Oahu – New Finds and Old Favorites

The drive to Waikiki is filled with promise of many adventures. The Aloha Tower and Marketplace is on the right, and up a few blocks are the Iolani Palace, Hawaii State Capital, and the Honolulu Academy of Art. Continuing on past the Ward Center, Ala Moana Center, and Ala Moana Park, cross over the Ala Wai Canal and past the marina to Waikiki’s main street, Kalakaua Avenue.

Our favorite Waikiki neighborhood is near the Kapiolani Park, Queen’s Beach, Kuhio Beach, and pavilions. This time we stayed at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel, which is directly across from the beach, and we didn’t have to jog around other hotels to get there. The views of the park and Diamondhead on one side or the famous Waikiki sunsets on the other are spectacular. In recent years, the park and beach areas have been beautifully landscaped with tropical plants and many appropriate bronze statues. Weekends bring the Sunset on the Beach Party, Band Concerts in the Park, and Art on the Zoo Fence.

The Windward side of the island offers spectacular sightseeing of the Pali, many unique beaches, the exotic Byodo-In Temple, and some good food. If you sew or quilt, the Fabric Mart on the Kamaehameha Highway in Kaneohe is a must-stop. To make a mundane necessity a travel highlight, take your dirty duds to a terrific Laundromat with a view in Kaneohe. The Valley of the Temples Washerette is located in Kaneohe off Highway 83 in a shopping/theater complex behind McDonald’s. The pace is much slower and the decor less glitzy, but the chance of rain is greater than in Waikiki.

Quick Tips:

Zippy’s Restaurants, found throughout the island, provide good family meals with island favorites and a good bakery (Napoleon’s). In Kaneohe, Zippy’s is adjacent to the Windward Mall. From Waikiki, take Kapaphulu Avenue towards Highway 1, and Zippy’s is on the Diamondhead side of the street.

The Crouching Lion Inn is a destination in itself on the Windward side in Ka’a’awa. Ask for a table on the lanai and enjoy an ocean view and good menu highlighted with kalaua pig/cabbage. After you eat, drive up to the lovely Kahana Bay Beach Park.

Parking is at a premium in the palace/capital area. Park at the Aloha Tower Marketplace and walk to the Iolani Palace. When you come back, eat lunch or supper at the Market Place’s Don Ho’s Island Grill and have your parking validated. Park in the basement lot of the Methodist Church when visiting the Honolulu Academy of Art.

Best Way To Get Around:

Waikiki is for walking. Walking has become a challenge for me. I would have to stop and rest often by sitting on the edge of a planter or even wander into a hotel lobby. Fortunately, the casual attitude here allows for this. A car is needed to travel the rest of the island, or have the confidence and correct change to board the bus. If you are staying Ewa on Waikiki, you can drive and park at the zoo for a 4-hour limit. That would allow for a visit to the Honolulu Zoo or Waikiki Aquarium, or to check out the food, shops, and beach at the Diamondhead end of Waikiki.

The hotel’s location is just 1 short block from Kapiolani Park, where you can visit the Honolulu Zoo, Waikiki Aquarium, band concerts in the park, or jog/walk along tree-lined Kalakaua along the park or on the Queen’s Beach walkway. On weekends there is Art on the Zoo Fence and Sunset on the Beach. This beach party includes live bands; kiosks from many famous restaurants selling takeout; and after sunset, a movie on a huge screen.

This hotel is also located at the trolley stop where all the major "free" trolleys stop.

The hotel has two restaurants, Wolfgang Puck’s Express and Tiki’s Grill & Bar. In addition, there are many other restaurants within a short walk.

This hotel is decorated in what they call hip Hawaiian, reminiscent of the ‘50s and ‘60s. We enjoyed the bright, upbeat colors and patterns. We found out that the huge, black vases in the lobby are the trunks of coconut trees. Surfboards are used for signage in the public areas. The junior suite we rented had a beaded curtain over the closet with a hula girl depicted, two comfortable beds, a couch, table with two chairs, and a desk and chair - and a view. What a view! We could see Diamondhead, a good slice of Kapiolani Park, Queens Beach, and even part of the Natatorium. By opening our sliding glass door onto the lanai, we could hear the live band from the beach party and watch the movie.

This hotel has a unique breakfast plan. Each room has a thermal, zippered lunch bag per guest. In the morning, we would take our bags to the pool deck, where hot and cold breakfast items were available. They called the plan Breakfast on the Beach, but we always brought the bags back upstairs to our comfortable room. Since each room has a small refrigerator, I would usually stash a carton of milk and a package of coffeecake for a midday snack.

This hotel really appeals to the young crowd, and by that, I mean groups of teenagers. The lobby is usually very active with girls primping and strutting about and boys trying to look bored. One day there was a couple dancing the tango.

The staff was most cooperative in meeting all our needs, especially the valet service. One flaw in the system is the elevators. There were too few for the number of guests.

Doris Duke, the tobacco heiress, stopped in Honolulu on her round-the-world honeymoon trip. She loved the beauty of the place and felt comfortable with the people. She decided to build a home here and use it to showcase her growing interest in Islamic art. The 5-acre estate was named Shangri La. It became a work in progress during her lifetime, with renovation projects evolving from her growing collection.

