Today I decided to check out downtown Honolulu.
First I climbed Aloha Tower:
and saw the view of Honolulu Harbor (on the left) downtown Honolulu (center) and Waikiki (to the right in the distance). Click on the picture to make it larger, if you want.
I then sampled some Hawaiian coffee from the Bad Ass Coffee Company before heading next door to the Hawaii Maritime Center, which is in the boathouse used by Hawaii’s King Kalakaua. I learned about Polynesian and Hawaiian canoes and navigation, Captain Cook, the sandalwood trade, whaling, luxury boats that brought early tourists to Hawaii, and the trans-Pacific sailboat race. I also learned that Hawaii is the most geographically isolated island chain in the world. I really am in the middle of nowhere! The exhibits were pretty good, and the audio tour complimented it well (even though it was on tape-walkman). They had a lot of various types of sailing canoes, as well as a humpback whale skeleton.
Next I wandered downtown, and checked out Chinatown, eating some Dim Sum.
Then I headed over to Iolani Palace, the only royal residence in the United States. Iolani palace had electricity and telephones before the White House – pretty impressive for the most geographically isolated island chain in the world. The palace was the residence of King Kalakaua from 1882 until his death in 1891. When he died, his sister, Queen Liliuokalani, became the ruler of Hawaii. She was overthrown by Americans and imprisoned in the palace for 8 months.
The Palace wasn’t open for tours today, but I got to see it from the outside and check out the grounds, which included several varieties of beautiful trees, including some banyan trees.
Then I saw the outside of Ali’iolani Hale, which housed the Hawaiian kingdom’s legislature and supreme court, and the statue of King Kamehameha.
That was it for today’s Honolulu adventure!
