Where's Diamond Head?

Well, as Jarrett mentioned, we’ve had a very full day since we started it at 4:30am this morning! Once we were up we figured since we were up before sunrise, we might as well stay up and walk somewhere to watch it come up. We went to Waikiki Beach and watched the sun rise over Diamond Head crater, which was pretty amazing. The beach was pretty quiet at 5:30 or so when we got there – beach vendors were opening up shop, the surf teachers were unloading surf boards, etc. Speaking of surf boards, there were lots of people heading out to surf – they would head out past the breakers and then just hang out. We wondered why they were just floating, but saw why: soon after the sun came up, the waves started getting larger, and the surfers started to surf. It was pretty cool! There were also a few wakeboarders in the mix, and some kiddo surfers too!

After taking pictures of sunrise, we walked back up to the canal and down to our room, which is right on the canal. We walked past the Zoo, which is about a block away from the beach! Our hotel’s continental breakfast started at 6:30am, so we ate before heading up to the room to get ready. The breakfast is fun because it is served poolside!

We left at around 8:30am to go to Pearl Harbor, to try to avoid traffic. We were pretty successful – we didn’t hit traffic at all, and it was a smooth 10 miles to Pearl Harbor. The security was interesting – no bags were allowed in at all – not even camera bags! At the museum/monument, you get a ticket and are told when to line up for the movie. There was a museum where we looked around at memorabilia and information about the ships and the attack. We also went outside to view the harbor and the other informational exhibits. At our designated time (only about 40 minutes after we got there) we went in to watch a short film (about 20 minutes) about the attack. Then you board a ferry that takes you to the monument. The monument actually sits over the USS Arizona, which was unable to be recovered because of its condition after the attack. Most of the men who died still lie interred in the ship. You can see the ship about 3 feet or more below the surface. It’s a pretty somber experience. Some of the survivors have been interred in a marble chest on the monument as well.

It seems worth mentioning that we almost feel like we’re in Japan – there are so many Asians around! It’s almost like we’re at Disney World – ha!! ;) They are all dressed in ‘80’s-like clothing – too cool!

After Pearl Harbor we headed toward Diamond Head, but, alas, our Mapquest directions weren’t too great, and we couldn’t find the entrance. Since we were starved we went over to Waikiki (only about 2-3 miles from Diamond Head) to eat lunch. We saw in our AAA Hawaii book that there’s a place called Cheeseburger Waikiki, which we had to try! We had seen it driving in, and finally located it. Free parking! The cheeseburgers were fabulous – and there was even the Frisch’s Big Boy decoration, dressed in Hawaiian attire!

After lunch we decided that it was getting pretty hot, and that a trip up Diamond Head might be a pretty yucky experience in the hotter part of the day. We decided to find Diamond Head’s entrance and to do it tomorrow morning as soon as they open, at 6:00am. We found Diamond Head road but had a little trouble finding where it veered off toward the park entrance. We drove past the turnoff once, but had an interesting payoff from getting lost since we ended up in one of the snazzier neighborhoods in Honolulu – some very huge houses on the shore – amazing! We’re sure some celebrities must live around here somewhere. Anywho, we ended up finding the entrance after turning around. As we were driving toward the entrance, we had a little adventure – my hat blew off and right out of the convertible! Luckily no one drove over it, and we were able to rescue it on the side of the road! ;) After locating the entrance we headed back to the hotel.

Seemed like a perfect afternoon for a swim, and the water at the hotel pool felt fine, so we swam and then napped poolside – this is the life!! Luckily we woke up just in time for happy hour, and enjoyed a Wipeout martini (Jarrett), pina colada (Jill) and coconut shrimp – yummy!

After cleaning up from our pool excursion, we ate Mexican for dinner and then walked around downtown Waikiki. Jarrett found a really cool shirt at Crazy Shirts – it is dyed in Kona coffee (coffee grown on the Big Island)! They also had shirts dyed in wine, beer, volcanic ash, chiles, and Blue curacao! Next we went to the International Marketplace, but didn’t buy anything…yet!
As always, we’ll be posting more pictures either tonight or tomorrow. Tomorrow we plan to hike Diamond Head and then drive around the island – it should be quite a day! More tomorrow!!