Hawaii - beaches, volcanos and music

Dear Friend,
When we walked on the beach in Florida last week, I started thinking about a trip we took 4 to 5 years ago to Hawaii.

The sulfur smell from the steam that blew out of the volcano on the big island of Hawaii, the sea turtles that swam over the black lava rock shore, and the lush vegetation on parts of the island of Oahu and Hawaii were all delightful experiences. On Oahu we were emotionally moved by the Arizona and the Missouri memorials to WWII, and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (the Punchbowl) where 13,000 pacific theatre soldiers are buried with thousands of others and the view of Honolulu is spectacular.

The Society of Seven Musical and the show at the Luau we attended were memorable entertainment. The helicopter tour on the Big Island of Hawaii was exciting and educational. Our pilot shared much Hawaiin philosphy and natural science with us. We also enjoyed some quiet places surrounded by the blue and white of the ocean and the beach, and drives down quiet two-lane highways where there was almost no one but us. Would you like to see some of my pictures? I hope so. I’ll post information about all those exciting things that you’ve done or heard of in Hawaii, but this letter will be about an activity that we enjoyed when we’d had all we could stand of the crowds and energy of our Honolulu destinations.

I want to tell you of an crowd less beach on Oahu that I visited twice. Kailua Beach Park is on the windward side of the island. It has pristine, soft, powdery, white sand and hardly any people, at least in the middle of the day during the week. The first time I was in Honolulu on Oahu in Hawaii, I was with a friend that lived there. There were three of us - friends from college - together for the first time in a while. Connie, who lived there, took us to lunch at Buzz’s Original Steak Restaurant which is right across the street from the Kailua Beach Park. Buzz’s, is for the most part, a casual locals place – friendly ambiance, great burgers and salads at lunch and really delicious, ice cream desserts. They have a tiny porch on the front corner of the building that sort of wraps around a tree. If you are lucky, you get to sit there and look across the street right through the palm trees at a sliver of beach and ocean. After lunch we took a walk on the beach. There were colorful canoes stacked up on the beach. If allowed, I could sit on that beach with a book and a cold drink for a very long time and for several days. If you are staying in the Honolulu area it takes a rental car and a couple of hours to get there. Check Buzz's out on the web or in Frommer's - his 2006 editions have Buzz's listed - at least in the $80 a Day version. Or look at Alternative -Hawaii.com - site will be at the bottom of this page and in the "Links" list at the top of this blog.
When I went to Hawaii with my husband 4 or 5 years ago we also went to Buzz's. We had a very pleasant drive from the hotel at Waikiki beach toward Diamond Head and then on around the island to Buzz’s for lunch and the Kailua Beach Park. The drive over highway back toward Honolulu was through a part of the island that is sparsely populated, and covered by dense green vegetation that was partially shrouded in mist that afternoon. It was a huge change from the more touristy Waikiki scene. But I enjoyed both of course.
Bet you’re out of time and need to get busy with your life, so I’ll close for today. Hawaii is going to take me 4 or 5 days to write about.

http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/


What fun it’s been to go back through my pictures and what memories have surfaced because of this.

Take care,

Maggiegladyoucame