9 days from arrival to departure was perfect - allowing me to alternate between pure relaxation & wandering w/ tours & the like
As I'm a walker & have 'this thing' about figured out how much walking I did over a vaca...
I walked in total 65.65 miles/265 floors - an average of 7.28 miles/29.4 floors each day :)
the weather was absolutely perfect - hottest was mid-80s, coolest was 68, and the rare but occasional sun shower felt great ( and lasted only minutes :) )
and - seriously - O'ahu is THE cleanest state I'd ever been to & Waikiki THE cleanest neighbourhood...
they take keeping it beautiful seriously & wonderfully ! Absolutely adored it !
upon arrival I was immediately upgraded - *coughs*freeofcharge!*coughs* - into a partial ocean-view :D
I stayed on the quiet(er) side of Waikiki next to the Zoo & near Diamond Head, but there's no question this island & state have so much to offer...
history, culture, enjoyment... option after option galore !
aye, as night falls buskers come out along the main road - BUT are not allowed on the beach-side, so if you stay along the beach, you're not bothered one iota
and, aye, as anyplace that's warm & by water, there are homeless - BUT I wasn't bothered once by a single homeless person ( quite unlike other areas I've been to - including locally! *sighs* )
over the week+ stay I visited the Honolulu Zoo ( very unique zoo ), Waikiki Aquarium ( small, but full of life - and jellies! ), & walked up the Diamond Head Lookout ( 7 miles/76 flights from hotel to trails-end to return to hotel ! )
I did an "ultimate circle island" tour that included the beautiful Waimea Falls, the North Shore, & many, many beautiful areas of the island outside Waikiki/Honolulu
I visited Kualoa Ranch, taking an all day tour that included Food Tasting ( fresh fruit & fresh macadamia nuts taste nothing like they do at home! ) & Movie Tours which included multiple sites/locations I knew of & some I had no idea... as a working Ranch, there was a surprising amount of history there, too
I visited Pearl Harbor & the nearby Memorials - including Ford Island, Arizona Memorial, Bowfin, Pacific Aviation Museum, & 'The Mighty Mo' :D ... sad history, to be certain, but amazing nonetheless ! - tour also included some city sites including a stop outside the Palace
...the tour guides on all the tours were great - multiple at Kualoa Ranch - and offered far more than your 'ordinary one-stop' tours :)
I hit the Hard Rock while I was there as well as other restaurants & bars - BEST DEMN BURGERS ( plain, no toppings, as I like them ) is now officially, unquestionably at Islands in the Ala Moana Center !!
( my stomach is now growling just from thinking about it *love!* <3 )
gods - if I didn't have to go back, I wouldn't have... such a beautiful place & so relaxing !
( aye, I'm sure it has its sore points, like any other place, but the locals are friendlier, the food is better, & the weather can't be beat! )
ANYways, mayhaps I'll post (more) photos in the future, but that's all I've the desire to post about at the moment...
Keep Living & Loving Life, My Lovelies & Gentlefolk !!
twittage ::
4/7 : no, I don't speak even an INKLING of spanish in any of its variations, but from photos it's bleedin' absurd how many spanish people are named El & Linda ... seriously, s'gotta be 90-95% - there ARE other names than just El, Linda, Maria, Jesus, Jose, Pedro, & Jorge... right ??
4/13 : at least it's cold enough outside where the religious leaf-swatters should be keeping to themselves & not assaulting innocents walking along the sidewalk, smacking 'em with fronds, & smearing their lenses with the oil that they soaked 'em in >:( ( seriously, fuck those people!)
4/14 : ...in roughly 1 day + 18hrs I should be taking off on my longest flight to the farthest away I've ever been on vacation :D - suppose I should start getting some things together & packed, make sure I have all the paperwork together, & etc ... *whew* - so close can taste it!
4/26 : *yeesh* got offer calls every few mths for yrs that never work cuz I'm at their "best price/best they can do in my area" - find better else weeks ago, so cancel old... they f'up, so have to call today & suddenly/too late they're offering deals & become incredibly rude & mean >:(
(cont) seriously - why wait until someone has already found cheaper & already cancelled to decide "hey, we SHOULD give this guy a better deal" & 'make a technical mistake' to get a re-call ... it's a little late at that point when they'd previously stated better deals weren't available
This Week's Random Playlist (albums) ::
Dorothy - Rockisdead
watched recently :
via rental/streaming:
Bumblebee
Westworld (2nd Season)
M. Night Shyamalan's Glass
Shadowhunters (3rd Season)
Santa Clarita Diet (3rd Season)
Doom Patrol (1st Season)
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
The Orville (2nd Season)
Runaways (2nd Season)
Constantine (1st/Only Season)
Sex Education (1st Season)
New Girl (3rd Season)
ownedflix:
Gate II
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald
That Thing You Do!
-thom Wolfox sR Rhose, AK/GOT (OOP)
unusualist - I have yet to find a religion and/or spirituality that fits my own personal beliefs... other than, of course, the fact I am a (fallen) god.
( y'just now figured out that I'm basically a non-practicing hedonist? "if it feels good, do it, if it feels bad, you're doing it wrong" )
( "I believe in the proven power of willpower and the truth we are the gods we created. No one being created this universe and its wonders." )
( "the words of wisdom I follow will be the words I've written myself based on the life and experiences that I have Lived, Enjoyed, & Survived" )
( "may the platelets of justice travel the bloodstream of villainy, clog its arteries with honourable vengeance, and induce a coronary of truth" )
( "we are all inmates in the same asylum, some of us are just better at bribing the guards" )
( "In a previous life I was the engine block to a '56 chevy, I lost my heart to a Volkswagen Bus... er, wait - or was that a '57?" )
( "Godfuck Me, Jesus!" )
"Lately, we've been playing music by this chap named Bieber, gosh, you should hear the screams"
"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave..."
"Oh, man. I'm sensing something very canadian about this place..."
"It's all true, god's an astronaut, Oz is over the rainbow, and Midian is where the monsters live..."
Jax : "yay for you, do you want a cookie or a bozo button?"