Posts from — February 2015

Today we decided to walk around Diamond Head, this time in a clockwise direction.

So, the following is a self guided tour complete with a few pictures…… enjoy.

From our Hotel, the Pacific Monarch you head east down Kuhio Ave.

At the end of Kuhio Ave. you come to Kapahulu Rd. you cross the road and turn left and head north.

You are now going around the outside of the Honolulu Zoo. At the next intersection turn right and follow the pathway till you come to Monsarrat Ave.

At Monsarrat Ave. turn left and cross the street. You’ll be right at Queen Kapiolani Gardens.

Follow Monsarrat up the hill towards Kapiolani Community College. You will now be walking through a residential area complete with shops and stores, gardens, etc.

Part way up you will pass by a couple of stone structures that were formally military gates built during the Second World War to protect the area as Diamond Head was a military installation.

Once you reach the crest of the hill you will be at Kapiolani Community College…… it’ s a great stop for bathroom break.

After you leave the College the road turns into Diamond Head Dr. and you walk past the entrance to Diamond Head State Park. This is where you enter Diamond Head to walk across the crater floor and climb the stairs and walkways to the top.

You are now about 1/2 way around and you start heading downhill around the back side of Diamond Head.

A little further along Diamond Head Dr. meets up with Kahala Dr. and you turn right to start heading back towards Waikiki.

About this point the road heads uphill a bit more before levelling out and you come to the first of two lookouts.

The second lookout has a Memorial to Amelia Earhart. It commemorates her 1935 flight where she was the first person to fly from Hawaii to the USA mainland.

These two lookouts are a great spot to watch the real surfers catch some waves…….. there are always quite a few in the water. They must really like to surf in this area because it is a heck of a walk down a very steep hill to get to the ocean.

Once past the lookouts you head downhill towards Waikiki. You’ll go by the Lighthouse and some pretty awesome and expensive homes.

At the bottom you can either head back through Kapiolani Park or take the beach walk back to the hotel.

The total distance around the base of Diamond Head is a walk of about  9.5 km’s.

The days are flying by and we are really busy doing a lot of nothing. Well it really isn’t nothing, but it is sure keeping us busy with everything there is to do.

Thursday afternoon we headed to the farmers market that is held at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki.

Plus sunset this evening was spectacularly different:)

However, today we are stalled a bit. There are really high winds and so it is keeping us close to the condo. Rains are starting but it will all blow over and we’ll be back on track later today. Having said that the temperature is still a very nice 25C, so we can’t complain at that.

Last night we went over to the Hyatt Regency Pool Bar. There was a local ukulele player performing. Her name is Taimane and she was very good. She played one somewhat traditional ukulele song and her mother did a Samoan Dance; which was special since it was Taimane’s birthday. The rest of her songs were ones written by her or adaptations on other cover songs. Her style is quite edgy and harsh and personally not the style I like. But there is no argument that she can really play the ukulele and her strumming hand moves as fast as I have ever seen anyone play and her finger picking is clear, crisp and accurate…… no mistakes.

We were joined at our table by a very interesting couple who lived nearby. He was a semi retired Cardiologist and she worked as the office manager. They have travelled the world and he presented papers worldwide on the subject of heart health, cholesterol, etc. plus he had some very strong opinions and facts around immunizations, vaccines, lifestyles, life choices, etc. he said he had a poor bedside manner but that was just the facade he wanted to project. We could tell that he would be a very straight-shooter and not beat around the bush with regards to your health and what you needed to do to improve it.

Well we made it to Hawaii!

The weather has been great and we are really enjoying our time here.

The days have been pretty lazy, but that’s just how we like it. We walk everywhere and have been averaging 10 to 12 kilometres a day.

Mornings start with a long walk and then coffee on the beach…… so perfect that it’s hard to describe. After breakfast it’s off to the beach for a swim and some sun. This is followed with swim and some sun in the afternoon.

The first week I went to 4 different ukulele lessons; that was to figure out which ones I would go back to or continue with. So far it looks like I will attend the Tuesday and Thursday lessons with Wainani Yim at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Centre. She is a great teacher and makes the lessons and learning a lot of fun for players of all ages and talents.

Late in the afternoon we head back for Happy Hour at a local watering hole or our condo and watch the sunset. We have a great view from the 22 floor. 

Last Saturday we hiked up to Kapiolani College where they have a weekly farmers market. A great selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, cooked food, flowers, etc. It was a fun way to spend the morning.

These are Avocados……… Brenda was being a brat with the photo to try and make it look like I had “Boobs”:)

Next update???? Who knows, but check back.