Hawaii in Bloom

Everywhere we went, I drove the kids crazy by snapping photos of flowers. Hawaii does have an impressive display of tropical flora.

Soccer - YAY!

Garet missed his first two soccer games because we were in Hawaii, so today was his first game. It was a beautiful day, the team won (by a land slide), and Garet did awesome! (Garet is blue #2.)

Garet - blue in the middle.

Garet - middle, bookin it for the ball.

What awesome form!

The team & coaches. LOVE the coaches. Garet is kneeling, second from the right.

Polynesian Cultural Center

We spent this afternoon at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Rainbow of Paradise Canoe Pageant

Each canoe represented a different Polynesian Island's costume, dance & music.

Our canoe ride

Ali'i Lu'au

Gway & Pa

Mmmm...nummy smoothies inside our pineapples!

B & Patty

Brad

Josh & Nick

Valerie & Jon

Valerie, Jon & Garet

3/4 of the Stokes Folks

Karlee rather enjoyed her strawberry smoothie. Jeff = weirdo.

Ha: Breath of Life

The Temple

The Hawaii Temple is undergoing renovations, but the grounds were still gorgeous. AND we got to meet Sister Eubanks (Mrs. Mark Eubanks that is) inside the Visitor's Center. That was kinda cool.

Last Day of Sight-Seeing

We can hardly believe today is our last day! How the time has flown by. We've seen & done so much fun stuff, but wish we could see & do so much more. Thanks, Hawaii, for being so beautiful! We'll see you next time!

The view of East Oahu from the overlook was breathtaking.

Everyone told me, "You gotta go to Giovanni's!"

I don't eat any seafood or fish of any kind, buy Gway had been waiting for some nummy shrimp. And we got there just in time. Before we knew it, the line was crazy long.

Gee, I should've taken a pic of the grease and butta running down Gway's arms & chin...

Diamond Head, Lanai Lookout, Halona Blow Hole, Racing Pigeons, & Hanauma Bay - Whew!

Diamond Head is the famous volcano crater land mark on the south east coast of Oahu.

Beautiful aerial view of Diamond Head.

Diamond Head is estimated to be extinct 150,000 years, and scientists THINK it will not erupt again.

1 1/2 mile hike. Over 280 stairs. 225 feet of tunnels. 560 foot ascent. Heat. Humidity. Sweat. Awesome!

We counted 'em. There were 100 stairs in this one staircase. Whew!

The kids waiting for their old mama & daddy. Me taking a photo...any excuse to catch my breath!

The camouflaged observation lookout on the summit of the crater from the defence fort, Fort Ruger, constructed in 1910. No longer a fort, the crater also had a battery of canons and a four level underground complex for defensive purposes.

Looking back into the crater.

View of Waikiki from the lookout. Our hotel is right...there! Really, it is!

K - so we're sweating after hiking to the top of Diamond Head and up & down those dang stairs & tunnels, and what do we find when we get back? Gway lounging in the shade under a tree! (I think she's smarter than the rest of us!) Isn't she darling?

Lanai Lookout. Breathtaking!

The minute we got to the lookout point, the kids climbed over the wall to crawl on the rocks down by the water. You know, the very wall that had a sign that said, "For your safety do not climb over wall."

Looking back up at the law abiding citizens. (That's how low the kids got. Actually, the kids are much lower than where I'm standing here.)

I had to climb over the wall too...to keep track of the kids, ya know!

Halona Blow Hole

This lookout point looks up the East Coast of Oahu at Makapu'U State Beach. We are in the very South East corner of Oahu.

K - so as we were walking down from the lookout point, I noticed an older man with two boxes of pigeons. I asked him what he was doing. He races pigeons, and had brought some for a training flight. They will fly home - about 4 miles up over the mountains. He said it would take them about 3 minutes to get there.

He was so nice to let us hold them & let them fly.

He's been racing pigeons off & on for about 40 years. He told us about a recent race from the island of Molokai and how one of his birds came in 3rd. He said that was really good. It was so interesting and fun. He was a darling man and loved talking about his birds. How cool.

Hanauma Bay Entrance. Karlee & Garet posing with their Gway under the bouganvilla flower. (Gway grows these in her home.)

Looking over Hanauma Bay. We snorkeled there about 2 hours, and it was fantastic.