Hawaii was awesome! We saw whales, went snorkeling, sat on the beach, watched the sunset, did absolutely nothing, saw lava tunnels and blow holes, went to a luau, ate fresh coconut and pineapple, hiked to waterfalls and beaches, and did everything you would expect in Hawaii. We also survived 2 "sandstorms", got a Caliber stuck in beach sand, formed a plan for when wild boars attack, woke up (and went to bed) to the sounds of wild roosters calling, got chased off our patio by 2 Nene, and learned Ben can't tell the difference between a dried up creek and a trail. Here are some of our pictures.
OAHU
The view from our table the first night in Hawaii.
We arrived 30 minutes before the USS Arizona Memorial (Pearl Harbor) even opened, but the line was already ridiculous. I think we were about 500th in line. Good thing we came early! This was taken on our way back to land from the memorial. We didn't have to wait as long as it seemed we were going to.
We had enough beach for the day and decided the Diamond Head hike sounded fun our last day in Oahu. It was less than 2 miles from our hotel so we walked there. It closes at 6pm (as in, if you're still there at 6 they lock the gate and you better find a comfortable place to spend the night) so we were walking Ben-pace the whole way there, up the crater, and back down since we started late.
You can see Diamond Head in the background of this shot from our whale watch tour. We hiked to the left around the crater then across the inside and up the highest peak on the right.
We came through the tunnel you see at the end of the road and walked around the outer edge to the left to get to and from the hotel.
It was worth it though, and we rushed for no reason. We were back out of the park with over an hour to spare.
KAUAI
One of the many shots of wild chickens roaming around. They were terrified of people, but wandering all over the place...at the hotel, in the roads, in the woods, on the sidewalks, everywhere.
These shots show the view from our Kauai hotel room. If you look closely at the cliffs you can see a few of the larger water falls (there were actually over a dozen just on this side).
This is a pretty cool blowhole we caught while we were on our way back from the beach. The waves come in underneath the lava rock with enough force to cause the water to shoot out of a relatively small hole in the rocks. This particular one also makes a whining sound each time because air is shot out nearby hole that is higher than the water level. The real highlight of this stop was when Ben didn't put the car in park and started to step out of the car. As he put it, "Hey, the tree stopped us!"
Mmmm, fresh coconut meat.
We made our way to Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of the Pacific). The pictures don't do it justice, but the views were amazing.
At this point we are hiking to a waterfall on a canyon trail. You can walk right up to the edge of the canyon, no handrails or guide ropes to protect you (or detract from the view). It's pretty steep in spots and most of it is downhill so you know it's going to be tough on the way back.
If you make this hike don't do it for the waterfall! The little 30 footer behind us is all you can see of the 800 ft cascading waterfall we had heard about. Oh well, it was still well worth it for the canyon views and the uphill climb to the car wasn't that bad.
We finally made time for a luau. It was a little showy at times but overall very cool and the food was delicious. For the record poi isn't gross. It actually has no flavor at all.
The last day on Kauai we decided to skip kayaking and/or snorkeling to go on a quick 2 mile hike to a hidden beach on the Na Pali Coast along a portion of the Kalalau trail and then 2 more miles along a small river to a 400-ft waterfall.
These are a few of the views along the way, though they just don't give you the real picture.
This is the beach 2 miles into the hike. At this point we ate lunch, took a break, and wished we were wearing bathing suits because it was really hot and the water looked awesome.
After crossing the river at least a dozen times we finally made it! This waterfall was the best sight of the trip. Not only was it very cool to look at but it also meant we could turn around. We started out with 1.5L of water and this "quick" hike was much more demanding than we expected. (By the way, the plan for a boar attack was for me to run and climb a tree while Ben stayed behind with small knife and took on the attacking animal. I thought we should both just climb a tree.)
We cooled off and started the hike back. Ben slipped on a wet rock and fell really hard, I twisted my ankle slightly, we realized Ben lost his watch when he fell and had to retrace at least 10 minutes of the hike, Ben led us off the trail, I repeatedly led us on false trails trying to get back on the trail, but finally...we were back at the beach. Half way home and back to a much more obvious trail!
Tired and thirsty but man does that breeze feel awesome!
We were almost out of water here, and every hill we climbed seemed like it should be the last one. We finally made it back to the car and lived to warn everyone: if you go on this hike (which I would definitely recommend) bring lots of water and go early (before it gets too hot).
MAUI
We took the Hana Highway drive and checked out some waterfalls, beaches, and lava formations. This drive is on a "two-lane" road that is, at times, almost too narrow for one car as it goes around a corner at the edge of a several hundred foot cliff dropping to the ocean. It is a bit tense at times. There are some turns you have to honk your horn to warn people coming from the other way since there is no way for you to see each other.
This is pretty good size lava tunnel we saw at a state park. The lava hardened over water and left behind a tunnel.
We went on yet another hike at the Seven Sacred Pools. There are way more than 7 pools and almost every one is perfect for cliff diving.
At one point on the trek we were hiking through a bamboo forest. The bamboo was so dense and tall that it was actually dark. This is Ben in bamboo prison.
This is the final waterfall on the hike. It's no where near as impressive as the last hike on Kauai, but it was a lot easier to get to.
Most of our time in Maui was spent just hanging out and taking some time to relax, but we did go on a snorkeling trip on the nearby island of Lahaina. One of the coolest parts was the whales we ran into along the way. This picture was taken without any zoom. We were in a tiny little boat (technically a raft with a motor) so the whales were bigger than us.
Hawaiian-brewed beer wasn't bad, but it had a flavor that you had to get use to. By the end of our trip Ben liked so much he brought home a bottle for Ojo. (If you haven't met Ojo yet stay tuned for another blog.)
