Day 2 - Exploring On Our Own

By Ellen Outten

 Clicking on any picture will enlarge it for a better view.


Sunrise this morning was at about 7 am and the clouds made it even more interesting.


Wayne & I set off today, exploring on our own and drove the southern portion of Oahu stopping at various overlooks and beaches.  I couldn't get enough of the beautiful turquoise waters and the gorgeous views from Sandy Beach, Halona Blowhole Lookout and Makapu'u Lookout.













As we neared Waikiki, we stopped at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific also known as the Punchbowl Crater.  It's a beautiful, serene setting with many WWI and WWII veterans buried there.  The mosaic murals on the walls tell the story of the battles of WWII.   The famous WWII correspondent, Ernie Pyle, is interred here; not because of his news correspondent role but as a veteran of WWI.  Also buried here is  Challenger Astronaut, Ellison Onizuka as well as many "unknown" from WWI, II and Korea.  














For all my quilting friends, we went to two fabric stores looking for Hawaiian prints to make pillow cases.  We haven't found the perfect fabric, yet.   We'll keep trying.  

From there, it was on to lunch at the Hale Koa Hotel for active duty and retired military.  What a beautiful place, right on Waikiki Beach.   Lunch was wonderful; I guess we were hungry.   The picture is of my first Mai Tai; but not my last.  Early birds that we are, we were up at 4 am (or earlier) so lunch couldn't come too soon at noon.  I would have taken a picture of lunch but we were too hungry.


                                                            
                             Ellen's Mai Tai                                            Shared Dessert (He Made Me Say This)


The Grounds Of The Hale Koa Hotel for Military Only (Active or Retired)












After lunch we went to the Navy BX Exchange at the Hale Koa where I bought the obligatory Hawaiian shirts (two of them, really). Wayne bought "another" one of his famous shirts!  I won't spoil it for PDS folks.   You'll know it when you see it.   Finally, after a beer at the beach bark I took a walk on Waikiki Beach before heading home for the day.

Tomorrow we're off to Pearl Harbor with reservations for the tour and boat ride out to the USS Arizona memorial.  Afterward, we'll see USS Missouri, The Utah Memorial and the submarine, USS Bowfin.  More tomorrow!  



Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 6, 2023 at 5:02 PM

    Love your narration. 💕
    Nice pictures, but few of you enjoying your trip.

    ReplyDelete

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