Saturday, November 15, 2014

Things to do in Honolulu

The Cardinal play in a tournament at the U of Hawaii on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the 28th-30th November. The game sessions each day begin at 2pm, meaning we have a good part of each day for touristification. The following are suggestions from some FBC members (specifically, Arlene Rusche and Wally Mersereau) of things to do in Honolulu.

  • The National Memorial Cemetery at Punchbowl offers quiet reflection in a spectacular setting.
  • At the Battleship Missouri you can walk the decks of the massive ship on which the Japanese surrender was signed. Explore the ship on your own with an audioguide, or sign up for a guided tour.
  • The USS Arizona Memorial commemorates the lives lost when the ship was sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack. Opens 8am daily; visit early as the free tour tickets are often all distributed by noon.
  • Next door to the Arizona memorial is the USS Bowfin, a restored submarine that fought in the Pacific during the war, and is now a museum of submarine warfare.
  • Inexpensive but not bad food among the hotels in Waikiki, the Wailana Coffee House on Ala Moana.
  • The Pacific Aviation Museum is located in Ford Island hangars that were targets during the attack. Today it houses restored aircraft of WWII and Korean War vintages, as well as other exhibits related to wartime aviation.
  • Diamond Head is a pleasant open space inside a volcanic crater, with walking trails.
  • Saturday and Sunday 8am-3pm, over 400 local vendors descend on the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet selling everything under the sun from fresh fruit to spare hubcaps.
  • Manoa Falls trail, an easy (but sometimes muddy) 2-mile walk to pretty falls.
  • Five minutes downhill from Manoa falls, the Wai'Oli Tea Room.