There is a lovely white-sand beach (or very nearly white) on the NE side of Oahu in the town of Kailua. Kailua is a big town! You can get there quickly (depending on traffic) from the center of Honolulu, driving over the mountain (or crater, or hill, depending on your point of view) OR you can take the scenic route around the edge of the island. We chose scenic. And it was – scenic – but we didn't stop to take pictures. 

Just as we got to the beach park we drove past this concrete wall:

Can you see the squares painted on it, in different colors, as if someone is (or was) trying to pick a color for that wall. I think it looks great just like this. So great, in fact, that I wanted a better picture. We couldn't stop so Steve walked over the bridge to take this picture for me:

As it turned out, this became my theme for the day. All I could see were color combinations, especially the periwinkle-to-truer blues in the sky and the aqua-to-greens in the water…

The colors change as the sun moves, as clouds make shade (or not).

Don't you love to watch waves break? The frothy whites mixed with the suspended sand next to the blues – just lovely.

I took a lot of breaking wave pictures. The next one is nice because of the light reflecting off of the water before it breaks. 

I looked a little at the other people on the beach. These folks were set up next to us and it's not them so much that got my attention as it was the stripes on their chairs, towels, and bags. It made for a fun composition…

Once again, I was thankful for digital photography – and technology. Back in the day I would have taken many fewer photographs and they would not be nearly as good as these are. I get better photos from my iPhone than I ever did with my point and shoot cameras.

We take more photos because they are essentially free. We can discard the many bad ones and keep just the good ones. We can crop and change colors, use filters, and layers – we can do what only professionals could do not that many years ago. 

And rather than looking through a stack of photos days (weeks, or even months) after taking them – we can see them NOW! And we can share them NOW! And I don't have to feel guilty about shoving pictures in a box to deal with later. I can file them (neatly, in labeled folders) on my computer – and still deal with them later :-). But they don't gather dust and I they don't take up shelf space. 

I'm posting early today because I had to work a bit this afternoon. Lorna suggested that it would be nice for me to share some island happiness by putting the books (in print, not eBooks) on sale. So I did. If you are on the mailing list you may already have gotten the email. If not, click here and you can see the sale prices (which are good through next Monday).

Aloha!

We figured out what to do with a day in Waikiki. First, the beach. We rented an umbrella and we bought some beach chairs. Best buy ever!

We watched the ocean and the surfers…

We ate lunch at a cool place – Island Vintage. Healthy and very tasty. Then we shopped. I mostly shopped – but so did Steve. He got some new shoes (1 pair) and while he was looking I found 2 pair :-).

We walked and shopped through the Royal Hawaiian Center and got this lovely shot of the top of the old Royal Hawaiian hotel. If only we had $500 per night to spend to sleep, we'd be here….

We walked farther down the beach and took this shot of Diamond Head and the ocean…

We were there checking out a beach-side bar, the Rum Fire. It's in the Waikiki Sheraton. Very, very nice. So nice that we went back later for sunset drinks with Karen and Hunt. (Before that we went to Chinatown for dinner. FYI – Honolulu Chinatown is not really open on Sundays. We ate at one of the few open restaurants and it was OK and thankfully not too expensive.)

We posed for pictures while we waited for drinks at Rum Fire…

Steve drank Hawaiian draft beer and I had a very expensive mai tai made with 23-year-old rum and a kicker of ginger. As the sun went down, I took this lovely picture:

We left after dark. I had to go shop for waterproof mascara – really, some things are just important. The man who helped us could easily pass for Eddie Murphy's son. I didn't mention that to him. Bet he's heard it before.

As we walked back to the hotel Steve made me back up to see this:

The escalators in the foreground are under construction and roped off. The whole area down there appears to be out of commission. Why, oh why, are the naked manequins (some with foam glasses) clustered like that in a lit window? They appear to be milling about, but not talking. They are too big-city cool to talk to each other in a group. They don't exactly look friendly, but they do look like they would wear nice clothes if they could just find them…

I don't mind that they are naked. They appear to be very confident. 

Tomorrow Karen and Hunt are hanging out in Waikiki and we are taking the car around the east side of the island to the north. I'll take pictures!

We are staying in a hotel we have stayed in many times before – the Aqua Wave. It was not always the 'aqua wave'. That came after it was remodeled. We can't remember its old name, but it's much nicer now.

The veiw from our window/balcony in the daylight is nice:

We can see the ocean off to the right. The short white hotel with the gray roof is the Sheraton Moana Surfrider where we went for cocktails last night. Over the left if you look close between the buildings, you can see the peak of Diamond Head.

We slept in a bit and then went for a walk along the beach…

We went to Starbucks where I resisted buying a mug. We've looked at various sites and books to see what we might want to do today while Karen and Hunt are off to Pearl Harbor and the Missouri and other related historical sites. We've our grass beach mats and it looks like we're going to the beach for the morning. Might ride The Bus later today to see what we can see.

It's funny. On Maui and Kauai it is easy to be in vacation mode. It's harder for me here. We are definitely back in civilization and the pace has picked up. I think we are going to Waimea Bay tomorrow and I'm looking forward to that. It's more un-plugged.

