Todd and Cindy's Travel Blog

Aloha – March 7 – 9/14 Weekend

Friday afternoon was a shopping day. We went back to Walmart for made-in-Hawaii shirts for both of us, then off to Don Quijote’s to restock groceries. On the walk back Todd remarked that I should slow down to “island speed”, but with the heavy backpack, I just wanted to get back. – Good thing…. The sky over the water was black and you could see it was raining. We just got into the room, when the floodgates opened…. Even in the rain, this place is beautiful – still able to sit out on the balcony and enjoy the warmth, waiting for the rain to pass….

This weekend is the annual Honolulu Festival. Its purpose is to promote understanding, economic cooperation and ethnic harmony between the people of Hawaii and the Pacific Rim region.

The festival includes dance performances, traditional art demonstrations, and crafts from Japan, Australia, Tahiti, Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Hawaii and the rest of the United States.

The festival culminates with a 4 hour parade down the main street in Waikiki followed by fireworks.

For lunch on Saturday, in between watching festival performances, we ate at a Grill in the Ala Moana Center.

Todd finally got to try Ahi Poke – a famous Hawaiian dish made of raw tuna (I had pork sliders….).

Saturday’s dinner was at the well-known Marukame Udon. There is always line-ups to get into the cafeteria-style Japanese diner. We waited over 40 minutes in line.

I had the beef udon and Todd had the curry udon. We also had some various tempuras. Todd quite enjoyed the flavour of the udon; I thought it was okay, nothing special (although tempura was quite good….).

Monday, March 10/14

Most mornings, after coffee, we head over to Ala Moana Park and walk about. The green oasis stretches out into the ocean and is peppered with trees. It isn’t unusual to see people fishing or doing Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, or other exercises.

The park is also a “hot spot” for wedding photos. Throughout the day, numerous couples are in the park getting their wedding photos taken.

For dinner we went to The Chart House. We were a little leery on going there because of some of the reviews on Trip Advisor, but we were so glad we did.

click picture to view full size panorama

We each ordered from the Sunset Menu ($30.50 each included soup or salad, a choice of entrée and dessert). We started with a Caesar salad (one of the best we have had in a restaurant). The entrée consisted of asparagus (cooked perfectly a la dente), a 9 oz. striploin, and a generous portion of garlic mashed potatoes (with chunks of roasted garlic throughout). So good….so filling. We brought the Crème Brule desserts back to the condo for breakfast…

Tuesday, March 11/14

DIAMOND HEAD – we caught the bus outside the hotel/condo building just after 9AM (…after coffee and last night’s Crème Brule….).

After an uphill walk from the roadway to the entrance, the trail is about 1.3 km of switchbacks consisting of uneven rock and mud terrain with and elevation gain of 560 feet.

The first tunnel is preceded by 74 concrete steps and followed by 99 steep steps. Then 52 metal spiraled steps took us to the summit.

The views are amazing!

click picture to view full size panorama

BTW – the elusive “Boys” (Hawaii Five-0 cast) were filming at Diamond Head today! Off in the distance we could see the set, but (alas) no way to get near it…

After seeing this sign and thinking…..Oh my god “The Boys” must be close by  !

Doesn’t Cindy look exhausted after frantically looking around the park for Steve McGarrett or Danny Williams…

Like climbing Diamond head wasn’t enough exercise !

 

 

Aloha Tuesday, March 4/14

Just after 3AM – We awoke to voices of a woman and man talking to each other saying that they were in the room and we didn’t even know it. We both bolted upright! Holy crap….turns out Todd didn’t log out of the radio station on the computer when we went to bed, just closed the lid, so when the computer “woke up”, the radio began to play…..

For the morning we wandered over to the Hilton Village while our condo was being cleaned. We checked out some of the numerous stores and wildlife on the property. (We think the one Penguin was feeling a little left out of the fun….).

While taking pics of the parrots, my celebrity status was once again resurrected – a Japanese woman asked Todd to take a picture of her and the parrot, then a picture of her with me…..

Dinner was at Moose McGillycuddy’s… It was Tacolicious Tuesday. I tried the chicken and kalua pig tacos (at $2.95 each). Pork was delicious….

Todd had shrimp, sirloin, and calamari tacos (at $3.95 each). He was partial to the calamari. Did I mention the great deal on draft beer? – $3 each – great price!

Wednesday, March 5/14

Each time we have passed the Santouka Ramen Restaurant in the plaza by Don Quijote’s supermarket, it has been lined up out the door. Today, we decided to venture there closer to 2PM once the noon rush had subsided. Great idea – no crowd and yummy food.

The menu is limited to mostly various ramen dishes. I ordered the Miso Ramen and thoroughly enjoyed the flavours.

Todd ordered the Saimini Ramen, a spicier bowl (Yep, for those paying attention – includes Spam, the Hawaiian favourite….). Both bowls contained all fresh ingredients including delicious freshly made ramen noodles.

Then…. Chief’s Luau = FUN! Chief’s Luau has only been around for one year, but in that time, it has been featured on Amazing Race and its popularity continues to grow.

