Maunawili Falls Hiking Trail

Tuesday afternoon we hiked Maunawili Falls Trail. This trail was a little under 3 miles round trip, and had a mixture of terrain that ended at a waterfall. At times we were hiking on dirt, rocks, tree roots, steps that have been put in place, and a couple of times we had to cross a creek. It was a good hike, but very hot and muggy! 

Waterfall at the end of the trail. We were hoping for something a little bigger, but it was still fun!

After the hike we went to the beach to cool off a bit! It was so nice having a beach in our backyard!

Too bad we're not photographer. This could have been a neat shot!

Poor Ross and his sunburn.

Waikiki Beach

We did a lot of walking on Tuesday! We spent the late morning and afternoon in Waikiki, and then hiked the Maunawili Falls Trail in the later afternoon (post about that to come later!).

The strip along Waikiki Beach is filled with e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e stores that are fun to look in, but definitely not in my price range for purchasing! Waikiki is the main tourist area in Oahu and has several shops and restaurants. We had fun walking up and down the strip and taking everything in.

We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, which is just fun to me! I remember being a kid and feeling oh so cool being able to go back to school in the fall and tell everyone I went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas and Houston one summer! To this day I still think the Hard Rock Cafe is just cool!

Buildings along Waikiki Beach

Love, love, love the ocean!

Hotel along the strip in Waikiki. I imagine their nightly rate is pretty pricey!

"Guitar ceiling" in the Hard Rock Cafe

I thought this was cool!

Love this view of the mountains between two high-rise buildings.

The Declaration of Independence

We received a bonus to our visit to Pearl Harbor: we got to view one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence! We had planned on going to Pearl Harbor on Wednesday, and then saw on the news Sunday night that a copy of the Declaration of Independence was on tour and would be at Pearl Harbor on Tuesday and Wednesday . . . the same week we were in Hawaii! We were very excited about this and thought it was neat that it happened the week we were there.

This original copy on tour is one of 200 copies printed hours after the final draft of the Declaration of Independence was finished. It was discovered in 1989 in the back of a picture frame that was purchased at a flea market for $4.00. It was then purchased by Norman Lear in 2000 for $8.1 million. It is the twenty-fifth remaining copy in existence today, and is the only one that tours.

The copy is called a "Dunlap Broadside." The Dunlap Broadsides were the first printed copies of the Declaration of Independence. The term "broadside" refers to a sheet of paper printed on one or both sides, much like a newspaper page today. The average size of a Dunlap Broadside is about 20" high and 16" wide. On July 4, 1776, about 200 broadsides of the text were printed at John Dunlap's shop and rushed to the 13 colonies and to the army to be read aloud to the people.

Snorkeling!

On Thursday we snorkeled at Hunauma Bay. This was such a fun day! (I feel like I've said that in every post about Hawaii!) Hunauma Bay is a protected marine life conservation area and the bay floor is actually the crater of an ancient volcano that flooded when the exterior wall collapsed and the ocean rushed in. It was just beautiful! We had a great time snorkeling and looking at all the pretty fish. 

The gray areas are the coral reefs. The bay was very shallow with only
about 8" of water between us and the reefs when swimming over them.

Look under the black bag that says "snorkel bob cares" and you'll see a rooster.
We were sitting soaking up the sun and all of a sudden a rooster ran onto the beach.
We thought this was so funny and odd!

"Scrumptious," overpriced lunch of chicken tenders.

Coral reefs - so pretty!!

Love this picture - it looks like a postcard!

Knitted Baby Blanket

Earlier this year I knitted and sewed together a baby sweater. As mentioned in that post, I have been knitting since 1988, and in all that time the main thing I have made is dishcloths. I've knitted a few scarves here and there, but nothing very fancy or challenging.

After finishing the baby sweater I started looking online for more knitting patterns and thought I'd look for a baby blanket. I chose a baby blanket because it seemed doable. I'd love to knit an afghan or "adult blanket" but I think that would take forever! I figured a baby blanket wouldn't take too much time to knit.

In my searching I came across a "feather and fan" pattern that I thought was so pretty. Feather and fan is a lace knitting pattern that makes a scalloped edge and rows of lacy fans. The pattern is pretty simple and is made up of four rows:
 
          Row one: knit
          Row two: purl
          Row three: knit two together three times, yarn over six times, knit two
          together three times, and repeat to the end of the row.          
          Row four: knit

          Repeat all four rows until you reach the desired size of the blanket.

There are several variations to the pattern, but the above four steps are what make the feather and fan detail. I started this blanket mid-February and finished it on May 15. I worked on it off and on, mainly while watching TV at night. I'd like to give this as a gift, so one of my friends needs to hurry up and have a baby girl! (I'm still planning on at least another year before I need one for myself!) :)

I already have my next baby blanket pattern picked out and am really excited to start working on it!

Hawaiian Luau!

We attended a traditional Hawaiian Luau and had a great time! We were greeted at the entrance with a lei made out of sea shells, and then we roamed around the area until the festivities began. We played the traditional Hawaiian game of spear throwing, I made a bracelet lei, and we took lots of pictures of the beautiful scenery and sunset.

We watched the "Shower of Flowers" where a man climbed up a coconut tree, in about 5 seconds flat, and sprinkled down flowers on us, and then participated in the "Hukilau on the Beach" and learned the net fishing techniques of old Hawaii. After that we moved over to the ampitheater area and watched the Royal Court Procession and ceremonial raising of the roasted pig.


We thoroughly enjoyed our buffet dinner of salad, pasta salad, pork, chicken, rice, vegetables, and yummy dessert. After dinner we watched a hula show. All in all we had a great time and are very glad we decided to attend the luau.

The dinner area.

Showers of Flowers - you can see the man at the top of the tree.