But then again, so is the Strip in Las Vegas - and we love the Strip - so you knew it was inevitable that we take at least part of a day to walk around down in Waikiki.
We spent a good bit of time meandering the shops and carts in the International Marketplace...
But given every darn retailer in that place sells almost exactly the same junk, there seemed no point in taking any pictures of any of it.
There was a little shop that was going out of business that was run by a nice Korean man who gave little "kitty cat" figurines to my three youngest kids. Malia wouldn't put hers down...
We strolled along the beach for a bit and posed in front of the "na pohaku ola kapaemahu a kupuni" -- or Stones of Life...
Legend has it that these are the living testament to four Tahitian healers who lived not far from Waikiki Beach.
A more modern memorial could be found just a few paces away...
Duke Kahanamoku, widely regarded as the father of modern surfing. He won a gold medal in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm in the 100 meter freestyle -- making him the fastest swimmer on earth. He again won a gold medal in the 100 meters freestyle at the Antwerp Olympics in 1920 and another gold in another event.
Some argue, however, that his statue is facing the wrong way. He should be stretching out his arms and looking out at his beloved Waikiki Beach, not standing with his back to it.
Say what you will about the crowds -- and crowds there are -- but Waikiki Beach is one fantastic beach. Perfect temperature. Few rocks. Lots of sand. Little undertow and small waves. Were it not for the fact that the crowds are enormous and you have an ABC Store every ten feet, it would be the perfect beach for children and families.
The kids thought it was perfect because there was a nice ice cream parlor across the street...
There was the oddest sign in this shop directly above Bretty's head in the picture above.
This is an indoor ice cream parlor, yet here is the sign close up...
I thought, how could we feed birds indoors?
Then I looked over at the next table over...
The birds fly in the doors and have taken over the place!
Speaking of strange signs, look at the No Right Turn sign on the left side of this parking ramp at Ala Moana Shopping Center...
I understand that they don't want us to make a right turn while going up the ramp, but from what I can see, turning right doesn't appear to be an option anyway!
We ended the day by making a trek downtown to walk around the grounds of Iolani Palace and the State Capital. The little girls were too young to enter the Palace itself, but we did walk around the property.
The kids were less than enthusiastic about posing in front of the Coat of Arms of the old Kingdom of Hawaii (and Iolani Palace in the background)...
But they were much happier to pose in front of Iolani Place while eating the famous malasadas (fried dough covered in sugar) from Leonard's...
Walking across the lawn of Iolani Palace, you can find a statue of Queen Lili'uokalani, the last monarch to rule the Kingdom of Hawaii...
The Queen was overthrown in 1893 and the Kingdom of Hawaii was eventually replaced with the Republic of Hawaii -- and later annexed to the United States.
She is also the musician who authored the famous "Aloha 'Oe" which is known around the world.
Iolani Place connects directly with the State Capital of Hawaii, with Queen Lili'uokalani standing between the two buildings.
On the other side of the Capital Building is a statue of an even more famous person...
The man officially designated by the late Pope John Paul II as "Blessed Damien of Molokai." He is "Blessed" because the Pope beatified Father Damien in 1995 -- which is the final step before a person is declared a Saint by the Catholic Church.
Father Damien was the priest who cared for the lepers at Kalaupapa on Molokai over a century ago that I referred to in a previous post.
And across the street from the State Capital is a white building you can see in the background below...
This is Washington Place -- the official residence of the Governor of Hawaii.
Walking back to the other side of Iolani Palace and across the street is Ali'iolani Hale -- the Supreme Court of Hawaii. Although the reason that it's famous is because of the statue out front...
King Kamehameha I who conquered the other Hawaiian Chiefs and declared himself King of the newly united Kingdom of Hawaii.
On an aside, both the Father Damien statue and the King Kamehameha statue are castings from the same molds of the two official Hawaii statues at the United States Capital in Washington, DC. As you probably know, each State is allowed to send two statues to be placed on permanent display in the US Capital. Hawaii has by far the tallest and heaviest (King Kamehameha) and the only modern art interpretation of a person (Father Damien).
Just like Hawaii, gotta do things with their own way. No wonder so many Bicoys continue to call this place home!
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