Pavlov Point Blog: Hawaii

Our sixth day in Hawaii drained all the energy out of us! Jeannette and I woke up early in the morning to see the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. To me the harbor looks so peaceful, just as it did during the eighteen years I grew up here. I can't imagine what it was like to see the Japanese planes strafing the harbor and ships exploding there. It must have been a traumatizing scene to witness.

After our visit to Pearl Harbor we drove into the mountains to stand atop the Pali Lookout. This is a high cliff set in the Koolau mountain range overlooking the north side of Oahu. These cliffs are the site where King Kamehameha I waged a fierce battle during his quest to conquer and unite the Hawaiian islands. The battle ended with his opponents being forced over the edge of the 1,200 foot cliff to fall to their deaths on the rocks below. Luckily, nothing of that nature happened to us as we took our pictures.

For our last activity of the day, Jeannette and I hiked the Olomana trail. This hike is so amazing for so many reasons. First, the entrance to it is difficult to find, so you really must know how to find it or be shown where it is. Second, the peak is really impressive and yet it is still requires a few hours to climb. Third, the climb is always challenging, requiring a little bit of rock climbing, but nothing to need to spend months training for. Fourth, the view at the top is amazing.

The view of Olomana from where we parked the car.

It's the attack of the pirate hiker (Aargh)

Look how red the dirt is in Hawaii (it's caused by a high iron content)

I guess Jeannette and I were really lucky because on Sunday (the day before) there were reported 30 mph winds in Kailua. There is no way we could have done the hike in those conditions. Instead, the day we went it was perfectly calm, and instead of the hot burning sun we had experienced on our days at the beach, we had some cloud cover to help us stay cool during the hike.