Met up with the group at the still non-functioning Dillingham Fountain to start our third perimeter hike around the island.

Kalakaua Avenue

Group photo in front of Elks Lodge 616. This fraternal organization was first called Jolly Corks when it was founded in 1868 and now has more than 750,000 members at 1,928 lodges.

Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial

We walked up Kaimana Beach to check out the war memorial that was finished in 1927 to honor the 10,000 men from the Territory of Hawaii that served in WW1.

Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial

Group photo in front of the aging structure that was shuttered in 1979. The city plans to re-open the monument by 1927, the 100 year anniversary.

Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial

Chico getting the blood flowing to his head.

Queen’s Surf Walkway

Walking while trying not to get wet as the south shore swells pounded the seawall.

Kapiolani Park

Leaving the boundaries of the largest public park in the islands, that was once home to a mile long horse track from 1883 to 1914.

Kalakaua Avenue

Checking out the surfer statue on a wave by Robert Pashby that was dedicated in 2003 and the surfer and monk seal sculpture designed by Holly Young.

The Kapahulu Groin

Group photo at the end of the 425′ wall built in 1951.

The Kapahulu Groin

These two golden retrievers stole the morning for the group.

Kalakaua Avenue

Akira looking for directions to the hardest hike on the island.

Kalakaua Avenue

Everybody had their favorite “go to” stores for snacks and sundries.

Duke Kahanamoku Statue

Group photo with the 9′ bronze statue of the “Father of Modern Surfing” that was sculpted by Jan Gordon Fisher in 1990. Never turn your back on the ocean unless it’s for the photo.

Kalakaua Avenue

38 days before Christmas.

Royal Hawaiian Hotel

Walking down memory lane and finding a rotary phone that actually works at the Pink Palace that opened in 1927, that was the cornerstone of making Hawaii a luxury destination.

Halekulani Hotel

Some in the group got splashed on the seawall fronting the luxury hotel that had humble beginnings as a two-story house in 1883.

Halekulani Hotel

This way is better than the road?

Waikiki Outrigger

It’s all about the timing.

Fort DeRussy

Climbing on vintage military hardware at the former Battery Randolph that was constructed in 1911.

Kahanamoku Beach

Somebody was already baptized. By the ocean.

Hilton Hawaiian Village

A couple of “Japanese tourists” in front of the world’s largest and tallest ceramic tile mosaic on the side of the Rainbow Tower.

Ala Wai Boat Harbor

Where’s the surf? Need the saltwater to soak somebody’s bump on the head.

Ala Wai Boat Harbor

Give that girl a fishing pole.

Ala Wai Boat Harbor

Looking out towards the artificial waterway created in 1928 to drain the swamps and reclaim the land that would eventually become Waikiki.

Ala Moana Park

Will the real Santa please stand up?

Ala Moana Blvd.

I caught a fish this big! Captain Cornelius Choy caught the world’s largest marlin weighing in at 1,805 lbs. in 1970.

Kaka’ako Waterfront Park

Somebody could barely reach the pedals.

Kaka’ako Waterfront Park

A nice sheltered spot for swimming.

Kaka’ako Waterfront Park

The group coming down from the hills of ash covered with grass that used to be the site of a landfill until the city shut it down in 1971.

Keawe Street

This must be the way out.

Ala Moana Blvd.

Watashi no gurinkado wa dokodesu ka.

Falls of Clyde

The only remaining sail-driven oil tanker left in the world waiting to be scrapped at Pier 7.

Pier 8

Feeding the fish and the birds at the same time.

Aloha Tower

Exploring the shuttered lighthouse that opened in 1926.

Pier 10

A hop, skip and a jump.

Nimitz Highway

Love is on the ground.

Nimitz Highway

Not even the seven-story Hawaiian Flour Mills silos that were shuttered in 2014 are immune to tagging.

Nimitz Highway

Always have an umbrella for a rainy day.

Nimitz Highway

Taking a break at the former Xerox warehouse that was the scene of Hawaii’s worst mass murder in 1999.

Nimitz Highway

Who did the fish dance the best? No comment.

Kalihi Street

Post hike meal here? Closed on Sundays.

All pau

Watching the school of tadpoles swimming in the brackish water on our way to our cars.

GPS Tracks

Our road walk covered 10.6 miles with a fun group as always. Post hike meal at Eagle Cafe. Thanks to Robin and Akira for the shuttle services.

Photos taken by Allison Banks, Akira Suzuki, Chico Cantu, David Katz, Ferlino Carinio, Mari Saito, Robin Farr, Susan Katz, Tessa Bugay, and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

‘Twas it was two nights before Christmas, when all through the city, we gathered together to be shuttled to our starting point for our last perimeter walk of the year.

Diamond Head Tennis Courts

Thanks to Aileen for cramming Aida, Cinja, Leianne, Mari, Quan, Scott, Tessa, and myself in her dad’s truck to be dropped off at Mapunapuna.

Mapunapuna

Ferlino met us at the drop off point and harmonized his harmonica for our listening pleasure. Seasonal tunes.

Mapunapuna

Light being blocked under refracted light in water droplets.

Nimitz Highway

Row, row, row your cart
Gently down the road
That was built for the military bases and the airport
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream
Until the homeless asks for it back

Nimitz Highway

Crossing over Moanalua Stream as it emptied into Keehi Lagoon.

Nimitz Highway

Bathroom break and free ice water at the fast food chain that first arrived to Hawaii in 1968.

Nimitz Highway

Passing alongside the mural that combines elements of Kapalama, Kalihi, Kukui and Kou trees, Diamond Head and a school of Aku.

Young Brothers

Walking across the inter-island shipping company that was established in 1913 and has basically kept a monopolizing stranglehold on the water market in Hawaii.

