Aloha Oe

In honor of a couple of good friends birthdays, we were invited to go to Hawaii with a group of three other couples.  We visited the island of Oahu and stayed on the North Shore.  While there, we also visited Honolulu, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie Hawaii LDS Temple, and hiked the Maunawili Falls.  My overall opinion of Oahu is that you really get the best of everything.  Waikiki is very tourist crazy, with lots of shopping, great hotels, beaches, & restaurants.  The North Shore is everything you expect Hawaii to be, laid back with great people and surfing, excellent food, and even better weather.  The North Shore is famous for it's surfing, more specific, the Banzai Pipeline.  We visited the pipeline to watch the locals & they were amazing!  If you have ever surfed, you know how hard it really is.  Those guys made it look easy. 

We rented a 5 bedroom 5 bathroom house that was right on the ocean.  It was nice to step outside and hear the roar of the ocean waves, and look for honu (sea turtles in Hawaiian) swimming around.  The biggest adjustment returning to the mainland was how quiet it was at night.  I never realized how loud the ocean waves are.

Maunawili Falls Hike.  Just over 1 mile each way, crossing the same stream 4 different times.  The falls had great cliff jumping, & yes we have video proof of both of us jumping off the falls.

Laie, Hawaii LDS Temple (nice shoes John)

Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center

Land portion of surf lessons

John was awesome (of course)!

USS Missouri, the documents that officially ended WWII were signed on the deck of the USS MO Battleship in 1945 while it was anchored in Tokyo Bay.

uuuummmmm?????

USS Arizona Memorial

The USS Arizona was one of the battleships that sank to the shallow floor of Pearl Harbor.  It was so badly damaged that no attempt was made to remove it.  The Memorial was built right on top of the remains of the ship and those that went down with it.  Naval Soldiers that were on the ship that December day in 1941 that survived the attack can be interred with their ship mates when they die, right here in this very spot.

Another view of the Arizona Memorial, where the war began; and the Missouri, where the war ended.

Haliewa, Hawaii; Aokie's, the best Hawaiian Shave Ice on the Island.  Make sure you get it with a scoop of ice-cream & a snow cap (sweetened condensed milk on top).