Punaluu

Sunday, March 15, Robert and I finally took a bus tour around Oahu. We boarded bus 55 in front of the Ala Moana shopping center, crossed to Kaneohe through the Pali tunnel, headed to North Shore on the Kam (Kamehameha) highway, then returned to Honolulu through the center of the island. As Robert has said, bus transportation in Hawaii is a bargain. The buses are modern and comfortable, the bus system extends throughout the island, and the fare, which includes a transfer that allows an extended stop at no additional cost, is only $2.00 for all destinations.

I lived in Hawaii two years during the early seventies and suggested that we stop in Punaluu, near the North Shore, and visit the apartment complex where I lived during my first year in Hawaii. I was a Marine at the time stationed in MCAS Kaneohe Bay, and I drove the 25 miles between Punaluu and Kaneohe Bay twice each working day. It was considered a long commute but the drive was pleasant (beaches on one side; mountains on the other), and I enjoyed every aspect of life in rural Punaluu.

My daughter had taken pictures of the complex during a visit to Hawaii in 2000, so I was pretty sure that the the building still existed. But, after 35 years I wondered how much I would remember of Punaluu and the rest of Oahu. Unfortunately, I didn't remember much.

I vaguely remembered the Pali tunnel and Kam highway but did not recognize anything in the part of Kaneohe Bay that we traveled through, and in Punaluu I had to ask directions to the apartment building where I once lived. The only thing I clearly remembered during the trip was Chinaman's Hat, a small distinctive island that has not changed.

The first photo shows the beach near the bus stop in Punaluu where got off the bus – the road on the right is Kam highway. We described the building we were looking for to one of the young fishermen, and he directed us about one mile down the road to the other end of Punaluu.

The second photo shows Robert near the bus stop, probably trying to figure out what to do next.

The apartment/condo building was easy to find. When I lived there it was the only multi-story building and the only modern building in Punaluu. Since 2000, when my daughter visited, another apartment/condo complex was erected next to the building I'd lived in, so now there are only two multi-story buildings in Punaluu.

The next two photos show the side of the building with the studio apartments, where I lived. The other side of the building has the larger two and three bedroom apartments.

The building had recently been built when I moved in and was originally intended to be a hotel. However, the developer encountered zoning restrictions during construction and had to convert the building into condominiums and apartments that were leased or sold to the public. So the complex, with its swimming pool and elevators, resembles a hotel.

Note the newer condo/apartment complex in the left side of the top photo.

The next photo shows the front of the building. As you can see in the photo, the far side of the building has the larger apartments with balconies.

The next photo shows the beach behind the complex. I would often spear fish along the distant reef and heard the pleasant sound of waves in my apartment every night.

The last photo shows me next to the complex entrance (yep – it's time to start jogging again)

Punaluu has grown a bit. There is now a Subway in a local shop, and we had an excellent lunch there before catching another bus for Honolulu.