Favorite Photo

Okay, I lied, one more post......When you love taking pictures it is really a tough decision on which ones to include in the blog and when you have 500+ to choose from it is even harder. So to really end my posts about Hawaii here are my two favorite pictures.

The first one was taken on our kayaking trip on one of the twin islands off Kailua Bay. I was pretty proud of myself that day because we kayaked about 2 1/2 miles to this island and then basically rocked climbed along the side of the island. It was a little scary but really fun! Of course I took my camera and took this photo.
This one was taken after snorkeling at Shark's Cove. We were eating dinner at Jameson's in Haleiwa. The little town is known for sunsets and during our time at Jameson's I ran across the road to take this shot. This one is probably my favorite!


Mahalo!

The last few days of our trip......

Makapu'U Beach on our last day...
Jimmy and I on the overlook near Lanai Lookout
Makapu'U Beach
Me being soak by the waves near the arch in Laie
Looking off the island on our kayak trip.
Taking a break for a picture while on our kayak trip.
Manoa Falls
Fruit stand near Waimea Bay with Courtney and Carrie.
USS Missouri
USS Arizona Memorial
Yokohama Beach

I hope my ramblings haven't been too boring. This will be my last post about Hawaii.

After the dolphin excursion we joined Bill and Courtney at Three Tables for some snorkeling. It was really hot today and we welcomed the rain shower on the beach. After beaching it we headed around the island towards the windward side and stopped at a local fruit market for fresh coconut and papaya.

On our way home we stopped at Crouching Tiger Inn for dinner and then retreated back to our hotel room after a long but fun day.

Friday we visited Pearl Harbor and the USS Missouri "the mighty Mo." It was surreal being on the grounds. I really never expected to visit this place. I learned quite a bit about Hawaii and the attack.

We also saw the Pacific Aviation Museum which was just featured on Ghost Hunters.

After visiting Pearl Harbor we went out for sushi. ironic choice.

Then we decided to just drive around and ended up sight seeing along the Pali Highway which was breathtaking. We stopped along the way at lookouts. The mountains were beautiful, green and did I say beautiful.


After driving around for a little while we decided to visit Manoa Falls. One of my "must see" places was a waterfall and this one happens to be a major filming location for Lost. If you are a lost fan several scenes were filmed around this area.

The next day, Saturday, all six of us went kayaking in Kailua Bay. We had a great time. We kayaked about 5 miles that day and made it to a small island off shore. We packed a picnic lunch and explored the island.

Sunday was our last full day on Oahu. Much of our trip was beach hopping all over the island. One beach by morning and another one by afternoon. This morning we headed to Kane'ohe Bay near Chinaman's Hat. We snorkeled, swam and sun bathed. Then in the afternoon we headed to Turtle Bay to snorkel. We had pie at Ted's Bakery.

For our last dinner on the island we ate at Hula Grill in Waikiki and had after-dinner fruity drinks at Duke's. Ugh....even as I type this I still feel sad to leave.

Since our flights didn't leave until 8:30pm on Monday we had most of the day to play. We drove along the southern shore of the island and saw the beach were From Here to Eternity was filmed. We then decided to relax on Makapu'U Beach. This was more of a play in the waves type beach rather than snorkeling. It was rough and guys were surfing and body boarding. The waves were fun but my swimsuit almost came off so I didn't play too long.

We had plate lunches which are awesome.....lots of choices and they are so big Jimmy and I can split one. Fish tacos and pork, mac salad and rice.

In the afternoon we hiked up Makapu'U Point to see the lighthouse. It literally looked like you were at the edge of the world up there. The water was so blue. We could even see glimpses of Molokai (another island). Several scenes of Lost were filmed here too....like the cliff fight with Lock and Jack. The Lost lighthouse was also here. Not the one we saw....a "set."

At this time I realize we are ending our trip. This was last fun excursion and I am sad...=( Do we have to leave? Unfortunately, we did. Jimmy and I figured out that we can afford what was equivalent to a small shed on Oahu. We could make it work....

You know its funny when I was thinking about it but the trip to Oahu was full of smiles and laughter on the plane. Everyone clapped when we landed. We played the "half way to Hawaii" game. The flight crew was wearing flowers and people were eager to start their vacations. Now looking around the gate area everyone is wearing wilted flowers, carrying their boxed up pineapple from the Dole Plantation and looking at photos of their dream vacation. I was glad we flew out in the dark because it would have been hard flying over Waikiki and watching people on the sunny beach. I never like when vacations end but at least I came, I saw and ate plenty of pineapple.

Sit right down and you'll hear a tale.......

Today was awesome. Jimmy and I along with Damon and Carrie booked a dolphin excursion with the Wild Side Speciality Tours. A half-day boat trip for us to swim with spinner dolphin and turtles.

We headed out to Waianae on the leeward coast for our much anticipated trip. We arrived at the Waianae Harbor and boarded the Alaka'i a 32 foot catamaran. There were 6 passengers and 3 crew. I only say this b/c if you ever go to Oahu this was an awesome find! A small amount of people and personal.

Once the captain spotted a pod we would dive into the water and wait for them to approach us. We were so close to them it was unreal. You could hear their little sounds. We even saw a baby dolphin. Awesome day!!!

The view from above - Diamond Head

Day 5 - Diamond Head - After the conference was over we had much more time to explore the island.

Today we traveled to Diamond Head. A large crater - the explosion occurred about 300,000 years ago.

There is about a mile walk up to the highest peak of the crater rim. The walk starts off pretty easy. There are signs along the way warning people, "Do you know what you are in for?, Do you have the proper shoes and water." It really wasn't that bad....yet.

