October 8 – 18, 2010 HAWAII
This trip was put together by Trina and Myran. They worked on it for a year and talked about it all the time. I am thinking he is someone else’s kid - way too much planning and getting ready. There was Kya, 10 months, Trina, Myran, Sharon, Vellen, Ilene and Byranized. If you are not scared now, you would have been if you were Myran and I. Hawaii and scared? What would scare Byran? Is that what you are thinking? This must be a ploy to get me to read the whole thing. NOT.
The flight was good and Hawaiian Air served a good little meal. It was very tasty. Myran and Vellen picked up the mini van when we got there. After two of them having issues, they took the third one. It was red. Yeah! Seven people and luggage for 10 days in a mini van. The tires rubbed on the fenders and it bottomed out. The GPS got us to our 3 bedroom house which was near a lot of stores and restaurants. We looked at the beach and called it a night.
Kya never cried all day. She just charmed everyone she came in contact with. There were a lot of tourists who took her picture throughout the week. She waved and smiled at all of them.
Day 2: Went to Diamond Head to watch the sunrise. It was a short hike but a lot of fun. There were a lot of other tourists there too. It was hot for us but the whole week was hot for us. It was 85 – 90 degrees with a LOT of humidity during the day. (I am sitting in the house in a t-shirt writing this and thinking of turning on the heat. It’s 57 degrees in the house.)
Went snorkeling and saw fish that looked like the fish in an aquarium. Getting into the water was very interesting because we were thinking it would be very, very cold, but was really quite pleasant. When we got here, Myran said, “I don’t know why they have a hot tub?” After the swim and an outside shower that most houses have, Myran, Trina, and Vellen got right into the 101 degree hot tub and enjoyed it.
Day 3: Got up early and went to Starbucks for coffee. It was hard not putting on a coat. We toured part of the island and went to the Macadamia plantation. There was a tour of the plantation. The driver’s seat on the old green Chevy bus was held together with boards. The bus was all rusted out, no windows, no doors, run great. It was a very good tour with lots of laughter and good natured fun. The Hawaiian chief and his son put on a great educational show.
We went to the PU’U O MAHUKA Heiau, a State Historic Site (religious site or temple). We stopped for lunch at a Shrimp Shack, waited in line an hour to get to the window and another half hour to get our order of prawns. From there we stopped off at the Dole plantation. We had a Pineapple Split that four of us had a hard time eating, and I can eat a lot of ice cream. It was a full day.
Day 4: Tried to go to a museum but they were closed Sunday and Monday. Darn! We went to the Waikiki Beach and rented a three wheel trike that went on the water. It will give you a real workout.
As we were driving down the road, the windshield was sweating. There was a pot hole in the road and the highway department was fixing it. There were 8 men, two pickups, two trucks, one guy working on it – just like home. Myran wants a job like this one.
Day 5: Home of the Brave Tour – a very interesting walking and bus tour of Pearl Harbor. If you are ever interested in doing it, the phone number is 808-396-8112. It will take you pretty much all day. For dinner we stopped at the grocery store for 6 different kinds of sushi.
Day 6: Went to a swap meet at the Aloha Stadium. The booths were all the way around the stadium. This is a four story stadium and the largest swap meet I have ever seen. It was a great place to pick up reasonably priced souvenirs.
Kya was sitting in the cool grass and found a penny there. Yes, it went straight to her mouth.
Day 7: Went snorkeling in Hanauma Bay with all the fishes and turtles. I had black shoes on. One fish kept attacking my shoes and I just thought I was kicking the bottom. Spent all day there under a tree and swimming.
Ilene was feeding Kya. She would not eat so I would give her a taste of pineapple. Ilene tried to feed her oatmeal. The mouth was shut. Her mouth opened wide for pineapple and very little opening for oatmeal.
Day 8: Went to the Battleship Missouri. There were tours and tours and tours, consuming the whole day. We were going to do the submarine Bowfin but the day just wasn’t long enough.
Day 9: I climbed up the hill in the dark in back of the house on Kamahele Street to see the sunrise. We went to the submarine museum and toured the Bowfin. There was a lot to look at. Myran suggested we do the Stairway to Heaven tomorrow. It is only 3,922 steps to the top. We went to the start of it. “Keep Out – No Trespassing” sign on the fence.
