Diamond Head

West side view from atop Diamond Head

Diamond Head is one of those thing you have to do if you go to Oahu. Being so close to our hotel we had no excuse.  At the bottom of the hike they warn you to wear good shoes, bring lots of water, and that you will need about 2 hours to complete the hike. The height of Diamond Head is only 760 ish feet but there are a lot of switch backs and the dreaded stairs.  I was slightly concerned about my ankle because we started this hike midway through the day where we had already done a lot of walking.  That being said I truly think most pain is mind over matter.  If you don't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist.  That and an object in motion stays in motion so just don't stop.  Don't rest, don't quit until you are done for the day.

We showed up in flip flops and no water.  As we neared the top it was totally fine.  We did the entire thing in less than 45 minutes so I'm not sure what the whole 2 hour warning was about.  And the fact that I did  it flip flops made me think all those signs were for the much older crowed. They only time we were slightly winded was climbing up the mountain of stairs.  To other peoples defense we did come from high altitude so anything  near sea level is easy.

At the top we saw and marveled at the beauty of it all.  I could see why they picked it as a look out point.  You could see a long distance in every which way.  After about 5 minutes at the top we looked at each other and asked, "how long are we supposed to look at it?"  I felt like we had the same attitude as the people in the movie "Guilt Trip"  This son takes his mom to the Grand Canyon because she has always wanted to see it.  Once they get there they ask the same question.  "How long should we look at it?"  To which the son replies "I think about 10 minutes out of respect." Then she replies "but who would know?"

So we stayed for another 5 minutes then headed down.

I am happy to say my ankle survived. But it was very stiff that evening and the next day.

view into the crater

North West view from Diamond Head

East side view from Diamond Head

Relaxing at the beaches

One of the locals

If I had to say what 1 thing was my favorite to do in Hawaii, I'd have to say going to the beach everyday. Something I have missed terribly since moving from California.
We went to a different beach everyday and I was in heaven.  And yes I swam at everyone of them as well.
 Sun, Sand, and Water = Happy Content Jane!!
As far as favorite beaches go I am going to have to break them up.
favorite beach sand- Northshore
favorite ocean animal life - Hanauma bay
favorite family type beach - Kailua
Warmest water- Ko Olina
favorite sunset beach-  is there really a bad beach to see the sunset? Actually it would probably be Waikiki because all the pollution from the city made the colors more vibrant.

Ko Olina

North shore

Sunset beach

We were the only people on this whole beach.   I was totally relaxed, Scott was concerned that there were no people here so there must be something wrong.

Battleship Missouri

The Battleship Missouri.  This ship was really quite impressive.  The size alone was astounding but the history that went with it was even more so.  It is permanently docked in Pearl Harbor as a museum.  Again our day for this could not have been better.  As we approached this massive war ship we got that feeling of anticipation and awe, knowing what this ship has been through.  Her last mission was the Gulf war.  I have a friend whose dad served in the gulf war and I remembered how worried she was at the time of deployment so I was all ears as our guide went on to describe her victory.  As she talked about how this ship is fast but her technology is old, my thoughts went straight to the movie "Battleship"  How they had this ship that non of the soldiers knew how to operate because the systems were too old.  So they had the old veterans come aboard and run the ship.  (that was my favorite part of the movie.)
 My mother instilled in us a very proud sense of patriotism growing up probably because her father served in  WWII as a photographer.  He was stationed in Iwo Jima.  His job was to sneak behind enemy lines to take pictures of their camps then smuggle himself back over to give his intel.  It was partly because of him that they were so successful.  He ended up with a few war wounds but his legacy lived on.

the beautiful teak decking

Back to the Missouri.  I was surprised to learn that the deck was made of teak.  Not for aesthetics but because the teak would not allow sparks to  ignite the ammunition.

the bow

sea mine

One thing extremely notable about this ship is that Japan surrendered on its deck.  This is notable because Japan had never surrendered before.
We spent about 3 hours on this ship reading. learning, and exploring. Scott checked out the dental office and contemplated what it would be like to work there, as he almost joined the military for his schooling.
All in all I had a good time aboard the Missouri.  I don't think I could ever live aboard a ship because I would get stir crazy but I am grateful for those that do to protect our country.

the surrender spot

captains quarters 

Gotta love a man in uniform.
these guys were getting ready for an event and were kind enough to pose for me.
I loved that they were so respectful and treated me like a lady.

close quarters

I couldn't believe how thick this door is.  Its about 2 feet thick.

Bishops museum

Being the nerds that we are we saved Sunday for our museum day.  Both Scott and I love to learn.  So we got 3 museums under our belt in one day.  We started with the Bishop's museum.  If you wanted to learn everything about the people of Hawaii from its beginning until today this is the place to go.  

This museum is made up of multiple buildings, however the main building is the most impressive.  As a carpenters daughter I fell in love with the architecture and wood beams and trim all around.  The building itself is 3 stories with the first floor filled with artifacts from Hawaii's beginning.  We read every little plaque and every little sign learning all we could.  For those who don't really care about the details, the artifacts themselves are pretty impressive.  I think my favorite was the capes.  The red and yellow color come from tiny little feathers from birds.  The feathers are only about an inch and a half long.  How they painstakingly sewed all those thousands and thousands of feathers was very impressive.

feather cape for royalty

This museum also has a planetarium and a science center to which we fully to advantage of.  Of course my favorite was the science portion.  Anytime there is a hands on experience I'm game.  They had a wind exhibit that was super cool.  I could have played with it for a long time but there were kids waiting and I had to share.  They even had a lava tube slide I really wanted to try but Scott said I should just let the kids do it.  Sometimes its hard being a grown up.

To sum up the Bishops museum is a pretty cool place.  The only weird thing were these extra large bugs they had all over the grounds.  When you walked by them they would move and make strange sounds.  to a kids they were probably really cool.  To me they were silly.  but overall it was a good experience