Hawaii Trip, Evening 3 to morning 4: Tsunami Adventure

After a fantastic live show, that evening at the Cutural Center, about the history and culture of some of the islands of Polynesia, we began our trek to the other side of the island. As we neared Waikiki it was clear that something was going on. There were long lines of traffic headed out of town, and all of the gas stations were packed with people desperately trying to fill up their vehicles.

It wasn't until we got back to our rooms that we learned about the tsunami off the coast of Japan. In anticipation of a large wave hitting the island, officials were evacuating all of the lower parts of Oahu. Because our hotel rooms were on the 7th floor and above, we were told to stay put in our rooms. We gathered for a meeting and prayed about what to do. We decided the only thing we really could do was to stay put as they suggested.

I'm no expert of course, but the ocean was behaving rather oddly in my view. On the previous nights, it lapped playfully at the shore line, surging here and there. On this night, it solemnly glided in and in and in, then it would drag and drag way out, like it was being sucked. No playful lapping, just a long, slow march way in and way out.

The news figured whatever wave was coming would arrive about 3:45 in the morning. we figured this was a once in a lifetime thing for us, and we wanted to see it. Besides, if it got ugly, we wanted to be consciously making desicions. So we set an alarm, and got up a half and hour before that.

After all of the traffic and confusion that generally engulfs Waikiki, and even more so during the evacuation, it was a bit eerie to look out the window and see Kalakaua Ave completely deserted except for a few daredevils and the occasional cop car.

Were were relived--and if I am honest, maybe even a bit disappointed--when our tsunami wave didn't move any farther in shore than Kalakua Ave. But it was an interesting experience, none-the-less.
I wish the pic above would show it better, but many of the boat owners took their boats out into the ocean where they could just ride a surge, instead of letting their boats get thrown around in the harbor. All the dozens of little lights out on the water made it look like a rippling night sky.

The next morning, all the boats were still out to sea--waiting, in case the danger had not passed. We knocked around in the top half of our hotel for a few hours and waited for our vacation to resume. Here's another gorgeous view of Diamond Head from the commons area of the 7th floor. It really was breathtaking.
By 11am they still hadn't lifted the evacuation order, but some of our stomachs were far more demanding than our fears at that point. So were wandered down to the road were we met other hungry tourists. The trick is, all the restaurants are at ground level or just one level up. Nothing was open.

After some time, we stumbled upon a lowly McDonalds with a line of people out to the street. Thankfully, the shop workers' greed or concern or whatever had motivated them to open up. I'll tell you what, I can't live without breakfast, and I've never been happier to wait in line for 35 minutes and pay $6 for a Big-mac. I've also learned why people pack snacks with their luggage. I believe this is a habit I will take up better in the future!