Aloha, Hale Koa

      ...Continued from yesterday:
     We arrived in Honolulu at 8:30 pm Hawaii time, which was 11:30 pm California time.
     We took a Speedi Shuttle - the cheapest mode of transportation from the airport to Waikiki - FYI, reserve a seat in advance - to Fort Derussy, an American military facility on Waikiki Beach on which is located the Hale Koa (which means "House of the Warrior" in Hawaiian), a hotel available for use by active duty and retired members of the military and their families.
     We'd stayed at the Hale Koa on our first visit to Hawaii two years ago (see post from  4/2/2015),    

...but when we arrived at the open air lobby,

...we were as dazzled as on our first time.

     View from the lobby to the outdoor courtyard below.

Our room.

     Views from our balcony by night,

...and by day.

     The beautiful lobby,

...opens out to the city on one side,

...and onto  to the hotel grounds below on the other.

...where there are shops,

...restaurants,

...a post exchange, or PX,

...two snack bars,

...one of them on the beach,

...two pools,

...one of them on the beach,

...a playground and picnic area,

...a gym, all kinds of family entertainment in the evening,

...and a botanical garden,

...that opens to a lovely spot on Waikiki Beach,

...with a splendid view of Diamond Head.

     In truth, one could probably have a pretty nice vacation without leaving the Hale Koa.

     I myself would not have minded staking out a comfy spot in the lobby,

...and spending a little more time just  listening to the lovely Hawaiian music,

...that's piped into the lobby 24/7.

     However Tom and I ended up spending little of our time in Honolulu at the hotel or on the beach.
     We had other places to go and things to see.
     To be continued...