Hawaiʻi | New Year 2006

12/28 | 12/29 | 12/30 | 12/31 | 01/01 | 01/02

***Click on any image to see it full size!***

The next day we got up early and planned to go snorkeling, but when we got to Hanauma Bay at 9am, it was already too crowded to go. Instead we went for a ride, stopping at some scenic cliffs and proceeding to ignore the warning sign (as did everone else who had stopped there) and explore.

Here you can see Liz and me getting our picture taken, and you can see the picture that was taken.

Then we drove out past Sandy Beach, which is a popular surfing beach during the summer, when the trade winds shift and the waves get huge on the south side of Oahu. We stopped again at "the blowhole" which is supposed to spew dramatically... in the summer, again, when the waves are large on the south shore of the island.

We stayed at the blowhole and played in the water for a while. When not blowing, the blowhole makes a fun little beach for swimming and exploring the rocks.

Later in the day, we decided to nap and swim at Waimanalo beach: Sarah and Mike's favorite. I can see why:

When you compare that to Waikiki—the main beach that the tourists hang out at, where we went for dinner that evening—it's easy to see that we were very lucky to have such great friends to hang out with the whole time, who also happened to be locals!

Along the way to and from the restaurant in Waikiki, we stopped to play in a grove of banyan trees. The roots grow down from the branches into the ground, and eventually form whole new trunks! I was curious as to whether and how, in a busy downtown area, the roots actually get a chance to take hold of the dirt... It turns out that someone builds mounds to reach up to the roots that are nearly touching the ground, at least where the powers that be decide it's acceptable to grow another trunk. As you can see, the roots are very strong.

To finish off the day, I included some beach flowers and another glimpse of Christmas decorations in Hawaiʻi. Notice that Santa has his shirt open, his boots next to him, and is signaling a traditional Hawaiian gesture to passersby.

12/28 | 12/29 | 12/30 | 12/31 | 01/01 | 01/02