7
Mar
Nuuanu Pali Lookout, Kailua, Bishop Museum
Topic: Hawaii 2005
Over the past several days Kai has made the suggestion that we stay forever. In addition to going to the beach every day, he’s proclaimed a particular fondness for the palm trees. But last night and this morning, he’s asked to go home, as he wants to play with his Thunderbird toys and see his friends again. As with our Japan trip last year, however, I find myself in no particular rush to get back. But we’ve already bought our tickets and I’m all out of vacation days. But our flights weren’t until the afternoon, so we still had some time.
We decided to hit Kailua beach (not to be confused with the drink Kahlua), considered by many the world’s most beautiful beach. On the way there we made a quick stop at the Nuuanu Pali lookout. Located inland, and at a height of almost 1000 ft., it offers a spectacular view of the eastern half of Oahu. It was also the site of the Battle of Nuuanu Pali, where Oahu warriors were driven over the cliffs by King Kamehameha’s forces, in his bid to unite all the Hawaiian islands.
I can’t say whether Kailua beach is the world’s most beautiful, but it’s certainly the most beautiful one I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. The shoreline is narrow but probably a mile long. The sand is incredibly soft and fine - it almost feels like you’re walking on a cushion. The water is calm and bright blue. Our guide book says it’s normally overrun with tourists, but we were lucky to find it sparsely populated while we were there.
We decided to do all our final packing arrangements in the beach parking lot (so we wouldn’t have to do it in the hectic environment of the airport) and it was with a great sense of defeat that I put on my long pants and put away my sandals for the first time since we arrived. My jeans felt like lead, and my black, thinsulate-lined shoes like two little coffins.
As I mentioned before, I wasn’t on the same flights as Kai and Maria. I was lucky enough to switch onto their flights coming out, but not on the way back. I dropped them off at the airport and still had a couple hours to kill, so I headed over to the Bishop Museum, which contains over 1.2 million works of art and artifacts related to Hawaiian history and culture. Needless to say I barely scratched the surface in just two hours, but it’s a very well put together museum with a multitude of superb displays. There was even a hula show while I was there. If you ever go to Hawaii, definitely set aside half a day for the Bishop Museum.
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