On December 5th we flew to Honolulu on the island of Oahu for a mini vacation and then to attend Kendall's graduation from BYU Hawaii. We wanted to site-see a few things in Honolulu that we didn't visit when we had our day in port from our cruise ship on our March 2015 vacation. We had until Wednesday morning when the rest of the family were to arrive. We booked the Ohia Waikiki Studio Suites two blocks walk to Waikiki Beach and right in front of the International Market Place - Hawaii’s famous and historic shopping center. We had central access to all that Waikiki has to offer! We certainly lucked out with this location!
Attached to The Ohia Waikiki is The Lava Key Waikiki Restaurant. It sure is a fun place to go with great drinks and food. We had Pacific Sea Bass and fries to go along with our Pina Colada in a Pineapple! It was a fun evening!
Our Monday excursion took us on an about six and a half mile walk down to Kapiolani Park through the streets of Honolulu. We saw many beautiful plants, interesting architecture, historical markers and local hang-out spots. The Plumeria were so big that they were trees!!!
Queen Emma Kalelconalani, wife of King Kamahameha IV, owned the land that the International Market Place and Waikiki Town Center now stands. We enjoyed breakfast at the Liliha Bakery and Restaurant in the Center. King William Lunalilo was the first elected King of Hawaii and had a summer residence in this location. Honoring the great Don Ho is a statue in the International Market Place.
Another interesting site we passed was a memorial to Princess Ka'luleni, the only child born to the last ruling dynasty of the Hawaiian Kingdom, know as the "Princess of the Peacocks".
The Banyan trees in Hawaii are spectacular! As the tree grows, it drops aerial roots to the ground from the undersides of the branches. When these roots touch the ground, they thicken and grow into the earth, forming a new trunk. Large Banyans can have so many trunks that it is difficult to tell which one is the main trunk.
We reached our destination, Kapiolani Park. Sadly it was just an ordinary grassy park.
We walked over the block and a half to stroll Waikiki-Diamondhead Shoreline back to our Ohia Waikiki Suite. What a lovely walk along the beach taking in the ocean breeze and seeing many new sites along the way. We came upon the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial. Eerie and abandoned, the salt water swimming pool and stone bleachers of the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial off San Souci beach was a shimmering seaside tribute when it opened in 1927. The aging edifice, shuttered since 1979, is still worth a daytime visit, if only to peek through the bars of its towering front gate and imagine what it once was. As one of the country’s few ‘living memorials,’ the space served both as a gathering place to honor the 10,000 Hawaii service men who served during WWI and a public facility where Hawaii residents learned to swim in its 100m length. The Natatorium is credited with creating a swimming culture in the local community, and providing a peaceful practice spot for Olympians including legendary Hawaiian waterman (and five-time Olympic swimming medalist) Duke Kahanamoku. Despite its designation as a ‘national treasure’ by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, no one seems to know what to do with the Natatorium. Throughout the years, numerous plans to revive or raze the structure, adding a new stretch of white sand to Waikiki’s crowded beaches, have been passed over. Until then, it just waits.
We had a beautiful stroll along the shoreline. We came upon the Barefoot Beach Café where we showed our Covid vaccination cards, were given a wrist band allowing us to sit at one of the tables, and ordered our delicious snack. We had one of the largest ice cream sandwiches we have ever seen! These are made right here on the North Shore of Oahu, Our choice was marvelous the Sea Salt Carmel and Fudge Ice Cream on a Snickerdoodle Cookie. A little piece of Heaven here on Earth!
It was so serene just walking the path at the beach heading back to popular area of Waikiki Beach.
After passing the famous Surfer statue above, we came across this Makua and Kila statue based on a children's story honoring Hawaiian values of love and respect for Ohana (Family) and the Ocean.
Another gem of a find was in the Queen Kapiolani Regional Park across the street from Waikiki Beach where we came across the Kahi Hali'a
Aloha Memorial. It is "The Place of Loving
Remembrance" and the final resting place of around 200 ancestral skeletal
remains. The remains were found at various places in Waikiki during various
construction projects and were laid to rest here.
Back on the beach side of the street, we saw the Gandhi statue.
And a little further down the beach, the Duke Paoa Kahanamoku statue, The Father of International Surfing. He was raised in Waikiki, became a Olympic winner serveral times and brought surfing to the United States.
