A Tale Of Two Alohas

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​A TALE OF TWO ALOHAS

...Continued from yesterday:
     On Friday, the last day before our children and grandchildren all left the Hale Koa and flew back to the different places and time zones they'd travelled from, we gathered in the courtyard,

...beneath the massive, fascinating topical tree known by the Hale Koa community as "Gus,"

...for a family picture.

      Then most of the group went down to the beach for a final day of sand, sea, 

​....and snorkeling, which, they tell me, is actually pretty good in the calm reef waters off Waikiki.

      One of our little wahinis even tried some surfing. 

     Tom and I decided to walk into downtown Waikiki by way of the beach.

...then down Kalakaua Avenue, past the high-fashion stores,

...and the ABC stores,

...to the Royal Hawaiian Center, a shopping mall and cultural center,

...with a pretty public square,

...that leads to the grounds of the famous Royal Hawaiian hotel, one of he most luxurious and oldest hotels in Waikiki. 

      We continued up the avenue, past the International Market Place, another high-end-ish shopping center,

...to the Moana Surfrider,

...another of Waikiki's classic luxury hotels.

...where we took a stroll around the lobby.

    We decided to walk back to the Hale Koa via streets that ran perpendicular and parallel  to Kalakaua Ave.

     On a street called Royal Hawaiian Avenue we passed a Korean Bibimbop restaurant called Topped that looked kind of interesting,

​...should we ever be so lucky as to return to the island.
​      However, that night we returned to our new favorite dinner spot, the food court of the Ala Moana mall,

...where some of our group discovered a crèperie that took desserts to new level:
​
Strawberry and banananShortcake Crèpe

Nutella and Almond Shortcake Crèpe.​

     And though these crèpes received high reviews, somehow I was more in the mood that night for Häagen-Dazs.

     The following morning, Saturday morning, we shared our last wonderful Hale Koa breakfast together,

      Soon after we met up in the lobby,

...to say "Aloha" before we left for the airport,

...or to just get a hug from Mom.

     But for Tom and I, this was not our final "Aloha" of the day; for we were staying at the Hale Koa for another week, and later that afternoon we would be saying "Aloha" - which means both good-bye and hello - for our second time of the day to my sister Romaine and her friend Stanley, who came to Honolulu to spend our second week with us.