Hawai'i: Part 3

A must on our list of things while on O'ahu was to head over to Pearl Harbor. While we were waiting for our turn to take the boat ride out to the USS Arizona Memorial we decided to go ahead and do a tour of the USS Missouri. A charter bus takes you over since it is an active military base and they are very strict about no pictures while on the bus.

They were taking souvenir photos before getting on the ship but we opted out and just took our own photo. I loved Kevin in the sailor hat.
It was sort of unreal being on the battleship. Our tour guide wasn't that great but the ship was still impressive.

The guide did show us the spot on the ship (while in Tokyo Bay) where the Japanese signed the instrument of surrender bringing an end to WWII.

The Instrument of Surrender.
Towards the back of the ship they had an area where they often hold ceremonies and special events. We found the Kansas flag and couldn't resist getting a photo with it.
After the official tour we were able to wander below deck for as long as we wanted. I was impressed with how much of the ship we were able to see.

Kevin checking out the snack shop.
Playing poker in the chiefs lounge area.
I really enjoyed seeing the models of the ship displaying the updates it underwent from when it was first commissioned in 1944 to its modernization in 1984.

From the USS Missouri you get a very nice view of the USS Arizona Memorial.
A view of the Memorial from the boat.
Being on the Memorial and being able to see the sunken ship underwater was a very strange feeling. Just knowing how much life was lost that day in the water below us was sort of unreal. One of the rangers out there was very knowledgeable and I really enjoyed listening to him tell us facts about the ship.

This is a part of the ship that is above water still. If you look in the water you can see the film of oil. Apparently two gallons a day leak out and there are still 500,00 gallons of oil remaining on the ship. Barnacles are eventually going to lead to the collapse of the ship in the water and at that point all of the oil will be released.
Seeing all of the names on the wall and knowing that they are below us was intense. Everyone was pretty quiet on that part of the memorial and for good reason.
This isn't my photo but I wanted to include it since it is such a fantastic aerial shot of the ship and Memorial.
A view of the USS Missouri from the Arizona Memorial. I love that they retired the ship at Pearl Harbor next to the memorials.
There is also an Aviation Museum and a submarine that you can tour when you visit Pearl Harbor. We may have to check that out someday.

After leaving Pearl Harbor we headed back towards the North Shore in hopes of finding turtle cove so I could get my fill of sea turtles. We successfully found the cove and there were already two sea turtles basking in the sun. While we were there we got to see two more make there way to the sand as well as several others swimming in the water.
I knew they would be big but I was still blown away by their size. Scientists aren't really sure why so many turtles consistently come to this exact part of the island. There are activists and volunteers there 24/7 protecting the turtles since they are endangered. They had ropes up so we couldn't get too close, but they put signs up letting us know the names and facts about each one.
After our fill of turtles we headed up a little further north and stopped by sharks cove. It is basically a giant tide pool and we had a good time exploring. (There were no sharks there so don't worry).
Watching the water rush over the rocks was amazing. We really wished at that moment that we had brought our water shoes with us to make getting around a little easier (we left them in the car).
By the time we left shark's cove we were pretty hungry and ready for some shrimp. There are a lot of shrimp trucks on the North Shore since it is a big shrimp farming area.

We split the shrimp scampi and it was delicious but I wish we hadn't been so full and had ordered the lemon shrimp as well.


I realize that these posts are somewhat long and I still have 3 days left from the trip to cover. We just did so much stuff that I want to share. Maybe these posts will make up for my lack of posting this year so far.

Hawai'i: Part 2

Our next day on O'ahu was another very busy day. After grabbing breakfast we hit the road taking Pali Highway to the Windward side of the island. We made a quick stop in Nu'uanu Valley so we could check out Pali Lookout. The view was incredible and with clouds and cooler temperatures it gave an other worldly feel.

