I cannot believe the day has finally come!  So listen, I get off work at 5:30 in the morning and commute for 2 hours back home (thats right, I work at night and commute!).  I get home thinking I have enough time for my flight which I did in theory.  The funny thing is, I still had to do some laundry and dye my hair because you know I hate being held down by the man.  My heart began to race as I realized I have about three hours to get my butt in gear before my flight leaves.  I got all the other stuff done with an hour to spare.  I still had to pack mind you...  So I'm running around like a nut, yelling at everyone in the house because I can't find things!  I managed to pack all what I needed before my flight leaves in 25 minutes EXCEPT my damn guide books!!  I mostly need them for the maps than anything else but I guess I'll have to make do and figure it out when I get there.  I boarded my flight safely and wouldn't you know, I was the last one to check in and beat the 15 minute mark.  Luckily Hilo has a small airport so getting around is pretty straight forward and quick.  I got to Honolulu to begin my next part of the pre-adventure adventure!

Laniakea Beach (also known as "Turtle Beach") is the place on the island of O`ahu for all turtle lovers have to go because that is where the Honu (or Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles) can be seen up close. It is definitely worth the long drive from the south to the North Shore to see and observe turtles. It is an amazing experience. You can see the turtles basking on shore, but it probably depends what time of day they are usually basking. I believe typically during midday and early afternoon you will see them basking. When it is high tide, it is most likely the turtles will be in the sea, near the shore eating algae. Also, if you want to see the turtles under the sea, bring your snorkeling equipment. It is said that there are about 20 green sea turtles that regularly swim in Laniakea Beach, but I do not know how many turtles on average are at Laniakea Beach everyday. Keep in mind that it is against the law to touch the Green Sea Turtles. When snorkeling, keep distance from the turtles. When the turtles are basking, most of the time there are red ropes bordering the turtles with a little sign that says to not touch the turtles. There are no facilities at Turtle Beach. You can check out my blog to see more photos of Laniakea Beach and turtles basking.

I'm currently spending the night here in Honolulu because my flight leaves here early in the morning.  In essence, I'm kind of forced to stay but I'm not complaining!  First off, I use public transit cause its affordable and clean with just $2 from the airport to anywhere.  The big mistake I made was hoping on the one that went to Hickam Airforce Base which I'm not allowed to enter.  That meant a 30 minute wait in the heat outside until the driver came back around.  About an hour and a half later (yes can you believe it?) I made it to my hotel where I missed my stop and had to walk about 4 blocks back :).  Exercise is great!  I check in to the Maile Sky Court hotel which is in a great location if you're a shopper.  The room rates are great too for Honolulu/Waikiki though lacking in luxury but who needs that!  I tried to stay confined to the hotel to get a good nights rest however, forgetting my passport photos and guide books led me on a wild ride around Honolulu.  I don't come from a big city so navigating my way around these kinds of places are a little frustrating for me.  First, I hate using taxi's cause they're so expensive here but I had to get to Kinko's somehow.  I got there and within minutes, got my photos and a binder (what I'm an organization freak!)  My sister works for the Honolulu Trolly as a driver (ask for Lisa on the Blue Line!) so I was lucky to get a free ride back to my hotel :).  I felt a little guilty though because I got pushed ahead of the line passing all the nice Japanese families (lot of cute girls too omg...)  After getting back, my sister and I had dinner at Petit Garlic, a nice little Italian place in a small corner.  I finally got to bed at around 11pm... did I mention that I was up all night before and all day?

Got up at 4:30... then at 4:35... then again at 4:50 and got my a** in gear finally.  Quick shower to soothe thy self and off to the airport I go.  The receptionist said I should have been there an hour ago but what does he know!  I got to my terminal on time and checked in fine.  I was a little nervous about the girl wondering where my Vietnamese visa was but I had to explain that I have a pre-approval letter.  She reluctantly passed me on and I boarded the plane beautifully.

