Honolulu Marathon 2014

The marathon runners start at 5 am, the 10 k walkers right after the runners, and Waikiki beach is in the first few miles of the marathon course, so by the time I got down to the beach at 8 am the very last of the walkers were coming by and the street cleaners were sweeping up smashed cups and taking up the cones that were blocking off the street. 

The first thing I noticed when I came out of the room was a rainbow arching over the Western sky. It was raining lightly with sun breaks and the rainbow persisted throughout the hour I spent away from the room. So my first photos on the beach were of the rainbow before I headed to the marathon finish line in Kapiolani park. Too bad the rainbow was behind the runners, but I guess the ones who were coming around on the other side of the loop to the finish were running towards it, so that must have been a treat. 

A Japanese booth was running a costume contest, so I saw any number of costumed Japanese in my time there.

Near the walkers finish line I saw these parents propping up their wheelchair bound young adult son for a finish line photo.

At the marathon finish line these lovely young ladies were waiting with shell leis for the finishers. 31,000 were registered. That is a lot of shell leis!

At the finish line an announcer kept up a patter and announced most of the runners as they crossed, adding their home state or town when he had time.

58% of the entrants are Japanese. This is a very famous and popular marathon for Japanese runners.

Isn't this so fun? here the surfer seems to be looking at the end of the rainbow. I can see why the rainbow is a symbol of the state of Hawaii.

The high winds had kicked up some good surf even on this end of the island, which is usually pretty calm in the winter.

The tide was up and the high waves were hitting the break water in dramatic fashion.

I went back to the room at 9: 00 thinking Harry would be impatient to get to breakfast, which we planned to have at a nearby IHOP. My holiday special pumpkin pancakes filled with cheesecake chunks and covered with whipped cream and butter pecan syrup were the delicious dessert part of a bacon and egg breakfast with hash browns. We ate near 11 pm and that covered breakfast and lunch. 

Saturday, 12-13-2014 Windward Side Woodcarver

I had my first adventure riding The Bus in Honolulu Saturday. I spent most of the day in our room catching up on my blog diary and researching bus routes so I could meet Harry at the Aloha Stadium at the end of the day. That is about 20 minutes drive from Schofield Barracks where he is working and meeting him there let us get on our way much more quickly to the Windward side. He didn't say why he wanted to go to the windward side, but I was eager to see more of the island and didn't mind the mystery. I assumed he was longing for some of the grilled steak he can get at the Times Market over there. They grill it outdoors with a local seasoned salt and slice it thin, then serve it with your choice of a variety of sides. 

The bus I chose actually came early, or maybe it was an earlier run of the same route, I'm not sure. I was a little anxious about how to know when to get off, but told the driver and then tracked it on Google maps on my phone and had no problem. The problem that I did have was that I assumed I would be catching the next bus to get me from there to the stadium at that same stop. That wasn't the case, and the bus wasn't listed at that stop, which was a transfer station stop. I had no idea where stop number 45 was or how to find it. I had a little extra time because of the earlier bus, so I just walked down the street looking for other stops. I eventually found one that had bus 11 listed, but it wasn't stop 45 and I had no idea when 11 would come. So I waited an anxious 15 minutes and decided the first bus that came that showed service to the Arizona memorial I would get on and hope for the best. Then one came showing that and Aloha Stadium, so I got on. It was crowded and stopped frequently. I got a good look at the ethnic diversity of Hawaii in the riders and the neighborhoods we went through. It was interesting and fun. We passed a Costco and the prison also. I got to the stadium just at 4:30 and had caught the first bus at 3:17. 

When I got off at the stadium I expected to have a 15 minute walk around to an entrance, but was able to go straight in after half a block walk and crossing the street. The swap meet closed at three and it was 4:30, so it was almost deserted. I found a place to sit and waited another half hour for Harry. 

Once we got on our way, I was amazed at how quickly we were surrounded by lush green jungle covered hillsides. Once you get into the wetter zone, the landscape is totally different. We had a beautiful drive through the tall, craggy mountains with their coverings of deep green. We passed the Time market and went on along the coast. Then Harry pointed out a wood carvers business. We passed it, then he turned around and parked there, saying he needed to pick something up. 

