Five Days on O'ahu

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Greetings from the state of Hawaii, where my friend Tom and I are staying for two and a half weeks, visiting the islands of O'ahu, Hawai'i and Maui. This first blog entry is for O'ahu.

For those of you who don't know this, 70% of the population of the state of Hawaii live on O'ahu, and the capital of the state, Honolulu (population 371,657), as well as Pearl Harbor, are on this island. The state is, of course, a melting pot of people of different ancestries: Polynesian, European, Japanese, and Chinese, to name just a few. And O'ahu, as I discovered, is much more than just Honolulu and Waikiki. Comprised of two mountain ranges (the Wai'anae on the west coast and the Ko'olau on the windward shore), it offers spectacular mountain views and hikes, relatively deserted stretches of white sand, some very wild surf, fields and plateaux, and wide open spaces.
Tom and I were hosted by his college friend, Dave, and his charming wife, Sally. They were perfect hosts, and, as you will see from the photos, we had a lot of fun exploring the island with them.

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Photos

Honolulu airport
Sally, Tom, HK, and Dave.
(Notice the lovely leis they greeted us with.)

Sally and Dave's house
in the Nu'uanu district of Honolulu

Sally's apron
a little memento from Paris

another house in the Nu'uanu district
This is the house you see in the film "The Descendants"

a street in the Nu'uanu district
which George Clooney runs down in "The Descendants"

our first excursion
to the Nu'uanu Lookout on the old Pali Highway up from Sally and Dave's house. This is the site of where Kamehameha the Great defeated Kalanikupule and conquered Oahu.

the Nu'uanu precipice
where the soldiers of Oahu hurled themselves to their deaths after being chased by Kamehameha's men

excursion to Cocunut Island in Waimanalo Bay
with a scientist from the University of Hawaii

plane above Coconut Is.
maneuvres at nearby Marine Corps Base Hawaii

funny fish in a fish tank
It "puffs up".

hike to Makapu'u Summit
We set off to see humpback whale

Comments

[Elyse]

Radiant
Greetings Hilary, Your grin is wider than the Champs Elysee and just as lovely. I am thrilled you are taking in the sights of the world with someone whose company you so obviously enjoy. Keep on truckin". Love to follow your trails. Fondly, Elyse

[Piper]

Great photos - So glad to hear you are enjoying Hawaii - beyond H-lulu Oahu is great, neh! Sorry you will miss the bithuthdy bash!

[harriet welty rochefort]

your recent travels
Hi Hilary, Fabulous trip! After seeing The Descendants, I'm dying to see Hawaii and the house Clooney was filmed in-it sounds like things are going very well for you. Let me know when you're back in Paris-which must seem quite dull and polluted to you after all your world travels! Cheers,Harriet

[Alex Pappas]

Wow!
So glad you have landed in such a wonderful place plus hosts! Nice memories for me of past sojourns to the islands. Agape Alex

[Jacqueline]

Bon voyage!
Hilary and Tom, enjoy your Hawaii vacation! When Romas and I were there we enjoyed our daily hikes very much, as well as other sights such as authentic open air markets. Hugs from Oregon (visiting my daughter).

[Brenda]

Wonderful!
Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing!

[Peter Jarrett]

Looks idyllic
I have long wanted to go to Hawaii but it is rather difficult to get to from here so I guess it will just have to wait for my retirement. Sure that you are enjoying yourself. Hugs, Peter

[HKs Travels]

Thanks for comments.
Thanks to Peter and everyone else who's left comments. I love sharing my adventures with all of you. More to follow soon about the Big Island. Hilary

[mickrussom]

3849 Old Pali Road
3849 Old Pali Road, Honolulu, HI 96817 This is the address for the house Matt King is living in, where the pool is in the front, the cement/concrete pots in front, the flagstaff properties in the back (note the 2 extra mailboxes) and its on the corner of Old Pali Road and Gartley Place.