Climbing Diamond head

On Wednesday my mom and I decided to adventure out and go hike Diamond Head.

We were on the city bus by 8:30 in the morning and on our way.

We got dropped off at the very bottom and had to walk up a road that led into the crater.

The Brochure I got says this about hiking the trail-

From the trailhead to the summit of Diamond head Crater, you will hike 0.8 mile one way and climb 560 feet from the crater floor..  Portions of the involve steep stairways. Other portions of the trail go through a long tunnel which is lighted.  

{sign at the information center gives you a visual of where we are}

 About halfway up

look out point

We finally made it to the observation station after climbing 74 steps, going through a tunnel, and then climbing a second set of 99 steep stairs.

We also had to listen to a lady sing the ants go marching to her daughter the whole entire way.

Was not a huge fan of that.

We then climbed another set of 52 stairs to the third level. 

  

Ready to head back down.

These stairs aren't as bad as the ones we had to come up thank goodness!

We made to the bottom.

Got some water.

As we were walking across the parking lot to walk to the bus we were sure it was at least 11 or 12 o clock.

We thought we would get back in time for lunch.

We looked at it was only 9:45am.

So we decided we would get off the bus a ways before our hotel and walk back along the beach back.

Aloha!

Aloha from Hawaii!

{Aloha means hello, goodbye, and I love you!}

We survived our first two days in Hawaii!!

It was rough but we managed!

We left Sunday evening.

Jana drove us to the airport.

The flight got to be a little long and bumpy.

I passed the time by listening to music and working on photos.

The complimentary Mai Tai as we neared the islands made it a little better.

We made it to the hotel and found out we got upgraded to an executive suit in a tower right next to the beach! We even get our own pool overlooking the beach!

We did a little exploring to find the pool 

and then went  straight to bed at 10:30 (1:30am Washington time).

We awoke bright and early Monday morning ready to go!

We enjoyed coffee out on our balcony.

We got ready for the pool and headed out for breakfast.
We ended up at Starbucks.
We got some coffee and sandwich for a 9am lunch and took it to the beach.

When then headed to the pool where we camped out for the day!

{view of the beach from our lounge chair}

{Mai Tai}

After the pool we did a little walking around to explore the shops and find some dinner.
We also walked the beach as the sun was setting.
We were so tired from our day in the sun we were asleep by 8:30!

Tuesday we were again up bright and early.
We enjoyed our coffee outdoors.
Went for a walk around the grounds.
It has rained both mornings we have been here.
It starts to sprinkle, goes away, and then comes back.
It is usually all gone by 10.

Mailed postcards to the kids.
And again spent the day at the pool!
I got a little burnt yesterday so actually put on sunscreen today!
Another first was I actually got all the way into the pool!
The water is so cold...brrrrrr

Around noon {our time} we got a text from Jana that Cohen was up and Michelle was there too from school so we had a little skype time with them on the computer.

{showing them the beach}

By late afternoon I had enough sun.
So we packed up and headed to the room to get ready to find dinner.
We decided to make the 15 minute walk to the mall!
On the way back we took a more beach scenic route past the harbor.

{looking towards our hotel and the beach}

We are having a very relaxing time enjoying the sun!
We saw the weather report for Lynden and was not impressed.
I need to soak up as much sun as I can!

Tomorrow we are planning a beach day!

Aloha!