It turned out he had commissioned two carved walking sticks from this carver. The carver's name is Maile Niu and he is fairly well known. I was first struck by this massive carving of various sea life intertwined. 

Here is another impressive large sculpture

While the walking sticks were being brought out, my brother Wayne called, which was a happy surprise. I had to call him back though, because I needed to see the walking sticks. They were works of art! Mine had a dolphin on the top and Harry's had a whale.

Mr. Niu (or I could say Brother, as he is also LDS as we are) carved his signature into each of our staffs while we watched and chatted with him and some other folks that were there.

Tiki Masks

After leaving the woodcarver, we headed back to the Times Market for steak. They were out, so we got some teriyaki steak instead, with macaroni salad and sodas. It was really good. There is a 10 plex cinema in that same shopping center, so we went to see 'Mockingjay', which Harry had seen already, but I hadn't. It had me on the edge of my seat in spots and almost ready to try to jump up and do something to help defeat 'the Capitol' and President Snow. All in all it was a nice Saturday afternoon and evening for us. Harry was glad to be able to stay up a little and not have to get up at 5-or anytime earlier than he wanted to...the next day. 

Sunset, The Green Flash! Friday, 12/12/14

After the dancers were done I settled in to take photos and video of the sunset and the beach at sunset. The sun eventually went behind a low cloud and the effect of the light rays above and sunset colors below the cloud with boats silhouetted against the glow was stunning. Eventually I filmed the sun slipping below the horizon, hoping to record the green flash. I saw the flash, but had the camera set to warm the colors with the sunset setting, so it transformed the green to yellow or red. I'm not sure how a little point and shoot would do with it anyway, but at least I saw it!

I'll let a selection of photos tell the story better.

Surfers coming in for the day

Still plenty out there, though...

'Everywhere you look, boats and boards

I moved up onto the break water and got a better shot of the waves. 

Doing the Bono-Dori! 12/12/14 Waikiki

My best excursion of the day was time spent at the beach just before sunset. I almost forgot to take a camera, and was so glad I remembered! The sun was low when I got there, so I spent the first few minutes taking photos of the Duke statue silhouetted against the sun.

As I was looking for some other shots, I heard music and what sounded like chanting. It wasn't really chanting, more a call and respond type of thing, but in Japanese. I hurried toward the sound and saw a group of mostly women in bright, short kimonos, all matching with black capris and athletic shoes. They were dancing in two columns, toes tapping and stepping in a staccato rhythm, arms waving, and hands flicking gracefully from side to side. They were led by a man and a woman who were doing the call part of the 'song'.

In the middle of the group another man and woman, dressed in black kimonos, were playing a little gong and a bamboo flute in a rhythm that never varied and a lively, memorable little tune that was repeated over and over throughout their dance. At the end of the group were a few 'just folks' who had joined the procession and were duplicating the dance as best they could.

Here is a brief video clip

Their dance started by the Life Stones at the head of the beach walk which is the dividing line between Waikiki beach and Kuhio beach. They passed the Duke statue and the big Banyan tree , then formed lines facing each other, and made a circle with the musicians and a couple of callers in the middle. They started a new round of call and response, and after a bit the dancers started dancing in a circle.

This family did the whole thing and the mom was just grinning. 

I just missed getting the expression on the big Polynesian guy's face. He was totally having fun with it. 

Look how happy the guy on the left is, joining in to the dance

Some beach goers plowed their way through the edge of the circle and a few others joined it. One, a big Samoan or Tongan was really getting a kick out of it. another, a bushy bearded red haired young man also was transported with delight. I continued making videos and snapping photos, and had fun when one of the women saw me filming and smiled an extra big smile for me.

After they were done, I battled between my desire not to intrude and my desire to know what it was about. Finally I approached one of them and started asking questions. We had a language barrier but they were able to tell me they were from 'Tokyo-shima' and were here for the marathon and that they were known for their dancing. They got someone who spoke english to explain further. The dance was normally done for the day to honor the ancestors and is called the Bono-Dori. What a treat!

