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| Breakfast! |
We tried the poolside restaurant for breakfast this morning as they had a $7 breakfast special – bacon, eggs and pancakes all on one plate. Only in America 🙂
After that we took off for another scenic drive around the southern part of the island. First stop was Hanauma bay which is a very popular snorkeling destination in a very pretty secluded bay. We stopped in to take a few photos but didn’t stop for a swim, although it did look very inviting.
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| Hanauma bay |
As you pass around the southern tip of the island the landscape become bare and empty for a short time – we have noticed that no matter how far you get from Honolulu you never seem to be far from civilization in the form of some small community or shopping centre. Oahu is just so much more built up than the other islands, and the traffic is relentless. Even on the “isolated” roads there is a constant stream of traffic.
We stopped to see the Haloma Blowhole but the winds/swells weren’t cooperating and the blowhole was quiet today. right next to the blowhole is the narrow beach made famous in the movie “From Here to Eternity” .
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| The blowhole wasn’t blowing today. |
Not far from the blowhole you find yourself back on the windward side of the island. On a glorious sunny day like today the wind was in abeyance and the ocean was a rich lovely turquoise with gentle surf. My Gypsy app took us down to a couple of lovely swimming beaches but today being a Sunday, and a lovely day, the parking lots were chock full so we admired the beaches from the road.
The drive then took us back up over the mountain to Honolulu again where we drove up to visit the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in the Punchbowl crater. Like all the military cemeteries we have visited this one was immaculate with beautifully kept grounds and an atmosphere of peace and tranquility – so odd really when you think of the carnage that lead to the creation of the place. It seemed particularly relevant to visit today, on December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day. The graves are watched over by a huge statue of “Columbia”, who represents all the grieving mothers. Behind the main memorial is a wonderful gallery with mosaic maps and explanatory plaques describing the main battles that the USA were involved in during the Pacific conflict.
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| At the Punchbowl |
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| with “The Duke” |
We were back at the hotel by lunchtime and went for a walk up the beach to see the statue of Duke Kahanamoku who presides over the beach. Hia arms were full of fresh leis as he reaches them out in greeting to the visitors to Waikiki. We stopped in at one of the (multitude!) of ABC stores to buy a light lunch which we tucked into on the veranda of our room – we figured the view there was just as good as anywhere else on the beach 🙂
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| Forgot to clean the lens! |
After lunch I dragged Neil down to the beach for a swim. he’s not really into beaches but I told him you can’t come to Waikiki and NOT swim at the beach. I think he quite enjoyed it after all, and we had a bit of fun with the GoPro as well. As we relaxed for a while after our swim we were almost blown out of our chairs by a sudden huge explosion. The Pearl Harbour Day ceremonies had started at nearby Fort De Russy with a massive 21 gun salute. It sent all the pigeons in Waikiki into a spin – they fluttered up into the sky in a chaotic panic.
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| WWII Vet |
We tidied up and strolled down to see the end of the ceremony, where some WWII veterans were being honoured for their service. The we decided to head up to find ourselves a spot on the Parade route as people were already settling in and claiming their place on the sidewalk. It was a longish wait but well worth it once the marching bands got going. Americans really know how to DO a parade. There were several elderly veterans who were driven with honour past the crowd in a variety of convertibles and muscle cars, there were a succession of (excellent) high school marching bands complete with their attendant drum majorettes, and a few minor attractions suh as Miss Hawaii and a team of scary looking guys on Harleys! The United States Marine Corps Forces Pacific Band were the lead band and as they played the “Halls of Montezuma” ( the Marines Hymn) you could see the Americans all around us swelling with patriotic pride. It was pure coincidence that lead us to be here on Pearl Harbor day, but I’m so glad we were! There’s a short clip of the parade below but if you’re receiving this by email you’ll need to click on this link. http://youtu.be/xt1tScIVPyE
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| Everyone loves a Parade! |
After the parade we whipped back to change and went looking for dinner. We tried a couple of nearby restaurants but Roy’s grill was playing host to a large party of veterans and their families so we figured they’d be too busy, and another steakhouse told us there’d be an hour wait! So we headed back to our hotel to try the Shorebird restaurant – the theme there is beachside BBQ, you select your meat and cook it yourself on their huge grill, then tuck into as much as you want from the salad bar to go with it. We had a lovely meal but when the wind suddenly changed direction we were almost suffocated by the smoke from the grill.
Tomorrow is our last day ( sigh!) but we’re looking forward to visiting Pearl Harbor’s memorials and museums.