Wrapping up

We've worked hard, we've had a lot of fun, and now it's almost time to leave.  It didn't take long to love it here - to feel like we were residents rather than visitors.  We'll miss so many things about Oahu, but we have a lot of things to look forward to at home, so we're ready!

Maybe the next time we come, we'll figure out how to read the lovely Hawaiian language. We tried hard and improved a lot, but we still need practice!

We appreciate all of you who followed our blog and kept in touch.  Mahalo!

We'll see you soon!

Time off - Part 3

After going to Hanauma Bay about 25 years ago when I visited our friends Sue and Lee in Hawaii, I knew that I would want to go back someday.  We started our day there on Monday at 7 am.  It was cloudy and early, so we practically had this beautiful paradise to ourselves for a couple of hours before the crowd started streaming in.  This is how it looked when we arrived...

It's a crescent shaped bay that's a nature preserve, and there are a few things to remember to keep all of those gorgeous fish healthy and plentiful - no touching the reef, no feeding the fish, and no peeing in the water. :)  We saw amazing fish, some so big and colorful that they didn't even seem real, and we got really excited when we saw a big sea turtle. We swam along beside him and at one point floated over him, and he totally ignored us.  There were rain showers the whole time we were there, but who cares? (Yeah, we were already wet).  We had a wonderful time!

Next we hiked to Makapu'u Point and the lighthouse. It was a steady uphill climb up a paved path, and the views were really incredible.  The sky still hadn't cleared, so we couldn't see as far as we would have on a sunny day, but still...

When we got to the top, there was a fenced in viewing spot and people had brought locks and clamped them on.  Some were engraved, or had names written with a Sharpie - likely inspired by the bridges in Paris.

As we were admiring the view, the rain moved in, and wow- it came down hard and blew sideways. We ducked under trees, but it didn't help.  Neither did rain jackets.  

We were soaked when we got back to the car, but we both agreed that it was a hike to remember. Beautiful!

After lunch, as we drove down toward Waikiki to shop a little, we talked about stopping for another hike.  It was kind of sunny and we were dry by then,  so we decided to go for it!

As we started on the trail to Manoa Falls, we entered a peaceful jungle setting.  There were big trees and huge interesting plants, and the only sounds were loud birds singing all around.  The peaceful feeling didn't last long though, because... well, it IS a rainforest.  It started POURING.  We had just paid to park and we had already walked about a mile, so we kept walking.  The trail quickly turned into a mud bath, though, and got slippery, so as soon as we got a glimpse of the falls through the trees, we turned back.

Art's disposable poncho was pretty useless in this kind of weather.

Nice trees, huh?  And on the way out, we spotted these crazy periwinkle berries the size of jawbreakers.

After leaving there, we wandered around Waikiki in our muddy boots among all the people who were dressed for dinner and drinks by the ocean.  We were trying to kill some time and miss the traffic, but it didn't help much!  Oh well...

It was our favorite day here so far!

Tuesday was all about hiking and snorkeling, too!  We hiked to Ka'ena Point again, but this time from the other side, so it was totally different.  The trail was really a road for 4-wheelers that went along the ocean for about 3 miles, with mountains on the left.  It was hard because we ended up hiking it at the hottest part of the day and we really didn't take enough water.  The scenery was gorgeous, though! There are remnants of World War II, including concrete pillboxes, all over the island. Some have been used as art canvases. The picture I took shows an especially elaborate painting an artist did at the point. Also at the point - Monk Seals were napping on the rocks.  So cool...

We drove back and snorkeled some at Electric Beach and Ko'olina near Waianae.

Then we ended our day with this...

Andy, one of the directors, made his famous coconut pie, and we all met on the lanai of the plantation house for pie and coffee.  What a nice guy!  :)

Easter Sunday

The day started early with a sunrise service at Waianae Baptist.  It was announced that it would begin at 6 am, but they actually started at 6:45.  It's called "island time." :)  So... We only got to stay for about 15 minutes of the service, because we had to start prepping for breakfast at 7. There was a great young adult group here from Honolulu International Christian Church.
Between breakfast and lunch, they had a church service under the tent, and some of us went.  We enjoyed it a lot!

