Waikiki Pictures

[TromboneAl]

Click here for pictures and narrative of our trip.

 

[scrinch]

Looks like you had a great time, Al. Nice photos. It's been a little cool here back in northern California, so I hope you enjoyed the sun and beaches. After Hawaii, the water here might seem a little chilly next time you go out!

 

[bbbamI]

What wonderful pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

 

[Nords]

Great trip report, Al! You should list your site with the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau and let them pay you for their links...

After Hawaii, the water here might seem a little chilly next time you go out!

I was whimpering every time we went into the water, but he was whimpering every time he thought about going back to his home beach.

Just so people don't get a false impression of the island lifestyle, it isn't all sitting on the beach with longboards & pineapples between surf sessions. Al also brought frosty beverages and we had home-grown tangerines too... Al & Lena not only managed to have Queens & White Plains put up some of the best out-of-season swells I've seen in months, but they also called in that monk seal for their viewing pleasure. I think they've set the standard for future Hawaii vacations.

It's another three-to-six weekend forecast for White Plains. This is unbelievable but I'm going to enjoy every bit of it!

 

[laurence]

Wonderful pics, wow, that really makes me miss Hawaii. I love that place.

 

[donheff]

Nice pictures Al. I wish I had time to get a surfin lesson from Nords when I was there last year.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

sweet. can't wait to see it for myself. not sure how i feel about all those buildings. looks like miami with mountains. the rural shots sure look great though. i could see myself never coming back to this dump.

 

[KB]

Great pictures Al. It's nice to see Waikiki again, the last time I was there was in 1965 or 66. It's changed a bit.

 

[clifp]

Great pictures Al. It's nice to see Waikiki again, the last time I was there was in 1965 or 66. It's changed a bit.

Yup a bit . Still I compare Waikiki to Las Vegas (both hugely popular tourist destinations) and compared to Las Vegas, Waikiki changes at glacial speed.

I haven't decided if that is good or bad, fortunately the rest of Oahu is still relatively undeveloped. There are some very nice beaches which while not completely deserted are very uncrowded on weekdays.

 

[bssc]

Nice pictures. I am jealous. As other have noted, Waikiki looks a lot like when we visited in the 70s.

 

[unclemick]

Great pic's. Duh - just dawned on me - the 26 yrs I lived in the PacNW - never once visited Hawaii or Alaska.

Thanks for posting them.

heh heh heh

 

[Alex]

Thanks for sharing your trip, it looks like you had a blast.

 

[Donzo]

Looks like you and DW had a great vacation!
I have alot of Hilton honors and United miles to use to get the family a trip to Waikiki (nice leftover from megacorp) before they leave the nest - this is a great motivator to get going!

 

[kathyet]

Looks like you really enjoyed yourselves. Thanks for sharing your great pictures, were going the end of the month and can't wait. What is RIT Sunguard

We booked with a travel agent and have a car as well DH doesn't like to go any where without a car kind of like a remote control.....but we usually are up at the crack of dawn, and just go and drive every where and any where just pick a direction. Were on Waikiki for 5 days and then on to Mauii for 9 I have been pouring over links and links of thing to see and do and bugging Nords.


Aloha

 

[caracol7]

Sounds like a great trip. I'm a surfer too, so I'm jealous. What is the name of the hotel where you stayed??

 

[Dreamer]

Great pictures! Looks like you had a wonderful time! I have a feeling that you and your wife have a great time wherever you go! Again, Nords is so generous with his time and his surfing board. Your daughter is very pretty Nords.

 

[smileydog]

Thanks for the additional inspiration! Looks like you had a Great time. Thanks for sharing.

 

[TromboneAl]

RIT Sunguard

Keeps you from getting sunburn through your clothes. Click here.

What was the name of the hotel?

Resortquest Waikiki Circle.

 

[kcowan]

The body surfing beach (Waimea?) was a destination for a bunch of us on a trip there. After being in the surf for over an hour and catching many waves, one of our gang was caught in a rip tide. The lifeguard came out to save him.

