Sunday, January 30 – Honolulu

I did some housekeeping stuff this morning, including a journal update and a trip to the grocery store. Exciting, I know!

Sidenote: I’ve checked out four different grocery stores near my apartment, and it turns out Walmart generally has the lowest prices. And it’s a nicely laid out store as well! The one negative is their limited produce section.

By early afternoon I was ready to get out and enjoy some more of the beautiful weather. I decided I was going to go back to the Diamond Head Grill for some takeaway dinner, so I meandered that way via the waterfront. The beaches were pretty crowded. As I mentioned before, I’m pretty sure that’s due to an influx of the locals on the weekends. (No pictures of note to post here – it’s all similar to what I’ve uploaded previously. Sorry!)

The Grill’s daily special was a grilled chicken gyros with a salad. Mmmm…might have try that out!

So, my apartment is on the very western edge of Waikiki, and the Diamond Head Grill is on the eastern edge. I point that out because the walk back took me about 45 minutes. Not terrible. But I probably won’t be going back there a lot! (For reference, my previous hotel is pretty much right in the middle between my apartment and the Grill)

Monday, January 31 – Honolulu

I worked on some travel planning this morning. I ended booking the next leg of my trip – 7 nights in Kauai. (That’s the longest I was willing to go – it’s expensive! And, of course, I’m cheap!) I’ll reveal the Kauai costs when I get to that part of the trip. I head there on the 20th of this month.

Travel Note: I’m going to need a rental car in Kauai (and the other islands), so I checked with my credit card companies to see if either of the two offer Collision Damage coverage when using their card. Well, it’s good news – bad news time. The good news is one of my cards does offer the coverage. Alright! The bad news? My account (and thousands of others) with that card have been transferred to a different provider. So my existing card will be voided on February 21st. Ugh! That’s double bad news! Not only will I not receive the CD coverage, but I’ll be down to one credit card for the rest of my trip after February 21st. I’m confident (hopeful?) it won’t be a problem though. There is some follow-up good news however. I ended up booking the rental car via Expedia, and they offer CD coverage through AIG for $10/day, which isn’t terrible. One more note: I’m sure the new credit card provider has mailed me their card which will become active on the 21st, and may even include CD coverage; but, of course, I’m not home to receive it! Doh!

By afternoon I was ready to get out and clear my head. So I decided to take the walk around (not into) Diamond Head Crater. This is the walk that goes along the waterfront in Waikiki and then wraps around the crater to return back into town. It’s a pretty walk, and fairly grueling with some elevation changes. (Once again, I haven’t bothered with pictures; you’ve seen it already) Dinner was chicken noodle soup out of a can. Yum!

Sidenote: I’ve been here three weeks now, and I hate to say it, but I’ve recently been hoping for a rainy day; just so I could take a day of just loafing around and not feel guilty about it. But it’s been nice every day! Pretty lame thing to be complaining about, right? (BTW, still averaging 17k steps per day)

Tuesday, February 1 – Honolulu

I have a little day of exploring planned. I’m heading back to the southeast corner of the island – to the area around Koko Crater (there’s a lot see there!).

The first stop is Koko Crater Botanical Garden. The garden path is about 2 miles long, with some minor elevation changes. An easy hike. And the best part: it’s free! I should say that the name is a little misleading. To me it seemed more like a nature preserve. I’ll let you be the judge after looking at the pictures! (and like at the arboretum, I’ll offer the caveat that I’ve made no attempt to identify the various plant life! Sorry!)

Okay, time to head to the beach! To get there from the Botanical Garden was about a 30 minute walk to the south.

And for those of you of a certain age, Halona Beach Cove is where the beach scene in the movie From Here To Eternity was filmed.

A fun day!

Wednesday, February 2 – Honolulu

More travel planning this morning folks! I’m looking at going to Maui following Kauai, but nothing is booked yet. Spoiler alert! I’m probably going to return to Madison earlier than expected. The costs on the other three islands are much higher than here on Oahu (mainly due to the need for a rental car), so my budget is looking to be busted ahead of schedule (although, my original plan was not to stay in Hawaii for the full three months). I’m still sorting through the scenarios though. Watch this space…

Following the planning stuff and some journal work, I ventured out to what is probably my favorite spot in Honolulu. That’s right. Magic Island! Basically just planted myself on a bench, contemplated life, did a little reading, and listened to one of Matt’s podcasts.

Before finding my bench of choice though, I came across this cool ceremony…

Sadly, I have some terrible news to report people! Brace yourselves!

On my way back to the apartment I stopped at the nearby Subway to pick up a $3.99 special. Well, they’re no longer offering that promotion. What!?! The horror! Now, there are many other Subway shops in the area, but as far as I could tell this was the only one offering the special. And now it’s no more. Brutal!

So I went to Plan B for dinner. I stopped at the grocery store (not Walmart) to pick up a premade salad. On the way out of the store I noticed this popular booth.