One Hawaiian Month

I can't believe we have been here for almost a month.  Time is on crack here!  We wake up in the morning, have breakfast, decide what we'll do for the day, pack up, head out, and before I know it, the sun is setting.  I have decided it is a great way to live!  No wonder most people seem happy here  :)  

Yesterday, Jaden and I wanted to snorkel, so we went to the premiere spot on the island, Hanauma Bay.  This bay is a natural pool that has formed in a volcanic crater and is home to approximately 400 different marine species.  There are many legends told how Hanauma Bay got its name.  The most famous tale is a love story between two very powerful ali'i (chiefs).  They were both experts in the sport of arm wrestling (uma).  Ali'i Koko and Ali'i Hana both fell deeply in love with the most beautiful maiden in Hawaii, Keohinani.  Her father was the guardian of Hanauma Bay, Keanamo'o, the great lizard.  Her hand in marriage was to be decided by a contest of strength to determine their nobility.  All day, the two men struggled to prove their greatness yet each was equally strong.  As night began to fall, the score remained even in match after match.  Keohinani loved both men and it pained her to see their suffering and loss of dignity.  As the contest continued, she climbed to the top of the crater and asked the gods to transform her into a hill so the pain and suffering will be over.  Instantly, she was transformed into part of the crater.  Her unselfish deed allowed her suitors to gaze with awe upon her beauty and innocence forever.  Her father was so deeply moved and pleased by his daughter's humble act of kindness that he transformed himself into the crater rim above her.  These two intertwined ridges look today like linked arms that gave rise to the crater rims of Hanauma Bay.       

Who knew I was such a fan of Hawaiian history?  Anyway, we rented snorkel gear and set out to catch dinner :)  Just kidding, Hanauma Bay is a marine preserve which means it's illegal to touch, disrupt, or harass any marine life.  Jaden and I saw so many different species of fish, sea creatures, and coral reefs.  We even saw a University of Texas fish (he was burnt orange and white).  Naturally he was the biggest fish around.  Below are some photos of our day.

snorkel supermodels?  

photo was taken right before I realized my waterproof case wasn't waterproof anymore

view from the top

We have been so busy doing things that I have been neglecting my tan and Jaden has been neglecting his surfboard.  Today we decided to fix that!  We headed down to our local beach, where Jaden hopped on his surfboard and I hopped in my chair.  Three hours later, we were hungry and wanted a different view.  

Shaka

After lunch, we headed to a different part of the beach.  This area is completely reserved for boogie boarders and swimmers.  No surfing allowed!  Jaden decided to enter the water in an unusual way.  He only did this about 50 times.  In a row.

Clearly he doesn't have a fear of heights

We spent another three hours at this beach and walked home just as the sun was setting.  The saying is really true, "Time flies when you're having fun".  I don't know what is on our agenda for tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be decided over breakfast.  

Aloha!  

Knee deep in the water somewhere...

Maybe I should stop with these Zac Brown references?  Country will always be my favorite genre of music, even if I'm on an island!  I digress, you're certainly not reading this blog to hear all about my musical choices, right?  So this is what Jaden and I have been up to since we last spoke.  On Sunday, I went on a timeshare presentation.  The ONLY reason I went was to get the free gift, and, let me tell you, the Hilton has some great gifts.  For sitting through their spiel, (that word looks like it's spelled incorrectly, but I checked, because there are many English teachers that read this blog) I was given $100 to use towards any excursion on the island.  Here are some examples of possible adventures we could choose from: luaus, shark encounters, parasailing, horseback riding through the Koolau Mountains, etc.  I let Jaden pick what he wanted to do, because I'm the nicest mom ever.  Do you want to know what he chose?  You would be so annoyed if I told you!  This is it...

What is it with boys and theme parks?  It didn't occur to him that, because we are in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, this choice probably wouldn't be the best Hawaii had to offer.  But he was happy, and isn't that the most important thing always (barf)?  We booked our reservation for yesterday and off we went.  Here are the highlights (or lowlights):  it rained the whole time we were there, the park was only open from 11 - 3, the "hot tub" was 80 degrees and lunch was $15 for a hot dog and fries.  I did fake a good attitude and went on a few rides with him.  He was grinning like an idiot all day.  He bounced around from ride to ride and said it was the "best day ever" on our way home.

