Lotus: The Hotel. The position

Our first few nights in O’ahu were spent at The Lotus at Diamond Head, a hotel that we’d found on Jetsetter at a great rate.

The hotel turned out to be as great as the rate, with added bonuses of free morning coffee, free wine happy hours, free bikes (we didn’t use them) and. . .free yoga classes in Kapi’olani Park.

The tag line of our blog is, “Travel tales and tips to inform and inspire” so I decided that since I’d never taken a yoga class I would do so; write about it and inspire others to stretch (literally and figuratively) while traveling.

After all, I exercise regularly, so yoga couldn’t be that difficult, right?



I started having misgivings when Courtney, a young, slim, happy woman introduced herself as our instructor.  She's pictured above in the Lotus pose. There were five of us: two very tall men, and two women about my size.

The setting was incredible, the grass still covered with dew as we spread our mats to face Diamond Head.  And the first few stretches were easy. . .



I remember Courtney, saying something about being one with our bodies and then one with the universe.  At one point we extended our fingers in a prayer like motion and were to give thanks to whatever or whoever we wanted to thank, again I think I was supposed to be thinking universal thoughts but 30 minutes into this class, I was giving thanks for still standing upright!

I lifted with the left and grabbed with the right while facing one way but turning the opposite direction.  Remember the old game, Twister? Not quite as easy as I had thought. . .in fact, downright difficult.

But then the sun peaked around Diamond Head, and three birds sat on a branch above us cackling as they watched the crazy humans below. 

And then we were doing the final stretch. . .class ended.  I had made it! 

For two days afterward I couldn’t bend over to pick anything off the floor and bringing my coffee cup from the table to mouth hurt muscles, I didn’t know existed.

Yes, I had been one with my body, Hawaii and the universe. I did stretch. I’d do it again (but at Marriott Ko Olina those same classes are $27 so forget that! I’ll wait until I get home. . .or back to The Lotus.)

Inspired? Let me know what you’ve done thanks to travel that you wouldn’t have otherwise done.


NOTE:  Joel and Jackie are unable to access their regular email and Microsoft MSN is not cooperating in solving the problem. If you need to reach us in the near future please write to: travelnwrite@msn.com

 I’ve also been unable to respond to comments on the blog (the Hawaiian techno gods are against me) so thanks for the TP Thursday comments.

Traci, I am not sure which ship Sue will be on, if she lets me know I’ll post it, otherwise you might write celebrity cruise lines and ask.

Diamond Head: Been there, done that!

  Hula Babe’s and Beach Boy’s Hawaiian adventures began by climbing Diamond Head. As we gazed out over the Pacific Ocean, the only thing we asked ourselves is, “Why did we wait so many years and visits to Hawaii to enjoy this trek?”

Thanks to Kim and Sue, who after reading last week’s post in which I pondered the possibility, encouraged us to ‘just do it!'Their encouragement moved it to the top of my Hawaiian ‘to do’ list.

And then there was our hotel...

Our first four days were spent in Diamond Head’s shadow, at the The Lotus at Diamond Head in a room that provided a postcard view of this decades-old symbol of Waikiki. It felt as if we could reach across Kapi’olani Park and caress its rough hewn sides.  We used binoculars to see the people way up at the very tiptop viewpoint (the point on the right in this photo).

So Friday the 13th we tackled Le-ahi, the other name for Diamond Head; a name given by the goddess Hi’aka because the summit resembles the lae (forehead)  of the ahi fish. . .or at least that is one of the stories told of its name.  Another is that it stands for the wreaths of fire lighted atop it to guide canoes to shore.

We walked from our hotel to the trail head in the midst of the crater of this 300,000 year-old volcano. Entry fees were a very reasonable $1 per person walk in.  Parking fees for those who chose to drive were also minimal.

The trail itself is less than a mile (1.3km) one way and the climb is 560feet (171m) from the crater floor.  The trail, built in 1908 as part of the U.S. Army’s Coastal Defense System, was originally used by those on foot and mules that hauled construction equipment up it. The surface was uneven in many places but secure handrails made it feel safe.  There were steep stairways and dark narrow tunnels – it might not be for everyone. 

 I admit there were a couple of times as I paused to drink water and suck air on the way up that I did wonder why I had been so hell bent on doing it. However we were joined by young and old; fit and fat - a testimony to its popularity. More than a million visit Diamond Head each year.

And then. . .the final flight of stairs and we were at the top. . .paradise literally surrounded us every direction we turned. The views were stunning.

I can hardly wait until next year! It might just have moved even higher on my “must not miss” list.

Aloha Honolulu!

Hula Babe and Beach Boy are heading back to Hawaii!  That would be us – and our nom de plume, okay, nom de blog -- during those winter weeks when we frolic under swaying palms and a tropical sun with a renewed, near rampant, enthusiasm for life.



We do feel younger and more carefree in Hawaii.  From the first sniff of the tuber rose and plumeria leis at the airport, we are enveloped in a magical spirit – the Spirit of Aloha, perhaps - that seems to feed both the body and the soul. And it never lessens, instead, it only gets stronger with each passing year.


It’s a shift in attitude that doesn’t require consumption of coconut juices or alcohol-laced mai tais (although quite yummy); papaya mask facials or yoga. . .the mind simply switches gears in Hawaii.

‘Life is Good’, as the tee-shirts proclaim.  If you’ve ever been there, you know what I am saying, and if not you should give it a try one day.


Our Waikiki stay will be in the shadow of Diamond Head’s 760-foot punchbowl crater pictured below, at the Aqua Lotus Hotel, (formerly the W Hotel) near Kapi’olani Park on O’ahu’s Gold Coast. 



And because we are so close, maybe we’ll finally climb the trail along the top of Diamond Head’s crater this trip. . .

The first ‘big trip’ I ever took was to Honolulu way back in 1979 when a good friend who was living in Guam and I met  in Honolulu.  I was swept up by Waikiki’s Spirit of Aloha on that trip  and unbeknownst to me at the time, Joel and his buddies were making similar discoveries about the same time. As a result, the place just keeps drawing us back.

So put on your Aloha shirt or grass hula skirt, grab a tropical drink and join us. . . Hula Babe’s and Beach Boy’s adventures are about to begin . . .Aloha!

So, what about you?  Have you visited a place and been caught up in its spirit?