Vacation Part 1

Sit back and relax. Lots of pictures in the coming week!!

We made it back to the mainland Monday evening. We spent 9 days vacationing in Hawaii. The 1st three days were spent in Oahu, Waikiki beach. I was here 10 years ago. I don't remember the island being this crowded. I tried to find our old hotel, but I think Donald Trump demolished it and is building his own Trump Hotel. Downtown Waikiki was anything but tropical. Full of hotels, shops, restaurants, Asians, and homeless people. When we walked around downtown we felt like giants! A lot of short people living there. We made the best of it by renting a car and driving around the island.  The photo above was one of the angles from the outside of our hotel. 

 I was told there are 1.3 million people on the island of Oahu. I think the fastest we went on the highway was 50 mph. The average speed on the highway is about 35-40 mph. There were no acceleration ramps. You have to come to a complete stop, wait for the cars to pass and then put the pedal to the medal and squeeze your way in. 

One morning we woke up at 6:00 a.m. and went to hike Diamond Head. 

Having some fun on the hike. It was almost a mile hike to the top. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people hiking at such an early time. 

We had to climb over 200 stairs, and go through a tunnel. It was a lot of fun and a great workout. 

Waikiki beach. View from the top.

Looking down at the lighthouse and coast line. 

Top of Diamond Head. Yes, it's hot at 7 in the morning. About 80 degrees. 

The scenery is truly beautiful. 

 We ventured toward the North Shore and found a beautiful beach at a local park.

On our way home, we stopped at a scenic point. I'm just a little excited to be on vacation! 

Pineapple fields. 

Hawaii's version of pine trees. 

*The next series of pictures were taken at Waimea Valley. Beautiful hiking trails with hundreds of different plant and tree species. 

 This tree looked like spaghetti to me.

 Cannon ball tree.

 Peacocks are just as beautiful from the back as the front!

 Stream at the park. 

 George of the Jungle!

 These flowers smelled so good. 

 This flower looks sharp, but in fact, it was soft to the touch. 

Fruit from the tree of life!

 Biggest snail I've have ever saw with my own eyes!

 This flower was beautiful.

 The waterfall. Some hikers were brave enough to get in and swim. 

 More beautiful flowering trees.

Hawaii bees. No yellow stripes for them. Pure black.

Part 2 coming soon..........