King Kamehameha's statue in downtown
Honolulu: Come visit, it doesn't have to cost an
arm and a leg.

The total for my Waikiki trip: less than $1,500. And if you don't count airfare or lodging, I spent $334 in seven days on Oahu. Less than $50 a day in Hawaii isn't bad (and that included a week's bike rental).

Here's the final total, and a few hindsight tips:

(To read the complete blog, scroll down. On the right hand side of the page, just below the calendar, go to "Browse the Archives" and click on "October 2008." Then read from the bottom up.)

My rented bike got me places such as the jungle
of the Manoa Valley, on the edge of Honolulu. (I locked
my bike to a signpost at the trailhead for a hike to the falls.)

Going car-free at Waikiki makes good sense -- there's plenty to see and do within walking distance, or by public bus, and hotel parking can easily cost more than $20 a day. Does renting a bike for a week make sense? Yes, but only if you're an avid cyclist accustomed to biking in the city.

That said, don't let me scare you off.

Hurricane Bob brought his
"big gun" surfboard to work so he
could close early and head for the surf.

On the North Shore of Oahu, you don't see Gidget running into the soda shop and
yelling "Surf's up!" these days.

No, when giant surf is headed for Haleiwa or Waimea, around here they talk about a "big swell" coming -- terminology is important. And pinpointing where and when has become a science, using a NOAA ocean buoy, the Surf News Network Web site, beach cams, e-mail and cell phones.

"Hurricane Bob" Brown at the Surf Museum was on the phone when I walked in Sunday, asking a friend to keep an eye on the beach cams for him, because 15-to-18-foot waves were expected before the day was out. The big swell was on its way. He was making plans to close early.

One cool thing about visiting Waikiki -- the "Manhattan of the Pacific" -- is that it is such a crossroads for Pacific Island cultures. The tourist trade draws performers from all over.

One payoff for me came at Saturday's Sunset on the Beach program, a series of free live music and movies (shown on a 30 foot screen erected on Queen's Surf beach at the east end of Waikiki). It happens on a consecutive Saturday and Sunday once a month.

This month's movie program -- part of the Hawaii International Film Festival -- was interesting, but a dance team of rocking teenagers from Samoa who performed beforehand stole the show.

Do I at least get a new job as a food stylist? If all else fails, wow
'em with exotic produce: star fruit and papaya.

I think I've come close.

On a penny-pinching budget, I can't say my Makeshift Mai Tai replicates the sublimity of the Moana Surfrider Hotel's $10.25 cocktail-of-the-fru-fru-gods. But I have at least washed up on the same island.

Stanley Asato of Ska Tropicals brings flowers
from his Kahalu'u farm on Oahu's windward coast.

What's better than fresh produce and flowers from a farmer's market? How about fresh tropical produce and flowers, grown only in Hawaii?

More tips on budget buys on Waikiki, from Rebecca Pang, publicist for the Oahu Visitors Bureau:

In case you had any doubt that Hawaii had royalty, visit 'Iolani Palace
in downtown Honolulu, an easy bus ride from Waikiki.

Fun fact of the day: In the days of the Hawaiian chieftains and kings, you could pay your taxes in bird feathers.

It's true. And the results were flamboyant cloaks and capes, called 'ahu'ula, woven together with tiny feathers of red, yellow and black and worn by nobility. One such cape of Kamehameha the Great is said to have used the feathers of 80,000 birds. (He probably had to raise taxes.)

Some of these garments have survived more than 100 years, and you can see them among the royal treasures at Honolulu's 'Iolani Palace.

But that's not the half of it. If you like the royals in Britain, you'll find a fascinating tale of proud heritage -- and paradise lost -- in Honolulu.