Ho Haleiwa

... to go to the cinema, but because of the incident with the jeep that had to be put on hold for another day. We headed down the coast to find dinner - quite a nice restaurant called Outback. A chain restaurant but great food and a great waitress who knew how to look after tired children.

Afterwards we drove back to the hotel with two very exhausted children, luckily we got a lift back to the room by golf buggy, otherwise we would still be walking there now!

... water which was surprisingly not to cold. So Katie, Emily, Andrea and I got in the water and were playing in the waves. Because it was so dark that only lasted a little while. When we got out everyone was walking along the Waikiki strip. We dried off and walked along the beach. Katie, Emily, Jordan and I were walking when we were approached by by some kids who gave up beautiful smelling leis and we were so excited. We had the kid take a picture of all ...

We spent a really lovely day here. In the morning we wandered around the shops and I managed to buy a really nice evening dress in a proper shop, which was marked up at $269, for $80. What a bargain, I obviously had no option but to buy it. After we had done all our shopping (I actually bought another summer dress - couldn't resist it) we went back to the ship for lunch - why go to a restaurant when we can ...

... with my camera on my phone, but even with its flash all you could see was black with street lights. As I got close to a few I noticed no collars, and not one of them was skinny or scraggly.. counted over 16 of them, and probably missed a few in the higher grasses. They must be having the good life out here near the coffee/chocalate/pineapple fields, plenty for them to hunt down. They were giving me this look like, "hey bro, move along ...

... a bit of a disappointment. A friend of mine warned me that all the "modernization" that has happened here happened in the 60's, and well in some places it shows. Not many buildings or places have been renovated or just bulldozed down and started over. Strange, considering a small island country like Taiwan can afford to take down and put up a new building in two weeks, but here on the ...

... system, is that they don't label the junction numbers on any of the maps! Just the road names, which isn't really much good if you don't know the city! But anyway, I found my way around ok in the end. I passed the exit for Pearl Harbor but decided I'd go there tomorrow instead. I headed up Highway 2 and realised I needed petrol (or I suppose I ought to say Gas, seeing as I'm in the States!) Filled up $20 worth and carried on. I came across the Dole ...

... and went out in the bay. The boards are larger and thicker than a regular long board, so they are easier to stand up comfortably on. We paddled around for a long time, talking and enjoying the beautiful day. Paddle boarding was something I had never tried before, and it was something I never wanted to stop doing. It's exciting to control such a big board with a little paddle and short little arms. After we were all thoroughly beat and ready to head in, we started paddling back towards ...

... I had never expected to practice my spanish on the island, but it was just another experience that made Hawaii fascinating. There were people from all over the world on these islands, and that was part of what makes it such a wonderful place. The multiple cultures coming together to share the tropics. I loved it more and more with every person I met.

While I was talking to my brother, before I had left for Hawaii, he told me that the people ...

... The first was the mouth watering "Huli Huli chicken" being barbequed in a parking lot. The huge rotisserie was covered with chicken halves being grilled over a bed of mesquite charcoal. To ward off the rain the whole affair was covered by a blue tarpaulin. Fortunately, there was no rain today. Sights like this are not uncommon in Hawaii as Huli Huli (turn turn) chicken is very popular. The B-B-Q s are portable and can therefore be found in parking lots or at ...

... impression that the only real surfing was in Hawaii. Before going to Hawaii, I also believed that all parts of Hawaii shared equally in this bonanza of huge waves which make it a paradise for surfing. How could it be otherwise when Hawaii's global position puts it almost into the middle of the massive Pacific Ocean being lapped at from all sides by huge waves? The longer and stronger the winds blow, the greater the waves. The oceans however have currents and storms which move ...