Streaks of Fun

It was time to mix it up a bit.  I decided some streaks of red might do the trick.

Sunset in Oahu

 Sunset Cruise on our last night in Oahu.

 

 

What a wonderful vacation!

Pearl Harbor

 

Called Pu'uloa, meaning "long hill," or Wai Momi, literally, "water of pearl," by early Hawaiians, Pearl Harbor, so named because of the abundance of pearls once found within its protected waters, is the largest natural harbor in the State of Hawaii and the number one visitor destination on Oahu.

Today, Pearl Harbor remains an active military base, Headquarters of the Pacific Fleet, and a National Historic Landmark that's home to four unique attractions: from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that started it all, to the surrender of the Japanese on the deck of the mighty Battleship Missouri, these four historic sites together tell the story of the War in the Pacific, commemorating the accomplishments of a previous generation.

Located on the island of Oahu, "The Gathering Place," halfway between Japan and the mainland United States, Pearl Harbor will always be a welcoming place where survivors of the attack can reflect on the events which led to the war and which had such a profound impact on the lives of an entire generation.

To those who fought in the war, to those whose lives were affected by the war, their children, grandchildren, and each succeeding generation, Pearl Harbor is a place where people from far-flung corners of the world can come together in peace to honor the memory of the fallen and to celebrate the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

An important stop on our Oahu trip was to visit Pearl Harbor. Steve took me to the Nimitz Museum on the Pacific War a few years ago.  His idea of leisure reading is WWII stuff.  My grasp of historical events is sketchy at best.  We are ying and yang when it comes to history.  However, after touring and learning about Pearl Harbor, I have a much deeper appreciation for the events of December 7, 1941 and the years after.  We even got to meet a seaman who was at Pearl Harbor on the day Japan attacked.  I also enjoyed reading about Doris Miller, from Waco, in the national park museum.  We opted not to tour the USS Bowfin Submarine, but instead spent our time at the USS Arizona and the Battleship Missouri.

The USS Arizona was a solemn experience. Knowing what happened that day and knowing we were visiting an underwater tomb was just a sad experience.  That being said, I was so grateful to get to visit the memorial and see the oil leaking from the ship firsthand. 

Steve reserved private tours for both of us following the USS Arizona.  However, I accidentally wore flip flops.  Athletic shoes are a requirement for climbing around the battleship.  So, I did a nice deck walk on the ship and then sat at a coffee bar for the next two hours while Steve learned every detail of the battleship.  In hindsight, I think it was a good decision to wear the flip flops.  I found all these photos from his private tour.  I'm sure they all have significance and meaning.  Therefore, I felt it necessary to put them in a collage.

Lady Bears

Our Oahu vacation coincided with the Lady Bears playing at the University of Hawaii.  It was fun to watch the 2012 National Champions play three games in three days.  They beat Hawaii and Tennessee-Martin and lost a close game to Stanford.  The venue was practically empty, so we had awesome seats and made great memories.  The Hawaiians were especially impressed when Brittney Griner dunked the ball in warm-ups and in the game. 

North Shore

 Steve and I drove up to the North Shore one morning to watch the surfers.  You can't come to Oahu without seeing the North Shore.  The area has numerous beaches that are great for watching surfers and watching the giant waves.

 On our drive to the North Shore we passed the Dole Pineapple Plantation.  Matsumoto's was a must-do stop on our list.  They are well known for their shaved ice.  The North Shore is filled with several cute, tiny towns.  Surf lessons and surf shops seem to be main source of income for most who live in the area.  Another must-do on our North Shore list was to eat at a Shrimp Truck.  They remind me of the food trucks in Austin.  You can find a Shrimp Truck in the North Shore are on just about every corner.  The food was fabulous.  We dined like the locals (sitting on plastic chairs with a rickety old table eating fresh seafood off of paper plates with plastic ware)- it was divine!

Of all the beaches in the North Shore, we really wanted to see the Banzai Pipeline.  There were surf competitions going on, so we opted for the next beach we came to along the drive.  There's a 2-lane road that drives parallel to the shoreline.  At any point you just pull over and park and walk on to the sand.  We were absolutely fish out of water when visiting these beaches.  Professional photographers just set up all along the beach to take photos of the surfers.  It's easy to see how you could spend a day just watching the waves.  It was quite mesmerizing.

Waikiki Beach

We spent a few hours at Waikiki Beach.  I really wanted to go just to be able to say I went.  It was totally different from Ko Olina.  Waikiki is crowded.  Crowded with people, crowded with cars, crowded with hotels, crowded with stores, and much more.  Maybe if I were young and single and wanted to walk around the streets in a bikini I'd want to stay at Waikiki.  I just don't see the appeal of Waikiki.  But, I'm glad we stopped by for a visit.

