Ko Olina Center — Attraction in Oʻahu

One way in which you can get to Ko Olina Center (Ko Olina Station as I call it) is by train. Afterall, as of now, it's a significant, highly popular end-of-the-line train stop. And, as you can imagine, this set of railroad tracks has a fascinating story to tell. Sadly, they lie silent. If only they could highlight their highly significant economic role during those by-gone years.

Why preserve the immediate and distant past? I don't know about about you, my reader, but I've given the subject considerable thought. Here, I believe, are some of the tangible, specific, highly valuable contributions from in-depth research and happy benefits from even a cursory, simple light-hearted searches into the hidden, mysterious past.

Research offers specific informative facts. Names aquire meaning. Places come alive with contextual clues and findings. In the end, a part of the past is reclaimed, rescued, for posterity. The past becomes tangible and "returns to life."

Ko Olina Resort, for example, rose up out of sugar cane fields, populated by ladybugs, and built up over coral and lava tide pools and inlets. Ko Olina Resort gets it's iconic ladybug symbol and logos from this not-so-well-known historic past.

Here again, I will carefully illustrate these specific searches. And, in my opinion, these forays into the past are best told in simple to understand (and remembered) story format. Therefore, you in turn, can consider the value of a family, neighborhood, or even are more far-reaching investigation of your own. (PLEASE NOTE: My historical stories which appear throughout my Google Map posts with their respective storylines.)

Following these "silent" train tracks is just one of my investigative pieces of research. I want to carefully follow these tracks, discover where they lead, as they pass through sugar cane and pineapple fields. I want to know more about the individuals who built the railroad, harvested these crops, for local and overseas markets. They called plantation villages home, and lived in plantation houses and, in time, sought to blend into the local communities throughout the islands.

I will endeavor to tell their account (with recommendations on how you can further delve deeper, much, much greater in-depth into it's fascinating, storied legacies). Hang on, it's story is about to begin. Grandpa will tell the story from his perspective.

These and other stories must be told before it's too late as memories fade and eventually disappear. I tell this accounts as my encouragement to you, my reader. YOU, yes you are living history. PLEASE write the highlights and accounts of your storied, personal life. I believe, everybody has an important, valuable story to tell,...

I had a run-in the parking lot attendant today. Last time I was there about a month ago I never even got to park because they blocked off half the parking lot to do valet. This time I was there just as they were coning off that lot again to get the cars out so they could do valet. I was actually in the lot adjacent to that when the attendant confronted me about being there too long. At that point I had been there 23 minutes. He informed me that there is a 3 hour limit. After reviewing my dash-cam video, here is the time-line from today's event at the parking lot of Island Country Markets, Ko'olina Station. 12:58 I parked and exited the car. 13:06 I ordered and paid for a smoothie. I had to wait a while after that, the family in front of me ordered about 8 drinks. 13:12 I returned to my car. Inserted straw in smoothie and got paper towels to clean up the smoothie that got onto the lid. Proceeded to enjoy smoothie. 13:21 Parking attendant comes to my car window to inform me that he had noticed that I had been there for a while and that there is a 3 hour limit. I rolled my window back up and told him to go away. 13:22 He takes photos of the front of my car, and then goes to the back and takes photos of the back of the car. 13:22 I exit the car to go inside the store to find someone in charge. He confronted me on my walk. I kept telling him to go away and leave me alone. I said it repeatedly. In the video you can see me with my hand out Heisman style trying to get him to go away. He stopped me and showed me his laminated id again that he had also showed when he was trying to get me to roll my window back down after I told him to go away. I talked to the manager of the store who then called the head of the parking lot security, who came after about 5 to 10 minutes. She asked for my name and information. I refused. She said that she wouldn't make a report without it. But then decided, Ok I'll just use the photos that he took of your car for the report. I felt like she was treating this like I was the one in the wrong and that nothing was going to happen to this guy that was harassing me. He had said that he approached me because I had a Uber sticker on my car. I said, oh so you're profiling me? He said No. I guess he doesn't know what that means. After speaking with the head of security, I went to my car, and she went to stand with the parking attendant who was in the lot just in front of my car. 13:40 I return to my car and leave the parking lot. This incident only doubled the amount of time I would have spent in their parking lot. I was going to drink my smoothie and drive...

Great boutiques! Great restaurants! Minimal parking. It was free to park, but they changed that recently! There's parking across the street, but it depends what time you go. Pineapple Boutique always has their jewelry buy one get one half off, which is why I buy my sterling silver, sea glass and freshwater pearl jewelry there. They have super cute, a tad pricey, clothes! The ABC store has everything imaginable there! Great, huge selection of t-shirts, souvenirs for the visitors, AND I always buy mine there because they're great quality tees and 2/$25. Pretty much anything you can think of needing while visiting in Ko'Olina is right in...