It is held at Sea Life Park on the edge of the ocean looking out to Rabbit Island.

Upon entry we toured the shark tank and turtle pond.

Prior to the show beginning, guests could practice spear throwing, weaving, fire-making, or the hula.

The show opened with the unveiling of the pig, cooked umu style – pig placed on hot rocks and covered with leaves for cooking.

The Pig cooked for supper !

Dinner included purple sweet potato (interesting colour), poi (bland, but that’s normal), taro flour bun (good purple carbo), mixed veggies (including zucchini, onions, and carrots), white fish (okay, I did try it…didn’t finish it), chicken on a skewer (ate that), and of course, the pork (had seconds…so good).

We were introduced to various cultures/dances from Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand, and Hawaii.

Throughout the show audience participation was encouraged.

The culmination included numerous performances using fire-sticks.

Lots of Dances were performed !

The show was fantastic! Decent food, humour, audience interaction, and showmanship made for a great luau….

Another Great Day !

 

 

 

 

Aloha – Saturday, March1/14

Today the Ilikai is 50 years old – the hotel/condo building where we are staying (actually it was February 29, 1964). Unfortunately (and rather oddly), no celebration ceremonies have been planned. That said, the complex has a pretty impressive history. It began much as it still is today with 1) owner-occupants, 2) owners who rented out their units, 3) owners who put their units into the hotel room market and 4) a hotel operator running half the building. The visionary was Chinn Ho (recognize that name? from Hawaii Five-O). The original series opening scene was filmed here with Jack Lord on the penthouse lanai. Because of the support for the television series from local hotel owners Chinn Ho (from the Ilikai) and Roger Kelly (from the Outrigger hotel), one of the characters in the show was named Chinn Ho Kelly.

In 1964, the Ilikai was described as “a monster of concrete and glass” by Paradise of the Pacific magazine.  Over the years, numerous famous people called the Ilikai home – the astronauts of Apollo 13 were reunited with their families, Elvis strolled into the bar area one night and shows by Jack Benny, Jim Nabors, Engelbert Humperdinck, Tom Jones, as well as local talents drew several hundred people.

For the past 50 years, Richard Bell, has continued to light the torches and blow the conch signalling sunset. He began the gig at age 26 when relatives were in the entertainment business at the Ilikai and hasn’t looked back.

Sunday, March 2/14

Second day of rainy weather in paradise, but that’s okay – still warm….sitting on the balcony (lanai) people-watching….

We went for a walk once the rain let up mid-afternoon into Waikiki. We wandered down the main strip then a side street before heading back. Came across the “pigeon house” – they sure looked content….

Monday, March 3/14

We went for a morning walk to Ala Moana Park and struck up a conversation with an older man outside the yacht club. He has a lot of family in various parts of Canada and was eager to share stories. We were invited into the club, showed around and given a 2 week pass.

Later in the morning, we took the bus to the courthouse area in Honolulu.  In front of the courthouse (Ali’iolani Hale) stands the statue of King Kamehameha (seen on Hawaii Five-0; but alas still no “Boys” sighting). The 5.5 m statue celebrates Hawaii’s favourite and most famous king.

After clearing security, we toured the courthouse. …Very interesting – explained the judicial system on the islands pre and post Western influence.

Especially interesting was the section on Martial Law in Hawaii from 1941 – 1944 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Across the street is the Iolani Palace. It was the official residence of Hawaii’s monarchy and has been restored to the time when King KalaKaua (he built it in 1882) and his sister, Queen Liliukalani resided.

So much history! King Kalakaua successfully negotiated a reciprocity treaty which allowed Hawaiian sugar into the United States duty-free and products made in the United States into the Kingdom duty-free. He toured the world and hosted world leaders at the residence.

In his later years, on the advice of his physician, King Kalakaua traveled to the United States for a change of climate to recuperate his health. He died at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco on January 20, 1891. His remains were brought back to Hawaii.

Kalakaua was succeeded by his sister, Liliuokalani, who was proclaimed queen on January 29, 1891.

She attempted to bring in a new constitution to solidify Hawaii’s sovereignty, but it was opposed to by forces of the Committee of Safety, which was made up of Hawaii born citizens of American parents, naturalized citizens and foreign nationals. This group, with the support of the American Minister to Hawaii, orchestrated the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and the establishment of a provisional government.

In 1895, an abortive attempt by Hawaiian royalists to restore Queen Liliuokalani to power resulted in the queen’s arrest. She was forced to sign a document of abdication that relinquished all her future claims to the throne. Following this, she endured a humiliating public trial before a military tribunal in her former throne room.

She was sentenced to imprisonment in an upstairs bedroom at the Iolani Palace.

During her imprisonment, the queen was denied any visitors other than one lady companion. She began each day with her daily devotions followed by reading, quilting, crochet-work, or music composition.

In 1993, 100 years after the overthrow, President Clinton signed a Congressional resolution in which the United States government formally apologized to the Native Hawaiian people.

Great day!