Don Quijote Kailua No More
Don Quijote Kailua closed its business on Saturday, February 5, and already their signage is no more.
windward
I’m on TV!
Well sorta. We were at Don Quijote Kailua on their last day of business. The local news stations were there too and filmed me in the background of some clips. Here’s the KHON2 broadcast segment.
Look at the 0:37-0:41 second mark. See the guy wearing the black Air Jordan cap? That’s me walking and loading up the van! Can’t see it? I’ll help you out (click on the images for a larger view).
Pictures from the Last Day at Don Quijote Kailua
After three decades of business in the Kailua area, today was the last day for Kailua’s Don Quijote. Here are some pictures.
Thanks for the memories, Don Quijote.
The Empty Aisles of Don Quixote
Here’s a panorama of the people-empty aisles of Don Quixote in Kailua.
This was taken last week, and some of the products were cleared out. I’m sure the store is even emptier with its closure slated for this week.
Cherry Pumpkin Walnut Pancakes
Sunday morning’s pancake special at Cinnamon’s was “Cherry Pumkin Walnut.”
Cherry and pumpkin (with proper spelling) – an interesting combo. Flavor wasn’t bad and reminded me of Jello for some reason. A short stack was enough of this gooey, nutty goodness. Here’s a picture just as the whipped cream started sliding down the hot mound of pink cakes.
Rene Mansho Has Crazy Kicks
First off, big props to Rene Mansho for organizing the monthly Aloha Aina Earth Day events. This is a great way to recycle difficult items like old computers, batteries, etc. At the recent Castle High School event, Ms. Mansho showed off some crazy kicks. I don’t know how to describe them other than awesome!
Note to Self: Must Try Gee… A Deli
Snapped this pic of a lunchwagon in Kailua called Gee… A Deli.
I gotta try this place one day. Never seen it before but this eatery has a history in Kailua and has solid Yelp reviews.
Fishing at Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden
Our first time fishing at the Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden. It’s catch-and-release fishing where you use barbless hooks. Fish are aplenty (and so are the mosquitoes), but you need to hike about 20 minutes to the fishing lake. Fun for kids and adults.
Where Did Santa’s Reindeer Go?
The spirit of Christmas is thriving as told by these light displays of Kaneohe homes. Each home had its own holiday theme, but surprisingly, I didn’t see Santa’s reindeer. Where did the reindeer go?
Merry Christmas!
Kaneohe Christmas Parade Skoshi Kine
Found some pics from the annual Kaneohe Christmas Parade on my camera. Didn’t stay long so here’s just a skoshi amount of pictures.
The best highlight during my short stay was this car and its hydraulics.
Kaneohe Christmas Parade Hydraulics from Gee Why on Vimeo.
Crowds Watch the Christmas Tree Lighting at Castle Medical Center
And I ain’t kidding. The Castle Medical Center has its Christmas tree lighting ceremony each year. We decided to attend the event this year, and apparently so did everyone else. I must say whoever did the advertising for the event should be recommended. This was the most advertisements I remember for this event, and it was very effective. Everywhere we went, there were crowds and lines of people.
We got to the trolley stop in Kailua town after 6pm for the 7pm ceremony and waited in line.
Trolleys would come by but some already had passengers, making pickup of waiting people more discouraging.
While I don’t mind a round trip trolley ride through Kailua town, I think this should have been disallowed 30 minutes prior to the tree lighting to maximize awaiting passenger pickup. That and while one trolley would load and unload passengers, a second trailing (and empty) trolley would have to wait before it could take on passengers.
Once we got on the trolley (around 6:57pm), it was a nice short ride until we hit the neighborhood around Castle. With so many cars parked alongside the small streetways, a two-lane street easily became a single lane and trying to fit a trolley through there took some driving skills. The entire time though, our trolley driver was in good spirits making the best of the situation even making jokes about where everyone was going.
When we arrived at Castle, guess what awaited? More lines. But this was a line of people leaving the event before the lighting.
The tree lighting itself was fast and kind of impressive, but by that time, the kids had tuned out.
Everyone perked up a bit when Santa made his entrance.
Here’s a closer shot of the Christmas tree.
We did manage to get a kids tattoo and some flashlights, but the free Starbucks coffee and water were already wiped out. Getting out of the event took some time as well and probably the time spent going to and leaving the event was longer than our stay at the event.
So thanks to the Castle Medical Center for hosting the event and annually decorating their landmark tree. But maybe the advertising (and crowds) needs to be reduced next year.
A few more pictures from the Castle Medical Center Tree Lighting.