Friday December 12th, Waikiki, Cheesburger in Paradise, Kings Village Farmer's Market

I was awake some during the night because I woke up when Harry got up, thought he was up for the day and turned on lights and tried to get up, only it was 2:30 and he was just up to the bathroom, lol, so then I had a hard time getting back to sleep. So I woke up again when he did get up, but went back to sleep until after 7am. Then I got dressed and walked downtown to a 7/11 store to get my bus pass. 

I was sweat soaked when I got back, so I showered and spent some cool hours in the room working on computer, especially blog diary entries.

Lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise
Around 1 pm I was really hungry so I went down to the Cheeseburger place on the beach. It was mentioned in the AAA guidebook and looked good. I wasn't prepared for $15 burgers, but once I was seated I just called it a splurge. 

View of the beach walk from my table at the Cheeseburger in Paradise

While I waited for my food and while I ate I watched the beach, the people and the coverage of the triple crown surfing competition on the sports bar TVs

Three screens are tuned to the surfing competiton

I got a Kalua Pork sandwich with slaw and onion rings. The menu described the onion ring coating as something unusual, but it was just like many I've had before. The sandwich was very good, aside from several bites that had cilantro in them, probably from the slaw. The menu there is very touristy, does not cater to locals, no plate lunches or loco moco, etc. Every table around me photographed their food when it came, lol.

I stopped at an ABC market for snacks and more water on my way back to the room. I spent the rest of the afternoon staying off my sore heel and watching TV and reading, plus a little computer time.

King's Village Farmer's Market
At four pm. I headed down to the other end of our block to the every-other-day evening farmer's market in the King's market. I never saw this market when I was here last time. It is built to be a little taste of colonial days with narrow cobbled "streets" that wind up several levels and include lots of little shops. There is a Burger King on the outside of it, appropriately to the name.

The Farmer's Market goes from 5-9 pm and is mostly produce, but also includes baked goods, sweets, and catering trays of hot foods to take and eat. I haven't seen anything else like it here, it is really fun.

In the courtyard, the Circle of fame is the hand prints of local celebrities

I bought cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, custard filled Portuguese Malasada doughnuts, and a Hawaiian sweet, that looks like it is a baked custard of coconut milk and eggs. 

When I was done shopping I took my purchases back to the room and got my camera. I headed down to the beach to enjoy the water, the people and the sunset. Harry was coming in late, so I had the time to see the sunset.  

December 11th day 2-Newbie Snorkeling-Waikiki Beach

Having checked out likely snorkeling spots the day before, I planned to do some snorkeling this day.  I spent the morning in the room working on the computer and had my Spam snack and some grapes for lunch, along with another of the pastries. 

When I got out to the beach in the afternoon I found that the tide was low. I went to the best beach from the day before and noticed it was almost all covered in rocks. I didn't bring my water shoes and I planned not to wear my fins for most of the time, so I retreated back to the mostly sandy beach by the jetty with the overlook at the end. I had my Fuji waterproof camera. 

My goal was to get familiar with my new snorkel set and more comfortable in the water. I hoped the water would be as warm as it had been in St Maartin island in the Caribbean last spring, but it was as I expected, a little chilly, more like the water at Coco Cay. After I immersed I found that my eyes were really burning and stinging from the salty water. I wondered if this ocean is more salty than the Atlantic around the Caribbean. 

View from where I was snorkeling

The water was murky from the low tide and from the influx of water from the baffled sea wall where I was swimming. Most of it was shallow enough to stand up and sandy, which was ideal for what I was doing. I find I am still quite nervous and panic easily even in this setting, which seems silly, but then I didn't know until I SNUBA dived last spring what an almost phobic feeling I would have about being in deeper water and breathing through a tube. I knew I would calm down as I continued in the water, and the depth was similar to Coco Cay, where I could stand up most anywhere, so I just kept working with it. 

I had problems getting the mask to seal around my nose, maybe more so than when I was using the one last spring that I borrowed from Wayne's son. I can't put the tube in my mouth without losing the seal as my mouth stretches around it. Tilting my head up also tended to break the seal.  I know there is a technique to it, so I kept trying different things. What worked best was pressing the mask against my face to expel air and create a vacuum. The snorkel tube worked great and didn't accumulate any water at all, so I never needed to use the valve to clear it. 

