I was going to assemble a list of my favorite activities, and I was on the internet looking for pictures to post when I ran into this GREAT article about doing Waikiki on a cheap dime or for free! How serendipitous! And in these tough economic times, it helps to be able to vacation or stay-cation without spending much, or even better, anything at all.

Here is the list, compiled in 2008 … so be aware that some places/locations may have changed or times been modified.

FREE Stuff in Waikiki: Starting at the airport end of Waikiki (opposite of the Diamond Head end), here are a number of free attractions.

The Gilligan’s Island Harbor: Remember where the 3 Hour Tour started from at the beginning of the TV show? Well, it’s here at Ala Wai Yacht Harbor. Check out some rather large pleasure craft. It’s at the airport end of Waikiki between Hawaiian Prince and the Hilton Lagoon. Nothing special, but well worth a photo!

US Army Museum of Hawaii: Awesome displays and artifacts from both Hawaiian wars and WWII.

Waikiki Beach: Just have a swim, paddle, snorkel, body-surf, sun bake, sleep, whatever floats your boat!

Royal Hawaiian Hotel (the big pink, and recently renovated old-looking one): Free tours 2pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center (In the Fountain Courtyard): Torch Lighting ceremony nightly from 6 to 6.15pm. 30 minute Polynesian show 6.15pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Polynesian show 10 to 11.30am Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Hula Lessons 10am Monday, Friday. Lei-making lessons 11am Monday, Wednesday. Ukulele lessons 10am Tuesday, Thursday and 11.30am Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Sheraton Moana Surfrider (Big white columns, looks like an old Plantation Inn) Free tours at 11am and 5pm, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. DON’T MISS GETTING YOUR PHOTO TAKEN ON THE FAMOUS ROCKING CHAIRS!

Wizard Stones of Kapaemahu: On Kalakaua, beside Police Station. They are said to contain the secrets and healing powers of four sorcerers.

Duke Kahanamoku Statue: Just Diamond Head side of the Wizard Stones. Hawaii’s most decorated athlete, who brought surfing to the world.

Hula Mound: Most nights of the week there is some form of free entertainment at the Hula Mound (200m Diamond Head side of Duke’s Statue on Kalakaua), at 6pm. Hula shows predominantly.

Oceanarium Restaurant: From the hotel lobby of the Pacific Beach Hotel you can easily see a massive aquarium that divides two restaurants (very expensive food). Divers feed the fish at noon, 1pm, 6.30pm and 8pm.

The Wall (and Groin): Built on top of a storm water outlet, this is a great little walk out to the end, to get a different view of Waikiki beach. You can watch surfers and boogie boarders at very close quarters.

Sunset at the Beach festival (EXCEPT August): Every Saturday and Sunday, except in August, the Mayor throws a beach party. Queen’s Surf Beach. Hawaiian bands perform from 4pm to sunset, then when darkness falls, a huge screen is set-up to watch a feature movie! Tables and chairs are set up. Food stalls galore, with nothing over $US6!

Free concerts (EXCEPT August) Sunday 2 to 3pm, the Royal Hawaiian Band, at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand. Friday 5.30 to 6.30pm, different Hawaiian groups each week, at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand.

Kapiolani Park and Beach Park: Gorgeous, well manicured place for relaxing. On weekends, the locals relax, swim, and grill on the barbeque.

Waikiki Historic Trail: Look out for the surfboard markers with historical information about a particular area. 23 in total, you can walk it all in one day, or just complete sections whilst visiting other nearby areas. Definitely print out the text and map from www.waikikihistorictrail.com.

Walk along Waikiki beach at sunset: Sample the outdoor Hawaiian shows at the beachfront hotels. See musicians playing at Sheraton Moana Surfrider’s Banyan Veranda, Duke’s Canoe Club or poolside performers at Sheraton Waikiki.

Kalakaua at night: Street Performers and buskers abound. Also enjoy the antics of the mentally deranged homeless (I know that’s not PC but it is free and entertaining).

ALSO … NOT FREE, but CHEAP:

Waikiki Aquarium: $US9, supposed to be quite good. A great place to identify all of the fish you will/have seen snorkeling.

