We wrapped up our last segment (#17) to complete the second perimeter walk around the island.

Waimanalo

Thanks to Akira and Chico for shuttling Allison, Mari, Marilyn, Scott and myself over to the starting point. Tessa also gifted Chico with a Baby Groot in a soda can. Now all we need is the real Groot.

Enchanted Lakes

Starting off in the community that sprang from what was once a large fishery sprawled over 280 acres. Developer Joseph Pao with deep political and union connections built residential homes starting in 1959 on over 700 acres around Kaelepulu Pond, which shrank the pond by a third. Further development is being stalled by locals who don’t want to see more homes since they already got their own. NIMBY.

Keolu Drive

Is there a library fine?

Kaelepulu Stream

We saw two native waterfowls with the burnt forehead, ‘alae’ula who got its red frontal shield from the demigod Maui when they stole fire to give to humans according to Hawaiian mythology. The larger black crowned herons, ‘auku’u, was waiting patiently on the shore for its chance of catching some fish. Overlooking it all was a nice looking treehouse. Nobody wanted to knock.

Kaelepulu Stream

Marilyn and Scotty taking a picture while the rest of us were looking at the native birds.

Keolu Drive

Dance like everyone is watching.

Keolu Drive

That sistah stay akamai crossing the street with the red hand.

Keolu Drive

Did we find the rightful owner(s)? We did find Patrick.

Keolu Hills Skateboard Park

Group photo within the 15,000 square feet skate park built in 2002.

Keolu Hills Skateboard Park

Akira and Chico skating like they have no skateboard and vying to be the next Tony Hawk.

Keolu Hills Skateboard Park

Enjoying the ringside seats for the spectator sport.

Keolu Hills Skateboard Park

Graffiti art that is a direct byproduct of urbanization itself.

Keolu Drive

We love Keolu, but can’t afford to live in this affluent neighborhood.

Keolu Drive

Meeting Chad Starr who has walked around the island multiple times to raise awareness of youth suicide.

Keolu Drive

Taking a load off my feet as this walk was extremely exhausting.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Stepping foot on the 36 mile coastal highway that connects Waimanalo to East Oahu.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Dale discussing his financial retirement plans with Jordan. Oh wait, he’s already retired.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Paniolo tryouts in front of the ranch that is missing a vowel.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

The pace was too slow for Allison, so she set off on her own pace. The “I have to get back to my kids” pace.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

We soon met up with Kenny who had started from Waimanalo and had come empty-handed from his morning toy show.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Can Roseann come out to play? All work and no play makes YawYaw a dull girl.

Kahawai Stream

Nothing to see. Move along. Kahawai means stream in Hawaiian. So you have the Hawaiian and English words side by side.

Shima’s Supermarket

Perfect timing as it started to briefly rain, so we ducked into the store that has fallen to another buyout by a bigger store, namely Times Supermarket. We tried some of the poke and was stuck in the line when the uncle was berated by the cashier on not knowing how to use his EBT card despite being a frequent shopper.

Waimanalo Feed Supply

The group wandered over next door to see what was so crazy about the pop up sale.

Waimanalo Feed Supply

We found expired but still edible knock offs, tart lemonade and awesome artwork on the walls.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Crossing the highway in search of ice cream.

Waimanalo Town Center

We found the ice, but not the cream.

Waimanalo Town Center

Can you see the hole for the hikers?

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Everybody took their own way to get back on the road.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Met up with CB who had hiked Lulumahu Falls earlier this morning.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Dale frolics with the dolphins in and out of the water.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Passing vehicles were honking at us for either friendly greetings or get off the road greetings.

Bellows Air Force Station

Group photo in front of the 437 acre installation used for recreation and training.

Bellows Air Force Station

Chico scored a free shirt from his food truck buddy, Dustin “Dut” Leandro. Does that come with a meal as well?

Honolulu Polo Club

Passing by the 27 acre field that is home to the player’s club that was founded in 1986. Polo itself is Persian in origin and was introduced to the islands in 1886 by the British.

Hunananiho

Leaving the highway as we made for Sherwoods Forest, named due to the dense ironwood trees that seem straight out of a Robin Hood fairy tale.

Hunananiho

Looking out at the buoyant seabird sanctuary framed by the ironwood trees that were imported to the islands in the 1870s.

Hunananiho

Some danced the day away while others ate their pork adobo.

Hunananiho

We left the powdery white coral sand to pound the pavement again.

Waimanalo

Can the hobbits come out to play?

Waimanalo

Interior photos by Sotheby’s International Realty of the 3,300 square foot slice of Middle Earth. In 2020, it was listed for sale at $3.7 million dollars. Any buyers?

Waimanalo

Exterior photo by 808 Random Hikers Sandwich Islands Realty. Price is still a nickel, even adjusted for inflation.

