Saturday, Jan 5 - I was picked up about 6:30AM by
Vancouver Cab. I checked in with Alaska
Airlines at PDX. The flight left at
9:10AM, arriving Honolulu about 1:40PM.
I sat aisle seat which was a big mistake. Too much activity. I watch two films during the flight -
"Mamma Mia, Here we go again" and a depressing "Three Identical
Strangers". After retrieving my
suitcase, I caught the Shuttle to the Waikiki Resort Hotel, 2460 Koa
Avenue. The hotel is well located in the
heart of Waikiki, half block away from Kuhio Beach section. I checked into my room on the 16th floor at
the end of the hall. I had a view from
the balcony of the hills. I had a Filet-O-Fish and Sr Coke at McDonalds
at 3:00PM. I wandered over to the
International Marketplace where I photographed the Don Ho Statue, a sculpture
in bronze. I found a geocache. I purchased food at Starbucks for an evening
meal back at my room. I purchased a $39.00
hat at Nordstrom Rack for $15.00. I
bought a 6 pack of bottled water at ABC Store.
I returned to my hotel room about 7:00, ate a light dinner and went to
bed.
Sunday, Jan 6 - Following a very early breakfast I
took Lyft to my Event at the Honolulu Coffee
Experience located at the corner of Kalakaua Ave and Kapiolani Blvd. It was a great location to hold an Event. There was even a cache in the Coffee
Shop. About 14 cachers attended. Lee Chung (Cache_Lee) gave me a Turtle Marine
Figurine. Afterwards I had a great time
geocaching with Katie (K8Ydd) and Kristie (NativeAirman) part of the day and then Kristie until
sunset. I found 12 caches, and a
benchmark (TU0289 TIDAL 14) on top of
balustrade of Iolani Palace. I had a light dinner and went to bed.
Monday, Jan 7 - After breakfast at the hotel I rode
TheBus on a 1-Day Pass to the park next to the United States Postal Service on
Saratoga Road where I did an Earthcache.
I rode TheBus to the Ala Moana shopping center. I found a cache in the parking
structure. I had lunch at the terrace at
Nordstrom at noon. I had a cuppa Earl
Grey tea at Starbucks at the Ala Moana Hotel.
I wandered over to the Halekulane Hotel where I had a lovely Classic
Afternoon Tea on the Veranda at 3:00PM. I
had Earl Grey tea however I should have tried Silver Needle for something out
of the ordinary. Sweet highlights
included homemade Kula strawberry preserves and clotted cream to pair with
currant scones. Afterwards I went to the
nearby seating area to hear live Hawaiian music. I chatted awhile with Toshino Uraoka from
Japan. I found a cache while walking to
the 1927 Royal Hawaiian. I checked out
the lobby and then found a location to watch the stage show. Afterwards I wandered over to the Moana Hotel
where I wandered through the hotel lobby and then sat for awhile on a rocker on
the front porch. It was getting late so
I walked back to the hotel.
Tuesday, Jan 8 - After breakfast at the hotel I
decided to ride TheBus on a $2.00 1-Day Pass entirely around Oahu. I caught the No. 8 bus on Kuhio Avenue. I got off at the Ala Moana Shopping
Center. I caught TheBus through central
Oahu to the Dole Pineapple Plantation where I found a cache. I had planned to
get an ice cream sundae however it was so expensive and I am not that fond of
pineapple. I continued on via TheBus to
the scenic North Shore where I had lunch at McDonalds. I took TheBus along the coast back to the Ala
Moana Center. During the circle bus ride
I saw a white heron, white butterflies, roosters, black cats, and hen with baby
chicks. I saw several wind
turbines. I saw the Emerald Princess at
the dock at 4:00PM. I had a light dinner
at the Terrace at Nordstrom. I took TheBus back to Waikiki.
Wednesday, Jan 9 - After breakfast at the hotel I
caught TheBus on a 1-Day Pass to downtown Honolulu. I visited the 1879 Iolani Palace at 10:30. The Iolani Palace was the royal residence of
the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaii. I
explored the palace for an hour and half or so.
I learned that the ocean originally came up to the front yard of the
palace. I caught TheBus, stopping at
McDonalds about 12:15PM for lunch. I
found a Virtual (Maui Warrior GC6A60 Placed Date: 06/30/2002). I caught TheBus again to travel to the Bishop
Museum about 2:00. I saw the exhibits
for a couple hours. I caught TheBus back
to Waikiki. I had a light dinner at
Starbucks on Kuhuo Avenue. I wandered
back to the hotel along the beach road.
Thursday, Jan 10 - After breakfast at the hotel, I found a cache.
I was picked up by the PCC shuttle about 10:30AM. The Polynesian Cultural Center is a
Polynesian-themed theme park and living museum located in Laie, on the northern
shore of Oahu, Hawaii. I got the popular Ali'i Luau Package. I visited a
couple villages. The food was great - I had a huge scoop of rainbow sherbet ice
cream on fruit during the show by the lake and the food at the Alii Luau was
simply delicious. I had a front row seat
at the Luau dinner/performance. I had
fairly good seat for the Evening Show: HA: Breath of Life. However, by the end of the evening I did not
want to hear any more Polynesian music or see any more Polynesian dances for a
very long time! I returned to the hotel
via the PCC shuttle about 10:45PM. It
made for a very, very long day.
Friday, Jan 11 - I had an early breakfast at the
hotel and packed to return home. I was
picked up by the shuttle at 9:30 AM and taken to the Honolulu International Airport. I checked my suitcase. I ate a parfait that I purchased at
Starbucks. The flight left at 12:40PM
for Portland. I watched the film
"Ready Player One" directed by Steven
Spielberg. I arrived at PDX about
8:10PM. I got my suitcase. I rode MAX light rail/CTran to downtown
Vancouver, Washington where my daughter Catherine gave me a lift home. I had a great time but it was good to be
home!
