The local shows the tourist. Jaden and I have been here a little more than two months but I'm uncertain the duration of time in which one can be truly considered a kama'aina. I doubt we would fit the category but I can say words like Kame'hameha, Kalakaua, or Kapiolani with ease. Or maybe I'm just good at "k" words. Anyway, we have had three haole's come visit us within the last three weeks and I have loved playing tour guide!
Chris was ending his trip just as my dad and my friend Sherill were arriving for theirs. Both my dad and Sherill got here last Wednesday and we hit the ground running immediately. We spent the first day doing local things. Jaden got caught up on some much needed surfing time while Chris, Sherill, and I people watched on Waikiki beach.
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| the boys beating me to the beach |
On Thursday, the first thing on our agenda was hiking up Diamond Head. We caught a cab to the entrance of the crater, which saved us all time and energy. The cab driver really loved our group, but he had a bad "stick foot in mouth" disease. He called Sherill the "grandma". We all quickly put him in his place and stiffed him on his tip. It didn't take us long to hike (we're all in really good shape) so we were up and down in an hour. Chris and Jaden ran down the crater. I told them they'd be way cooler if they ran up it. They ignored me as usual.
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| Diamond Head Lighthouse from the top of Diamond Head |
After our workout, we headed to the North Shore so Sherill could see what all the fuss was about. We took her through the town of Halewia and on to Sunset Beach. We did have to make a pit stop though to rent Jaden a surfboard because he has never surfed here before. Sherill even caught a wave, too!
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| shaka and a new short board |
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| She's so good, her clothes don't even get wet! |
Friday was Chris' last day, so we spent the morning having breakfast at his favorite place (Cheeseburger in Paradise) and shopping at the International Market Place.
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| yep, they really serve food like this |
After we had spent all of our money, we drove to the windward side of the island and stopped at Lanikai Beach.
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| our view the entire day |
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| showing off his new turtle necklace and his traps :) |
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| our grandma looks better than yours! |
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| one happy Papa |
We decided to make Saturday a day of rest and lounged at the Hilton for the day. We did manage to make ourselves presentable enough to eat at Shorebirds that night. Even though we didn't do much, I was still exhausted! I think we all were.....except you know who!
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| sandcastle building before dinner |
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| every night, people line up to watch the sunset |
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| typical after dinner sprint |
We spent today dividing and conquering. It was the first day of school for all the keiki on the island but not us! It was surreal to see all the kids at recess as we were driving by the elementary school in our neighborhood. My dad and Sherill had Pearl Harbor on their "must see" list but Jaden did not. We decided it would probably be best for all involved that he not spend the day learning about the United States' entry into World War II. So we went parasailing. Yeah, yeah, I'll show him culture later.
If you have never been parasailing, there's really not much to it. Ten people (five groups of 2) plus two crew members ride in a ski boat out to the middle of the ocean. Each group is attached by a harness and metal clips to a gigantic parachute that soars through the air. Sounds fun, right? It is! Except as the boat reached the middle of the Pacific, Jaden and I realized we both don't have great "sea legs". We were both sick a majority of the time. We both probably would have been happier going to Pearl Harbor. Lesson learned!
We didn't have much time to recuperate because tonight was luau night! We got tickets to the Starlight Luau, where we ate a traditional island dinner and watched Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Samoan dances. Below are some photos that Sherill sent me of Pearl Harbor and our luau. Enjoy!
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| USS Missouri |
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| USS Arizona Memorial |
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| Granny's got a gun |
