Hawaii - random pix

Here are a bunch of random pix from our trip. We took the kids to the zoo, aquarium- which was a big hit!-, took in a lot of local sites along Waikiki, ate at some great restaurants, and the boys took in a day of fishing.

At the zoo. For some reason, the turtles were a big hit with Aria and good thing. I've been to lots of zoos and don't recall a zoo with more turtles than Honolulu's.


Aria and Quincy


Aria's face is priceless here. This is at the aquarium.


A kiss for the seal.


We happened to be in Hawaii during the Chinese New Year. They had a dragon and a bunch of drummers going from business to business blessing them. Aria was not impressed. This is were she hid while the restaurant we were eating at was being blessed!


The guys took in a day long fishing trip and I think it's pretty safe to say this was their highlight. This pic was taken at sunset. That is a Coast Guard ship.


A successful day for them! They caught about 30 fish; this was the biggest one they caught and a replica of it will be gracing our walls in a few months.


A decent family portrait. These trees are for real! The bark peels off to reveal the colors underneath. It's a sort of eucalyptus tree.


Cooling off in the water.


The token Hawaii surfer-chic shot!


Aria was picking these everywhere we went. They are very pretty and abundant!


Our traveling party. Thanks to Chad, Davilyn, and Quincy for a wonderfully memorable trip!


Well, I guess that is about it for the highlights. Hope you enjoyed the pix and maybe it warmed you up a bit while looking (-20 for a high tomorrow!).

Hawaii - the island of Oahu

We took a wonderful tour of Oahu, hitting the major highlights of the island. Honolulu is a very big city with everything a big city could offer (and this small town girl appreciates!), but it isn't what one pictures when one thinks of Hawaii scenery. Getting out of Honolulu was nice as we got to see the scenery. Ever have one of those trips where you just want to absorb, visually, everything you see and never let the moment end. That was this day. Well, the whole trip really, but Hawaii is a beautiful area. Again, I'm a mountain loving gal, but the landscape and foliage in Hawaii is so different from what I am used to seeing, it was kind of a nice change. We started the day going on the west side of the island going to a place called Pali Lookout, which gives breath taking views down into Honolulu and the surrounding area. It was pretty, but the day started out overcast. Imagining what it would look like on a clear day made me wish it was nicer out.


Next stop of all things were cemeteries. Weird, yes. But their cemeteries are lovely and diverse. One cemetery actually had a Buddhist temple on site complete with a rather large Buddha statue! I liked one of the traditions of Hawaiians and how they remember their dead. Say you pass away and you liked drinking Diet Coke. I would keep your grave well manicured, but would bring a 6-pack or large bottle of Diet Coke, open it, maybe pour some on your grave, and leave it there for you to enjoy. Different, but I liked it. There were lots of graves adorned with drink bottles, bags of food, toys on little kids graves (which was very sad, but sweet), you get the idea. I thought it was a neat way of remembering a loved one.


We then went to a place called Tropical Farms and they specialized in growing macadamia nuts. The area was lush and all sorts of macadamia were tasty!


Our next stop was an ancient, man-made fish pond. We rode a catamaran on it and were given a brief history on it's origins. Tony was severely disappointed in it as the water was too murky to see the numerous large fish said to be populating that pond. We got done with the ride and Aria wasn't impressed either. "That was boring!" she commented (too slow a boat ride for her liking, apparently!). In that area, however, quite a few movie and TV shows had been shot. There was a small shack the was the restaurant Drew Barrymore's character worked at in 50 First Dates. Tears of the Sun was shot in that area. The wedding scene from You, Me, and Dupree was shot in a gazebo there. Must of Lost was filmed there, as is a new show call Off the Map. I liked that part of the tour. It's fun to see a scene in a movie and then actually see the area it was shot in. -And it's as beautiful in person as on screen!-

This is the restaurant from 50 First Dates






Our next stop was for lunch at a place called Crouching Lion after a rock formation above the place that resembles a crouching lion! Nearby is a bunker from WW2. That was cooler to me that the rock formation, but anyway... I had my first coconut water in the actual coconut. Not so great. But at least I can say I've had it.

Can you see the bunker in this pic?


Next stop was the North Shore. More specifically, Sunset Beach. The waves were HUGE! And the tour guide said they weren't that big. We watched the surfers for a few minutes. I never thought surfing on that would be hard, but after seeing those waves, I understand the danger and the courage or stupidity of those surfers. WOW! As we pulled away, our guide spotted a whale surfacing. Again, I never thought I'd be impressed with whales, but I was dead wrong. They are so amazing to see. There were probably 2 or 3 of them almost playing out in the water. They would first blow water out, then surface and then you'd see their large tail. I caught one of the whale tails on camera, but it's hard to see. But considering how far they were out in the water, they really are a huge animal! An unexpected highlight of the trip.


Hard to spot... look straight across from the point of the yellow diamond on the middle sign, that would be a whale tail!


Our next stop was the Dole Plantation. I didn't know this, but pineapple do NOT grow on trees. Our stop here was very quick, but we got some very tasty pineapple ice cream out of it. YUM!


