Waikīkī Wonderland

Nearly 6 million people per year visit Oahu and most of those are in Waikiki. The streets were always crowded with people but it did die down by 11 pm when the retail stores closed (except Ross stayed open until 1 am!), as well as most restaurants. I took long walks, about 5 km, most days and felt safe both during the day and after dark, even walking through a dark city park in the evening. John joined me on shorter walks but for the last 3 days decided to use the exercise bike in the gym instead of walking.

There was entertainment around every corner, usually ending at 9, because most were sponsored by the shopping malls. The Royal Grove was my favourite spot. The Air Force Band played country and rock but there was also Hawaiian music and hula. The Ala Moana Mega Mall had entertainment from morning until evening. This high school jazz band and choir were from Wilmar, MN and it reminded us of when Garrett & Alyssa were involved in choir and band (but they certainly didn't get to travel to Hawaii). Buskers were on the main street but they weren't very good and don't seem to be screened by the city. One night John was enjoying a rock guitarist until I informed him that he was playing air guitar! I noticed that the guitarist stopped playing to talk to a tourist but the music kept on playing.Read more