O'ahu - Part 4

After spending the morning at Pearl Harbor, both K and I decided we were ready to be on the move.  She had borrowed a library book (a real live book!) before we left, which provided the directions for self-guided walking tours.  Since we'd done a bit of the Waikiki tour we chose to hop the local bus (The Bus) and head downtown.

We got dropped across from the State Capitol and immediately took the wrong turn!  However it turned out to be an opportune mistake.  As you all likely realize by now, I love the absurd.  As we wandered down the street we came across this.  Can you tell what it is?

Here is a larger photo, which makes it a little more clear.  Yes it is a plug-in on a tree.  Why it is there is a mystery.  The tree was nowhere near a building, rather the tree was between the sidewalk and the street.

If it had been in Canada I would have guessed it was to ensure the electric cords we use to plug-in our car block heaters in the winter, wouldn't cross the sidewalk.

But what it was doing in Honolulu escapes me.  Anyone else have an idea?

We continued our walk to get back in the general vicinity of the starting point of the tour, when we walked past this place.

K recognized it right away, it took me a minute or two more.  For those who don't know, it's the storefront for the bond bailsman, Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife, Beth.

There was a sign on the door informing us Dog and Beth were away filming so we didn't stop in.



Our first official stop on our out-of-order walking tour was St. Andrew's church.  The grounds and the church were beautiful!

Built in 1862, the Cathedral Church of St. Andrews was gifted to the community by King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma.

 We were able to walk into the church even though there was a wedding underway in the chapel.

In fact, as we exited the church there were two limousines, one with a bride and groom entering it, the second with the bride waiting.  It was a busy day for weddings!  Or at least we thought so at the time.

From the church we wandered down the street past Washington Place.  The gates were closed so this picture was taken through the bars.








Our next stop was the Iolani Palace.  Much to my daughter's chagrin we did not go on the interior but satisfied ourselves with a walk about the grounds.

We stopped at the rest area on the grounds, took a break in the shade, before wandering through the gift shop.

The memorial for the men and women who served in the US Armed Forces was not part of the official tour.  We came across it and stopped briefly to contemplate the eternal flame.

We eventually made our way back to the State Capitol building where we had started.

Did you know the columns are meant to represent trunks of the palm trees?

In front of the building we found the statue of Father Damien.  I believe the sign indicated he was one of the first priests to bring Catholicism to the Islands.





I just thought it was neat that he was a square.








From the Capitol Building we made our way over to the statue of King Kamahemeha.

The place was swarming with tourists, so we waited for most to clear before taking our pictures.  The funny thing was watching the Japanese tourists pose as the King, so I got K to do the same...she is such a good sport!

There was still more to see!

We stopped to listen to the bells at Kawaiahao Church.

Within the grounds of the church we found the tomb of King Lunalilo.  This little area was so peaceful and calm, it was soothing balm after the emotions of the morning.  I could have stayed for much longer.

We went on to visit the Mission Houses but there was no tour, so we simply wandered through the grounds.

Because we were so close by, we did make our way over to Chinatown.  However, it was late in the day, the shops were closing, and my feet were killing me!  We bought some bananas, then hopped The Bus back to Waikiki.

Dinner that evening was at Teddy's Big Burgers in the Waikiki Grand.  More than a fast food joint, the food was cooked fresh, the portions were large (more than I really needed but after that walk I could rationalize), and required the use of a minimum of five napkins.  Definitely a good burger!



Tomorrow: Aloha Stadium swap meet and Big Chief's Luau

O'ahu - Part 3

Yikes, was this an early morning!!!

We'd gotten used to getting out of bed between 7 and 8 a.m., but taking our time relaxing on the balcony, having breakfast, planning, and getting ready for our day.  That morning 5 a.m. came awfully early but we were catching the 6 a.m. tour bus to Pearl Harbor.  While it cost more than going out on our own, it was a better choice than the city bus as we later found out.

We wandered through the museum before we went to the theatre to view the 30 minute video (which includes voice recordings) of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  I learned a couple things.  First, if only the officers who became aware of the incoming aircraft had not assumed the planes were American craft expected to be coming in from California, perhaps the devastation and loss of life would not have been as high.  Second, it seemed at least half of the audience were Asian  and I assume Japanese.  I can't imagine how they felt listening to the descriptions of the actions of the Japanese as described by the narrators.

