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www.davidandcarol.com |
Our Magnificent
Journey |
Chapter 3 |
Hawaii - Oahu |
The Long Weekend |
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| Awoke at 5:30 AM with an obligatory check-in phone call to Dan, who is manning the fort 3000 miles away in Tucson. Because of Dan and Chris we are able to be here in Paradise while they watch the Fort… | |||
Quick shower then down to the corner Denny's for breakfast. Then grab the car from the valet and head west on H1 to the Aloha Bowl to meet Michael and Sharon for some shopping at the weekly flea market that rings the stadium. We saw the stadium straight ahead of us - we had it in our sights - we were so close we could have spit on it. But no, we took a right instead of a left and found ourselves on the no-u-turn, can't get off, east-bound H3. We were forced to drive all the way to the windward side of the Island, near Kaneohe, where we finally found a cloverleaf that would allow us to head west. It was quite an unplanned detour, but it was incredibly scenic to drive up and through the tunnels that cut through the Ko'olaus, the gorgeous green chiseled mountains that run south to north along the windard (east) side of Oahu. | |||
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Finally, laughing our butts off, we landed at the stadium and did a 360 degree tour off all things tourist/souvenir. Here you can buy ten t-shirts for $20. We purchased t-shirts, fridge magnets, coffee, macadamia nuts and a delicious shave ice to wet our parched throats. The best shave ice is in Hawaii… In spite of the trade winds the sun is hot and we all ended up in different shades of red indicating various stages of sunburn. | |||
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Shopped-out, we drove back down H1 into Waikiki to the historic Aloha Tower which offered a spectacular (and free) view of the busy harbor and airport. | |||
We found a nearby restaurant called Big Island Steak House where we had a delicious oriental chicken salad with a sweet Thai peanut dressing, crab meat sandwiches and fries as we watched a harbor tug manipulate a huge, fully-laden cargo ship into place through the harbor channel. | |||
We then followed Michael and Sharon to the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which is appropriately named. They have procured an awesome room (a suite, actually) overlooking the Pacific at a kama'aina (local resident) rate plus a discount courtesy of their friend Gordon, who works with Sharon. We met Gordon at the beach with his two beautiful children. His wife is off on a "rude girl's" weekend in Mexico. | |||
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At the Hilton we made reservations for the Atlantis, a submarine, at 11AM Sunday. Then we sat at the Tropics Bar and had drinks until we realized that we really, really needed showers and a change of clothes before dinner. So back to the Aston we go for quick showers and a wardrobe change (different Hawaiian shirt) and then off again to meet the Dyers at Kincaid's Restaurant at the Ward Center off Ala Moana. Every year at this time, for two weeks, the restaurant charters a plane to ferry in fresh salmon from the Pacific Northwest. Carol and I had honey and pepper-encrusted salmon that was out of this world, and Sharon and Michael ordered superb halibut. Sharon and I ordered a scrumptious shrimp bisque as an appetizer and Carol and Michael enjoyed a tasty Caesar salad. We topped off dinner with a chocolate soufflé that mere words cannot describe. Suffice it to say that the dinner, which cost $200 for the four of us, including the wine and the tip, was worth every penny. | |||
| In the courtyard below the restaurant we paused to watch a group of very young and very talented youngsters demonstrate their awesome, incredible yo-yo skills. Some of these kids were better than any yo-yo masters we had ever seen and we were treated to some tricks I had not thought possible. There were yo-yos for sale, and the fellow behind the counter told us that although these yo-yos were "high-end" yo-yos selling for $25, there are some "Cadillac," state-of-the-art yo-yos selling for $200 or more. I was much impressed by the young talent that we saw. | |||
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Exhausted, we bid aloha to Michael and Sharon and drove up Kalakaua to our hotel, crawled up to our room (took the elevator, actually) and fell into bed for some much-needed rest after a full and fun day… | |||
| Previous Day |
copyright 1998 / david
and carol lehrman / all rights reserved |
email david@davidandcarol.com |