Today, I tasted the best shave ice I ever had! My brother and sister-in-law brought me here. This was my first time going to Angel's and the shave ice is very eye appealing and it tastes great! It is way better than the well-known Matsumoto's and I've been to Matsumoto's at least 3 times before! Go get the ANGEL'S HALO shave ice, which is your choice of size small or large, up to 3 shave ice flavors, 1 ice cream flavor, and topped with condensed milk and whipped cream. Very delicious! I ordered the 2 flavors I usually have with my shave ice, which are strawberry and coconut with vanilla ice cream. Some other shave ices I've tried did not have flavor from top to bottom. What I mean by that is that all the syrup flavor goes all the way to the bottom and, so, you're eating only ice before you get to taste the good stuff. Angel's shave ice had flavor from top to bottom. Try it! You won't be disappointed! It is so delicious that I would drive an hour or so from where I live just to buy and eat shave ice here. I can't wait to eat their shave ice again! =D

Day 1

We arrived at HNL and the Enterprise shuttle picked us up. Got there and the service was excellent! In and out in about 10 min. On the way to Waikiki, stopped by the Ala Moana Mall to meet a friend and did some of our shopping here. The HIC store ran out of sandals. :( but I bought a bunch of great shirts that were on sale in the clearance section. Hehe. We then went to Walmart which was just around the block and bought water, reef socks, and the necessities. After that we checked in at Castle Waikiki Shore. The service was nice but the construction totally ruined my stay during the weekday. Tell you more later. At night we just walked around to HHV and back and around Waikiki, ABC store and stuff.

Day 2

This was one of the best days. Mokulua Kayak Tour!! Robbie picked us up and met up with Scott. Basically briefed us and off we went! Kayaking in Kailua was definitely worth if you’ve never been. Scott was a great guide and very patient. I was wondering how tiring it must be doing the same thing every day…plus the kayak was pretty far. We met some other folks here and keep in touch with two of them. I won’t go into the details of the tour, i’ll leave that in suspense for the ones who’s going to go. Trust me, go. Dinner we ate at Oceanarium…….DO NOT EAT HERE….it’s the worst seafood buffet dinner you’ll ever eat. Then we walked back did the whole duke statue camera thing..hehe yes I waved, but it was dark….i tried. Afterwards, we met up with friends at the Mai Tai bar and lounged there.

Day 3

As I was saying about construction in Waikiki. What’s worse than that? A construction in your own hotel right next to you. Our bed’s headboard was basically behind the elevator shaft where at 8am they started drilling and hammering away to do maintenance. This totally ruined my sleep and had to wake up. Went next doors to Shorebirds and had a coffee there. It was irritating, I was too tired to go complain, besides, we were leaving the next day to North Shore. The construction at the Outrigger was ridiculous. Even though all the rooms faced the west side, you can still hear the construction going on. I would not recommend staying there at this time.

Picked up friends from their home and went to Hanauma Bay. Went there around noon and the parking was alright. Had plenty of spaces to park. For those of you who want to sleep in, I think it’s ok to go later. I wish I could have slept in. The multiple times I’ve been here, I came around noon. Parking is not that bad as it seems.

We went to Germaine’s Luau for dinner and it was great. We were in Bus 1 and our guide….doh! forgot his name, but he somehow managed to remember everyone’s name on the bus. Pretty impressing. He entertained us all on the ride there and back. The entertainment and food was ok, I’d rate it a 3 out of 5. We used the 20% coupon from the Entertainment book. The ride back our guide had made us pull out our cameras and as the other tour buses passed us, we all flashed them. It was great.

Day 4

Was supposed to go to Kualoa Ranch to do some ATV but forgot our shoes, so we cancelled it and went to spend it at Kailua instead. Stopped by the Pali lookout and then headed to Waimanalo Bay first. Waves were a bit ruff but no one was there. I didn’t go in the water but my friends did. I had just layed on the beach and then I saw the jellyfish warning sign up, PMOW to be more specific. Right then, my friend got stung and came back. We were all laughing, it wasn’t a bad sting. We went to Kailua and I saw one PMOW, but didn’t bother us. The rest of the day was just relax. Night time, we ate at this ramen place behind Hyatt Regency. Nice lil cozy place. Pretty good. Sorry, but don’t know the name of it.

Day 5

Swap meet was fun, bought some shirts, ate some malasadas, bought some fake jewelry and headed up to north shore. There’s a bunch of Korean and Chinese vendors there. Lol

I did learn something interesting, this research professor we were talking to said that the Polynesian people originated from the island of Taiwan. Has anyone heard of that before?

Moving on, we stopped by Dole Plantation to get my Dole whip and then to Matsumotos.

