Day 2 (August 20, 2022): Waikiki to the North Shore of Oahu

A seven-hour time change is rough on the system!  Our trip to Europe last month meant a seven-hour time change ahead, and Hawaii is a seven-hour time change behind.  Ahead or behind, neither is easy on the body! All that to say, but 4AM, we were wide awake and by 6AM we were up and at ‘em!  After breakfast next door at Dennys, we took our first walk on the beach in Waikiki (our hotel is a block from the beach).  The fatigue and stress of the 24-hour journey from Halifax to Hawaii melted away with the sight of one of the most beautiful and famous beach cities in the world.

At 9:45, we took the bus back to Honolulu Airport to pick up our rental car and then started our plan for the day.  Our first stop was the Annual Korean Festival in Honolulu.  The Korean community here is quite large and well-established.  The Korean food vendors and BBQ’s were going gangbusters, with long line-ups for every stall.  The main reason we wanted to stop in on the Festival was to hear the Royal Hawaiian Band, and they did not disappoint!

With the Festival behind us, we headed to Ala Moana

Shopping Centre, which is Honolulu’s premier mall, filled with luxury brands like Cartier, Gucci and Burberry.  Not that we were looking for anything, rather we needed the Apple Store, as we were having issues changing the SIM card in Pam’s iPhone!  We had lunch at the Mall and then started off for the North Shore, famous for Oahu’s giant waves.  Little did we know, however, that there are no giant waves on the North Shore in the summer time!  And, little did we know that the highway through the North Shore area is bumper-to-bumper on weekends.  It was truly brutal:  slow, stressful, and hardly a spot to pull in anywhere along the way to take in the views or to snap photos.  We eventually found a secluded beach and a parking spot, but apart from that, it was a bit of a bust. We had been hoping to see not only giant waves, but also giant turtles, but saw neither.  The drive back to Honolulu was every bit as slow and stressful.  Okay, to be fair, there were impressive mountains and agricultural lands on the way.  But had we known the crowds would be so intense, we would not have made the trek.  Live and learn!  Hawaii in summertime is one of the busiest times of the year to be here.

It was 4:45PM when we arrived back at the hotel.  The hotel had assigned us to the ocean-view room for which we had paid, and I have to say, the 16th floor view of the Waikiki ocean-front is stunning.  We stare out at the view for long periods!  

Around 5:30PM, we went to Queen’s Beach and enjoyed the waves but wow, are they ever powerful and intimidating.  You really have to be careful!  Fortunately, the adjacent Kuhio Beach has a massive sea wall that creates a protected area, deep enough to swim, so that is where we spent most of our time.

Dinner was a Hawaiian turkey dinner at a Hawaiian family chain called Zippy’s.  Hawaiians substitute potato with rice in their turkey dinners and they add macaroni salad.  But turkey, gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce are all the same as back home.  

So yes, day one in Hawaii had its frustrations, but it was also a very full day of exploring and experiences, too.  Tomorrow, we will explore the leeward (eastern) side of the island - and will spend more time in the water!

The view at dawn of Waikiki’s towers from our room — that is, the room we were assigned upon arrival.  (We changed rooms today. - see the end of today’s entry for the reason.)

The man-made lagoon at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki, with Waikiki’s towers in the background.  When we returned to the hotel at the end of the day, we enjoyed a relaxing swim in the lagoon (which is about 6’ feet deep near the wall).

This surfer statue is located at Kuhio Beach.  It is based on a photo of a surfer from 1920.  Interestingly, surfing dates waaaay back.  But it had essentially died out by 1800, partly because missionaries had strongly discouraged it.

Morning surfer at Queen’s Beach in Waikiki.


We dropped in on the 18th Annual Korean Festival in Honolulu’s Kapiolani park, mainly so that we could hear the Royal Hawaiian Band perform  - it’s the only band in America to have “royal” in its name.

A Hawaiian Hula dancer performed to some of the Royal Hawaiian Band’s numbers.

The crowds at the 18th Annual Korean Festival.  


The famous Dole Plantation enroute to the north shore of Oahu.  We toured the Plantation in 1998, so we didn’t go back for a visit this time.


Pineapple fields.

A close-up of pineapple plants.


The rich, red volcanic soil of Oahu.

The mountains of the Mokule’ia Forest Reserve in northwest Oahu.

A drive-by photo of Waimea Bay Beach.  Parking was literally impossible.


Pupukea on Oahu’s north shore.


Ehukai Beach on the north shore.  The famous giant waves of the north shore were absent today, as they are basically non-existent in summer.


Ehukai’s golden sands.

Our digs - the Queen Kapiolani Hotel.  When we returned at the end of the day, we switched rooms to the ocean view we had paid for but weren’t given when we checked in last night.  Our new room is to the immediate left of the palm tree trunk, four floors from the top of the building. This is our view of Queen’s Beach in Waikiki: