September 21 thru October 3, 2012 - Hawai - Well Myran wanted to do Oahu, Hawaii because Zayden (6 months) was still under two. So he asked around and Doug, Steve, Vellen, Sharon, Ilene, and I would do it with him. Oh yea, Trina and Kya too. I was giving it second thoughts because the weather was turning cold there. The flight over and back was interesting on the check in but went well. Take your patients when you do this and it will work out fine. Myran rented a mini Dodge van. Think about this. There were six adults (Doug and Steve went on a different flight) and two kids, their luggage, carry-on’s, and two car seats. When we got into the van the person directing traffic just stood there and watched and laughed as it all went in and Myran drove off. He said it drove funny. YOU THINK? Kya was a hoot at the airport and got a lot of looks. She is two and half and likes to say Hi and wave a lot. She had a little pack and was pulling a full size carry-on suit case. One hand would get tired so she used the other one until it got tired. Don’t try to help her or it was “Kya’s turn, I want to do it.” She is stubborn on things she wants to do and that was something she really liked to do. There was lots of time so back and forth we went. It was cute. The first morning we hiked up to Diamond Head. Our bodies were still on Pacific Time so we didn’t notice getting up that early to see the sun rise. Doug had to hurry back to the Condo to watch football.  The Beavers were playing for goodness sake! It was a cool hike because of the cold snap. We went swimming almost every day. Sometimes we would go snorkeling and see the fish that looked just like the ones at the aquarium. That was neat in itself. We went to the SeaLife Park and saw the 60 year old turtles and some year old ones. While standing there, someone remarked, “That’s REALLY old.” “Well,” I said, “I’m 70. Does that make me REALLY old too?” While at the aquarium, Kya was standing on the ledge of the dolphin tank getting her picture taken with the dolphin’s swimming behind her when she fell off and broke her arm. This made things different for her for the rest of the vacation. Myran would rap it in plastic and duct taped it really good. That is where Kya learned the name “duct tape.” They could then go on the surf boards and bounce and splash a lot. The water had not cooled off yet so swimming was good. If you go, you need to see the Macadamia nut farm. It is one of our favorites. They gave Kya a wreath with a flower on it and told her to say “Hi Everybody.” That is just what she did. “Hi Everybody.” There was a lady from Thailand and the Hawaiian tour leader was speaking to her in Thai. The best part was he knew Thai better then she did. You should learn your own language. She had not been there for many years. He talked to the Japanese in their language. He was good. Everyone was having a great time. All the ladies got a wreath. The bus didn’t have windows – it was a cool ride in the trees. The Dole Farm was good too and the Pineapple Express train ride gave you a lot of history of the farm. Kya, Ilene, and I had a good time. Then it was pineapple split time and $20.00 will get you a big one. There was one thing for sure – Kya got her share. It was training for using a spoon. Ice cream is good even when it is cool outside. Vellen, Sharon, Doug, and Steve tried their luck in the maze. It covered several acres. They were in there a really l o n g time. There was one thing that was not good. The place where we stayed was on the other side of the island and it seemed that every time we went some place, it was a long drive in a lot of traffic (but there was a heater in the car) and I was SO happy Myran was driving. The last time Myran and Trina were here, they found a certain beach, and we spent a lot of time looking for it. When we found it, it was worth it. We never did get up on the belly board but Vellen did and he is better than us I am thinking. Lots of sun to warm us up. Kya likes trains and call them all Thomas. So we had to try the Hawaiian Railway. There was a lot of history on the ride and Myran learned of some other gun emplacements. The next day we went looking for one. It was on Waste Management land and was owned by the City. The receptionist said that Bill sometimes gave tours. So Myran e-mailed him thinking it would go in the round file, but Bill called him like the moment after he sent it. He said he would do it for us. We were really happy to get to see it. Most people wouldn’t go out of their way to do something like that. It was a very interesting tour. There was another gun emplacement but it was on a military base. We thought you would probably have to be in the service to even get in to see it. Been there; done that. Ok, so the only things we have done so far are legal and Myran wanted to do Koko Head and it was legal too. It is a railroad track that goes up to an old gun emplacement. They pulled the car up by an electric wench and a big cable. On the second half there was a gas motor and another wench a hundred feet or so. The first part was half mile of up. You walked on the ties about three feet apart and up a foot or so depending on where you were. There was a trestle that you crossed and those ties were a foot apart. You could fall between them if you worked at it. Myran and I climbed it. The sweat was running off of us. We drank a Gator Aid like it was going of style. You can tell the people who live there. One girl was wearing sweat pants and a hooded sweat shirt with the hood up. I was getting dizzy from the heat and her and her kid barely had a sweat up. There was something wrong here. I guess I forgot there was a cold snap. When we got back home, it was in the 70’s and we were all wearing coats or long sleeve sweaters. I usually only have on a t-shirt when it is in the 60’s. It is going to take some time to get use to the weather again. That drop of 85 to 84 and 75 to74 at night really had me worried. I was thinking it would be coat time. I liked going there but I don’t think I would like to live there. There is no cooling off at night and we have four seasons here where the weather changes a lot. I think it is what you get use to. If I was there for a year, I might like it more. I can see how you could get use to it. One person had lived there for six years and never been to any of the places I mentioned. I use to be that way but started looking for things to do here and found a lot of them. There is more in your home town than you may think if it is any thing like Portland. Trivia: Where is the biggest park in the world and where is the smallest in the world? Stop and think and read more. For another hint: The biggest is Forest Park (Forest Park in Portland, Oregon is an inner city park that ranges over 5158.30 acres. It is AMAZING! http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=127&action=ViewPark) and the smallest is Mill Ends Park (452 square inches). Now where are they? Stop and think. Yes, they are both in Portland Oregon USA. This is not a good island for biking. The paths are about two feet wide and very few of them. I think most people would rather go swimming. Now, that is really fun to do in the warm water and there are so many things to do in the water. You can go early morning or late at night. The water temperature doesn’t change. The last day we went at 7:30 a.m. before we left. One last Hurrah!

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