We were then transferred to the memorial on a small ferry.

The view from inside the memorial was slightly creepy. You can see a good portion of the ship, and these photos show what remains above water.

Beyond the end of the Arizona, you can see the Missouri in the distance.  The ship has be refurbished and now is a museum.  We didn't pay for that part of the package so this was as close as we got to it.

Inside the memorial is the wall of names, listing all the men who lost their lives that day.  Just viewing this wall from afar sent shivers down my spine.  1177 men died on board the Arizona, and nearly 2400 in total were killed and many more wounded in the attack.

The park ranger explained when the rebuilding began, about 250 bodies were removed for burial, but eventually it was decided to leave the remainder on the ship.  This decision was due to the difficulty in identifying the remains.  Accordingly, 927 men were interred on the battleship.

Since the early 2000's, the National Park Service has offered a service to the families of the survivors who have now passed.  They have found a way to dive down to the ship, to drop an urn into the ship, without touching anything.  He told us, in this way, 37 more men have joined their fellow crewman.

Over the side of the ship, we could still see evidence of the oil remaining on-board the battleship.  I've been told, at one time there were oil bubbles rising, but on this day we saw only a sheen on the water.

Leaving the memorial we boarded the ferry back to the park site.  The ride back was quiet, as we were all lost in our own thoughts.

As we traveled back on the bus to Waikiki, K and I decided the morning had been very somber so we planned a walking tour of downtown Honolulu for the afternoon.  I had thought I would post this as well but I think I'll leave it for tomorrow.  Even now I feel touched by what we saw and heard that day.


Tomorrow - Honolulu walking tour

O'ahu - Part 2

We left the hotel on Monday morning about 9:30 a.m. to visit the Diamond Head Crater.
In hindsight, we should have caught the first bus at 6:30 a.m.  The temperature was probably in the mid-80's by the time we arrived, and as we climbed, it seemed the temperature did too!  A bit much for a Saskatchewan girl used to much lower temps.

 My first clue this was not going to be an easy walk in the park was the trek from the highway into the crater.  The scenery was beautiful though and I was determined to keep up with my more fit friend!

At first the path was paved and the slope was gentle...that didn't very long.

Can you imagine there are people who run this trail?

The signs warning of falling rocks did little to dispel my concerns either.

Eventually Soon, I let K go ahead of me K went on ahead without me as it was clear to both of us achieving the summit was beyond my capacity.

The arrow in the next picture marks her progress, to approximately the mid-way point of the trek.

I did eventually make it that far as well, but that was the turn around point for me. While the view was incredible, the heat was too much.  I also knew since there were a series of steps coming up I wasn't prepared to attempt.  K told me later, the first were 79 steps followed by a dark tunnel, and finally another 99 steps to climb to the summit. I'll have to ask her to send me a few pictures of the view from the top.

Returning back to Waikiki, and after lots of water and a refreshing nap, we did the Mai-Tai cruise in the late afternoon.  Now this was an adventure more to my liking.  We boarded the catamaran and sailed out into the ocean.  We were too late in the year to see whales, but being on the water, enjoying the sun and the breezes was absolutely wonderful none the less.

To the right of this picture you can see the Diamond Head Crater.  Gotta say, this is my favorite view of it!

After disembarking the catamaran we walked down the beach to the Shorebird restaurant for the early evening dinner special.  For $14.99 per person we got the "all you can eat" salad bar and a six ounce steak which we grilled ourselves under the watchful eyes of a roving chef.  Not only was the food terrific (the salad bar was phenomenal and I can't complain about the steak), the service staff were excellent, and the atmosphere was fun.  We didn't stay long enough to watch the sunset as our table was near the back of the restaurant, but we were told the tables closest to the beach had an awesome view.

Tomorrow: Pearl Harbor and a walking tour of downtown Honolulu

O'ahu - Part 1

I've been home for over a week and it's been a busy one!  Between work, company, and photography class, and the darned jet lag, I'm just now starting to feel like there is some time to sit down and write about my vacation.

