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Take time for Oahu

It’s bigger and far more interesting than you may think at first. You can’t drive all the way around Oahu on coastal roads because the westernmost point, Kaena Point, is closed to vehicles. Few roads cross the mountain ranges, and those that cross the Waianae Range are closed to the general public. Road conditions and traffic around Honolulu (and even Kaneohe and Kailua during rush hour) will slow you down, too. Plan to spend several days exploring Oahu, either by rental car or by Oahu’s excellent public bus system, “TheBus” (check out www.the bus.org).

Pali over Kaneohe Bay

Be a good visitor

Hawaii is not Paradise. Paradise is infinite and self-renewing. Hawaii, and particularly Oahu, is a real place of finite space and resources, where real people live real lives with jobs, families, budgets, and bills. Hawaii needs loving care from its visitors as well as from its natives—especially on overdeveloped, overused Oahu. As the number of tourists increases, I think it becomes important that we visitors actively contribute to the aloha spirit instead of just passively expecting to receive it. Bring your best manners and your patience with you to Oahu. Be patient with the many traffic obstacles. Be the first to smile and wave. Be the first to pull your car over so that someone else can pass. Be scrupulous in observing the rules of the trail in order to help preserve what’s left of Oahu’s few open spaces. NO TRESPASSING, KEEP OUT, or KAPU (“forbidden”) signs mean, “You stay out.” Please respect those signs.