Our Last Day in Oahu

Our last day in Oahu we spent

"on a little hike"

(yeah, right...)

OK...let me start off by saying,

I am not athletic...at all.

We, however, were traveling with 3 marathon runners...

and my best friend who told me this was the worst hike of her life...

EVER!

But we took on the challenge anyway...

Here'a a quick shot of the entire travel group...

from left to right...

Scott, Jackson, Leisa, Me, Joy, Michele, Kerri, Tami,

Bobby, Joan, Rick and Austin.

We snapped a quick picture with the crater of death behind us...

and we were off...

So, everything we had read about Diamond Head made it sound like

no big deal.  There were a few blurbs about a set of pretty steep steps

but other than that, it didn't sound that bad...

And then I saw this sign...which used words like

"Strenuous and Challenging"

and

"Not a CASUAL STROLL"

Say what?

Joy, who suffers from a pinched nerve in her back and had

already been told by her doctor to NOT do some of the activities we 

had planned, decided early on that she would not make the climb.

The little path that you were sharing with others who were coming 

off the mountain was uneven and oh yeah...dirt and uneven rock!

Austin woke up that morning not feeling very well either,

so he stayed back and kept Joy company while we hiked up to the top.

On one of the little stopping points, on the way up, I snapped

this picture...wondering why on earth I had agreed to do this.

Almost to the top!  We had just finished one flight of death in the 

form of stairs and were taking a breather.  You can kind of see the outline of the crater.

The building down below is where Joy and Austin are waiting for us...

(wishing I was there, wishing I was there)

We skipped the second flight of STRAIGHT UP death stairs for

the little bit longer but not as steep set of stairs.

You can see Jackson and his little orange shorts running up to the top.

He was a trooper!!  He pretty much climbed the entire way without asking to

be carried.  He would start to whine and Tammy would say,

"Come on, let's go..."

and he was on his way!

Kerri had run on ahead of us...literally...stinkin' marathon runners...

and was waiting  for us to finally get ourselves to the top.

You can also see that Jackson finally sweet talked Tami into a quick piggy back

ride...which she is used to...another marathon runner...and she has also 

hiked 13 miles down into the Grand Canyon carrying a 40 pound back pack...

yeah, whatever!

Once we got to the top, the views were amazing and 

all of the wind-sucking that was done on the way up,

went away and it was nice to take it all in.

The view of Honolulu and Waikiki Beach.

A quick snap of us all on the top!

We made it!

And now, we have to go back down...the same way we came up...

which was not very easy.

Remember...small path...uneven, rocky...

but we were going down!

In case you have not noticed... Tami was Jackson's favorite 

on this day.  He wanted to be right by her side, every step of the way

and when she would offer a fun Piggy Back ride...

he was all in!

We made it back down and we were all starving.

We kept thinking that it must be time for lunch, but it was only about 

9:30am.  We had left out early that morning to try and avoid hiking in the heat of

the day.  So, we decided to try and find a good place for breakfast.

There are not a lot of "chain" fast food restaurants in Hawaii,

 so we all pulled out our handy dandy little smart phones

 and tried to find a great "local" pancake house 

and boy did we find it!

This place was GREAT!

We all got such a wide range of things to eat as well.

I had a great Omelet and Kerri had some amazing Banana pancakes

and let me tell you about the syrup...

OH MY!

There was regular syrup...

and there was Coconut syrup...

but the Orange Syrup was

TO DIE FOR!!!

Sooooo yummy!

Some of the group ordered home made burgers

and Austin said that it was the best burger he has ever had!

So, in the end...we didn't die from the hike and ended the morning 

with a great meal...

Time to get packed up,

we've got another island to hop to! 

Let's Hit the Beach!

We headed out one morning with the intention

of hitting the beach!

We headed over to Hanuma Bay to do 

a little snorkeling...

we never made it!

They will only allow so many people at a 

time in and each time we drove by the little man out at the 

road would tell Rick that the lot was full

and we were not getting in...

On to Plan B

We headed down the road to a scenic overlook and got

a few shots of the beautiful rocks and shoreline

It was so beautiful...everywhere you looked

there were beautiful shorelines of dark rock that 

the waves would crash on.

Jackson just looked around and took it all in...

We continued our drive down the coastline and came upon a 

Macadamia Nut Farm.

We pulled in and unloaded our two car loads full

and went to explore.

Kerri taught Jackson how to crack a Macadamia Nut with

a rock...he was really good at it, but would not try a nut to 

save his life!

And then he spotted the....

The Roosters!

They are everywhere on the islands!

They just run free and walk around like they own the place.

Jackson wanted to catch one so bad, he just about

couldn't stand it!

But never fear...the chickens were safe in the end!

The grounds around the gift shop were beautiful...

Austin tried his first cup of coffee...

or should I say..

Austin drank a big ol' cup of Milk and Sugar with

a little bit of coffee...

Yeah, that's more like it!

My boys waiting for the rest of our crew to head out...

It was almost lunch time so they were getting a little cranky.

These beautiful flowers were out front.

The picture just does not seem to do them justice.

The colors were so bright!

We drove on around the coast and headed to grab a bite to eat...

Kerri wanted to eat at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck...

and this was the sight when we drove up...

We were a little scared but knew that she had eaten here before 

and had not died of some strange disease so

we ordered up a bunch of shrimp and 

sat out under the palm trees for lunch.

