Gran Tourismo

Today was a day for tourism. I decided this morning that I would ride my bike down to Waikiki Beach to see what all the hubbub was about. It was a cloudy day up in the mountains to the north of campus, but towards the beach to the south it was still sunny and hot. I got down there and walked the streets for a little bit. There were massive amounts of tourists, gift shops, and even a huge Macy’s right across the street from the beach. After spending some time on the beach, not getting in the water really because of the influx in box jellyfish that happens after the full moon, I started making my way back up to UH Manoa. The bike ride on the way down and back was a bit tricky because the brakes on my bike are out of action, which makes everything a bit more interesting. In the afternoon I met with a friend of a friend, who has been on the island for four or five months and had offered to show me around a bit. We went up to the Dole Plantation in Wahiawa and went on a tour of the pineapple fields. We also went to the north shore to the beaches of Haleiwa. I saw a new aspect of Hawaii that I had not seen yet. That was the farming and agricultural aspect. I can only imagine the amount of deforestation that took place to create these fields and the amount of erosion that was caused by it. Not to mention all the destruction and damage the golf courses and resorts have done at Waikiki. All in all it was a fun, exciting, and educational day, and a bit less wearing than yesterday.