Sunday, the 10th of January, my family and I had finished our tour for the day and were in search of the base that would become our home for the next six days. The base was relatively small but included a gas station, a rec center, a beach, a mini-golf course, plenty of running trails, and of course the cabins where we would be staying. Our family had one cabin, and attached was the cabin that my dad's friends stayed in after arriving shortly after we did. The cabin itself wasn't the nicest in the world (we had to kill a few cockroaches during our stay) but it had the essentials: internet, TV, small kitchen, internet, separate bedrooms, a view of the water, and of course, internet. In fact, we were so close to the water that if we walked out the back and took 20 steps we would have fallen down the big rocks and landed in the water.
The first full day we were in Waimanalo, my dad's friends, a nice couple from Utah, took us around to some of their favorite hot spots. First though, according to news reports the waves that day were supposedly going to be as high as 40 feet, and everyone was warned to stay out of the water. So naturally, we were going to hit parts of the coast to see some waves. During our numerous stops the waves indeed seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, but I don't know if they were really 40 feet high. Some of them looked smaller than the waves we get sometimes in Bethany Beach, Delaware. lol On the other hand, we did come away with some cool videos which I implore you to check out on Facebook and YouTube.
We also went to the macadamia nut house, complete with pictures of Obama visiting at one point. More importantly, there were lots of Japanese tourists and I had fun doing my nonchalant eavesdropping and seeing if there's a way to jump into the conversation. The highlight of the day, though, was going on a hiking trail that took us through a really cool forest with lots of different plants and flowers, ending at the Waimea Falls waterfall. It was a very natural and serene swimming hole, which you could tell because the water was cold as anything despite being in the sun. lol We sat under the waterfall for a bit and swam around, but since the bottom was so deep and we had to tread water we got tired fairly quickly and walked back through the trail. Dinner was shrimp from a truck on the side of the road, which my dad's friends claimed they went to every year.
Tuesday morning we started the day with a nice, long two hour hike up a hill and back. It wasn't quite as bad as it sounds, the view was incredible, but it was getting hotter by the minute and so was our hunger, so we went into town for some lunch. My parents' friends recommended going to a place called Tubby's Bigger Burgers, and by God the name doesn't lie. We each ate one of the bigger (as opposed to big or biggest) burgers, in addition to fries and a milkshake, and we weren't hungry again for the rest of the trip. Wasn't cheap either for a fast-food-like-alike. The rest of the day was spent walking around a couple other places along the coast (we even saw some whales), and ended with a return to base and relaxation on the beach.
The next day we had wanted to start by going to a beach to do some snorkeling, but we found out the hard way that the parking lot fills up pretty quick. So in the meantime, we went into Waikiki city, which wasn't too far away, and visited the aquarium. Audio tours were included in the price of the ticket so I got the Japanese version again, and we had fun exploring both the inside and outside versions of the aquarium. We walked along Waikiki beach for a little bit, and then returned to our original destination: Hanauma Bay. The day was really nice, but the water was still kind of cold, and getting colder as the sun continued to set. Snorkeling offered an interesting opportunity to see some fish and coral, but unfortunately a lot of the coral had turned gray and was so close to the surface of the water that I came close to cutting myself a few times. Plus the water was a little misty and I couldn't see many fish, so I much preferred my experience in the Philippines.
Our final full day primarily consisted of us finally going to a Luau, which is sort of like a traditional Hawaiian festival and banquet. The place we went to, the Polynesian Cultural Center, was really big and really nice, dedicating specific areas to each of the Polynesian countries and performing shows that incorporated them all. We spent a lot of time walking around and getting acquainted with the culture before the Luau itself started, which is the actual epic feast. They had a ceremony for the main course, the kalua pig, and then the dinner began. The pig was basically pulled pork and was delicious of course, and they had other good foods as well. Our experience for the night ended with a show called "HA! Breath of Life" where people danced out a story of a man's life in an ancient tribe.
Friday, the 15th, was our last day in Hawaii, and since my family loves hiking so much they couldn't resist to finish off the trip with one more that morning. The view was awesome once again, and the whales were clearer than ever. We returned again to pack up our stuff, and also to play a little mini-golf before heading out. Our plane left that night so we had time to drive to a few more key places, but I was honestly ready to leave. I did miss Jasmin a lot, after all.
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