It was really delicious!  But was definitely one of those places

that if someone I trusted had not been the one telling me

"We really have to eat here" 

I would have just driven on by and found the first 

"normal" looking restaurant...this could definitely qualify for 

one of Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-in's and Dives!" 

We drove a little more and finally landed at 

Lanikai Beach!

It has been named as one of the best beaches in the world.

Jackson wasted no time grabbing his sand toy and heading

for the water.  He really enjoyed swimming out and letting the waves

push him back to shore.

The rest of our crew headed out to do a little snorkeling.

Now, I have never been snorkeling before and I did give it a try,

BUT, there is just something weird to me about sticking my 

head under water and then trying to breathe!

Just can't do it...

I tried and was able to see a few fish, but as far as floating around

with my head under water like nothing was going on around me....

Not Happening!

Austin was out there with the crowd and loved it!

Jackson stayed close to the water's edge and had lots of fun.

He even hijacked Aunt Leisa's little board and would float around

on it for a while.

I was finally able to stick my little toes in the sand...

and unfortunately, Jackson learned how to grab the sand in his

hands....and throw it!

He was fascinated with the sand and loved playing on the beach. 

Jackson also loved jumping on Austin and trying to 

ride the waves...

I think Austin had gone back to the water to try and wash 

a little sand off of him.

I don't think he knew what hit him!

We enjoyed the sun and the sand and then loaded back up 

and headed to the house for a bite to eat.

Just another day in Paradise...

Come back tomorrow, we are going on a 

"light hike"

(insert sarcastic voice here...)

Remember, Understand, Honor

Those words are on a plaque standing next to the

anchor that was recovered from the USS Arizona

after she sank on Battleship Row on December 7, 1941

in Pearl Harbor.

We started out our day visiting and paying our respects to those

who gave their lives for the freedoms that we enjoy.

In the picture above you can see the white monument to the right

that spans over the top of the sunken Arizona.  In the middle is the

USS Missouri or the "Mighty Mo" and to the far left you can see a 

new battleship that is coming into port.

The USS New Orleans

As we stood and watched the giant ship come into port you could not help

but imagine the fiery scene that took place seventy years ago... 

As we sat there and watched these proud young men bring their 

boat into the dock a crowd started to gather and watch.

There was something very somber about a current ship of war,

docking right next to where so many lives were lost

in an act of war...it just gave you chills.

Small conversations started while we were standing there watching...

Rick has worked on some of the parts of the ship that was docking

and Scott currently works on improving military tools...

while they were discussing all of their "work" the man you see in

this picture, wearing the plaid shirt, turned around and started talking with them.

He has served two tours in Desert Storm and his son

was currently serving on the New Orleans.

He had not seen his son for the last 10 months and had come to Hawaii

to welcome him home.  The parents were being invited on the ship later that 

evening, but he did not know what time they were going to dock.

It was just a coincidence that he was there at the right time.

He was so excited to see them come into port and could not wait to 

see his son!

Soon after we took a quick boat trip over to the Arizona Memorial

The monument spans perpendicular over the sunken wreckage

and you can still see parts of the ship just under the water. 

You can also still see oil seeping from the injured ship.

There were Veteran's on the Memorial passing out flowers to

the visitors.  We were told that we could keep the flowers or

throw them into the water in memory of those

who died on that tragic day.

Jackson chose to throw his in the water and then just sat

and watched as it floated softly in the calm waters.

On the back wall of the monument is a list of all of those who lost their

lives on the Arizona that day and the rank they held..

That day, the Arizona lost about 80% of it's crew.

The Arizona is also the final resting place for those who survived that 

day in history... these veterans have returned to their ship as their final

resting place with their fellow shipmates.

The Flag was waving ever so elegantly in the breeze overhead

as we toured the memorial.

A thankful family for the freedoms we have and the men that have

fought for our freedom and continue to fight today.

After our tour, we returned to the gift shop and purchased a book

on the events of Pearl Harbor and had the honor of meeting these two men

who were serving in Pearl Harbor on that day, so many years ago.

The man on the left is Sterling Cale.  He served in the United States Army

and had just signed out of the night shift at the shipyard dispensary.

He saw the planes coming in and thought it was just a drill and then saw

the "Rising Sun" on one of the wings and quickly realized that this was not a drill

and Pearl Harbor was under attack.  One of his jobs following the attack was to remove

the bodies of his fallen soldiers from the Arizona.

The man on the right is Alfred Rodrigues. He served in the United States Navy.

He was on duty the morning of December 7th and had just sat down to eat his breakfast

when the alarm sounded.  He was issued a gun and began shooting at the planes as they passed 

overhead.  He said they were flying so low that you could see the faces of the 

Japanese pilots as they flew by.

This is the author of the book that we purchased.

His name is Allan Seiden.

He signed the book for the boys 

"form a place touched by history"

"December 7, 1941, 

A date which will live in infamy...

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated

invasion, the American people, in their righteous might,

will win through to absolute victory"

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

I was glad we were able to visit and that Austin is old enough

to understand the impact that this place

has on the history of our Nation.

We needed to lighten the mood so we 

spent the rest of the afternoon at the 

Aloha Stadium at the weekly

Swap Meet...

Sorry, no photos were taken...

we were too busy shopping!!!

Come back tomorrow...

we're heading to the beach!