Tags
Aliʻiōlani Hale, Duke's Canoe Club, Hawaii, Hawaii State House, Hawaii State House of Representatives, Hawaii State Senate, Hawaii State Supreme Court, Honolulu, Hula Pie, Iolani Palace, Oahu, Waikiki
18 May 2015 – We headed into downtown Honolulu for some sights. We planned on going to the IolaniPalace, Duke’s Canoe Club for lunch, and the Bishop Museum. Things didn’t go as plan but we enjoyed the day nonetheless.
When we arrived at the Iolani Palace we didn’t anticipate the timed entry aspect and unfortunately the next available entry time conflicted with our lunch reservations. So, we enjoyed the park and exterior of the palace and walked around instead to visit some of the nearby Hawaii State sites.
In the same complex as the Iolani Palace is the Hawaii State Senate and House of Representatives. We walked through the State House building which is so very unique as a round building with a large central atrium. The House and Senate chambers are also easily visible from the atrium through very large windows. It was a great opportunity to teach the kids about bi-cameral representative government.
After the State House we walked around the Palace again to the other side of the complex and across the street to the Aliʻiōlani Hale – which historically was built as the central government building for both the Kingdom and Republic of Hawaii in the late 1800s. Just outside the entrance is a famous statue of Kamehameha and reliefs depicting famous early Hawaiian historical events.
Inside the Aliʻiōlani Hale, and since 1911, sits the Hawaiian Supreme Court. The building contains both the current court room as well as the original 1916 court room now part of a museum on the history of the Hawaiian judiciary. The kids loved the old court room and they spent time playing court. Both the State House and Supreme Court were fascinating and unique and the kids enjoyed both.
We left the Aliʻiōlani Hale for Duke’s and our lunch reservation. Duke’s sits on Waikiki inside the Outrigger hotel. It is a very good restaurant with prices comparable of others along the beach. Their Cajon fish tacos were excellent and the kids enjoyed the fish and chips. Sherrie had the salad bar with Guiliana. Of course, we finished lunch with two Hula Pies – which as always were excellent.
We walked back to our car along Waikiki and couldn’t help but stop at the statue of Duke Kahanamoku for photos.
After Waikiki we drove over to the Bishop Museum but found we had misplaced our tickets – which we subsequently found the next day while packing to head home. Instead we decided to go back to the pool and spent several hours swimming to finish our day which is never a bad choice in Hawaii.