Hawaii...

So anyways, I walk off the ship for the first time in Hawaii, late mind you, due to not getting there til 3pm, and this is what I saw...

Certainly awe-inspiring but the picture does not do it justice. I never claim to be a photographer, although I have enough cameras to open my own portrait studio.

Now don't get me wrong, Hawaii is beautiful, but there was something about this visit that just didn't sit right for me. I've traveled the world over and have seen a lot of places and things but my heart wasn't in this one. I don't know what was wrong with me. Maybe it had something to do with not celebrating the 4th of July with my family.

I did go to Waikiki Beach. All the locals will say never to go there because it's a tourist trap. Luckily for me I was in tourist mode. Caught a few shopping areas, bought some tourist gifts for the kids and just took in the sights. I think I prefer a secluded beach with no hotels in sight to the standard tourist place, although the beach was nice.

On a brighter note I did go mountain biking. Dave, Hank, Tony and I went to Saint Louis Heights, a nice downhill run as long as you have some sort of shuttle service to the top. It would've been a killer to climb it. Luckily there's a city bus that runs every hour from the bottom to the top, but we didn't need it. That's what a rental car is for! Everyone took turns driving back down to the bottom and truthfully, after one run, you're worn out anyways. We did a total of 6 runs, I drove for 3, but only because of the bad spill I took on my 3rd run. Face plant FTL! I got a picture here somewhere of the after effects but I doubt I'll ever post it...