[images][2/19/15] Oahu, Hawai’i: Day 1.

Location: Honolulu, Waikiki.

Welcome to the Equus Hotel: This lovely towel in the form of a swan was waiting for us when we got in from the Honolulu Airport the night before. We happily left him intact for our entire stay.

Okay, now on to Day 1: A little park across the street from where our precious friend Alishaa took us for a healthy lunch. (Yes, that is a Burger King you see across the street on the other side, a fancy one.)

The big, gorgeous Chinese tapestry that I fell in love with on the wall in Alishaa’s studio. This picture does not do it justice, not even close.

Alishaa, me, and Terri, from your left. Mahalo!

King Kamehameha the Great! I remember reading about him and his legacy to the Hawai’ian people back in middle school. I couldn’t believe I was standing there gazing at his statue.

Massive variegated foliage taking over the parking lot next to King Kamehameha’s statue. I only wish I could have gotten a picture of the whole thing! Alas, cell phone cameras are limited.

Banyan trees, in the parking lot next to King Kamehameha’s statue. I had never seen one before that day. Stunning.

Good thing we didn’t have time to go into the Honolulu Design Center. I would have had a helluva time getting myself back out without damaging my debit card.

Tooling along downtown/midtown.

As we drove out of downtown and into the suburb… My only picture of the extinct Diamond Head volcano crater that didn’t come out blurry. Thank God I at least have one. I still can’t believe I was sleeping along the coast practically next to the thing, and seeing it with my own eyes no matter where I looked. What!

It has been made into a state monument.

I’m borrowing this aerial view from Alex L. @ Yelp.com.

Gazing out at the ocean at sunset, at an observation point along Diamond Head Road (see that teeny road carved along the outside of the crater, above the Pacific beaches, in the picture above? ↑). Check the tiny airliner in the upper right-hand corner of my pic. 🙂

One of two massive bronze steeds on either side of the Jade Dynasty Seafood Restaurant at the Ala Moana Shopping Center. One thing that was really different about the shopping centers and the airport in Honolulu: Rather than being completely enclosed like on the U.S. mainland, they are open to the tropical island air and sky.

Sausage, potatoes, pasta, and a glass of Moscato at Romano’s Macaroni Grill at Ala Moana Mall. Our young, handsome waiter respectfully calling me “Aunty” was a treat. Dinner conversation with our phenomenal friend Geri was the icing on top.

Thanks for letting me share my first day in Oahu (back on February 19) with you, friends. More to come.

---

Previous posts:

[videos] Would I get a Yeti gremlin or a sleek, aerodynamic gremlin? Ughhh.

The good, the bad, and the ugly. And the trip of a lifetime!