Chapter 23, Oahu, “Doing things outside the box”

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Pamela flew in for a week. Picture taken by an Australian on Pam’s last night in Waikiki.

Our daughter, Pamela, flew in for a week. She owns a barbershop in Jensen Beach, ‘The  Family of Hair’. She was more than willing to fly out for a week to explore with us. Pamela is not the “beach” people we are, but was willing to walk with us down the Waikiki strip. She was surprised to find a very quiet place in Waikiki called “The Pink Palace,” or the Royal Hawaiian Resort Hotel.

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There is a very quiet courtyard at the Royal Hawaiian Resort known as “The Pink Palace.”

We also got in the car to tour around the south side of the island. Hanauma State Park was our first destination. It is so beautiful there.

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Hanauma is a great place to snorkel.

Our second stop was at Oahu’s famous “blowhole.”   We found people playing in a nearby cove. By the lookout was a wedding photo shoot.

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Blowhole picture courtesy of Pam Seely
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Picture courtesy of Pam Seely.

We had to hike Diamond Head as it was on Pamela’s bucket list. We were the third car in the crater at 6:00 A.M. You really want to get there early to escape the heat, and most importantly, beat the crowd of people soon to come.   It is a beautiful sight of Waikiki and Honolulu from the top of Diamond Head, one of the main icons of Oahu and Hawaii.

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Spectacular view from Diamond Head of the Waikiki area.

That night, Pamela got us to go along with her on a catamaran night cruise, on the Maita’i. We saw the famous fireworks off the Hilton Village Resort. There was no moon, but plenty of stars and planets like Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and the Southern Cross. It was a wonderful hour and half to view Waikiki from the sea.

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The sunset cruises are very popular in Waikiki.

Pamela was told by her patrons “that she needed to take a helicopter tour in Kauai.” For a day, we all went back to Kauai. Flights leave from HNL literally every hour via Hawaiian Airlines. We just love this airline. Great service with a smile and Hawaiian Airlines rarely is late.

Pamela was on the open door of a Jack Harter Helicopter. We have to be truthful and say Pamela did get sick on the flight. She was able to get some nice pictures nevertheless.

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Hanalei Bay in the distance. Photo courtesy of Pam Seely.

 

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The helicopter got in the way, but a neat view of a cylinder volcano along the coast. Photo courtesy of Pam Seely.

We later drove all the way to Waimea Canyon and to the Kalalua Overlook. It was a spectacular day.

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Pamela doing much better after her experience on a helicopter.
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The Kalalua Overlook is an unbelievable view.

Back in Oahu the next day, we drove to the North shore. We stopped at the Dole Plantation to show Pamela “The Painted Trees.” Arguably these Eucalyptus trees are one of the most colorful in the world.

A beautiful painted tree
We have seen these trees on Maui, Kauai and now Oahu.

You haven’t been to the North Shore until you visit Matsumoto’s Shave Ice store. The Hawaiians never say “shaved.”

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I like my shave ice with sweet condensed milk. So good.

In 2012, we actually met the son of the original owner outside his store.

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The owner of Matsumoto’s. Picture taken in 2012

Pam wanted to visit Waimea Falls not far from the town of Haleiwa on the North Shore.  It is a beautiful botanical gardens.  At the end of a paved trail is Waimea waterfall.

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The walk to the falls is exceptional with many different types of trees, flowers and plants.

The following day we went to Pearl Harbor in Oahu. The winds were up and the Navy stopped operating the craft to take you out to the Memorial. The National Park guide said “it is rare we have to close in May. The winds usually happens in January.” Nevertheless, we did see the Memorial from the distance.

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The other anchor of the USS Arizona is in Phoenix. We have been there too.

In 2012, our fourth visit to Pearl Harbor, we were early and caught a full rainbow over the USS Bowfin with Pearl Harbor Memorial in the distance. A good photograph at times comes with being in the right place.

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We drove through the rain to find this rainbow at Pearl Harbor. There are plenty of surprises In Hawaii.

By the museum store, I was able to meet Herb Weatherwax, a Pearl Harbor survivor. He has written a short book, “Counting My Blessings.” It is an autobiography of a native Hawaiian Pearl Harbor survivor.