What is the Stairway to Heaven: HAIKU Stairs, 1942 Built for a VFL antenna and radar. 3,992 wooden steps to hoist the equipment into place. The 3,922 steps were refurbished in 2002, not completely rebuilt, at a cost of $875,000. The number changed to 3,922 in 1955 when the metal ladder was installed.
Day 10: It was 4:00 a.m. The alarm went off. Myran and I ate and left for the start of a very interesting morning. The neighborhood was very high end so we were very quiet. We went through the fence with all the “Keep Out, No Trespassing” signs on it. We put on our head lamps and walked up a very narrow road. It forked and there was another fence with a sign on the other side. We went through the big hole in the fence to read the bigger sign that said “No Trespassing – Keep Out.” It was very hot and no breeze. It didn’t look like the right road anyway. We were talking about it when these lights were coming up the road. Some high school kids and one of their dads were coming up. The older one said he had done it before and knew the way. He said there was a green dot in the road. He went up and down looking for it. He found it. We followed them up the road to the start of the trail. The trail was brushy and not too good. Down another road and up another trail to another fence that had the usual signs on it and the start of the steps on the other side of the fence.
As we started up, it got steeper and steeper. I was thinking this was built in the 30’s and reworked in 2002. You could tell the old from the new by the square bolts and nuts. That was most of the steps on the steep part. There were sets of 8 steps and after two or three sets, it was time to rest and drink. It was making us a little like “let’s go back, it’s scary” but safe as we went on. We thought coming back we would be looking down. That didn’t end up being a problem. The view just kept getting better as we went. Finally, a landing. There were some kids, 9 and 10, sitting on a cement block overhanging. If you slipped off, it would be 500 feet before you touched the side. Their guardian person said, “If you fall, I am going to go down there and kill you.”
Myran and I sat there while someone took our picture and I crawled back from the edge. This goes up the ridge and it is so steep you would not stop until you hit the bottom. It made me wonder how the first person made it up. The stair case was about 20 inches wide with rails on both sides. After the first platform, we got cooled off and the next ones were a lot closer to each other. It was easier to climb and we made better time. We were still passed by a lot of people. There was a winch up there that I would have liked to know how they got it there. It was about 2,000 lbs. We went up to the top and stayed for a while cooling off. There were more trails but there was no way this guy was going on one of them.
Coming down was a real thrill! Clouds came in and everything was wet. Steel and water is slick. There was a good rain storm about half way down. That was fun too. The next few days my legs and arms were sore, but it was really worth it for me to take the risk and see the view. I never imagined a staircase like this before.
As we walked it, we talked to people on the way. If you are interested in climbing these stairs, Google Haiku Stairs. These are some things you might want to do if you do this hike.
1. You might want to wear clothing that doesn’t stand out (like black) so you aren’t seen on the stairs. People have been arrested and put in jail for doing the hike.
2. There is a guard at the bottom and he gets there at 6:00 a.m. If you are not there past that point before that time, he will not let you go up. When you come down, he will ask you, “Do you know you are trespassing?” We lied and kept walking.
3. Parking your car at the start: The old timers park at the apartments and walk up. Cars have been known to be towed parked up by the houses where we parked.
4. You run a risk on this hike and you have to weigh the risk of whether it is worth it.
5. Don’t try it if you are not in good shape. It is a good workout on your knees and arms. You will hold the rail with both hands. It rained so the rails were slick.
After the Stairway to Heaven hike, Myran, Trina, Kya, Sharon, and Vellen went on another 3 mile hike. Vellen took pity on Myran and carried Kya back.
Last Day: Myran, Vellen, and I went bellying boarding and swimming at 8:00 a.m. The views were great and the ocean and sand didn’t look bad either. The girls stayed back and packed. Arrived back home at 12:00 a.m. It was 52 degrees. I haven’t been home 12 hours and I am ready to go back.