We left Regina at 6:30 a.m. on Friday April 5 and landed in Honolulu at about 7:30 p.m.  After getting our luggage we snagged a shuttle to our hotel.

Our room was on the 5th floor, with a view of the canal, distant hills, and golf course.  While the hotel was a few blocks from the beach it was centrally located, had a kitchen, and the price was definitely right.  The decor was definitely out-dated but everything was clean and generally well-maintained.

That evening we wandered down the street to an ABC for drinks, fruit and yogurt (for the next day's breakfast.  We were told there were about 50 ABC stores in Honolulu...well, there must be 25 of them in Waikiki alone.  For Canadian readers, think 7-11 on steroids, they sold almost everything you could need.

The next day we spent acclimatizing to our location.  We visited the International market (just a block away), grabbed the free trolley to the Hilo-Hattie store (so K could replace a pair of shoes) and back to the Al Moana shopping center for the grocery store.  On the recommendation of the trolley driver we visited Slipper City in the mall.  Both of us picked up new pairs of sandals for under $20!

While we were waiting for the trolley to depart the store, we were chatting with a couple from San Diego.  When I got off the trolley to snap a picture of K....this happened!


After returning the hotel with our purchases, I went to spend some time on the sundeck, while K had a rest.  We wandered back out for a walk before grabbing a quick Bento dinner of salmon, rice and veg for dinner from the Food Pantry.

The following day we did a walking tour of Waikiki.

The beach is quite long, so there parts full of people, and other less so.  One of the busiest spots was at the Duke Kahanamoku Statue.  Just trying to get a photo without people standing in the way was challenging, but I eventually got it!












We walked past the zoo, but didn't venture in.  With this inhabitant, we didn't have too, since he (or she) was quite happy to allow us to take her picture from across the street!



We also visited a small park, the Queen Kapiolani garden, and stopped to enjoy some of the blooms.

There were also some interesting things to see not on the official walking tour.

The sign says "beware of dog".

Apparently, no one told the pigeons!



That evening we went out to dinner at near-by restaurant, which shall remain nameless, unless you're planning to travel to Waikiki.  The service was fine, but the food was less than good.

Tomorrow - Diamond Head Crater and the Mai-tai cruise

Friday Funny

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone. I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there. I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work. I live close so it's a short drive. I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore. I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go and I try not to visit there too often. I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm. Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older. One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenaline flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get! And, sometimes I think I am in Vincible but life shows me I am not. People keep telling me I'm in Denial but I'm positive I've never been there before! I have been in Deepshit many times; the older I get, the easier it is to get there. I actually kind of enjoy it there. So far, I haven't been in Continent, but my travel agent says I'll be going soon.

I'm feeling less tired, and things are slowing down at bit, will try to have my Hawaii adventures posted this weekend.  

AND, best of all spring appears to have finally in my part of the world!  I'm sure that's helped improve my mood as well.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Minor annoyances

Okay, enough already with this jet lag.  I have been back for four days and I still cannot manage to get through the day without hitting a wall about 3 or 4 p.m.  Thank goodness it is the weekend so I can take a nap!

I am also finding with my computer as I cannot get the settings correct so I can use the apostrophe.  I have tried the little keyboard thingy on the right - it does not change the post so there will be no contractions in this post.

Today I managed to mess up my SD card for the camera; I broke off the little piece that slides to protect the card so when I put in the camera I found it was now protected and I could not take pictures.  Of course, it was at the moment I wanted to take a snapshot of Mr. Bunny!  As a result I made a trip to the photography store to get a new one.

I needed to go there anyway, though not necessarily today, to pick up gray cards for my photography class.  We had our first class on Wednesday (7-10, I took a nap after work).  It was advertised as learning to use your camera but I think it is going to be more technical than I expected.

I was a little intimidated when I went into the store as there are masses of cameras, and all sorts of gadgets, etc., and the clerk did little to dispel my fears.  I explained I was taking a beginner class and once we had found the gray cards, I asked about a new SD card, and provided the make and model of my camera.  The clerk began asking me a number of questions about the technical capacity and how I planned to use the camera - much of which I did not understand.  I guess the blank look on my face got through and eventually he found the card I needed and I was able to escape to my car.

