A Shirley Temple Cocktail from the Royal Hawaiian. They created this drink for none other than Shirley Temple herself
Alan and Karen standing by the statue of the famous surfer 'Duke' on Waikiki Beach.
The Surfer Room inside the Royal Hawaiian Palace in Waikiki. If you look closely you'll see a photo of Shirley Temple as a child.
A display of dresses actually worn during the opening night of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
The Royal Hawaiian Hotel. This is the garden area and our room was directy above the Royal Hawaiian Sign on the hotel.
The lei given to Karen as greeted at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.HAWAIIAN VACATION
May 3rd, 2008
This year Alan and I celebrated our 25th anniversary by going to Hawaii and taking a
7-day cruise around the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii. We left Baltimore in the wee hours of the morning on May 3rd and arrived around 30 minutes past noon (Hawaiian Time). There’s a five-hour difference so it was actually around 5:30pm and our bodies were feeling it somewhat. I had planned on sleeping a bit on the plane but only napped once I think. The seats we had on the planes were terrific! On the first leg of the trip we sat right behind first class so we had plenty of legroom. On the second plane we sat right behind the restrooms and once again had plenty of space to stretch out, plus being by the bathrooms was an added bonus! When we had arrived at BWI and checked in the lady switched our seats for us allowing for that extra comfort. The airport was very accommodating with my electric scooter too and I was able to ride it right up to the plane and they checked it and had it ready for me in Houston so I could use to get to the next gate. It sure made it a lot easier for me to get around. I definitely got my money’s worth from my scooter on this trip. We should’ve purchased one ages ago. While on the plane, Continental served us Chex with Honey cereal, milk, and very green bananas. I didn’t eat any of it as I didn’t want anything sweet that early in the day and the bananas were so green you couldn’t even peel them. I imagine they were probably ripe enough for the afternoon passenger though.
When we arrived in Houston I noticed the strangest looking cloud formations ever. Even the flight attendants commented how they’d never seen anything like it either. The clouds were dark and looked as though they were rotating and I thought how it might be the beginning of a tornado since there were storms we had been flying around that morning. I wish I could’ve gotten a picture of it but the window that we were looking through was in the area of the aisle that passengers walked to and from the plane and the flight attendants had to get the plane we’d just disembarked ready for the next flight. I never did find out what that cloud formation was but it was huge and eerie looking. On the way to our gate we passed a Starbucks and enjoyed our java drinks. I had my usual ‘frothy latte’ and Alan had his peppermint-mocha frappacino. We also got bananas to eat.
During the second flight we were served steak n cheese pizza (which was actually very good), peanuts, Cape Cod potato chips, and brownies. Several hours later we were served ham and cheese cold sandwiches but I chose not to eat them. I did eat some of the carrots but of course Alan couldn’t. We had brought along some tuna lunch meals that we snacked on just prior to them serving the sandwiches. The lemon pepper tuna was the best on crackers. I’m glad we were able to find these the night before our trip. We were told that there wouldn’t be any meals served on the plane so we had packed something to eat. Continental treats their customers well. Movies were shown during the long 11-½ hour trip. We watched one called ‘Final Season’ with Sean Aston in it. He played a high school assistant baseball coach that took the team to championships. It is a true story about a small country town and the school district deciding to close the school and transfer kids to larger schools. I’ll have to see if I can find this movie at Blockbuster