Be Byranized and go do the stairs. www.mrbontheside.blogspot.com
Some Hawaiian delicacies:
Mac and Cheese with Spam
McDonald’s breakfast: Spam McMuffin with egg
This trip was put together by Trina and Myran. They worked on it for a year and talked about it all the time. I am thinking he is someone else’s kid - way too much planning and getting ready. There was Kya, 10 months, Trina, Myran, Sharon, Vellen, Ilene and Byranized. If you are not scared now, you would have been if you were Myran and I. Hawaii and scared? What would scare Byran? Is that what you are thinking? This must be a ploy to get me to read the whole thing. NOT.
The flight was good and Hawaiian Air served a good little meal. It was very tasty. Myran and Vellen picked up the mini van when we got there. After two of them having issues, they took the third one. It was red. Yeah! Seven people and luggage for 10 days in a mini van. The tires rubbed on the fenders and it bottomed out. The GPS got us to our 3 bedroom house which was near a lot of stores and restaurants. We looked at the beach and called it a night.
Kya never cried all day. She just charmed everyone she came in contact with. There were a lot of tourists who took her picture throughout the week. She waved and smiled at all of them.
Day 2: Went to Diamond Head to watch the sunrise. It was a short hike but a lot of fun. There were a lot of other tourists there too. It was hot for us but the whole week was hot for us. It was 85 – 90 degrees with a LOT of humidity during the day. (I am sitting in the house in a t-shirt writing this and thinking of turning on the heat. It’s 57 degrees in the house.)
Went snorkeling and saw fish that looked like the fish in an aquarium. Getting into the water was very interesting because we were thinking it would be very, very cold, but was really quite pleasant. When we got here, Myran said, “I don’t know why they have a hot tub?” After the swim and an outside shower that most houses have, Myran, Trina, and Vellen got right into the 101 degree hot tub and enjoyed it.
Day 3: Got up early and went to Starbucks for coffee. It was hard not putting on a coat. We toured part of the island and went to the Macadamia plantation. There was a tour of the plantation. The driver’s seat on the old green Chevy bus was held together with boards. The bus was all rusted out, no windows, no doors, run great. It was a very good tour with lots of laughter and good natured fun. The Hawaiian chief and his son put on a great educational show.
We went to the PU’U O MAHUKA Heiau, a State Historic Site (religious site or temple). We stopped for lunch at a Shrimp Shack, waited in line an hour to get to the window and another half hour to get our order of prawns. From there we stopped off at the Dole plantation. We had a Pineapple Split that four of us had a hard time eating, and I can eat a lot of ice cream. It was a full day.
Day 4: Tried to go to a museum but they were closed Sunday and Monday. Darn! We went to the Waikiki Beach and rented a three wheel trike that went on the water. It will give you a real workout.
As we were driving down the road, the windshield was sweating. There was a pot hole in the road and the highway department was fixing it. There were 8 men, two pickups, two trucks, one guy working on it – just like home. Myran wants a job like this one.
Day 5: Home of the Brave Tour – a very interesting walking and bus tour of Pearl Harbor. If you are ever interested in doing it, the phone number is 808-396-8112. It will take you pretty much all day. For dinner we stopped at the grocery store for 6 different kinds of sushi.
Day 6: Went to a swap meet at the Aloha Stadium. The booths were all the way around the stadium. This is a four story stadium and the largest swap meet I have ever seen. It was a great place to pick up reasonably priced souvenirs.
Kya was sitting in the cool grass and found a penny there. Yes, it went straight to her mouth.
Day 7: Went snorkeling in Hanauma Bay with all the fishes and turtles. I had black shoes on. One fish kept attacking my shoes and I just thought I was kicking the bottom. Spent all day there under a tree and swimming.
Ilene was feeding Kya. She would not eat so I would give her a taste of pineapple. Ilene tried to feed her oatmeal. The mouth was shut. Her mouth opened wide for pineapple and very little opening for oatmeal.
Day 8: Went to the Battleship Missouri. There were tours and tours and tours, consuming the whole day. We were going to do the submarine Bowfin but the day just wasn’t long enough.
Day 9: I climbed up the hill in the dark in back of the house on Kamahele Street to see the sunrise. We went to the submarine museum and toured the Bowfin. There was a lot to look at. Myran suggested we do the Stairway to Heaven tomorrow. It is only 3,922 steps to the top. We went to the start of it. “Keep Out – No Trespassing” sign on the fence.