Today was much better!  We went to the windward side of the island to Waimanalo Beach.  A unique thing about all the beaches here is that they are all so different.  The color of the water varies, the temperature and saltiness of the water varies, as well as the consistency of the sand.  This particular area was very Caribbean like.  Many non-tourist beaches are not heavily populated during the week.  This was our view to the right.

There were a group of local boys Jaden's age to our left that were boogie boarding.  Jaden had a great time with them and even learned a few tricks.

He definitely fits in!  

I found a friend too...

Isn't he a cutie?!  When I wasn't flirting with my new friend, I did this.

We stayed for a few hours until Jaden was completely waterlogged.  When we were walking back to the car, I saw this sign.  Oops.

Good thing I didn't have to pee on anyone!

As we were driving back home, we passed Makapu'u Lighthouse.  A couple of weeks ago, we hiked to the top and then we found the makeshift diving board into the tide pools.  Jaden has been bugging me to come back here, so we stopped.  We didn't do the hike this time, we just headed straight for the pools.  On our first hike I didn't even notice Pele's Chair, maybe we were up too high, but I definitely saw it today.  Pele's Chair is a volcanic rock formation that looks like a chair from some angles and is believed by native Hawaiians to be the one of the last places where “Madame Pele”, goddess of fire and volcanoes, left Oahu to continue her search for what is now believed to be her home on the Big Island.

Below are some pics from our outing to Pele's Pool...

view of the Koolau Mountains on our walk 

Pele's Chair

Slight rainbow coming off the ocean 

realizing he has the best mom ever?!

Geronimo!

Tonight's sunset

We ended our day with a Skype call back home.  My cup runneth over  :)

Aloha!

hollywood and the rainforest

It rained today.  A lot.  More than usual, and not the typical rain/blue skies.  It sounds weird, I know, but usually here on Oahu, even if it's raining, the sun is shining.  Jaden and I decided to take advantage of our cloudy day and go hike in the rainforest.  I wonder if it's raining there??  The most popular rainforest here is Manoa Valley.  The word "Manoa" means depth or thickness in the Hawaiian language and the valley receives almost daily rain (uh, thanks Wikipedia).  Not only is the Manoa Valley part of the Koʻolau Mountain Range, residental neighborhoods and the University of Hawaii are hidden here.  A typical house has this panoramic view.

Not bad, huh?

Jabber Jaws and I arrived at the base of the valley, ready to hike.  It's only a mile to the top but the humidity and mosquitoes were daunting, even for us Texans!  It was also very, very muddy and slippery.  I specifically packed (old) shoes for this outing, knowing we would throw them away immediately after.  Jaden didn't express any interest in running up the trail, but thirty seconds after we began, I found him here.  What is it with boys and trees?  They are an odd species.

White shorts?  Really, mom?

This walk was a little difficult to navigate; in one hand we had walking sticks and our other hand was used to suction our feet out of the mud.  We passed so many morons people that were wearing flip flops.  Even I know better than that!  We finally reached the top and we were greeted with Manoa Falls!  It is a waterfall that has a vertical drop of 150 feet with a shallow pool to swim in.  The water is extremely cold so we didn't go in, but we got some great photos.  

The color on most flowers and plants are amazing here

requirement:  walking stick taller than he is

Manoa Falls

Guess he likes climbing rocks too

An eight year old deep in thought

Isn't it beautiful?!  Would it surprise you to know that many scenes from Jurassic Park and Lost were filmed here?  I will let you in on a little rainforest secret, though.  It didn't smell all that great.  Jaden kept saying (loudly, in front of people), "Ewww, what stinks here?"  I had to hit him with my walking stick to make him be quiet.  

Anyway, I must sign off for the night.  We have a very big day planned tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

my only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair

I think Zac Brown would approve of this lifestyle.  We had quite an eventful day but, oddly enough, we didn't make it to the beach.  We started today out by going grocery shopping (uh, not eventful) but we took the city bus to get there.  That made things interesting.  It actually wasn't horrible.  I paid forced this kid to carry the bags home.

