VanTastic Hawaii

Turtles and Temples

2008-11-20T16:26:00.000-08:00

This is just another picture of a turtle making its way up the beach.

This is the ByoDo In Temple in Kaneohe. It is a buddhist temple which really reminds me of Korea. The setting is very nice and peaceful. It was really cloudy and rainy the day we went but still quite beautiful.

Sights of Oahu

2008-11-03T21:48:00.000-08:00

This is the Halona Blowhole. They just finished repairing the viewing area and we went with Daniel and Whitney. It's pretty cool, the water gets shot way up in the air. The blowhole is an old lava tube, and when a big swell comes in it forces the water through the tube and up into the air.

This is USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Definitely a must for anyone who comes to visit us. Remember we will only be here for another year. Any friends or family are welcome to come and visit. Plane tickets are way down right now with gas prices having dropped. With free lodging and the use of our car you'll never be able to visit Hawaii cheaper.

Diving Shark's Cove

2008-08-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures of my Dad and I on our last dive. We went to Shark's Cove and went through the swim-through caverns. We had a really good time. Some of the caverns are 30 foot or so in diameter and a couple of the tunnels were about 100 feet long. We found some pretty big fish in one of the caverns but no sharks.

There were some really cool underwater arches that we saw. It was like we were swimming in the middle of Arches National Park. Several of the arches were plenty big enough to swim through.

Here's of few of the critters we ran into while swimming in and through the caverns and canyons of the deep. I'm pretty pleased with getting the turtle to look at me.

The Road to Hana

2008-08-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

We took the scenic drive to the quaint little town of Hana and even further down to Ohe'o gulch while we were on Maui. The drive was beautiful and we had a great time in the rain forest jungle. This first pic shows how pretty the view was while we were driving. The pic also shows how windy the road was. Look closely and you can see the road as it winds along the coast. The road is only 55 miles long but takes about 3 hours to drive. There are almost 600 curves along this very narrow road. One one side you have solid rock wall and the other a major drop-off over the cliff. The speed limit is 15 miles an hour most of the way. This is not a drive for the faint of stomach.

Along with all the curves are 54 one lane very narrow bridges. Why all the bridges? Because there is so much water coming off of the mountain. Every few bends you get to see either a spectacular waterfall or an open vista with a pool or stream running through a small valley down to the ocean. Although the bridges are a bit scary since you have to stop and look to see if anyone is coming before you can cross, the views were well worth it.

Along the way there are several nice stops that you can take to rest your stomach if you get queasy with all those hairpin curves. Some of the stops take you through magnificent forests and some just give you an overlook to admire the coastline. One of our favorite stops was Wainapanapa State Park. There was a blowhole that wasn't going due to low tide, so we got a chance to look down in the blowhole. There was a black sand beach, notice the sand under Kasey's feet isn't the normal white color, and small pools, arches and other other neat formations along the shore. Truly this area of maui seemed to be personally carved by the hand of God.

The end of the road has one of the neatest hikes I have ever been on. You go into the National Park and take the trail to Waimoku Falls. Along the way we counted 9 waterfalls! There are some bridges that you cross and get to look down on waterfalls and even a giant bamboo forest. It's only about 2 miles each way and well worth it. Ady stayed back with Grandma since my mom's knees aren't up for the 2 mile hike, and had fun at the visitor center and walking around at the park.

At the end of the hike is Waimoku Falls. The water comes off of a 400 plus foot cliff! Kasey's direct quote was "Holy cow!, that's the biggest freakin waterfall I've ever saw". It's pretty big. You can see it back on the trail a little ways and even hear it before you get there. All in all the drive was totally worth it and we all wished we could have stayed there another day.

2008-07-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

So for those of you who still look at this blog for ideas of things to do in Hawaii here is another thing to think about doing. We climbed Diamond Head last weekend. The climb is relatively short but fairly steep at one point. You have to climb up a fairly steep concrete set of like 150 steps at one point. It is enough that my calves were feeling it when we were done. The cool part is the end where you climb out of an old world war 1 pill box. The Pill boxes were manned during both World War 1 and 2. The view is pretty cool. You can see a nice lighthouse and get a nice look at downtown Honolulu and Waikiki with all the hotels. Those of you thinking of visiting us this fall I recommend getting your tickets purchased soon. Prices are still going up.

