New photo post from Hawaii

Picture of JoAnne and I from our luau at Paradise Cove on Wednesday night.


Thursday morning, JoAnne and I learned how to make our own flower leis at our hotel. The afternoon was spent taking a trip to the Dole Pineapple Plantation, enjoying lots of goodies there.



After that we continued our journey to the North Shore to take in some of the local beaches. We stopped at three different beaches. The first one we stopped at near Hale'iwa, we were able to spot many sea turtles swimming only 10 or so feet from us. The next beach was Waimea bay and there we enjoyed some HUGE waves. The waves were getting so big, that the lifeguard station made a warning that only experienced swimmers should be out in the water. We stayed pretty close to shore, and tried to outrun the waves. We managed to leave Waimea with only a small amount of "road rash". The last beach we went to was sheltered by a lava rock breakwater. We were able to find some cool marine life and pick up a few sea shells and some beach glass along the way.


Highlights for Friday were:

E-Noa tour with Betty, our guide. We first hiked to a waterfall and then were rewarded with some boogie-boarding at Waimanalo Bay. Beautiful blue waters. Had a Hawaiian plate lunch at a place called "Ken's"after we finished at the beach. We were tired & starving after our adventure.



Friday evening we enjoyed a dinner at Shore Bird--a grill your own restaurant, and then were able to walk along the beach to make it back to the Hilton Hawaiian Village just in time for fireworks.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Hawaii Update, Days 1-3

We've been enjoying our vacation so far.
Just a quick recap of what we've done.

Arrived on Sunday afternoon in Honolulu.
Got settled into our hotel room, checked out the Hilton Hawaiian Village where we are staying. Did a mandatory walk along the ocean.

Monday morning everyone tried to sleep in, although it wasn't an easy task, considering there is a five hour difference from home. We had our breakfast on our "lanai" or one of our 2 balconies from our room. One of our balconies overlooks Waikiki, with the mountains in the background. Our other balcony overlooks our pool area, with the ocean in the background. Both beautiful.

Did some exploring in the Chinatown area of downtown Honolulu. There was a beautiful park where we were able to get some really nice pictures.




Walked along the beach on Monday evening and had dinner and watched the sunset from Duke's Canoe Club on the beach. We shared a bunch of appetizers and had to indulge in a Hula Pie. One piece was definitely enough for all four of us to share.


On Waikiki Beach with Diamond Head Crater in the background



Tuesday morning we were up at 5am, and at the entrance gate to Diamond Head Crater by 6am. Climbed to the summit and we were able to see the sun poke through the clouds at about 6:45am.


view from the top of Diamond Head Crater facing Waikiki


After hiking back down, we took a scenic ride along the east coast of Oahu, making a couple stops along the way. We saw the Halona Blow Hole and then headed back into Honolulu.
Tuesday afternoon was spent poolside going down several of the waterslides in our pool. Lots of fun. Just like being a kid again!