Holoholo Day: Waikiki Boardwalk

I go on two “Holoholo Days” during the year, usually one on July 9th and one on December 30th. It’s a quirky “tradition” that I’ve continued for a few years now. I just go out and try to take some “me time.” Some people refer to this as “mental health days.” I go out and explore cool places on the island to relax and re-energize. It’s like being a tourist in my own backyard.

Today I wanted to check out the Waikiki Boardwalk, a walking path along Waikiki Beach. I started out by walking from my condo to Ala Moana Beach. I walked past the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and behind the Hawai’i Prince Hotel.

This is where the boardwalk begins.

You enter the grounds of the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort.

There’s a lagoon with a lot of water activities going on. Looks like it’s open to the public.

The boardwalk becomes a sidewalk at the 2nd Hilton Hawaiian Village tower.

This is where tourists catch the Atlantis Submarine.

Here’s the sidewalk fronting the Hale Koa Hotel. Cool place to skateboard….

The path continues past Fort DeRussy. There are sand volleyball courts, tennis courts, and ample public restrooms along the way.

The path continues past the Outrigger Reef Hotel. There are surfboard rentals and shave ice stands in nooks and alleyways.

There are a few rock walls that jetty out along Waikiki Beach.

The sidewalk cuts off  near the Waikiki Shore Hotel.

It resumes at the Halekulani Hotel. The Halekulani looked very impressive (expensive.)

Here’s the Maita’i Catamaran.

The path resumes at the Sheraton. Note the tourists exercising in the infinity pool on the left side.

The path finally ends at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Beautiful day and a beautiful place!

Ended my walk at the Moana Surfrider Hotel.

Cut through the lobby and made my way back on Kalākaua Avenue. Walked back along Ala Moana Boulevard.

Walked all the way to Street Grindz Kewalo, a food truck pop-up at the former site of the Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant.

Ate at my friend Loke’s food truck called Flyin’ Ahi. The Pulehu Combo plate was amazing!

Had a great morning! Always nice to go holoholo….

Holoholo….

Most of my posts this summer on Twitter & Instagram have had the term holoholo as either the caption or #hashtag.

I’ve had the privilege of hosting out-of-town guests from China (see previous post) and Japan. It’s been a blast! Really, they’re much more than guests, but amazing friends.

This week I got to hang out with Ryan who teaches English in Osaka, Japan. He used to be at a school that I had visited in Kawachinagano back in 2001. He’s here for the Punahou Keiki Kamp. We went to Hanauma Bay & Waikiki Beach. He also attended a service at Inspire Church and visited our small group Bible study.

We also enjoyed good food. Here’s the pad thai from Thai Herb Kitchen on Kapahulu Ave. We also had poke bowls from Pa’ina Cafe and checked out the Eat the Street event in Kaka’ako. It was nice to reconnect with such a great friend.

We also holoholo-ed a bunch with our KS EdTech team this summer. We hiked Diamond Head during our planning retreat.

After work today, we hiked the ridge above our school’s campus. I don’t think I like hiking much, but I sure enjoyed the great company.

Blessed & thankful to live in such a beautiful place with the best of friends. We go holoholo….

Beaching It….

Walked down to Waikiki Beach for University of Hawai’i Wahine beach volleyball since today was the only scheduled home date. It’s officially called sand volleyball (if your school doesn’t have an ocean conveniently located nearby.)

The matches are held at the Queen’s Beach Sandbox which has four adjacent courts.

There was a nice crowd of fans and tourists. Diamond Head makes for a nice backdrop.

Here’s our #1 pair, with “Walls” in the background.

On the way back, I stopped by Marukame Udon for lunch. It’s the only restaurant in Waikiki that has a constant line all the time.

You go down a cafeteria style assembly line to pick up your udon and assorted tempura side dishes. Mmm, so ono….

Natatorium Service Project

Participated in our Kamehameha Schools service project for the Waikiki Natatorium today. I was unable to attend my scheduled event at the fishpond yesterday, but I was able to make the switch.

On the way, I stopped for breakfast in Kapahulu. But I digress….

Parked across the street at Kapiolani Park.

Here I am standing in front of the Natatorium. You can read about its storied history here. I hope that it will be restored. It would be such a shame to lose it.

Our service project was specifically the removal of invasive limu (seaweed) that is harming the coral reef (just beyond the Natatorium and fronting the Waikiki Aquarium.) This effort is led by the University of Hawai’i. They provided two scuba divers. Our volunteers consisted of snorkelers who transported the bags from the divers to the shore. We also had a group of people collecting the limu in the shallow waters. My job was to dump the bags into bins that were rolled up to the sorting tables. Here are more pics from the Star-Advertiser.

All together, our 65 volunteers removed over 1300 pounds of invasive limu. A truck transported the limu to the nearby Honolulu Zoo for composting.

After rinsing off, we had a nice bento lunch under the banyan trees. (I’m so glad that we didn’t have to eat the limu.) It was a great time of bonding and fellowship.

It truly was a “good and industrious” kinda day. Imua….

Hawai’i Five-O 3.0

Walked over to the “Sunset on the Beach” Hawaii Five-O Season 3 World Premiere today at Waikiki Beach. The weather was spectacular! (Stopped for a bowl of pho along the way. Also checked out the International Marketplace for the first time in years.)

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pics of the stars. At least I got a pic of the crowd getting pics of the stars. While most arrived in limos and Escalades, Kamekona arrived in a Hilo Hattie shuttle van. There were thousands of people there. Met some friendly visitors from Australia.

This was my second Five-O premiere. I went last year. The format was similar. This year, there were hula, ukulele, and taiko drum performances. Unfortunately, the dignitaries disrupted the momentum of the evening.

But the crowd erupted with the introductions of the cast members. I was bummed that Grace Park wasn’t there.

Like last year, I left at the very start of the screening (I know, crazy….) It was just too crowded and noisy. Looking forward to watching Episode 1 tomorrow night. Be there, aloha.