Very bad photo of  Needle fish

I really wanted to see and photograph the needle fish from underwater. They were so visible the day before and pretty, with their colorful stripes. What I found out though, was that they are always so close to the surface that I had to tip my head back to see them and I'd lose the seal and have to stand up to empty water and re-seal the mask. Also, they are very fast and would swim away when I tried to get close to take their photo. I got the shot above by holding the camera under water and pointing it towards them as they shot by. If I tried to half submerge upright to see them underwater that way, my legs and rear would immediately float up and put me on my face in the water-back to square one. Oh well, I guess they are just better viewed from above.

'My' school of fish!

I didn't take a lot of photos because of the visibility and scarcity of fish. I mostly just cruised around and practiced maneuvering through the water and keeping a seal on the mask. At one point I was pretty far from the wall in the sandy center of the water and suddenly found myself face to face with this dense school of fish. I grabbed out my camera and took a couple of shots before they moved away from me.

Eventually I felt a little chilled and went back to shore to warm up a little and get my new fins so I could work on getting more comfortable with them. I had used the fins last spring a little bit but eventually took them off because I felt like they floated my feet at the top so much that I couldn't get them underwater to kick properly. Then they were a little hard to bring down and forward as fast as I wanted when I wanted to stand up again. I was only moving very slowly and could do most of the moving around I needed to do with my arms and hands. But I felt that if I had more time to work with them I might be able to get comfortable and use them effectively.

I put on the fins when I was standing in about 6 to 8 inches of water. They were more awkward to put on than I expected. They floated, so I had to bend and lift one leg and put one on, then standing on that one do the other, only standing on the first one destabilized me so I almost fell over.

Then I tried to walk in deeper. Oh, what a comedy and a disaster!  The fins are curved, so each step I took the front dug down into the sand. Then I had to lift the fin, plus the sand it was inserted into to take the next step. I tried over and over, and almost fell over, and ended up crossing my feet and almost falling over. I couldn't make any real progress forward. I imagined how this was going to work when I was deeper in and falling sideways into deeper water, and gave up. I guess the ones I borrowed last spring were flat, because I certainly didn't have anything like that kind of problem with those. I wish I could find a short, flat flipper that would be easier to walk in and stand up in and still give a little extra kicking power. I wonder if these were made for getting off a boat straight into the water.

Meanwhile, I was aware I'd been presenting a laughable spectacle to anyone watching on the beach. Visualize fat older lady floundering around in flippers... So I just walked out of the water carrying my fins and laughing at myself a little. Can't do anything about looking ridiculous, so I might as well enjoy the humor also!

I swam with the mask and snorkel some more until I had salt water burning in my nose and throat from the difficulty I was having with the seal on the mask. Even with all that I enjoyed myself.

I spent a leisurely time then walking back down the beach and sitting and watching the water and the people before going back to the room and showering and having a rest before Harry came back from work.

He came in rushed and anxious to get me to Walmart where I planned to finish my shopping. He is not good in city traffic and was over tired and way stressed, so I was glad I could bring up a map on my phone that showed our progress and let me zoom in to be sure about each turn and street name. He was anxious about parking downtown, and I said there was probably a parking garage. He disagreed and when it came time to turn down the street the store was on he went straight instead and parked on the street. We walked around to the store entrance, and sure enough, there was a big parking garage. He grumbled that anyway, it would be full because everyone would be using it. He headed for an escalator marked with a small sign, 'To Sam's Club'. and said, 'Come on, here's an escalator', I answered, 'Ok, we could do that, or we could just go in the store,' as I pointed to the entrance to Walmart opposite to where he was headed.

To my relief he parked himself in a fast food called L & L, with a soda and I did my shopping. After I was done he suggested we eat there and we both had Saimin ramin noodles, me with teriyaki BBQ chicken, and him with Spam...? He doesn't like spam but wasn't sure if that was what it was. He did like it ok that way though. I wanted to eat light because of the heartburn the night before from the heavy meal.

Then it was home and a little TV and to bed by 9:30.