Hawaii - Chapter Eight

I covered a lot of ground today, my last full day in Hawaii. My day began with coffee and one of the most delicious pastries I've ever tasted. It was called a Jesuit Custard - a triangle shaped pastry filled with custard. Yum, yum, yum.


From there, I went to Kailua beach and got some sun. While driving along the coast, I saw several cars on the side of the road and many people looking at something on the beach. Curiously, I stopped and grabbed my camera as well. It was a large seal sunbathing! How neat!

Next stop was at a "shrimp truck" - one of many trucks parked on the side of Kamehameha Highway that sell freshly cooked shrimp.

the truck is the small yellow thing you see on the far left

After lunch, I discovered this beautiful spot called Laie Point. Several cars were parked with people having picnics and watching the huge waves crash into the rocks. Can you imagine living in a place like this?

This picture doesn't do it justice - the rocks were huge and the waves were even bigger!

Next, I went to the surfer mecca, Banzai Pipeline, with hopes to watch expert surfers taking on the day's huge waves. Unfortunately the waves were so big, no one was brave enough to ride them!

easily 12 foot waves

While I didn't get to see surfers, I saw something better... whales! Know that I am not the best photographer - here are my shots!

see him on the horizon? three of them jumped OUT of the water!

same picture, zoomed in

Then I went to Laniakea (or Turtle) beach - great sights there, too!

very large green sea turtle sunbathing

There were many more in the water, but I was not able to get a good shot.

Finally, on the way back to Honolulu, I passed through Dole's pineapple farm. Here is a shot of some of the pineapple fields:

All in all, it was a great day! Tomorrow I think I will journey into Honolulu and check out the Bishop Museum and the Palace - the only royal palace in the United States. I'm so sad that I will be leaving tomorrow, but am excited to see and talk with everyone, not to mention sleeping in my own bed!

Hawaii - Chapter Seven

Today, I was still exhausted from the long day we had yesterday. The weather seemed to reflect my mood - it was cloudy, windy and slightly rainy all day.. bad for the beach, but perfect for touring Pearl Harbor. I visited the USS Missouri, the last battleship to be commissioned and decommissioned.

It was on board the Missouri that the Japanese Empire surrendered to the United States in Toyko Bay in August 1945. It was really neat to go onboard the ship; it gave me some perspective into what it was like for Grandpa to work on the ships when he was in the Merchant Marines.

It also helped me to realize what the USS Arizona was like. The Arizona was the ship to suffer the most damage and casualties December 7, 1941. On that day, 1,177 men died on the ship. It remains in the Harbor with its men at rest inside. The ship was full of gas and oil at the time of the strike, and to this day, 68 years later, it still leaks a quart or two of oil each day.

view of the Missouri from the Arizona Memorial - notice the oil sheen on the water

Arizona's gun turret mount

the Arizona Memorial Bridge - the ship remains under water

It was a nice restful day. I was able to tour the Memorial, finish my book, and take a wonderful nap. Only one more full day in Hawaii.. :(

Hawaii - Chapter Six

Sorry about being lazy - thanks for the comments, girls! So glad y'all are reading along!

Yesterday, Will and I left the house around 5:15 for our 6:30 flight - very early. We caught some of the sunrise from the airplane; this is the first of many beautiful sights throughout the day. I only wish I was able to capture more of the beauty.

sunset from air

Will and I attempted to use the TomTom (cleverly named "SandyPat") to get to South Maui.. Unfortunately, it took us up and around the mountain.. on a road with no outlet. Hah - we had to backtrack a crazy winding road for about 40 minutes. It was a beautiful view though!

view of West Maui from Haleakala

Central Maui road views on the way to West Maui:

 

this tree was one of many we saw covered with purple blooms

For the majority of the day, we drove along the coast stopping at the most beautiful beaches. We parked in Ka'anapali for lunch and beaching. The waves were body busters.. hah. Will's term.

beach at Ka'anapali

beach at Molule'ia Bay

hike through the woods to get to Honolula Bay

Will skipping stones (illegally) at Honolua Bay

Lahaina is one of the only towns on Maui to have a "downtown". We ate delicious shave ice here and shopped around.

Will with a pirate.

Me as Forrest Gump.. (near Bubba Gump's restaurant)

After having our fill of the town, we headed down to the South Maui shore (without SandyPat this time).

oh, so beautiful sunset at Maluka Beach. Note Molokini, another nearby island.

view of beautiful clouds while heading north toward the airport.

Will and I had a very American evening: dinner at Burger King and dessert at Krispy Kreme. Oahu does not have a Krispy Kreme, so we had to bring a dozen to share the luxury with friends!

sunset was so beautiful it looked like a painting. HAH!

Hawaii

Sorry. No post today. We just got back from a day trip to Maui - I woke up at 4:40 a.m. and it is 11:51 p.m. now.. I will do double duty tomorrow!

I am hoping to learn who all is reading this? I know my mom is! Anyone else? Add a comment below and let me know what's going on in your world!

Hawaii - Chapter Five

Today was Will's first time off since I have been here! We had a full day! We woke up early and had a delicious breakfast - mine was acai yogurt with granola, honey, bananas and strawberries. First we went to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve to snorkel. It was absolutely beautiful.

 

As a first time snorkeler, I was pretty nervous but Will was a great teacher! We swam nearly the length of the Bay.. around, through, and behind the reef.

