The Arrival Of The Ohana

​                           Books by Patti Liszkay available on Amazon:   
     "Equal And Opposite Reactions"      http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
     "Hail Mary"                                           https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
     "Tropical Depression"                        https://www.amzn.com/B0BTPN7NYY

​The Arrival Of The Ohana

 ...Continued from yesterday: 
      Ohana is Hawaiian for family, and on Friday, April 3, some of Tom's and my ohana began arriving in Honolulu to spend a week with us at the Hale Koa.
​         First to arrive in the afternoon were two of our daughters, whom we picked up at the Honolulu airport,

...then drove back to Waikiki. I've always loved the section of the road from the airport that passes by the mountains.

     That evening we walked next door to the Hilton Hawaiian Village, 

...where we ate at the Blue Water Shrimp, ​a short-order eatery,

...with the cutest dining area, 

...and the best food.
​       Among us we had the garlic shrimp,

...the garlic shrimp and steak,

...the salmon,

...and the cheese quesadilla,

...served with a mountain of sweet potato fries.

       Afterwards we walked towards downtown Waikiki,

...to a little hidden gem of a shave ice stand, the Niihau,

...apparently named after Ni'ihau, the Forbidden Island, most western of the Hawaiian islands, where visitors are forbidden and the 100 or so residents, the last descendants of the islands' original Polynesians, value their privacy, speak Hawaiian, and keep their island as a refuge for native birds, wildlife and Hawaiian culture.
​        Here is a view of Ni'ihau, which is 17 miles off the coast of the island of Kauai, from the beach cottage where Tom and I stayed in April of 2015 on the Barking Sands naval base (see post from 4/10/2015, https://www.ailantha.com/blog/two-hikers-in-search-of-a-trail) .

       ​  The Niihau shave ice stand, however, was very welcoming to us tourists, ​

...though folks were required to order at the door,

...then stand back and wait until our shave ices were brought out to us.

     Though  we'd all ordered "Keiki's" - child sizes - our shave ices were enormous,

...and oh, so delicious, topped with a condensed milk blend called a snow cap.

    We then walked back through the park to the Hale Koa,

...where our daughters were happy to turn in for the evening.     
         The next round of relatives, who were supposed to arrive in the the evening of Friday, April 3,  arrived at the Hale Koa at 1:30 am on Saturday April 4,  their plane having been delayed.
        Later that morning, while the late arrivals slept in, those who arrived the previous day enjoyed their first Koko's buffet breakfast of the season (see post from 4/22/2026, https://www.ailantha.com/blog/in-search-of-a-suitcase-part-2)​.

      After everyone was up and ready to start the day, we went to Snorkel Bob's, the Honolulu  snorkeling gear Mecca, to pick up the gear that I had reserved a few months ago for those of us who planned to snorkel.

        This, of course, did not include myself, as I tried snorkeling one time a few years ago at Hanauma Bay and lasted a little under five minutes. Turned out that I couldn't stand putting my face underwater even with a mask, I don't even like being in water, and being that close to live fish gave me the creeps, even the beautiful exotic fish swimming among the coral reefs.

       But, as always, I was happy to let every one else enjoy mingling with the beautiful exotic fish.
       Sadly,  there had been heavy, windy rain storms in Hawaii the week before we arrived, and so there was so much residual turbulence of the sand and sea water that the snorkeling this year, according to those who participated, was not the best. 
         By Saturday afternoon the final round of our visiting ohana ​arrived, so that there were eight of us at the Hale Koa.
          After lunch at Happy's, where Tom had the seafood salad,

...and I had the delectable veggie wrap,

...the young folks headed down to the beach.

      That evening we all walked into downtown Waikiki,

...for dinner at the Pa'ina Lanai food court at the Royal Hawaiian Center.

      After dinner we joined the Saturday night strollers for a while,

...then we returned to the Hale Koa.

     To be continued...