Honolulu Oahu Hawaii

Here we are in Tropical Hawaii.  Most everyone you talk to these days has visited Hawaii and or is familiar with the city of Honolulu as it is the most visited place in all the Hawaiian Islands.   I have not been here and spent any amount of time in 30 plus years so to say it has changed would be an understatement.  Either that or due to the time that has passed I really can't remember much of the time spent here in the past.  For Kyle and Kaelyn though it was brand new.  In all honesty if it were just me I would have gone to one of the other islands and avoided Honolulu all together.  Very busy but not as busy as Sydney.
We had a late night flight out of Nadi Fiji and managed to get a little sleep on the plane as it was the first flight in the entire trip that wasn't full.  When we got to the hotel we had to find something to do for a few hours as the room was not ready yet and check in time was in the afternoon.  Although tired we walked around to check out the shops, beach, and restaurants for something to eat.  Once we got into the room all of us crashed other then Betty who went shopping.  Me I was done like dinner I slept until late afternoon and then we went out for late night dinner.
Monday we went to Diamond head and hiked along the road into the caldron but discovered that the hiking trail was closed for repairs so we couldn't get up to the edge to take photos of Waikiki.  After that we went to the beach and swam for an hour or so.  No Betty didn't go in the ocean even though she was sporting new swim wear!  The kids and I rented some wave boards but the beach area we were on had a lot of rocks under the surface which made the wave riding a little sketchy.  Both Betty and I remarked that it seems the beach has changed significantly.  There are several man made break waters put up that I don't remember being here before and the area of the beach seems smaller.
Tuesday we did a tour of Pearl Harbour and saw the Arizona Memorial and went and toured the battleship Missouri.  For me the most interesting part of the day was the Missouri and the deck of the ship where the Surrender of Japan was signed in Tokyo Bay in Sept 1945.  To stand in that spot on the ship was humbling for me.  In a glass case 2 Unconditional Surrender documents signed that day (a copy for Japan and a copy for the United States were displayed).  Also little known fact a Colonel Lawrence COSGRAVE signed the Surrender documents in the wrong spot so they had to fix all the signatures that came after because he screwed it up!  This was Japan's copy.  Oh by the way this COSGRAVE guy signed for the Dominion of Canada.  Have another beer Eh!!
Tomorrow we are going to a Luau, then a boat cruise and snorkelling on Thursday.

A view from the north side of Diamond Head looking north.

White people trying to body surf.  Looks nice but nothing but rocks below the surface.

 USS Missouri with Kyle in front.  Those green things are some of the shells it fires from 16" guns on the rear and front decks up to 23 miles away. " God bless America and pass the ammunition"!!

Standing in one of the bridge decks looking out over the bow.  This thing is huge!!  Picture doesn't quite capture it but its almost 900' long and 108' wide.  One of the reasons it was used as the meeting place for the signing was that the allies wanted to intimidate the Japanese leaders so much to ensure they would not reneg.

The USS Arizona Memorial.  1,177 sailors entombed on the ship below.  A very somber place to visit.












Well here it is Thursday night we leave tomorrow to head back to LA then Vancouver.  We went to a Luau last night west of Honolulu on the beach.  It was good but I felt it came up short and was a little bit cheezie.  The problem is everything here is so Americanized that most traditional things seem and look like a Vegas side show.  Maybe that's just me.
 Tonight we went on a dinner cruise which was good lots of food and a good look at the shore line along Waikiki and beyond Diamond Head.   Typical holiday that came to an end quickly and now we are packing getting ready for an early flight home tomorrow.  The kids are ready to go home and frankly so am I.  It has been an awesome trip but now it's time to get back to reality and a routine.  If I were to do this all over again I would forgo most of the booked tours.  I say this because in some cases they were so busy it felt like we were being herded along and unable to look at things at our own pace.  I would definitely spend more time in Western Australia.  There is so much to do and see!  I would spend time on another island other then Oahu where it is less busy and less like main stream USA.
My only regret was that we missed Ningaloo reef and Coral Bay in WA and as a result we also missed going snorkeling here  due to recent rain fall that made the water murky so poor Kaelyn was disappointed that we didn't get to do this.  But she made up for her disappointment by shopping.   Betty has created a monster!  A few last pics and we're outta here..............

Sunset at the Luau.

A dark skinned lovely at the Luau.  Looks pretty good after a few drinks.........

She's not looking so hot the next day after the Mai Tai's wear off!!

 Honolulu from the cruise.












Here's a little something special for all that followed the blog.  Warning you may want to have young children and elderly with heart conditions leave the room.................

 

                                                                                                                                                                                 

Payback!!!!

Hey it's Kaelyn, and Dad made a huge mistake by that puppet comment. Just so everyone knows the koala was real and extremely soft and non smelly. The smelly one was dad with his fungus feet standing off in the corner blaming the koalas. Take that dad!!!!! since I have nothing against him with animals I do have a awesome picture of him trying to be funny. Hope you enjoy. THE KIDS RULE YEA!!!!!!! but seriously the koala was real my hand was not up it's butt and dad the WAR IS ON!!!!!