The best part of the swim - we saw a sea turtle!

After snorkeling, we had lunch with Landon, then spent time at Makapu'u Beach - volleyball, "body surfing" and laying out!

Tonight, we met up with friends at the movie theater for "Alice in Wonderland" .. not going to lie, I could hardly keep my eyes open but it was a great movie. So it's to bed early, in order to catch a 6:30 flight to Maui! I can't wait!

Hawaii - Chapter Four

Today was a state holiday in Hawaii - Prince Kuhio Day. Unfortunately Will had to work, but Landon and his girlfriend Sarah were off and spent the day playing with me. We hiked two miles up to Makapu'u lighthouse expecting to catch spectacular views of the island...

 

Landon and me at the top of the hike.

Not only did we see these great sights, we also saw lots and lots of whales!!! They were very close to the island, closer than Sarah (who has grown up in Hawaii) has ever seen them before. Sorry I didn't get any shots of them.. they are too quick and far between. They were so close, we even heard one of the whales make a loud noise as it blew air out of his blowhole. wow.

After that, we bought mahi mahi sandwiches at a local take-out and brought them to Bellows beach in Waimanalo. It was gorgeous.

We showered and enjoyed March Madness for the afternoon at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Tonight we attended "Art after Dark" at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. It was fun to enjoy drinks, meet new friends and see Warhol and Picasso. After that we went to the famous Duke's - a bar where locals and tourists share meals and drinks together. I had fish tacos with guacamole.. SO GOOD.

Tomorrow Will and I are going to try to fit in lots of adventures.. snorkeling, surfing, kayaking, a sunset and who knows what else!

Hawaii - Chapter Three

A continuation of yesterday...

This is a pretty beach somewhere between Windward and the North Shore.

 

Sunset Beach

  

Waimea Falls - I did a short hike to the waterfall through a forrest-y trail.

Waimea Bay

Kawailoa Beach - random beach on the side of the road

Another random beach shot

THE BEST shaved ice in Hawaii, Matsumoto's is "like angels dancing on your tongue," says Will (who obviously missed his calling in life - he should be a food critic). I had the Hawaiian (Coconut, Pineapple, and Banana) with ice cream; it was pure sugar but worth the shakes that came three hours later.

What a beautiful rainbow! This was a driving shot, but I was stopped at a red light, Mom!

So that was my day! Very full and a lot of driving!

Here is a map of my route:  My Oahu Route!

Today I bought a delicious mango pastry from Whole Foods and ate it at Waikīkī Beach. I stayed on the beach for four hours. These were my views:

 

While there, I also made some friends from L.A., two of which work at Toyota and the third works for a sustainable energy company in Hong Kong. Nice meeting you guys!

At 1:30, I met a friend of Landon and Will's, Drake, at Roundtable Pizza. We watched Washington and West Virginia. Unfortunately, Drake's team, Washington lost - as a Mississippi State fan, I can completely empathize. For lunch, I had the Maui Zaui pizza: delicious. It was ham, pineapple and tomatoes - yum!

Tonight we wen to a play called "Maui - The Demigod." It was a very revealing play, to say the least. the crew of ten, used hula and story telling to explain the myths and legend of the man named Maui. Maui is believed to have fought the sun and pulled an island up from the sea. It was an interesting play; Sarah, Landon, Will and I will have inside jokes to last a lifetime.

Oh! And I just realized that the majority of this video was filmed in Oahu - Mom, it's your favorite!

"I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz

Hawaii - Chapter Two

Today was my first full day in Hawaii, and all that I can say is "wow". I covered at least half of Oahu today - no small feat.

After dropping Will off at work today, I headed to "THE breakfast place in Waikīkī" called Jack's. This first adventure of the day was a failure; they are closed until April 2, the day after I leave. I decided to eat a Special K bar from my purse, and it may have been the best breakfast I have ever had. Remember that Hawaii is five hours behind, so while it was 7:00 a.m. here, it was noon at home... I was HUNGRY!

Next began my driving tour of the island. Oahu has three major highways: H1, H2, and (surprise) H3.

This was my view inland on the H1.

And this is toward the water.

This is Diamond Head from afar.

As I worked my way up and down the highways and Kalanianaole Highway, I stopped off at some of the beaches - these photos are a recap.

 

Sandy Beach

Views from Makapu'u Beach

Road View of Mānana (Rabbit) Island and Kāohikaipu Island

  

Waimanalo Beach Park; notice Rabbit Island in Right Photo

View inland from Waimanalo Beach Park

Next stop was Kailua. I really liked this town. I found a great bookshop (bought Death in Venice and a book about a guy sailing the Mediterranean) and looked in antique shops.

 

Lunch at Kalapawai Market in Kailua.

Rachel Ray's favorite sandwich is from here, and I agree with her! I had the Kailua Club: multi-grain bread, avocado spread, pepper turkey, Monterey Jack cheese, lettuce, sprouts, mustard and mayo.

  

This is the Byodo-in Temple, a Buddhist Temple in the Valley of the Temples.

Chinaman's Hat taken from Kualoa Point

As you can tell, I saw a lot. And this last picture was taken at 12:44.. I still have another half of the day to tell you about. It is bed time now.. I'll try to finish the story tomorrow!!