FINALLY, A WIDER BEACH

Well, they did it.  Over budget, a month over the original estimate and not exactly the 37' they promised, but THEY DID IT.  They widened the beach in Waikiki.  What on earth will I rant and rave about now?  What will I analyze and shake my head in disbelief too on my nightly walks along the beach?  Well, it's Waikiki, I'm sure there will be something.  There is a major sewer pipe project about to start that they project will make parts of Waikiki smell like the busiest public restrooms on the planet.  That should be fun.  Somehow I don't think it will garner the same interest for me though.

I have to say, with all the delays and missteps, the beach is wider and will accommodate more folks in a more comfortable way.  The downside is that the sand is all gray and ugly (it takes several months for the sun to bleach the sand) and packed down so it's not real soft to walk on.  There's more pieces of coral littered thru the sand also, but what can you do?  It's wider!

The dump trucks have rolled out and now they are restoring the one pond area which they used as their staging ground.  In essence, they are recreating this part of the beach to once again be, a beach.  That should be done in the next couple of days and then all will be back to "normal".

If there's anything you would like to know about Waikiki, please feel free to contact me thru this blog or my twitter account (@WaikikiUG) or at waikikiunderground@aol.com.  Give me your ideas and I'll do my best to write about them.

WAIKIKI IN A BUBBLE

The other day we were watching The PGA Masters and talking about the pro golfers and their lives.  These guys are always on the road.  They golf a tournament, finish on Sunday, have to be at the next one on Tuesday to practice and then repeat the cycle again and again.  Yeah, I like golf, but at some point, this has got to get old.  We were discussing how the golfers live their lives in a bubble.  They don't have typical lives, time at home with the kids, the normal 8-5 job, probably aren't making the Home Depot run every weekend for the Honey Do List.  They see the same group of people, stay in the same hotels, eat the same restaurant food and do the same redundant practice each day simply dedicating their lives to the game of golf.  In short, they live in a bubble of golf.  Of course all athletes actually live in a bubble, dedicating their lives to their sport and their games and their fans.  It seems so elitist but it's a grind, like anything else.  


The more we contemplated the bubble concept, the more I began to think that we ALL live in a bubble of sorts.  A bubble of our own concoction.  We all work at the same place, live in the same area, hang out around the same people and dedicate our time, energy and beings to our self created bubbles.  


Hmmm.  This led me to a proclamation and realization of the bubble I live in, the bubble of Waikiki!  What place exemplifies a bubble lifestyle more?  This place is a tourist mecca with preconceived notions, photographs and ideals that are promoted and advertised all over the world.  The beaches, the hotels, the restaurants and bars.  The hikes, the zoo, the TOUR BUSSES!  Yes, we live in a bubble of our own making (and that of the Hawaii Tourist Board) and it's called Waikiki.  I've lived in a bubble of Alaska (snow, ice, whale's, studded snow tires, coats, hats and gloves and the land of the midnight sun) and grew up in the San Fernando Valley of California bubble (keep up with the Jones's bubble, traffic, earthquakes, gangs and overpriced real estate), but I have to say, of all my bubbles, this one is my favorite!  There's room to have guests and lots of them in my bubble.  There's always fun activities going on in my bubble (surfers, bodyboarders, parades, block parties, BBQ's on the beach, people watching, street performers and more....) the weather, of course, is fantastic in my bubble....year round!  So I think I've done a pretty good job finding a bubble that fits me quite well.  

How does your bubble suit you?  













Photo courtesy of Aquabumps.com