We all returned to the sand to help with his recovery. In chatter with the lifeguard we asked him how many people got in trouble. He said that there was al least one broken neck or broken back each day.

After that we stayed on the beach to suntan! 8)

 

[Eagle43]

Kcowan, You are correct. I heard the same thing, after I avoided disaster. It's not one a day, but it's several a year and most tourists don't hear of the risks (or grim statistics) until after it happens. NORDS, can you confirm this about Waimea?

On one of my trips there, I very nearly got it, at the same beach. I don't know why, but I brought my arms up to protect my head and neck just before the wave slammed me into the wall. Lucky.

BTW: I don't surf but do body surf. It takes very little skill, which is what I have. Waimea is fun, if you're careful.

 

[Nords]

Your daughter is very pretty Nords.

Thanks! She enjoyed surfing with us and only snaked our waves a couple times.

The body surfing beach (Waimea?) was a destination for a bunch of us on a trip there. After being in the surf for over an hour and catching many waves, one of our gang was caught in a rip tide. The lifeguard came out to save him.

Surfers love rips-- it's a great way to get back out to the lineup without actually having to work for it. But rips can be pretty frightening without a board or without experience at using them.

"Baywatch" notwithstanding, Hawaii lifeguards have learned to be aggressive and will start a rescue when they see someone heading toward trouble, let alone actually in trouble. They probably had an eye on everyone within 20 feet of that rip and didn't hesitate to practice their rescue techniques. The veterans on the North Shore know most of the water people by sight and won't be shy about ordering everyone else to the parking lot or even across the street. 30-35 feet on the North Shore is best watched from a bluff or a webcam, unless you're Laird Hamilton. (Heck, the lookielookie traffic will keep you from getting there in person anyway.) Big-wave surfers aren't known for mental stability, let alone sanity, and guys like Laird still manage to stand out as wild-eyed danger-seeking Evel-Knievel deathwish types even among the surfer crowd. Their home shore break, without personal waterjets, is Waimea.

We all returned to the sand to help with his recovery. In chatter with the lifeguard we asked him how many people got in trouble. He said that there was al least one broken neck or broken back each day.
After that we stayed on the beach to suntan! 8)

Uhm, no, but the lifeguards achieved their goal of making the beach safer for you and less work for them.

I have no idea of the real numbers but I only read of a half-dozen water deaths per year (if that) and maybe a dozen serious injuries. Judging from our local media on other safety issues, if back/neck injuries were more common then the media would be all over the lifeguards and the state.

The Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau does work very hard to spin the dangers & injuries, and so do the local visitor industries. My spouse, a meteorologist, has frequently watched the political slugfests that arise from even a forecast of extended rain or small-craft warnings. But by the same token any type of consipracy or coverup would be gleefully reported by muckraking journalists & bloggers. So I think the reporting is pretty accurate.

The most common causes of death tend to be drowning after heart attacks or unconsciousness (head injuries). IMO the most notable is the teenager who straddled Blowhole, a mental image that makes every guy wince. (For everyone else, imagine Yosemite Sam looking down the barrel of his rifle while testing it.) The "most dangerous" beach in the state is Sandy's because its steep shore break is popular with boogieboarders & bodysurfers. Waimea & White Plains have pretty hard shore breaks, too, and those breaks attract a lot of people who otherwise think of themselves as "safe". The vast majority of the beaches are most notorious for sunburns, so maybe that lifeguard didn't help so much after all.

I've seen survey statistics that as many as a third of Hawaii's surfers can't actually swim a crawlstroke. They've never had a formal swimming lesson, let alone water-survival training, and they depend on their board to keep them out of buoyancy trouble. Waimea is one of the last big-wave beaches to actually be surfed. Woody Browne survived a closeout water exit at Waimea (on wooden "caveman" boards) in the 1940s but his surf buddy was killed, so Waimea wasn't even surfed until the late 1950s. Today it's fully scheduled for winter surfing competitions including the Eddie Aikau, who among other accomplishments was one of Waimea's first lifeguards. So having one's first bodysurfing experience at Waimea is like starting a mountain-climbing career at Everest or taking up hiking by starting at Pike's Peak.

