Hawaii 2008 - Day 8

Today was mainly spent looking at the Volcano for the Kilauea eruption. We headed over to where the lava was flowing into the ocean to see the steam. On the way, we stopped at the Lava Tree State Park. We then got lost trying to find where to go to view the steam near Kalapana, but we finally got there.

I wanted to see some lava, but we were no allowed to get close enough. We could stick around and wait for it to get dark to see the glow from the lava, but that would be another two hours. I did not really want to just sit and wait for it to get dark, so we headed up to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see the glow from the crater. However, there was a lot of fog so the view was not that clear.

Top-left: Malasadas, Portuguese doughnut like pastries from a shop we stumbled upon in the Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo.

Top-right: Me with a lava tree. The lava flowed around a tree trunk and solidified.

Bottom-left: Steam from the current active volcano as lava flows into the ocean from an underwater lava tube.

Bottom-right: Glow from the lava in the Halema'uma'u Crater.

Hawaii 2008 - Day 7

Day 7 was mainly a day of rest even though we woke up early so we could get some breakfast and head to the airport with plenty of time to hop over to the island of Hawaii, aka the big island.

We arrived around lunch time in Hilo and meet with my aunt. For lunch we headed over to Cafe 100, one of the places we go at least once. They have local food and was even in a show on the Food Network for the Loco Moco. The Loco Moco is rice topped with a hamburger patty, eggs, and gravy.

After going to my aunt's house to rest, we picked up my grandmother and headed to a Japanese restaurant called Miwa. When then headed to a local super market and I was surprised how much milk costs over here, about $7 a gallon.

Left: Cafe 100 in Hilo, HI.

Right: Me, my grandmother, and mom.

Hawaii 2008 - Day 6

Our last full day on the island of Oahu. This day we visited the Polynesian Cultural Center.

We ended up arriving a little late so we only visited 3 of the 6 "island" areas; Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Tonga. We missed going to Fiji, Tahiti, and Hawaii. In Samoa, we saw how they make fire, use coconuts, and a guy climb a coconut tree. In Aotearoa they performed some different ceremonies, dances, and songs. Tonga had lots of drums with a few members of the audience participating.

After visiting some of the island areas we went on a canoe ride for a quick tour of the center. Then it was off to a Ali'i Luau for some good food and entertainment. The end of the day finished with a fantastic show called Horizons. There were lots of dances performed that represented each of the six island areas. I really enjoyed it, definitely the best thing of the trip so far.

Top-left: Some hula dancers.

Top-right: Mom and I in front of some tiki statues.

Bottom-left: Me and some replica Rapa Nui (Easter Island) heads.

Bottom-right: Te'o-Tafiti, the "Samoan Warrior" about to perform a fire dance.

Hawaii 2008 - Day 5

July 6 started off very non-vacation like with mom and I doing laundry. Because of the new regulations and fees being implemented by the airlines, we decided to pack less clothing so we would have a smaller number of luggage bags to check. However, my mom's eyes were all puffy and it was concerning me.

We looked in the phone book and saw that there was an urgent health care in Waikiki just a few blocks from our hotel. We walked over and she saw a doctor. He said that is was an allergic reaction. We figured that the cause was most likely hair gel that she started using a few days ago.

With that crisis out of the way, we traveled to the middle of the island to the Dole Plantation. They have the "worlds largest maze" and other tourist activities. We spent most of the day there, and afterward went to dinner at the Willows.

Top-left: Mom and I at the Dole Plantation.

Top-right: Red Pineapple? This variety originated from Paraguay and is called ananas bracteatus.

Bottom-left: The Pineapple Express train tour.

Bottom-right: A fun little water fountain at the Willows.

Hawaii 2008 - Day 4

Most of the day was spent walking here and there. First, we tried to find a place to eat breakfast and figured it would be easier to walk down 30 flights of stairs than wait for the really slow elevator. I think this was a mistake since that tweaked my leg and I had a slight limp for the rest of the day. After walking down what seemed like 300 stairs, we walked about a mile until we found a breakfast buffet.

The main goal today was to visit Diamond Head Crater and take a gander at the view. The walk was a lot longer and harder than I had originally expected. The hot weather did not help at all. At the end, we cooled off at with some snow cones and some sushi.

Mom was going to meet with the other main players in the family reunion for a recap meeting, but we had some time to kill so we headed to the Ala Moana Shopping Center. During this time, my left foot started to hurt and it just seemed to get worse and worse. I brought some flip-flops with me, so hopefully that will help relieve some of the pressure on my feat for the rest of the trip.

Top-left: Me signing a paper saying that "I climbed Diamond Head and survived!" It took us just under 1 hour to make it to the top with plenty of stops to catch our breath.

Top-right: Part of the great view from summit of Diamond Head.

Bottom-Left: Once we reached the bottom, we had our first snow cones for the trip.

Bottom-right: We were also hungry, so we tracked down some food and stumbled upon a sushi restaurant.