Hawaii Part 3: Honolulu

Back on Hawaiian Airlines we went, returning to Honolulu.  But I want to pause a moment, and admire the Kona airport:

I've been to a handful of smaller airports in warmer climates, and all have had a fair amount of open air space, say, between terminals, or heading to baggage claim.

But Kona International takes it to the next level:

Our home for the last bit of the trip was the Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki Beach, because sometimes it's fun to stay in big, historic hotels; also because Daddy had enough Starwood Points.  Staying there made me feel a bit like I'd stepped into the episode of Mad Men when Don Draper goes to Hawaii - probably because (as I discovered on a repeat view of the season 6 premiere) he's pitching an ad for the Royal Hawaiian.

It was also a very convenient to the Island Vintage Shave Ice-

and has a nice beachside bar & restaurant -

although with 4 of us to the room, quarters were a little more cramped.

Part of my "let's go to Hawaii" mania was that it would be good for the kids to get real life experience of the things they learn about via school, books, and movies.  Like many young kids, Brennan and Lucie are very interested in volcanoes, exotic sea life, and violent untimely deaths of explorers and pioneers.  But in addition, Brennan - and Daddy - are the family WWII history buffs, so it was a great opportunity to see Pearl Harbor.

I actually learned a lot at the museum, and the USS Arizona Memorial is very impressive and sobering.  The docent at our visit - a retired Marine - was a great speaker and really held the crowd's attention.  Even though you are only allowed a short time on the memorial, the visit sticks with you.

The boys probably would have liked to spend more time at Pearl Harbor, but Lucie wasn't going to last.  Time to head back for lunch, and an afternoon playing at the big pool at the sister hotel next door -

The hotel offers some "cultural activities" - one insomniac morning I saw soggy guests returning from an ocean immersion sunrise ceremony.  Lei-making conflicted with our Pearl Harbor tickets, but Lucie & I did manage to get into a kupe'e bracelet making class -

Here's the finished product:

And of course we had to spend time on the beach!  

Despite being so crowded and busy in the afternoons, I grudgingly had to admit that Waikiki was still a pretty awesome beach.  The water was the perfect temperature, and shallow enough that I didn't have to worry.  Lucie loved the soft sand, and the break made boogie-boarding fun for everyone.

We had our farewell dinner at Mahina & Suns, which was really tasty, and looked exactly like what you would expect the restaurant in a 60's throwback design hotel featured in Sunset Magazine should look like.  (FYI, the same secret facility in the Sierras that implants a "need to buy a Subaru" chip in your brain when you move to the west coast, also implants a homing device that draws you to self-consciously retro stores and restaurants.  It's not my fault.)

While we probably could have happily stayed even longer, my bank account and job wouldn't agree.  So take in one last deep sniff of plumeria and join Piney the Pineapple in waving a fond farewell to Hawaii -