B. Artistic Photography Blog: Personal - Hawaii Vacation: 08.2011 Part 2

Along the north shore they have several of what they call “shrimp trucks”. We stopped at Macky’s for lunch and were not disappointed!

This was my favorite shaved ice place, Matsumoto’s. I told Mikhael I could have shaved ice every day!

Gotta love their menu board!

Next we stopped by Turtle Bay Resort which really was beautiful.

This is part of Sunset Beach, and was a perfect place to read and relax.

We drove to the other side of the north shore to Mokuleia Beach Park to watch the sunset, and also watched a few guys kitesurf. One guy was catching air about 15 feet high!

This incredible night view of Honolulu was from the Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery.

Day 4

We drove up along the east side of the island and saw some spectacular beaches, some with water so clear that it appeared aqua.

Here’s a close up to see how clear the water is!

Driving up to Nu’uanu Pali Lookout

You can’t tell in this picture, but the wind is extremely strong up here!

Our rental car :) Love the lush green forests!

The famous Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe.

As we were driving past this little island, I told Mikhael “hey that looks like a hat out there!” That’s when he informed me it’s called “Chinaman’s Hat”. :)

We ended the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center for their luau dinner and evening show called “Ha - Breath of Life”. Unfortunately they don’t allow photography during the evening show.

They have these torches many places in Hawaii, and light them at night.

Day 5

We slept in, then had a quick lunch before heading to Diamond Head State Monument for a hike. What we didn’t realize before starting out, is how far Waikiki Beach is (where we started walking) to Diamond Head. I was so exhausted by the time we got to Diamond Head that I had to rest, so Mikhael went on ahead of me. About 45 minutes later I felt like I could do it, (plus I didn’t want to get that far and not see the view.) So I did it!

This is part of Waikiki Beach on our way to our hike, and some shaved to help keep us refreshed, and well yes because it’s so yummy too. :)

This picture shows Waikiki Beach from the top of Diamond Head. See how far away it is? Well it’s farther then that really, plus the hike starts on the back side of the Diamond Head. There is no telling how many miles we walked.

The long dark tunnel, one set of the MANY stairs it took to get up to the top, and part of the trail.

By the time I got back down my legs were literally shaking they hurt so bad! But it was worth the view and the accomplished feeling. :) (We took a taxi cab back in case you're wondering.)

That evening we went back down to the Waikiki Beach Walk and picked up some souvenirs at International Market Place while waiting for a table at Cheesecake Factory.