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Herb is quite a character. He met everyone like a friend. Aloha!

We did take a tour through the USS Missouri. Kathie and I had never done this tour before. It is spectacular. It was the home to over 3000 sailors and became famous when the Japanese signed a treaty of peace on September 2, 1945 on the USS Missouri. I was surprised to find out that this treaty, with Gen. Douglas MacArthur attending, was on the starboard of the ship. After the Persian Gulf War in 1992, the ship was put to port.   The USS Missouri arguably was the last battleship every made.

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Pamela taking one of her many photo’s. She is pretty darn good too.
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These guns can shoot a projectile 26 miles away with good accuracy.

What was one of the main reasons bringing the USS Missouri to Pearl? WWII started at Pearl Harbor for the United States, and it literally ended on the USS Missouri with the peace treaty of September 2, 1945. It was only fitting to bring the beginning and end pieces together.

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This floats out to sea to become part of the mobile defense network in the Pacific. Rarely does it come to port.

We were transported by bus on Ford Island. Our last stop was the Pacific Aviation Museum. We met tour guide Vic Bonfiglio, who did three tours in Vietnam. He has a long list of accomplishments if you go to the web. Pamela, earlier that day took a picture of an F-22 flying. She asked him about the F-35. We got an ear full from Vic.

 

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Vic is a gregarious character filled with plenty of stories and opinions. He is quite a swimmer and a darn good wrestler in his youth.

One idea about life I’ve learned over the years, you always keep learning. I did not know there was a training plane flying on the moment of the attack. An Aeronca 65TC flown by Roy A. Vitousek was flying with his son when the attack occurred. They acquired a few bullet holes, but managed to land safely and hid in the bushes alongside the runway too avoid being strafed.

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Roy and his son survived the Pearl Harbor experience. This is the actual plane.

We walked over to hanger 79 where there are several planes being restored. I thought the B-17 in front of the U.S. Flag made a neat picture.

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This B-17 is being refurbished.

It is no doubt with the arrival of Pamela that we were forced to do “new activities” and expand “our box.” We took a ride on Highway 61, across to the windward side of Oahu. We stopped at the Pali overlook. This was the place in 1795 where King Kamehameha 1st had a major battle which united Hawaii. About 400 warriors were killed with many being pushed over the cliff.

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King Kamehameha 1st united Hawaii around 1800. Every islands has roads named after this king.
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Pamela posing at the Pali overlook.

Our destination was the “Valley of the Temples.” There is a beautiful Buda temple on property. The area is actually a large mortuary for many different faiths.

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The Valley of the Temples is a very interesting area on the windward side of Oahu.

We made it as far as Kualoa Point to see the island of Mokoli’I, known as “Chinaman’s Hat”.

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Pamela is holding her “Chinamen’s Hat.”
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Ok, a bit cheesy, but it’s fun to pose for what has become an icon shot on this side of the island.

We also caught Crazy Shirt Company doing a photo shoot for their Christmas catalogue.

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Santa’s hat in May? Photo shoot.

On Pamela’s last day in Hawaii she was determined to see the Manoa Falls. Luckily, it was a spectacular day as it is a rainforest. It is so ironic that the Minoa Falls is less than five miles from Waikiki, but worlds apart in many ways.

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These tree limbs made a very interesting photo to Minoa Falls.

It is only a mile and half round trip through a beautiful forest of trees and a bamboo forest. The falls is about 150 feet in length.

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It is a beautiful walk to the Minoa falls, right through a bamboo forest.

After this hike, we went to the Harold L. Lyon Arboretum operated by the University of Hawaii. Even though studies of plants go on at this arboretum, it really felt like a botanical garden. It is huge and we walked around nearly two hours. We heard the wild cockatoos, but didn’t see them.

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Mom and daughter at “Inspiration Point.”

Pam’s Delta flight did not leave until 9:00 P.M.  The last several hours mom and daughter went out on Waikiki to do some last minute shopping and bonding.

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This cat is the Hawaiian symbol for the Crazy Shirt company. The cat is also a symbol for good luck.

Seven days with Pamela went by so very fast, like life itself. We are glad she came to share this beautiful island with us. We are sad she left us so soon.

 

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