When I got home I went to see if Mr. Bunny was where I had left him but he had moved.  I checked out the back of the house and found him waiting for me, good boy!

He seems to be changing color just slightly, especially on his face.  Perhaps spring is coming, after all!

Despite the minor annoyances I experienced today, I am reminded by the events in Boston and West, Texas, that our lives can change in a moment.  I can live with the little things that happen....even if I get cranky and say a few bad words!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Random Friday

I got back from O'ahu on Tuesday, back to work on Wednesday and jet lag has kicked my butt.  More to come but for now here's a picture from the beach. (It could be a beach anywhere, but I assure you it was a quiet stretch of Waikiki!)

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On Monday, we were having dinner at the Honolulu airport when we heard the news of the bombing of the Boston Marathon.  I immediately started panicking as my sister-in-law and Deniece and Denephew were there along with her sister and her son.  P's sister L was running the marathon for the second year in a row and the family was there to cheer her on.  I headed for the payphones and was able to reach my brother.  He assured me they were fine, thank goodness!  L had crossed the finish line 11 minutes prior to the first blast and was a block away receiving her medal when it happened.  P and the children had been delayed in the subway from mile 17 to the finish line so arrived after both bombs had gone off.  

I am certain the families of those killed or injured wish their family members had been so fortunate as mine.  Today, the news is that one suspect has been killed, unfortunately not before another victim lost his life, and the police are out in force searching for the second.  Perhaps this is overly judgmental of me but I hope they do capture the suspect alive so he may answer to his crimes though  I suspect he'll take the cowardly route and take his own life.  I know he is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law BUT the actions of the pair earlier today would suggest they were involved.

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I had hoped when we arrived home that most of the snow would have melted.  HA!  Mother Nature is a b*tch!  Instead we'd gotten more snow and temperatures had fallen to -18C (0F) three days while we were gone.   

To add insult to injury, we got another skiff of snow last night (as seen above) AND the forecast is for another 10 cm (4 inches) this weekend.  Sigh...this is truly the winter of my discontent.

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Finally, I've learned macadamia nuts are addicting.  I'm sure glad I don't live next door to an ABC store!

Friday Funny

By the time this posts, I should be (fingers crossed) on my flight out of Vancouver to Honolulu.  At home the winter storm that is forecast to dump another 10 cms. of snow should be well underway.  Again, I ask myself...why do I live here?

I'll be back in 12 days with pictures and stories to share.  In the meantime here's a joke...or is it?  I might have to try it someday!  (Safeway is a Canadian grocery store...if you don't a Safeway, insert name of local grocer in its place)


Yesterday I was at my local Safeway buying a large bag of Purina Dog Chow for my loyal pet, "Jake", the Wonder Dog and was in the check-out line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.   (What did she think I had an elephant?)

So because I'm retired and have little to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the Purina Diet again. I added that I probably shouldn't, because I ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is, to load your pants pockets with Purina Nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so it works well and I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that practically everyone in line was now enthralled with my story.)

Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me. I told her no, I stopped to pee on a fire hydrant and a car hit me.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack he was laughing so hard.

Safeway won't let me shop there anymore. 

Deja vu all over again

I think spring has finally arrived.

No, I'm sure spring has finally arrived.  So far, my daughter has gotten stuck pulling in and out of the driveway twice.

The neighbour next door got stuck this evening.

Yep, it's definitely spring!

And even though more snow is forecast for this weekend I don't care!







Because I'm "leavin' on a jet plane" tomorrow morning and by the time I get back I expect hope the street will be clear.

Fingers crossed!

I'm taking a break from blogging, unplugging from technology, and simply get away from it all.  Honolulu, here I come!

See you all in 12 days!

This ain't no April fool joke

I beginning to think the only fool around here is me....for living in this part of the world.


You decide.  This is what I see when I walk out my front door in the morning.

It's been melting a little...but just a little.  It's hard to imagine the snow being gone though I hope most of it will have disappeared by the time I get back from my vacation!

With any luck it won't be long until it looks like this again!

And I'll quit complaining about the winter that never ends!

Have a great day everyone!