I love water parks. Typhoon Lagoon was one of my favorite things to do going to Disney. Oahu has a Wet ‘n Wild which is not something I’d convince Brian to go to, but I did find a milspouse family (Deana) to adopt me for the day.
The park, much like anywhere these days, is suffering from a huge lack of staff. They only have half the rides open at a time, and you kinda have to guess which one… and then it makes for really long lines at the ones that are open.
Despite all this, we had a good day getting wet and having fun down the rides we could get on!
My favorite is the O’hana Highway, which has a bigger tube and can fit a couple people in, although if you get stuck going backwards it’s not as fun.
Pu’u Ohulehule is a hike a bit up the coast from where I live. It’s also known by a geographical feature called “Pride Rock” for the same reasons you can assume. Unfortunately, there was a 40ft stretch of 50% to near 50% grade trail that was very loose gravel. I climbed about halfway up and decided to freak out about trying to get back down. Slowly but surely and thanks to some footing help from my friend I made it.
I didn’t get to Pride Rock, but I did get a couple great peak-a-boo views along the way.
You might recognize the island to the right – it’s Mokoli’i, Chinaman’s hat, the same one we paddled to recently. This next pic is looking back toward where I live.
I think I could do it if I had put my spikes on, but by the time I was down no part of me wanted to put my spikes on to try again.
This marks my fourth DNF hike. Ka’au crater, Koko head stairs, Chinaman’s hat the other three. I’ve never not finished hikes before, unless you counted the one from Yosemite which I didn’t finish due to health concerns.
The new friend that came with me, Lisa, was incredibly understanding and didn’t make me feel bad at all. It was our first time hiking together, so I felt like I let her down, but promised we could go and do one I’ve been successful at.
After, we hit up this roadside Thai place and I had DELCIOUS Pad Thai. It was only $13 and I split it into three meals the portion was so huge.
My goal for the next year is to try to be more spontaneous and stop and places like this. They are everywhere in Hawaii.
Anyway, continuing to be frustrated that my did not finish list is growing… but oh well.
We’re gonna take real soon We’re waxing down our surfboards We can’t wait for June We’ll all be gone for the summer We’re on surfari to stay Tell the teacher we’re surfin’ Surfin’ U.S.A.
Haggerty’s and Swami’s
Pacific Palisades San Onofre and Sunset Redondo Beach L.A. All over La Jolla
At Waimea Bay
Surfin’ USA Beach Boys
We didn’t go surfing, but my friend Jess swam 2.3 miles! The picture above is all the swimmers lined up at the start. Here they go!
While she was swimming another friend, Raquel, and I hung back at the beach. I read “Oona out of Order” and sunbathed.
And she made it! It was really hard to identify her, all swimmers look the same. But we got her. The last stretch you have to get your land legs back and run up this sandy hill.
I’m glad I had this free day to join and support her and now I feel like I can finally say I’ve “experienced” Waimea Bay. It was very calm today, but it’s certainly not usually like this, I think it gets wavier over the winter.
We saw a honu (turtle) “crossing” the finish line! It was cute. Here’s the bay from a walking path back to the car.
I found myself with a free Sunday so I asked a friend if she wanted to get outside with me for a low key hike nearby. Maunawili Ditch trail is your basic walk through the woods and was just what I needed today. It was shaded and made for a great midday jaunt. It’s a multi-use trail, we found horses at the end, we encountered a mountain biker and other hikers. The hike starts at the same place as another hike I did recently. I didn’t take many pics on the trail, just enjoyed the company and movement. But here are a couple to give you an idea!