It was a wonderful way to spend a full day in Honolulu. We sat on our balcony lanai in the late afternoon while it rained and reminisced of what all we had experienced today. A good finish to a great day. The rain waited for us to be back in our hotel suite home!
Tuesday morning we once again started our day by visiting the Liliha Bakery for a wonderful breakfast. From there, we began our journey for the day walking to the north this time to see the historical sights around the old downtown area of Honolulu, the financial and government district. We passed over the Ala Wai Canal which is an artificial waterway in Honolulu serving as the
northern boundary of the tourist district of Waikiki.
As we neared to outskirts of the financial and government district, we were greeted with holiday greetings of "Mele Kalukimaka" in a small park we were passing.
We came to The 1821 Mission House which is the oldest existing house in Hawaii.
The Mission
Houses, which were the original headquarters of the Sandwich Islands Mission,
are where the New England missionaries began to arrive in Hawaii in 1820
determined to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity. By 1821, they had
constructed a building called the Frame House, which served as the mission’s
center. Two of the oldest wooden houses in Hawaii remain not far from the
skyrises of downtown Honolulu’s financial and government district. The Hawaiian
Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives is comprised of the Frame House, the
Chamberlain House and the Printing Office—built between 1821 and 1841.
Across the street, City Hall was decorated for Christmas with a beautifully decorated giant Christmas Tree accompanied with Santa and Mrs. Clause!
Next to the Mission Houses is the Kawaiaha'o Landmark. The legend story of the sacred spring is stated on the plaque next to the existing rock fountain.
Our next find on this journey was The Kawaiaha'o Church where King William Charles Lunalilo is buried. The plaque holds such an interesting story that I have written it below from the plaque in its entirety for all to read.
KING WILLIAM CHARLES LUNALILO
(Jan 31, 1835 - Feb 3, 1874)
King Kamehamaha V died December 1, 1872 without naming a successor to the throne. Prince William Charles Lunalilo was the highest ranking chief at that time. Instead of claiming his birthright to the throne, he wanted the people to choose their next ruler in a democratic way. Lunalilo requested a special election which pitted him against David Kalakaua, a High Chief, but not of the Kamehamaha line. Seven days later on January 8, 1873, an entire city cheered as the legislature proclaimed that Lunalilo was not only "the people's choice" for king but "the legislature's choice" too. On January 9, 1873 the coronation of Lunalilo took place in Kawaiamha'o Church.
King Lunalilo died at thirty-nine years of age on February 3, 1874. He had only reigned for one year and twenty-five days. Lunalilo did not name a successor to the throne. He insisted that the choice of the next monarch should rest in the hands of his people. The service for Lunalilo was conducted by the Reverend Henry Parker of Kawaiaha'o Church and his body was temporarily taken to the Royal Mausoleum in Nhu'uanu Valley until his tomb at Kawaiaha'o Church was ready.
One of the King's last wishes was to be put to rest at Kawaiaha'o Church instead of the Royal Mausoleum. Lunalilo was "The People's Choice." They had loved him and he had returned their love. By being buried at the cemetery with the common people he loved he felt he would be closer to them. When the remains of Hawaii's Royalty were removed from the Royal Tomb on 'Iolani Palace grounds and taken to the Royal Mausoleum in Nu'uanu, the remains of Lunalilo's mother, Kekauluohi, were not taken to the Royal Mausoleum. This may have been an oversight no one knows. However Lunalilo chose to be buried on Kawaiaha'o Church grounds and not at the Royal Mausoleum.
We next stopped at the World War II Memorial.
Sitting directly behind the statue of King Kamehameha I is a building known as Aliʻiolani Hale. Hale in Hawaiian means "house" and Aliʻiolani literally means "a chief known unto the heavens." This is a "secret" name given to King Kamehameha V at birth. It was Kamehameha V who commissioned the construction of this building which he originally intended to be his palace. Today Aliʻiolani Hale is home to Hawaii's Supreme Court and State Law Library. There is also a Judiciary History Center on the first floor.
The ʻIolani Palace was
the official residence of the Hawaiian Kingdom's last two monarchs - King
Kalakaua, who built the Palace in 1882, and his sister and successor, Queen
Liliʻuokalani. The ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu is the only royal palace located
in the United States.
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