And My Next Adventure Begins......

Oahu, Hawaii

Monday, July 26th to Friday July 30th, 2010

I’m sitting here at the airport in Honolulu awaiting my flight to Fiji and all I can think is “man it is hot in here”. I guess I should really say “out here” because the airport is open……even the gate areas. I am staring at palm trees and airplanes right now thinking if they put up a wall and hooked up some A/C it would be a lot more comfortable in here. I can’t imagine what it’s like in the middle of the day instead of at night.

Anyway I arrived in Honolulu on Monday the 26th after a full day of travel. I took a flight from Kelowna to Vancouver, hung out in Vancouver for about 6 hours (they have free Wi-Fi so I killed most of that time online) and then it was a 6 hour flight to Honolulu. When I finally arrived in Honolulu at around 2145 (9:45pm) I had 2 things on my mind: bed and sleep. First though I had to get my rental car and negotiate my way from the airport to the hotel Sans GPS (that’s without a GPS in case you don’t speak French). I know what you are all thinking: Why no GPS?” I decided that since there are not that many roads in Oahu (that’s the name of the Hawaiian Island that you will find Honolulu on) I would go without it. Of course there are a lot of roads in the city of Honolulu but as long as I followed the signs to Waikiki my hotel was easy to find (right across the street). Anyway, it was dark when I arrived so could not really check out the ocean view that was suppose to exist from my balcony but once the sun came up on Tuesday…..I was not disappointed.

Relaxing in the sun staring at the view.

I actually didn't even have to get out of bed to see some of the view.

So Honolulu. What can I say? When I told a loyal blog reader that I was coming here, he quickly told me to “go somewhere else”. I actually kind of agree with that statement because as you will see…..I spent most of my time elsewhere on the island. Honolulu really is like any other big city…except it has a beach. Think Vegas….but without all the casinos. There is a Coach store every 3 blocks (be proud of me….I bought nothing) and then you hit all the Prada and Rolex and Ed Hardy (etc, etc). It’s very commercial…….but everyone wears Hawaiian shirts and says Aloha.

Tuesday morning, (once I got myself together), I took a quick walk over to Waikiki (once again…..right across the street), saw what I needed to see and then got in my rental car and headed to the North Shore….where the best beaches, best snorkeling and best sun can be found.

Waikiki...full of tourists and kids and all that annoying stuff.

But you can see surfers.

I ended up driving a long time, just enjoying the view and then when I decided that it was too hot and I needed to find a beach……there was no parking to be found. So I drove some more and ended up finding a really large, really empty beach…….with plenty of road side parking. There were about 4 other people in the water but 4 were enough for me. I just wanted to make sure there was someone else around. It’s kind of hard to use the buddy system when you are swimming on your own.

Not the beach I went swimming on but yes it is very Baywatch.

Some of the randomness you can find on empty beaches. Yes that is a memorial in the background.....and I went swimming anyways.

Day one in the sun. Still looking pretty pale but don't worry, it will get better.

Of course it is me so it didn’t take long for me to meet someone. Chris, who is a 5th grade teacher from LA, was also in the area visiting some friends. Those friends had to work during the day so he was also on his own. So we became swim buddies for a couple days. He had been here since Friday and this was his second trip to Oahu so he knew some good places. He also scuba dives and likes to go places where there is a lot to look at so we spent some good time in the water. It also gave me someone to have some drinks with in the evening. Unfortunately Chris had to head back to LA on Thursday so I went back to swimming alone.

This the statue of Duke Kahanamoku. He was an Olympic champion swimmer, a movie star,and a Hawaiian folk hero but it seems most people just think of him as the Father of Surfing. The first 3 are more correct but I guess that really doesn't matter. Hawaiians love him and that's what is important.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from under the sea. My new digital underwater camera is making me very happy.

This sign is just funny....not the strong current part but the dangerous shorebreak part. It is good to know however that there is a very strong current everywhere you swim.

Always seemed to be fighting the current to get these pictures but always fun to hangout with some fish.

On Thursday I decided I would check out one of the most famous beach spots on Oahu…and I don’t mean Waikiki. It’s a place called Hanauma Bay. It’s a protected nature reserve and is suppose to offer some great snorkelling. It’s an old volcano crater and because of that it draws a lot of different fish and marine life to the area. Maybe it was just the day I was there, but I was actually very disappointed. I don’t really think it is a place you need to go if you visit Honolulu. There is better snorkelling elsewhere. First let me point out that there is a charge to get in. $7.50 (+ $1.00 for parking). By the way it is free if you are a resident of Hawaii, on “active” military duty with the US Military (doesn’t count if you come to Hawaii for a vacation) or are under the age of 12. With all the free sand it seems stupid to pay for it. The parking lot is very often full so you need to get there early.

