Honolulu Hawaii 2/19.20/24

 Honolulu

Authored by Laurie Hardcastle Seil

We’ll dock here on the south coast of Oahu near the Aloha Tower, right in the center of town, with Waikiki not far away. The nickname for Oahu is “The Gathering Place” and this leeward side of the island certainly is, lots of crowds, lots of sights to see, and pretty commercial. You couldn’t ask for a more lovely setting than Honolulu, which means “sheltered harbor” and apparently the Polynesians thought the same as it may have been settled as early as 2,000 years ago according to one source. It was made the capital city of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1850 and continues on as the state capital today. In years past it was an island known for sugar and pineapple plantations and while the former are mostly gone, the ones that grow the golden, sweet iconic fruit still remain. If you want to see pineapple growing you can visit the Dole Plantation, it’s kind of a tourist trap but it is interesting to learn about how one of my favorite fruits is actually grown, and of course to get some Dole Whip. Hanauma Bay, known for its great snorkeling, is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays to allow the fish to recover from all the swimmers the rest of the week.  It’s a terrific spot to people watch, enjoy the warm waters, do a little body surfing if the waves are right, or spend an evening along the beach where the nightlife is always lively. In this part of town, you can also find the Waikiki Aquarium, the third oldest of its kind in the U.S. You can visit the iconic Diamond Head, the edge of the volcano crater mountain that’s at the opposite end of Waikiki from our pier. If history is more to your liking there are all sorts of venues at Pearl Harbor, especially the moving Arizona Memorial. Located about 9.5 mi (15 km) from port it is suggested that if you plan to go to Pearl on your own that you get there as soon as you can, before the tour buses arrive it possible. Tickets to the Memorial are given out first come, first served, and there are a limited number available each day. Also nearby are the USS Bowfin, a submarine that’s a floating museum, along with the USS Missouri, and the Pacific Aviation Museum. For some Hawaiian history there is the beautiful Iolani Palace, home of the last of the Hawaiian monarchs, until they were overthrown by the sugar plantation owners. Completed in 1882 it is a National Historic Landmark and served as the capitol building until the 1970s when it was restored as a palace. To cover a great deal of Polynesian cultural and natural history in the islands you can visit the well-regarded Bishop Museum, the largest of its kind in Hawaii. If you plan to travel to the north shore, I suggest stopping at the Nuuanu Pali Lookout where you’ll get a gorgeous panoramic view of the windward side of Oahu. This historic landmark is known for the 1795 Battle of Nuuanu when hundreds of warriors were forced off the sheer cliffs by Kamehameha I and his men in the struggle to add this final island to his kingdom. Needless to say, he was successful. If you’re a Jurassic Park fan you may want to seek out the Kualoa Ranch where part of the movies were filmed. One of my favorite beaches on the island is on the north, Sunset Beach, always lovely, and another beauty is Lanikai Beach. Waimea is a jungle valley with an idyllic waterfall. We’ve enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie more than once with its canoe parade and the living history you’ll find in each of its “islands”. For a scenic drive take the Kamehameha Highway from Laie to Haleiwa, at the end you can treat yourself to some Matsumoto’s Shave ice.

Mickey and I have been to this island quite a bit together, but before there was a Kim and Mickey, he lived in Oahu for 5 1/2 years.  Got here courtesy of the USAF - and remarkably, it was almost 50 years to the day that he arrived.... we got to meet up with our buds from Greyhawk - Doug and Karen were visiting their daughter Kali and Tom and Leila had a business meeting, so the 6 of us got together and had a spectacular day doing tourist stuff...  Started out with a breakfast with the Safford's, went to the Buddhist temple, and then on to back to the dinosaur time with a Jeep Safari ride where the Jurassic Parks films were shot.  Quite the wild ride, and the dust - we were cleaning it off us for days!  It was a hoot, and a good time was had by all.  Stopped by a macadamia nut farm - they didn't last more than 10 minutes in the car...YUM...a quick stop at the Pali lookout which has incredible views - quite windy up there.  History says that it was used as a guilty or not guilty spot - they would throw the accused off the mountain and if the wind pushed them back to land, not guilty.  If the wind didn't cooperate, guilty and dead!!!  we did not test that theory!!!  Back to our hotels/ship for a quick shower and change, meet up for cocktails - of course, and to dinner at Roy's to celebrate Leila's birthday.  They also were kind enough to bring stuff we forgot - hard to believe, right?  With all the planning I did, but yes, we still needed more stuff...Seeing them was so great - makes me miss all of my buds more, but on to French Polynesia tomorrow.  From this port on, we are going to all new places, so very excited for that.  Moorea, here we come.

On our second day in Oahu, we met Mickey's cousin Brian (who lives here) for breakfast and had a very nice visit.  I believe we determined that it had been at least 15 years since they last saw each other.  Brian was kind enough to drive us around to complete our last few US errands, filled a prescription, got more snacks, and shipped off the first of many packages to the grandkids.  He also took Mickey to get his mana pua, which Mic has been craving since we hit the Hawaiin islands.  We unfortunately ran out of time, or we would have given Matsumoto's shave ice a shot!  Aloha to the islands and the US for quite some time.  On to our new ports of call, first up, Moorea French Polynesia.