Punchbowl and Hickam Beach

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The day started sunny and warm. We had breakfast at our hotel. Heidi Uber picked us at 9:15 and we headed to the Punchbowl. Despite the name sounding like a party place, it is a crater/bowl shaped land formation that is a large military cemetery and memorial. We arrived and there were very few cars. There was a ceremony going on and not long after we heard the gun salute and taps. We were on the other end of the cemetery. The cemetery drive was tree lined with Chinese Banyan trees. After lunch we headed to the Hickam Beach and Park. It was a relaxing day at the beach. The beach is just west of the airport and we watched the traffic at the airport. It was a mix of military and commercial planes. The beach was protected so not to much surf. We had a mix of sun and clouds. There were some off shore showers during the afternoon, but they stayed offshore!. We had a really nice time and right before we were leaving we saw a submarine. We had dinner at The Lanai at Mamala Bay on the Hickam Base. It was a casual place on the water with burgers and steak and seafood. The view was amazing and there was a clear view if Diamond Head towards the east. After dinner Uber Heidi drove us back to town for a quick stop to pick up souvenirs. We said our goodbyes. We headed up to our Waikiki lounge. We had an evening beverage. Every Friday night there are fireworks over the Hilton Lagoon. The fireworks only lasted a few minutes. Afterwards the car horns were honking in appreciation of the fireworks. We went to the local hangout to listen to the live music one last time. The Chart House has live music and there is always lots of people there. Seems to be a mix of locals and tourists, but definitely a local hangout It is busy enough to feel like the place to be, but always has seats available on the small lanais that are outdoors, but still open the the indoors. A very comfortable atmosphere with local live music. Tonight we saw several groups of bicyclists. The were groups of 15-30 riders, but not bicyclists out for exercise. These were groups of adults and kids from 10 years old up. Some on regular pedal bikes and some on dirt bikes or motorized scooters. It was a wonderful way to finish out our time on Oahu.

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