Waikiki Beach and some visitors

Mark and I moved on to Waikiki Beach, which as you probably have heard is quite nice, crowded, tourists speaking many languages, and lots of opportunities to buy some sort of souvenir — there is no shortage of stores selling Hawaii / beach stuff — and apparently people buy it too.  

 View from the pool/bar deck at the hotel where we ate a couple of times.  Rough duty, but as they say….

 and the view from our hotel.  Swimming was nice - but not as nice as some of the earlier beaches we went to on the North Shore, just a little larger, and with lots of friends and neighbors.

 Yeah, it was pretty.  The views are worth selling.

We had visitors, who stayed for the afternoon of playing in the pool — (they have been to a beach).

 We adjourned to our room for a picnic on the patio /deck of our room.  Had a delightful, meal, discussion, and general all round good time at dinner of sandwiches from Subway.

 Later just before bedtime, a little Sports Center to catch up on the news.  And then we had sleeping bags and pillows and campers on the floor of the room.

 Got back to Schofield, went for a walk, back home to watch tape delay of the Alabama-LSU game with a partner (unfortunately he did not stay as long as I would have liked- Big E as I call him is such a joy.)

 And as I was preparing this final entry of here early on a Sunday morning prior to our departure for the mainland and fall weather, (Mark and I remained a little jet laged and early risers as a result)

 We were joined by other early risers of the household— and we had companions for the morning- which is very very nice.

Shark's Bay swimming

That is Shark's Bay — we did not swim in there though it did look inviting and people do.  It was just a little rough as we approached from the extreme left in photo below and the lava flow rocks a little sharp.  We did however swim and see a lot in the little (well not so little) pool formed by the lava.

 This is part of it,  the outer pools are quite deep in places and the gap in the middle where the ocean streams in with waves can have a very strong current- like turn you over, push you away, and cause you to grab for something to hold to and try to dodge the rocks.

 Here is a wider view - at the extreme right was a cave through which the ocean also poured with each wave.

 These photos were taken from up on a hill over looking the pool where we parked.

 and we entered from this end.  Swimming most of the way across that pool as it was easier than walking.

The big kids were great adventurers, (anyone surprised at that?) (Eric was attending his pretty school-for a birthday celebration with his 3 year old peers)

 Hanging onto the side of the rock edge of the pool.  Watching the tropical fish around the coral and rocks was a real treat.  Dozens and dozens of them - all types and colors and shapes.

 And one real big sting ray gliding through under us.  Emphasis on the under us.  Estimated size is four feet across and six feet head to tail tip.  And he was our frequent partner gliding into and out of view often. (photos in the pool by Julie- — pretty good- huh?).  The ray never ceased to cause my heart to quicken just a bit whenever I saw him and I pulled up my feet each time too.

And I would definitely add this place to a go back to list on a list of places and things to do.  Of course that descriptions fits a lot of stuff we have been doing around here.

another hike — and some "RON-EEE -MO"

Ka'ena Point State Park is the northwestern most point on Oahu Island.  It is accessible only by hiking along the coast as there are no roads to the point (google earth it).  We hiked along the northern edge of the approach to the point and the coast line was quite dramatic. 

There were "bridges" over the wash or the waves where the volcanic rock had broken or eroded away.

There were layers of lava flows that had differential erosion from the wave creating overhangs and cliffs.

 The hills rose steeply along the shore and the kids had great fun climbing them, here is Caroline atop one rise — we did not climb the mountains in the background despite a couple of interesting looking trails.

and some Will found just about to much space to roam in along the drift piles of the old volcano between the mountain and the sea.

There was a lot of variety along the shore, from rocky to sandy, cliffs, and coral.

 and watching the waves move in and out along the rocky shore was certainly interesting.

 There was just a lot to see — the wind, the sound of the waves crashing, and sea spray occasionally made for a really nice atmosphere.

 And we were not alone out here, we did see another group of three people and as we were leaving some fishermen were arriving to set up their evening efforts.

 it was one of those really nice days.

