Where We Be
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| The Duke welcomes you to Waikiki Beach. Duke Kahanamoku was an Olympic medalist swimmer in the 1920s and is known as the father of modern surfing. |
| Oahu, Hawaii -- Waikiki & Diamond Head |
| We stayed at the Prince Edward Hotel -- just a minute's walk from Waikiki Beach |
We disembarked the cruise ship and shared
warm hugs goodbye with my parents as they
headed off for the airport. As for us, we still
had two extra days on Oahu plus ten more days
on Kauai. A short bus ride got us to our hotel
near Waikiki Beach. We dropped off our
luggage and got busy exploring. What was
initially meant to be a short walk turned into a
five-hour trek. Call it a Where We Be special --
we do this to ourselves all the time! Our walk
took us all the way from Waikiki Beach to the
top of Diamond Head and back. We were
footsore but certainly got our exercise for the
day and saw a fair chunk of Honolulu to boot.
The obvious highlight was the view from the
top of Diamond Head. The trail to the summit
climbs 560 feet and takes about 30 minutes.
You don't get the "money shot" of Honolulu
until you reach the top, so it's a dramatic thing
when you turn that final corner and see all of
Honolulu laid out before you. We were glad to
have made the effort once we saw the reward.
In hindsight I suppose it might have been wiser
to take a bus to and from Diamond Head, but
we would have missed a lot of smaller sights
along the way -- including strolling the lovely
trail alongside Waikiki Beach, crossing through
Kapiolani Park, discovering a local surfer spot,
and seeing several impressive mansions as we
circled Diamond Head the long way around.
warm hugs goodbye with my parents as they
headed off for the airport. As for us, we still
had two extra days on Oahu plus ten more days
on Kauai. A short bus ride got us to our hotel
near Waikiki Beach. We dropped off our
luggage and got busy exploring. What was
initially meant to be a short walk turned into a
five-hour trek. Call it a Where We Be special --
we do this to ourselves all the time! Our walk
took us all the way from Waikiki Beach to the
top of Diamond Head and back. We were
footsore but certainly got our exercise for the
day and saw a fair chunk of Honolulu to boot.
The obvious highlight was the view from the
top of Diamond Head. The trail to the summit
climbs 560 feet and takes about 30 minutes.
You don't get the "money shot" of Honolulu
until you reach the top, so it's a dramatic thing
when you turn that final corner and see all of
Honolulu laid out before you. We were glad to
have made the effort once we saw the reward.
In hindsight I suppose it might have been wiser
to take a bus to and from Diamond Head, but
we would have missed a lot of smaller sights
along the way -- including strolling the lovely
trail alongside Waikiki Beach, crossing through
Kapiolani Park, discovering a local surfer spot,
and seeing several impressive mansions as we
circled Diamond Head the long way around.
| We liked the tiki torches along Kuhio Beach. Be sure to get out and walk Waikiki at night. It feels like a mini-Vegas with street performers and young people out having a good time. |
| Here we're looking to the right towards downtown Honolulu |
| This overlook is halfway to the top of Diamond Head and faces away from downtown Honolulu towards a quieter side of the island |
| It felt good to get some exercise after all that eating on the cruise ship |
| Here's the money shot from the top! Downtown Honolulu and Waikiki Beach laid out before you -- a feast for the eyes. |
| Worth every bit of effort to get here -- and you can only get here on foot |
| We made the questionable decision to take the long way back -- circling Diamond Head the rest of the way around and eventually passing by this lighthouse |
| A local heads to his favorite surf spot, surprisingly close to downtown Honolulu |
| We enjoyed walking along this beachside path on the way back to Waikiki Beach |
| All along the way are glorious beaches where you can stop and relax |
| Eventually we reached Kapiolani Beach Park with its numerous palm trees for shade |
| Your surfboard awaits |
| Eventually we headed inland through Kapiolani Park. This huge grassy area features bandstands, the Honolulu Zoo, the Waikiki Aquarium, large shade trees, and lots of egrets pecking in the grass. |
| We probably should have taken a public bus to this point. From here it's a 20-minute walk to the entrance gate and another 30 minutes or so to the top. |
| This is Kuhio Beach, at the heart of the Waikiki Beach scene and close to our hotel. Here we're looking left in the direction of Diamond Head. |
| We liked Waikiki Beach more than we thought we would. It has a good vibe and offers fine views of Diamond Head. |
