We dock, once again, as we did on the way over, at Aloha Tower in Honolulu,
and this is the first sight off our balcony.....we are at the front of the ship on this cruise. These high rises were not as imposing from our cabin on the back of the ship when we stopped in Honolulu on the way over.
After minimal success with the ship's internet, even in port, we left to explore....via the Walmart bus...which we learned would drop us off across the street from the huge Ala Moana shopping mall.
The bus driver was very entertaining.....native Hawaiian and difficult to understand, but he was having a running verbal banter with a coworker over their phones! His laughter alone would make us all laugh!
Downtown Honolulu is rimmed with these gorgeous flowers.....and LOTS of green space....a beautiful city.
We are greeted at Walmart by this firetruck....another one for you, Fieldstead.....with a SURF BOARD!!!!!!!
The entrance to Nordstrom's.....the CLOSED Nordstrom's. They don't open till 11 a.m. on Sunday, but all the other stores open at 10....and it is 10:15.
Ah, well, we take a stroll down the lovely street to go to the....
parking garage. Surely we will gain access to the other stores there. We are with Bob and Carolyn, who had treated us for our anniversary. We decide on the elevator.....along with approximately 20 Asians who did not speak English. THEY were in charge of the elevator buttons.....we hit every floor and saw only parking lot! No one moved; no one got out. When we FINALLY got back to "start", I, from the back, said: "Out! Let me out!". Of course, they did not understand a word and started to push the buttons again....claustrophobia set in, worsened by the panic of being stuck with these people, prompted me to SHOUT: "OUT!" and give a shove like they do!!!
After 45 minutes of trying, we finally got in the mall......what a mall! No way to capture it with pictures. You name the store and it is in there. Open air, 3 stories which wander in all directions....lovely.
We had to ask a security guard how to find the Apple store....even he didn't know. Even after consulting his map, he still didn't know. This place is HUGE! Wished I had 3 days to spend shopping.....This is our first REAL Apple store......the iPad would not face time.....very frustrating since we have missed seeing our kids! The place was packed! But we were successful and can now FaceTime on the iPad.
We are back on the streets....and how beautiful they are. Bears repeating that this is a lovely city. We are actually "tagging along" with Bob and Carolyn, following her desire to go to Waikiki, have a Mai Tai and paddle an outrigger!!! Count us in!
Bob's parents lived in Honolulu for 7 years back in the 1970's, building most of the downtown buildings. Bob would return occasionally to work for his Dad during summers. Their favorite place to "hang loose" was the Royal Hawaiian.....because that is about all there was on Waikiki Beach! The hotel is still pink, still small (only 3 floors, I think.....and is dwarfed by everything around it), and enjoys a prime location.
Lunch and the Mai Tai first!
These pictures show only the ride IN, not the laborious paddling to get OUT to the waves. This is our first of three!
The hardest, fastest paddling was to catch the incoming wave.
Our second ride was uneventful......we missed the big wave......so we tried again....with SUCCESS!
We were assigned seats....I would NEVER have picked the first seat! Scary going UP the wave and riding DOWN the wave....and WET!! We would do it again in a heartbeat! Much fun! If you care, review the pics and note that Bob is either resting or waving, but NOT paddling!
This calls for another Mai Tai to celebrate with Russell, the owner, who was in the back of our boat.
Those of you in Del Webb may recognize these folks.....surprised the _ _ _ _ out of us! Had a call from Larry that they were in Honolulu, driving around, saw the Oosterdam and remembered that we are on that ship!!!!!!!! We had only 40 minutes to visit....and it was DELICIOUS!!! For those of you NOT in Del Webb, these are dear friends and neighbors from home.....and we are missing home! Thank you, Dee n Larry!
Tom and I had to run to make the ship's boarding deadline.....the Shoffner's waited to wave goodbye!!! (They are the ones without the stroller!)
Goodbye, Hawaii! Welcome to five sea days!