We drove past Pearl Harbor and thru much of Honolulu again and ended up at a place called Halona "Blowhole" Lookout. Some whales were spotted here again, but I didn't see them. This area is famous for the beach scene on From Here to Eternity.

From Here to Eternity... it hasn't changed a bit, huh?!


Our final stop of Hanauma Bay. The area we stopped overlooked the Bay. It's really pretty. We saw a bunch of people snorkeling and you could see the corral reef very clearly. The beach was beautiful, too. If we ever to back to Oahu, this is a must stop for us! It was a fun day and really great to see the whole island.

Hawaii- Waikiki Beach

Ahh, Hawaii! Our hotel was on Waikiki Beach, about a block and a half from the ocean. We were on the 9th floor and had wonderful views. Right below us was the busiest street in Waikiki. Walking around the area in the evening reminded me a lot of Fremont Street in Vegas; so many street vendors and performers. It was really fun to take that all in. The shopping was non-stop, but a bit high-end for me. Except the flea markets. They kept going and going! Lots of fun souvenirs to choose from. The beach was nice. I have to confess something here; I am not a beach person. I really wasn't looking forward to this part of the trip. I don't like parading around in a swimsuit, considering my dad's skin cancer history, I don't like sun-bathing for long periods of time, and I have an unnecessary fear of sharks and jellyfish in shallow water - see Life'95 friends for details on that. But, I was wrong. While still pretty self conscious in my swimsuit (tho I shouldn't have with all the 70 plus leathery skinned ladies in their 2 pieces wandering around quite shamelessly), I really enjoyed sitting in the WARM sun, swimming in the clear blue ocean, and really didn't mind the pounds of sand we'd track back to our hotel room. While I am still a mountain/lake loving gal, Hawaii's beaches may have changed my mind, a little bit!

Morning view from our balcony- NICE!


Sunset view from our balcony- Really NICE!


Soak in that view


Swimming with Aria


The waves were surprisingly powerful!


View down Waikiki Beach


Aria was a tourist attraction herself! I bet we were about the only tall, blond haired people on the island. She at one point had a group of 4 or 5 Asian gals around her taking pictures of her drawing pictures in the sand. Aria would say something to them, which they obviously didn't understand, but they would laugh and giggle at her and take pictures of her. It was funny to watch.


Tony swims with Aria. He tried snorkeling once. I didn't. He found it quite relaxing, but due to his bad eyes, he really couldn't enjoy what he was looking at.


Building sand castles!


Aria is a beach bunny! She loved swimming in the ocean.

Hawaii- Pearl Harbor

Ahh, Hawaii... missing that warm weather BIG TIME!! Before you indulge me on some neato pix, I want to send a shout out to my new current hero: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin. This guy is catching flack from all the wrong places. People complain about government over-spending, so he tries to fix it and he ends up with a capitol-full of whiny, spoiled brats. And he's actually trying to save their jobs!! He's asking them to contribute like 5% to their pension or something like that. What a sacrifice! While people like me contribute like... oh yeah! 100%!!! Cry me a fricking river. Bad unions! Bad! Good for you Scott Walker. Keep it up and DO NOT back down to those spineless libs who fled the state...

Now on to fun. Pearl Harbor was surreal. The area is peaceful, beautiful, serene. To imagine what that place looked like December 7, 1941 is really hard. The museums they had were really well done. They had some documentary films that were interesting with actual footage from that day and first hand accounts. It was sobering. There were pieces from bombs recovered and ships that were destroyed on display. It was fascinating. My Grandpa Hanson served in the Marines during WW2, and received a purple heart while serving in Iwo Jima. I found out shortly before I left for Hawaii, that he actually recovered from his wounds in Hawaii. Aria was pie-eyed watching the films (I have to admit, some of the pix were graphic and I wondered about a 4 year old taking that in, but it is part of history and she did well) and there are still active military bases in that area. Lots of planes were flying over head and she was very concerned about "those bad planes returning". It was a bit funny, but we were able to convince her we were safe and that stuff happened before her grandparents were even born! We toured the USS Arizona Memorial. There was a lot more that one could take in, but some other time maybe? A must see for anyone going to Hawaii and another item crossed off my bucket list!

First view of the Harbor.


This was a piece of the Arizona recovered during a diving expedition.


The Bell from the Arizona


Anchor from the Arizona


A Japanese bomb recovered from one of the sunken ships


Scale model of what the Arizona looks like below the water


Scale model part 2


USS Bowfin submarine that can be toured


USS Missouri. On it's decks is where the treaty was signed by Gen. MacArthur to end WW2. It is open for tours also.


These markers are all over the harbor. They mark where the ships were sitting the morning of December 7, 1941.


Approaching the USS Arizona Memorial


Inside the Memorial. It was very quiet considering how many people were in there. It was peaceful, but kind of creepy. There are over 1,100 men entombed down there.


Memorial listing all of those men who died on the Arizona.


4th ( I think) gun turret of the Arizona. This is the most prominant part of the ship that sets about the water.


You can see parts of the ship in areas. There was a viewing area in the bottom of the Memorial where you could see quite a bit.


We did see the oil seeping out of the ship also. It loses a few quarts of oil every day. When the Arizona suck, there was about 500,000 gallons of oil on board.


Contemplation Circle