Nimitz Highway

Nobody wanted to get their blood pressure taken but some of us really wanted our picture taken with the fire fighters.

Nimitz Highway

Passing the former Xerox building that was witness to the worst mass shooting in Hawaii. On November 2, 1999, Bryan Uesugi killed seven of his co-workers and later surrendered to the police. He is currently serving a life sentence without possibility of parole in Tallahatchie County Correctional facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi.

Lilihia Bakery

Getting our sugar fix at the bakery that started out in 1950 selling loaves of bread.

Nimitz Highway

Entering the outskirts of downtown Honolulu, which is the business and political nexus of the islands.

Nimitz Highway

Passing through Honolulu Harbor that is the lifeline for the islands as over 80% of our goods arrive by sea.

Aloha Tower

Group photo in front of the 184′ retired lighthouse that once greeted thousands of immigrants that sailed to Honolulu. The iconic landmark opened in 1926 and was the highest structure in the island for four decades.

Aloha Tower

Walking around the seemingly deserted Aloha Tower Marketplace that is currently owned and managed by the Hawaii Pacific University. Perhaps they best stick to what they know best, which is higher education.

Falls of Clyde

Looking at the last surviving iron-hulled, four-masted full-rigged ship, and the only remaining sail-driven oil tanker that is currently moored at Pier 7. The State wants to remove the 145 year old ship so that it can develop the area but Friends of Falls of Clyde, a non-profit organization that currently has ownership of the ship is fighting efforts to evict the ship from her berth.

Ala Moana Blvd

Feeding the fishes and the birds.

Kawaiaha’o Church

The Westminster Abbey of Hawaii was built between 1836 and 1842 of 14,000 thousand pound slabs of coral rock quarried from offshore reefs. Kawaiaha’o Church was once the national church of the Hawaiian Kingdom, as well as the chapel of the royal family. It was here that Kamehamhea III said the phrase that would become Hawai’i’s official motto “Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘aina i ka pono.” “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness”.

Frank F. Fasi Civic Center Grounds

Walking through the annual month-long December City of Lights celebration that was started by Mayor Fasi back in 1985.

Kapiolani Blvd

Crossing the street as we passed the Advertiser Building that was built in 1929 and once housed the island’s oldest newspapers and radio station. It was purchased by Hawaiian Dredging as their headquarters in 2016.

Kaka’ako

Walking around the ever changing landscape of the Pow!Wow! graffiti murals that add a splash of color to the industrial neighborhood.

Kaka’ako

Checking out 1-2buy Asian warehouse that stocks esoteric and exotic snacks, drinks and merchandise in a no-frills shopping environment.

Kaka’ako

Japanese imported fire truck complete with working sirens and lights can be yours for only $18,000 USD or 2,567,889 JPY depending on the daily exchange rate.

Kaka’ako

We caught a last gander at the street art that was dominated by gas mask wearing rodents. One thought is that the gas masks symbolize government oppression against free speech.

Kaka’ako Farmers Market

Window shopping as we passed the corridor of tasty looking but rather expensive morsels of food and drink and immersive butterfly dome. We settled for the cheap and tasty $5 bento box lunch wagon nearby. Comfort food. Can’t go wrong.

Ala Moana Blvd

Group photo with Big Santa in the background that has made its annual appearance since 1959 to kick off the holiday season at the world’s largest open air shopping center.

Ala Moana Park

Passing the beach park that sits on reclaimed swamp land that was filled in with dredged coral fill and was dedicated by FDR in 1934. Nearby Magic Island was also a man-made peninsula created in 1962 that was originally slated to be home to a hotel and shopping complex until public outcry turned it into a public park.

Hilton Hawaiian Village

Standing in front of the sculpture that is home to one of the largest hotels in the world that sprawls over 22 acres of beachfront property.

Kalia Road

Passing the former Battery Randolph that was built in 1911 for coastal defense and became the US Army Museum in 1976.

Kalakaua Ave

Walking down the main shopping street in Waikiki that used to be for two-way traffic until 1971. We also learned a new German word, Fremdschaemen. To be embarrassed for somebody behaving in an embarrassing way. Hai! Hai! Arigatou Gozaimasu!

Kalakaua Ave

Group photo in front of the nine-foot statue of Duke Kahanamoku, the father of modern surfing, that was erected in 1990.

Waikiki Beach

Standing at the end of the Kapahulu Groin that was built in 1951 to keep the sand from coming and going.

Kalakaua Ave

Passing the surfer on a wave statue erected in 2003.

Kalakaua Ave

Itai! Itai! Japanese couple muttering to themselves “look straight ahead and perhaps this person will lose interest in us.” Fremdschaemen.

Kalakaua Ave

The futile quest to find a working payphone on this island outside of the airport.

Kalakaua Ave

Group photo at the Dillingham Fountain that actually replaced the original Phoenix Fountain that was built in 1919 and gifted by the Japanese people that were living in Hawaii at that time. However, after the Pearl Harbor attack, the fountain was torn down and scrapped for metal. If it wasn’t for the war, the more aesthetically appealing fountain might still be standing today.

Kapiolani Park

Standing in the drizzling rain in the first public park in Hawaii that was dedicated in 1877 and had its origins as home to a horse racing track.

Pioneer Saloon

Post walk meal at Pioneer Saloon. Utensils? How else am I supposed to eat? With my hands? Fremdschaemen.

GPS Tracks

Our year end perimeter walk covered 11.39 miles with a fun group. Only two more sections left to complete the entire island of Oahu.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Cinja Strickland, Leianne Lee Loy, Mari Saito, Quan Haberstroh, Scott Dea, Tessa Bugay, and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.