The tour starts at the Honolulu Academy of Art with a tour of the Islamic gallery and a short video. Some of the things in the gallery were formally at Shangri La. Two small tour groups of 12 people each are gathered in a courtyard, then transported by minibus to the estate. The gated driveway is narrow and twisting, the parking area is minimal at the estate, and drop-in visits are forbidden. Docents guide the two tour groups in opposite directions and return to the courtyard about 2 hours later. Docents are educated in the life and times of Doris Dike and the various aspects of Islamic art. The tour includes the entry hall, interior courtyard, living room, Mihrab hallway, dining room, lanai, guest powder room, Turkish room and Baby Turkish room, and the Mughai Garden.

Restoration is in progress in the large master suite, so they are not on the tour. The Play House, visible at the opposite end of the swimming pool, is not going to become part of the tour. It will be used exclusively for the foundation activities. Halfway through the tour, the group is given a water break and a chance to lounge on the lanai, enjoying the views of the ocean, backside of Diamondhead, and Duke’s rock wall-protected boat slip and beach. Since all shorelines are public property, a right established by King Kamehameha, the beach and boat slip were very active with swimmers and sunbathers.

Price of admission is $25/ adult, but that includes admission to the Honolulu Academy of Art. I would suggest scheduling an afternoon tour, but arrive at the HAA when it opens, tour a few galleries, have lunch at the Pavilion Café, and shop the gallery shop before boarding the tour bus.

Anna Rice Cooke began this treasure trove with a few pieces of imported works from China displayed in her home. When the collection outgrew the house, she built the present lovely, low thick-walled structure with a wide lanai and many interior courtyards. A new two-story building completes the complex with more galleries and a theater. An art-and-crafts motif was used as ventilation grates. These patterns repeat in other areas.

The 32 separate galleries represent many aspects of Eastern and Western art, from prehistoric to present day. Surprisingly, the otherwise excellent Arts of Hawaii gallery was primarily paintings from Captain Cook’s arrival to contemporary. The Bishop Museum had a far more extensive collection of native art. The European and American collections here were standout. The Asian collections were organized in a way so that an untrained eye could make distinctions between the various cultures represented.

The Pavilion Café, open from 11:30am to 2pm, offers an elegant lunch menu and a setting overlooking a falling water sculpture. It’s a good idea to stop there early to get a reservation. Lunch for two was just under $25. The Academy shop offers stationary, art glass, prints, books, children’s gift items, a great selection of postcards, and other items related to the exhibits. Admission is $7/adult; seniors, students, and military personnel are discounted; and children under 12 are free. Metered parking on the street is sometimes available for a short visit. The Methodist Church underground parking garage allows parking all day for $5 every day except Sunday.

Since this is our sixth trip to Oahu, I know which shops I want to check out because of the quality and type of merchandise they carry. The easiest way to present this is by shopping area.

Kaneohe: Fabric Mart on the Kamehameha Highway, with row after row of great Hawaiian prints for clothing primarily, but also for quilting. I have made tablecloths and muumuus from my past purchases.

Aloha Tower Market Place: This shopping area reflects the "boat days," when all visitors arrived by ship. From several areas, you can still observe harbor traffic from pilot boats, container ships, tour boats, cruise ships, and an antique whaler. Happa has a good selection of prints, frames, and other gifts. Martin and McArthur has koa and other exotic wood bowls, quilts, tiles, and furniture.

Ward Warehouse: Native Books & Beautiful Things has won the Kahili Award from the Hawaii Visitor & Convention Bureau’s Keep it Hawaii program. Besides an outstanding collection of books, art prints, and gift items, you can purchase cultural items, such as ipu gourd drums. Nohea Gallery specializes in Hawaiian-made products, fabulous art glass and pottery pieces, prints, and native carved-wood objects.

Kings Village: This small, quaint shopping area just a block off Kalakaua Avenue on Kaiulani Avenue seems to be overlooked, except at 6:15pm, when the changing of the guards takes place. We found a most cooperative shop owner at The Jade Tree Hawaiian jewelry store. On two occasions she worked with us until we found just exactly the item we wanted. A fun store to browse in is the Rock Island Café. We took a break to have a very expensive but delicious cherry coke and watch part of an Elvis Presley movie filmed in Hawaii. The merchandize is nostalgic, with Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Coca-Cola themes prominent.

This faithful reproduction of a 900-year-old Japanese temple, built in 1968, celebrates the arrival of the Japanese immigrants to Hawaii in 1868. Most days you will have to stand in a short line for the opportunity to ring the giant 3-ton brass bell and make a nominal donation before entering.

The bright red temple immediately draws your eye, but look around at the small meditation pavilion on the hill, landscaping, variety of birds (even peacock), turtles, and koi inhabiting the pond. At the lovely tea-house gift shop, purchase small bags of fish food. Sprinkle a few pellets on the water and the koi practically crawl up on top of each other to get it. The entry fee is low, $2 per person. The tranquility here is a wonderful change of pace from Waikiki.