Thoughts from Highlands Ranch: February 2017

To those in the know you realize I'm talking about Hawaii.
Cindy and I have been on Oahu for 5 days now. This is our first time here.

For the first few days we were inland at the Hampton Inn and Suites until our condo was available. Today is Monday and we got to our condo in the northeast coast yesterday.

The condo is very small but just fine for 2 of us. It is on the beach so what else do we need. Yesterday and a good part of today has been windy and gloomy and misting. Yesterday we didn't do a lot. Today though we decided to explore the North shore. The day started out gloomy and certainly windy but miraculously about midday the sky cleared and the sun came out for a while. We stopped at a Turtle Bay which is a very exclusive resort with golf course. We didn't realize there was a public accessible beach there. It is a beautiful spot. People were snorkeling, swimming, wading and running themselves there. We stopped and stayed for a time soaking it all in. We got a gelato as a treat. It cost us $10 total for each of us to get a single scoop. It is very expensive to live here I understand.

We stopped at Sunset beach where a few people were surfing while others swam.

Now to those chickens. All over the island WILD chickens roam. At first I thought some had gotten out of someone's enclosure but gave up that idea after seeing them all over. I finally asked someone "What's with all these WILD chickens?" The first Hawaiians brought chickens, dogs and pigs with them she said. The chickens at least are wild. People don't eat them. It is easier simply to get them at Cosco.

MONKEY PODS are trees that we found fascinating because of their look. Apparently the PODS they grow are a favorite of monkeys where they originally came from. These PODS are sticky and a real nuisance to deal with. That's all I know about them.

The time we had in Hawaii was relaxing. The weather was a mixed bag. Some really nice days but a fair number of windy gloomy days. We tried to walk the beach every day.

We visited the Polynesian Cultural Center which was just a few miles from the condo. It is a great place to go and learn about the different island nations in polynesia.

We also visited a beautiful Buddist temple and the natural beauty of Waimea Valley and falls.

If we ever go back we belief it would be Maui we would visit.