What is the Stairway to Heaven: HAIKU Stairs, 1942 Built for a VFL antenna and radar. 3,992 wooden steps to hoist the equipment into place. The 3,922 steps were refurbished in 2002, not completely rebuilt, at a cost of $875,000. The number changed to 3,922 in 1955 when the metal ladder was installed.
Day 10: It was 4:00 a.m. The alarm went off. Myran and I ate and left for the start of a very interesting morning. The neighborhood was very high end so we were very quiet. We went through the fence with all the “Keep Out, No Trespassing” signs on it. We put on our head lamps and walked up a very narrow road. It forked and there was another fence with a sign on the other side. We went through the big hole in the fence to read the bigger sign that said “No Trespassing – Keep Out.” It was very hot and no breeze. It didn’t look like the right road anyway. We were talking about it when these lights were coming up the road. Some high school kids and one of their dads were coming up. The older one said he had done it before and knew the way. He said there was a green dot in the road. He went up and down looking for it. He found it. We followed them up the road to the start of the trail. The trail was brushy and not too good. Down another road and up another trail to another fence that had the usual signs on it and the start of the steps on the other side of the fence.
As we started up, it got steeper and steeper. I was thinking this was built in the 30’s and reworked in 2002. You could tell the old from the new by the square bolts and nuts. That was most of the steps on the steep part. There were sets of 8 steps and after two or three sets, it was time to rest and drink. It was making us a little like “let’s go back, it’s scary” but safe as we went on. We thought coming back we would be looking down. That didn’t end up being a problem. The view just kept getting better as we went. Finally, a landing. There were some kids, 9 and 10, sitting on a cement block overhanging. If you slipped off, it would be 500 feet before you touched the side. Their guardian person said, “If you fall, I am going to go down there and kill you.”
Myran and I sat there while someone took our picture and I crawled back from the edge. This goes up the ridge and it is so steep you would not stop until you hit the bottom. It made me wonder how the first person made it up. The stair case was about 20 inches wide with rails on both sides. After the first platform, we got cooled off and the next ones were a lot closer to each other. It was easier to climb and we made better time. We were still passed by a lot of people. There was a winch up there that I would have liked to know how they got it there. It was about 2,000 lbs. We went up to the top and stayed for a while cooling off. There were more trails but there was no way this guy was going on one of them.
Coming down was a real thrill! Clouds came in and everything was wet. Steel and water is slick. There was a good rain storm about half way down. That was fun too. The next few days my legs and arms were sore, but it was really worth it for me to take the risk and see the view. I never imagined a staircase like this before.
As we walked it, we talked to people on the way. If you are interested in climbing these stairs, Google Haiku Stairs. These are some things you might want to do if you do this hike.
1. You might want to wear clothing that doesn’t stand out (like black) so you aren’t seen on the stairs. People have been arrested and put in jail for doing the hike.
2. There is a guard at the bottom and he gets there at 6:00 a.m. If you are not there past that point before that time, he will not let you go up. When you come down, he will ask you, “Do you know you are trespassing?” We lied and kept walking.
3. Parking your car at the start: The old timers park at the apartments and walk up. Cars have been known to be towed parked up by the houses where we parked.
4. You run a risk on this hike and you have to weigh the risk of whether it is worth it.
5. Don’t try it if you are not in good shape. It is a good workout on your knees and arms. You will hold the rail with both hands. It rained so the rails were slick.
After the Stairway to Heaven hike, Myran, Trina, Kya, Sharon, and Vellen went on another 3 mile hike. Vellen took pity on Myran and carried Kya back.
Last Day: Myran, Vellen, and I went bellying boarding and swimming at 8:00 a.m. The views were great and the ocean and sand didn’t look bad either. The girls stayed back and packed. Arrived back home at 12:00 a.m. It was 52 degrees. I haven’t been home 12 hours and I am ready to go back.
Be Byranized and go do the stairs. www.mrbontheside.blogspot.com
Some Hawaiian delicacies:
Mac and Cheese with Spam
McDonald’s breakfast: Spam McMuffin with egg
posted by Byran on the side at 8:28 AM
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