A Week in Waikiki
Blog Entry #3
Thursday, 20 July 2017
Honolulu

It's another beautiful day in Waikiki as we prepare for today's activities. Although weather in Hawaii is always changeable and often unpredictable, today looks like good weather for a drive to the North Shore (with the highest waves for surfing) and then to continue on the circular drive that will take us almost all the way around the island, including the beautiful beaches on the Windward Shore, the wild surf and blowholes on the most eastern part of Oahu, and gorgeous Haunama Bay, known for the best snorkeling in all of Hawaii.

We leave Waikiki and metro Honolulu traveling northwestward on the Nimitz Highway and back-country roads rather than the quicker but more congested H1 Interstate.  We reach the end of the road as it meets the Pacific Ocean at the very busy tourist town of Haleiwa, filled with shops, galleries, and restaurants.  The small town is over-crowded with visitors today and there is hardly a place to park.  But our primary reason for heading this way is to have lunch at Jamison's Sandwiches, a casual five-star rated eatery that we have enjoyed on previous visits.  You can imagine our disappointment when we find that Jamison's has been replaced (in a renovated and enlarged building), by the more traditional, and more expensive, Beach House seafood restaurant.  The food is good, but I sorely miss Jamison's, which we learn closed about two years ago.

There is a string of small, uncrowded beaches all along the coast road, each one more inviting than the previous.  The beach directly across the road from our lunch stop is a typical example of the scenery and activities on offer:

Not to imply that we spend all our time and money on eating, but our next stop is Ted's Bakery, another traditional high-point on this side of Oahu.  Although it is already mid-afternoon and the best of the morning's pastries are gone, we are well-fortified with large croissants covered with dense, gooey dark chocolate (like the ones I recently discovered in Barcelona, not the compact tight ones you find at most US bakeries), and chocolate-frosted doughnut pastries.

As we continue our drive eastward, we pass through the centers of ramshackle small towns, with farmlands to our right and beaches (often hidden from the road by colorful trees) to our left.  Although traffic is slow and heavy on the two-lane road as we leave Waimea (another top spot for tourists who wish to see cliff and waterfall diving), it soon thins out and we are tooling along at the speed limit of 35-40 mph. But as almost everywhere on Oahu we soon meet military traffic heading to and from Bellows Air Force Base, situated just before the road turns southward along the rocky and rugged coastline.

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The next blog entry will take us through Friday and Saturday, with visits to the Ala Moana Mall, the Bishop Museum, and Friday night fireworks at the Hilton.  Please come back for those--and I might include another meal or two!

A Week in Waikiki
Blog Entry #2
Tuesday, 18 July 2017
Honolulu

After good nights' sleep in our king-size beds we awaken to bright sunshine and cooling breezes on our first morning in Hawaii.  We enjoy a light breakfast (supplies purchased last night), on our balcony as we plan our activities for the day.  Today will be devoted to R&R from yesterday's long flights, with some time devoted to a few necessary "chores."

While Will spends the morning with his bruised leg elevated (a gardening accident a few days before leaving Tucson took him to the emergency room for treatment), Anita and I walk through the Hilton's series of lobbies to sign for our car at the National Rental Car desk (we will pick up the car at noon).  A short walk then brings us to the Hale Koa Hotel, a beachfront resort for miliary personnel and their families (active-duty and retired).  A small Navy PX is located in the hotel, where we pick up more supplies for the week at very good, tax-free prices (Anita is a retired Navy officer).  The hotel is on prime beachfront property--could probably pay off the national debt if the government decided to sell it.

After dropping off our supplies and picking up Will, the three of us head out for our first driving adventure in our Toyota Corolla, which takes us, of course, to lunch at Zippy's, a local Hawaiian chain serving up a variety of sandwiches and full meals at low prices.  Then Anita leads us to the Joint Base (Pearl Harbor and Hickham Airfield) Navy PX and Commissary, a huge complex of shops and supermarket.  Our main reason for coming, however, is so that Anita can buy discounted tickets to the attractions we want to enjoy while in Hawaii, primarily the Bishop Museum and a sunset catamaran cruise.

Back at the Hilton we confine our shopping at the windows of the Rainbow Bazaar within the hotel grounds.

Wednesday, 19 July 2017
Waikiki

This evening we will be sailing a sunset cruise, so this morning Anita and I take a walk from the Hilton eastward to the Outrigger Reef Hotel (part of a chain), from whose beach the cruise departs.  Since all the beaches in Waikiki are public property, there is easy access from everywhere in the resort area.  In fact, all the hotels are quite welcoming to the public (even non-paying guests), who wish to use the facilities of the hotel, such as bathrooms and changing rooms.  Just as in Las Vegas, the hotels here want visitors to enjoy the shopping, restaurants, and facilities each hotel has to offer.  We return to the Hilton by way of the main shopping street, Kalakaua Avenue, with a couple of stops for shopping and eating.  One thing we learn on this sojourn is that the walk will be too long for Will with his still-painful leg.  But taxis are plentiful and we will use them to cover the five-minute drive when we return for our cruise at 5pm.

