Water Park

Greg won free tickets to this place, otherwise we would never have gone. The boys LOVED it, and I was not a fan. I felt like a flushed, drowning rat doing down the tube ones.

Our Xterra Champion

Due to Charley's emergency bathroom break, I missed the start of the race :( A 1/2 mile open ocean swim. Greg was 9th out of the water. We waves were huge!





Then across the highway to hop on his rented mountain bike for a 12 mile ride. He got caught behind a tour bus. Still did an impressive job considering he hasn't been mountain bike riding in a year.

The race was at the Kualoa Ranch. So beautiful. They filmed many movies and shows here including Jurassic Park and LOST.


Back down to drop off the bike and put some running shoes on for a 6 mile run.


Sooo tired. It was also VERY hot.

Seeing the finish line...



How it feels to push yourself for 3 hours....


A first place finish for his age group (the biggest group!) and a 19th finish overall!! This iron chick was first place for the women.

A wiki tiki?? Probably a movie prop.

Racing is hard work...

Around the corner

Around the corner from our place is this peaceful wildlife area and water (not clean) filled with fish. One evening after dinner, we headed here to see what we could catch.

Our fishing partner. A black crowned night heron. We would throw bread in the water and he would fly down and eat the fish as they came to eat the bread. We could see the fish flipping around in their necks on their way down.





The Hawaiian Nene

Aiea Loop Trail

Greg and I hiked this 5 mile trail the first time we lived here. Ronan was about 6 months old and in the backpack.


Lots of Bamboo


Well if you ever wondered what was in a MRE or what they tasted like, Ronan and Charley tested one out for you. They LOVED it!

First up, peanut butter on crackers...


While they were eating crackers, their cheese tortellini's were heated up hot with a chemical pack...just add water. They tasted like canned pasta...Chef Boyardi.

Charley is sampling the apples in spice sauce and Ronan has the power bar, which was awesome.
They also had reeces pieces, hot apple cider, a drink mix (crystal light), spices, and gum. If you have a big hike planned then these are perfect meals.

Overlooking the freeway.




This was a wing section of a B-24 Army Air Corps bomber that crashed here in May 1944. Nine airmen died in the crash.

Kahana Valley State Park

We headed to this state park one weekend to do a hike called Pu'u Piei. The ranger there talked us out of it. He said the hike was too difficult for the boys. So we took and easier hike that was about 1.5 miles. Too short for us, but the views were nice.

See the yellow tsunami sirens in this photo?


These are called Umbrella plants aka Octopus trees. I love them!

Mosquito Valley! The air was thick with humidity and swarming with biting bugs.

This was an ancient Hawaiian fishing shrine. These are everywhere.



The group of boats here traveled from Tahiti using only the stars for navigation.


Another shrine? Each rock on the inside represented a group of Polynesian islands. This might have been the spot where the original islanders first landed.






This rock is called Chinaman's Hat


We made a stop at a Macadamian nut and coffee bean farm.



The boys are love to watch and chase the chickens that are roaming all over this island.