We spied an old chair — talk about something out of place - down on the shore line and having already tired of throwing rocks into the sea, now had a ready target.  We all joined into the fray of throwing rocks — note especially the little kid in the red shirt at the end of the line in the photo.

 Eric, was the most enthusastic of us all, throwing repeatedly and yelling loudly with each effort "RON-EEEE- MO!! !!!! .  (an abbreviated pronunciation of Geronimo)  (the photo below is an actual action photo as a rock has just left Eric's throwing hand and he is still in mid-yell.)

It was just another round of golf

The Fazio Course at Turtle Bay on the North Shore of Oahu is "one of the nicer courses" I have played.  That rolls of the tongue nicely doesn't it?  Try nicest! The sound from the ocean can be a bit distracting, but once you get past that - and the tropical birds, - well, it was a nice outing.

Really, the second green and third tee are right there  — the breeze off the ocean held up my approach shot a bit — yeah that and a poor swing.

The mountains in the distance were a nice back drop too.  This course is in the valley that the Japanese used to fly into Pearl Harbor on their attack in 1941.  (little history and geography lesson from Justin)

 The wind really did play a part of the day, note, the flag that Justin is moving from the pin.

and here is Mark, coming back toward the green- he eventually found it.  Actually it was yours truly who heard most frequently "you are away"  or the dreaded "you are still away"

 this is where we were.  As the sign says - the Fabled North Shore.  -and I can see why.

Restaurant Review # 28 (I think) Haleiwa Joe's and a trip up river and a day at the beach

Haleiwa Joe's at famous Haleiwa Beach ought to be on your stop for fish tacos.  Joe is a little proud of them but they are well worth it.  Haleiwa Beach is a almost a "to much" surf shop and beach type place.  It is what you would expect for a beach town if you were looking for one.  

Joe's  place is open and has a great view of the bay - unfortunately not picked up in the photo.

 We enjoyed our meal and would go back for the seafood for sure.  Pacific Blue Marlin was really quite good grilled with the taco type mixin's.

 Earlier we paddle boarded up a creek / small river that feed into the bay to see the sea turtles and fish that travel up the river.

 The kids spent time as passengers / helpers on different boards.  Not all of us were tipped over.

 Yesterday was at Bellows Air Station Beach, - boy those Air Force Guys really have a tough place to be in the service while in Hawaii.

 We set up our tent just on the beach in front of the forest that comes down to the beach.   The sand is a real fine sand that stirs up with the waves but beyond the breakers it is very very clear.

 The afternoon was a treat.— very very relaxing and a fun beach to play on- much like a North Carolina Beach.

Hiking Diamond Head

Below in the distance is Pearl Harbor and the foreground is Honolulu and Waikiki Beach.  This is of course from the top of Diamond Head, the mountain formed from a caldera that is the landmark for the city and also an old military installation.  

 The view is stunning over the Pacific with multicolored waters.

And here is the caldera — it is really dry - 

 The trail up the side of the mountain is a real hike and very popular as is evident from the trail of people marking the trail.  To reach the actual summit involves several long series of steep steps and crawling through pill boxes as the top of the mountain was a defensive position for the military.

 In the background you can see the trail with people marking where we have come from.  The kids were great hikers, though Justin did carry Eric all the way to the top.

 He walked most of the way down.

 and I had a great visit on the way down too.  

Waimea Beach for Sunrise

This morning early, we got up early, real early, (six hours of time difference will help you do that) and went to the north west shore of Oahu to see the sunrise and the big waves at Waimea Beach.  It is an impressive place.  

We climbed up onto of a large rock that is out in the ocean a bit to get a better view of the beach and waves.

 The waves were fun to watch and did not disappoint 

Some of them would hit the beach with such force they would create a slight wind from the break and of course the sound was impressive.

Here you can see a group of soldiers getting ready to try to out run the wash of the wave to the dry sand. ( that large rock that we climbed on top of is in the back ground.) 

There was a company of soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division doing their morning PT and 

there was a bunch of them.

Just think they could have been running through a pine forest in eastern North Carolina.