And all good things must come to an end.

For our next to last day in Oahu Linda, Susan and Sarah had pre-booked a trail ride on horses at a nearby ranch. Since we had cancelled the day trip to the Big Island I decided I may as well join them, if I could. So I drove them over to the ranch and then enquired if I could join the group. As they limit each session to only 10 riders and as they already had all spots booked I was out of luck. But then a woman who had booked taking part had since then discovered she was pregnant and one of the riding rules is no pregnant women are allowed on any horses so I was offered the spot. In addition, since it was already pre-paid, I got to go along free! Bonus!

Of the four of us only Sarah has ever ridden on a horse before. One uncertainty was answered the moment we arrived in that they had sets of stairs to assist people in mounting. I had hoped to try mounting on my own but never got the chance. Here is a picture of Linda and Susan mounted on their horses while waiting for the others to mount up:

As the horse Sarah was riding was one who did not like being behind others she got to be at the front of the troop with Chris, our main tour guide.

The other tour guide, Amy, brought up the rear. She and I got to talk to a bit as early on in the ride the horse I was on, Apollo, decided to stop a couple of times to relieve himself, plus he was not much for walking fast so that quickly we ended up being second last in line. No matter how hard I kicked he just didn't want to increase his pace. So after a bit Amy grabbed his halter and led us back to being 4th in line and then got me a crop from Chris. Using that Apollo became much more responsive and no longer held everyone else back. In fact, going up hills he wanted to go faster than those in front in line resulting in him having his nose practically in the tail of Susan's horse immediately in front of us.

Chris led us at very leisurely pace. The ride took about an hour and a half and we were back at the corral by noon. There I dismounted without any issues on my own and did not use the stairs that were provided.

After our return to the house we all went for a swim. On the beach, if you watched carefully, you could see Pallid sand crabs as they would excavate their tunnel holes above the surf line.

 

Here are Susan and Sarah enjoying the water followed by Sarah and Janice coming out.

Yes, the water is mighty fine there! While the snorkelling was not as good as in past trips I did see fish every time I went in although not in as abundant numbers.

The next day we got in some more swimming and then packed for our departure late that evening. We took advantage of the time for the girls to spend some time at Hilo Hattie's in Honolulu as well as a visit to a shopping mall to see a bronze bust of Jack Lord of the original Hawaii Five Oh TV series. I stayed in the van reading and keeping an eye on our luggage.

So, we are all now back in Canada. The trip was great and we all had a great time and have even talked about doing another trip in a couple of years! Time will tell.

This afternoon Janice and I are off to Kamloops for a few days visiting James, Courtenay and the girls.

Mele Kalikimaka!

Christmas day turned out to be a lovely one, although it did rain in the evening but by then it no longer mattered. Susan, Sarah and I went for a walk along the beach in the morning This time I wore my water shoes so did not aggravate the blister on my big toe! Afterwards the girls spent a few hours on the beach and swimming while I kept guard at the house and just relaxed reading and watching a bit of television.

The owners of our accommodation were nice enough to put up a real Christmas tree for us, including decorations! Most of the decorations are various types of  fishing floats. And it is capped off with a tiki statue.

After they got back from the beach the girls relaxed on the deck chairs on the patio for a while.

Then we went for a walk to La'ie Point, about 15 minutes from our residence. There we had an unobstructed view of a near shore island through which the surf in recent years has knocked a hole through creating an arch.

Upon returning, and after showering, everyone changing into their Christmas best.

We then had a small gift exchange then relaxed before sitting down to a baked chicken dinner. All in all, we spent a wonderful Christmas day together enjoying the best of what Hawaii has to offer at this time of year! And on that note we wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Part 2 of Christmas in Hawaii

The girls have all gone on a walking tour of the local shopping centre in Laie, which is only about 10 minutes from our rental. So I am going to take advantage of the interlude to add another post.

Yesterday morning I began the day by going on a walk along the beach in my bare feet. While it is a great feeling to have the sand between your toes I have discovered that being shoe bound all the time has made mine way too soft such that, believe it or not, I got a blister on one of my big toes! While it didn't stop me unfortunately I will have to start wearing water shoes when taking any more long walks along the beach. Bummer!

After, we all went touring to the southwest searching for surfers. Being a weekday the number of people at the local beaches is way down so no where as crowded as they are on the weekend. Our first stop was at Sunset Beach. While the surf was way up there was no one out surfing so we continued on to Pupukea beach.

This one is rather unusual in that there is a natural lava break wall that protects a large pool. While the waves crash into, and over, the break wall, by the time the water gets into the pool much of the force has been spent and the waters are relatively placid, although there is quite the flow out the side into "shark cove". Still, while there were some people swimming and snorkeling in the pool, there were no surfers.

Our next, and final stop, was the beach at Hale'iwa. There were several groups learning how to surf, so no experienced surfer dudes but at least we got to see some people standing on their boards and taking advantage of the surf!

We then drove back to the house and had lunch before heading over to the Polynesian Cultural Centre where they have displays of various Polynesian cultures including Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, New Zealand, Fijian and several other cultures. One show involved a series of rafts coming out on a central canal with dancers representing a specific Polynesian culture. It was very entertaining!

We then had a Luau supper that included traditionally steamed pig where the pig was slow cooked over hot rocks and wrapped in banana leaves until very tender. Also included was some poi (taro root paste that is very bland in flavour but was the traditional source of starch) as well as buns made from poi. What is unique about poi is that it is purple in colour and so the buns too are purple! Hawaiian's traditionally used poi to soften the taste of any strongly flavoured food such as salty fish. I didn't mind it although the colour and texture ( a thin paste) can turn one off.

After the luau we then attended a two hour show that again accentuated the different dance styles and other cultural characteristics of the major Polynesian groups. The main underlying theme (the circle of life) reminded me a lot of the Lion King. It was a very entertaining show and none of us were disappointed!

A "Where's Waldo", or in this case "Susan, Sarah and Linda" question! Can you find them in the last photo!

Christmas in Hawaii

Well, here it is, Christmas eve and Janice and I along with her sisters Susan and Linda, along with our niece Sarah are enjoying the pleasures of Hawaii! I have to admit that it could be nicer (it is raining right now) but the coldest it has been since we got here this past Friday is about 18 degrees Celsius.

The first couple of days the weather was pretty nice and so we stayed close to home enjoying the amenities of the house we are renting while here. It is right on the beach although there is coral reef just off shore that makes swimming difficult directly in front, but we do not have to walk too far down the beach to find better swimming conditions.

One affect of the nearby reefs is the constant roar of the surf as it crashes over them. But that is a white noise that masks much of the traffic noise as the inland side of the house is right on he local major highway.

Here is a picture of the street side of the house showing the van we have rented to get us around.

Monday we had planned to make a day trip to the Big Island of Hawaii but the tour group I booked us with couldn't accommodate us so we ended up cancelling. And it was a good thing as this wet system arrived that day and it was showers all day. So we made a trip into Honolulu to see Waikiki beach, tour the Iolani palace, home of Hawaiian royalty until a coup d'état in the late 1800's by American business interests supported by the US government of the time. And Canadian Indians think they have been treated badly!

 

And here is a picture of the girls in front of the statue of the first King, Kamehameha I.

 

That's enough for now as we are about ready for breakfast! I will add more a little later!