My friends, my goal today was to complete more Kaka'ako.  I think that I may have finished finding all the POW! WOW! Hawaii murals.  The only part of Kaka'ako to do is just off the ocean.  I have to admit, I won't look forward to that just because hundreds of homeless people live there and safety may be an issue.   I think I'll walk there with another person to feel a little safer!

Not wanting to overdo, yet be able to finish the southeast end, 3.83 miles was a tidy amount of walking.  Lots of businesses and towering apartments were the highlights of my walk today.

I will need to study these last murals I found today.  Very symbolic, your interpretation may well be correct, even if we differ.  Maybe that is what the artist had in mind?  To reach our own conclusions!  I would be very interested in knowing what you came up with!

This beautifully painted car is giving the murals of Kaka'ako some competition!  Also very symbolic, I will need to study this too!  What does it say to you?

Walking a great deal on Kapiolani Blvd., these stately trees almost formed a shady tunnel and respite from the glaring sun.

Another respite came in the form of "talking story" with Roy!  He works at  "The Ding Kingdom Surfboard."  Originally from Tel Aviv, Israel, he surfed at Hilton Beach and now loves to surf off Diamond Head at Lighthouse.  That was MY surfing spot when I was younger!  Unbelievable coincidence, and super cool!

Home of the Brave Brewseum is a museum and brewery combined.  Brewing only enough for guests and some key military accounts, they are known for their own recipe, Pilot Pale Ale and Remember Pearl Harbor Dark Lager.  Operating only tours for now, but, they will be open for July 4th if you are interested!

Located appropriately on Queen St., this mural of Queen Liliuokalani graces an imposing side of a building.  Only seen if you are driving west on Queen St. before you get to Kamakee, it is easy to never know of it's existence otherwise.

A common seaside plant, the beach naupaka,with it's identifying half-flower shaped bloom has another species that live in the mountains, the mountain naupaka making it ripe for a romantic story!  In a jealous rage, the goddess Pele separated two lovers who became the beach naupaka and the mountain naupaka.  Put the blossoms together to reunite the ill-fated pair.

Everyone has a great TRUE story to share!  Share a story or listen to someone else today!  Truly enlightening!  Aloha no! (Lots of love!)

Can you find the faces?  Sometimes your frame of focus can hide what is so evident otherwise!  If you are guessing that I'm back in Kaka'ako, you are correct.  I am still on a mission to see all the the POW! WOW! Hawaii murals.  Please click on my link to thewalkinghawaiian2 to see even more murals!

Trying to fill in pukas,(holes) today took a blistering 5.80 miles to complete.  I look forward to the day when routes will start to connect to one another.  It's bound to happen sooner or later, yes?

An Island within an Island!  Found at the intersection of South St., King St. and Kapiolani Blvd., stands an artistically designed Island that could have easily been a triangular plot of grass instead.  I love it!  Do you?

Passing by a shop window, I realized that these aloha shirts had names!  Manufactured by RX, the names were associated with the pattern!  Please double click to enlarge the photo and see if you can see what it is called!

What used to be additional parking for the Ward 16 Theaters and Ward Warehouse, a huge high-rise will stand in it's place.  Bordering the work area is a wooden shield with informative pictures on it.  Depicted are pictures of the "Ward" family, Curtis Perry Ward and his wife Victoria (Robinson) Ward.  They owned the area where Ward Ave is and the Neil Blaisdell Arena and all the Ward shopping complexes. 

 If you would like more information, click on my link to thewalkinghawaiian2 blog. In addition, a descendant of the Wards, Frank Ward Hustace III, wrote a book called, "Victoria Ward and Her Family: Memories of Old Plantation."  

I know that I showed you the various ahupua'a that lead to Pearl Harbor.  Here are the ahupua'a that abound in the southeast part of Oahu.  Have you ever lived there or visited these ahupua'a 's?  Please double click the picture to enlarge.  I bet that you never knew the names or that there were so many of them, yeah?

I passed by my favorite burger joint, Kua 'Aina, and got Pavlov's response!  Yup, I started salivating!  You can find this on Auahi St.

Never far from beautiful flowers, here are multi-leaf hibiscus and yellow orchids in full bloom!

Makai (towards the ocean) of Ala Moana Blvd. stands the John A. Burns School of Medicine buildings, part of the University of Hawaii Manoa Campus.  The taro representation had the added opalescent panels that changed colors with the path of the sun in the sky!  Just gorgeous!

