Hawaii Wednesday

First - a big shout out to my oldest, Carolyn, who's birthday is today! A wonderful 30 year old! Happy B-Day daughter dear!

Wow, today I am really proud of myself. I don't usually like to brag, but here I go. We were TOLD by Jonathan that we HAD to do this amazing hike that was called 'Stairway to Heaven'. It is another 'closed' off hike that actually has a security guard at the bottom of this stairway and we took a chance that maybe he wouldn't be there early in the morning and wha-la, he wasn't. We had to scale this chain link fence with barbed wire on it and here is proof I'm not the best 8 foot fence climber. Now it is said that this 'stairway' has 4000 steps to it. I read in a book though, that it is really only 3922. I don't care what is truth, I am telling you, I WAS DYING!!! I'm surprise to be sitting here alive writing this to you all. I have not had my heart beat like that in years. I was worried at the beginning about Doug having a heart attack, when in reality, I should have been worrying about myself. Anyway, about 1/4 of the way up I said: No more, I'm done. Yet, as my body will tell me tomorrow, and the next day, and next day, I went on. I have never been so mad at myself. I'd like to blame Jonathan a little bit though, since he waited for me on one of the landings and would not let me wait there for the others (younger ones) to go on up to the top and come back down, where I would just be waiting to go back down with them. It was unbearably horrific. It's so embarrassing to be saying all this, but that is how I felt. It took 2 hours to go up. However, the sight of the island once we were up there was stunningly beautiful. Once I could catch my breath, stand without shaking and look without getting quesy, it was great and I'll pat myself on my back. I encourage you all to type in stairway to heaven in hawaii - go to any of those websites and take a look. Sadly pictures don't do it justice, but I lived it and can testify to it's craziness. Here are our pictures.

When we did finally get to the bottom the guard was there. Jonathan was the first one back down and I'm sure he did some sweet talking to get us out of trouble. The guard was very nice and could have given us each a trespassing ticket of $75 each (I think), but he didn't. Brow wipe. Oh, wait, I'm already wiping my brow.

After the little mountain climb (this last picture is from the parking lot of the mall where we went to IHop for breakfast. Yes, we climbed clear to the top of that mountain! Carolyn enjoyed her IHop birthday dessert. Breakfast there was delicious!! Carolyn and Jeff did a little sink/shower thing to freshen up before catching their plane home.

They were dropped off by J & J, whom later caught up with us at the swapmeet. So at the Aloha Stadium, you circle the whole stadium with vendors set up all the way around it. Killer. My legs honest to goodness felt like 'rubber' or 'jello'. I really felt like I was 100 years old. Or like I had just been in a body cast and was learning how to walk again. After a short stop at Wal-Mart to look for little boy tshirts (walking around again - dumb) we went to the Dole Plantation. Jonathan and Jason had never been there so it was a must stop.

This is actually against the rules....going off of the sidewalk into the pineapple field, but Jas chanced it.

Dumb again. Walking. Actually, we enjoyed it, because we had had a little bit of a rest in the car, but still, we, or should I say just I, was starting to feel the pain. The pineapple ice cream is a big hit here and so are the fish that you can buy food for and then watch them try to crazily eat it.

As we were leaving I wanted a pic in front of the building where, not my idea, they wanted to try and spell out DOLE. It took them several tries.

We drove home making a couple of stops along the way, some just for more pictures, you know, as Jonathan would call me - I'm the white Asian with a camera.

I want blue stop signs here in Arizona.

A palm tree growing up inside of this tree. You'll have to look close.

Now sitting here back at the apartment, Jason and Jonathan, Jill as an observer, although exhausted, decided to go and try some more surfing. Jason said he got up a few times! And when they came home we ate a few things we found here around the apartment for snacky/dinner AND when I thought the day was done, Jill said we were watching a movie - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Jonathan's pick and of course, being a Robert Redford movie I was all in. Bring it on. About 20 minutes into the movie all 3 were out (Doug had previously made his way to his bed) and I announced: "jill and jonathan, go home, Jason, here's your bed back, stretch out and all of you go to bed". Hmm..I outlasted them all!!! Old in age, yes, but spunk, give me what you have, baby! I'll take you on every time. I think we will all sleep really, really, really well. Maybe even through the 'cockadoodle-dooing's!

Aloha!

Dear Friends and Family that read my blog. I promise I have been writing everyday, but my wireless connection over here is the pits! For some reason it will not let me download any pictures into my blog - and what's a blog without pictures? Nothing, boring, dry. So, just be prepared for next week. You might get a few extra long ones! Just kidding. I'll try to keep them shorter (yeah, right) but I promise it will be worth the wait. Take care everyone. Off.

So far Tuesday, Hawaii.

Today, we have claimed this day as Food Day Tuesday. Here in Laie there is the Hukilau Cafe.

If any of you have seen the movie 50 First Dates, that is the cafe that he, Henry (Adam Sandler) first meets her, Lucy (Drew Barrymore) in. Yeah, in the movie, it is somewhere in a beautiful remote spot. In real life it is here on a residental corner lot. Not quite as charming or as big as the one in the movie, however the staff here was nice. Kudos to them. They probably get alot of 'tourists' visiting their cafe just for the fun of it. Here are some pictures I took at the cafe:

Everything there was served on paper plates, which I thought was funny, but we also visited another hamburger place later and they too served all their food on paper plates. We are probably going back for lunch. Also, we had thought about the luau at the PCC, but have decide against it due to the $$$$$ and we are just going to find a nicer restaurant to eat at. (Not McD's or Taco Bell, or Subway) These are the eateries that are closest to Jills house. So, naptime right now. The reason for naptime in the middle of the day is this: Roosters. They run wild here and every morning BEFORE the sun even peaks up over the ocean, they are there, cockadoodle-dooing, for 2 hours straight! It drove me nuts! Jill says I'll get used to it, but I haven't yet. Doug got up early today with Jeff, Jill and Jonathan and went snorkling again. They went back to the same spot, called Sharks Cove and said it was great. Later we headed to the cafe again for lunch and had at least 15 minutes before it closed when we got there, but they said too bad, we are closed come back tomorrow - we asked if we could just have take out and they said NO our cooks have all left. I take back my kudos to them. We weren't sure we believed them, but we drove back around to the north shore and ate at this place.

The hamburgers there where HUGE. Jeff nor Jason could finish theirs. Crazy good though.

Again here is how we traveled.

After that some of us went golfing. I had never golfed before, but I thought it sounded fun and I didn't want to go to the beach - so we, Jonathan, Jason, Jeff and I found an inexpensive 9 hole golf course. The others ended up going to the beach to snorkle (Doug) or just laze around (Jill and Carolyn). On the first hole I won! and then it was all down hill from there. I had these sticky, nasty golf clubs, but couldn't change after I started because I would get it on the other peoples clubs. It wouldn't wipe off. Everytime I would find some sand, and NO not always in the sandtraps, I would try and un-sticky my hands, but it didn't matter because each club was the same. Here's a few pictures of that.

Also, the view was spectacular. Right next to the beach on most of the holes. I just want to say, that my opponents had several balls with them and if they didn't like their first tee-0ff, they would just start again. I think that is called cheating. I used two balls through-out the whole 9 holes, only losing one because it was too dark (my sticky blackness got on the ball each time I picked it up) so I never found it in the bush that I hit it into. But it was fun, however I don't think I'll be coming a fan of the golf station any time soon.

It didn't really turn out to be too much of a Food Day Tuesday. I can't even remember where we went for dinner that night. Oh, well, it sounded fun when we made it up.