More on Hawaii

So I didn't get lost. I found my way home. I even navigated us to several touristy spots like Pearl Harbor, which I now know you can't go to because it is still a naval base, and the USS Arizona, which you can. Anyway here are some pictures. I took 170 pictures, so if you think this is a lot, you should take a look at my memory card.

The view from our balcony. We were on the North Shore of Oa'hu, which is always windy, and why they have such good surfing. I'm quoting the guide book.

The famous waves of the North Shore.Katelynn eating pineapple at the Dole plantation. It is as sweet as candy. We also had pineapple macadamia nut cheesecake on a pineapple upsidedown cake crust. Nope. I wasn't thinking of anyone but myself that day.
By the temple. We were really dumb and didn't get any actual pictures of the temple.
The drive along the east shore is all like this and right next to the ocean. It's the long way from Turtle Bay to Waikiki but it's worth it.Katelynn learning the hula at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Tahitian dancers at the PCC.
Katelynn was the only one of us to actually do the poi balls right at the New Zealand village at the PCC.

I am leaning on a tree, not because I want to look good for a photo but because the Polynesian Cultural Center is a lot like Disneyland, without the rides. There's a lot of walking on cement, and you will get sunburned and your feet will get tired. But the villages each have shows where you sit down, and then at the end of the day they feed you. And they have a great show. And there's people who dance with fire, so, plus.

This was in the Samoan village. Five guys RAN up the tree to get cocnuts. BTW, in Samoa, the men do all the cooking. I'm moving to Samoa.

The Pig! The luau was spectacular. The pork was greak. The fruity drinks were fun. We sang along to Hawaiin songs. Everything was wonderful. Except the poi. Katelynn is 18. She likes to do hair. I was her victim. She said it wasn't curly enough if I wanted to go to the prom. Whew! Disaster averted!

Okay, Diamond Head is this old volcano that your supposed to climb if you go to Hawaii, like you visit the Statue of Liberty if you go to New York. I made it as far as the second staircase.

Here's the story. Imagine the trail to Timpanogas Cave. Long, hard, paved, but doable. And always up. Then, add a staircase like the one at BYU by the Smith Field House. After 30 minutes of hard walking, now you have to do a lot of stairs. Still doable. Then you go through this tunnel, and there are exactly 100 more stairs, but it's like the guy who was building the trail got bored of switchbacks. These things go straight up. I quit. No view is worth it. So I sent my camera with Katelynn who took these pictures from the top of Diamond Head. So I'm a hypocrite, but this is supposed to be the best view of Waikiki beach.

This is the trail before the stairs. This was the easy part. After this, Katelynn wanted to go shopping for three hours in Waikiki. To have that energy again.
USS Arizona Memorial. I really liked these pictures. The sky is very pretty.