Tying Up Loose Ends in Hawaii

Although we didn't have this week's schedule, we were pretty sure that Sunday (9/27) was going to be our last day off with Art and Denise, so we wanted to be SURE to fit in everything we had on our list of things to do.  That meant a five mile (round trip) hike to Ka'ena Point.  So we packed up at 6:00 AM and headed to where the road ends on this side of the island.

Although the sun was just coming up, a lot of fishermen were already there.

I was a little nervous about the hike, but it was a wide, rocky, relatively flat trail that followed the coastline.  There were breathtaking mountains on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.    Not far into the hike we heard a sound like a foghorn coming from a blowhole, and not far after that we came upon this arch.  EVERYthing was so interesting!

Denise and Art made me nervous, but they assured me that they were in NO danger at any time.

The skies were gray, the weather misty/cloudy/drizzly, and it rained on and off during the hike.  It not only made for a really muddy trail, but also kept us cool and created some pretty rainbows!

As we got near the point, we entered a bird sanctuary.  There is a two-doored gate (you open one and go in, then close it and open the other to go out) that leads into a HUGE fenced area (very Jurassic Park), and the path is marked off by ropes to keep people from stepping on bird nests/baby birds.  We saw several shearwater chicks which are protected here, but we did not see any of the endangered albatross.  

And then we reached the point!  All of a sudden I could see the other side of the Waianae mountain range that dominates our view each morning when we walk out of our door at Pu'u Kahea!

We climbed in left-over military pill-box for a little shelter from the rain, and had plenty of comfortable rocks to rest on.  Art's rock was a little unstable; he said his was a rocking chair.  (He keeps us entertained!)

Art and Denise gaze out from the very most western tip of Oahu.

It is so beautiful that it's really hard to describe.  I wish I had taken more pictures.  (My fellow travelers make fun of me taking so many, but I don't think anyone has ever regretted taking too many pictures!)

And then, as if the hike were not wonderful enough, we saw a Hawaiian Monk Seal on the way back.  They are an endangered species--probably less than 1,100 in existence--and we saw one!  I know it doesn't look like much in the picture, but it was very exciting to me.

We reached the parking lot and our borrowed car, and as we drove back toward Pu'u Kahea, we saw about TWENTY dolphins playing not far offshore.

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After showering away the mud from our morning hike, we headed to the windward side of the island to one of out favorite beaches, Kailua Beach.  And was it ever windy!  There were dozens of kite and wind surfers on the water, and we loved watching them from our resting spot under the trees!  After awhile, though, our mouths, ears, scalps, etc. were filled with sand because the wind was blowing so hard, so we decided it was time to move on.

We made our way back toward the Honolulu area, stopping at some of our favorite overlooks along the way.

We ended our day at the Macaroni Grill in Honolulu, then walked off all the calories we had eaten because we couldn't find where we had parked the car!

Another great day with the Smiths!