Hawaii - The Grand Finale

Hi everyone,

These posts have been long and drawn out, just like our last few days in Hawaii! We had planned to come home on Thursday but decided maybe we'd stay an extra day or two. We were able to get lodging in our same cabin for that night so we had to find a new place on Friday. After finding lodging on Pearl Harbor NS and then Hickam AFB, we played the waiting game with a flight out. Every time we called the line to check on flights it seemed like there would be one and then the next time we called it was canceled. That happened Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Finally, after spending the 4th of July at Pearl Harbor we were able to catch a flight at 12:10am on Monday morning. That made for a reeeeeeally long day on Sunday which meant we ended up sleeping on most of the plane ride back to California.

The rest of our trip was pretty quick and uneventful. We hopped straight in the car after flying into Travis AFB and got all the way to Southern Oregon. We found a hotel with a pool and waterslide and had some fun that night but by the next morning at 4:00am I was ready to head out on the road to get home. We were able to make it by that afternoon. We are getting back into the swing of things so I'll wrap this up and leave you with a few last pictures. The first was the view from our cabin at Bellows. The next two are Waikiki at sunset. It really was paradise!

Until next time . . .

Hawaii - USS Arizona

Hi everyone,

We couldn't go to Oahu without visiting the memorial for the USS Arizona. We almost didn't because every time we read about it we got all choked up and we figured we'd be a mess if we actually went to the site, but we did go and we managed to hold it together. We got there early to get our tickets and then went into Waikiki until our scheduled time to load the boat. I was enthralled with the boat ride and wanted to do it again but Mom and Dad explained that we could only go once. It was a bit hard for me to understand that the boat under the water was the same as the battleship we could see across the water, but I think I got the gist of it.

Until next time . . .

Hawaii - Diamond Head

Hi everyone,

All the guide books stated that the one thing that you must do when on Oahu is to hike Diamond Head. Diamond Head is a large crater on the south side of the island. The trail is one mile from the parking area to the rim and it includes two sets of stairs, one with 99 steps and the other with 76 steps, and a 225-foot unlit tunnel. Mom and Dad weren't sure how it would go with me but I convinced them that with their help I'd be able to make it, and I did! All the way to the top and back down on my own two feet.

Until next time . . .

Hawaii - North Shore

Hi everyone,

The North Shore of Oahu is famous for it's shave ice, big waves and rocky shore line. We visited one of the shave ice stands twice, as well as trying out a few other shave ices that weren't really shave ice, more like crushed ice. Isn't that a great rainbow color in the shave ice below! For our first ones we had the ice cream and azuki beans on the bottom but we went without them for the rest.

Check out the sea arch! It used to be a sea cave but a wave from a tsunami took out the back of the cave making it into a sea arch instead. Pretty amazing to see one out in the sea since we just went to Arches National Park and saw them in a sandstone desert.

And we can't forget Chinaman's Hat!

Until next time . . .

Hawaii - Out and About

Hi everyone,

We went all over Oahu. North shore, Leeward, Windward, Waikiki, Central . . . you name it we most likely went there. One of our first trips was to the Dole Plantation where we had the pineapple whip and went on a train ride.

We also went to a luau! It started out with pina coladas, pictures, tree climbing, lei making, and watching them dig up the roasted pig. We tried the poi and lomi lomi, had fresh fruit, and then they brought out the main course which was a huge plate of meat. There was pork, beef, chicken, fish, fried banana and rice. We finished it off with two little desserts and a great show.

Until next time . . .

Hawaii - Bellows

Hi everyone,

After staying in Waikiki for a few days we were finally able to get out to our cabin at Bellows AFS. The beach was amazing! Soft, silky sand and warm, clear water made for a great swimming experience. Renting a life jacket didn't hurt either. In fact, it made it that much more fun to get pounded by the waves!

As you can see, Bellows was a great beach for playing in the surf and the sand! I couldn't believe how warm the water was and it felt even warmer at night. We managed to get in a few evening strolls on the beach as well as a few morning runs.

Until next time . . .

Hawaii - Hale Koa

Hi everyone,

Our two days in Waikiki went by pretty fast. We stayed at the Hale Koa which is the military resort hotel on Oahu. If you look at the glass windows which is the elevator, our room was the second floor down from the top and the second balcony to the right of the elevators.

You already saw our view of the ocean from the balcony in the last post. Here are a few more views from the balcony. Check out the cool banyan tree, the courtyard below, and a peek at Honolulu.

Until next time . . .

Hawaii - Waikiki

Hi everyone,

This is the view that greeted us when we woke up Thursday morning! Paradise! Look at that beautiful blue water, the green lush trees, and the sandy stretch of beach. Not only that but it was warm, warm, warm.

After I finished watching Curious George from the night before, we headed down and had breakfast in one of the hotel restaurants.The waffles topped with chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, and coconut and drizzled with coconut syrup were heavenly. We figured we should probably take advantage of the hotel pools since we knew we wouldn't have them for the rest of the week. I had sooooo much fun in the kiddie pool!

We couldn't leave our hotel without heading down to the beach though. I wasn't as big of a fan of the waves so I preferred the pool while we were still in Waikiki.

Until next time . . .