A Trip to Oahu & Maui

There were a number of reasons why almost the entire family decided to go to Hawaii, ie; my wife's parents (Ron & Elaine) were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, one of my wife's brothers (Chris) was going to get married, my oldest son & his fiance came to join the festivities, and the rest of us came along in order to help everyone celebrate.
This is a great view of Honolulu and Diamond Head in the distance, taken from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

If you have never been to Hawaii and you are planning a trip there, or you just want to know more about it, here are some good sources of information;

Will's House Rental near Ewa

William & Jeremy Posing at the rental Will had acquired at the southern tip of Oahu, near Ewa.

Talk about a beautiful setting for a wedding! The Pacific Ocean was just behind the activities, a beautiful hotel was behind us and the weather that day was excellent.

Sunrise on the summit of Haleakala

We drove up to the top of Haleakala, to see the sunrise. There is no more spectacular way to see a sunrise than this - the sun rising up through the clouds below where we are, was amazing!

Body Surfing at Ewa

William coming in from surfing. The waves might not look that large in this image, but they were really good for body boarding.

Dinner at the Polynesian Cultural Center

The whole clan got together for a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Dinner was very good and included various Polynesian items like poi, etc.

Sea Life Park

Part of the family visited Sea Life Park Hawaii, others went to various other Oahu destinations

Will's House Rental Backyard

This was the backyard of the rental unit that Will was staying at. Looks pretty relaxing doesn't it?

Beach Posing

Will posing at Ewa beach, which was perhaps 100 yards from his rental house. The beach there was always nearly empty of people, the surf was excellent, and we all had a great time.

This is one of the largest banyan trees in the United States. Imported from India and planted in front of the Lahaina Courthouse and Lahaina Harbor on 1873, this sprawling tree along Front Street is the size of an entire city block and stands more than 60-feet high.

There were four generations of the family present at the wedding, which provided us with a unique opportunity to get most of them posing for pics prior to the wedding.

Dinner took too Long!

Long day, lots of fun, tired Jeremy out and he decided to take a short nap. We had all gotten up very early that day to get ready for the festivities, and Jeremy just ran out of energy!

Getting ready to depart on a helicopter tour of Maui.

The Helicopter tour flying past the western slopes of Haleakala National Park headed towards Hana and the Seven Sacred Pools at Ohe'o.

Dana, Ron & Jeremy strolling along the Waikiki sidewalk.

Polynesian Cultural Center

The Polynesian Cultural Center was busy that day! Touristy? Yes of course, but still a very good way to learn a lot about the Pacific Polynesian Culture quickly.
Click here to go to their website.

Visit to the Pearl Harbor Memorial

Today was the day to visit Pearl Harbor, but of course you have to wait your turn. Our assigned time to get on the tour boat was a only an hour or so to wait.

National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific

National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific, looking back towards Diamond Head & Honolulu.

Lets go surfing now....

Jeremy body boarding on Kihei Beach, Maui. The surf wasn't as high as it had been all week.

The Discussion

This is Jeremy and I at Kihei Beach, and I am trying to explain to him the importance of taking a break and staying hydrated. I think you can tell from Jeremy's expression that I am not getting my point across!

Our Kihei Beach Condo Rental

Beach scene is Kihei on Maui. The condo building in the background was where we were staying.

Anniversary Dance

Ron & Elaine Malcolm celebrating their anniversary. They almost won the "who travelled the furthest to be here" award.

Wedding Dinner

Celeste and I arriving at Chris's wedding dinner. Obviously Hawaiian "dressed up" is a bit different than elsewhere in the world.

Waiting for Everyone

Jeremy and Grandpa Malcolm waiting for all of the other wedding guests to show up for dinner.

Everyone is obviously having a good time! The dinner was very good.

Difficult to get everyone to look at the camera and smile, Grandpa Malcolm & Chris were the only ones to respond to the "smile everyone" statement!

Grandpa & Grandma Malcolm posed for a really nice picture. They had a lot of fun at this luau.

Halona Blowhole

The observation area and parking lot, are just above the Halona Blowhole, giving visitors a good view.
Click here to go to their website.

Haleakala Summit is Cold!

We are huddled together because it is cold at the top of Haleakala (10,023 feet) waiting for the sunrise.
FACT: On any given day, the temperatures in the Haleakala National Park can range from a high of 80°F (27°C) in Kīpahulu (coastline near Hana) to a low of 30°F (-1°C) at the summit. In either area clouds and rain can quickly replace warm sunshine.
WARNING: The drive to the summit of Haleakala is a long and very twisty road, give yourself sufficient time to drive or you could miss the sunrise due to traffic!

Haleakala Sunrise!

This is the view from the top of Haleakala as the sun has just risen above the clouds, which are below us. Spectacular way to view a sunrise!

Maui Coastline from Haleakala Summit

Looking down from Haleakala, when the clouds parted, we were able to see the Maui coastline way below us.
FACT: The summit tops out at 10,023 feet above sea level, but if measured from its base on the ocean floor the summit of Haleakala volcano is approximately 30,000 feet tall!

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