Off to Maui

Watching the local news last night was interesting to draw some parallels. First they talked about signing up for the upcoming 'Humpback Whale Count'. On one day in February anybody can sign up t count as many whales as they see. The results are then tabulated and compared with other years to try top keep track of whale numbers. In the contiguous 48, we have the one day 'Christmas Bird Count' where you sign up to do the same thing but with birds. Cool. I wish I could count Humpback whales every year.
The second parallel was surf conditions. In Minnesota they have the ski reports where they tell you how deep the base (of snow) is for skiing at each Ski Resort. Here they tell you the height of waves for the surfers! Where we were yesterday (Pipeline) the waves were supposed to be 6-8 feet high today. They seemed bigger to me!

Today started with breakfast at IHOP again. We decided to go visit Diamond Head which is the crater outside of Waikiki that is a well known landmark for the Island. Our plane left at 1:10 so we didn't have a lot of time. But Jacky, Allen and I decided to try to hike up to the top of the crater. I got sidetracked at the bottom trying to get pictures of the birds I didn't know. All of these I saw were introduced from Japan, India, Asia... Hers's one of the more colorful:

Brazilian Cardinal

Well, Allen decided to turn back after a bit. I thought I could go to the Look Out, before the steep steps started. Huffing and Puffing, my face beet red, sweating profusely, I made it step by step. At one point there was a 200 ft tunnel climbing up, only periodic lights set in the wall. You couldn't see the exit because the end of the tunnel had a 90 degree turn. It was DARK. People going down were brushing up against you and you didn't know how much further you had to go. When you finally came out of the mountain, there were more steps straight up. I'm proud to say I made it to about 30 ft from the top. My legs just couldn't go up any more stairs. I was able to get high enough to see on both sides of the crater.

Lori (almost) at the top of Diamond Head Crater

Inside rim of Diamond Head Crater. Parking Lot is on the far right

Going down at break neck speed was less tiring (i.e. no Huffing and Puffing) but harder on the feet as my toes were jammed against the front of my sneakers with each step. The numbers of people going up and down was a problem also. As is narrow, two lane car roads, I had to wait to 'pass' people. Jacky and I made it to the top and back in just under an hour. Air Conditioning please!

Next stop: the Honolulu International Airport. On our plane to Maui, hardly had time to read a chapter before we were coming back down again. We had the engine and the wing to contend with so no great views of the island as we came in. Too bad - when we leave the island it will be 11:30 at night so there will be NO views of the ocean and Maui.

At least the sun was still up when we got here. This island really is totally different from Oahu. We are on the 'dry' side so there's no beautiful plant life here. Lots of waves crashing on the shore but no nice sand beaches like are all over Oahu. People were on the beaches and some were (I assume) whale watching. I did see a couple of whale blows but no more. Hopefully we'll see a lot more tomorrow.

Starving since we missed lunch, (and I hiked up the crater) we quickly found a steakhouse after unloading all the suitcases at the condo. My first Mai Tai, complete with little umbrella, started off the meal. I had more Hawaiian fish - this time grilled ahi ( a type of tuna). Even though I was super hungry, it was wonderful. We may have to come back in a couple of days. Tomorrow evening is the Luau. I think we'll be visiting the other side of the mountains (rain forest) also. Maybe a beach???? Well, all the cameras are charging and I'll be ready.