To begin our Halloween in Hawaii, we got up early and climbed the path up to the top of Diamond Head. It was a little warm and a little taxing, but very doable. There were paths, stairs, tunnels, and beautiful viewpoints, especially at the top.
This is a picture of the crater that makes up the Diamond Head Monument.
It was a beautiful day for a hike.
Notice Bob's Aloha shirt. He bought it at a Goodwill Store on Sunday. It is very common to see men wearing these. They'll work in Florida too. In fact, he wore it in church today, right here in Sioux Center.
Climbing higher and higher.
A view part way up.
Here we are getting ready to go into the tunnel area.
Some stairs.
More stairs. Actually they go up to the old way. There was a sign warning you to take the Detour, the new way.
The detour, the new way.
Interesting way to collect trash close to the top.
Stairs to get to the top.
View of the top from a little further down.
The old way to the top, no longer in use.
Views from the top.
This is a lighthouse house. The Naval commander actually lives here. Rough assignment.
Proof we made it to the top.
After our hike, we found a nice place to eat lunch at a local restaurant called The Shack. It was on a man made lake so we had a pretty nice view, and the food was good too.
This is a view of the man made lake where the restaurant was.
After lunch we visited a little out of the way site called Spitting Cave. This is a cave on the shore line where water goes in, and later it spews out. The shore line is layered and is very interesting geologically.
Next we visited Sandy Beach which is a beach frequented by Obama when he is in Hawaii. He likes to body surf here.
He probably started out like this little guy quite a few years ago.
You can probably see why this is a popular beach.
Next on the agenda was riding an outrigger at Waikiki. For a reasonable fee, they take you out, and you get to ride 3 waves. You do have to help paddle as directed. Then enjoy the wave.
Near the outrigger area is the statue of Duke, a famous surfer. A lot of people get their picture taken with Duke, and there is also a webcam. One time when my sister, Susie, visited, they told us when they would be at the statue, and we went on the computer to see them on the webcam. That was fun because we also talked to them on our cell phones at the same time.
We accidentally came across an international market so we couldn't resist. It's always fun to find some nice Hawaiian mementos.
Does he look like a tourist?
We got to enjoy another sunset.
We also got to watch this hula dancer. She performs at a nice restaurant on Waikiki.
Then Patsy and I sampled these special Hawaiian cookies. They had all kinds so you had to try every one of them.
The finale for the day was strolling along Waikiki and watching all the people who dressed up with Halloween costumes. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. Evidently this is a pretty big tradition here.
Patsy likes to "ham" it up.
Cute.
These guys were the real thing. We always felt safe in Hawaii.
It was a great Halloween.
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