I did enjoy the shopping and people watching at Waikiki.  There was a fun Market area to shop in where you can wheel and deal with the locals.  Along the beach frontage are all the high end stores: Tiffany & Co., Coach, YSL, Gucci, Chanel, etc.  We did not go shopping there.

Diamond Head

 Our first morning in Oahu we drove across the island to Diamond Head to hike to the top of the state park.  The trail was built in 1908 and it was part of Oahu's coastal defense system.  Considering our bodies were still four hours ahead of Hawaii time, it worked out well to do a sunrise hike on the other side of the island.

 See all those tiny tiny figures of people weaving along the trail up above?  Yep, that's where we're headed.  It's 1.6 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 560 feet.

Let's do this.

We did it!  I had to catch my breath a few times, but I made it up to the top!  I'm so glad we did this hike early in the morning.  I can't imagine how hot it gets when the sun comes out. 

A view of the residential areas of Honolulu

 Looking towards the east side of the island up to towards the North Shore

 Waikiki

 University of Hawaii

Yay for us!  Now, on to more lounging around and less exercising!

Aloha Oahu

 Steve and I decided to vacation wherever the Lady Bears were going to play their November tournament- or as Steve calls it: The Brittney Griner Tour.  Lucky for us they were invited to play in the Rainbow Wahine Classic at the University of Hawaii in Oahu.  The first half of our trip was spent going to basketball games and touring the island, while the second half was spent at the Ko Olina Resort.  Grammy and Grandpa kept the boys at our house until school was out for Thanksgiving break.  Then they drove them down to Waco for the week of Thanksgiving.  Steve and I got a full week alone on a Hawaiian vacation!  Just amazing!

Steve and I went to Kauai six years ago.  This was my first trip to Oahu- although my mom was pregnant with me in 1975 when my parents went to Oahu, so it technically was my second trip.  Steve and his family had been when he was a child.

Traffic in Oahu is quite different from Kauai.  We flew into Honolulu and drove to Ko Olina.  Trying to get to the resort during their rush hour ended up being a long drive.  We quickly learned that it was best add in extra travel time to any of our adventures.

The Marriott Ko Olina was a beautiful resort- more our speed.  Not overly crowded, very relaxing, and peaceful.

The great thing about Ko Olina is the man-made coves with tons of sand.  Obviously this is a well planned resort community.  Disney recently built their resort in another cove next to the Marriott.  It's a complete luxurious resort area- a complete 180 from Waikiki.

I'm so glad we stayed at the Ko Olina Beach Club rather than in Honolulu among the hustle and bustle of the city.

Dad

On our way to Hawaii we ran into this guy at the airport!  My Dad!  Love Him!

Anniversary Dinner

Happy 13th Anniversary to us!

What better way to celebrate than to have dinner with 4 handsome guys!

Homecoming Parade

I took the boys to Waco for Baylor Homecoming.  Really we go just to see friends and see the parade.  The boys are most interested in a morning of donuts and catching candy being thrown from various floats.  The Grand Marshall of the parade was David Murphy- former Baylor player and current Texas Rangers outfielder.

The Heisman Trophy

 

 In 2011 Robert Griffin III shocked Baylor Nation and won the Heisman Trophy

 

"The hotter the heat, the harder the steel. 

No pressure, no diamonds. 

We compete, we win. 

We are Baylor. 

Baylor we are, Baylor we'll always be."

 

 I've been wanting to see the Heisman Trophy in person ever since RGIII won it last December.

The Athletic Complex was open the morning of the Homecoming parade, so we made a quick trip over to get some photos just after the parade was over.

   I still can't believe Baylor University has a Heisman Trophy.

Halloween

Happy Halloween!

The Summertrail Court Kids had their annual pre-candy photo shoot.

This year my big boys begged to be something scary for Halloween.  I am not a fan of scary- especially considering we have a three year old in the house.  Caleb picked out a creepy jack-o-lantern mask and paired it with black clothing and a witch's hat to become a "Pumpkin Warlock."  Carter insisted on being a zombie.  I said no for many weeks.  Finally I took him to the store in hopes of inspiring him to choose another costume.  Nothing peaked his interest other than the zombie costumes.  I reminded him many times that he has a young, impressionable brother who might get scared from the blood and gore.  Carter then told me, "Mom, zombies eat brains.  There's no blood."  I didn't even argue with his statement.  I gave in and we bought the nasty costume.  Brenner was never even fazed by either costume.  It could be that he was so excited about his own Thomas the Train costume that was given to us by a neighbor.  The trick-or-treating turned out to be a huge success!  We were out for over two hours and got loads of candy.