Christmas in Australia!!

We are in Sydney now and having a great time.  Before I go into detail I will back up a bit and cover our last few days in Busselton.  Christmas day came and went just like it does everywhere else in the world.  It was hot and sunny here with the usual gift opening taking place in the morning.  Glen and Nat made us all feel at home this day and we all sat around the Christmas tree opening presents.  Prior to that we had a light breakfast and then later in the day we went to the beach for a swim.  Yeah that's right swimming in the Indian Ocean.  When you have a look at the video we are the white people in the middle.  After the swim we went back to the house and everyone kind of veg'd out after then having the full blown breakfast.  I've never eaten so much in one day and it wasn't over yet.  We later headed to Nat's sisters place in a small town near Busselton and met some of Glen and Nat's extended family.  More and more food!!!  Hospitality beyond compare and another 10 lbs on my belly.  It was a great day.
The last couple of days in Busselton we spent hanging out in town and around the house.  We had to leave on the Monday to head back to Perth to get our flight out to Sydney and we went out for lunch at the Saracen Wineries by Margaret River.  It was a beautiful place with great food and company.  Like all holidays it was over to fast and it was time to say goodbye to Glen and family.  Despite not having seen each other in 30 years it was an emotional goodbye which surprised us both.  Now the Bird family will have to plan their trip to Canada!!

 Video at the Jetty in Busselton. Yes that's Betty jumping in the Ocean.  All around the Jetty there are nets to keep the stingers out (Jellyfish).  Betty thought the nets were for sharks and that they went down to the bottom.  You should have seen her swim for shore when she found out they only went down about 2'.   Sharks can get in no problem.  A tiger shark was spotted swimming around a couple of weeks prior to this video.

Pic outside Saracen's prior to our flight back to Sydney.

Sydney Down Under

The flight to Sydney was good very quiet and uneventful which is a good thing.  We got there early morning on the 28th and got to our hotel around 7AM.  Considering the time change and little sleep on the plane we all crashed for 4-5 hours and then got up around noon.  Now it was time to explore!!  The weather was a little cooler here then in the west but still very nice.  It was cloudy the first day and then after that nothing but blue sky.  We were a 5 minute walk to Darling Harbour and about 20 minutes to the Opera House and Circular Quay which is where the ferries go in and out of.  To sum this place up in one word SPECTACULAR!!  I will say this though if you come here bring money and don't count up your purchases or you will crap yourself until you get home.  Very pricey but worth it.
We got to the Opera House via Hyde Park and the Botanical Gardens and all I can say the Opera House was worth the trip by itself!!  To try and describe it would be pointless on paper so all I will say is if you ever come here make it a must.  We couldn't go inside but just to stand outside and take it all in was enough.
On day 2 we went on a bus tour of Sydney to the north shores of Manly to the famous Bondi  Beach in the south.  We also had a 2 hour lunch cruise on a huge yacht with tons of food and a tour all around Sidney Harbour.  Stunning!!
Day 3 we went again by bus out to the Blue Mountains and walked on the trails down to the valley floor via the steepest cable train cars.  Very cool.  On the way back we stopped at the Featherdale wild life park and got up close and personal with the Koala, Kangaroo, and Tasmanian Devil.  Did you know that the word Kangaroo in Aboriginal language means ”I don't understand“ . When the European's came to Australia they asked the Aborigines what the strange animals were.  They didn't understand and said "Kangaroo"  The European's thought that was the name of the animals!  Little bit of trivia.
Day 4 was New Year's eve.  Kaelyn and Betty went shopping , Kyle and I went to an IMAX movie and the Maritime museum.  The New Years show at the Opera House and Harbour were unbelievable and the people, holy F&%#@.  Almost 2 million around the waterfront!
New Years day we went to the TARONGA zoo across the harbour.  I've been to several zoo's and this had to be one of the best.  Another must do when here not just for the park itself but the views of the harbour are also excellent.
Sydney is amazing but it is extremely busy and expensive.  Makes Vancouver look cheap!!  Here are some pics. 

Pyrmont bridge over Darling Harbour.  Only open to foot traffic now to access both sides without having to walk around.

Botanical Gardens.

That's me, Kyle, and Kaelyn in front of one of the sails to give you an idea of the size of the place.

This is from the other side of the harbour.  The above picture is us in front of that little sail to the far right.  That should give you an idea how big this structure is.  All  I can say is awesome.

Cruising the harbour!!

World famous Bondi Beach!  Believe it or not this is a relatively average day. Not that busy according to the locals.  All I can say at the end of the day my neck was extremely sore!

The 3 sisters in the Blue Mountains about 2 hours west of Sidney.  The scenery is spectacular and a very cool area to explore but it was so busy it was hard to get the full scope of the place.  My suggestion would be to rent a car and go on your own and take your time.  Lots of cool little towns to stop in along the way.

Koala's are cute but they smell.  Betty and Kaelyn didn't mind though.  Actually its fake and Kaelyn has her hand up the rear of a puppet..............

New Years eve festivities!!

The zoo with the view.

Landing in Fiji on our way to Honolulu.  More to come from Hawaii.