Welcome to Part Three of our Hawaiian Adventure! The morning of our departure day found us with time to kill so a drive up to the Pali Lookout was in order.....
Life has not always been pleasant up here and there is much history....
But the views.....
Telephoto of Chinaman's Hat and Kane'ohe Bay from the Pali....
As we end our trip to Hawaii, now seems like a good time to shower you with flowers! Hibiscus grows all over the island in hundreds of different variations and colors, here are but a few....
And of course, the beautiful Bird of Paradise....
Sadly, the time came for our return stateside. The islands graced us with one last view at paradise as we take off. An amazing underwater reef....
The coast of Maui as we fly by.....
Aloha to paradise, until we meet again....
Mahalo for following along with our very special trip to Hawaii! It seems fitting to leave you with the sunsets that only Hawaii can provide.....
Aloha! And feel free to leave comments!
Welcome back to Part Two of our Hawaii adventure! Our 3rd day on the island we opted for a bit of downtown site seeing to start the day. First up, the iconic King Kamehameha statue at Aliiolani Hale.
Across the street is the only royal palace on US soil 'Iolani Palace
The enormous monkeypod trees on the property, many aged into the hundreds of years....
The banyan trees behind the palace, the original a gift from Indian royalty to the King, is said to have been planted there in the 1800s by Queen Kapi'olani....
Our walk through downtown continues to the Aloha Tower....
After a fun morning downtown, it was time to take in Waikiki Beach and get in some snorkeling....
Visibility was not the best, but we did get in a few pics....
The trigger fish, aka humuhumunukunukuapua'a (yes I CAN pronounce that!)...
And of course, at Waikiki we watch the surfers....
And a random pirate ship go by.....
After a busy day of site seeing and snorkeling, a luau was in order for the evening. We chose the Chief's Luau at Sea Life Park. I have been to several luaus on Hawaii in my lifetime and can recommend this as the best I have ever attended. Of course, the drive to Sea Life Park brings lots of scenic lookouts....
The setting......
Tyler having a headdress made....
The removal of the Kahlua pig ceremony....
Happy family before the feast.....
A few of the many wonderful sites from the luau.....
This one made me really homesick as I used to be very good at the poi ball dance....
Our last full day on the island saw us site seeing from Waikiki to the North Shore. Our first stop was Mount Tantalus. The views from which are spectacular.......
We continued east towards Hawaii Kai and stopped at China Walls. To date, this has become the most awe inspiring place I have ever been and words and pictures cannot do it justice. You MUST visit on your trip to Hawaii....
Tyler watching the massive waves crash ashore...
Further east still, we come across Hanauma Bay. This was less than 5 miles from where we used to live and I swam in this bay a lot as a kid....
As we continue our way towards the north shore, our next stop is the Halona Blowhole. Here, the incredible force of massive waves crashing ashore forces the water through a hole created in the lava rock tens of thousands of years ago....
Continuing our journey we find Moloki'i (aka Chinaman's Hat) and Kane'ohe Bay. I swam in this bay a lot as a little girl also....
From here, the island becomes more remote, more rugged, and absolutely breathtaking. Our cloudy day seemed to intensify this effect....
Within time we reach the beaches of the north shore. As impressive as these waves are, they are considered tiny relative to the winter waves....
This guy has far more guts than I do!
And of course, no trip to the north shore would be complete with a stop at the Banzai Pipeline.....
Our north shore visit complete, we head back to Waikiki with a pit stop at the Dole Plantation......
Our drive back to Waikiki brings us across the Rainbow Valley.....
A full day at end, we retire to a peaceful sunset from the lanai....
Thanks for joining us for Part Two of the Oahu adventure! Continue to Part Three for the conclusion of our journey and those amazing Hawaiian sunsets!