The lookout let us see some of the areas we were the day before and where we were headed next.
Kevin used the panorama assist mode on our camera to try and catch what we saw. I've been having some problems with software stitching them together but you can get the idea. I think if you click on the picture it should open up and allow you to see it better (at least I hope).
We thought about hiking the Pali Trail to see a waterfall that is at the end. It didn't end up fitting into our schedule but we'd like to do it if we ever have the opportunity to go back.
We did see the first of the wild chickens we'd heard about on the island.

Our next adventure was to set out and conquer Mokoli'i Island...better known as 'Chinaman's Hat'. The island is about 1/3 mile away from land in Kane'ohe Bay. We brought our snorkel gear with us and set out for the island. We were able to walk a good portion of the way due to the shallow water.
We managed to make it to the island and our camera stayed dry thank goodness. This is a view of O'ahu from Chinaman's Hat.

We took off our snorkel stuff and then prepared to conquer the island. We hadn't paid too close attention to the slope on the other side of the island and attempted to climb the steeper side.
I was getting nervous telling Kevin that I didn't think this was such a good idea. Then we got to a part where we would literally be climbing rock straight up. When Kevin put his hands on the wall like he was going to go I kind of freaked out and told him we were going to probably die. He was messing with me and conceded that climbing that part was a really bad idea.


Another beautiful view from the island.We found an area where kayaks can come ashore and found someone to take a photo for us.

We finally decided it was time to head back and set out. The swim back was tougher since the water had risen and we got a little beat up on the reef. Needless to say we were exhausted and starving by the time we made it back to shore. We rinsed the saltwater off of us, cleaned our cuts and scrapes, and then found some amazing BBQ to fill us up. Kevin was pretty disappointed that Chinaman's Hat conquered us instead of the other way around (especially when we realized we should have gone up the other side) but that can be something we can aim for in the future!

After eating we decided to head up towards the North Shore and catch a few sights. Our first stop was in La'ie.
Here we are with Laniloa the Mo'o in the background. Legend has it that the peninsula was a Mo'o or giant lizard ready to attack intruders. The warrior Kana and his brother set out to destroy all the Mo'o on the islands. When Kana arrived at La'ie he defeated the Mo'o by chopping it into 5 pieces and flinging them into the ocean. The five islands in the area are the remainder's of the giant lizard's head.
The hole seen in the arch is the result of a tsunami that struck in 1946.

Next we wanted to try and find the famous 'Pipeline' and watch some surfers challenge it. We were in the general area but the water was fairly calm so there wasn't anything spectacular to watch. It was still fun watching the surfers and we just hung out and relaxed for awhile.

Kevin did entertain himself for a bit by digging a hole.
I liked being over on North Shore for a change. The beaches were bigger and less crowded. It made it easier to take in the sunset.
Even though Chinaman's Hat didn't turn out quite like we wanted the day was still a blast.

Hawai'i: Part 1

I was hoping to have the post from our Hawai'i trip up by now, but my last minute trip to Kansas this week sort of took priority. I'm back now though and now my goal is to have these posts done before heading back to Kansas next weekend (a planned trip).

We left early Thursday morning from San Francisco and arrived in Honolulu around lunchtime. Most of the flight Kevin and I spent pouring over our guidebook trying to pinpoint the stuff that we really wanted to do. As if we weren't excited enough about our trip already the book got us really pumped up. The book "O'ahu Revealed" became very valuable to us and we were very glad that we purchased it.

After picking up our rental car and stopping at WalMart (we picked up a few useful items for our week there including bamboo mats for the beach and water shoes which definitely came in handy) we were finally able to head over to our hotel and check-in. A little while later we got a call from the front desk that we had a delivery.

Brian, Moria, Sarah, and Jonathan had sent us some wine, champagne, and snacks. We were incredibly surprised and delighted with the gift.
After grabbing some dinner we walked a few blocks to the beach in Waikiki where we were staying. We made it just in time for sunset.