When we left Baltimore it was dark and chilly and when we arrived in Honolulu it was sunny and warm. At least we dressed accordingly so we didn’t have to swelter as soon as getting off the plane. My scooter was ready at the airport and we found our way to baggage pretty easy. After collecting our luggage Alan caught a shuttle to Thrifty Car Rental to pick up the car I’d reserved for us. It wasn’t too long before he arrived. While he was gone I checked out some of the local brochures to see what kind of deals were offered on meals/tours and found some coupons for Hilo Hattie’s. Alan was given a PT cruiser and wasn’t too happy about getting it since I’d ordered a mid-size car. He changed his mind though when he saw that it was able to accommodate all our luggage and the scooter easily. I found a map in one of the brochures I’d been browsing through while waiting for Alan to get back with the car, which helped Alan with directions from the airport to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. So far, so good we thought until we got closer to our hotel. Then the traffic slowed way down to a crawl and taking a wrong turn proved to delay us another half hour. We finally found it and drove up to the front of it. A young gentleman took our keys and unloaded all our luggage and the scooter before parking the car. We were able to use the ramp that lead to a secret hall and onto the hotel lobby. We checked in and went up to our room. It was huge and so elegant. In just a few minutes our luggage arrived. We checked the room out and the view was spectacular overlooking the garden. The ceilings must have been at least 18 feet high. Everything was done in a pink-coral. We browsed around the hotel and then went to the beach bar where we ordered the Pu-Pu platter and drinks while listening to music. Alan had a Mai Tai and I had a Pink Hawaiian and then tried a Lava Drink. That would hold us till dinner. There was a wedding about to take place soon right on the beachfront. The area was roped off and white chairs were set up. There was a pretty white flowered arbor where the couple would stand. A buffet was set up next to the white trimmed tables. How romantic to get married at the Royal Hawaiian overlooking the ocean!
May 3rd, 2008
This year Alan and I celebrated our 25th anniversary by going to Hawaii and taking a
7-day cruise around the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii. We left Baltimore in the wee hours of the morning on May 3rd and arrived around 30 minutes past noon (Hawaiian Time). There’s a five-hour difference so it was actually around 5:30pm and our bodies were feeling it somewhat. I had planned on sleeping a bit on the plane but only napped once I think. The seats we had on the planes were terrific! On the first leg of the trip we sat right behind first class so we had plenty of legroom. On the second plane we sat right behind the restrooms and once again had plenty of space to stretch out, plus being by the bathrooms was an added bonus! When we had arrived at BWI and checked in the lady switched our seats for us allowing for that extra comfort. The airport was very accommodating with my electric scooter too and I was able to ride it right up to the plane and they checked it and had it ready for me in Houston so I could use to get to the next gate. It sure made it a lot easier for me to get around. I definitely got my money’s worth from my scooter on this trip. We should’ve purchased one ages ago. While on the plane, Continental served us Chex with Honey cereal, milk, and very green bananas. I didn’t eat any of it as I didn’t want anything sweet that early in the day and the bananas were so green you couldn’t even peel them. I imagine they were probably ripe enough for the afternoon passenger though.
When we arrived in Houston I noticed the strangest looking cloud formations ever. Even the flight attendants commented how they’d never seen anything like it either. The clouds were dark and looked as though they were rotating and I thought how it might be the beginning of a tornado since there were storms we had been flying around that morning. I wish I could’ve gotten a picture of it but the window that we were looking through was in the area of the aisle that passengers walked to and from the plane and the flight attendants had to get the plane we’d just disembarked ready for the next flight. I never did find out what that cloud formation was but it was huge and eerie looking. On the way to our gate we passed a Starbucks and enjoyed our java drinks. I had my usual ‘frothy latte’ and Alan had his peppermint-mocha frappacino. We also got bananas to eat.
