It rained yesterday morning so we skipped our walk. Of course, it was sunny again within just an hour or so now that the rainy season is over. I've been doing at least 3 miles a day in the morning and sometimes another slower mile with the kids and dogs in the evenings. My legs just weren't used to all the walking, especially uphill, so it was ok to take a day off.
We headed to the gigantic fabric store and to do some other errands, and then went downtown (the traffic wasn't quite it's usual horrible snarled mess, but is always heavy) into Waikiki to check out another one of the Crazy Shirt outlet stores. We did stop on the way at Pearl Harbor Naval Base where I got to have my fix of Yummy Korean Food at the NEX. We did a ton of walking downtown and then headed along the water to the Diamond head crater, where we walked the sidewalks on the outside and enjoyed the views from the park. This picture is of the Blowhole, if you look really closely at the left 1/3 of the picture you might be able to see the spray from the hole. The tide was probably not very high so there was very little water coming out of it.
We drove along the coast highway and stopped and walked around and looked for shells and fish and such in the tidal pools, it's always nice to get out and be in the sun and have my feet in the water. There was a ton of sharp volcanic rock so it wasn't a swimming beach.
I just thought this was a beautiful picture. It's actually the opening to an area that you'll see a little lower where there is a very secluded beach that has a huge climb down (and then back up) to it from the road.
This is another one from where we found sea glass for Jenn's collection and were walking around looking at the way the surf came up over the rocks. You can see the outside 3 sides of the volcano that created all this lava still visible behind where this beach is.
Does he look like a tourist to you? I guess I do too...we're sooooo white skinned even with being outside for at least awhile every day. I guess if I transferred to HNL I'd be a little more tanned, at least my legs wouldn't be blindingly white.
This one is Diamond Head from the side in the park there. It's a beautiful setting, and on the other side of the street is another park where there are gorgeous native and non-native flowering plants and trees.
This is that secluded beach that we saw nestled between the volcanic rock cliffs. There were just a few people down there, probably the climb back up persuades only the hardiest of souls that it's worth it to go down there.
This is a view off the park along the ocean side near Diamond Head. There is a sheer drop off to the beach below. We saw plenty of surfers in the water in this area, but then again, there are plenty of surfers everywhere on the Island. We then drove back for a great meal of Ahi fish burritos and tacos at our favorite Mexican place, Cholos, though I wouldn't recommend the Le Hing Mui Margarita that I got. lol
After we went to the early Weight Watcher's meeting this morning in Aiea, we headed home and picked up Aidan as we were spending the day with him to give Jenn and Michael a date day. We enjoy going to the farmer's market in Wailua at the old Sugar mill. There are two roads to the north shore, and this is actually the less picturesque of the two, but the vistas are beautiful. 
Aidan enjoyed going to the farmer's market with us to get fruits and veggies from the local vendors. Most of the people grow their own produce on their land right in the nearby area, and I really like helping out the local folks. 
The farmer's market is held at the Old Sugar Mill which is no longer operational since they don't grow any more sugar cane on the island. The two mills that are still around are old and historic, and they remind you of an bygone agricultural time on Oahu. We put Aidan in the stroller and walked around and visited the shops that are in the old buildings.
The cone shaped building now houses the Wailua Soap Factory where we go to get Kukui soaps and oils. I've been there a number of times before, I love their soaps which have long been known to be antiseptic and astringant, and I have never left here without at least a few in my suitcase. And lets not forget the Pineapple Lip Baum. :)
By the time we left, some of the produce vendors were already packed up and going home until next week. We got some Huli-Huli chicken for lunch and then went to Haliewa to get some Shave Ice to share with Aidan. But the line at Matsumotos was out the door, and the little guy had already fallen asleep so we went home to put him down for a nap.
These are some pictures I took out of the car window while we were driving toward the north shore. The fields used to all be planted in pineapples, but Dole has now planted it's last crop of pineapples on Oahu, it'll be harvested in less than 2 years. Most pineapples are now grown elsewhere such as Thailand. Dole is planting coffee and cacao trees, there is some corn that has gone in, but mostly the ground has been left to go back to it's natural form.
If you look at the horizon on any of these photos, you'll see that there is a view of the ocean and the waves. It always draws you in and makes you happy to see it.
