I left Boston at 5:30am and got into Houston, TX around 8am, Houston time. Left Houston at 9:30am. Wish I got some photogs of the crates of animals that they loaded onto the plane at Houston! I had a window seat in the last row 45 and the cargo door ramp was directly below my window. I saw all the cat and dog crates coming up the ramp....after I got seated I counted half-a-dozen cat crates loaded! Arrived in Hawaii at 12:30pm Hawaii time. I slept most of both flights so I wasn't too tired when I arrived in HI. Mom came to pick up my baggage and give me the house key. And I took the shuttle to Enterprise to pick up my rental....had a free upgrade (from Compact) so I ended up with a 2007 Toyota Corolla.
I always make sure I get a window seat on the left side of the plane!
Thunderbirds over Waikiki
I spent the day at Ala Moana and Waikiki Beaches to photog the Thunderbirds. They had two shows...morning and afternoon and I checked out both. In between I met my friend for lunch at the Nishi Mon Cho Ramen Restaurant in Downtown Honolulu and he was explaining how he goes about hanging around the "LOST" set whenever they are shooting on Oahu. We exchanged numbers in case we "come upon" the crew shooting, then we're supposed to contact one another so we can make like the papparzzi! *JK*
Some Thunderbirds over Waikiki photos
Aloha Festival Parade
I parked at the Ala Moana Shopping Center and walked across the street and picked out a spot for myself. The parade started around 9:15am and lasted about an hour. I had such a great time watching and photog all the floats. I especially loved the Pa'u Queen as well as all the island princesses. Wow, all the horses were decked out in beautiful floral leis. I made sure I took a photog of the queen as well as every princess, float and high school band!
The Royal Hawaiian Guard
Princess of Maui was so gracious. She and her horse stood right in front of me to make sure I got plenty of shots! Thank you Princess of Maui!
I just love all the Lauhala around the horse's neck!
I was impressed with Maryknoll High's float!
Afterwards I went to Macy where they had various handcrafted items such as woven purses, hawaiian quilts and feathered bands. All the artists of these fine handicrafts were on hand. I also visited Shirokiya and hoooo boy! The third floor of this store has the food market and a dining area to sit. There were so many food dishes out to sample! And so many various bento boxes to purchase. No photogs here.... I asked permission to photog the food in the cases and was promtly told that they didn't allow photog taking.
Had lunch at the Islands Fine Burger and Drinks joint in the Ho'opiki Terrace. I was originally seated at a booth just outside the kitchen door and asked for another booth. I choose one that was not in the direct line of the waitstaff coming in and out of the the kitchen. I ordered a Coconut Cream Tradewind Smoothie....tasted like chocolate. I had the Yaki Rice Bowl and this I enjoyed very much. It consisted of pieces of teri chicken with fresh diced tomatoes, pineapples and green onions.
Koko Crater Botanical Gardens
I visited the Koko Crater Botanical Gardens. I was alone so I only walked around the Plumeria Grove and took as many photos as I could of the different plumeria colors. Being alone, I did not want to go up the hiking trail.
The entrance is adjacent to the Koko Crater Stables...you actually access the entrance through a community...not sure what it is but there are several "gated" streets that also line a golf course! Then you turn onto a dirt road and park in front of the stables....there is a blue and white sign to mark the garden parking. There was a park ranger sitting on the picnic bench at the entrance. I only spent my time making the "loop" of Plumeria Grove and there were no benches to sit on...I did spot a port-a-potty. The terrain is a bit hilly and its a dirt-type road. For the first 20 minutes I was the only one there. A young father and his toddler son headed up the trail....the father had on a very large hiking backpack.
I highly recommend going with someone to this garden and make sure you have good hiking shoes/sneakers/boots and plenty of water! If you're into hiking, I think you might like this spot! I was just so happy to be in one place where there was so much plumeria fragrance in the air!
Kaukau
I couldn't get enough of this! This is a treat to eat from Zippys!
Or this!
Hot Malasadas you can purchase from the red & white wagon.
United Fishing Agency
This isn't a tour attraction but I've always been interested in where all Hawaii's sushi and sashimi comes from! Located on Pier 38, I got up early to make the 5:30am start of the auction. I stayed out of the way and took as many photos as I could get.
Afterwards I headed towards Ala Moana and watched the sun come up. Ala Moana beach was slowly filling with surfers and walkers. There were also folks just sitting on the park benches that face the ocean sipping on their morning coffee.
I then drove through Waikiki and headed through Diamond Head via Diamond Head Road. I ended up turning around at Sandy's Beach and then headed to the Ala Moana Shopping Center for a little bite to eat. Had me the Luau plate lunch at the "Poi Bowl" located in the Food Court. Afterwards I headed back to Waikiki to check out the Waikiki Aquarium which opened up at 9am.
Waikiki Aquarium
The aquarium contains many well-maintained exhibits. When you get there they give you a hand-held radio with earphones and you can listen to this as you work your way through the exhibits.
I spy you!
Just hanging out!
Hawaii Convention Center
Afterwards I went to the Hawaii Convention Center just on the edge of Waikiki and took a stroll through the place. It's huge with three large exhibition halls on the bottom level....Kamehameha I, II & III. The upper levels contained more meeting and function rooms.
Luana Hills Country Club, Kailua, HI
What a hard course but absolutely beautiful! We were put on the back 9 first, and a good thing too as its situated in a valley below the Ko'olau mountain range....it was hot and muggy and absolutely no wind in there!! Its fairways are narrow and when you get onto the front 9 and look down onto the back 9, you can't even tell there is a golf course! It looks like a tropical jungle! The front 9 was a bit more wider and elevated and there were nice cool tradewinds. I took alot of photogs of the back 9....absolutely stunning course. The photogs on their website doesn't do the course justice! And the folks that work there are very helpful and nice!
The back 9 is set in a rainforest valley
I also love golfing at The Coral Creek Golf Course with my uncles and cousins
Considered this but I do get seasick...
Bought some artwork here...
Checked out a Farmer's Market
Spotted this lifeguard early morning
Kanile'a Ukulele
I visited the Kanile'a Ukulele factory in Kaneohe and Bill Griffin, master Luthier, gave me a tour of the factory and then let me take some photogs.
And the Ko'olau Mountain Range from the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe, Hawaii.
Lovena
My Hawaii Travels
