Blue Hawaiian waters approaching Honolulu as seen from my plane seat.
Two days into the vacation and this is the first chance Ive had to write in the journal. Jonathan started writing in his on the flight from LAX to Honolulu.
This trip is a bit different from previous travels, in that this expedition started as a business trip for Jonathan. The Western Section of the American Mathematical Society was meeting at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the organizer Michelle Manes is an alumna of Brown and had contact with Jonathan there. Michelle invited Mr. Lubin to present a talk at the number theory session. So simply put, if Jonathans going to Hawaiʻi, Im going to Hawaiʻi. And if were going to Hawaiʻi, were staying for another week while were there.
As usual, I ended up making all the arrangements.
We flew from LAX to HNL on Thursday morning and were lucky to receive a complimentary upgrade on United (formerly Continental), so the six hour flight was relatively comfortable, although the aircraft couldve used refurbishment. Of course I got spoiled on the transatlantic legs of my last business trip to Frankfurt where the craft was freshly updated and business class seats had all sorts of amenities, including a hook-up for your iPod. Our seats in this flight didnt even have power outlets.
The flight landed a few minutes early, and we found our bags at the carousel about the time the driver of the airport shuttle I pre-booked found us. Rather than take us on the H-1 interstate, the drive took us on surface streets that more closely followed the industrialized waterfront, by the high rises of downtown, across the canal into Waikiki.
Our hotel, the Maile Sky Court, is a 46-story high rise building with our rooms looking towards the downtown district. The Pacific is visible between some of the buildings in the distance. Once settled in our room, we ventured forth to the restaurant downstairs for lunch. We both had a curry of one sort or another, and while the meal was acceptable, Jonathan declared that other than breakfast, we were eating dinner elsewhere.
After lunch we walked down the main drag, Kalakaua Avenue. Im not sure what I was expecting, but it wasnt a high-end shopping mecca. After walking by the local Juicy Couture outlet, I commented to Jonathan that is was probably a good thing that Devlin was not with us, we wouldnt have been able to go more than a block or two. Eventually, just beyond the venerable and upscale Moana Surfrider hotel (listed on the National Register of Historic Places), the beach appeared.
We continued to walk along the beach, past areas where the beach is being replenished with sand. Eventually the commercial area ended at a park and the beach continued. Making a u-turn at the aquarium, we decided to go in and spend some time out of the sun. We worked our way back up the main drag, stopping at Starbucks for coffee, and then back to the hotel for a nap.
Blue Hawaiian waters approaching Honolulu as seen from my plane seat.
The view out our hotel room window.
Waikiki Beach, looking west.
Walking among the palms with a warm ocean breeze.
Banyan tree in the park.
White spotted Jelly in the Honolulu Aquarium.
Another shot of the jellyfish.
Monk seal at the aquarium.
After rousing ourselves after 7pm, we ventured forth to seek a restaurant that was not the one downstairs. We ended up at the Moana Surfrider and sat on the veranda overlooking the courtyard and garden that faces the beach. The drink list was presented to us on an iPad – a new experience for us. It was an expensive restaurant and we both ended up having the petit filet mignon with asparagus.
