Our First Few Days in Paradise

It appears that we escaped winter just in time, from reports of home temperatures. We are definitely in paradise here. Those of you who have been to this island know that much of the action takes place between the canal (above about 7:30 a.m.) and the beach, that is, Waikiki Beach of course. Our hotel is conveniently located where the action is, and we have been making the most of our location, and have walked miles and miles. Our routine is to go for a faster walk in the morning, and then more leisurely walks during the day as we find things to do. Morning, afternoon, or evening, the walks are sure to bring interesting sights and sounds, and on each walk we see something we didn't see before.
For example, this prime piece of real estate, a commercial building on Kuhio, is listed for a mere 5 million. Anyone interested?
And yes, the guidebooks are right. The people who live here do love their Spam! Our guide on a recent tour (whose name was Ernel Smith - what do you think of that name for our almost grandchild?) said that the love of Spam began during the early years when meat was hard to keep due to lack of proper refrigeration. Apparently this "love" was passed down to future generations, and continues today. Two hunks of Spam with rice in between is to be found in many stores. There is an official name for it, but as I am not planning to buy it, I don't need to remember the name.
We did climb Diamond Head, a "walk" which was worth at least two and probably three workouts! The view was worth it, and as you can see, the day was glorious.
My reward for completing the climb was shave ice. My favourite flavour of the three I tried is coconut. I agree with President Obama - shave ice is great!
Yesterday we went on a Circle Tour of the island. You will recognize beautiful Hanauma Bay, right Jeffrey? Couldn't help but think of the time we spent there 30 years ago, and of the picture of Grandma W., not that comfortable having little fishies swimming right around her legs!
We thought we needed a little luck, so we both rang the gong at the Buddhist Temple. This was another sight that seemed unchanged thirty years later.
What do you think? Should I buy this one? So many mu'umu'us, so little time...

Contemplating which wave to ride at Sunset Beach!
Two more days here, and then we are off to a different island. This one has a little bit of everything - mountains, valleys, beaches, shopping, surf, great food...wonder what we will find on the next island? Stay tuned!