuba, or you can just kick back on a towel and watch the surfers skimming through the tube-shaped hearts of curled, white-capped breakers.

10) You're overdressed if you're wearing pants. I have to admit I've never been one for fashion... my idea of dressing up is often finding a shirt that isn't wrinkled. One thing I learned very quickly in Hawaii is that my usual garb of pants, t-shirt and clunky hiking shoes just doesn't cut it in a tropical setting. Within a day, I'd gotten myself into some surfer shorts and flip flops, and I let my shirts go baggy instead of tucking them in. It felt great. Not that I didn't spiff myself up with a thin lei of tiny black and white momi shells... no need to look like a total bum, after all.

Did I mention the poke? Good. Seriously, I can eat that stuff all day.

I would be remiss if I didn't give a huge special thanks to  blackberrydragon for being my very own host and spiffy tour guide dragon. Going to the islands is fun enough on its own, but going with someone who has insider info means you can skip all the tedious stuff and go right to the obscure, the out of the way, and the awesome (kulolo, anyone?)