Oahu

Our second trip to Hawaii was twice as grand as the first. This time we spent an extra day on Oahu and rented a car to take a driving trip around the island.

We started off the day with an early morning swim in Waikiki...

Then took H-3 right through the mountain to Kahalu'u to visit the Byodo-In Temple in the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.
The temple was built in 1968 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. It is a scale replica of a temple in Uji, Japan that was built over 950 years ago. This non-denominational Buddhist temple was constructed without nails, and welcomes people of all faiths.

The temple grounds are often used for wedding ceremonies, and the temple was used in a number of Magnum PI episodes and was the house of Sun's father on "LOST."

Before entering the temple it is customary to ring the bell to spread the teachings of Buddha. All visitors are also required to remove their shoes before entering. The Byodo-In Temple was very peaceful and a big highlight of our trip.

After lunch we drove up the coast to La'ie point.

We all walked out to the edge of the land right next to some locals who had driven their trucks across this rocky lava to sit around (literally) and fish for the day. The famous hole in the lava rock is off to the left in the photo of James above.

Next we went up around the North Shore and found HONU!!!

Lots and lots of HONU at a place very wisely named Turtle Beach. In the photo below you can see 2 of them in the water right next to James.

After we got our fill of honu, we drove a little further down the road to Haleiwa for some Aoki's Shave Ice. I don't know what the people in Utah with their "shaved ice shacks" are thinking, because it is nowhere near the same (meaning, nowhere near as good!).

Lastly, we took highway 99 down through the pineapple fields and past Wheeler AFB back to Honolulu. Great day in the Hawaiian Islands. :o)