Monday, February 20
6:00 am Honolulu, Hawaii
The temperature is +22 °C with a high of +24 °C forecast, sunny.
9:00 PM Life
We had a continental breakfast at our hotel and then caught The Bus (#22) to the drop-off point for Diamond Head. We then walked about half a mile, including going through a tunnel to the inner part of the Diamond Head crater. This soon lead to the park gate where we began the walk to the summit of the Diamond Head crater. The path was primarily cement with some sections bedrock. It was usually wide enough for 2 people so the people coming down didn't get in the way of those going up. The round trip took just over an hour. (Click on the Diamond Head link to see a few photos.)
We decided to take a taxi back into Honolulu and were dropped off at a shopping complex called Wards where we found an excellent restaurant and had a nice brunch. I had yellowtail tuna which was lightly grilled and delicious.
While eating we watched 5 Black-Crowned Night-Herons in the park across the road from the restaurant. We also saw 2 Cattle Egrets.
We browsed a few shops and I bought a CD in a Tibetan shop that had buddhist chanting, and then a brief book on Hawaiian culture at a Hawaiian shop. We ended up finding the same taxi that took us there and he drove us back to the hotel for a cool shower and brief nap.
Dinner was at an upscale Italian restaurant where I had a seafood linguine dish that was phenomenal. We then walked the streets with a few thousand tourists, enjoying the lights and ambience before returning to the hotel. A perfect, low-key day.