6th day of our vacation - 12-21-15

To give us a little break from the snow I am adding another installment of my daily journal from our vacation.

December 21st, 2015

We didn't leave the hotel until 10.30 am. Even then we had a false start as we were a couple of miles from the hotel when we realized we had forgotten the camera.  Gregg drove back, left the car out front of the hotel and returned to our room to get it.  

With camera in hand we head towards the Duke Paoa Kahanamoku's statue.  We didn't want to leave Oahu without seeing it or taking photos.  However, not being sure of where to park, I only took a few shots from the passenger window as Gregg slowly drove by.  We couldn't go fast anyway because of the traffic.  We resolved to try again before we left in a few days.  

We then headed towards Diamond Head, this time finding a parking spot at an overlook near the lighthouse, and the surfers below caught our attention for a while.

We walked down to the lighthouse but the gates were locked, just like on our last trip.  I don't believe it is open to the public, but you can still get some very nice photos from the street.

A history of Diamond Head and the lighthouse can be found at this link.

Below is their address and here is an added note from Cloudia at Comfort Spiral.  Part of her comment reads, "the Diamond Head light is on the property where the head of the U.S. Coastguard district lives as a perk of the job."  That is a very nice perk.
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We drove through a lovely community with the most beautifully decorative gates.  Here is one of them.  

The houses were lovely too and their view of the ocean must have been gorgeous.  I often wonder who these people are, what could their life story be.  How did they get here to this beautiful location?  Were they born here, did they move from another island, did they move from the mainland, or another part of the world?  I am always curious about these things.

This very pretty view was taken next to the wall of the lighthouse.

By this time we were ready for a bite to eat and we found a fast food restaurant that did plate lunches.   Gregg's lunch consisted of tacos and mine was another loco moco, only this time with hash browns (steamed rice covered with a thick brown gravy, hash browns and two fried eggs).  

It was a big plate and I preferred the one at our little eatery near the hotel.  Their portion size was just right, though this one tasted quite good.  I also decided I would prefer a beef patty rather than the hash browns, which were a bit too greasy for my taste.  We didn't have any breakfast and we didn't realize that it was way past lunchtime.  Later we decided we would order something we both liked so that we could share.  This type of plate lunch is more than enough for two people.

We went to Hanauma Bay, which is another beautiful spot.  We haven't made it down into the bay yet.  We park the car and usually make our way to the overlook.  

There is some interesting information if you would like to learn more at this website.

"Hanauma" is pronounced "ha now ma" and people flock here.  There always seems to be a long line waiting to get in.  Only a certain number of people are allowed at any one time, if memory serves me correctly.  I read online somewhere that it is a good idea, like so many places, to go as early as possible.  They open at 6.00 a.m.  

A good many people come for the snorkeling, for which the area is famous.  There is a movie everyone has to watch before going down.  It is mandatory, telling what you can do and what you cannot do, teaching young and old alike the proper way to keep this area pristine for future generations.  

Hanauma is a horseshoe shaped bay and is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the island.  As we are not snorkelers and not much for sitting hours on the beach, we generally content ourselves with the view from the top, which is stunning.  

A young man asked me if I would take a photo.  They were tourists like me but from Japan.  I was very happy to oblige.  They were a very sweet family.

Along one of the paths I saw a mongoose run out of the bushes not too far in front of me, where it climbed a wall and disappeared into the undergrowth.  Walking back along the same path a while later, I'm assuming I saw the same mongoose retrace its steps more or less exactly as before, going back in the opposite direction.  Gone in a flash both times and I wasn't fast enough to get a photo, he was such a blur.  

There were several Cattle Egrets and Zebra Doves in the grassy areas, near where people were sitting at picnic tables.

We went back to the hotel for a short break and while sitting on our balcony, yet another white dove landed and casually walked into our room.  I have an inkling that this is a common occurrence.  He walked out again after circling under the desk.  This happened yesterday but that one didn't get so far inside.  I need to remember to close the sliding glass door, but the novelty of having a dove making itself at home, even for a little while, amused me.

An hour later we walked down to the beach and stopped in at the Barefoot Bar.  Gregg ordered his Mai Thai and a Bermuda Triangle for me, which was delicious and like a dessert in a glass.  I had enjoyed the one at The Willows.

We then walked towards the Hawaiian Hilton Village, to the lagoon.  There were lots of  people enjoying themselves.  

You can hire kayaks and pedal boats at one end of the lagoon.

Always fun to watch.

This is a very pretty area.

We saw many tourists walking around like us. 

We took photos of the big mural on the front of one of the hotel towers.  

We also can see Diamond Head in the distance.  

It was very breezy and the palm fronds rustled as we walked by them.  

A tour boat docked, passengers got off and more boarded..... 

sailing soon after. 

   Everywhere the tallest palm trees.  Happy people playing and smiling and laughing.  All part of this incredible atmosphere in Waikiki.

When it was time to walk back to our hotel, we went through the shops again, but this time we didn't dilly-dally and made our way to the hula statues that I remember so well from our last three trips. 

I absolutely think they are three of the most beautiful statues.  

I will share another post about them sometime.

There were a few ducks in the water out in front.....

and Koi swimming alongside.

as well as smaller fish swimming around the Koi.

Even turtles.....

a pair of white doves....

all happily getting along in the same area, swimming together, sitting together, comfortable in each other's presence.  The human race could learn a lot from observing the peace in this little pond.  After all, we all live in the same pond right?

There was a strange woman taking photos, happy to be back in everyone's company, viewing them all like old friends.  Yes that's me.  I should add that on our holiday Gregg has been taking a lot of these photos and I have been sharing many of them along with my own.

We walked back to our hotel, first stopping at the exchange on the ground floor, where we picked up a sandwich - chicken salad for me and a ham and cheese for Gregg.  I also like the portion size of the sandwiches as they aren't overwhelming.  We added a large bottle of water, a cherry yogurt and a banana.  I enjoy these back-in-the-room picnics after a long day.  It fits nicely into our routine.

That's about it for today.

If you missed the previous posts and would like to read them, you can click on the links below.

Part 1

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5