I'm finally getting around to posting my adventures in the West (and not so West).

We left for CA on 7-5 after staying at the Philadelphia Airport Marriott. We had a nice view of the Fireworks at Penn's Landing as well as some other local fireworks.

We flew into John Wayne Airport and drove over to the area of LAX where we were flying out Sunday afternoon. We decided to take a drive Sunday morning and surprise, suprise we somehow found our way to Pt Vincente & Pt Fermin.

We were unable to get near either one- Pt Vincente because the gates are almost always closed and Pt Fermin because they still have the Construction Fence around it. They seem to be almost done. The lady working in the garden was not very talkative- we tried, but she just ignored us.

There was no one near the gate at Pt Vincente, but we could see a family over by one of the houses. We did go into the Pt Vincente Interpretive Center, but this has little to do with the Lighthouse. It's concerned with the birds and sea mammals that you can find in the area,

Here's a couple of pictures

Pt Vincente



Pt Fermin



We flew out Sunday afternoon for Honolulu. We got there and spent over an hour not getting the car we reserved and finally got a larger one than we were supposed to get (after I graciously declined their offer of either a convertible or minivan for only $10 a day more than I already had paid).

We stayed at the Ohana Waikiki East which is a nice hotel. nothing fancy, been around for awhile but it's clean and well kept and not far from the beach (about 3-4 blocks). Inexpensive, too.

We got up early the next day and drove out to Pearl Harbor. We waited for about 1 1/2 hours for our tour. It's an interesting setup- you get a number and there's a small museum and gift shop to spend time in while you wait. The Arizona Memorial itself can be a moving experience- you see many different reactions to it.

Arizona Memorial




We spent the rest of the first full day in Hawaii taking the submarine ride down to see the wrecks- real and manmade- and the sealife. It's a nice little trip- a bit pricey. We finished off the day with a Sunset Cruise off the coast of Honolulu. The food and entertainment were very good.

We spent the next day driving up the Windward side of Oahu on our way to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We stopped at Diamond Head Lighthouse on the way. Unfortunately, all of the photos I took are so washed out that I can't seem to fix them. We skipped the hike up to the top of Diamond Head (which as it turns out later was probabvly a good thing)

We stopped at many little beaches and scenic spots along the way to Laie, including Makapuu Point State Park. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the digital to work here and the 35 mm i had didn't have a very good zoom so I have no good pictures of it either.

We spent from Noon to about 9 PM at the Polynesian Cultural Center and it wasn't long enought to see everything. We went fot the package that included everything- including a tour guide for the day. He took us around and kept things moving along. We were in a small group- a family of 5 from Salt Lake city and a couple on their Honeymoon from PA and us.

We got to 5 of the 7 villages for either the ongoing demonstrations or the special presentation that each one has along with the Canoe Parade and the IMAX show.

We had a nice buffet dinner and then the Horizons Show which was the best presentation of the cultural similarities and differences between the varied Polynesian peoples. Don't miss this if you get to Oahu. The place is fun and educational.

Esther and I with or Maori Tatoo in Aotearoa (New Zealand)



You also can see part of why I got no sunburn- a hat and 45 SPF lotion. I got the hat at Hilo Hattie's.

We got up the next morning and took a ride over to the Leeward side of Oahu to find Barber's Point Lighthouse. We had good directions so it was fairly easy. It's back in an industrial park area of Oahu. It's right next to a Luau Reataurant which seems out of place in the area, but it's right on the beach so it's a pretty place for it.

The Lantern Room was removed a long time ago, but it's still nice to be able to get so close to a Lighthouse.

Barber's Point



We left there and drove to the end of the road on the Leeward side. It's like night and day from one side (Leeward) to the other (Windward) side.

The Windward side is lush and tropical and the Leeward side looks more like the American Southwest than a tropical island.

We left there and drove over to the Likelike Highway over to the Windward side and then came back towards Honolulu on the Pali Highway and stopped at the Pali Overlook. This is where one of the major battles that consolidated the Islands into one Kingdom happened. The view from here is amazing. You need to hold on to everthing though- the wind is very harsh, even on a mild day.

We flew over to Hawaii after this little excursion. We were staying in Hilo for two nights. We stayed at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. It's an older hotel- but also in very good shape. Well cared for and clean. They ahve a nice restaurant right there and the food was very good. The prices weren't too bad, either.

Here's a Aid To Navigation that I found in Hilo's Harbor. We drove by on our way to one of the Botanical Gardens that Esther visited in Hawaii.

ATN In Hilo



We spent our only full day on Hawaii exploring the Volcanic Park. We drove around the Coldera of the Kilauea Volcano and down the Road Of Craters stopping at many of them.

We did not walk out to the lava flow- it's about a 3 1/2 hour walk out and back. ?We saw the old lava flows, but not the current one.

The tale of the trip is continued in Part 2.