We took a bus from the aquarium to downtown Honolulu, got off near the capital and the Iolani Palace. We wandered the grounds at the Palace for awhile, rested beneath an old tree, then headed out to find the gardens. We didn't have time for too much extra sightseeing other than the gardens since we wanted to get back by 5:00 for the Hawaiian buffet and show at the Hale Koa that night.

We walked quite awhile before we found the gardens, the entrance isn't real obvious but we finally found it. The brochure and map that we got when we bought our tickets helped identify the many species of tropical plants from many different countries. There were listings for "exceptional trees" and each was numbered so it could be identified. Darrell stood inside tree #2, a huge Chinese banyan whose hanging roots are made into a cure for toothaches. The tree to the left was exceptional tree #23, called a Cannonball tree. It has heavy spherical fruit (see close-up on right) and I think you'd get quite a headache if you stood under it and one of those fell on you! We were asked by some young people to take their picture near that tree and Darrell teased them about standing under it, but they had the good sense not to.

It's so peaceful inside the walls of the 13.5 acres that make up these gardens that we didn't even notice the highway beyond it until we came up to the fence separating us from it as we walked around in the Croton Terrace and the Bromeliad Garden. Next we stopped to admire all the orchids in the Lyon Orchid Garden. There were lots of varieties of orchids in this area, below is just one type.

The plants in these gardens were spectacular, all kinds and colors. I particularly loved the Heliconia (right), it just sceams out "I'm tropical". There were also Birds of Paradise, another one of my favorites, in addition to Day Lilies (below) and lots of Ginger. We wandered thru the different areas, taking our time and enjoying the peace and quiet. In the herb garden, I found the tiniest little pineapple plant (below). I'm used to seeing large pineapples at the store, ready to be eaten, but this one was a baby, about 7 inches tall, nestled in its leaves, just waiting to get ripe.

Halfway thru, we decided to relax in the Economic Garden, sat on a bench and admired the foliage for awhile. Then off we went to explore the rest of the gardens - we saw the Hiroshima Monument, Daibutsu Terrace, the Fern Glade and then walked thru the Prehistoric Glen. In that area, I especially liked one palm with an odd trunk (above) so I took the picture looking up the trunk all the way to the top, thru the branches. I thought it was an interesting perspective.

It was getting close to 5:00, so we hopped another bus and went back to the Hale Koa to get ready for dinner. We got a great seat near the stage, enjoyed the buffet and then the show started. There were lots of Hawaiian songs and comedy, even some children who did hula dances in their native costumes. We had our pictures taken with a surfer boy and a hula girl and, during intermission, the photos were sent to our table to see if we wanted to purchase them. Of course we did, it was another nice souvenir of our stay in Oahu. The next day we'd be leaving for the island of Hawaii, for the second half of our vacation.

Last stop on Oahu, Diamond Head Lighthouse.

INTRO/ WEBRINGS	OAHU	HAWAII/ KONA	HILO/ VOLCANO
SNORKELING	FISHING	RESORTS	LINKS

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