2008-07-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

We went to Shark's Cove with our friends Steve and Lauren and had a great time. If you are coming to visit us this is definitely something you want to check out. I was really wishing that I was SCUBA diving and could check out some of the caves and arches that we saw in the deeper water. But just in the cove we saw a turtle and tons of fish. The turtle was just coming up to get a breath of air when I took the picture. The pic with the single fish is the State Fish. Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.

2008-06-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

Ady and I had some fun taking Kelsey around and showing her some of the highlights of the Island. We went to Pearl Harbor and then Ady really liked the sunset. No she is not flipping anyone off.

Big Waves

2008-05-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

I just wanted everyone to see what happens when you are in the wrong place when a big wave comes in. If you zoom in on this photo you'll see people about to get smashed. And the dude who is trying to run away but is getting sucked up in the pull of the water is pretty funny too. This is about a 10 foot wave.

Waimea Bay

2008-05-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

This is Waimea bay. We went there this weekend. It was a beautiful day and the waves were breaking right at the shore. We got to watch some nice waves and snorkel in the calm part of the bay.

We jumped off the rock. the first picture is me and the second one is Kasey. Ady really wanted to do it too. The waves were coming in pretty big at times so we had to time the jumps between sets. Kasey really liked it.

WWII Plane wreck

2008-04-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

I went diving a couple of weeks ago and got to see this airplane wreck from World War two. It was pretty cool to see. The prop is still on it and a big eel lives in the cockpit. The plane is at 107 feet deep.

2008-03-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

The first picture is sunset in Haleiwa, and the second is the sunrise at the beach right by our house.

In the Water

2008-02-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

Today I went SCUBA diving. I went to a wreck off of Waikiki and then we dove a small reef. We saw this beautiful Spotted Eagle Ray, several turtles and many fish. It was so nice to be back in the water. The day weather was great. Very calm seas and fairly clear water. We even saw a turtle when we were boogie boarding the other day.

beach by our house

2008-02-21T22:47:00.000-08:00

This is the beach right by our house. It is only about a 3 minute walk. As you can see the water is really calm and clear. And the best part is that there is almost never any people there.

2008-02-10T19:50:00.000-08:00

This is just a picture of a pretty beach with the waves crashing on the rocks. The sun is just starting to break through the clouds.

PCC

2008-01-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

We got free tickets to the Polynesian Culture Center as part of my orientation for school. We had so much fun. We especially liked the Tongan village and Samoan village. And the night show was incredible. In the PCC you get to make polynesian crafts, play games and watch various shows. Adyson even got a fake maori tattoo! She tried to eat it.

2008-01-20T20:52:00.001-08:00

We went to Haliewa and got original Hawaiian shaved ice. Adyson really likes it. She screams if you don't give her a tasted when you eat one. And the prices are pretty reasonable. Only 1.50!

Boogie Boarding

2008-01-20T20:49:00.000-08:00

This is me right before I wiped out. I ended up on top of this wave and then it slammed me on the sand.

Manoa Falls

2008-01-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

This is Manoa falls. We hiked there last weekend with Patrice. The Falls are about 100 feet high. I took about 45 minutes to get there and was a really pretty trail.

Patrice's visit

2008-01-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

Patrice came and visited last weekend and not only did we have a great time going to the beach, watching giant waves, hiking through a bamboo forest, shopping and hiking to waterfalls: but we got some fresh pineapple, cut them in half and put sherbet in them, They were delicious!

2008-01-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Hawaii

2008-01-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

Hey this is Adam and I thought I'd give all of you an idea of what we are up to and help give you an incentive to save money and come visit us. I snapped this picture near Haliewa last sunday when we took a drive around the North Shore to check out the 25 foot plus waves! For reals, they closed all of the beaches up there and even cancelled the big surfing tourney since the surf was out of control. I guess they had to make that call when a wave went up past the lifegaurd tower at Waimea Bay. Anyway, I snapped a picture of one of our gorgeous sunsets. Now keep in mind that we are only gonna be here for 2 years. Come see us!