ALOHA!

Can you believe we have never been to Hawaii?  We couldn’t either! So decided to change that, and since it is so far away, make the most of it and see 4 different islands.  We are starting with Oahu, and are spending 3 days around Waikiki beach, shown above.

But first, we had to make it here, which is no small task and explains why we have never been here before - It is VERY far away for New York!  We flew through LA (that’s 6 hours) and originally had a 2 1/2 layover there before the flight to Honolulu, another 6 hours….  We were very grateful for the long layover as the first flight was delayed by over one hour because AA could not locate the pilot!!!!!  Seriously! Anyway, after a beautiful sunrise ride to the airport, sitting on the flight doing nothing for an hour, we at last took off, and did not even have to rush to make the connection.  We arrived at the hotel around 7 pm, which is 1 am NY time - having left home at 6 am……. We were too tired to think or go out for a bite to eat, and passed out by 8 pm.

Which, of course, means that we were up by 4 am….. Which is fine, because the beach is very pretty in the morning light. Indeed, Waikiki beach is pretty in any light, it deserves its reputation!  From our hotel room, we get a wide view of it (see top picture) and get to see the surfers and enjoy the sound of the waves.  

Breakfast by the ocean, which opened at 6:30 am was oddly busy at that early hour, most likely because every one else is jet lagged too.

The water and air temperature couldn’t be nicer, and I spent most of the day just sitting and reading, and recovering from the jet lag. And bobbing in the waves while admiring the view of Diamond Head mountain (which I get to climb on Wednesday).

Also will try some of the outrigger canoeing - looks like fun!

Waikiki itself is a bit too touristy for my tastes, with a lot (A LOT!) of pricey stores which I can find in NY, no need to fly that far….  There was however a long line of Japanese tourists at the Kate Spade store, so not everybody feels the same way.  What is nice is that the shopping areas are very open and have kept some of the magnificent banyan trees that grow around here. There are indeed many large and beautiful trees, in spite of the over development.

Our hotel (the Royal Hawaiian) was the 2nd hotel built on Waikiki, in 1927.  Here is a picture of it (from the sea) that shows the original hotel, now dwarfed by the additional tower (which is were our room is, on the 16th floor, thus the pretty view).  It is now surrounded on all sides by larger buildings, but still has one of the nicest pieces of the beach.  

 In the late afternoon, we met with our group for the first time, and went for a visit of queen Emma’s summer house, in the hills around Honolulu.  It was built in Boston, disassembled, and brought by ship in 1848 because the king and queen were very much into English royalty and everything Victorian.  

 Thus its furnishings are very much Victorian, with nods to the Hawaiian culture, such as these beautiful wooden bowls and feather capes. 

I know nothing of Hawaiian history, and will learn more about it tomorrow, but was really surprised by how much the kings had embraced westernization, and accepted the Anglican preachers (not sure how the population felt), without ever becoming a colony of the British empire (or a territory, or dependence, etc….  ). 

 Dinner was accompanied by traditional music and dance (one of these dancers, I don’t know which one, is a neonatal doctor at the nearby hospital, which was founded by queen Emma). 

On the bus ride, our guide gave us a quick lesson in the Hawaiian language:  it has the same five vowels (A, E, I, O, U) as English or French, but only 5 consonants, which is why to us, all the names and words basically sound the same…. A lot of W, K and H’s, surrounded by a lot of vowels.   I’ll try to learn a few words more than just “aloha” before we leave…