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For this blog:

Mary's mom always wanted to go to Hawaii and in 2010 she finally got her wish.  Mary and Mom spent a total of two weeks on Oahu and Kauai with a day trip to the big island of Hawaii.  Paul joined the for part of the trip.  

Please do read through this blog for our narrative and the related photos. 

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January 30, 2010 - Dole Pineapple Plantation and Waimea, Oahu

We started the day with a trip to the Dole Pineapple Plantation, not far from Honolulu.

We spent some time wandering the beautiful Plantation Gardens with its tropical plants.

They had a pretty impressive koi pond. 

We headed farther north to the coast and stopped at Waimea Beach.  The beach is known for its massive surf but it was very calm today.   

However, nearby was the Wiamea Break. This is where a river dumps into the ocean.  The volume of water coming down was massive and created a surf...and the surfers were surfing the river.    

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Video of surfers.

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January 31, 2010 - Honolulu and Pearl Harbor

We are traveling today with our nephew, Brian, who lives on Oahu where he works for Monsanto.  He showed us many of the sights.  Today was a pilgrimage to Pearl Harbor where we saw the memorial

and the USS Missouri where the treating ending World War II was signed. 

Then we went on to the Nu Uanu Pali Cliffs.  They are rugged and steep and separate the leeward and the windward sides of the island. 

We saw the island called China Man's Hat. 

And we stopped at the beautiful Byodo In Temple, a Buddhist temple.

The drive took us along the beautiful island coastline. 

February 1 , 2010 - Day trip to the Big Island, Hawaii

Today we took a tour to the Big Island of Hawaii.  The flight left pretty early so that we would have the entire day there.  

There were a lot of opportunities to photograph flowers and the lush, green tropical vegetation.  

We stopped at Rainbow Falls near Hilo,

We also stopped in the Lili uokalani Park in Hilo.

The tour took us to Volcano National Park.

We spent some time along the coast.

At one beach we saw a sea turtle working its way up the beach.  

It was a really long day and we didn't fly out until evening...so we were late getting back to the hotel.

February 2, 2010 - Honolulu Cruise

Today was fairly leisurely.  The highlight was a cruise of the bay along Waikiki Beach...

with views of Diamond Head. 

We had a fairly nice sunset. 

February 3, 2010 - Polynesian Cultural Center

Today we took a drive to the opposite shore of the island.  The coastal drive was lovely.

We stopped to see the Hale O Lono Temple

and had a lovely parkland walk.  

While there we saw some wild chickens, including a vividly colored rooster 

and a red-crested cardinal...not quite as vivid red as those in Mom's home in Illinois.

In the park was a great banyan tree

and a small waterfall. 

We spent most of the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  The grounds were beautiful

Some of the highlights:

The Floating Parade with floats representing all of the Pacific Island nations featured at the center. 

The Maori Center

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Video of poi dancers.

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Video of dancers.

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A Fijian Spirit House

with Fiji people

Someone climbing a coconut tree.

Lots of entertainers.

The Hawaiian Center.

We went to the evening Luau.

And saw the evening show.