Monday, January 24 – Honolulu

Nothing special planned for today. I did pick up some things at the local grocery store, which is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment. There is a significant Japanese population in Honolulu, and you can see that influence with the type of foods offered at the store. I did have a surprising (pleasant?) discovery while roaming the aisles…

I went for a walk in the afternoon and had another pleasant surprise: there’s a Subway shop close to my apartment that offers a daily $3.99 six-inch sub special. Wow! That’s a bargain here! I can see being a regular there. (I’m so cheap!)

Took a break on my walk to do some reading on a bench in what’s becoming my favorite spot in Waikiki/Honolulu – Magic Island.

Oh, and for dinner I had a $3.99 sub! 😉

Steps Update: Yesterday marked two weeks into the trip, and I’m averaging 17k steps per day, with a maximum of 30k and a minimum of 10k.

Tuesday, January 25 – Honolulu

Today I hiked the Koko Crater Tramway. This is a 1,000+ step walking track consisting of abandoned railroad ties that run along the west side to the top of the crater. The military used it during World War II as part of an incline tram to transport supplies to a lookout post at the summit. Located to the east of Honolulu, it was about a 50 minute bus ride to get there.

The ascent took me about 50 minutes, with many stops along the way. It was fun though because there was a comradery amongst the hikers – a lot on conversations and encouragement along the way. While I was taking a break at the top I spoke to a recent college grad who played DII football. He did the climb in 17 minutes. Yikes!

I spent about 40 minutes at the top. There was a nice breeze on the east side of the crater, which felt great because I was sweating bullets!

The trip down took about 40 minutes. And yes, I bypassed the “bridge” again! The descent wasn’t as strenuous as the ascent, but taking the time to maintain proper footing was a must. A tough hike (especially for an old guy!), but definitely worth it! I’m sure I’ll feel it my quads tomorrow.