The first and only time that I had ever visited Honolulu was about 40 years ago with my family, on our way to Australia.  We spent a few days at a hotel by the beach and that’s about all I remember.  Now, granted I was young and that was a long time ago, but on my most recent trip, I was impressed by how many things there were to do in the area now.  We chose to go in late April so that it wouldn’t be too hot – and it wasn’t, at all.  I actually had my one jacket/sweatshirt on most afternoons and evenings.  We arrived on Saturday afternoon, after taking an Uber from the airport to our hotel, which only took about half an hour.  We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Waikiki for the duration of our stay on this island.  Our room was basic and small and didn’t include breakfast, but we didn’t plan on spending a lot of time in the room anyway.  We didn’t have a car, so the proximity of the hotel to the beach and shops and restaurants was great for walking. The staff was friendly and helpful when we asked about bus and trolly service and also told us about the “Spam Jam” event that was about to start right after we checked in.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had Spam before, I just had a feeling that I wouldn’t like it – it reminded me of bologna and I wasn’t a fan of that either – but “when in Rome”…

Spam Jam was quite the festival, closing off about 10 blocks to traffic, for a couple of hours, next to the beach.  There were numerous food and beverage stands, in addition to music venues.  We checked out the busiest places that had locals in line, so that was our cue to try something – if the locals ate it, we probably could too.  We had Spam Tacos, Spam sushi, Spam fried rice, and chocolate covered Spam sprinkled on ice cream.  I can’t say that it was “delicious” but everything was much better than I had anticipated, and it was a great start to our 9-day vacation.

The next morning we took a city bus to an outdoor flea market and then walked to Pearl Harbor to visit the USS Arizona Memorial.  The bus ride took about an hour and was only $5.50. The trolly option took the same route and made the same stops for about $20.  We decided to hit the flea market first, which was great luck for us because it started raining as we crossed the street to the Memorial.  Ancient Hawaiians called this area Wai Momi for “Waters of Pearl”, due to the wealth of pearl-producing oysters, years ago.  Upon arriving, we found out that parking and entrance fees are free, tickets are given out for the 20-minute film in the theatre, on a first come basis, as the seating is limited.  Our tickets for the film gave us about 40 minutes to roam around the area beforehand.   After the short documentary film, we then boarded a boat that usually takes you out to the USS Arizona Memorial.  When we were there, however, the Memorial was undergoing a bit of repair, so we could only get close to it, not disembark.  Still, being that close and seeing the other ships in the harbor, gave you a sense of what it was like.  I knew the basics of what happened in 1941, but being there, walking through the exhibit galleries and seeing the documentary was eye-opening.

Our third morning started really early – we left our hotel by 3:30 am to head out of town for a hike. Now, I do like a good hike, but I’m not a morning person and none of us had flashlights and yes, it was pitch black out at 4:15 am when we arrived at our destination – but I’m always up for an adventure. We were told by multiple people that we should hike “pillbox” in Kailua to see the sunrise, so we did. It took us a while to find the entrance and a place to park, then climbing up the steep hill in the dark after it had rained for a few days was a slippery challenge, but so worth it. There are ropes along the side of the trail to pull yourself up if needed and others on the trail with flashlights or headlamps helped to light our way. I was mesmerized as we sat in silence on the ridge near the pillbox (observation stations) and watched the sunrise – just magnificent!! What a wonderful way to start any day.

Our last day in Honolulu was partially spent at the beach and then an afternoon visit to Diamond Head state monument in Kapahulu. When you look up the information online it states that it is “an extinct volcano with a rugged trail leading to panoramic views”. This trail is partial dirt, partial stone, with some rails to hold onto. Just before the summit, you walk through a short tunnel and then ascend some steep stairs to the amazing views. It rained off and on for us during this trip up and back, so the stones were slippery in spots, but unlike the pillbox hike, we were doing this in the light of day, so it didn’t seem that rugged. Yes, the panoramic views were stunning, even with some rain and fog.

Usually, my posts include a lot of food and beverages, and we did enjoy a lot of both, but my focus this time was really on the beauty of the area. I couldn’t get enough of the fresh fruits and unique ice creams, like the coconut yam ice cream that was so creamy and delicious and purple 🙂

Four days might not have been enough for this island, but I feel that we got a good start and packed in some great attractions and on the 5th morning, we headed back to the airport to take a short 30-minute flight to Maui…