Looking down at Hanauma Bay. Looking back at it I probably should have just taken this picture and moved on.

There is a line to get in the gate, and then you have to wait again because there is a 7 minute video all visitors have to watch. The part about not touching the fish and the coral and the turtles makes sense but the rest of it was just irritating. Not to mention they kind of herd you around like cattle and make you stand in the hot sun until they finally let you wander down the hill to the beach. But the snorkelling would make up for all that right? Not so much on my visit. The current was really strong, the water over the coral is way too shallow and the water was totally murky. Sure there were a lot of fish to see but I spent so much time trying (and failing) not to disturb the coral that I didn’t really enjoy it. So in summary, it is nice to support a wildlife reserve but there are much better (and cheaper) places to snorkel.

This guy had a busy day...sitting here making sure no body came up the hill.

I ended my night with a few Mai Tais though so it was a perfect Hawaiian evening.

One of the street performers I found on The Strip.

Relaxing for the evening. So nice.

I even got to watch the sun go down.

My final day in Hawaii I decided I would avoid the beach. Didn’t want to have to pack wet suits and be full of sand and that kind of thing before boarding my plane so I found a few non-water things to do.

The weather didn't look too nice when I woke up but don't worry it cleared up very quickly.

Once I finally got packed and mailed a package and some post cards I made my way over to Diamond Head Monument Park. Chris had suggested that I check it out because it offers a great view of the city.

I also find the picture on this sign funny.

Yes I did have to climb up a hill and some stairs and some more hill and finally some spiral stairs, but at 1.5 kilometres round trip…..it was a nice hike. I am glad I changed into my hiking boots though because the rock was a little uneven to attempt in flip-flops (although a lot of people seemed to do it).

This is about half way up. Already a good view.

Anyway, Diamond Head is an old Military look-out. From the ground you can only see the one tower but as you get higher up, more little bunkers appear. I totally forgot to look at my watch so I have no idea how long it actually took me to make the trip but it really was worth the trip. I made it up during a break in the clouds and got a great view of the surrounding area.

Looking out from one of the bunkers.

That is Honolulu in the background.

Once that was complete I made a required stop at the Pearl Harbour Historic Site. This is of course the site of the December 7, 1941 attack by the Japanese on what still remains the US Navy’s most important island base in the Pacific.

The area is dedicated to all those who were lost in the attack, there is a real focus on the USS Arizona. 1,177 crew members went down with the ship……most of which still remains untouched where it sunk. A memorial has been built over top of the site. You actually have to take a small boat out to see it and unfortunately due to my lack of planning, I arrived just in time to watch the last trip of the day make its way across the harbour.

This is the USS Arizona Memorial. I took this picture......of the picture they have posted at the site. I did not get in a helicopter to take this picture.

Look closely over my right shoulder (your left) and you will see the memorial.

Instead wandered around the rest of the site. I always find it interesting to visit places like this. If you watched the movie that was playing and didn’t know any WWII history, you might think that Pearl Harbour was the only battle and that the men on the USS Arizona and the other ships and airfields who were killed, were the only ones who died in WWII. But I did try to ignore the bias and just enjoy the history.

This is what the view looks like from a 40 mm Quad gun assembly. How's my aim?

I particularly found it interesting to read about all the ships and boats (submarines) that were lost at sea and how sometimes future boats or ships would be named for the lost boats. I never realized they did that. Like the USS Runner who was lost at sea in May/June 1943. A submarine believed to have become a victim of mines in Tokyo harbour. Her name sake then entered Tokyo Harbour, along with several other US ships, for the Japanese surrendering ceremony.

Once I left Pearl Harbour, I headed back to the West side of the Island. I thought it appropriate to watch the sunset on my final night in Hawaii.

Watching the sun go down.....with some one else's dog. He really seemed to enjoy it too.

The last bit of light for the day.

So in summary, it has been a great 4 days. Always a few disappointments, but the good times more than make up for it. There are always a few things I would have liked to have done that I just never had a chance to but hey, I guess there is always next time.

Julie