Hawaii Day 1-4

*******Warning LOTS of pictures*******

While on our marathon vacation Bob and I had the chance to sneak away for a week to Hawaii. The kids all stayed back in Sacramento with our wonderful families. We went to the island of Oahu, and stayed at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa. We had a really nice room on the 22nd floor with an incredible view of the ocean. We were able to sleep in, enjoy the sun, water and lots of tourist attractions. Here are the highlights.

Day 1- We arrived about noon local time, but to us it already felt like 3 in the afternoon. So today we just checked into our hotel, wandered around Waikiki, and turned in early.

Day 2- Today started really early. We began with a hike up Diamond Head. Which is an 760 ft. extinct volcano. It is a nice little hike, but it was HOT!!! That sounds strange from someone from AZ, but the whole way up we were in the sun, and it being our first day there we were not used to the humidity yet. It was totally worth it. The views from the top were gorgeous. We did have a little drama on the way down. Just as we reached the paved trail again, I heard behind me some people running down. Since we were on an incline I decided to move over and give them plenty of room. Well the side of the trail took that moment to dip off,and I fell- pretty spectacularly if I do say so myself. Nothing was broken, but I did skin up my knee and both hands pretty good.
We then headed to Punchbowl Cemetery. It is also in a long extinct volcano. It is the resting place of more than 48,000 soldiers.
Next we hit Wal-Mart. Bob's sister use to live on Oahu and they told us the best place (and cheapest) to buy souvenirs was Wal-Mart. They were right.
After a few hours at the beach that afternoon, we took in a late dinner at Dukes.
It is a local popular restaurant named after DukeKahanamoku, a famous surfer.
Day 3- Today we got another early start out to Pearl Harbor. They only have so many tickets each day to go out to the memorial and it is first come first served. Sometimes they are out by 10:00. We were able to get tickets, but had a 3 hour wait until our tour. So we took in the Pacific Aviation Museum. It was full of all the different fighter and bomber planes that were used in WW II. It is inside a hanger on Pearl Harbor's Ford Island. The outside still has damage from the war.
At noon we were able to go out on the memorial. It is really sobering to think of all the men who lost their lives that day and who are still 'buried' there in the sunken ship.
On the way home we made a stop of the famous statue of King Kamehameha. He was the king who unified the Hawaiian islands.
Day 4- Today we spent exploring the beaches and towns of the North Shore. We drove up to a little town called Hale'iwa for lunch. Then drove up to Turtle Bay Resort, and then stopped at various beaches all the way back down the shore. We spent a few hours at Sunset Beach, and enjoyed a piece of pie from Ted's Bakery(a local favorite). We then moved on and saw some sea turtles at one little beach just off the side of the road. They were swimming in the ocean just right at the edge of the beach. They are protected and this area was a feeding ground so there are people there to make sure you don't touch or feed them. There is a HUGE fine for doing so.
After we had our fill of sand and beaches, we headed to the Dole Pineapple Plantation for a famous Dole Whip. We were too tired to do any of the tours, but did enjoy a walk through the gardens.