Tuesday, August 17, 2010

August in Honolulu

I am back to work this month, if you want to call flying to Hawaii work.  I only flew one trip on reserve in July, so I am glad to be out flying again.















We had a real treat on our first trip of the month.  Our approach into Honolulu was not the way we usually fly into the airport at Oahu.  We flew directly over Diamond Head and then over Honolulu before flying out over the ocean and coming back to land.  



The view of the crater was spectacular, as was the view of Waikiki Beach.



I had made reservations for a sunset cruise on a catamaran sail from the beach in front of Duke's
When I arrived to board, I discovered that they only accept cash, which I usually carry very little of.




















I had no choice but to rebook for next week, and settle in for dinner at Duke's,











and watch my ship sail without me.



     
I returned to my room after
dinner, sat on my balcony,
and watched the night time
activities begin on
Waikiki Beach. 








The next morning I had coffee at the restaurant on the pool deck, which you can see  below from behind the
waterfall.  I love sitting on the deck and watching all the activity on the beach below.

I swam for a while, then walked around our hotel admiring the landscaping.


I took a long walk along the beach, then had lunch at the Surf Lanai at the Royal Hawaiian.



Inside the hotel is this tribute to Duke Kahanamoku, the man who brought surfing from the Hawaiian Islands, to the rest of the world.
The hotel has two shops where you can buy high quality Panama hats.   I only recently learned that these hats originated in Ecuador.  You can read a bit about their history at the links below.

I walked through the magnificent Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center,
where I found the road to happiness amoung the many other treasures.


I will be back in a few days, and hopefully will be able to share my sunset sail with you.

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