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         The life and times of Mark and Paula Persons
Wednesday, January 9, 2013:  Mark and Paula awoke before sunrise because their biological clocks were off by 4 hours of time zone change. 
The Hawaiian islands are all in one time zone and they do not change to daylight savings time.  Smart people! 
Waikiki is a full-time city much like Las Vegas with tourists.  The weather varied from 68 degrees at night to 78 degrees during the day. 
Local hero and five-time Olympic medalist Duke Kahanamoku is honored with this statue along Waikiki Beach.  He is holding leis from tourists.
   
Lots of nice water and flower displays in Hawaii. 
All beach areas are owned by the state which gives free access to anyone even in front of the expensive hotels.
 
Turtles are a big part of the waters of Hawaii. 
Sea otters are too as depicted by this bronze statue of one with a Hawaiian surfer. 
Both look very at home in the water.
 
Then it was off to breakfast and an orientation about Hawaii by good looking local people. 
There was a lot to learn about the islands and its people.
 
 
All roads lead to Waikiki Beach where Diamond Head is seen in the background.
It feels like a magic place and the water is warm, once you are in it.

Interestingly, there are several street intersections where the lights turn red in both directions for cars to let pedestrians cross in any direction.  Smart thinking where there are so many people walking to and from Waikiki Beach. 
 
Surfers were out even though the surf was not up high like it is sometimes.

A tour guide said there is always surf somewhere around the island. 

Just turn the radio on and they will tell you the best surf location.
After a short bus ride from Waikiki Beach, Mark and Paula decided to climb to the top of Diamond Head.  Gosh it was a mere 761 feet above seal level.  The adventure took a couple of hours on that sunny and windy day. 

Good exercise.  In all, they estimated each one had hiked more than 7 miles that day.  They normally hike 2.5 miles at home. 

This is their "I was here" photo from atop Diamond Head overlooking Waikiki Beach.    

A lighthouse in the sun with churning waters ahead. 
There was a hotel complex below as well at the end of Waikiki Beach.
 
Climbing up and down from Diamond Head was an interesting adventure unto itself. 
There were paved trails, unpaved trails, steps, and tunnels to navigate through.
Mark and Paula prepared for their visit to the islands by watching episodes of Hawaii Five-O, which they saw starting in 1968.  They also viewed Blue Hawaii with Elvis Presley from 1961, Donovan's Reef from 1963 with John Wayne,  Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki in 1955 and the musical South Pacific from 1949.  They were prepared!

Stay tuned for more stories about the Hawaii visit.

Quote of the day:  Glad for the nice warm weather.   Mark    < Back to previous story Ahead to next story >

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page last edited 02/10/2013