Oahu, Hawaii 2016 – Part 2
Oahu, Hawaii 2016 – Part 2

Oahu, Hawaii 2016 – Part 2

Hubby and I were in Oahu, Hawaii from April 2nd through April 12th.  To see what we did on the first four days of our trip, click HERE.  On Day 5 of our trip we had breakfast at a wonderful 2nd-floor restaurant near our hotel called Lulu’s.  Lulu’s, in addition to having regular tables, also has long counters installed along the open-air sides, where you can sit [side by side] facing the amazing view:

263a        263b

We loved that, and ate there a few times [well, hubby ate, I couldn’t eat much except yogurt].  I did try to eat an omelet, for protein, and some dry toast.  Then we headed back to our crappy hotel room to get ready for the day – notice the luxurious brown carpet:

263c        263d

After changing and grabbing cameras, we walked 2 blocks up the street to the Waikiki Aquarium.  The walk was beautiful, and the Aquarium was small but very cool:

263e        263f

263g        263h

Eels are always my favorite part of any aquarium visit.

263i

That always makes me giggle 🙂  Here’s me leaving the Aquarium with my hat, and slathered in SPF70 lotion:

263zg

That afternoon we hiked to the top of Diamond Head Crater.  We could see the crater from our hotel room by craning our necks out the window – here’s a day view & a night view:

view of diamond head crater from our hotel room, oahu, hawaii        263x

We drove over to the park, which was only a couple miles from our hotel.  The park is inside the crater, which is a very large bowl with high sides.  The warning sign for the hike was a bit daunting:

263j        263k

Especially THIS part:

263l

A long, narrow path, then 74 steps, then a dark tunnel, then 99 more steps?  OMFG.  I can do this… I can do this… we had plenty of water, and took our time.  I took some nature shots along the trail.  Hawaii has such amazing diversity:

263m        263n

45 minutes after the start of our hike, we reached the first staircase – O.M.G.  By this time I was already a sweaty mess after walking up countless dirt/rock/cement switchbacks:

263o

At that top of that fiasco, there’s a very long spiral staircase you need to climb up, before you get spit out into a bunker, with more stairs to climb up to the surface.  I am not usually such a wuss with physical activity, but my stomach flu was impairing my ability to hold much food in, so I wasn’t feeling my optimal best.  Here’s a picture of me in the bunker at the top:

263p

Once climbing out, the views were amazing:

263q        263r

263v        263t

263u        263s

It took another half hour to climb back down to our car.  On the way out of the park I was amazed to see blue stop signs [LOVE]:

263w

On Day 6 we ate breakfast down by the water on a bench.  I made the mistake of offering a pigeon some food:

263z

Not even 10 seconds later, this:

263za        263zb

263zc        263zd

It was hilarious!!!  Thanks, hubby, for the awesome pics!  It feels very weird to have pigeon feet clamped to your legs, feet, chest, and hands!  Hubby wasn’t completely spared the experience either, and seems to have made a new orange-eyed friend:

263ze        263zf

That afternoon we visited the NOAA building on Ford Island, and got a wonderful tour by my friend Stef who used to work in the office here.  Thanks, Stef!  It’s an impressive building, built in an old airplane hanger:

263zh

Not really supposed to take any pictures on Ford Island, being that it’s mostly military based… but I snuck that one in on the way to the building.  We had planned to visit the Pearl Harbor memorial but this is as close as we got:

263zi

I took that through the telescope on top of the USS Bowfin, a WWII submarine we did get to tour, which was pretty fascinating.  It was very cramped so not many pictures:

263zk        263zj

I did see a familiar family name on the sample menu in the dining room:

263zl

Apparently Ensign J.M. Ayres served on board the USS Bowfin between 5/1/1943 and 9/2/1945 [as you may know, I am Alison Ayres Verry Ferguson – Ayres is my mother’s maiden name].

I’ll end this post with 2 selfies of us:

263zm        263zn

And 2 awesome sunset pics hubby took at the beach across from our hotel:

263zo        263zp

Stay tuned for pics from Days 7 & 8.

(Visited 202 times, 1 visits today)

6 Comments

  1. Anne

    What a beautiful, beautiful island and your pictures are fantastic. So sorry you were sick the entire week, but it appears you managed to have a great vacation and see and do so much!

    1. Nine Dark Moons

      Ya, I was not a happy camper at the top of the trail, but once I saw the view I felt better 🙂 The pigeons were so funny! There’s tons of signs saying DONT FEED THE BIRDS but it’s hard to resist when they’re all staring at you 🙂

Leave a Comment!