The Beach Life! (Hawaii, #2, July 20, 2013)

The beach beneath our hotel balcony beckons me!  In the middle of the night, I woke up and listened to the whispering of the gentle waves splashing on the beach.  We had left our sliding door open so we could hear the waves.  Then I went out and sat on the balcony for a while.  The bright white moon had moved over  to the the far right of the sky, larger and lower than when we first retired for the night.  The shimmering of the moonshine upon the sea was hypnotizing.  It took a time before I was sleepy enough to return to bed.

The hotel bed was so comfortable I slept till 5:30 a.m., Hawaiian time, That's 11:30 a.m., Kentucky time.  Don't believe I've slept that late since I was a teenager!  The sun was just starting to illuminate the sky over Diamond Head, the extinct volcanic crater to the east of our hotel, the Royal Hawaiian.  The mountains behind our hotel are still kissed by the low clouds, as they appeared when we first drove to Honolulu from the airport yesterday.

First thing we did, after getting dressed and having coffee: reserved a beach umbrella with two lounge chairs for the whole day, right in the first row, facing the water. This accomplished, we walked a few steps to the hotel's outdoor restaurant and had a big breakfast: scrambled eggs, potato cake, bacon, a pile of mixed greens, roasted tomato wedge, small mango smoothie, toast and jam with lots more coffee.  No rush - we could watch boats, people, and the surfers. There were a few polite, small birds waiting on top of the chairs for the crumbs to drop.

Jan and Theresa at breakfast, taken by our server at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

 The surfers' behavior surprises us.  Last night, there were a few surfers even in the dark!  Early this morning, with the first light, there were dozens of surfers, far away from the beach with their surf boards floating, some coming to shore on a wave, most waiting for a wave that pleases them.  Some surfers are paddling the surf boards with an oar.  I notice that there is a velcro band around each surfer's ankle which attaches to a line linking the board to the surfer.  Then when (not if!) they fall into the ocean, the board doesn't float away from them.

Early morning surfers at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii

We asked the concierge for directions to the nearest pharmacy for the few items we didn't pack.  There is one in a shopping mall adjacent to our hotel.  There we found the items we needed plus sandwiches, chips, and water for lunch, some souvenirs, T-shirts with "Hawaii" embroidered on, etc.  They were stashed in our room's refrigerator and on top of the desk and so we're ready to go to the beach!

We find it interesting that in Honolulu, most signs are in two languages: English and Japanese.  We are used to signs in English and Spanish, so this surprises us.  While waiting in line at the pharmacy, we noticed that another sign said, "We accept yen."   At the hotel the concierges speak English and Japanese. The Japanese tourists are attractive and most mannerly.

Now, at 10:30 a.m., the beach is alive with hundreds of folks of every nationality, size, and age in the water, on the sand, lying on towels, walking, lounging under umbrellas, surfing, building sand castles, watching the boats and para-sailors. A distant helicopter which looks like a tadpole hums along its way.  Two children are burying their father in the sand.  There are all sorts of brightly colored inner tubes and other floating objects with people on them/in them.  The beach, a private one for the hotels, is full but not crowded.  No one is in a hurry on Waikiki Beach!  Even the clouds are lazy today but there is a pleasant breeze blowing.

It's hot in the sun but I am perfectly content under the shade of our umbrellas.  Theresa prefers the full sun: "I'm here to get a tan," she quips.

Boat horns occasionally punctuate the low conversational tone of laughing children and chatting adults, but the ever-faithful waves dominate the sounds of the beach.

Theresa saw a yellow catamaran (boat) moored nearby, chatted with the captain, and arranged a sailing trip for us later today.  There are four sailboats, two cruise ships, two cargo ships and some miscellaneous fishing boats in view.

We're an Island!

Mid-afternoon: in the front of us, on the hill to the water's edge, a couple laid out their beach towels.  This row of sunbathers in no way obstructed our view of the breakers.  As if to read my mind, a gentleman approached the couple, "I just want to be a good neighbor and let you know, in about an hour, the water will be up to your towels because the tide's coming in."  Great!  I was just wondering about the tide.  Sure enough, the waves rush in higher and higher till finally one mighty wave rushes over all the beach towels.  People scurry to pick up their belongings and wet towels and set up behind us. With water all around us, we are our own Island!

The Tide's coming in at Waikiki Beach!

 Our Sailing Adventure

I'll never again see a sailboat on an ocean or lake and think, "The effortlessly glide through calm waters."  Our ocean sailing voyage consisted of bouncing over the large incoming waves, a very rough journey.  It was exciting, we had to hold onto the sides for our lives, and we loved it!

The trip started out by not being able to get off the beach. Out of approximately 50 guests, the captain asked, "We're stuck in the sand.  I want the 10 biggest guys to get off."  That didn't help, then the captain removed 5 more.  They all rocked the boat forwards and backwards and, at last, we were free and heading out to sea!  The men quickly climbed aboard.

Our Sailboat, the Manu Kai

We sailed past Diamond Head where the seas were particularly rough.  We saw Diamond Head Lighthouse from the sea!  It is automated and accessible only by sea, not open to the general public.  But we saw it from SEA!

Diamond Head Lighthouse, Hawaii, as seen from SEA!

The boat headed back to shore after spending a short time in the Diamond Head area. It seemed unusual viewing those trying to surf board from behind them.  There were plenty of sailboats and several motorized boats in our area.  We waved to those on board the others and they waved back. From sea, we enjoyed tremendous panoramic views of Honolulu and the sunset.

Honolulu, Hawaii, as seen from the sea.

Our hotel, the Royal Hawaiian, was dwarfed by its larger neighbors.  However, the 'pink palace' was the finest hotel, historic, very upscale.

The Royal Hawaaian Hotel, a.k.a. The Pink Palace, viewed from the ocean.

On our arrival, we picked up a very nice photo taken of us before departure and slowly trudged up the hill through the sand to the hotel.  We were tired from our adventure!  Tomorrow we'll see more of Hawaii and soak up more sun!

The Sun peeps behind a cloud, taken from the Sailboat.

Another magnificent sunset in Hawaii, taken from our room's balcony.