Drove to the Aloha Stadium. It's weird how I can get around Honolulu without a map. I think I'm meant to live here. Free admission to swap meet with my tourist coupon. I should've taken pictures, but I didn't (sorry Unclonymous). It's basically a flea market that goes around the parking lots of the Aloha stadium. One big circle around with vendors on both sides. Same vendors over and over: muumuus, hawaiian shirts, t-shirts, quilts, wood stuff, shell stuff, candles, luggages, purses, fruit stands, sunglasses, etc. but mostly all Hawaiian. I loaded up on hair ornaments, kukui nut leis, and hawaiian skirts (my new trend-setting board-short of 2007!). Amazing how board shorts aren't as popular anymore. I loaded up on those in Hawaii the last time I was here and was a year ahead of the trend. Keeping fingers crossed on the skirts. (And the quilts, but I only decided I was interested in pillowcases and not coasters, placemats, quilts, et al.)
Then I found a store that sold just boxes! (I asked a local.) I brought in all my loot and tried on boxes. Found 3 really good ones and packed them in the parking lot on the hood of the rental car. If surfers can hang out at their cars, shoppers can too. Then I asked the box store people where the closest post office was. Their answer? Know where Framington High School is? Uh, no. So "two lights down and a right, then a left at the third light" later I was at the post office and by 11:30 all the packing and shipping was done.
Next stop: Iolani Palace. The only official royal residence in the United States. I always wondered who all the streets were named after. They had to be named after somebody and there's a good mix of English and Hawaiian names, so I had to get a Hawaiian history lesson. In short, King Kamehameha I united all the Hawaiian islands under his rule and after Kamehameha V there were no successors named. So the legistature elected a new king (can't remember name) who died without naming a successor, so they elected another king, King Kalakaua (the main drag in Waikiki) who built the Iolani Palace. He was married to Queen Kapiolani (another main drag in Waikiki). And when he died, he had named his sister to succeed him, Queen Liliuokalani who was the last royal of Hawaii. The Americans came in an had her overthrown and she was imprisoned in her own Palace.
The Palace is really beautiful inside. It was the first to have electric chandeliers - before the White House and Buckingham Palace! They entertained many foreign dignitaries there. Those Hawaiians really liked to dress up and party. I knew I liked them. Instead of being gilded in gold and metals, the palace used a lot of native Koa wood. Really pretty. You had to slip on hospital booties to tour the palace. Everything was preserved really nicely, but then again, the palace really is only about 150 years old.
After the Palace, I changed into my swimsuit and hit the beach for more sun. Only spent a few hours there, then I had to get cleaned up to go to the Creations luau show at the Sheraton Princess next to the International Market.
The food was more wedding buffet than luau, but as long as they had pineapple I was happy. The dancers were really cool. I wish I could do the hip shaking thing. Too fun! I think Shawn liked it. I took some photos with the performers afterward (for Unclonymous of course).
Me & "Hawaiian Shawn" Okay, not really. He was the Storyteller
Me & "Hawaiian Shawn" Okay, not really again. He was one of the dancers.
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