The Holokai Catamarn carries 43 passengers and two crew members, and is powered by sails and an inboard engine if the wind is low.  Passengers wade through a few feet of water to climb the stairs onto the catamaran for the 90-minute sunset cruise. Once on board there are seats for everyone and plenty of room to move around.  I do not recommend too much moving, however, since there is an open bar serving exotic tropical drinks (as mamy as you care to imbibe), and the captain enjoys maneuvering his ship for the maximum effects of sea and spray--including a lot of bouncing around.  All in fun.

As we watch the bright lights of Waikiki come on before us and the subtle light of the sun going down behind us, we return to shore. After brushing off the excess sand and water we ask a hotel lobby agent to get us a taxi back to the Hilton.  He surprises us with a huge, double-long party limousine for the short ride.  When we finish gaping in surprise he tells us that the limo is just serving as a regular metered taxi between rental shifts.  We arrive in style back at the Hilton in five minutes for less than $15.00 (including tip) for three people.

Well, enough excitement for this blog.  I will post more from paradise in the nest issue.

Wednesday, 26 July 2017
A Week in Waikiki
Blog Entry #1

The weary travelers--Will, Anita and I--returned late Monday night from our week-long vacation in Hawaii.  Since I didn't have a chance to blog during the week, I will present a day-by-day summary here (or perhaps over the next several days) to regale you with narrative and photos.  Although much has changed and grown in Honolulu (especially) and Waikiki since my first visit in 1990, the basic paradigm of the tropics remains the same:  build the hotels bigger and taller; crowd out other people's views of the ocean; open more and more expensive boutiques and chain stores; open more cheap restaurants serving standardized food at high prices.

Monday, 17 July 2017
Tucson to Honolulu

We pickup Anita at her home in Tangerine Crossing in Marana, just three miles north of our home.  Not only do we have round-trip first-class tickets on American Airlines, but we leave at the civilized hour of 11:50am.  Transferring to a larger plane in Phoenix (PHX), we arrive safely and pampered (full lunch served on cloth with real beverage glasses and dining utensils; we were able to choose our entrees prior to our departure).  The Grand Waikikian Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort on Waikiki Beach is a 30-minute taxi ride away (on the meter, plus tip, comes to about $70. for three people and luggage), compared to the flat rate of $29. for the return to the airport.

At the Grand Waikikian we share a spacious two-bedroom, two-bath unit on the 12th floor, with a balcony that faces eastward and looks out over the hotel grounds, the beach, the ocean, and the huge Marco Polo Condominium that suffered a deadly fire the week prior to our arrival.  

But it's late and we are hungry, so off we go the short distance to the Rainbow Bazaar, within the grounds of the Hilton complex. Here there are restaurants ranging in cuisine from Japanese, to Italian, to seafood, to more . . . ranging in comfort from sloppy self-service to elegant fine dining.  We choose the seafront Bistro for our first tropical dinner.  Of course, there is a wait--there are waits everywhere on this island at this time of year!

                                                            Views from Our Balcony

We stop at one of the ubiquitous ABC Stores, located off the Hilton Hotel Lobby, for breakfast supplies for tomorrow.  Then it's time for a few interior pictures before our lovely quarters are messed up by holiday living.  And then it's off to bed.

Interior Views

Living Room, Dining Area, and Kitchen

Kitchen with Quartz Countertops

Large Master Bedroom with Sliders to Balcony
(Will and I Sleep Here)

Master Bath and Shower

Second Bedroom with Door to En-suite Bathroom
(Anita Sleeps Here(

In the next few blog entries I shall continue with our adventures on land sea.

As promised in my previous blog entry, I will now take my readers back to Spain for the final two days of my trip in March-April, and my return home to Tucson.

When I last blogged from Valencia, I was preparing for the return trip to Barcelona and the long flights home to Tucson.  I am happy to report that all went well,  including a welome upgrade to Business Class on the Barcelona-Philadelphia flight on American Airlines, which allowed me to stretch out in a full-size flat bed-seat for a long nap.

Friday, 14 April 2017
Valencia to Barcelona

Back to the present tense of April 2017:  I board the Renfe Talgo Express from Valencia to Barcelona for an on-time 8:30am departure.  For some reason, there is extra-tight security at the train station (Valencia's newer Main Station, not the North Station that I used to reach Cartagena), with airline-style x-raying of luggage and super police presence.

