A Revisit to Sea Life Park

Dropped in on Sea Life Park this weekend (to attend a friend's kid's birthday) and I was surprised to find it mostly the same as I'd remembered 20 or even 30 years ago! Same Dolphin/Seal performance shows, etc, aside from a  few newer- and decidedly un"Sea Life" themed attractions  (like the interactive birdcage with free-roaming lovebirds) this could easily have passed for my 70's memories!

Got there early so we pretty much had the park to ourselves for the first half hour or so, leaving me to run around the place taking pics of the mostly deserted park! of course, by lunchtime it was packed as usual...

Movie Museum

 The Movie Museum in Kaimuki. Back in the day, I was REALLY into classic movies, and the MM was the only place I could find a lot of the more obscure flicks...a few I remember were Garbo's "As You Desire Me" and "The Painted Veil", movies I was dying to see yet no "regular" rental places had them (and I ended up really LOVING them!!)...

This was the 90's, back in the VHS days and I remember planning my weekends around it: Visiting the place on a Friday and renting 3 movies, and then returning them Sunday afternoon.

Saw so many wonderful movies through them!

That was years ago and with the advent of both DVDs and Blurays,  I've managed to acquire mostly everything I've wanted to see, plus, with places like Amazon and ebay to shop, any new interest is easily enough to get.

Haven't visited Movie Museum since the good old days, the last time I was there it was still all VHS. Wonder how it looks inside now! Just happened to walk by it on my way to lunch and just HAD to take a pic!

A NEW Home Depot

 Was VERY surprised this weekend when, joining a friend going to the local Home Depot for Home repair goods, having him completely bypass the Kaka'ako cutoff and drive on down to Moanalua area, to the building which once housed the 99 Ranch market!

YEP, looks like Home Depot created a whole new center and one which I found particularly pleasant, with lots of trees and shade in the wide parking lot with plentiful parking spaces!

YYK Dim Sum

 

YYK, New Dim Sum place in the Food Court at the Macy's side end of Ala Moana Shopping Center... 

Pork Hash with Shrimp, Chicken Chive Gyoza and Fried Noodles. Yeah, it's bad for you, it's expensive, but it's so tasty!

Visiting the new HMART

 Visiting the new HMART/Down to Earth in Kakaako...BOY, things are REALLY coming up in this area!

Who would think this was all crumbling old warehouses just a short time ago?

First Sign Of Christmas Is...

Residents of the Kaimuki area know that one of the surest signs that the Holiday Season is upon us is when the Christmas tree lights up on the hill behind the Kaimuki Fire Station, and whaddaya know, just today I saw them stringing it up and testing the lights!

Christmas season is officially here!!!!

An Ala Wai Curiousity

 

Oddly, they've been filling in those stairs that lead down to the Ala Wai Canal. Wonder why...are they going to also remove the stone walls so we can walk freely?

Family Reunion at Ko Olina Resort

 Had a mini-reunion picnic on the beach at the Ko Olina Resort...man, haven't been there since Aulani Resort had first opened up! Had heard that the place had been "tourist"ified, but it looked to me like it was mostly locals enjoying the day (us included)!

Was cloudy for most of the evening, but at the very end of the day the sun managed to peek out from those clouds just for a bit, making for some wonderful sunset shots....

PS: Parking was as gnarly as warned- all 3 lots FULL with a long line waiting to snag spots, but there was a paid parking lot at the end which was virtually empty...no one wanted to pay the 15 bucks fee! Guess I don't blame them, but there were folks coming to our picnic that waited in their car for almost over an HOUR, screw THAT, I'm not waiting that long, LOL

Was the first time I ever paid for parking using an app, that was a first. Hadda scan the QR code on the Parking Lot sign and log into their site and pay via credit card. Huh, technology.

New Diamond Head Theatre

 WELL, walked by Diamond Head Theatre recently and saw it was all done with the construction and was ready for business again!

Nothing can replace the charm and history of the old place, but this is a pleasant stop on the way home from a walk...