Sunday, August 20, 2006

Hawaii: Part Deux, Getting Ewa and Diamondhead


Manoa Falls

So when we last joined our intrepid Hawaiian travelers, Jon and Susan, they had succumbed to the evil jet lag - falling asleep at 5p on Day 1 of a week vacation. The converse of that is that you're wide awake at 3a.

Day 1 took us to Aloha Stadium, once we figured out which bus would take us ewa (or "west" in Hawaiian) to the stadium, site of the NFL's annual Pro Bowl. Three days a week, merchants set up in the parking lot to sell cheap Hawaiian souvenirs (8 T-shirts for $20; 5 refrigerator magnets for $8) at the Aloha Swap Meet. There's also a layer of garage sale stuff, which we stayed away from. After spending money there, we rested before heading on a hike on the northside of Honolulu. In a rainforested valley at the end of a residential neighborhood is the beautiful Manoa Falls.

And we found they call it a rainforest because it rains, regularly. We got soaked. But the hike was fairly easy for us and just amazing in the scenery we found along the way. The falls we an early trip highlight. We hiked with a guy from SC who was in the Naval Academy and in Hawaii for some Navy stuff.


Leaving the Arizona Memorial.

Day 2 started early so we could get in line at Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona Memorial. Huge line. Waited about an hour and 20 minutes to get our ticket; then had another hour to wait before our tour. At least that part could be spent in the museum, where the crowd was elbow to elbow. Then a movie, then the short boat trip to the iconic memorial of the surprise attack that brought the US into World War II. It was powerful to be there in person. To see the oil still leaking up to the water's surface from the ship. Some of the stories about the Arizona were particularly poignant - the ship band that lost a Battle of the Bands just hours before they were all killed when the battleship sunk.

We took the bus back east (or "Diamond Head" as the locals call it for the direction of the so-named crater) and stopped in Chinatown. Susan said it's not near as crowded or interesting as NYC's Chinatown. It was kind of a sleepy afternoon. We stopped at Legend Sea Food for our first experience with dim sum. Fortunately, we were seated next to the only other American in the place...a guy from Idaho and his mother. He was a former island resident and knew all about dim sum and helped us navigate the different dishes (although he was wrong about the chicken feet...those were just not good).

After eating, we walked around the little shops for an hour or so and bought some trinkets before catching the bus back to Waikiki.

Returning to Waikiki, we stopped at a McDonald's for a quick snack, hoping to save some money. Got a 10-chicken nugget meal and shared a large Diet Coke...$12, which is considerably more you'd pay in central Arkansas. But every meal did come with a bowl of fresh pineapple, which is something you don't get in central Arkansas.

NOTE: Earlier I had written about doing Diamond Head after Pearl Harbor. I had my days mixed up. We hiked Diamond Head the next day.

In the next installment, we tackle Diamond Head and travel to the Big Island and Volcanoes National Park.

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