Oahu, Hawaii - November 2009

November 5: Honolulu was hot and sunny. Temps stayed around the low 80's. It was rough waking up to the sound of surf and having to open the patio door to warm ocean breezes. It rained more than once every day.

November 6: Downtown for a sales pitch and free breakfast. Neither was great but we got a $50 dollar discount for the Polynesian Center and drove to Pearl Harbor. No long lines or waiting at the memorial. It's a very serious, you see a film about WWII before boating over to Battleship Row where the USS Arizona and her crew rest near Ford Island.

That night was the Luau at the hotel (it rained.) We were entertained by performers from the cultural center. The food was OK and poi is not as bad as described, although rather cold and tasteless - and purple. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me and Bill took a Tahitian dance lesson on stage.

November 7: Saturday we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It rained a lot that day, but was warm. There were lots of little huts and trees to duck under. The singers and dancers are wonderful and it's very interesting. They love to share their culture and the music is great. Lots of drums.

November 8: Sunday we went to St. Roch, a small wooden church about 3 miles from the hotel. We were warmly welcomed with seed necklaces and kisses on the cheek. Lots of places close on Sunday, so back to the hotel for breakfast. The Hukilau Cafe is not the same as "50 First Dates" and it was closed anyway.

After breakfast we drove to Waimea Valley Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. There's a nice gradual uphill walk to the falls and a lot of trees and flowers are marked for identification. There was light rain off & on all afternoon.

November 9: Monday we walked around Turtle Bay, looking for the banyan tree on their map. The beach was nearly deserted and we finally found the banyan tree between the beach and golf course. A big brown spider ran between us. It stopped and I clicked a shot of him. Suddenly a red bug with black wings ran out and started to fight with the spider. By the time I got my camera switched to video, the fight was over and we had a dead spider on the path. It turns out that it was a harmless Hawaiian Cane Spider and we have no idea what the bug was - possibly a wasp.

November 10: Tuesday we drove to Honolulu and around to Diamond Head. It's a huge crater with a desert inside. Interesting but not as pretty as the beaches on the east side of the island. We found a place on the coast called "Blow Hole" but it wasn't the right time for whale watching.

November 11: Wednesday was our last morning. There was a beautiful sunrise and rainbow (rain makes rainbows, right?) and although more storms were predicted, it was a sunny flight out of Hawaii.