IF you guys go there and are hungry, go check out the church right next to it. 3 days out of the week they sell bbq mixed plates for fundraiser. I highly recommend it there. It’s 6 bucks and they pile your plate high with Kailua pork or kalbi! We bought both and did some donations of our own. After, checked in at TurtleBay and had the pool view. At first I wanted to stay on the other side facing the cove because MarriedonMaui had a great review on it, but it worked out anyways. At night time we would be able to see how many people are in the Jacuzzi so we can go when there’s less people. :) We ate at Ola’s that night, and the butterfish was not bad. Great scenic resort and very clean. I approve of this place!!

Day 6

Giovannis Shrimp Truck in the morning and met the star from lost Jorge Garcia here. Nice guy. Saw him on the Mokulua Kayak trip too. He was partying it up with his friends on the Island, it was great.

We headed to Shark’s Cove to do some snorkeling and stayed there for 4 hours! I couldn’t get enough of it. Like someone once said, it’s like swimming in a gigantic aquarium. Saw lots of fish and some turtles, even a sea snake (don’t touch….). Went to Matsumoto’s again. Had a late lunch at Romy’s. I liked Giovanni’s better though. Then it was off to Waimea Bay to do some rock diving! This was fun.

Day 7

Slept in….ahhhh. Shark cove one more time and went to *drum roll please*…..Matsumotos…again….had to take it all in. yes it’s just ice, but I loved it. Went to Waimea Falls and there were some people swimming there. Got a bit by mosquitos several times but survived the hike. Had another late lunch but at Kahuku Shrimp truck. It was….ok. something different with a Korean spice twist.

Night we just ate at Turtle Bay and the buffet there sucked. It was Hawiian night.

Day 8

Drove back to HNL and dropped off car at Enterprise. fast service again and well, what can I say, back to the mainland and here I am today….still reminiscing and wondering how did that week go by so quick???

Hope this trip report will help some of you traveling there soon. Thanks again for everyone that helped me plan this trip!

Mahalo!

At first Kalapana seems a little anti-climatic...I mean you have to drive through the middle of nowhere to park. Then you have to walk about 30+ minutes while being observed by guards. (Watch out because they say you must be wearing tennis shoes but I walked all the way with Tevas so you can get away with it.) :D Think about what you a doing and take your time! You are walking over lava; lava that was once thousands of degrees. It destroyed it path but in years to come wildlife will start to grow again. Absolutely amazing... There is no guarantee about what will be happening when you get out there but I suggest starting your walk about 6:30pm and take a flashlight. (I made it without one but I really had to watch my step.) There will a lot of people but it will be light enough to enjoy the lava flows on the way out. Dusk will fall and you will be able to see the lava flowing into the ocean. The steam and the glowing is truly amazing. Hard to capture on film. It will be dark on the way back in but I think it is very much worth it. There is no cost to drive out to Kalapana other than your car and gasoline. Very worth while! Everyone I took loved it!

Hiking down the Pololu Valley is a must. The terrain isn't terrible and there are some wonderful views. The last day I went down, the weather was a little overcast and misty. The valley wasn't clear of fog but at least the temperature was comfortable. :D And it started to rain out in the ocean and I could see the drops pounding the waves. A beautiful rainbow formed as well. The beach in the valley is black sand and there is a stream. If you walk further into the valley watch out because there is cattle and the presents they leave behind. Once again the views are absolutely stunning. It takes about an hour and a half or so to hike down and back. Take your time and enjoy the interesting wildlife and scenery. At one turn in the trail, it's like you at the end of the earth.

Today I went over to Pearl Harbor to go check out the USS Arizona Memorial along with the USS Bowfin and the aviation museum unfortunately I got a late start but I was still able to see the USS Arizona Memorial. 

I got off the bus and walked into park you have to go through a little security area there are no bags of any kind allowed anything that may offer concealment is strictly prohibited the good news is there are lockers for rent.  I didnt have any bags so the security woman just waved me through and I went to the rangers desk to get my admission ticket.  The tickets are free and they have numbers in the top left hand corner when this number is called you go line up at the theater and you watch a little movie about 20 mins long about how the US was entered into WWII the tickets also contain pictures and a breif bio of some of the military personel that were involved in trying to defend the base.  Once the video is over they shuttle you over to the memorial. 

