See the Oahu of Barack Obama

The president-elect of the United States knows about a whole lot of things, and that includes proper exploration of our 50th state — that is, if the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, which has published a new page titled “Barack Obama’s Hawaii,” has his history straight. Over the coming years, we’ll listen to what the 44th president has to say on everything from wars to welfare, but how much should we let his childhood haunts influence our valuable Aloha State getaways?

Well, if you’re the type of traveler who likes to do as the locals do, then Obama may well be the guy to listen to. He’s kamaaina (native born), and when he visits Hawaii with his family, he comes as a “local who knows where to go, where to eat and what to do,” according to the site.

If you’re ready to craft together your Obama-themed tour on Oahu, be sure to include the following attractions: Pearl Harbor, Hanauma Bay, Sandy Beach, Halona Blowhole and Nuuanu Pali Lookout. Lastly, you can pay your respects to Obama’s late grandfather at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

If you golf, Olomana Golf Links and Luana Hills Country Club is where you’ll want to swing. And for a good plate lunch, put Rainbow Drive-In on your list.

I’d be willing to follow Obama’s tread. He does seem a person of good taste, and maybe assigning ourselves to such a tour would give us some insight into our future leader?

After all, “You can’t really understand Barack,” wife Michelle Obama is quoted on the new page as saying, “until you understand Hawaii.”

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Barack Obama as a child on Waikiki Beach; courtesy of Maya Soetoro-Ng]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 7:00 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Hawaii, Oahu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.