More work

Monday was another workday for Joel, but Christina and Tom and Cathy got to play.  They went on a guided tour of Pearl Harbor and other key sites in Honolulu (though they did have to meet the tour bus at 6:45AM, which meant packing up everything and getting it into the car, since we were moving on to the North Shore that afternoon).  When the tour was over, and when Joel was done with the survey, we met in Waikiki, and headed out of town.  We took the scenic route, though my GPS lady kept telling us we were not going in the right direction.  We drove along the entire perimeter of the island, from the east shore we could see from the overlook, around past Turtle Bay, Sunset Beach, the Pipeline, and down the coast to Hale'iwa, where we had rented a house right in town, but within walking distance of the beaches.  The house and gardens were beautiful, peaceful, just right for relaxing and laying back.  We could walk to almost any restaurant, and had a fair sized grocery store next door, so we were set.  Here are some of the flowers , as well as bananas,  in the yard.  

Moana Falls hike

Sunday morning, everybody was up and ready to go, but first we needed fuel.  We found a breakfast place called Heavenly, where the food was indeed Heavenly.

After re-fueling, we headed up the road to hike to Moana Falls.  Christina and I were a bit wary about any hike to a falls, but the guidebook assured us it would be just fine.  Again, when we arrived, we were not alone.  Not as many people as at Diamond Head, but enough to know we were not in wilderness.  The trail, paved much of the way, wound through absolutely beautiful jungle, with huge trees, vines, flowers, etc., ending at a smallish water fall and pool where, again, there were warning signs about leptospirosis.  Many kids were getting in the water, cooling off after the hike up, but we were not really ready to risk the illness, nor did we have our swimsuits.  Beautiful hike, great views along the way, and a nice ending to the hike.

Diamond Head Crater; Tom and Cathy Arrive

Saturday morning we decided to hike up Diamond Head to get a view of the area.  We discovered that since we are old, we could ride the bus for $1.00 apiece, each way, which meant we did not have to get the car out, the find our way there and find a place to park (very limited parking on the island, and virtually no free parking around Honolulu).  The bus took about 20 minutes to get us to the drop-off point, and then we started the hike to the top of the crater.  I guess we weren't the only ones with the idea, since we were in a continuous stream of people headed up the crater.  The trail is paved, or volcanic rock, nearly the entire way.  It starts in the crater, climbing up the inner side of the crater, to an overlook point at the top of about 200 steps.  The temperature was well above 90, with little breeze until we got near the top, so we were very glad to have water bottles with us.

The view from the top, an old military gun post, was spectacular, with Honolulu in one direction and the south and east coast of the island in the other.

Work, work, work

Since the main reason for being in Hawaii at this time is for Joel to do some surveys, work had to be done!  Thursday and Friday were survey days, so our free-time activities were limited.  Each evening we went to the beach to get in the water, swim a bit, and just enjoy the weather.  Near sunset, the air temp dropped to about 80, and the water temp was in the mid 70s, so getting in and out of the water was like taking a cool bath in the summer.  Very nice.

Our first hike

Hawaii time is 4 hours behind ours, so we both were awake by 3:30AM or so, then tried to go back to sleep.  Once we got up for good, we decided to take a drive up over the mountain to the east shore of Oahu, and to try to hike to a special waterfall (Mauniwilli).  The drive there went to a wonderful lookout over the east (windward) coast, where we spent some time looking around.  We found our first feral chickens there, but certainly not our last.  They are everywhere, since apparently there are very few natural predators.  They are all colors, small, and very pretty.

.  We then headed for the trail to Mauniwilli Falls.  We were warned in the guidebook that it might be a bit muddy, but then, what's a little mud?  Well, after about a mile of slip-sliding along, up a narrow, fairly steep, trail, with tree roots and branches reaching out to trip or grab us at every step, we reached the first river crossing, where we made the decision to turn back.  I forgot to mention that there were several signs warning about leptospirosis in the water and mud,   And, the temperature and humidity matched at 90 each!  So, we were disappointed not to have made it to the falls, but glad to be alive and uninjured when we got back to the car.  We were muddy, and messy, so before we could go anywhere for food, I slipped into Longs Drugs, got some flip-flops for Christina, some water and paper towels for cleaning up, and after 15 minutes of washing, got enough off to go into Whole Foods for some lunch and fresh fruit.

Arrival in Honolulu

We arrived without incident, and picked up our car, then faced the traffic of Honolulu.  If we didn't need a car for my work and for later travel, I would skip it.  The traffic to Waikiki, where we are staying, is baaad!  Good thing we have a GPS to guide us.  The condo we have rented is on the 16th floor, two blocks away from the beach, with a view of the beach and ocean, so not so bad.  The condo is certainly big enough for us, with a bedroom, a living/dining/kitchen area, and a lanai (balcony).





















After getting settled, we wandered to Waikiki beach, where it appears that everyone but us is under 25, thin, and athletic.  Oh well, great scenery.  Took a few pics of the beach and swimmers/surfers, then strolled along the high-end hotels.  I had read about a special Japanese noodle place, so we went there, stood in a line half a block long, and got in for our special noodle (Udon) dinners.  Very filling and very tasty.  Once we finished, we saw that the line extended about twice as far as when we got there, so the place is busy and well-liked.

On our way to Honolulu

We left home at 6:30 and ran into traffic between Pueblo and Colorado Springs, and again as we got close to Denver, so the drive up to DIA took about half an hour longer tha we had thought it would, but we really had plenty of time anyway.  Got on board the plane without incident, but we're told just before boarding that they were trying a new system for in-flight entertainment, which required that you have a smart phone, a laptop computer, or an iPad.  As it turned out, none of that worked, so we just listened to our own music and read.  Had a.very nice lunch (ravioli with roasted butternut squash, salad, a roll, and ice cream for dessert.  Not bad!  Soon we will be landing and trying to find our way to our condo.