Category: SF and Hawaii VacationPage 1 of 3

Well, that was a few weeks of revisiting last year’s Hawaiian 5-0 vacation. Not quite as good as being there but none-the-less fun to revisit our adventures through…

Our last full day in Oahu was rainy. Chris and Karen went for a drive and I stayed back to relax with a book and a walk in…

While we didn’t swim in the Seven Pools in Maui we did get to swim under the waterfall at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden. I should say, Chris…

At the Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden we came across these giant lily pads. Unfortunately (or fortunately), we did not see giant frogs.

A little history lesson: “This is a model of an ancient fishing shrine where Hawaiians worshipped the Ku’ula diety, or fish god. In ancient times, these fishing shirenes…

We decided to take the other way down from the overlook. This involved crawling through a hole, going down a spiral staircase, entering a tunnel through the crater…

Once we got to the top and saw the view, we knew it had been worth the hot climb. One way to see Honolulu without all the crowds!

We drove by this lighthouse on our way to Diamond Head. It was cool to get to the top of Diamand Head and see it from this vantage…

Once we wound our way up the mountain to get to the very top you had to take the stairs up. When we came to the first set…

Not that you could get lost climbing up a mountain when the goal is to get to the top but with Diamond Head you basically can’t go off…

Everyone seemed to be having fun on the water!

After going to Pearl Harbor we stopped at Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. We didn’t stay long just took a short walk on the beach. This catamaran looked like…

The place we stayed on the north shore of Oahu wasn’t right on the water but it was just a short block away. We would take our chairs…

Last year I posted some photos of our visit to Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. These ships are massive in size. I assume the U.S.S. Arizona might…

Across the street from Maui Wine is the Ulupalakua Ranch Store. We grabbed a drink and a couple of snacks.

After driving along the coast on the back road out of Hana we came to Maui Wine.

We could see the Hōlei Sea Arch in the distance and knew we wanted to get out and take a closer look when we arrived at it. It’s strange…

Driving the back road, along the coastline, out of Hana was amazingly beautiful.

We saw a herd of cows on our way out of Hana. You can’t really tell but in the photo with the two cows they are actually on…

We took the back road out of Hana and it was pretty amazing.

I’m not sure which stop this was but it had to be just before we got to Wai’anapanapa State Park on the Road to Hana. We didn’t go…

I really enjoyed the Wai’anapanapa State Park. I thought it was just going to be a spot we stopped at to swim at a black sand beach but…

While we didn’t go swimming in the Seven Sacred Pools, we did swim at a black sand beach at Wai’anapanapa State Park.   Swimming at Wai’anapanapa State Park

The Pools of ‘Ohe’o also known as the Seven Sacred Pools are located in Haleakala National Park. The Pipiwai Trail is also located in Haleakala National Park. So, after…

The last obstacle, to reaching the 400 ft Waimoku Falls, was to cross a flowing stream. I wasn’t sure if we would be able to get across as…

After the bamboo forest we had another stretch to climb and then we were were in sight of the Mahahiku Falls. While there were plenty of areas where…

The Bamboo Forest was so amazing it deserves two posts. Also, we were lucky to make it out of there alive so it should be documented. As you…

The Pipiwai Trail is a 4 mile round trip hike. They say it takes about 2 hours (or more if you stop a lot to rest/look around). At…

A nice spot to stop and get a few pictures of one of the waterfalls.

They had some cool stairs along the trail. Although, some were more like a stream we were wakling up…actually, I think they really were streams (thankfully, no flash…

They had some cool looking stairs along the trail. Although, some were more like a creek we were wakling up.

They had some cool looking stairs along the trail. Although, some were more like a creek we were wakling up.

This was a very cool tree! It kept going and going.

I think Chris was just trying to make Karen nervous with his balancing act. I was amazed to see the cows way off in the distance. They must…

Then we journeyed into the tropical rainforest. It was kind of like in Field of Dreams…if you build it, they will hike it.

Well, they give you plenty of warning right at the start of the Pipiwai Trail. I don’t know how good our judgement was but we did make it…