We woke up early again (I guess that's what you do when you are five hours behind your normal schedule) and headed out for Pearl Harbor. I have become an expert at maneuvering the H1highway that transects Honolulu. When we arrived around 9:30, we found out that the tickets for the day were almost gone and we were given tickets to return at 2:15 that day. We had wanted to venture back to the North Shore where we had heard they were expecting 20 foot swells and the surfing was going to be phenomenal. So we ventured up the highway and returned to Haleiwa where we had been the day before. Sure enough, they were hosting a surfing competition. After toying with the idea of renting paddle boards and surfboards, we opted instead to sit on the beach and watch others do all of the work. It was amazing to see surfers spinning around on the top of these huge waves. After we had our fill of amazing feats, we headed back down the highway and stopped at the Dole Plantation, home of the world's largest maze. We entered with a bit of trepidation - "What if we get lost" we lamented. We entered in teams (Annie, Sharon & Paulie vs. Sam & Hudson) and trailed along winding paths finally reaching the middle where we saw each other. Then we were off again in search of the hidden objects along the paths. After about 45 minutes our team had enough and we sneaked out between the hedge to the path leading to the restrooms.
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| Sam "Pineapple Head" Wiedmer |
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| Hudson "The Dole" Wiedmer |
We reconnected with Sam and Hudson and purchased some local fruit and sugarcane sticks before hitting the road back to Pearl Harbor. Once there, we were told that we could only watch the movie, but not visit the Monument due to security reasons???? "Does this have anything to do with Obama being in town?" we asked. The stiff lipped guard didn't say "No" and by his silence we assumed that it did. We opted to return the following morning en route to the airport at 8:30 am. When returning to our car, we saw camera crews outside the Memorial and asked them if the President was expected to arrive. They said that yes he was expected at anytime. Hudson insisted we wait for exactly 25 minutes to see if we could meet him. We left with the camera crew sitting there waiting still. Later on the nightly news, we learned he had indeed arrived and toured the Memorial with his family.
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| Waikiki Sculpture |
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| Too Cool for the Pool - Waikiki |
Since it was early in the day, we headed down to Waikiki Beach to take in a bit of local color. We at sandwiches in the beach and contemplated whether to rent boards again. There is a layer of coral reef that circles the island and as a result there are very sharp corals that are under your feet as you try to get out to the deeper part of the ocean. That freaked us out and we decided to sit on the beach - Again! There are beautiful parks in this part of Honolulu and we enjoyed just relaxing on the beach and taking in the sites. The kids have never seen so many of their favorite shops in one place before - it is like the Rodeo Drive of their dreams. Good thing we aren't able to pack very much so the temptation to buy stuff is lessened. When you have to carry it, you really hate to pack it - and we are bulging at the seams. After we left the beach we drove up to see the Diamond Head volcano entrance, but since it was so late in the day, we decided to come back when we return to Honolulu on January 9. Uneventful dinner, a walk to our local grocery store - Don Quijote - and early to bed. Maholo for a great day and aloha until tomorrow.