This picture reminds me of a post card.
Kevin on Waikiki beach with Diamond Head Crater in the background.
Only in O'ahu for a few hours and already have the most wonderful time.
We took our time walking back to our hotel so we could explore the Waikiki area. This is a statue of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku. The Duke was a 5 time Olympic medalist for swimming and also played a crucial role in the popularization of surfing which at the time was really only known in Hawai'i.
The next day, our anniversary, we decided to get up early to try and catch the sunrise at Makapu'u Point located on the southeastern part of the island. We missed the sun coming up over the horizon but that didn't take away from how beautiful the morning turned out to be.
From Makapu'u Point we spent time whale watching. We saw a ton of whale spouts and even a tail at one point. This is the time of year when the humpback whales are migrating back to Alaska for feeding and over that weekend there were apparently 1600 whale sightings. I wished I would have seen one breach or poke his head out of the water but hopefully I'll have other opportunities for that.

We hiked a little further up to Makapu'u Head where we caught some more amazing views. This is a view of Kaohikaipu Island and Manana (Rabbit) Island.

The same islets from a different view. I just loved the stunning colors and wanted to put in another picture. Rabbit island did have introduced rabbits at one time but were eradicated because they were destroying the ecosystem. Both of the islands are now bird sanctuaries for many different types of birds and access to the islands is restricted.
A view of Makapu'u Point Lighthouse. The point above it is where we were when we were whale watching.
Our guidebook told us about something really cool that was not advertised on the Makapu'u trail. It was a somewhat steep but short hike down to a lava bed. We were searching for 'Dragon's Nostril's' which are two blowholes formed from tubes in the lava itself. After only a little ways down the "trail" we were already able to see them going off.

This is the lava bed. I took the picture as soon as it came into view while we headed down.
Here is Kevin standing next to the Nostril's. They were so loud and it was a little nerve racking getting close to them (I went over a little later). It was really cool to see though.
The lava bed also has a bunch of tide pools that we were able to swim in since the water was calm. We spent quite a bit of time hanging out in the water and watching the fish and other marine life.
The water felt so good and we were grateful for our water shoes!
We spent a solid hour and a half down by the pools before deciding to head back up. During that entire time there was nobody else there which was really cool. It wasn't until our hike back up that we saw a couple of people making the trek down.
Since we were close to the Windward or East side of the island we thought we would head to the beach for awhile. We did a little swimming in the water and relaxed for a bit in the sun.
View from Kailua Beach.
After our fill of the beach for the day we headed back to our hotel to get cleaned up. We had another surprise there for us. This one was from Kevin's Mom and Dad. It was so pretty I didn't want to take fruit off of it but I did and it was delicious!
The Hilton Waikiki Village has a Polynesian show followed by a fireworks display over the ocean every Friday night so we wanted to head over to check it out.

Happy 5th Anniversary!
We opted out of paying for poolside seating and found seating a ways back closer to the hotel. We could still catch enough of the show from where we were and there was a pond full of flamingo's right in front of us! Since the show was mediocre at best we were happy to be where we were.
After the show there was an incredible fireworks display that we really enjoyed.

Afterward we headed to a restaurant and grabbed a table with a view of the beach and a band was playing. We had such a fantastic day and it was only the first full day of our trip.

In Loving Memory

Many of you may already know that my Grandpa Koch passed away last Wednesday evening at his nursing home in Scott City, KS. Although his death wasn't a surprise since his health has been declining over the last few years there is no way to ever prepare for the moment when a loved one is actually gone.

I don't have a ton of pictures on my computer to post but here are a couple that I liked.

This is Grandpa Koch with me as a baby.
Grandpa Koch was hard of hearing for as far back as I can remember. He had hearing aids but you still had to talk loudly for him to hear you. Whenever us grand kids would be running around the house making all sorts of noise all he had to do was switch off the hearing aids and there he would be....asleep in the living room chair in the middle of complete mayhem.

I remember the sound of his ring tapping on the table while playing cards and marbles. I remember how he used to feed the squirrels in the backyard and watch them from the kitchen window. I remember his laugh and all of his short sleeved button up shirts and sweaters.

I love you Grandpa and you will be missed.

Raymond Eugene Koch
December 9th, 1913- March 2nd, 2011