Stepping foot in Honolulu proper

[Kyle]We had a reservation for the next few days at the state run marina at Ala Wai Harbor. Before that, we decided to cool off with a snorkel at one of the sites off Waikiki. There didn’t turn out to be much there (coral wise), apart from lots of triggerfish and a few turtles, but it sure felt good to have a swim. Maryanne spent the longest time in because she had elected to be the one who went in in search of the underwater moorings.

This snorkel site (Turtle Canyon) is known as a cleaning station for the Green Sea Turtles, they arrive and the smaller fish come along and eat off any growth from their shells, etc...

We spent most of the day dong boring stuff. Maryanne went through the long and rather frustrating check-in process, and then marched into town to do a giant load of laundry. I stayed behind and scrubbed Keehi’s mud into the Ala Wai. It turns out our boat really is mostly white underneath.

With everything, including us, all nice and crisp smelling, we headed out for a walk along Waikiki Beach. The very next thing that happened was the weekly fireworks show at the Hilton, just on the other side of the Ala Wai parking lot. Magnificent!

The nearby Hilton, aside from having a semi-private lagoon, also has fireworks every Friday night for us all to enjoy - what a welcome!

After that, we spent a couple of hours watching the spectacle of the jam-packed waterfront. There were lots of people just hanging out, enjoying the weather. There was an endless wall of outdoor restaurants, many of which had live Hawaiian music. We know it was being done for the tourists, but it really makes an instant atmosphere of paradise. We even saw a guy doing an impressive performance using all manner of things on fire (just for tips).

Fire dancing performer - just one of the things that entertained us on our walk along Waikiki beach our first night having escaped the yard

[Maryanne] All so much nicer than being in the yard... We're loving it!