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-The rest of the trip Brian and I went independent of the
rest of the group. Both Brian and I were determined to see more of Oahu
than just the Honolulu area, so we decided to take an all Oahu bus tour offered
by Roberts Hawaii. Andrew and Wen-Lin also did something similar, but opted
for the cheaper TheBus. The rest of the group i think went parasailing and
jet-skiing, which while probably fun, Brian and I felt that we could do that
in California, but we couldn't see Oahu back in California.
-We had a 8:55 am pick up time in front of our hotel, but we got up at 8 am, showered and ate at the Jack-n-the-box right next to the hotel. The bus came at 9am, and it was one exactly like the one that Germaine's Luau chartered to transport us to Barbers Point. This time, the driver acted as both driver and tour guide, and we got a guy named Thomas. A Hawaii native, he was very knowledgeable about all the sights and offered some interesting commentary on some of Hawaii's declining industries, particularly the agricultural industry. Aptly enough, our first stop in the all Oahu tour, was the Dole Pineapple Plantation.
-Surrounded by acres of fertile red soil, the Dole plantation is your typical tourist attraction complete with pineapple themed gift shop, food, train ride and maze. We both had some interesting pineapple ice cream soft serve. Now the first surprise of the day was that pineapples grow on the ground and not on trees as many people believe. I always thought they grew on trees, mainly because they are such large fruits, but no they grow on the ground. They also take a long time to ripen, some 1.5-2 years.
-THEY GROW IN THE GROUND!!!
-who's cooler in this pic? me or the pineapples?.... the pineapples obviously
-yup.. in the ground
-.... "pineapple fields forever..."
-the growth cycle of pineapples
-the flags of Dole, the US and the State of Hawai'i
-the entrance to the plantation
-We had a 8:55 am pick up time in front of our hotel, but we got up at 8 am, showered and ate at the Jack-n-the-box right next to the hotel. The bus came at 9am, and it was one exactly like the one that Germaine's Luau chartered to transport us to Barbers Point. This time, the driver acted as both driver and tour guide, and we got a guy named Thomas. A Hawaii native, he was very knowledgeable about all the sights and offered some interesting commentary on some of Hawaii's declining industries, particularly the agricultural industry. Aptly enough, our first stop in the all Oahu tour, was the Dole Pineapple Plantation.
-Surrounded by acres of fertile red soil, the Dole plantation is your typical tourist attraction complete with pineapple themed gift shop, food, train ride and maze. We both had some interesting pineapple ice cream soft serve. Now the first surprise of the day was that pineapples grow on the ground and not on trees as many people believe. I always thought they grew on trees, mainly because they are such large fruits, but no they grow on the ground. They also take a long time to ripen, some 1.5-2 years.
-THEY GROW IN THE GROUND!!!
-who's cooler in this pic? me or the pineapples?.... the pineapples obviously
-yup.. in the ground
-.... "pineapple fields forever..."
-the growth cycle of pineapples
-the flags of Dole, the US and the State of Hawai'i
-the entrance to the plantation
-we left the Dole Plantaion at about 12:30 pm and head
to the North Shore area of Oahu. We primarily drove along the shoreline and
made a stop at world famous Sunset Beach. The beach is famous for the surfing
championships that are held there, in particular the big wave championships.
The beach often gets 30-foot waves during the winter time. Unfortunately
or fortunately for us there were no such waves.
-Sunset Beach
-More Sunset Beach
-Sunset Beach
-More Sunset Beach
-after a brief stop at the beach, the tour continued east
along the northern shore. Much of the scenery and beaches became somewhat
repetitive, however it was still beautiful and much more interesting than
the skyscrapers of Honolulu.
-Windward Oahu is very green
-Chinaman's Hat Island
-Windward Oahu is very green
-Chinaman's Hat Island
-Driving down the coast, we made a stop at a macadamia
nut store which was very full of free macadamia nut samples and plenty of
tourists. I had me way too many macadamia nuts, but hell i was on vacation.
After the nuts, we drove along some more until reached the summit of Nu'uanu
Pali and got impressive views of the green windward shore.
-a waterfall near Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
-view from Nu'uanu Pali Lookout: Kailua
-more of Kailua from Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
-Mountains behing Kailua
-a waterfall near Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
-view from Nu'uanu Pali Lookout: Kailua
-more of Kailua from Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
-Mountains behing Kailua
-Nu'uanu Pali Lookout was definitely the highlight of the
island tour. Nothing else on the tour could really match up to the breathtaking
views from the lookout. We left the lookout after a brief 15 minute stop
and continued around the coast of Oahu toward Hanauma Bay. Along the way
we saw two small islands, Rabbit Island and Kaohikaipu Island. The next stop
along the tour was Halona Blowhole, a lava formation. The formation is such
that water shoots out of a hole like a geyser whenever the waves crash into
it from below. The formation wasn't working too well when we saw it, although
we did get some demonstration of the geyser-like action.
-Manana (Rabbit Island, rear) and Kaohikaipu Islands
-a view of Sandy Beach from near the Halona blowhole
-another shot of Sandy Beach
-the Halona Blowhole (it's where that mist is coming out of)
-a cove near the blowhole. It was featured in the movie "50 First Dates," which i saw on the plane ride in
-me posing in front of Sandy Beach
-Manana (Rabbit Island, rear) and Kaohikaipu Islands
-a view of Sandy Beach from near the Halona blowhole
-another shot of Sandy Beach
-the Halona Blowhole (it's where that mist is coming out of)
-a cove near the blowhole. It was featured in the movie "50 First Dates," which i saw on the plane ride in
-me posing in front of Sandy Beach
-The tour continued after Halona Blowhole to Hanauma Bay.
No pictures from that since i already put some up for July 9 (and besides
it was cloudier than on july 9...) After another stop outside the Diamond
Head Crater, our tour and circle around the island of O'ahu was over... We
got dropped off at the hotel around 5:30 pm after a long roundtrip. And now
for a random picture i took from the hotel room of the Ala Wai Canal right
after we got back.
-Ala Wai Blvd and McCully, next to the Ala Wai Canal... from out 20th floor hotel room
-Ala Wai Blvd and McCully, next to the Ala Wai Canal... from out 20th floor hotel room
-Brian and I had our last dinner in Hawaii at Ezo Ramen.
Pretty good stuff.. and you know it's a good sign when Japanese tourists
are in there enjoying it and even thinking they're still in Japan. In Japan,
it's not considered rude to be making slurping noises with your noodles,
but of course here in the states it is. But this guy i was sitting next to
seemed to think he was back in Tokyo or something, cuz he was making tons
of slurping noises. It did remind me of when i was in Japan, exactly three
years ago. Hahahah, it was nice meal to end the day and the trip with....
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