Cypress: Experience the Islands Near the Freeways

Want to sample the wonders of Hawaii without flying 2,300 miles? Little pieces of paradise dot Cypress like so many pearls linked by the strands of Cerritos Avenue and Valley View Street. Visit Joe and Bonnie Salamanca’s strip-mall shop, Joe’s Aloha Collectibles (4455 Cerritos Ave., Cypress, [714] 826-8795; open Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Closed Sundays and Mondays). Polynesian-print shirts as subtle as a North Shore for $30 to $45 are sold near a rattan living-room set (chairs $125 each, table $65).

Aloha Chicken (10488 Valley View St., Buena Park, [714] 826-6672; open daily, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.) isn’t the easiest place to find, but the food far surpasses the surroundings. Owner Katsue Hanna Ogawa serves up Hawaiian feasts for a surprisingly small price. For $3.69 you get three pieces of seared Aloha Chicken. The meaty Lahaina ribs are $4.39. Side dishes include lau lau ($4.29), lomi salmon ($2.29) and, of course, poi ($2.29). A favorite of regulars is the Waikiki Combo. It features generous helpings of your choice of two entrees, including the succulent kalua pig, on a bed of rice with sides of Hawaiian pasta and fruit (strawberries, pineapple and orange slices) for $4.99.

Omar’s Exotic Birds (9215 Valley View St., [714] 761-0868) is home to the brightest, most colorful and, yes, the loudest feathered creatures this side of the tropics. Omar’s features more than a dozen breeds of exotic birds, ranging from a gray cockatiel, which goes for $59, to a pink cockatoo native to the Moluccan Islands of Indonesia, which fetches $1,600. Omar’s also offers grooming, boarding and has toys galore, including a rubber ducky strung with brightly colored letters and numbers for $14.99.

Omar’s is open Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, the birds go to sleep an hour before closing so employees can clean up after them. And yes, the birds do sometimes squawk about their early bedtime.

Getting there: To reach Cypress, take Valley View Street north from the Garden Grove or San Diego freeways or south from the Riverside Freeway.