We had a very good night's sleep last night in our strange bed. We were so tired that it probably was a no brainer. Here are a couple shots from our place in the morning:
This one is from our rear window facing the front of the property:
and this one which is our view from the living area in the rear of the condo:
Anyway, we were up fairly early and had the one cup of coffee each that was available from the only coffee pack we had in the room. It wasn't enough, so we got ready to go into the town of Kailua to the local Starbucks for some REAL coffee. The plan was to buy a package of coffee for the room for the rest of the week but we weren't going to spend $24 for less than a pound of coffee. So, we walked around the area of town close to Starbucks and discovered a couple nice stores, but nothing like what we anticipated (we did purchase a small package of coffee to get us through the week in another store). It was obvious that the best shopping for us would be in Waikiki Beach. It was decided that we would make the relatively short - 20 minutes - drive to Waikiki Beach. While walking back to our parked car, we came across this nice family that was out for a walk:
After finding a parking spot in the Honolulu Zoo parking lot at the edge of Waikiki Beach, we walked into town to look at some REAL Hawaiian shops.
OOPS! we got behind these nice folks on their way to the beach to surf:
Hmm....
The plan was to spend the whole afternoon in town, reminiscing about previous visits and taking in all the changes. It was like a different town and state entirely. Nothing was the same - of course, it was at least 23 years since we last walked this street.
Our first shot of the main street:
It didn't take long to reach the main downtown area where all the nice shops and restaurants were located - along with all the big name hotels and condo complexes. Probably, the biggest surprise to us and the biggest change was at the International Market Place. Josie used to walk through this place during her time flying with Braniff Airlines in 1970. She walked from her hotel at the rear of the Marketplace, through the single level to the beach across the road. If it weren't for the sign, you wouldn't know it was still there:
It is now three levels - a virtual mall, filled with shops and restaurants instead of a single level of individual vendor spaces. The trees were aged, of course (50+ years), and these are the current views:
The entire town is like discovering a new city and for us the realization that things will never be the same - here, at least.
It was getting to be time to eat so we chose the Cheesecake Factory on the lobby level of one of the big hotels on the beach. It was a great choice. We had good meals and the waitress surprised us with this nice dessert:
It was a nice ending to a wonderful afternoon walking along Waikiki Beach.
It wouldn't be complete without a photo of one of the few remaining landmarks in town - The Royal Hawaiian Hotel:
It was a much better day for us today and the plan for tomorrow is to take a drive around the island with planned stops at the choice north shore surfing locations and Hickam Field where I hope to get some sort of closure for the time that Pop spent there during the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941.
Until tomorrow.....
No comments:
Post a Comment