Honolulu Zoo: $US6, how good is that. Just be aware that it closes at 4.30pm. Occasionally they have a jazz night after hours.

see the full article and video HERE.

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Here’s a little story about a surfer named Jed, the poor surfer boy lost his car key surfing Diamond Head. And on that day he was running late for school … and stumbled into class like a bumbling fool. Late for a test, that is. Locked himself out … had to get a ride.

Everyone we surveyed knew someone directly, or have seen someone before or after a surf session, that has paddled in from surfing and realized that they have lost their mode of transportation key – car/motorcycle/bicycle you name it! It is one of those unfortunate events that we as surfers all dread … losing a key, or keys. Almost as if going through the classic stages of grief, a surfer can go from shock & denial (No way I lost my keys! I can’t believe I lost my keys!) … pain & guilt (It’s going to cost so much to get a new key / I knew I was going to lose that key one of these days) … and even anger & bargaining (@#$*% hell! Please, please, please, let it be here somewhere!).

All it took was one time … one seven-stages-of-grief-ridden-time … and the solution was a search engine away to never ever ever EVER losing my keys again during a surf session. There are many options to stashing your keys, anywhere from the wheel well of the car, a well chosen bush or rock (or so you think!), the key pocket in your leash, or in your fancy surf shorts’ pocket, or tied to your surf bikini. All of these are options to choose from … but none as reliable or one that brings peace of mind during a surf session as an honest to goodness lock box.

With great durability and security, the three lock boxes we ranked as most “surfer-worthy” range from budget-minded surfers to all out splurge on the ‘made for the surf industry’ model. All in all, these three models do the job well, and protect your key(s) with great gusto … with minor variations between the models ranging from rubber coated bodies and hooks, 4 to 6 digit lock codes, single-unibody design versus removable lock faces. The determining factor as to which one you choose should greatly rely on one thing first: the type of key you will be protecting inside!

We experimented with many different lock boxes based on the various truck, car, motorcycle, scooter, and bicycle models we used for surfing here at iJS. What we quickly found was that the lock box a surfer will use depends greatly on the type of vehicle key they own! In order to get a better feel for which lock box may be appropriate for you, check the gallery below! (click for semi-larger versions)

Overall, the iJS favorite was the Masterlock 5400D model. This mid-range and appropriately priced lock box provided a great unibody design with a coated lock body, protecting the hinged front face that holds anywhere from one to four keys OR one microchip key OR a small switchblade type key. If you have a modern key and cannot bring the key with you into the water, THIS lock box is your best option.

Unlike the standard lock box which sports a removable face that often slipped out of the mold as you are preparing to lock everything up (resulting in having to re-key your code again to lock the face), the 5400D sported a hinged locking face that allowed you to prep your keys using one hand. The higher end “Surf Lock” also sported a hinged face, and an extra roomy compartment which explained the much larger overall dimensions and lengthy look of the lock box.

The “Surf Lock” was a great lock box overall, but iJS staffers felt strongly about being able to leave their lock boxes on the truck/car/motorcycle when not in use … and the lengthy design of the “Surf Lock” often resulted in it being dragged when left on the hitch or the bumper hook! On a motorcycle and a scooter – which has less room to stow accessories in – the slim profile of the standard lock box was the most desireable.

It doesn’t matter which one you end up getting, but make sure it fits your vehicle key’s overall needs … plus some room for an extra key or another piece of important surf accessory like after-surf snack money! The point is get one, and save yourself some serious heart ache and headache moments, and surf with less worry about where your key might be, and who may have taken it!

Oh, an added bonus use for the lock boxes is keeping a spare car/house keys in there … although moments arose where I might have been locked out of the car or house, I always had the trusty lock box to come to the rescue!

Aloha and Good Surfing People!

[originally published under the 12 Days of X-Mas feature]

It was mid-afternoon on an overcast, winters day in Waikiki. I paddled out to Canoe’s and sat among the crowd. The waves were small, inconsistent and the weather was windy, cloudy and cold. I sat on my board wearing board shorts and a rash guard hunched over, holding my arms close to my chest trying to keep warm.

