Hawaii Family Vacation 2006

Kailua beach
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4/17 - Kailua

The time difference meant that I was awake to enjoy the mornings in Hawaii, which was actually pretty nice.  Monday was a relaxing day overall, we went to the Kailua beach nearby in the afternoon.  The wind was so strong (east being the windy side of the island) that I laid on my front to avoid sand getting up my nose and ended upwith a splotchy sunburn all over the back of my legs.

4/18 - Kailua to Diamond Head

We drove Hwy 72 down the east coast of the island.  We saw several beaches and the Halona Blowhole. We ended up at Diamond Head where we did the climb to the top of the crater.  Afterward we laid on the beach and soaked in a beautiful afternoon.

Lava rocks on the beach
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4/19 - Central and Leeward (west coast)

We started the day at the Swap Meet at Aloha stadium.  This turned out to be a fantastic shopping experience - there was a ton of vendors in tents circling the stadium.  The variety and prices were great and we ended up shopping until the event was closing down at 3pm.  After the shopping we went to the Dole plantation where we learned how pineapples grow.  We didn't end up having time to get to the beach.

4/20 - North Shore

Halona blowhole
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The Kamehameha highway took us up to the north shore.  We saw the Chinaman's Hat Island, couldn't spot the Crouching Lion rock, and passed many fascinating shrimp stands, farms, and flower greenhouses.  Given more time, I would've liked to stop at them.  At the north shore we stopped at Waimea beach and saw the huge crashing waves.  Next we stopped at the Waimea Botanical garden where Abby and I went in.  We went to see the waterfall and were thrilled to find out we could swim in the waterfall pool. Last stop was at the Laniakea Beach where we saw a couple of the resident turtles.

Kids playing in the surf at Sandy Beach
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4/21 - Pearl Harbor

Our trip to Pearl Harbor included both a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial and to the battleship Missouri.  The Arizona was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor.  It went down with a huge number of men - about half of those who died in the attack - and is left under the water untouched with the memorial built over it.  The Missouri was the ship where the treaty was signed to end WWII.

The evening was spent at Germaine's Luau.  It was an outdoor pig roast with a buffet and production quality entertainment - hula dancing and music.  It was fun.  I was impressed - it was a much nicer show than the one I saw in Fiji.

Shiny beach and ridged mountains at Sandy Beach
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4/22 - Waikiki

We spent some more time at the Swap Meet in the morning.  After, we went to Waikiki to attempt to parasail.  The parasailing ended up being booked up, so we couldn't do it.  But Dad rented an "aquacycle" which we played with and swam and laid on the beach.  Later, on the way to dinner, we got a tour of Ben's base (MCBH).

4/23 - return home

The schedule for the day was church and a catamaran trip.  But we missed the catamaran while lost in traffic, so we ended up just shopping at the large Ala Moana mall.