Since March 20th, we have been watching on TV the “horrible” traffic on Hawaii’s only Interstate road, H1, in Honolulu. No one can explain to us how this interstate connects to any others. But, it is a Federal road with major problems. Since our last visit in 2012, the problems have increased. One of the major solutions to solve the traffic is Honolulu is building a “rail.” Hopefully, if we make it back here, we can take the rail into Waikiki.
Three-fourths of the Hawaiian population lives in Oahu. Most of the industry is located here and this is where the jobs are. We saw in Ewa, about thirty miles from Waikiki, new homes for $500,000. It is tough for a young person to buy a home on Oahu.
The warm weather brings many to Hawaii from around the world, particularly from Canada, California and Japan. Couples get married here all the time.
The warm weather also is the saving grace for the homeless in Oahu. They estimate about 5,000 people are homeless here. For the most part, they just leave other people alone. We saw a make-shift home close to a beach today.
Our view from our Waikiki Banyon condo unit is wonderful. We are on the 22nd floor with the view of the ocean and Waikiki. We don’t get to see Diamond Head this time, but the unit is the best we have had on our sojourn.
We plan to stay here for 28 days. Through VRBO, and a little negotiation, we were able to get this one bedroom condo, a block off Waikiki Beach, for about $125 a night. Not bad with free internet and most importantly, free parking.
We just love walking down Waikiki. It is a lively place. We go in and out of resorts, shops and parks. There are a plethora of restaurants to choose from, or we can choose to cook in our condo.
Today, we spent three hours walking around and made it to the Ala Mona mall. There is no AC in the hallways, but the Trade winds makes it a pleasant 78 degrees most of the time. One of these days we will get a Fit-bit to actually know what we do physically.
It was several days ago, along one of our walks, we decided to visit Aulani. It is Disney’s newest resort about thirty miles from Waikiki. A young Japanese woman signed us up. A strong Asian influence is here in Oahu. This is the place where USA meets Japan. Most of the marques are both in English and Japanese.
The Japanese couldn’t win in WWII, but, they are winning on the global market due to their team effort ability and work ethic. It’s rather neat that we can co-exist today.
We were given a great tour of Aulani. It is such a pretty place.
Disney’s Vacation Club is based on points and it takes so many points to stay in one of their Vacation resorts. Many people sign-up and seem to enjoy it. One week at Aulani would easily cost more than our month here in Waikiki. It does not make economic sense for us to join. Plus, there is always that yearly maintenance bill that can easily reach over a $1000 dollars. Arthur Frommer says, “Stay away from them.”
We met a nice young man, Mark, from Indiana who works at P.F. Chang’s. He is, also, going to school for business and surfs the rest of the time. Being 25, unattached, the world is unfolding for him as it should.
We just heard that CBS has accepted a 6th season of Hawaii Five-O. I thought we saw a Steve McGarett look-alike walking the Waikiki Boulevard. I think Tom Selleck’s show most influenced my mom wanting to visit Hawaii. She gave me the dream. Mom never made it.