Studying the simplicity of the Mission Houses Museum, I realize that what they built was top of the line, newest technology for the time.  Boy, have things changed!  Even in the short span of 2 years, places revisited have already changed and my blog only captured a moment in time.  Yet, my blog remains and the memories stay in my heart and mind.  Capture sweet moments in time and enjoy it to the fullest because it'll be yours to keep!  Aloha no!(Lots of love!)

Three swimming pools to swim in?  NOPE!  These are for skateboarders!  Their close proximity allows the boarders to flow from one pool to another.  Please double click the picture to see up close and realize that the pools are STEEP and DEEP!  Just standing near the edge of the pool was giving me terrors!  You need a lot of ANDROGENS to do this!

I guess you need to be pretty brave to walk on this NARROW shoulder as cars zip by at 40-45mph.  Yes, that crazy person was me!  Thank goodness I wasn't on Fort Barrette road for long as I made a right at the first intersection I came to!

You will notice that there is a yellow line where there is NO road.  Well, there is a road that is not open for traffic yet, and it will open eventually!  So, I walked it with little fear that someone would run me over!  SWEET!  This area of Kapolei is the business section and it has everything that you could think of and MORE!  You would never have to leave town as your world would revolve right here!  Today's walk carried me 4.28 miles into developing and developed Kapolei!

Abundant blossoming SHOWER TREES were hard to miss as they lined almost every single street that I walked.  Make sure to double click the photo and see the rich colors up close.

Thinking that I came upon a lemon tree or passion fruit vine, I was dumbfounded as I neared to see SPIKES protruding out of the fruit.  Now, I have NO IDEA what this plant is!  Does anyone know?  Could you enlighten me?  

I just loved the foliage surrounding the KAPOLEI HALE.  The trees offered cool shade and everywhere was meticulously manicured and thriving!

Who doesn't love the MUSTANG!  Kapolei Hale includes a DMV, and maybe this 1970 Ford Mustang Convertible Coupe needs a new registration?  Being 44 years old, I think that this car is in mint condition!

 

Are you into Archery?  As I said, Kapolei has everything and more!  Too cute, that the sign was informative since it pointed the way as well as it's in the shape of an arrow which is used in archery!

Located at an intersection that used to be the on-ramp and off-ramp to the H-1 Freeway off of Kamokila Blvd.,(now it's closed off and leads to nowhere!) stands a representation of the Goddess,"Kapo!"  Elder sister of Pele, she is the Goddess of Hula and her namesake is part of the area name, Kapolei!  Her open arms welcome you to Kapolei and maybe to the art of Hula.  I have to admit, I have passed this way by car many a time and have NEVER noticed this statue.  Walking the aina (land) has lead me to so many discoveries!  I hope that you will discover something new today too!  E malama pono! (Take good care!)

Called the "Screwpine" tree, the spiraling foliage seems to be evidence of it's moniker!  The Hawaiians call it the "Hala" tree and the "lau hala"(leaf of the hala) were weaved into baskets, canoe sails, sandals, mats, hats and much more.  Fossil evidence on Kaua'i is being examined and may prove that the hala tree is indigenous to Hawaii, but is still believed that the Islanders brought the plant with them since it's so invaluable!

Continuing to discover the town of Kapolei, 3.12 miles, I have carved today.  So far, I've been concentrating on the residential part.  Next time, I'll meander over to the commercial part of Kapolei so you can see what this town has to offer.  Finishing the month of May with 13.04 miles to add to the grand total of 680.74 miles since starting.

I think someone walked out on this pair of pants, and it feels very deflated!  Jokes aside, this sunning pair of jeans was laying there off the main street with no one in sight nearby.  What do you think happened?  By the way, it was in good condition!

And what is this?  Standing on each side of the road, it jutted out of the bushes!  I can only surmise that it is some sort of lighting?  What's your guess?

By looking at the map I posted, you'll see that most every road I traveled on became a dead-end.  Usually a high, thick, brick wall was my turn-around point.  This was my prettiest dead-end I came across today.  I wish that all of them looked like this!

I guess that the pants wasn't the only one sunning today!  This stuffed monkey found a sunny spot in the basketball hoop.  Yup, there's a lot of monkey business going on over here! HaHa!

Folks, this is the same car...front and back.  This car must be pretty clumsy!  I really liked the bandage on the backside...looking like a little "ow-wee!"

To tell you the truth, this tree is hard to identify, due to the extravagant pruning...nearly to a stump!  Nevertheless, with the attachment of succulents and orchids, it still is a thing of beauty, sprouting a kaleidiscope of colors.

Life can chip and prune away at you, but, the sum of your life experiences can make you who you are, and you are BEAUTIFUL!  Imua, (move forward) my friends!