Minding my own business, focusing on keeping my vital organs warm, a guy in a thick, long sleeved, spring suit paddles up to me. We exchange glances and pleasantries. The next thing he says to me is

“You must be freezing in that. I’m wearing a really thick wetsuit and am still cold! I can’t imagine how cold you must be.”

Jerk, I thought to myself as I watched him paddle away, hoping I would not see him again.

10 minutes later we end up waiting for waves in the same area. Having no intention to talk to him I made a conscious effort not to look in his direction.

Then it happened. He started to talking to me. I was polite, but cold. And seeing him reminded me again that I was cold, very very cold.

After a few minutes of conversation he redeemed himself and eventually we discovered that we got along quite well.

Fast forward 10 years.

He and his wife return home for a visit before heading out to travel. While home their plan was to surf as much as possible.Their first day back we decide to surf at Diamond Head early in the morning. We arrive at Diamond Head on a cold, overcast, winters morning. As we are getting ready he realizes all he has is a thin rash guard. While I have my 1mm  and my 2mm long sleeve rash guards. As we’re getting ready he comments on the cold. Being the friend that I am and underestimating thickness of my skin, I offered him my 2mm long sleeve.

He graciously accepted.

We walked down to the beach and the moment my toe hit the water I realized I had made a mistake in giving him that 2mm.

As we sat in the water, waiting for waves, I was reminded of just how very cold I was everytime I looked at him.

Jerk.

Although the regulars have grown accustomed to the winds and ways of Diamond Head, on a good day it has been described as paddling to the left with a garden hose turned on full right in your face. That sounds about right though. The surf, however, is not the story today. It was the people … always the people it seems. The usual small talk that occurs at the shower line is meant to pass time by as well as get to know strangers a bit more, as well all pass through the baptismal cleansing of the PVC pipes at the base of the path.

Today, something had resonance, something a complete stranger said to me. “Now I can face the rest of the day!” she said cheerfully as she exited the shower line and headed up the cement pathway. It bears repeating: NOW – after surfing that morning, and rinsing herself off – I can face the rest of the day. In a way, we all have a ritual that we follow every morning that prepares us to face the world out there … hers, much like so many surfers that I know, was surfing. Soaking in the ocean and riding the waves.

In the office environment, you can often hear people muttering that they cannot function until their first cup of coffee … it’s a similar ritual. Although diametrically opposed (one being a natural high and the other chemically induced externally), the two rituals allow us to gear up and prepare ourselves to face what is very well an unknown agenda. It may be surfing for some, coffee for others, and for some it takes the form of ritual “amulets” or “charms”. Although not an experience, some people use physical objects to prepare themselves for whatever lies ahead in their day. From necklaces, watches, PDAs, laptops, and other devices, we as a people have developed our own form of attachments to modern-day versions of amulets.

The form that the amulets have taken may have changed over the years, but it is by no means a new practice. Shamans and Kahunas have prepared for their daily battles with the unknown using symbols, trinkets, amulets, and some even physical rituals as a blessing or curse. And the use of such rituals has become so entwined in their cultures that they have become sacred. Despite the western influences a good part of the many native religions have remained intact. Most rituals are still carried out, and have been protected, often by associating them with traditional visual arts and traditional music. Before I learned to surf, I had other rituals that allowed me to face the day.

When I was a young child, I often required two “amulets” that prepared me for the daily challenges of a six year old: my plastic toy gun fashioned after Vic Morrow’s rifle in “Combat”, and a big red cape that symbolized superheroes of every archetype. You can say that it was mostly Superman that I emulated, but he didn’t carry ammunition like I did. I recall having these two items with me most times … even while at school, I remember having them close by, often hidden within the my six -year-old-mind’s ideal belief in the Fort Knox safety of my backpack. And so it was a rite of passage when I needed these object no more, forgotten with the onset of interest in other things … much older, newer things.

As a young teen, full of angst and apprehension, the rituals became that of appearance. For most of us at that age, we associated our identity with the way we looked, the way we dressed, and the people we spent most of our time with. I don’t have to look very far to point out iconic representations of this point in modern-day films, but you can try yourself. (Might I point out the grand-daddy of them all, The Breakfast Club?) And as we gained our own identities, interests, and confidence in our personalities and abilities … well, we grew up for the most parts! As adults you probably can name your own preparatory rituals, your amulets of enchantment, and your defense against the daily demons in the daily world. I have a few of them myself, one being writing down whatever thoughts I have in this blog.

