Met up with Aida, Akira, Chico, David, Ferlino, Mari, Roger, Rose, Susan, Tessa, and Val to do our first hike (walk) of the year. The dirty dozen, well not today.

Mapunapuna

Group photo as we left the industrial area that is prone to flooding during high tides and parts of the land has already sunk 4-5 feet. The city promised to fix the problem in 2008. Here we are in 2025. I guess another problem is that Damon Estates sold this chunk of land that is leased to 137 different tenants on 186 separate parcels to a mainland property firm back in 2003. Passing the buck.

Nimitz Highway

Akira in front of one of American’s most iconic motorcycle brand next to Indian motorcycles.

Nimitz Highway

Fish out of water. Surfboard out of water.

Ualena Street

Approaching one of many humpback murals painted by Robert Wyland in 1985.

Aolele Street

Visiting the site where a Kamaka Air plane crashed into this unoccupied building on December 17, 2024, missing the fuel farm, rail and nearby occupied buildings. Unfortunately the two pilots, Hiram Defries and Preston Kaluhiwa lost their lives in the accident.

Dunkin’ Doughnuts

Stopping at one of the 12,900 locations to have coffee, donuts and breakfast at one of the largest coffee shop and donut restaurants in the world.

Nimitz Highway

Chico made sure that Akira got his whistle wet.

Nimitz Highway

The group waiting for the red light to change. I heard that its timed to force cars to stop every 300′ to stop speeding but does nothing for managed traffic flow.

Nimitz Highway

Passing a HFD training dummy or perhaps it was a chronic sleeping it off.

Nimitz Highway

We approached the foot bridge while keeping a wide berth of the cat lady and her cats.

Main Street Foot Bridge

Group photo on the bridge that provides safe passage over the highway.

Hokulani

The two military veterans climbed the most stable tree in the military housing area.

Kamehameha Highway

You can never find a crosswalk when you need one.

Kamehameha Highway

Chico and Ferlino examining the artwork on one of the rail columns up close. Each column depicts something related to the area and was all designed by Daniel Kanekuni. Some in the community had a beef and said they should have been designed by people that have Hawaiian blood.

Kamehameha Highway

Where one goes, two will surely follow.

Kamehameha Highway

Looking for a surfer or a homeless person.

Pearl Harbor Memorial

Group photo at the memorial that honors the sailors that lost their lives in the December 7, 1941 attack from Japan. The Arizona memorial was actually the idea of Robert Ripley, of Ripley’s Believe it or Not! fame in 1948.

Pearl Harbor Memorial

These were the only boats we were going to see today.

Pearl Harbor Memorial

If you can’t stand the water, get out of the boat.

Kamehameha Highway

Ferlino engaging in a Filipino childhood past time.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

We soon traded the highway for the bike path that had its genesis back in 2001 as we passed underneath the Moanalua Freeway.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Crossing over Aiea Stream.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Paralleling the stream that separates the bike path from the residential homes.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Going over a wooden bridge that straddles Kalauao Stream.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Finding out how many human hamsters can fit on a non-rotating tire.

Best Buy

Stopping at one of 1,125 locations of the consumer electronics big box stores to use the bathrooms, check out the latest VR gadgets and cool off. No laptops were purchased on this walk.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Our last bridge crossing over Waimalu Stream.

Neal S. Blaisdell Park

Group photo at the Peace Bell that was donated and constructed by Japanese craftsmen and sponsored by Buddhist Bishop Ekan Ikeguchi on the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Does this shower have hot water?

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Passing through HECO’s Waiau Power Plant that was built in 1937.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

A couple questions popped into my head as we passed this taro and watercress farm. 1) What is too late next week? 2) Why is mama lonely and what kind of visit are we talking about? 3) We passed all these signs warning us not to eat any fish caught in these waters, does this not apply to this farm as well?

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Chico hanging onto the shoe tree after he pulled down the dead fronds to better frame his predicament.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

No good deed goes unpunished did not apply in this case, as the farmer came out to give Chico a bag of freshly plucked lilikoi for pulling down the dead fronds. Did these passion fruits grow in the same water?

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Back on the trail after crossing over Lehua Avenue.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Graffiti on one of the buildings that borders the path.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

I was wrong. One more bridge crossing. But this one wasn’t over a stream, just a marsh or pond.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Always one in the crowd. Can’t follow directions.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

Looking at naval ships anchored in Middle Loch.

Waipio Pt Access Road

Crossing the heavily trafficked road to get back on the bike path that also borders the Ted Makalena Golf Course.

Pearl Harbor Bike Path

A lawn mower with a missing wheel apparently does not work as well as a shopping cart.

All pau

The bike path soon terminated at Waipahu Depot Road which did not mark the end of our walk as we still had over a mile to walk back to our staged cars. Mileage may vary depending on whom you asked.

GPS Tracks

Our fourth segment of the perimeter walk covered 13.7 miles with a fun group. Post hike meal at Kunio Japanese Restaurant. This place is not “real” Japanese per the Hapon. Thanks to Ferlino, Rose, Aida and Roger for shuttle services.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Akira Suzuki, Chico Cantu, David Katz, Ferlino Carinio, Mari Saito, Roger Schiffman, Rose Tsuru, Susan Katz, Tessa Bugay, Val Wang, 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.