05-06-2019, 12:41 AM
So that's what the "new" International Marketplace looks like, huh? 
I felt so sad when I read that they were tearing out the old one to go "upscale."
The property owners in Waikiki just don't get it. They don't understand what people come to Hawaii to see. But property values and rents are so high, I guess the idea of having small-kine vendors is not as appealing as hosting name-brand luxury goods retailers.
I did not know there was a marine mammal research lab near the beach in Waikiki! Perhaps the facilities were gone by the time I moved there. When did you... I mean, when did Mum live in Hawaii?
The Waikiki Aquarium is a much nicer facility than I e
ected it to be. I did not visit it until several years after moving to Hawaii. I like seeing the leafy sea dragons, as well as the nautilus exhibit.
Of course, as with the International Marketplace, developers want that prime aquarium property, and for years "talks have been ongoing" about moving the aquarium (and demolishing the nearby War Memorial Natatorium) to make way for upscale redevelopment at that end of Kapiolani Park. The tentative plan is to move the aquarium to a location in Kapolei, closer to the Disney Aulani resort... of course.
There is also a big push to ban all independent vacation rentals on Oahu. The hotels don't like the competition.
Traffic was a contributing factor to why we moved. I imagine it's become worse in the past three years. Sad thing is, some friends who still live in Hawaii just visited us here in Utah, and they said the traffic isn't that bad. I think they're just getting used to it. I never got used to it. When I moved there, we could breeze in to Waikiki all the way from Hale'iwa on the North Shore and be parked in the public parking lot near the zoo in 45 minutes. Those days are long gone: both being able to make the drive that quickly, and finding free parking near the zoo!
Still... with all the negatives, I love seeing these photos, and they make me feel homesick. I wanna go back to my little grass shack....
I felt so sad when I read that they were tearing out the old one to go "upscale."The property owners in Waikiki just don't get it. They don't understand what people come to Hawaii to see. But property values and rents are so high, I guess the idea of having small-kine vendors is not as appealing as hosting name-brand luxury goods retailers.
I did not know there was a marine mammal research lab near the beach in Waikiki! Perhaps the facilities were gone by the time I moved there. When did you... I mean, when did Mum live in Hawaii?
The Waikiki Aquarium is a much nicer facility than I e
ected it to be. I did not visit it until several years after moving to Hawaii. I like seeing the leafy sea dragons, as well as the nautilus exhibit.Of course, as with the International Marketplace, developers want that prime aquarium property, and for years "talks have been ongoing" about moving the aquarium (and demolishing the nearby War Memorial Natatorium) to make way for upscale redevelopment at that end of Kapiolani Park. The tentative plan is to move the aquarium to a location in Kapolei, closer to the Disney Aulani resort... of course.
There is also a big push to ban all independent vacation rentals on Oahu. The hotels don't like the competition.
Traffic was a contributing factor to why we moved. I imagine it's become worse in the past three years. Sad thing is, some friends who still live in Hawaii just visited us here in Utah, and they said the traffic isn't that bad. I think they're just getting used to it. I never got used to it. When I moved there, we could breeze in to Waikiki all the way from Hale'iwa on the North Shore and be parked in the public parking lot near the zoo in 45 minutes. Those days are long gone: both being able to make the drive that quickly, and finding free parking near the zoo!
Still... with all the negatives, I love seeing these photos, and they make me feel homesick. I wanna go back to my little grass shack....
They're not dolls, they're action figures!