8/7/08 A day of firsts

We took real advantage of still being on east coast time by getting up really early (5:00) so we could be at Diamondhead for the 6:00 opening time. Turns out most of the really early birds to hike Diamondhead are Japanese, three tour buses full. So up the volcano we hike with team Japan. They kept a good pace and we made it to the top just slightly out of breath. The view is amazing and the breeze refreshing. The downward trip was amazingly uncrowded. W finished up with Have Ice from the lunch cart in the parking lot. Yummy!!! We were all feeling better for having exercised so we decided to head to Hanamanu Bay for some snorkeling.

We were told the parking lot usually was filled and closed by 9AM. We were there a little after 8am. The spot is beautiful and impressive from the overlook where you pay and watch the environmental video. Unfortunately, I didn't precheck the equipment. My snorkel was malfunctioning badly. We did manage to see some fish before the snorkel quit completely. Since this part of the adventure didn't take as long as planned, we decided to hike to the waterfall @ManoaTrail.

This is a rainforest hike 2 miles round trip and was billed as an easy grade. The grade may be easy but the rainforest was. . .well a rainforest. Huge, green impressive vegation, also wet slick and muddy with mosquito's. We were prepped for the bugs so no problems there. The hike was not so bad on the was up. The falls, all 160 feet of it was very impressive and so worth the trip. The trip down however was a different story. We were covered in mudby the end. Hope slipped several times and was "Done with this". By now it was 1pm and hunger warred with the desire to get clean.

Clean won out and we headed back to the hotel for showers before getting lunch at the beach. Hope headed back to the room while Andy and I headed to the beach for seaglass collecting and the last new experience of the day, outrigger canoe riding.

If hiking taxed the lower body, rowing worked the upper. It was a real thrill to catch the wave and ride it in to shore. We got to do this twice. At $10 it was a great experience. I was very happy to be in the back. Just like banana boating, the people in front get SOAKED!

Soon it was time for dinner. I think we set the bar high last night. While we had a prime table at Duke's and one of my favorite German Rieslings, the atmosphere was loud and the service OK.

Random thoughts. One the mainland everything is in English/Spanish here it's English/Japanese.

It is very easy to ask people if the want you to take their picture together using sign language.

People here are really friendly even going so far as to give you printed directions to your next destination (the lunch wagon @ Diamondhead) or having you follow them to get you back on track when you get lost in Monoa


Tomorrow Meeting some Foolish friends for the Polynesian Culture Center