Family members arrived to join the group for lunch, so the number ballooned to over 100.  We had ham, steak & gravy, green beans, rice, salad, rolls and banana pudding.

They had an egg hunt for the kids.  I don't think they had any trouble finding them... ;~)

After we cleaned up, some of the other volunteers and Art and I piled into a van and went to the beach. I really wanted to ride some waves, but the water was way too rough.  Here are our friends Sue, Steve, Don, and Carol.

We missed being with our family, but it was a pretty nice Easter Sunday!

Our town - Waianae

The side of the island where we live and volunteer isn't usually visited much by tourists.  Some people say that it isn't even that safe for "outsiders" to be here, and maybe there was a time when that was true. Common sense goes a long way though, so we never leave anything valuable in the car and don't go out in the area much at night.  Some of Waianae's residents have been very friendly and have made us feel welcome, and for the most part we've felt safe.

Some of the major problems include homelessness and drug abuse.  There is a large homeless camp under the trees by the beach about 1/4 mile from our conference center.  Police officers keep an eye on things, and have forced people to move a few times.

Others have homes, but live in extreme poverty.

The church we've attended, Waianae Baptist, offer meals on Wednesdays to the homeless and needy. We had hoped to help with this program, but our schedule hasn't allowed us time to get involved during the short time we're here. 

Oahu is a gorgeous island with beautiful beaches and mountains, but there are people here, just like everywhere, who need God's love.  Please say a little prayer for Waianae... and Happy Easter!

Time off - Part 2

We had two more days off this week to explore the island, and we went all over the place.  :)  We started the first day at 6 am by driving to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet to shop a little.  There were a lot of interesting things to look at there, but we just stayed about an hour and then headed over to Waikiki for a bit.  From there we took off to hike Diamond Head.

The trail to the top of the crater is only about a mile long, but it's a steep climb, and there are over 200 even steeper stairs at the end.  Whew!  The views from the top are beautiful, and well worth the trip up. It started raining, and the only shelter on top is an old bunker, so all the hikers crowded together and tried to stay dry.  Fortunately, it was just a short shower.

                                  

After the hike, we headed up to the windward side of the island, and it was EXTRA windy.

I held both of our hats on while Art held the camera for a quick selfie.  :)

We stopped all along the coastal highway, taking in the views and checking out the beaches.  We loved Makapu'u Point, The Halona Blowhole, and the view of Rabbit Island.

We drove as far as Kailua, which turned out to be a really nice city that had a street party going on downtown.  We walked around, listened to music, and enjoyed smelling the yummy food.

Our long day ended with dinner and a movie in Kopolei.  Fun day!

On our second day off, we started out at Tropical Farms near Kaneohe on the windward coast.  We sampled nuts and coffee, and then took a really enjoyable tour.  It included a narrated bus ride through the gorgeous farm, a boat ride, and music and dancing. Many movies and TV shows have been filmed there, and it was fun seeing the locations.

The Koolau mountains in the background were used in Jurassic Park, Survivor, Lost and a lot of other films and shows.  We also saw the Gilligan's Island island. :)

They grow just about every tropical fruit and nut you can think of on the farm, but the macadamia nut is king there.  We cracked and ate lots of them.

From there, we drove up the rest of the windward side that we missed the day before, and then on to the north shore again because we just like it so much!

Chinaman's Hat

Pupukea Beach

Shark's Cove

Our favorite North Shore town

Things we ate... (Don't judge).

Fried bananas...Mmmmm.

Shrimp Scampi from this truck - (Ugly truck, yummy shrimp)

The real deal... Hawaiian Shave Ice with ice cream on the bottom.  Call me a 5 year old, but I love this stuff.  You can also get it with red beans on the bottom and condensed milk poured over the top.  Um...maybe next time.

Noooo, we didn't.  And never will.

So now we're working hard back at the conference center.  Today, Art helped install some much needed replacements in the K Cottages.  He assured me he didn't sit down on the job...

Farewell guys!  :)