Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
We woke up to this view of Diamond Head. We planned the day, then got ready to go to… the Elks, our go-to spot for meals.
The beach was almost full at 8:00 am!
We took a cab to the Elks and enjoyed the sunshine and seeing all the flowers in the sunlight for the first time in days. The Elk who greeted us was in the sunset, surrounded by waves. The artist was amazing!!
On the right-hand side as you enter the lobby stood Mr. Elk.
Mary was out chasing the chickens, which run wild all over town (except downtown, where they would be crushed within seconds.
Mr. Rooster and his harem!
The day was spectacular, with a temperature of 74 degrees and low tide; we did not have to worry about getting wet when the waves came in.
Since we got there early and nothing was open, Mary wandered to the hotel next door, where we heroically scored two coffees and a cookie for the bargain price of just $30. At that rate, I assume the cookie is paying for the espresso machine.
We arrived early, sat, and enjoyed the view with our $30 coffee and 1/2 cookie.
As we went inside, we saw a group of folks with Ukelels having a jam session. We immediately thought of Jim (Vicky) as he is taking lessons! Their selection of music was tuned to our ears, and we found ourselves toe-tapping and sometimes singing along!
Diet be darned, I went for their burger, and it was really good! The French fries were done perfectly.
I did NOT need another meal all day.
We went back to the hotel and walked around the garden a bit. With all the rain, everything was so green and clean.
There was a bazillion shades of green!
At 1:30 pm, we headed to the Aloha Tower, where Hawaii Pacific University is located. We planned to meet up with Megan, get a quick tour of the facility, and see her dorm room.
We made it right on time!!
The statues surrounding the school were interesting.
I was trying to follow her moves, but I could not keep up!
Right on time, Megan appeared as if by magic.
Grandma Mary and Megan.
The University (part of it anyway) is located beneath the Aloha Tower.
Completed in 1926 and standing 184 feet tall, Aloha Tower was the tallest building on the island for four decades, offering spectacular views of the harbor, with its top floor housing an observatory and lookout station for harbor pilots. Its lighthouse served as a navigational landmark visible from 15 miles at sea, while its clock was one of the largest in the United States.
The tower stood as a welcoming beacon for visitors when travel to O’ahu was done entirely by sea, the “ALOHA” etched on its walls greeting thousands of ship passengers entering Honolulu Harbor.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Aloha Tower was placed under the control of the United States Navy, which restricted public access, shut off its beacon, and painted the once white building camouflage to minimize detection.
As a control center for American military convoys in the Pacific, the facility maintained a high level of security, with Army sentries on patrol until 1947, when the camouflage paint was sandblasted off, and the building returned to civilian control.
The University (part of it) is located just east under the shadow of the tower.
We remembered seeing it on our last cruise to Hawaii!
Megan’s dorm room was quite nice, and she had a room for two all to herself. Instead of being a math major, perhaps she might consider interior decorating? Na, just kidding!
Looking good.
Before Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) took over and renovated the facility in the 2010s, the building was the Aloha Tower Marketplace, a waterfront shopping and dining complex. It served as a commercial center featuring restaurants, retail shops, and tourist attractions before being repurposed into university dormitories and mixed-use educational spaces.
The facility mods made it perfect for a school!
We abandoned poor Megan to the cruel embrace of her textbooks. We escaped to a Spaghetti Factory conveniently parked next to the school, where we heroically tackled a glass of wine each before wobbling respectably back to the hotel.
We decided NOT to take this mode of transportation back to the hotel.
On our way to see Megan, we spotted the US. Army Museum, so we decided to stop on the way back to visit it.
The USS Arizona Memorial Museum of Hawaii is a Department of Defense-owned museum housed in Battery Randolph, a former coastal artillery battery, at Fort DeRussy Military Reservation. The battery was transformed into a museum in 1976. The Hawai’i Army Museum Society (HAMS) was chartered in the same year with a mission to support the US Army Museum of Hawai’i.
The museum’s collection contains two World War II armor pieces (the US M24 Chaffee and the Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go light tank), an AH-1 Cobra helicopter, and small arms indoors, as well as the battery itself. The battery’s 14-inch main guns were scrapped after World War II and have since been replaced with two 7-inch naval guns that were previously mounted on the battleship USS New Hampshire.
The Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go Light Tank is located at the US USmy Museum of Hawai’i.
Museum exhibits cover the military history of pre-Imperial Hawaii and the post-annexation history of the USS, including warfare in the Pacifre, including World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War.
The museum also includes a “Gallery of Heroes” honoring recipients of the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) or its equivalents, the Navy Cross and Air Force Cross (United States).
During WWII, it housed two large guns capable of delivering explosives 14 miles away… Unfortunately, the guns on the battleships had a range of 18 miles!
The story goes that the facility was to be demolished, but the contractor gave up after a few days; the wrecking ball kept getting wrecked. The place was solid reinforced concrete several feet thick. The government decided to use it for storage and then made it into a museum.
We walked into every room along the corridor, and each room was filled with historical items and stories.
We departed the museum with some newfound knowledge about Hawaii and WWII. I wanted to take the tank to the hotel because traffic was heavy! Mary said, “NO!”
CHARGE, FULL SPEED AHEAD.
Back to the hotel with a quick stop at the MaiTai Bar to make selections from their rather amazing cocktails.
This was a …ah…. perhaps…. I forgot, but it was good!!
The view from our table was wonderful, and we decided we might go sailing if we had time.
Colors of the rainbow.
Between drinks, we managed to down a cheese plate, which was our dinner this evening.
Just like The Silver Trumpet back home.
We were full and ready to take on the world! Ready??
What did the ocean say to the beach in Hawaii?
Nothing, it just waved.
Why are fish so smart in Hawaii?
Because they live in schools!
How do sea turtles communicate with each other?
With shell phones!
Mary picked out my shirt today!
After “dinner,” we wandered onto the beach and watched the sunset. Now, it was time to go to the room, watch some TV, and crash!
Bye, Mr. Sun, see you tomorrow!
Tomorrow we are going to the Gym Meet and see Megan go through her routines.
Hawaii time-lapse and real-time 4K footage series
