Your Guide to Buying a Home in Central Oahu, HI

Buying a Home in Central Oahu, Hawaii

Central Oahu is located in Honolulu County

Easily accessed by the H-2 are the communities of Pearl City, Mililani, and Wahiawa. Within each, one can find a unique slice of contemporary Hawaiian life. For fans of 1960's style, retro architecture, Pearl City is a true find. When you get there, be sure to check out Aloha Stadium, home of the University of Hawaii Rainbows, and site of the annual NFL Pro Bowl. Then there's Pearlridge Center, a vast shopping mall where virtually anything can be found. If your feet get tired, get on board one of the shuttle buses, which can take you to your car, or you can go to another phase of Pearlridge.

Further up the road is Mililani. It has grown from a small town into a sprawling bedroom community. For those with a big appetite, it would be wise to stop off in Mililani, and check out the local eateries. You can dine or snack on a wide variety of "local grinds", which is a term for some of the tastiest food around.

Just before H-2 bends to the left, take the off-ramp to Wahiawa. Here, you can find a down-home, local, Hawaiian-style former plantation town. Aficionados of tropical flora shouldn't miss the Wahiawa Botanical Garden, a 27 acre oasis, filled with exotic plants from around the world. Admission is free.

West of Wahiawa is Schofield Barracks, made famous by the movie, "From Here To Eternity", which starred Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr.

From the Schofield Barracks, take the Kamehameha Highway up to the Dole Pineapple Pavilion. The rich, red dirt known as oxisol is found here, and out of this earth springs the noble pineapple. Its large bluish, sword-like leaves contrast beautifully with the terrain. There's plenty to see and do here. There's a visitor's area devoted to pineapple growing and eating, with a "varieties of pineapple" garden, a restaurant, and a huge gift shop. You can take a tour of the pineapple fields on a tram.

At this point, you can continue northward on Kamehameha Highway (or "Kam Highway", as it's popularly known) to the North Shore, or you can take Farrington Highway to the West Side.