Which of course brings us back to “Now I can face the rest of the day!” For whatever it is truly worth … I hope you faced your day armed with little more than a toy rifle and a red cape …

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“He’s a loser,” they say. “You’re just wasting your time.” “Ditch him,” they nag. “You can so find someone WAAAY better.” To their defense, they are mostly right. Cliffs isn’t exactly that gorgeous stud muffin called Bowls, or that metro Queens with his neatly trimmed grass, bushes, and hedges, and that undeniable, constant cocoa butter smell. In fact, Cliffs can sometimes be downright ugly. It’s 70% windy, 20% hairy, and 10% flat. It can’t handle most of the time. On 4-5 ft swells, it starts looking like a light weight after 5 shots of Patron. It just hurls these massive chunks of throw-ups. But when the stars, the blue moon, and the sun align just right, I have seen him stand up in perfect glass walls— but it’s only happened once.

But I’ve also had my share of heartaches. After several hard days at work, I come to him for a little solace and comfort—what do I get? A cold shoulder combination of flatness, choppiness, and a million of kooks like myself, I guess. It just hurts. Despite having a bruised ego from being taken so casually as if he just doesn’t give a shit, somehow, he’s got me captivated—And it’s because of days like this afternoon. Just when I was starting to believe that Cliffs is a piece of shit shmuck everyone tells me about… Just when the report says he’s a foot or a foot and half, he turns around and surprises me with a sweet clean solid 2-3 with only a handful of people out (well, for an hour at least). I remember now why I keep coming back to him. It’s afternoons like this when the resident monk seal greets me at the bottom of the trail. And it’s days like this when my skin tingles from the sun, my back aches from so much paddling, and my head is filled with snot from being worked—all worth every single perfect head/overhead clean wave I rode. It’s that surf cap in that surrealistic form of a vibrant red and orange sunset. Essentially, it’s these moments that remind me why I go to him. It’s that feeling of absolute serenity and content. Even for just a rare moment, he just makes me feel very gay—as in exceptionally happy.

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Even as the rain poured mercilessly on my board and I while we walked down the path to the beach, the slight glimmer of sunshine gave me hope. Afterall, this WAS Diamond Head — we regulars often find great waves on the windiest and crappiest of days. This was going to be one of those days. A fellow surfer even hooted at me to go get ‘em as I turned the corner. He, I noticed, was dry though!

And so, my fellow surfers, what had started out to be an ever-so-optimistic-session turned out to be a two hour paddle out to the RIGHT as I struggled to get to the lineup (WAS there even one?). It was just as choppy and windy as it looked, without any sign of the mystical Diamond Head session that usually made itself known on days like these. Not today. The striking thing was that there were at least 5 other people out there in the water, I’m assuming, praying for that mystical session as well. Frustrated and tired from endlessly paddling to the right, I cursed the waves and made my way in. Dejected. I mumbled in a barely audible voice “Well, that was not worth it at all.”

On cue, as if waiting for me to say just that, a Honu (Green Turtle or Chelonia mydas) popped his ever so peaceful head directly in front of my face … right out of the water. A giant smile replaced whatever exhausted expression I had on my face, and I knew that all was well. All was forgiven, and it was indeed all worth the paddle out there. It is funny how I am reminded of the things that MUST be important in life. It often arrives as quirky and unexpected reminders that I cannot ever get too big in my own perception, nor too self-centered in my expectations. A Honu I know reminded me of that!

And just to place an exclamation point at the end of this lesson, fellow surfers, someone I just met told me that a friend’s life was saved by surfing. I was so awe struck by this statement that I forgot to pursue the topic further. Surfing saves lives … I would like to hear or read that particular person’s story one of these days … it will serve as a true affirmation as to why surfing is truly life changing.

And that is true. Surfing, and the beauty that it holds, grabs you by the hand and transforms your perspective on this world of ours. It makes you see green turtles, and it makes you see beauty in a life that you may have given up on!

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