He is oozing with excitement, don't you think?

This afternoon we decided to take a hike (literally, not figuratively) to

We have been here a few times during previous summer vacations, so it's not anything new, but it's still a good hike and a beautiful view.  The hike to the top is only one mile at a gradual incline, but I made a poor choice suggesting we walk to the base of the crater instead of taking the bus.  That walk is also a mile, uphill, but there was nothing gradual about this incline.  My hiking buddy had a positive attitude (full food box?) and this is how he decided to tackle our "warmup".  Seriously, though, who's kid is this?  Can we get a maternity check?!  

We eventually made it up and down in one piece.  It is a very popular hike so there wasn't a whole lot of calm and tranquility.  Oh wait, my hiking buddy's nickname besides Bluefish is Jabber Jaws, so scratch the whole tranquility idea anyway.  I did manage to get some great photos, though!

After our hike we went and got a shave ice (locals don't say shaved ice) at Waiola Shave Ice.  This place is so good!  They have every flavor imaginable and they incorporate ice cream under the ice.  Even President Obama loves them!  Again, he wasn't there.  We must keep missing each other, weird.

After we cooled off, Jaden wanted to go to the pool, so I suggested that we head to the Sheraton (logical?).  CNN rated their pool in the "World's Top 10 Pools", so we went.  According to Google images, this is what it looks like during the day...

We got there just as the sun was setting, so I was only able to get this.

I made Jaden get out (before we were kicked out) and dry off.  We decided to have dinner here at the hotel restaurant instead of going home and eating.  What person wants to cook after being here?  Not me!  While we were waiting for our dinner, we watched a cruise ship pass by, surfers catching waves, catamarans coming on shore, and a fire dancing man!  Jaden was in awe!!

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!  Aloha!

Life is a beach, I'm just playing in the sand

There have already been so many times here that, not only do I not know what date it is, I have no idea what day of the week it is!  Countless times my mom and I have said to each other, "What'd we do yesterday?"  That's what summer is all about!  So, whatever day it may be, let me tell you what we've been doing!

My mom was winding down her vacation this past week, and Jaden and I spent a majority of our days and nights with her.  She mostly stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which is one of Jaden's favorite places.  Can you blame him?! 

This is one of their six pools!

While Jaden hopped from pool to pool, I headed to the beach.  One of my friends from high school lives here with her husband.  She decided that I needed to go stand up paddleboarding with her and her dog, Roxi.  If Roxi can do it, so can I, right?  Needless to say, it's harder than it looks.

Ok, so in this picture, I'm technically not a SUP'er but in the photos where I am standing, I look borderline obese.  I'm not posting those, obviously.  My blog, my rules.  Deal with it ;)

Before we left Texas, I bought a groupon to go on a two hour canoe ride, so we decided to take advantage of our last day with a rental car.  I was able to coerce Jaden out of the pool long enough to put a paddle in his hand and throw him in the canoe with me.  I wasn't aware of how much paddling we would have to do, but we had a great time.  Our tour guide was born and raised on the North Shore (remember how much I love that place?) and knew sooooooo much about the history and tradition of Hawaii.  He was a history and science teacher all wrapped into one person!  Here are a few pic's of our mini adventure...

This pretty much sums up our excursions for the week.  It seems kind of bland compared to the first two weeks, but I don't think it's good to have too much excitement on a daily basis!  

Below are some random pictures I took as we encountered life in Hawaii.  Some are sweet, some are odd, and some are funny....enjoy  :)

A family group performing the "Hula Dance" on Waikiki Beach

Jaden's footprints in the sand before the ocean washed them away!

Any guesses here as to what Jaden is thinking as he's watching these boys jump?  

Even the license plates are pretty!

Waikiki sunset behind a beach volleyball game

A normal thing to do?  This dog surfed plenty of waves!

Fireworks again?  They must be very happy we're here!

Not my photo, just my way of saying goodbye!