Swap Meets & Cemeteries

Sunday morning meant worship service at the base chapel with the Osbornes. They are the praise team leaders and the worship was fantastic! We had lunch at the church potluck to fuel up for our serious souvenir shopping at the Aloha Bowl Swap Meet! Let’s just say it was a good thing we brought an extra bag to check on the way home… ;)

After the swap meet closed we went to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at the Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu.

About 53,000 veterans from the last 4 major wars (and their dependants) are buried there. A few are buried in graves marked “unknown”. Millions of people visit there every year. It is a beautiful, yet solemn place. It is sobering to walk past the names of brave men and women who gave their lives for our freedom and the freedom of others around the world, some of which never even lived to be 20 years old…

  There are lines of trees along both sides of the road that are so cool and many of their roots have grown right over some of the gravestones…

On either side of the staircase is two sets of memorial walls where the names of 28,788 military personnel who are missing in action or were lost or buried at sea in the Pacific during WWII, Korea and Vietnam.

At the top of the stairs is a statue of Lady Justice standing on the bow of a ship. Below her is the quote from Abraham Lincoln in a letter written to a mother of boys lost in the Civil War.

THE SOLEMN PRIDE

THAT MUST BE YOURS

TO HAVE LAID

SO COSTLY A SACRIFICE

UPON THE ALTAR

OF FREEDOM

 Directly behind the statue is a small chapel.

  On either side of the statue and chapel is a colonnade lined with mosaics made of tiny bits of glass depicting battles in the Pacific during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Each one is not only very informative but they are incredible detailed works of art that are a fitting tribute to those who fought there…

  The views from the top of the Punchbowl Crater are breathtaking!

Diamond Head in the distance

Honolulu from the road coming into the cemetery

shots from the cemetery view point

After leaving Punchbowl we went to the Liliha Bakery, famous since 1950 and now known for their scrumptious little Coco Puffs: a cream puff filled with chocolate cream and topped with a dollop of the well-loved Hawaiian chantilly frosting. Mmmmm…..

Sunset at Ko’Olina

Ko’Olina is a set of 4 man made lagoons built for all the super fancy resorts on Oahu. But since no beach can be private, us common folk get to enjoy them, too!

It’s a great spot for swimming, too! 

We went our last night on our first trip to Hawaii but we couldn’t wait that long this time. I am so glad we didn’t wait!

We found the ideal spot to sit in the grass and watch the sun sink below the horizon…

the waves crashing on the rocks in front of us was a very nice touch

   

After the sun was set, we walked over a couple of lagoons and just enjoyed the colors!

              When I started this blog I thought I can’t believe we took this many pictures of one sunset! But as I posted them, every one was just as (if not more) gorgeous as the one before!

Hiking in Hawaii

Woke up our first morning and did what I do every morning: go for a walk around the neighborhood. And what a beautiful morning for a walk!

the view from the front porch

  these flowers were so pretty but I’m sure I wouldn’t think so if they were all over my cars and driveway… :)

Chris and I loved how the sidewalk went right around the tree! 

The Osbornes love to hike! We love to hike! So hiking seemed like just the way to spend a Saturday in Hawaii. And Karen knew just the spot…

The trailhead was right on the side of a major road right across the street from the Byodo-In temple. We crossed the guardrail and walked up to the “trailhead” hidden in the brush behind an apartment complex. It was only about a half a mile and only took about a half an hour. I knew it was going to get even steeper when Karen said, “When you reach the rope, you’re almost at the top.”

Even on the way up the views were very nice!

This sign was at the end of the final climb. I was really thankful for the rope!

There was also this WWII bunker up there. There are bunkers everywhere in Hawaii!

But I have to say that the view from the top did not disappoint!

the sand bars had lots of people and several boats on it

 

we weren’t the only ones who made the trek to the top

Thanks to the guy from the neighborhood who took pics of the 4 of us!

I was even more thankful for the rope going down! I do fairly well uphill but I HATE the downhill!!!  

Back in Paradise

God once again opened the door for us to visit the Osbornes in Oahu before they leave for Chicago in July. And once again, it was an amazing place to be with some fantastic friends!

We left Portland at 7am and arrived in Honolulu at 11:15, giving us the whole day to enjoy Hawaii! Much better than arriving at 8pm…

I miss the old carpet but I like the new one, too.

Good choice PDX!

Karen picked us up and we went to get Shawn’s car from the base and get some lunch. We picked up some Japanese food at the mall, had some Dole Whip for dessert and then went to Hilo Hattie’s, the official store of Hawaii.

It was kind of in the industrial/port part of Honolulu. We’d never been there before, but we were there a whole lot during this trip! Lots of good stuff down there… (and it was right on the way to the Osbornes’ new house on the base)

Hilo Hattie’s is more than just a store, it’s a tourist destination!

the world’s biggest Aloha shirt!

   

Chris really liked the free Trader Vic’s mai tai they served on the flight, so we picked up a bottle while we were there. A few days later we saw it at Costco (we got cheap gas and picked up some chocolates for souvenirs) for $7 less. But it’s good enough that it was worth it!

After that we were ready to head back and visit with our awesome hosts and eat pizza! We were already off to a great start!