Last days in Hawai'i

Aloha all. Well it is my last night here in Waianae and my last night in Hawai’i. I will miss my grandparents and O’ahu, but I think I am ready for the next leg of my trip. First I would like to say mahalo to my grandparents for the hospitality. The company, food, and time spent with you were amazing. Hopefully I will see you both on my way back through to the mainland.

Now let me tell you about my last few days here. On Sunday Josh and I went on a hike around the westernmost point on O’ahu. It was more of a walk because there was no elevation gain, but it was a scenic walk. The whole walk is on the edge of the ocean on an old army road from WWII and offered some great views. I must say that there was a decent amount of trash in the rocks below – either washed up debris or just trash from hikers and fishers. I really wish people would have respect enough to keep such a beautiful place pristine, but some people are lazy or just plain ignorant. There was even a truck down in the rocks that was probably stolen and abandoned there to rust. The earth is a beautiful place and it doesn’t take much to keep it that way. Anyways, Josh and I reached the westernmost point which is now a bird sanctuary. We didn’t see many birds though – although there were a few albatross. There was also a fallen lookout from WWII which wasn’t much to see but it reminded me off the historical significance of Hawai’i.

After the hike my grandparents had a little lunch/dinner (dunch?) party. They invited their Chinese friends Kevin and his wife, Theresa, and their neighbors Min & Svetlana. The dunch was great, and as usual, there was tons of food. I ate shrimp, fish, ribs, chicken, sushi, cabbage, mushrooms, and veggies, of course. It was great food and all of their friends are great. I had a wonderful time.

On Monday Josh and I hiked to Kaala – the highest point on O’ahu. The hike was extremely tough. The elevation gain was about 3,600 hundred feet and the climbing was relentless. It was also raining which made the hike more difficult and scarier. There were points on the hike where the path was only about a foot and a half wide and then just drop-offs on either side. With rain obviously comes clouds and we were hiking in the thick of them (a.k.a. we had no views). Another frightening part of the climb was scaling the vertical rocks and the near-vertical mud paths high in the mountain. The ropes, car cables, and garden hoses offered a little help and security, but we had to be very careful. It felt good to get to the top, but we couldn’t see anything. The trail ends at an army satellite tracking center, but again there was nothing to see. On the way down it cleared a little, so I was to get a few good pictures. Overall the hike was a little miserable because there was no view and we were soaking wet from the rain. My favorite part of the hike was through a citrus forest. There was citrus fruit all over the ground and the smell was delicious. From start to finish the hike took 5 hours.

Today Josh and I went to the beach all day. The weather was perfect – 88 degrees and partly cloudy. The water was warm and there were actually a few tourist girls at the local beach. Tonight all of us went to my grandma’s friend house for a great dinner and played a few last games of mahjong.

So my time in Hawai’i is over for now, but now on to more new experiences. I leave for Guam tomorrow morning. Here is a map of Guam for those of you who don’t know where Guam is. I will be staying in Santa Rita. I will be updating my blog regularly so keep checking for updates. I won’t have use of my cell phone, but email me please. I will miss you all. One last mahalo for reading and one big aloha to my family, friends, or anyone reading. Love Justin