10th AnniversaryHawaii Trip

March 23 - April 4, 2010

OahuAston Pacific Monarch Hotel

We spent 3 nights here.

Mitsubishi Spyder

The PunchbowlIn 1948 a memorial to those who perished from the attacks on Pearl Harbor was built in Honolulu Hawaii. It was designed and built into the Pu'owaina Crater which means Hill of Sacrifice. The dedication is considered one of the most touching, and also one of the most beautiful of all American burial sites. The National Memorial Cemetery in Oahu is known as the Punchbowl Memorial.

Mike and I successfully

climbed Diamond

Head.

We ascended the .7 mile long trail which is unpaved and has an uneven rock and dirt surface. It leads through

a dark tunnel and involves climbing 271 steps through a narrow spiral staircase inside an unlit bunker.

The winding staircase to the top of Diamond Head.

Pearl HarborThe Arizona Memorial

USS Bowfin

USS Bowfin (SS-287) is a fleet attack submarine that fought in the Pacific during WWII, and helped to make famous the term, “Silent Service.”  Bowfin was launched on 7 December 1942, exactly one year to

the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  She was nicknamed the Pearl Harbor Avenger, so it is fitting that she is permanently home ported at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The Dole Plantation

Different types of pineapples

We made a brief stop at the plantation. We enjoyed pineapple flavored ice cream.

Our drive along the north shore

We took a road trip around the island of Oahu. We watched surfers, visited several small villages, saw some beautiful sights and had lunch at a local shrimp wagon. It was a wonderful day!

The Big IslandOutrigger Royal Sea Cliff

Resort

We spent 4 nights here.

Mustang

Conver

tible

We flew into Hilo airport and our hotel was on the opposite side of the island. We had a two hour drive on Saddle road. It is a winding road with hills like a roller coaster and bridges that only has room for one car at a time. It was a nerve racking drive for me, but Mike loved it.

A Black Sand Beach

Bubba Gump Restaurant

Who’s our guest for dinner?

A gecko

Some people were flying remote control gliders.

Halemaumau CraterKilauea

The volcano recently became active again. The sulfur levels were very high so they closed parts of the road near the crater.

A Lava Tube On Kilauea

We toured several caves and lava tubes on our snorkeling adventure.

Some kids were jumping from the cliffs into ocean

If you look closely you will see some crabs and a red sea urchin.

This is one of the places we snorkeled. This is Captain Cook’s memorial.

Dolphins came to play in the wake of our boat.

Waipi’o Valley twin Hi‘ilawe

Falls

The 1200-foot splendor of the twin Hi‘ilawe Falls, Hawaii's highest single-fall. This waterfall is the backdrop for several movies like Jurasic Park.

The Waipiʻo Valley is a mile wide at the coastline and almost six miles deep. Along the coast is a beautiful black sand beach often used by motion picture production companies.

On both sides of the valley there are cliffs reaching almost 2000 feet with hundreds of cascading waterfalls. The road into the valley is very steep (a 25% grade). In order to travel into the valley, you must either ride down in a four wheel drive vehicle or hike down to the valley floor.

The Waipiʻo Valley is often referred to as the "Valley of the Kings" because it was once the home to many of the rulers of Hawaii. The valley has both historical and cultural importance to the Hawaiian people

Maui Aston Paki Maui Hotel We spent 5 nights here

Our first night in Maui we experienced hurricane winds. It was kind of scary. The next day continued to be very windy. These pictures show the waves being pushed sideways.

Jeep Wrangler

Road trip to Haleakala National Park

Haleakala has one of the world’s largest dormant volcanic craters, which was formed mainly by erosion and measures

about 20 miles.

Old Lahaina Luau

The imu where the pig is cooked.

The Road to Hana

Talking to Jodi while hiking to the waterfalls. Kids were jumping from the waterfall.

At many points, the road to Hana narrows to the

width of one car.

The beautiful sights on the unpaved road on the way back from Hana. We were strongly advised not to take this road, but the sights were well worth it.

A lava tube that came out

on the edge of

the ocean.

Creatures of the ocean.

Sunset dinner

Kimo’s Restaurant

It was a beautiful trip!!!