Unfortunately, train service personnel--those workers who help passengers board and detrain, and provide meals, drinks, and reading material--are on strike today, so although my first-class ticket entitles me to free food and beverages I must go without. But at least the train is running during the walkout, and I am able to get back to Barcelona for my flights home tomorrow.

I arrive at Barcelona Sants Station at 11:30am and walk the few steps to the Barcelo Sants Hotel, a newly-built addition that stretches several stories above the station itself.  

The hotel interior is designed in post-modern "space station" decor. All the desks, signage, and bars in the immense lobby are modeled after scenes in 2001:  A Space Odyssey.

My room is quite comfortable, in strictly post-modern, minimal style.  There are no doors separating areas of the room, and the bathroom sink overlooks the bedroom area, separated only by large mirrors and glass.  The walk-in shower is immense and the two in-room paintings (behind glass domes) are dedicated to ecological themes.

After a quick lunch I walk from the hotel into the heart of the city, passing a park dedicated to the sculpture of Joan Miro and the large industrial fairgrounds, designed to look like Venice (built even before Epcot).  

Opposite the fairgrounds, the old bullfighting arena has been converted to a post-modern industrialist shopping mall (most of Spain's cities no longer allow bull-fighting).  

An elevator to the rooftop whisks visitors to an open-air circular walkway and a selection of popular restaurants. There are wonderful views in all directions.  I stop to indulge in some excellent gelato before continuing on my way.

I use the excellent Barcelona Metro to travel to the eastern side of the city and Citiadella Park, site of the 1888 World's Fair. There are still a number of buildings remaining from the fair, and the park itself is a popular spot for locals to enjoy the outdoors.

By now it's time to think about dinner so I head for the seaport district, Barceloneta, full of restaurants of all types, and people of all types out for a good time in the late afternoon-early evening air.  There is a huge maritime museum for visitors, but I opt for dinner at an outdoor cafe where I share a table with a young couple from Stavanger, Norway.  I regale them with photos of their hometown on my iPad, that I took on a cruise in 2012.

Back at the hotel I go online to check in for my flights back to Tucson and find the offer for business class from American Airlines.  Since I had accepted this offer on the outgoing flights from Phoenix to Miami (back in March), I am happy to accept again on the long flight from Barcelona to Philadelphia.  Since I did not pay for the airline tickets themselves (the price was included in the cruise fare), I did 't hesitate to pay the small amount for the upgrades.

Saturday, 15 April 2017
Barcelona to Philadelphia to Phoenix to Tucson

Barcelona's airport is quite close to the city center and there is little traffic on Saturday morning.  So the taxi ride is very quick and quite inexpensive.  I enjoy the use of American Airlines lounge for Business Class passengers before being escorted to the gate for the 1pm departure.

After a lovely seven-hour flight during which I have a long nap, we arrive on time in Philadelphia where I am supposed to transfer to the 6:00pm flight to Phoenix. However,  as it gets close to departure time (in fact I have already entered the gangway to board the plane), we are brought back into the terminal.  An American Airlines agent tells me quietly and privately that the flight is bring cancelled for mechanical reasons, but that I have been rebooked on a flight (through Dallas) that will get me to PHX close to my scheduled arrival time.

I am loaded on a moving cart to the new gate just as the agents are making the announcement about the cancelled flight. Thus, I have a head start on all the other passengers who will be looking to rebook their flight to PHX.  The new flight leaves at 6:20pm and even with a stop at DFW (no change of plane), I arrive in Phoenix only one hour later than scheduled--and about two hours earlier than the next direct flight from Philadelphia.

Ironically, I am seated across the aisle from the pilot who flew the cancelled plane into Philadephia from PHX, because he too was diverted to this other flight to return to PHX.  He tells me that the reason for cancelling the flight was the new pilot smelled a funny odor at the rear of the plane.  The pilot telling me this said that he had sensed the same smell but decided it was too minor an issue to cancel the flight from PHX to Philadelphia.  Obviously, the new pilot was being more cautious, as well as inconveniencing a significant number of passengers the day before the Easter Sunday.

As I suspected when my flight was changed at the last minute, there was not enough time for my luggage to make the flight to PHX with me--there was hardly time for me to make the connection.  Once in PHX, I was able to catch the next shuttle van to Tucson without having to carry any luggage.  Will met me at the van stop about 10 minutes from our house, and I was home and happily in bed by 1:30am.  My luggage is delivered to the house on the next afternoon, shortly after Will and I return from Easter Sunday brunch at the Westward Look Wyndham Resort Hotel and Spa.  

Not a bad way to end the trip.