Once you get there you are not allowed to take pictures once you step off the boat there is no standing on the dock and they remind you that this is  not a tourist attraction it is a memorial and you are asked to conduct yourself in such a manner.  I stepped off the boat and made my way up the ramp into the memorial.  You first enter a room lined with flags on each side or the assembly room then the main part of the memorial as you walk over the remains of the USS Arizona there are different information signs that tell you what parts of the ship are still above the water and what you can see.  There is still oil coming from the ship and you can see the rainbow colored spots of it floating on to p of the water.  As I moved further back I made my way into the Shrine room and they have all the names of those killed on board the USS Arizona that but over to the left you can see a small bemch with names on it these are the names of the survivors who requested to be buried with the shipmates.  If you are standing in the middle of the memorial and look out at the waters around it you can see the markers of the other battleships that were damaged or sunk that morning.  Walking back to the assembly room I looked into the water one last time and noticed some colorfull fish swimming around the sunken battleship. 

after being shuttled back to the visitors center I walked around the outside along the shorline at the different plaques and photos and then made my way into the museum.  Just to see all that history was amazing and a little overwhelming My family is freinds who a sailor who survived so to see what he was always telling me in stories was just unbeilvable. 

Buy the time I was finished looking around the visitors center and little book store it was about 1515 and tours stop at about 1500 so I will just have to go back to visit the other memorials and the avation museum. 

So I failed my math class today and with everything else going on I needed to blow off some steam.  Last month to the day I found this little country bar called Nashville Waikiki since its just a block over from where I lived I headed there just in time for happy hour.  I ordered a beer and watched the bartender play Nintendo wii bowling with another person in the bar and then another customer came in and started palying darts she asked if I was going to stay for the dance lessons so I said sure right after I finished my Whiskey and ordered another beer.  I tried the dance lessons my hair got caught up in th fan and that about did it for me most embarassing momnet of the night right there.  I sat down at the poker table which mysteriously appeared and blacked black jack for awhile till I need another beer.  Then I walked by a nice women selling roses and I thought it would be nice to buy roses im memory of my buddies so I did and then bought another beer.  As I was buying another beer I bought 2 drinkson behalf of my buddies and told the bartender to pick 2 people and tell them this drink was from one of my two freinds so she did and then I needed another beer.  So I got to the bar about 630pm and left about 3am I spent alot of money but at least I had a good time in fact i went there to forget about my math test I had just failed and I did untill I checked out my account balance lol!

I met a guy who grew up in hwaii and he offered to take me up to the top of Diamond Head.  I was excited the happiness wore off not even 1/2 way up the trail.  I was so unprpared for this I had no idea it was a hike.  I made it though I got to the top and it was more than worth it the views were amazing.  As hard as it was for me to get up there I was glad Untill I went to bed that night and had to double may pain killeres lol!  I got some amazing pictures and rested awhile and of course I bought the certificate that says I made it.  The walk down wasnt much easier and people I was passing were saying my god you did this with a cane we can certainly do this.  So if any travbuddies read this I recomend Diamond Head try going as early as possible it gets wicked hot and thier isnt alot of shade on the trail and bring plenty of water and a baseball visor and sunblock oh and the most important a camera!.  Overall it was fun and Im glad I did it I proved to myslef I can still do things like this although Im not going to attempt another hike like this any time soon.

I was thinking about going to the movies untill I learned about the aquarium.  So I grabbed my camera and walked down a little ways past the zoo and near the war memorial and found the aqaurium.  After paying my admission they gave me this little wand I quess it tells you about the exhibit you are visiting but I just gave it back to them holding  cane in one hand and trying to take pictures with the other while trying to hold the wand thingy was not working for me. I stuck to reading the signs and taking pictures of the one I thought were interesting or important.  It was a nice aqaurium it was small though I was hoping for bigger.  I walked slowly looking through all the tanks and reading all the signs and of course taking pictures.

