Aloha from Waikiki Beach

Aloha from Waikiki Beach. 




The boardwalk along
Waikiki Beach



WOW!  It has already been over two weeks since we arrived in Hawaii.  For the first week we had rented a car so we were busy the first few days running around and picking up things we needed for our stay here. 

We also spent some time during those first days exploring and getting acquainted with our neighbourhood.  On the East side of our condo, the boardwalk along Waikiki Beach.



Huge banyan tree



Five minutes away from on the Western side of the Ilikai where we are staying is the Ala Moana Park .  Both these areas are wonderful venues for our daily walk in the morning.

Arthur and Ethel arrived on February 1st after making a very tight 25 minute connection in Denver.  When we went to pick them up at the airport, their luggage hadn't made the connection in Denver so they had to wait till the nest day to get their bags.  We spent their first day her doing grocery shopping and getting things set up for them.

The next few days, we got in the car and explored the island of Oahu which is about 35 miles wide and 45 miles high.  While the island is quite small, the middle of the island is mostly volcanic mountains and the road does not circle the whole island because of high cliffs on the North Western side. 





Scenic view from
The Diamondhead



The first day we traveled the East side which took us to Diamondhead which is on the eastern side of Waikiki.



Surf's up on the North Shore



Then we traveled a picturesque, winding ocean side road which circles the island up to the Northern side where the beaches are renowned for their 30 feet high waves.



Francis and Rosella at
the Dole pineapple plantation



Later during the day, we took a highway which cut through the middle if Oahu which took up past the Dole pineapple plantation where we stopped and explored the plantation site.



Picnic on the beach



The next day, we were on the road again doing the Western side of Oahu which is not quite as pretty as the eastern side but nevertheless a nice scenic drive.  We had packed a lunch so around noon time, we stopped and had a picnic in a nice park alongside the Pacific Ocean.

By Saturday of the first week, we had to return the car.  Since then, we usually start off our days by going for a walk, either on the Boardwalk or at the Ala Moana Park and then head for either the very nice pool here at the Ilikai or at the beach. 



Live Hawaiian entertainment
at the Royal Hawaiian
Culture Centre



We have also had a chance to explore  some of the night time activity.  There are many free Hawaiian shows in the Waikiki area.  One of the best ones is at the Royal Hawaiian Culture Centre where they have free lessons on Hawaiian culture such as hula dancing, playing the ukulele, lei making as well as live entertainment every night.  We have also spent a few nights listening to live Hawaiian music at local venues with Art and Ethel

Next Saturday, February 19th, we are leaving for a 9 day, three island excursion with Art and Ethel.  We will spend one day on Molokai then four days each on Maui and the Isle of Hawaii which is better known as The Bid Island. 

Our first two days in Waikiki



Flowers and shrubs along the beach-front

 Yesterday morning, we were up bright and early to go and explore our new surroundings.  The sky was blue, the air was already warm at 8:30 the soft breeze was refreshing, the exotic flowers were in bloom, the shrubs were manicured and people were already swimming in the pacific by the time we were on the beach taking a walk, thoroughly enjoying our first moments in this little paradise.

Exotic flowers along the way

We came back to the apartment and spent the remainder of the day setting things up and going to buy groceries.  Later on in the afternoon we received about 45 minutes of rain which came out of nowhere.  The folks around here tell us it's typical for that to happen,that is why the flowers the trees and lawns are so lush and green.

Hawaii Fiveo film crew

The Ilikai as seen
from the beach

This morning when we went out for our morning walk, the filming crews were setting up on the lagoon right in front of the Ilikai Towers getting ready to shoot a segment of Hawaii FiveO. 





Along with many other curious on-lookers enjoying their daily activities on the beach, we watched for a while observing all the details that go into the filming of a very short segment of the show.

Heading back to Tinsel-Town

Scenic view on the way
back to Los Angeles

After visiting Santa Barbara, we continued along the coast and spent the night in Santa Cruz.  The following morning, we turned around to work our way back heading south towards Los Angeles.  The scenic drive is much more breath taking traveling south than traveling north.  Since we had a nice stay at the Best Western in San Luis Obispos earlier this week, we decided to stay there again on the way back.

On our last day driving the PC HWY, we drove straight to our hotel in Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles, close to Burbank.  We were up bright and early on Thursday morning, trying to get same day passes for the taping of Ellen.  When I called shortly after 8:00 am, all tickets for the day were gone so we decided to drive to Santa Monica, which is adjacent to Venus Beach, where we stayed during our time in Los Angeles on our 2009 road trip. 

Marker at the end
of Route 66

We took the long way to get there, avoiding the freeways winding around the streets of Burbank, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and places in between until we reached the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica.  It was a very nice sunny day and totally enjoyed the one and a half hour drive to the Santa Monica pier where the old Route 66 between Chicago and Los Angeles ended.



Lunch at Miguel's on
the Santa Monica Pier



Live music outside
Miguel's Restaurant



Our afternoon in Santa Monica started with an excellent Mexican lunch at the Miguel Restaurant at the end of the pier.  The sun was warm, the view on the ocean spectacular and the live music on the perimeter of the outside patio was easy on the ears.



Santa Monica Beach Pavilion



We then took a long walk along the beach, taking in all the activity, people walking, jogging, riding bikes, kids skateboarding. young adults playing volley ball, people of all ages frolicking in the water everyone here, were like us enjoying the surroundings.

Gateway to he Americana Shopping Mall

Friday in Los Angeles, today we attended the taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  Although we didn't have to be there until 2:30 pm, we decided we would get there by 1:00 pm to be sure we had good seats.  Since we had a few hours to kill, we made our way to the Americana Mall in Glendale, a very nice place with lots of upscale shopping, boutiques and restaurants to do some window shopping.  Rosella went into a few stores, tried some things on but didn't find anything she liked.  We checked out of our hotel and headed for Studio 11 at the NBC Studio in Burbank.  Tonight's show was dubbed "Bieber Fever Night', because Jay's special guest tonight was Canada's own teen age sensation, Justin Bieber.  We stood in line till 2:30 when they let us into the studio for the 4 o'clock taping.  Jay came out on stage dressed in his denims 25 minutes before the start of the show and did his own warm up just like he did when we attended a show taping during our 2009 road trip.  Again this time, we really enjoyed the excitement of seeing how these programs are produced.  After the show, before going to our hotel in the Los Angeles airport area, we went and had an excellent steak supper at the local Outback Restaurant; the food and service were very good. 

We got up bright and early Saturday to get ready for our flight to Honolulu.  Rosella was busy repacking the suitcases for the trip while I got the paper work ready for our 2:05 pm departure.  We both went to the Hertz office literally around the block from our hotel and brought back our little Mustang convertible that we thoroughly enjoyed all week long.  We were back in our rooms by 9:30 and took the 10 o'clock shuttle to the airport. 

The stakes are high at the LA Airport

Since we had lots of time to kill, we took out the deck of cards and played a little "Dame de Pique"  I took the series two games to one and before we knew it we were on our way to Hawaii.  Although we didn't have as much leg room as we did during our trip from Montreal to LA, we were sitting in the middle of the plane with three seats and the other seat in our row was vacant so we were able to spread ourselves a bit and the flight went well. 

Welcome to the Ilikai Towers

Arriving in Honolulu about 30 minutes early, we picked up our car at Hertz and made our way to our home away from home for the next three months.   The apartment is very nice, located two minutes from the beach.  The owners had arranged to have a nice welcome banner on the bed for our arrival along with a few Hawaiian treats.