Waimea is a legendary and beautiful beach, but with the crowds I think it's become unsurfable and darn near unviewable. Like Waikiki it's one of those things you "have" to do before you move on to less-crowded pursuits. I haven't been to Waimea in years, and when I head north to Haleiwa I usually turn west (toward Waialua & Mokuleia) instead of east, or take the bypass road around Haleiwa. There's over 200 beaches in the state and better places to spend a few entertaining hours.

BTW Al seemed to be staying at one of the best "local" hotels I've seen in a long time, and it's in a class of lodgings that have all but disappeared from Waikiki. The manager let me park my car in the lot for over three hours just because we were carrying our boards, and she even turned down a $20 bribe. I can vouch that at just about every other parking area on Kalia & Kalakaua the answer is "Sorry, sir, you have to take your car somewhere else", and for Queens it's quite a walk. A friendly place like the Circle is a bargain at $150/night, especially considering that most Waikiki vacationers don't use many of the resort's services. A Hilton or a Marriott is a great place for a spa vacation or a family vacation with young kids around the pool, sure, but the Waikiki Circle is a great place at an unbeatable price for people who just use hotels as a place to rest between other activities.

 

[JPatrick]

The body surfing beach (Waimea?) was a destination for a bunch of us on a trip there. After being in the surf for over an hour and catching many waves, one of our gang was caught in a rip tide. The lifeguard came out to save him.

We all returned to the sand to help with his recovery. In chatter with the lifeguard we asked him how many people got in trouble. He said that there was al least one broken neck or broken back each day.

DD was an ER nurse in Honolulu until just recently, and along with tourist heart attacks her best customers were surfers who had been slammed. In fact, when we were there in late December a "Pro" surfer had recently died in the ER from his injuries.
Did you know him Nords?

 

[WanderALot]

The Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau does work very hard to spin the dangers & injuries, and so do the local visitor industries.

DW and I have a picture of the warning signs on the Napali coast hike. It's quite amusing, there are about 10 different warning signs on ONE signpost all warning hikers about the same thing ("Flooding Danger", "High water danger", "Rocks are wet and slippery!")

Nords, are you using a Micra to cut that pineapple!?

EDIT: typo

 

[Nords]

DD was an ER nurse in Honolulu until just recently, and along with tourist heart attacks her best customers were surfers who had been slammed. In fact, when we were there in late December a "Pro" surfer had recently died in the ER from his injuries.
Did you know him Nords?

Warren Bolster, the photographer who committed suicide? I've seen his pictures but I don't think I ever met him.

DW and I have a picture of the warning signs on the Napali coast hike. It's quite amusing, there are about 10 different warning signs on ONEgnpost all warning hikers about the same thing ("Flooding Danger", "High water danger", "Rocks are wet and slippery!")

It's getting a little out of hand. There was a lot of indignation that Blowhole didn't have warning signs to keep teen boys from... well, from doing anything that they'd regard as worthwhile, assuming that they'd pause to read the signs in the first place. So the state avoids the threat of litigation by putting up signs.

In the spirit of REWahoo I could run on about all of Hawaii's deathly attractions: tsunami, earthquakes, live volcanoes, hurricanes, slippery hiking ridges, mudslides, avalanches, hepatitis, leptospirosis, dengue fever, rusty hotel balcony railings, brown scorpions, feral pigs, and Don Ho...

Nords, are you using a Micra to cut that pineapple!?

I'm not sure, I borrowed it from Trombone Al. It was safe to use because it didn't have a warning sign!

 

[TromboneAl]

are you using a Micra to cut that pineapple!?

The knife is a Gerber -- one of those leatherman types. I keep one in each car.