Kayaking up the Wailua River to Secret Falls

We got up early this morning and walked across the parking lot to the kayak tour company and prepared to kayak up the Wailua River. We had about 13 people in our party and we set off for the marina. We unloaded the boats and set out. It was absolutely amazing. The water was cool, but as calm as a lake. We paddled about two miles then beached the kayaks and then hiked about a mile through the orignal area where Kauai was settled. We actually were hiking through and irrigation canal that was built over 800 years before. It was hard to believe at that time there wasn't a forest. All of the forest has been developed over the past two hundred years by trees brought from other places. Apparently there was a flood on the river last November that brought a 20 foot wall of water through the forest. Where the water went you could see stacks of trees some more than a hundred years old. It left clear spots in the forest which were quickly being overtaken with green vegetation. The fall was really cool, we stopped and ate lunch there. On the way back we saw the ancient queen's bathing area. After arriving back at the marina we were really tired, but had reservations for the Smith family Luau a couple of hours later. The Luau was incredible, the music was good, the food was good and the dancers were incredible.

Pictures around Kauai

Tunnel Beach, Oh, no a shark, make that several sharks have decided to come eat a turtle at the beach just as we were getting in the water. The lifeguard closed the beach. So much for snorkeling there.



The view from the passenger seat





One of the farming valley on Kauai

Pictures around Honolulu

Diamond Head almost did Daryl in, but the view was worth it!

The Coronation gazebo outside of the Palace. The kings of Hawaii are represented on each side of the gazebo

The Iolani Palace, the only royal palace within the United States

King Kamehameha statue outside the Court House

Daryl playing the piano at Queen Emma's Summer Palace

Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council This was the sign at the entrance


Flowers at the Dole Plantation and the big snails

The Rainbow tree

The Dole Plantation



USS Arizona Memorial

The Sunset at Waikiki

Honolulu

Our hotel
We had a long eight hour flight that left Dallas at 11am and got us to Honolulu at a little after 2 in the afternoon. Hawaii is five hours behind Waco. We got our rental car and checked into the Marriott Waikiki. We took a walk on the beach and bought some cookies from the Hawaiian cookie company. The pineapple cookies were particularly good. We went to dinner at D K Steakhouse,it was phenomenal! The steaks were great and they had a cayenne rosemary butter that was great on the bread. Our room had a balcony and we had a partial ocean view. We were on the twelfth floor and had a pretty good view.
The next morning we got up early and headed to the USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor. We got their about 6:30 and it opened at 7:00am. There were a couple of tour groups in front of us, but we got on the first shuttle boat to the memorial. We heard that if you come back later in the day the wait can be up to two hours. The visitors center is built on reclaimed soil so we were actually standing where the bay was in 1941. They had to rebuild, because the old building was sinking into the bay. They were still constructing the museum, but the gift shop and ticket booths were complete. It was an awesome experience seeing the Japanese and American people come together to remember what had happened so very long ago. The drill Sergeant on the transport boat was very serious and a Japanese couple sitting next to us did not understand when he told us to stay seated and they proceeded to take a picture and he promptly told them to sit their butts in the seat and grabbed them and sat them down. Since this basically was a cemetary they requested that we not use our cell phones. Apparently some woman did not pay attention and he grabbed her and was chewing her out about the cell phone and would not let her go onto the memorial. The size of the ship was amazing to me and the tears of oil that still seap from it were incredible. It is amazing that people are still interred into the ship after their death. Some of the survivors wanted to be placed in the ship with their shipmates that didnt survive after their death and the Navy accomodates them. From there we headed to the Dole Plantation for some pineapple. They had the most amazing trees in the parking lot called rainbow trees. They almost looked painted and had all the colors of the rainbow on their trunks. We drove around the rest of the island and ended up at Queen Emma's summer Palace. While looking for the Palace we ended up at the Aloha Council of the Boy Scouts of America. We stopped and got Greerson a shirt and a patch. At the Palace Daryl got the opportunity to play the piano. It was made around 1800 in London and was purchased in Boston and brought back to the islands. It was in amazing condition. We walked on the beach again that evening and ate a Cheeseburger in Paradise for dinner.