I was supposed to meet someone who was going to take me to some waterfall but he never showed so I went to the zoo instead.  The Honolulu Zoo is realy nice I was surprised at how cheap it was to get in to the zoo.  I made may way through all the bird cages snapping pictures of just about all of them and chasing some of them that were not very photgenic.  The zoo turned out to be pretty big and after making my way through all the various bird cages I found some monkeys that had a nice little set up there enclosure was like an island and they had rope bridges that they crossed into a viewing area where you could see them up close.  After snapping some picture of the monkeys I moved on and eventually found the African habitat, Some Wicked big turtles and my favorite the Reptile House.  The African habitat was pretty cool though I got a really good shot of a cheetah staring at me also some good pics of a zebra and giraffe.  The lions were lazy and just layed there there hasnt been one time where i have been to a zoo where the lions have done something interesting.  Everytime they just lay there like oversized house cats.  I stopped and posed with a giant fiberglass giraffe outside the African Habitat and then moved on so I could find the tiger exhibit.  I found him he was kind of hiding and I had to duck into a wicked tiny space to get my picture.  He like the lions was just lying there but at least the tiger was awake he was just looking around but he was wicked cool anyway.  After this my camera battery started to die and I was about done walking for the day So I left but I had alot of fun and took something like 300 pictures at the zoo that day.

Today i rented a car again from Enterprise (Highly recommended, especially after the Alamo experience I will tell you about), and drove up to the Dole Pineapple Plantation.  They had a nice tour train that went around the plantation and I got to see all the pineapple growing, along with a whole bunch of other fruits.  It had spectacular views from the plantation, and I learned alot about the process we go through to get pineapple.  I bought some souveniers, and off to the North Shore.

The North shore is a beautiful place.  The day was windy and rainy, so there were breaking waves up to 25 feet, according to the radio.  I didn't get to lay on the beach like I'd hoped, I was afraid I would have blown away.. lol

I found a really good little shrimp stand on the side of the road and had shrimp for lunch, then I drove 10 miles and looked around the place where they grow the shrimp, which was really interesting.  The road took me back down past the Polynesian Cultural Center, and I was able to stop on the way back and take more pictures.  I saw some of the places where they filmed  50 First Dates, and took a ton of pictures of the ocean and the mountains. 

when I got back to Waikiki, it was only about 2, so I took the road back down around Sea Life Park, and drove on H3 to get back, which apparently is one of the most controversial highways in the US.  It took 30 years to build, and cost about 1.5 Billion dollars, for a stretch of highway that is about 5 miles long.  The view was awesome though, and definitly worth the trip.

After I dropped off the car, I went back to the hotel and took another shower to get ready for the dinner cruise.  I found myself on a bus with about 30 Iraqui's, which was interesting because I spent most of the drive out to the pier trying to figure out what language they were talking and I finally had to ask someone.  The dinner cruise was nice, they had a good show, and the Mai Tai's were the best I'd had yet.  It was a little bit depressing to be what seemed like the only single person there, but that's ok.  lol..  I got back to the hotel around 9, and had to go right to bed so I could be up early the next day.

What a day this was!

I had looked at the company's website and read all sorts of good reviews on how nice the hike is, and how old people with heart surgeries had been able to climb this GIANT mountain, so I am thinking well hey, I've been walking all over the place for the past 5 days, I should be able to do this with no problem.

yeah right

I got so hot and sweaty, I was able to drink almost my entire liter bottle of water before I even got to the top.  The tour guide kept asking me if i was ok, and of course I said yeah even though he probably knew different.. lol.

There were a couple of stopping places, and each time we'd stop I'd catch my breath enough so that I thought I would be able to make it to the top, but about 200 feet before the top, there are 2 giant staircases. The first one the tour guide referred to as the "Warm up staircase" which was 74 stairs.  Once I made it to the top of that one, the view was so gorgeous, and then I looked to the right like he'd told us not to do, and saw a staircase which was reported to have 99 stairs.  I just told the guy that I couldn't do that, and I got a nice rest almost at the top while the rest of the group went on ahead without me.  I figured, I had almost made it, and the view was beautiful enough from where I was.

when they all came back down, I was thankful I didn't go because one of the taller guys I had been walking with said that there was one section where the tunnel was only about 4 feet tall and he had to literally get down and crawl on the ground to get through it, and I know that if I had gotten down at that point I probably wouldn't have gotten back up..  lol

I got a certificate that said I finished anyway, and the walk down was a nice relief.

This afternoon was spent soaking in the hot tub, and napping.  Dinner was at a seafood restaurant down the street from the hotel, and early to bed.