Hanging Out in Hawaii: Ka’ena and Byodo-In

So, as everyone knows, I’m out in Hawaii now (Oahu island, Honolulu to be exact). And the first thing everyone says to me is… you got it. “Take pictures.” Well I am. I’m taking lots of pictures, but everybody never said to post them. 😛

Okay, okay. That’s a given. I’m lazy and it may take me a few days (or weeks), but I’m going to start posting some of the pictures I take. Fellow military wives Kim and Nadja (also fellow RWA members, which is how we met) are taking me all around to see the sites. Most of you may know Kim from SOS Aloha and Aloha on My Mind. Both great blogs, and she’s much better at posting pics than me. (hint hint) 😛

So here we go…

26 Jan – Ka’ena Point

We had planned a whole huge day of driving to historic points, but some of the historic points (like the mountain pass where the planes that attacked Pearl Harbor flew through) were closed due to downed trees from a storm a few days before. But we got to see some other amazing sites.

This is Ka’ena Point

The waves were GORGEOUS! I only wish my camera was up to the task of catching all the beauty I saw since Mother Nature was definitely tossing some big waves at us, but I’m happy with the shots I got.

This is me and Nadja and little Ivy. Kim is taking the picture.

This is the opening of Makaha Cave (there’s even a legend to go with the cave) and some random tourists who were there with us. 😛 This place is obviously a favorite with the teens if the graffiti is any indication. I didn’t feel like including the pics with graffiti in them. 😛

Coming out of the dark… sorry, I had to say it. This is from the inside of the cave, looking out. The cave isn’t that deep but that was a great shot that I couldn’t pass up.

Check out Kim’s post on Aloha on Mind about our trip to Ka’ena Point.

31 Jan – Byodo-In Temple

More culture and seeing the sites. Kim directed Nadja, Ivy and me out to the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park located in Kaneohe. Who says religions can’t get along. They’ve never seen this before. This place has pretty much every denomination covered.

The park houses Byodo-In Temple. Click the link to learn more about it. Yes, I’m just that lazy.

On to the pictures!

Here’s the plaque at the entrance of the temple.

Here’s the temple. Absolutely stunning. I felt like I was back in Japan.

This is me ringing the bell. Right after I rang it, some Asian tourists came up and really put the gong in the bell. I wanted a do over. 😛

The temple has a few black swans.

This is the temple sand garden. Very pretty.

These are the koi… and lots of them.

This is Nadja, Ivy and me feeding the Koi. Actually, this is me and Nadja feeding the koi while Nadja tries to keep Ivy from jumping in there after them.

And that’s all I got because my camera died. Yes, yes. I should have checked the batteries before we set out and/or had spares with me. I’ll do better next time. I didn’t get pictures of Tropical Farms, which is down the road from the Valley. Tropical Farms is a macnut farm as well as an outlet location for several local artisans. Lots and LOTS of macadamia nuts of all flavors and varieties located here for a great price. They even have a bin out back of fresh off the tree nuts you can crack yourself.

I picked up a bracelet at Tropical Farms I’m going to talk about in my next post. All in all, it was a great time that I really enjoyed.

So that’s two days. We’re going out again tomorrow. My camera is charged, I’ve got a 4GB SD card that’ll hold 9999 images, and I’m looking forward to what I’ll see this time.

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