During the second flight we were served steak n cheese pizza (which was actually very good), peanuts, Cape Cod potato chips, and brownies. Several hours later we were served ham and cheese cold sandwiches but I chose not to eat them. I did eat some of the carrots but of course Alan couldn’t. We had brought along some tuna lunch meals that we snacked on just prior to them serving the sandwiches. The lemon pepper tuna was the best on crackers. I’m glad we were able to find these the night before our trip. We were told that there wouldn’t be any meals served on the plane so we had packed something to eat. Continental treats their customers well. Movies were shown during the long 11-½ hour trip. We watched one called ‘Final Season’ with Sean Aston in it. He played a high school assistant baseball coach that took the team to championships. It is a true story about a small country town and the school district deciding to close the school and transfer kids to larger schools. I’ll have to see if I can find this movie at Blockbuster
When we left Baltimore it was dark and chilly and when we arrived in Honolulu it was sunny and warm. At least we dressed accordingly so we didn’t have to swelter as soon as getting off the plane. My scooter was ready at the airport and we found our way to baggage pretty easy. After collecting our luggage Alan caught a shuttle to Thrifty Car Rental to pick up the car I’d reserved for us. It wasn’t too long before he arrived. While he was gone I checked out some of the local brochures to see what kind of deals were offered on meals/tours and found some coupons for Hilo Hattie’s. Alan was given a PT cruiser and wasn’t too happy about getting it since I’d ordered a mid-size car. He changed his mind though when he saw that it was able to accommodate all our luggage and the scooter easily. I found a map in one of the brochures I’d been browsing through while waiting for Alan to get back with the car, which helped Alan with directions from the airport to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. So far, so good we thought until we got closer to our hotel. Then the traffic slowed way down to a crawl and taking a wrong turn proved to delay us another half hour. We finally found it and drove up to the front of it. A young gentleman took our keys and unloaded all our luggage and the scooter before parking the car. We were able to use the ramp that lead to a secret hall and onto the hotel lobby. We checked in and went up to our room. It was huge and so elegant. In just a few minutes our luggage arrived. We checked the room out and the view was spectacular overlooking the garden. The ceilings must have been at least 18 feet high. Everything was done in a pink-coral. We browsed around the hotel and then went to the beach bar where we ordered the Pu-Pu platter and drinks while listening to music. Alan had a Mai Tai and I had a Pink Hawaiian and then tried a Lava Drink. That would hold us till dinner. There was a wedding about to take place soon right on the beachfront. The area was roped off and white chairs were set up. There was a pretty white flowered arbor where the couple would stand. A buffet was set up next to the white trimmed tables. How romantic to get married at the Royal Hawaiian overlooking the ocean!
We were in Hawaii and on vacation! The Aloha Spirit had ascended upon us. We took a walk around the hotel and took in all the historic photographs on the walls. There was a window display showing a photograph of Opening Day and even had a couple of the dresses worn on display. What a gala event that must have been! The entire hotel was so elegant. I found myself daydreaming what it must have been like back in those days. Shirley Temple had visited as a child and it was here that the drink was created and named after her. Of course I did order one of these drinks and it was truly the best Shirley Temple cocktail I had ever been served! Alan and I decided to eat dinner at Dukes, which was next door. As we walked out to the street we soon discovered why there was so much traffic earlier…the Spam Fest! Who would’ve guessed? There was even a Spam mascot. There were some adorable young girls dressed in hula outfits that were lined up to go on stage to perform. We didn’t stick around to watch as it looked as if it might start raining, which wouldn’t have been good for my scooter. We headed up towards Dukes. The trail leading there took us by some local shops where I found the most adorable Hawaiian dolls. I thought how nice they would be for Emily’s collection. Alan said we could look at them after we returned from our cruise a week later. After all, I might find them a bit less expensive. At Dukes we were seated where we could look out over the beach. It was an open-air restaurant and the ambiance was upbeat. There were all kinds of pictures of the Duke with other surfers and stars like John Wayne. Duke was not only a champion surfer but a swimmer as well and went to the Olympics for the U.S. He was loved by all. I ordered moonfish with garlic mashed potatoes and the salad bar. There were even purple sweet rolls, which are made from the taro root. We were so full from dinner that we couldn’t eat any of their famous Hula Pie. This consists of macadamia nut ice cream piled high on a chocolate cookie crust and topped with chocolate fudge, whipped cream, and more macadamia nuts. It’s sized for sharing, but rarely goes unfinished! Even though Kimo’s originally created this it’s now a favorite at most of Duke’s restaurants. After such a satisfying dinner we were both ready for bed and it was only 7:30. We crawled into bed and were sound asleep almost as soon as our heads hit the pillow
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