My last day in Hawaii was just a lazy day...a day to just go around and go to a few places I had missed. I went all over the island and took lots of pics...Here are some of the better ones from the day.
For some reason, I always want to take a pic of my rental car...
I really like this photo...blue water, pretty girl and surfers. This picture just screams "Hawaii" to me...
Surfers coming out of the water at Waikiki Beach...
Wow, what can I say...going to Hawaii was a dream come true and I hope everyone gets to go sometime in their lives. It truly lived up to the hype and Hawaii is worth the time and money!
Today, I hit the big three of top things to do while on O'ahu...I toured the USS Arizona, climbed to the top of the Diamond Head crater and I went to a real Hawaiian lu'au...
First stop was the USS Arizona Memorial...I have always wanted to go there, because it is such an important part of American history. Being right there, looking at Battleship row and imagining the attack on that Sunday morning actually choked me up.
The memorial is directly over the USS Arizona and we took a short boat ride to pay our respects...
I am not listening to music...I rented the audio tour and through those headphones I was able to have Ernest Borgnine tell me all about Pearl Harbor and what happened there...
This is the base of gun turret #3...can you see the oil in the water?
They said that the ships remains leak about 2 quarts of oil a day and that survivors say that it is the USS Arizona's tears, shed for the devastating loss she suffered...
After lunch I "climbed" the Diamond Head crater...really I walked up a 1 mile path, up hundreds of steps and rose up almost 1000 feet...the views from up there were awesome.
Here you see me with all of Waikiki Beach in the background.
In the evening I went to a real lu'au, at a place called Germaine's. Everyone said that I need to go a lu'au and I was not disappointed! Here are a few pics...
That's it for day three...tomorrow is my last full day on the island and I plan on swimming in the ocean and relaxing on the sands. I feel like if I left now, I would be happy with all of the things I have been able to cram into three days!
Click on the smaller pics to see the larger versions...
This morning I got up early because I was going to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. I had to get there early because it is one of the best places to snorkle on O'ahu and I did not want to waste precious time waiting and waiting.
I rented my mask, snorkle and fins and headed out to the water.
The water was a bit cold at 8am, but after a few minutes, it was like being in a lukewarm bathtub. Hanauma Bay is absolutely loaded with fish of all kinds! I bought a disposable underwater camera and took lots of underwater photos. However, it uses something called "film" and I have to get it "developed" before I can see the pics...weird!
By the time I left at 10am, the place was crawling with folks waiting to get in and see what all the fuss was about!
After lunch I headed out to a must-see on O'ahu...the Dole Plantation. Pineapples have been grown on O'ahu as early as the 1500's...but it was James Dole who made them famous at the turn of the nineteenth century.
According to Dole, "pineapples are grown in rich volcanic soil with warm tropical rainfall, and kissed with Hawaiian sunshine for the best Hawaii has to offer. "
My friend, Lori, told me that I HAD to have the fresh pineapple ice cream in a waffle cone...I did and she was SO right. The pineapple flavor was extremely strong and it was absoultely a fantasic treat! Thanks Lori!
After going to the Dole Plantation, I decided I really wanted some coconut shrimp, so I headed to a restaurant called "Breakers" in Hale'iwa. The shrimp came with a spicy jelly/relish and it was so delicious. This was only an appitizer...I had just had the pineapple ice cream (and a pineapple float made with fresh pineapple juice and some pineapple ice cream...) But mainly I knew that I was very close to one of the original Hawaiian Shave Ice stores...Matsumoto's.
Actually Matsumoto's was right up the street...they are known worldwide for their shave ice and, from what I hear and read, there is usually a line to get in. Today I was in luck...no line!
I chose the "Hawaiian" flavor...made up of banana, pineapple and coconut. It cost $2 and was HUGE! You only have a blunt wooden "spoon" to eat it with, so it was a challenge to eat it without having it collapse on the porch outside. That is where you eat it...on the outside porch, watching the people drive, ride and walk by...
As I finished my shave ice I decided to see if I could get a few pics of the setting sun...well, I ran out of road before I could get around the western tip of O'ahu...yep, the road ends.
Day two is in the books and so far I have been having a blast! I have been able to do most of the things I wanted and I know that I am on track to do everything I had planned.
Tomorrow, I will visit Pearl Harbor, maybe climb Diamondhead and in the evening, I will be going to a real Lu'au...so I bet I will have some interesting photos and a full belly! It's all you can eat and I plan on going hungry! Check out the menu...
Hawaii, a place that I never thought I'd get to see...but I cashed in some airmiles and all hotel points and here I am! I still can't believe I am actually here...I have had a huge grin on my face all day!
I have heard from many of my friends, those who have been to Hawaii and remember it well, and those that are "mad" at me because I am here and they are not. I truly hope everyone gets to experience Hawaii some day.
I booked the cheapest room at the Marriott with my points...a city view room, which means no ocean view. However, when I checked in at 11pm Saturday, the lady at the desk informed me that I had been upgraded twice, to a junior suite with a partial ocean view! Woo-hoo! Score! Being a gold member of Marriott really paid off...
Here's the view from my room...
This morning I headed out on an adventure the would take me counter-clockwise around O'ahu.
I started the day heading out to the spitting cave of Portlock. The spitting cave is below a cool layered shoreline. Each layer represents a different volcanic explosion and the waters are so blue! The spitting cave is where the ocean has hammered a hole in the rock and the pressure of the waves causes it to blow or "spit" back out of the hole...here is a video I found on Youtube the was shot from the exact place I was standing...check it out!
It was pretty neat, but I wanted more...
Ahh, this is more like it...Here you see some young surfers on Sandy Beach...a few guys got up on their knees, but not much more. However, that is WAY more than I could have done.
I stopped at Waimanalo Beach for a break and took this photo...I like it so much that I made it my computers wallpaper!
It's funny...I started the day wearing tennis shoes and socks...then I was wearing beach shoes and finally I just went barefoot the rest of the day...I never go barefoot! But, it seemed the thing to do and it allowed me to get my feet wet and then just jump in the car!
I noticed a few things today...O'ahu is MUCH bigger than I imagined, Hawaiians really do wear flowered clothing ( I thought it was just a stereotype) and there a lot of REALLY tanned people around here.
This rock formation is at a place called La'ie Point...that hole was created in one day, when mother nature pounded a hole through the island!
Here is a pic of a Hawaiian woman fishing off La'ie Point.
I had heard so much about these shrimp trucks that are all over the North Shore, so I decided to stop at Giovanni's Original Shrimp Truck...I was a bit leery, but there seemed to be a lot of people eating...
I ordered the lemon shrimp...it is fresh shrimp boiled in lemon juice with butter on the side and 2 scoops of VERY sticky rice. I really enjoyed it and I think I will go back for the coconut shrimp!
The sun was getting low on the horizon so I decided to stop on the North Shore at the Bonzai Pipeline. The Bonzai Pipeline is a famous surf break that can form perfect barrels to surf...There were quite a few people out surfing it today, but there were no perfect waves to be seen...
As the sun set on my first day in Hawaii, I reflected on just how lucky I was to be able to be here and I thanked God for the opportunity to get out and explore the awesome world He has created!
