We got this lei at the Kodak Hula show where I was 'encouraged' to get up and join the Hula Girls as they shook their stuff. And boy did they shake their stuff, no way could I keep up or in time with them...
And here is a pic from the Hula show. The show is on three times a week and is a bit of an institution in Waikiki, having run for several decades.
Hanauma bay
The bay has been made into a nature reserve since the last time I was down here and it now costs $3 to enter, with money going to research and the up keep of the bay (its closes one day a week to give the fish a rest!). There is quite a good display of the creatures that can be seen in the bay that is worth a look at.
Unfortunately Pam and I did not pick a great time to go down. The tide was low which made it quite difficult to get out to some of the deeper reef areas which would have been clearer. Despite that we still saw a small moray eel and some large parrot fish, among others.
Visiting Hawaii would not be the same without a trek up to the diamond head crater. It only takes about 1/2 hour to wonder up, with the most difficult bit being the steep 100 or so stairs, to get a superb view of Waikiki.
Because of the view from the crater the military made it into an observation post, providing artillery information for the various batteries around the shore. Gun emplacements were installed on the crater but no shots were ever fired at the Japanese during the war.
Now you cant really see them too well, but Pam is eating the latest in ice-cream. The shop was called Dotty Dots (I think) and you pick and mix your flavours as usual but instead of scoops they are small bead like things. Now for some reason I really did not expect them to be cold, but of course they were and they just sort of melt in your mouth how normal ice cream does. Very weird.
I dont think they will catch on though, more of a passing thing, as you cant lick them and you cant really put them in a cone.
A dragon!
There was a parade on one day to celebrate some Buddhist thing (Bonn Dance I think). There were quite a few displays (this one was pretty good) and apparently there was an impressive ending to the days events when a lantern dance was held in the evening at Kapiolani park.
There was a whole row of them lining the curb at the end of the Parade. Not all of them were Harleys, there were quite a number of newer, more sporty type bikes - guess they got to keep up with the times. The policemen must all be pretty much fanatical about bikes and some of them must be real proud riding and looking after the Harleys.
A quick stop at Sandy Beach one day. Very popular with boogie boarders this beach, with some really thumping waves for them to play in - saw a couple of people loose their fins in the surf.
At one end of the beach, just beyond some rocks, you could see water being blown out of a blow hole if the waves are timed right. This was a popular attraction as I saw numerous tour vans pull alongside to have a look.
Phil likes a bit of a smoothie and we had a great one at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Centre. It had Apple Juice, Banana, Kiwi fruit and various additions (Spirulina and some roughage type one for starters) and tasted GREAT!
So getting back to the flat I dug out a very old looking blender we had spotted and it worked. So, put in two scoops of vanilla ice-cream, 1/2 a kiwi, a small piece of Banana and pour over a few sploshes of Apple juice. Wizz it up and WOW! OK it did not have the other healthy additives, but you can always add them if you know what they are for...
A strawberry one also worked very well. Again a couple of scoops of ice-cream, about 4 strawberries and again the splosh of apple juice (this is needed to thin it a little).
A wickedly kinky palm tree...
...and a sunset, sort of.
There is at least a years waiting list if you want to store your board on the waterfront. Very handy if you can get a space though, saves all that lugging around of your long board.
For short-boarders you can get brackets that fit on to your bicycle to carry it, or just hold it under one arm and steer you moped with the other! Of course you can always use a skateboard, I saw one person leaving from a competition with a board under each arm while skateboarding along!
