Hawaii Trip 2020
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| Papa and Gam with Willow and Nolan |
Our Trip to Hawaii was all about seeing this sweet little family. Shout out to Tom, Jenni, Willow, Nolan, and doggies for their gracious hospitality and stimulating mayhem! What a treat to spend a month at Christmas time on the magical Island of Oahu. Tom and family are stationed here for 2 more years with the Navy on the Marine Corp Base at Kaneohe Bay. There are 5 beautiful beaches accessible on base and we explored all of them. Hale Koa Beach was one of our favorites with its aqua marine waters and coral strewn sand.
Half way through our stay, Tom got unexpected orders to fly to San Diego on Navy business. But before he left he took us to Ford Island and the Pearl Harbor Memorial sites, quite sobering in contrast to the beauty of our surroundings. Randy especially enjoyed the Museum of old war birds located on the original airstrip.
Rainbow seen on the original airstrip at
Pearl Harbor on Ford Island
Jen and Kiddos, Papa and Gam did manage several fun day trips by car, laden with a picnic lunch and plenty of snacks. With Jen as our guide we traversed the island further with a trek to the famous North Shore of Oahu. Many stops along the way including Kualoa Regional Park featuring Chinaman’s Hat Rock just offshore. We also stopped at Shark’s Cove at Pupukea, Sunset Beach, the famous Pipeline a surfer’s dream, Macadamia Farm, and the Dole pineapple fields for exploration and photos.
Another road trip found us on the Pali Road winding thru the mountains as high as the clouds and surrounded by mist and rainbows. Our destination was the southwest side of Oahu where the terrain changed to a more arid climate. We surveyed the many wonderful beaches, lookouts, and scenic views this part of the Island had to offer. A favorite was Cockaroach Cove sporting a natural blowhole coming up thru the rocks and producing ocean spray. We briefly saw some humpback whales just off shore at Lanai Lookout, but too far away for a good photo.
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| Papa, Gam, Willow, and Nolan at Hale Koa Beach |
I loved that everywhere I looked I could see the volcanic mountain majesty in the distance, ever changing with atmospheric conditions. I loved all the rainbows produced by brief rain showers. I loved walking the different beaches each with their own unique experience. I loved being with this family, sharing meals together, laughter, fun in the sun, meeting their neighbors. I loved seeing how much Willow and Nolan have changed and just hanging out together.
Enjoy some of our memories captured in time!
Mahalo!
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| North Beach |
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| Marine Base Housing |
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| Our beautiful daughter, Jenni at Hale Koa Beach |
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| Willow peeking out at Gam! |
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| Nolan and Papa at one of the five Honolulu Botanical Gardens called Ho'omaluhia in Kaneohe |
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| The kiddos playing at the beach |
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| At the aviation museum on Ford Island |
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| Ran-Man in his element |
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| Jen and the kids at Kualoa Regional Park with Chinaman's hat in the background |
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| Tom body board surfing! |
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| Papa and Nolan having fun |
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| Me and My art buddy! |
