Now that Lyle and I are home in Alberta, I would be remiss if I didn’t say something good about our time in Hawaii. We both feel so fortunate that we are able to travel as we do and to enjoy so many different cultures and experiences. It had been twenty years since our last visit to Waikiki, and we noticed quite a few changes. Here is a brief glimpse.
Getting around with my cane was interesting. There were
ramps, uneven sidewalk paving, graduated driveways and lots of people. I used my
cane constantly when we were outside and it was all good practice. If I needed
to practice my white cane skills, being in the warm temperatures of Waikiki was
a good place to be. The easiest walking area was alongside the canal, but there
I was distressed to find an uncommon number of homeless people sleeping away
the daylight hours.
I think that the biggest change for us was the absence of
the International Market Place. The little shop owners with their Hawaiian
trinkets and souvenirs had been replaced by a large mall with high end stores
and up scale restaurants. That was a disappointment. According to our taxi
driver, while tourism is still the biggest boost to the economy, construction
comes in at a close second.
On the positive side, we found that our very favourite
restaurant, Chuck’s Steak House, was still going strong. We spent the best
night of our stay sitting on the patio enjoying the breeze from the ocean as we
sipped our drinks and consumed a great meal. We were there for the early bird
special, not just for the price, but so that we could experience the sunset
over the water. It was all equally as good as we remembered it from our visit
of two decades previously.
There is a picture with this post. Lyle took it from our
table on the patio. The view is of a lovely sunset over the water framed by tall
palm trees.
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| Waikiki from Chuck's Steak House |
Beautiful picture
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