It is hard to leave Kauai, especially when you know that it is a fast jump back into civilization. Our flight was on time, and short. Hunt and I took the shuttle to Hertz to get the car and that's when the trouble began. We were first in line, got the paperwork done and then they sent us outside to wait for our name to be called. Turns out that they were out of cars and had way too many people signed up. I half expected a riot as more buses showed up and the wait exceeded an hour.

We weren't the first to think of it but neither were we the last. Other rental car companies had cars and were within walking distance. Hello, Enterprise! It took us about an hour to figure it out and get it done but we did get a car and cancel the other one. And then we went to get Karen and Steve and the bags from baggage claim. Their wait was probably worse because they were just waiting on us to get it done.

The traffic from the airport was not bad for Honolulu. We got to the hotel and the parking lot was sort of full. I parked us once and then Hunt was able to move to a better spot soon. It took a while to check into the Aqua Wave but our rooms are very nice. It's odd not to be sharing a condo with Karen and Hunt. 

We all met in the lobby shortly after checking in to go to our favorite end of day bar – the one around the banyon tree at the Ala Moana Surfrider Hotel. I got my favorite drink (a tropical itch) that has lots of rum and a backscratcher. I should have taken a photo. Didn't. I suppose I'll need to go back and get another!

There was live music and then there was an Asian drum show – with dancing! The drummers were all ages and I have to say the the little kids were so very cute. Everyone was talented:

As I stood and watched, others also moved in to watch and take photos. And videos. Many were in beach garb. Remember the photo of the man who might have been a plumber at the beach? Well, he is not alone.

In many beach bars there are signs that say cover-ups are required. I will never again question those signs.

In other news Waikiki itself looks better than I've ever seen it. Fresher, newer. Even the International Marketplace is cleaner. After we all calmed down from the rental car experience, we walked Karen and Hunt to the beach for a first look:

We walked to Keoni's for a thai dinner. it was very good! Then we headed back toward the hotel. When you ar here for the first time, it can be overwhelming. 

Steve and I are back in our hotel for the night. Here's our night view:

There is live music (loud) way down there. We sleep with earplugs for which I am grateful. 

Tomorrow Hunt and Karen are headed to the Arizona Memorial and more. They will have a great time. We've been there more than once and so we are planning to chill on the beach and in Waikiki. No car, no plans, that sounds really good to us. I'll take pictures. They could be boring :-).

Karen came with 3 knee braces and she loaned me one. Yay! I went on the hike. Two miles in, two out to a stream. 

This is a strenuous hike. A little easier than yesterday, and only half as long but still – it got our attention.

It was sunny, and rainy. Dry, and muddy. Rocky, and slippery. Up hill half the time and downhill the rest. Hunt made a short video…

I found uphill to be much easier than downhill. Certainly it was easier on my knees. And I felt much safer going up because the footing was better.

There are all kinds of warning signs as you approach the stream. The funny thing was that I never saw them on the way down. I was too busy looking at where to put my feet. Truly, one misstep and you could fall to your death. I don't think that happens often but I didn't want to set an example.

This next sign has the count of visitors who have died (82) swimming in the ocean at the end of the stream. 

The stream bed if full of boulders and rocks. We didn't cross the stream but instead followed this path of boulders along side down to the beach.

It was a nice place to rest and have a snack. The ocean was calmer today than I have ever seen it but none of us were willing to risk death by swimming.

And then Hunt got hot and decided to risk it…

Not really. We didn't even wade into that pool of fresh water between us and the ocean.

The views of the coast were spectacular and worth the effort it took to see them. We finished the hike around noon and ate lunch at Ke'e beach. We swam, then headed back to town. We got to see the Aldrine Guerrero and Arron Nakamura (the Ukulele Underground) again. They were great! If you ever get a chance to see them play, do it!

We went on a hike that Steve and I have done several times. We knew in advance that it is slick, muddy, up and down, and in some places down-right crazy. Like this:

Trust me when I tell you that it is worse than it looks. The trail gets your attention going up and I think it is worse going down. Here, the trail up is to the far right…

We were lucky on to see lovely scenery on the way in. This is one reason why this is such a cool hike.

There is boardwalk…

And many, many stairs…

And there was a stream to cross…

And there was an alpine swamp. This is the wettest spot in the world and I should not have been surprised when blue sky turned into a cloud. A rainy, windy drippy cloud that we walked through. I didn't mention it, but it's chilly up here.

The overlook at the end of the trail is spectacular when you can see it. We only saw mist. Too bad, so sad. We walked back. 

Karen and Hunt are theatrical (and musical). Karen decided that she wanted to do a short video ala 'Blair Witch' on the way out. I don't know if you will like it, but we laughed until we cried when we got back and saw it…

Today's hike is 4 miles in and 4 miles out. It took us about 6 hours, including stops to take pictures and have lunch. We did not view this as a race – we took our time. Even with all of that, on the way back my knee let me know that it was not happy. I made it and I can walk but I am not going on tomorrow's hike. I've done the Napali Coast hike before, I hate to miss it, but I would hate it worse if the rescue squad had to carry me out. Instead, I will sit on the beach and think happy thoughts.

On the way back to our condo we stopped at Waimea Canyon, the grand canyon of Hawaii. It is lovely but I've seen both canyons and this is not really a 'Grand Canyon'. it is, however, very spectacular for an island canyon.

We have one more day on Kauai, tomorrow. It should be a lovely day…