If you go on a trip for a week, it is guaranteed by the law of averages that one of those days will not go as you planned. Yesterday was that day.
I got up at 6AM local time, as always, and wrote my blog post about the wonderful day I had before. The plan for yesterday was simple; Get some shopping done, check out some historical and natural sites, go to a park, and hang by the pool.
What happened was I spent nearly 7 hours shopping and/or trying to get around... but it wasn't as bad as I make it sound.
I started by trying to get some sketching in, but it just wasn't going to happen. I wound up walking east on some street that I never remember the name of, but I just call it "the Strip". I passed a surfing competition that was just getting started, and the further east you went, the nicer it got.
After that, I hopped on a bus to Ala Mona Mall, which is this massive mall with more stores than you can imagine, and it's 100% open-air. It's easy to get lost in there and all the stores... but that didn't happen. At least, not when I first went there. Instead, the mall was closed. The plan then was to head across the street to the massive Ala Mona Park, but I saw a bus coming and decided to head on over to The Royal Palace.
Its pretty interesting; Hawaii used to have kings and queens. In the late 1800's, Queen Liliʻuokalani was overthrown and replaced by a Provisional Government, which the US Government wasn't happy with and even declared the act illegal. The palace still stands, and it was wonderful to look at.
I wanted to head to Chinatown to get photos of street art for a friend of mine, but once I got there I couldn't find it. After 30 minutes of searching, which was incredibly fun, I wound up at a small skate shop called APB right at the edge of Chinatown. The guy behind the counter was awesome and we talked about skateboards for a bit and how the laws in both places where we live suck ass. That's when I realized the street art I was looking for was entirely on boards, and that they wouldn't be back up until everything closed.
So, playing it by ear... I got lost again. I was actually lost for 30 minutes before I even got to Chinatown, looking for Aloha Tower, and in turn something else to do. I wound up going back to the mall and grabbing a bite to eat at Arby's since the mall was open by now.
Now, the coolest product I've found... EVER. BOARDSHORTS. Remember when everyone basically wore them everywhere in the early 1990's? I still think they're cool, even if the intent is to just wear them during swimming or whatever. Why not wear them more, right? I got 2 pairs, and I can't wait to bring them back home!
It took an hour to get back to the Swap Meet and Aloha Stadium, but I was able to grab some Aloha Shirts and a Tiki from the awesome guys I mentioned who actually hand-carve them here. Really nice, awesome guys!
I went back to Chinatown, and was able to get my shots in. Sadly, that's when I realized that both the memory card on in my camera was full, and that it was nearly 4PM. Sunset was in 3 hours, and I still had to go to my room and rest.
I got back, and after getting lunch with Claire, my friend who came with me down here, I was working on a plan to get around to some spots that wound up being impossible to do in the time I had left. Claire told me about all the awesome stuff she did; hiking in a rain forest, taking tons of photos, and having a good time doing it all. I was a little jealous... until she showed me how she got a little hurt. I wished I had done more, but it worked out in the end. :)
I went downtown to see the nightlife here... not much to be found, actually, unless you're in Waikiki. I found a place called Nick's Arcade, a tiny hole-in-the-wall place where odd games I've never seen before and a copy of Monopoly Pinball, that I can only assume was rigged. How else can you explain the ball going STRAIGHT DOWN 80% OF THE TIME?! Eh... it was still really fun, especially since it was such a hidden place!
Today's plan? Rent a car and go to Diamond Head! Diamond Head is actually a massive mountain formed by a deep impact... just like the band! OOH! RIM SHOT! It's actually a huge crater and it should be a good hike. If we don't do that today, we're going to the North Shore where all the really cool stuff is.
On the main upside, I wound up taking a ton of photos so far, and I'm getting a lot of ideas and rest. If I don't get it today, I plan on getting a surfing lesson before I go! And a message is possible.
Oh, and I wound up selling two pairs of shoes from my store on Zazzle! NEAT!
Aloha!
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