Ko Olina and Waikiki
Ko Olina |
Kihikihi (Moorish Idol) |
The restaurant overlooks their man-made bay and beach, along with three man-made islands. It struck us both that there was little “Hawaii” here. In fact, this resort could be anywhere tropical as there is little real Hawaiian interaction. And, it’s about an hour away from Waikiki so you never experience that side of Hawaiian life, either.
Even though it’s not our style Ko Olina is beautiful to say the least. The beach was huge with plenty of lounge chairs for all and there were buoys in the water telling you where it was safe to swim. We swam and I snorkeled for a while. Several honus (sea turtles) had been seen in the bay over the past few days, but they eluded me. I did get to see quite a few fish and sea urchins.
The pool was glorious. There was a big pool for noisy swimming: pool volleyball, pool basketball and lots of floaties with screeching little girls. But the pool we visited was the Quiet Pool. It was huge with two islands of rocks, flowers and palms. And the pool was four feet all around. Just perfect for lounging and floating. Re Lax A Shun!
The ride home was interesting as the bus was full and I had to sit up front with the driver. He, Junior, is a mountain of a man and full of stories. He was raised in a small two room home with 17 other relatives. His grandpa watched the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He killed his first wild boar when he was twelve. He was terrified as the only weapons he had were his dogs and his knife. He has six kids including three sons. Sons #1 and #2 were full of promise and both headed for athletic scholarships, but then they got girlfriends. Son #1 is now in the Army and Son #2 may be headed there. No matter, Junior is still very proud of his children and says they are good people. At the end of the ride we shook hands (his hand engulfed mine) and said our Alohas. It’s always nice to meet good people like Junior.
It was late when we got home so we strolled down Kalakaua watching the street performers and enjoying the breeze. Ended up at Duke’s again….we both wanted our own dinner of mango ribs! It was another beautiful night with tiki torches and swaying palm trees. Hard to get tired of this!
Saturday morning started much the same as every other morning we’ve enjoyed here. Then it was time to walk back to the Hau Tree Lanai for breakfast. Yes, we had our anniversary dinner there on Wednesday, but breakfast is an entirely different experience! Lots of interesting beach activities to watch and great food.
Caching on a giant Kapok Tree |
Coming in to the beach. |
Our hotel is behind Mona |
We had dinner on our balcony….enjoying the view and listening to the music from below. Our hotel has two ABC stores in it, so it’s easy to grab a salad or sushi for your room. Speaking of ABC stores; it’s amazing how many there are on Waikiki. At least one or two per block. All filled with liquor, souvenirs, beach wear and food. You don’t see any Walgreens or CVS here…just ABCs and we love them!
No matter the stores, it’s still Waikiki and beautiful.
Aloha!
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