hawaii charity walk-the slipper tour

After a late night, I still get up at 4 AM for the Hawaii Hotel Association Charity Walk. I know, don't work for a hotel any longer but thought this would be a great way to stay on my exercise program. Ok, this was before I realized the walk was 7 miles!!! Well, the good news is -- they feed us all along the way... so much for the health strategy.
So, I tried to make this a walking tour... much to my son's chagrin! He kept trying to tell me that he was embarrassed by my nasty picture snapping habit.. I made sure to point out that he could pretend he didn't know me...

this is Ala Moana Beach Park at 5:15 AM as we arrive to begin our journey. It was interesting to see that the tide was so low. On normal days, the group of rocks in the distance are not visible.

We start off with a group shot to get in the mood, then a little gnosh to start us off: we chose bananas and yogurt in the tube... a healthy way to start the walk!

The first station we stopped at sponsored by the Ala Moana Hotel was very GERMAN... and pretty funny! They played the chicken dance music.

There were crowds of participants enjoying the music...

well, maybe not everyone was so enthusiastic

The City has been renovating the park recently and left a few things behind... I guess they were not finished with all of the projects since this big bin was left behind.

and this big pile too:

As we crossed the Ala Wai Canal into Waikiki, this was the morning sky with calm waters towards the ocean.

At the very entrance to Waikiki, we were greeted

by a hula dancer with her musicians.

Thought this sign was appropriate for island life...

if only that were true all of the time.

look at all of the surfboards, ready for wave riding.

a quick glance at the ocean as we truck on past...

duke kahanamoku's statue...

he's the famous swimmer/surfer that won an olympic medal

and was a famous beach boy.

weekend activities to attract locals to the tourist areas.

oops, this surfer ran out of water... end of all the hotels... beginning of Kapiolani Park/Aquarium area.

looking back into Waikiki from the end of the park.

are we done yet??? Hurry Mom, I want to eat this ice cream.

The view from Ala Moana Beach again...

about 10 am... what a nice day...

next time, I will show the Ala Wai Canal and the interesting finds...

gotta rest my toes in the sand... Aloha!