The pavement then turns to rock, rock turns to grated out steps as we wind further and further up the hill. Next we approach a staircase that acsends so steep you can hardly see the top, next we enter a tunnel and go up another long staircase, through a bunker hole and then viola we are at the top.

We were all of out of breath at the top. The views were amazing. To the left you had a full skyline view of Honolulu and the all around you were views of the mountains and the ocean. Beautiful!

After this we decided to check out another crater - Punchbowl which contains the National Cemetery of the Pacific. Very neat.

Day 2 - 4 - Let the Relaxation Begin

Jimmy at Shark's Cove

Beach near hotel.

Day 2:

During the morning Bill, Carrie and I walked around a little, while our spouses were at the conference. Then Bill and I headed out for snorkeling. I have never snorkeled and was excited to try it out. It didn't go as planned.

Once I had on all of the gear. My eyes were burning b/c I didn't rinse out the johnson's baby soap from my mask and the waves were beating me up and knocking me down b/c I couldn't walk in my flippers...I quit. Let me add....I love the ocean and I normally barge right in busting through the waves and smiling the whole time doing it. With all of the gear on it was almost claustrophobic and really weird. The ocean was pretty rough so we decided to leave and go to a lagoon since it was a better choice for me to learn how to snorkel without getting beat up by the waves.

Second time worked like a charm. It was very easy and I really like it.
I spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach and trying out my new snorkeling gear. The beach wasn't as crowded as I would have imagined. The water was nice and clear and there was a little reef right off the beach were we could snorkel. You can see Diamond Head from our hotel.
Dinner tonight was at a restaurant called Shore. I had mongchong with tropical salsa and citrus beets. Very good. We later had drinks at Duke's. Jimmy and I walked back to our hotel on the beach and watched the moon set over the ocean. Beautiful moon.

Day 3:
More relaxing followed by more beach time while spouses were at the conference. Today was spent snorkeling at the beach at the hotel. Carrie and I met Jimmy for lunch then we headed back to the beach again. Jimmy headed back to the conference.

Jen Cox - I had a Blue Hawaiian on this day! Tasty. Did you know it was created in 1957 at the Hilton? I took a picture for you. =)

Dinner tonight was at Nobu. A sushi treat. It was a 12 course meal for 8. Glad we didn't have to pay because I can only imagine how much the bill was. It was wonderful. Thanks Frank! We went to the Yard House after dinner.

Day 4:
More relaxing, more beach time. The boys had a break in the afternoon today so Jimmy and I and Damon and Carrie headed to the North Shore for snorkeling. We went to Sharks Cove. Great stop. The snorkeling was awesome. I saw lots of fish and colorful coral. I also saw the beach where quite a bit of Lost was filmed.....so cool! Wish Sawyer was there....haha =)

We drove past the Dole Farm and saw pineapple growing on the side of the road.

All in all it is pretty easy getting around Oahu. We rented a car so we could drive around. The traffic in Honolulu is very congested but once you get out of the city it is fine and much different scenery. Glad we went in the off season b/c we heard traffic can be much worse.

We had dinner at Jameson's (right by the ocean) in Haleiwa and watched the sunset. Really pretty site. I had shrimp for dinner and a few fruity drinks.

Aloha!

We are back from Hawaii. I believe I will post by the day(s), it is just too much to cram all in one post plus I want to show pictures as well. You may get bored from the details b/c this is basically my travel diary. So, from the beginning...

Jimmy left on Wednesday August 3 and headed there for the start of the one of two conferences.

I flew down on Saturday August 6

Day 1: Left for the airport early Saturday morning. Of course my little car had a dead battery so that wasn't the best start to the day. Nervous and excited I headed to the airport. Everything went as planned and flights were on time. There was a little mishap while landing in Chicago, I stayed calm. We were landing, wheels out about to hit the runway and the plan reved up and took off again. Off we went. Weird. Evidently there was another plane on the runway same time as us so we didn't land. It was smooth just a little scary.

I left Chicago at 10am for my 9 hour flight to paradise. I had a window seat and anxiously awaited my traveling partner. I hope he/she was going to be someone nice. Randy from Albany, NY had the seat beside of me. He is in the Navy and was traveling to Oahu for work. He was married, had kids, went on several tours of duty and liked True Blood and did not like flying and had never been in Hawaii, so we had a little bit in common.

In flight movies were Arthur and Thor.

I finally got about an hour or two sleep and woke up while flying over the Pacific. Wow, is it blue! The excitement started when I could see some type of land form...probably a mountain way off in the distance. As we got closer there before us was Oahu, green and beautiful. I made it! I am almost there. We touched down and I almost cried I was so happy to be there.

Jimmy picked me up at the airport and we headed to our hotel. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. I was in HAWAII!

We arrived at the Hilton and it was immense. 5 towers, 3800 rooms. a lagoon, wildlife, 5 pools, shopping - a definite resort. and OCEAN FRONT. Our room over looked the ocean and felt so thankful to be there.

For dinner we met up with Damon, Carrie, Courtney, Bill and the Shews. We ate at Tropics and I had fish with mango salsa...yum.

I also had a Mai Tai and Jimmy had to walk me home b/c - 1. I had been up for over 24hours and was delirious and 2. the Mai Tai was really strong, I mean real real strong.

Where did July go?

Wow, July just flew by.....

July was really a whirlwind. We had company for the 4th and really just relaxed and enjoyed the summer for the rest of the month. We haven't taken a summer vacation yet so our Hawaii trip is MUCH NEEDED. I really need some ocean waves, sunshine and swimming to make my summer complete. I leave on Saturday morning and I am quite excited about my island journey.

We have a few things planned for our island adventure so far- Pearl Harbor, Dolphin/Snorkel boat trip, kayaking and a dinner cruise (conference related). I am sure we will fill in the rest of our days with lots of fun and good times.

Aloha