Day 5 Manoa Falls

I have to skip to this day because it was so incredible...and as always with places like this, pictures do not do it justice.

At the Luau the other night, the narrator said that Hawaiians are very spiritual people. There is no way you can see what we saw today and not at least acknowledge that a creator exists...

We caught two city busses to get to the Manoa Falls trail. We left behind a tropical beach and sun and 15 miles away we had arrived in a tropical rainforest! There are 150 climate categories in the world, Hawaii has almost all of these climates. The closer we got the bigger and greener everything got!!!! we felt like we were in the Alice and Wonderland movie set!





















Manoa Falls




At this point most people turn around and walk back to the bus...we found a small trail climbing up the side of the mountain in the rock. Of course we headed up the mountain!!! It's always worth it to go off road!! Just a little side note-wild boar roam the mountains here-so as a precaution we told Beka to call in the troops if she didn't hear from us...





This is one tree. The roots grow down to the ground from the limbs.




Most parts of the trail were very narrow and had steep drop offs. You couldn't tell on some parts because the foliage was so thick.




We walked for about an hour up up up the mountain. Some parts got really dark and thick and some parts were rainy. It looked just like Fern Gully!!! We finally got to a clearing. Off to the left a small foot trail followed the rim of the mountain. Literally 4' width at the top and steep drops on either side. The wind was very very strong, clouds were starting to settle over the mountain, our cell phone battery's were dying, we had no idea how far the trail went so we walked until we had to turn back to give ourselves enough time to get back down the mountain.










One of the bamboo forests we walked through...It was very dense and very little light gets through even in the middle of the day!


At the bus stop we were able to identify where we had just hiked. If you look about 1finger width from the left of the photo you see a small clearing. From there we hiked to the right up the dip, across the flat (looks flat from this view...nothing was flat) part, up up up to the peak of the tallest part, across that peak and then turned back...we weren't sure if it looped back around and we were running out of daylight.




This has been my favorite day so far!!! I feel ALIVE in the outdoors!!! Whether it is in the red rock of Moab, the coffee colored river in Branford, or the rainforest of Hawaii...I choose this over commercialized, man made activities and things any day of the week!!!


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Location:Oahu, Hawaii

Day 2 Part 2 - Circle Island Tour cont...

Correction: This is Gilligan's Island



Cliff Diving



Sea Turtle








Pineapple Rows: Takes 1 1/2 years to grow 1 pineapple. After the first harvest they produce up to 10 more within several more months. They get smaller and smaller, but sweeter and sweeter.












We got Lei's made from seashells for our Anniversary!







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Location:Oahu, Hawaii

Day 2 Part 1-Circle Island Tour

TIP: Book a Circle Island Tour with the Polynesian Adventure Tours after you've caught up on your sleep and before wasting a lot of time trying to decide what to do.

Humpback Whale - mountain in background



Hanauma Bay




East side of Island













Byodi Temple







Gilligans Island (I think) Patrick says it's not...he says it Chinaman's Hat
And it is, but i think it's both....



Sunset Beach on the North Shore where all the surf competitions happen




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Location:Oahu, Hawaii

Day 1 Slow Start

We woke up bright and early Hawaii time so we headed downstairs to find food and see the ocean...before we got out they bribed us into staying for the Activity Briefing with pineapple, papaya, and danish...for free. Then we headed for the water!!!




The water is amazing! So clear and shallow for so far out...Mountains in the distance. We were surprised by the stuff in Waikiki, but we're told the sights change as you get away from the hustle and bustle of the island...we'll do that tomorrow....we don't stay here long...we're off to look for food again!





Cheeseburger, Waikiki Beach...Opened by two girls who picked up and moved from LA and making picture frames to open the best cheeseburger restaurant...with no experience whatsoever. They now have 8 and are wildly successful! They were fearless!!!!

NAP!!!

Hungry again. So far all we've really accomplished is eating...









Hawaiian Swordfish!!!! Jason was our waiter, he's also a Jui Jitsu instructor as well as like totally stoked about the north shore...dude...





We were so hungry and it was only 5 pm, so we dressed up for a night on the town...only it was more Like a midday on the town...by 7 we were dead asleep in the condo. But we have an early day tomorrow so 27 hours of sleep will probably do us good...

TIP: When traveling to Hawaii factor in a sleep day...cause you're going to take one whether you want to or not...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Oahu, Hawaii

Aloha!!!

Finally we are able to blog....after crashing the Mac store for a camera to iPad connection, searching high and low for Internet connection, downloading the blog application, transferring pictures and eating some Really great pizza we are finally online!!!!

9:30 am Friday morning - arrive at Atlanta International
9:32 am - Freak out because I can't find my wallet with my ID and most of our vacation money
9:33 am - Patrick and Cody search the truck and find wallet under seat!

Whew...scary start

9:34 am - Spend several minutes trying to convince American Airlines we do not have to pay for our checked bag because we meet the exception clearly stated on their website...and I already have a printed copy that's highlighted with the exception...
9:36 am - he doesn't care and says if we want our bag we have to pay up...
9:37 am - sigh and grudgingly hand over my card with e understanding I will be contacting the airline...again, he doesn't care...

Dallas, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Shuttle, Sidewalk, Wrong hotel, Right hotel, 4 am Live Oak time...SLEEP!!!



All I can say is the weather is PERECT here and we don't know any of the words...

Night night!

Location:Oahu, Hawaii

The Strange and Wonderful Life of a Jonas...

I like to start my day around 7 AM.

It's 9 and Mom really needs to wake up

and cook me breakfast...Dad's been gone

an hour and this is really getting ridiculous.

I usually end up eating broccoli for breakfast.

I'm like Popeye...I like to eat my greens...

Plus it was left-over from last night and mom,

well, she struggles in the mornings.

After Breakfast I take a little tour of the backyard

in my red beamer. I can feel the sun and breeze whipping

through my mullet and I feel free.

Until the stinking thing runs out of gas...I hate having

to push this clunker! At least I have my boots on!

You know, sometimes you just have to walk away.

This is such a better alternative. I'm really

good at the sound effects too!

I try to spend some quality time in our garden.

You've really got to become one with the soil to

reap the harvest. I love dirt.

I also love hanging out with Dad.

And cousins, like Raelyn. I like hugs.

Don't tell her, but I'm really trying to body slam her...

Now with girls like this...You've gotta play hard to get.

See how I'm still looking at the camera, but showing such strong emotion.

I may go into acting...either that or tree-climbing...Is that a job?

I love to climb.

Sometimes I climb when mom isn't around.

You know, just to keep my agility up to par.

Look, I can stick my fist in my mouth.

It's about time for supper so I usually climb on the table.

I have a good view here. I can keep an eye on the hot

pan where the squash are frying...You may be wondering

if I even have a mom...I'm usually unattended. It's fun.

Here's a stunt I haven't quite perfected. I got stuck and

had to call for help. Somehow we have a picture of this...

Wanna see in my mouth?

Ah, Bath-time!!! My favorite part of the day.

Oh, by the way, I working on my rat-tail.

I like to wind down with a little island music and tomato juice.

It just doesn't get any better than this...

Off to sleep. Sometimes I wake up in the mornings

and feel like I've been sleeping off a balcony. Weird.

I feel so refreshed in the mornings! Can't wait to

wake up and do it all again!!!!!