Hawaii

So I went to America for vacation. Well not really America, Hawaii. Not home really. I've never been to Hawaii so it's not like going home. But technically it is America, and it has Starbucks and all that stuff, but it definitely has a pacific island feel.

I went with my Mom. We went to Pearl Harbor. This is a Japanese one man suicide torpedo.
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This is a US submarine. We didn't go on because you had to pay $10.



Sunset at Waikiki beach.


This lady appeared to be a an authentic local dressed up and dancing on the beach not just for fun. Not a hoax to trap tourists and get them to pay money. Seriously. Which is quite rare.

The water really comes up close to the seawall. Erosion, or was it always like that?
Waikiki is crowded but nice. It is right next to downtown which I think is kinda cool. You can walk around, eat, shop, and go to the beach. I didn't get to surf though.

We went to a Luau.


The "Royal Court" arrives.

Taking the roasted pig out of the ground.

Big Chief explains how to open a coconut.

There was a small random church in the middle of nowhere mountains.



The gods are angry. A restored temple of the old Hawaiian religion. They decided to give it up in 1819. It mostly seemed to be a list of rules or taboos against a lot weird stuff like women eating bananas.





I like tiki statues. Very pagan.






We went snorkeling. The boat took us out to a nice spot. Snorkeling was the best part of the trip. I saw some cool tropical fish and coral reefs.

My Mom is cute.

I told you I went snorkeling.

Note the Bob Dylan hair circa 1966.


The coral reef where we went snorkeling.


We stayed on the big island, and many of the beaches were small and crowded.

Look at the pretty flowers

I saw a three foot sea turtle at this beach.


Hawaii is famous for rainbows. It doesn't mean they're gay, they just like rainbows OK?


This is a big lava flow pool that has hardened.

It's still hot here. Active volcanic activity.





This was the best beach we found. It was a half hour drive to get there on a terrible road, but that was good because then it wasn't crowded.




Pristine


There is a big mountain in the center of the island.

There is a lot of black volcanic rock here.