Waimanalo

Walking the back roads of the potable water community.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Stopping at one of 67 convenience stores in the islands; where we looked around and somebody got pantsed. Indecent exposure was thankfully avoided. We left before they had to escort us off the premises.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Walking on yielding grass as we entered the home stretch of the walk. It was actually more like a hop, skip and a jump.

Waimanalo Beach Park

Finished before lunch time. Yay!

Waimanalo Beach Park

Congratulations to Mari for completing the island perimeter walks both clockwise and counter-clockwise.

Waimanalo Beach Park

Can you guess what Dale and Chico are doing?

Waimanalo Beach Park

I had heard so much about this lunch wagon’s frickn chicken, that I had to have it for lunch. The rest of the group with the exception of Chico decided to hold out for something more promising.

Waimanalo Beach Park

Sorry guys, the wait is almost an hour. I was half expecting somebody to jump up and say f*ck that! I can cook my own food! Everybody else had lunch at the nearby L&L Hawaiian Barbeque where the wait was more tolerable and gratifying. Edgar also joined us for lunch. Nearby Waipuna Sushi threatened to bring flashbacks.

GPS Tracks

Our final walk covered 6.38 miles with good company and fun times.

Photos/Crew taken by Aida Gordon, Akira Suzuki, Alexis Catarina, Allison Banks, Ani Lagpacan, Chico Cantu, Chris Bautista, Cristy CM, Dale Yoshizu, Ferlino Carinio, Jordan Baird, Kenny Lui, Mari Saito, Marilyn Bermudez, Roger Schiffman, 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.

We took a break from the mountains and pounded the pavement today. Ever since I had read about Denby Fawcett’s hike around the island back in 2013, I had always wanted to follow in her footsteps so to speak.

Kaneohe Bay Drive

The group pushed off from Chico’s house but not before we had to take an obligatory group photo as the sun started to brighten the morning skies.

Kaneohe Bay Drive

Walking past the tree silhouetted by the fiery sky.

Kaneohe Bay Drive

Trail snacks. Come back when enough ethene gas has been released to turn the starches to sugars.

Kawainui Canal

The highest peak on the Ko’olau Mountain Range was strikingly clear, the day we decided to hike below its shadow.

Kainui Drive

Walking down the street lined with coconut palm trees, which are not native to Hawaii despite what many think.

Kainui Drive

Muscovy duck out of water.

South Kainalu Drive

Motivational message from across the street. “You are amazing, remember that.”

South Kainalu Drive

Passing a collection of tiki statues that were arranged in a semi-circle, perhaps to mark the boundary of somebody’s property, like back in the old days? Except this is not your ancestor’s heiau.

Kawainui Canal

Draining the marsh into the bay.

Wanaao Road

Somebody detoured to the yard sale to find edible medicines.

Ka’elepulu Canal

Draining the estuary into the bay.

Keolu Drive

At 15,000 square feet, Keolu Skatepark is one of the largest on the island.

Keolu Drive

Walking up the hill where the three peaks of Olomana, Paku’i and Ahiki loomed ahead of us.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Passing a highly invasive roadkill. Introduced from India in 1883 by sugar plantation owners to control the rat population that was eating their sweet exports for lunch, but instead the carnivorous critters wrecked havoc on the native fauna and flora to this day.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Introduced in 1955 by Ernest Morgado, huli-huli (turn) chicken has been a perennial fundraiser fixture around the island.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Somebody needs to take the Duke Aiona banner down. Old news.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Sharing the shoulder with bicyclists.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Can somebody come out and play?

Kahawai Stream

Passing the somewhat sad looking stream and across the street was Shima’s Market which is the only grocery store in this Windward community that was also acquired by Times Supermarket in 2008. We also dropped in at Waimanalo Shopping Center to check out the statue of Akebono, the Waimanalo native who went on to become one of the grand champions in sumo wrestling in Japan, but found out it was moved years ago to some spot in Waikiki.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Will the real bus stop please ring the bell to get off. We also passed Bellows Air Force station which serves as a training and recreation area for the military.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Passing the 27 acres where horseback mounted riders still play the “Sport of Kings” on the weekends.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Walking through the rural community where for the most part, country is still country.

Kalaniana’ole Highway

Does anybody have a quarter? Do I even have a ring tone? Can I get operator assistance?

Waimanalo Beach Park

We stopped pounding the pavement at the bay that has the longest uninterrupted white sand beach on the island. Thanks to Lilia who arrived at the perfect time to pick us up.

GPS Tracks

Our 10.6 mile walk was the first installment on circling the island that was done with color-coordinated good company. Post hike meal at Kalapawai Cafe & Deli where the fresh catch was the last dish to land on the table.

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our Windward Walk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-C5NyDXStM

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Allison Banks, Chico Cantu, Edgar Gamiao, Mari Saito, Marilyn Bermudez, Quan Haberstroh, 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.