Day 26 - July 22nd

Back at work today, I went to the Sheraton for SCUBA lessons. It was a really slow day we only had one kid in the morning and just were waiting the rest of the time, so I got to read my book alot. One thing that has been nice about not being in school or at home where things always come up is having time to read. I'm currently in my 5th book since getting on the plane to come here, it's been wonderful. (if anyone's curious: the Watchmen - Moore/Gibbons, Good Omens - Gaiman/Prachett, Stardust - Gaiman, Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Murakami and currently Neverwhere - Gaiman <-- yeah there seems to be a trend in the authors but I've found that like Stephen King, his works are just so enjoyable (and I needed a break from King)

After the Sheraton I found out that there wasn't much happening tonight work wise (its often slower on the weekends) and that Jim had arranged for me and Jackson to go on the Sunset Dinner Cruise that is run by Sea Paradise (the folks who do the manta dives at the Sheraton). So around 5:15 we set out for the cruise. It was an extremely enjoyable and relaxing two hours. They sailed out towards the sunset and I got to sit back and watch the ocean and the sunset and chat with the crew, no thinking about moving and loading and helping with whatever, it was awesome.

Oahu Adventure (Part Two) July 21st

This morning was SHARK DAY!! The main purpose for our trip was a snorkeling adventure with sharks. We had signed up to go into a cage and get to view, extremely close up and personal, Galapagos sharks that were swimming around the cage and boat while the guys running it threw in bait to keep the sharks interested.

We drove across the island early in the morning and arrived to probably the best day we could ever have asked for.

Even the guys on the boat were amazed at how smooth the water was. The north shore of Oahu is known for its surfing, which usually means a heavy surge and really rough water as you go off shore, but on Friday it was so calm (for the ocean) and there were few clouds in the sky allowing for amazing (about 200ft) visibility.

I found that it was hard getting good pictures of the sharks because they are constantly moving and with the cage bars you can't easily follow the movements. However I got a few good ones over the course of the time we were in the water. After we got out the guys on the boat put some fish piecs on a long rod to entice the sharks and we got to watch some amazing tug of war as the shark would poke its head out of the water to grab the fish; lots of splashing and teeth, it was extremely cool.

To see what it was like in the cage check out this video. (Its like the others, you need Flash 8 for it to work) Enjoy!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v142/GinnyS/Hawaii/?action=view&current=MVI_5685.flv

After our shark encounter we had lots of time to spare before our 9:30pm flight back to Kona so we decided to continue driving around the island and see what Oahu had to offer. It was pretty amazing. As I said before the moutains all around looked so old and were absolutely beautiful. (Remember some of the shots of the island in Jurassic Park? yeah, some of that was filmed here)

Also on the North Shore and around to the east it is a lot less crowded and there are some really beautiful beaches. We drove along, had lunch and evenutally settled at a nice beach with really amazingly blue-green water and it was really calm. I swam, then read some of my book and relaxed.

Oahu Adventure (Part One) July 20th

This morning we flew out of Kona to the island of Oahu. Upon landing I discovered that Oahu is almost the exact opposite of what I've been experiencing in Kona. Honolulu is a tall city, with a TON of people and building right up to the beach. The mountains around even look so much older than Kona's, even alot older than Maui's mountains. It was really neat to get to see this island.

We got our rental car, which got upgraded free to a convertible :o) and headed off towards Waikiki.

After battling traffic on a three laned road (something I haven't seen since being here) we dropped Jackson at the beach and headed back to Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately we arrived to late in the day (12:30) to get a ticket for the USS Arizona Memorial, so we had to view it from afar. We were able to enjoy the rest of the museum and go onto the SS-Bowfin, a submarine that is now part of the museum.

Its pretty incredible to walk through the museum and see the lists of names of people that were killed that morning. The artifacts they have recovered are amazing, and the excerpts they have from sailors that were there are incredible. It was a great museum to visit.

The Bowfin was really cool too. It reminded me alot of the Midway (aircraft carrier) that we visited in San Diego, only everything is much more compact and closer together. I could not imagine living on that ship with a full crew, it would be so crowded!


After the museum Richard and I headed back into Waikiki to find Jackson. We parked and walked along the beach shops for a little while, then along the beach to intercept him, we met up at a bar and grill and had dinner. I tried a new fish: Opah, it was delicious! As it was getting late we drove back and found our hotel and learned 85$ doesn't go far in Honolulu, it was fine, but very small, just enough to fit two beds and a tv and dresser. However it worked out just fine and being on the 24th floor we had a pretty awesome view of the city.