Hawaii - I arrive too early

In January or February of the Year of our Lord everythinggoestoshit, my friend Sika and I were catching up after months and months of no contact (I'm a terrible friend) and she mentioned that she would be starting an exciting new job and wanted to take a vacation beforehand but had never traveled alone. As a fantastic friend, I offered to accompany her to the Caribbean or Hawaii which were the two choices on the table at the time.

Side note: My bestie Nara and I had been trying to plan a vacation to Hawaii for March but my sister Mary said that she and her hubz were planning a trip to S. Korea and would I want to do that instead. Nara lives in Korea so we'd still get to see each other, just without the exotic trappings of sandy beaches, tropical vegetation, and volcanoes. Nara evidently told her parents that we were coming so even when Mary's trip fell through it looked like I wouldn't be able to get away without the torture of a Korean family visit - where I would be coddled and well-fed and squired around the country in style. Then coronavirus happened and travel to Korea was cancelled and I was just dumb enough to think a trip to Hawaii would be safer.

Sika and I had an exhaustive conversation about our travel styles, which I recommend for all travel buddies (or any relationship really) to set expectations and identify mismatches. Fancy or budget hotels? Hiking and biking or beaching and drinking? Dividing expenses down to the penny or within $50? Activity filled or straight-up loafing? As a go-go-go budget traveler with a $50 cushion and a mild thirst for adventure we were a slight mismatch that would have been a big deal if we hadn't talked about it.

I have a friend in Hawaii so without even asking her if she was available and willing to house me (she wasn't), I booked my ticket for the day before Sika was set to arrive. Since my friend Sarah was in fact on a research cruise counting fish or birds or something I spend my first day in Hawaii alone. After arriving to my hotel, I moseyed down to Moana Loa beach and just vegged because I was jetlagged to the core. My only goal was to make it to 9pm. Post-vegging I moseyed back up to Zippy's, Hawaii's own fast food chain, founded in 1966 and offering a fusion of Korean, Portuguese, and Hawaiian delicacies including their famous chilli. I ate a bean stew that was markedly not vegetarian, some lackluster fries, and the most delicious malasada - which I would describe as a giant donut hole.

I went to bed at 9 and woke up the next morning at 3. I waited impatiently for sunrise and then went for a run down to Moana Loa beach. Post-run I rented a bike to ride down to the Bishop Museum. However, I couldn't hear my phone's GPS directions from its position in my backpack, a problem not made better by sticking the phone in my cleavage and I got very lost in downtown Honolulu. So I returned the bike and went to Iolani palace instead.*

I made a quick stop at the Hawaii State House because I'm a nerd but there were no tours available. I was able to glean some information from Wikipedia, Lonely Planet, and a brochure distributed in the Capitol. The building was built in 1969 and is the only open air capitol building in the US. "The sky is the Capitol's dome." The building is surrounded by a reflecting pool that represents the Pacific Ocean and which is evidently plagued with algae. The legislative chambers are cone-shaped representing volcanoes and the columns are shaped like palm trees. The building has it's own liberty bell, eternal flame military memorial, and statue of Father Damian who ministered to the lepers.

My next stop was Iolani Palace, built in 1882 and home of Hawaii's last monarchs. We were all proferred slippers to make sliding around the palace more effective and an audio tour to guide us. Most notable to me was that each corner room had a smaller turret room off of it for use as a small library or dressing room or office depending on the occupant's preference. The building served five Hawaiian kings until the US government overthrew Queen Liliuokalani and sentences her to five years of hard labor (later commuted to house arrest). The tour was unflinching in its proud representation of Hawaii and Hawaiians and the fact that the deposition of the Queen was an act of warfare.

After lunch, I transferred hotels to meet up with Sika and we spent our first afternoon just chilling on Waikiki beach.

*I have no notes on this trip accessible because my journal was packed in my moving POD and evidently I'll never see my stuff again as they're holding it hostage until non-existent protests clear up in my new neighborhood.